Colin Jenkins - My Olympic Journey

Colin Jenkins Elected to Triathlon Canada Board of Directors by Peers

2010-11-07T07:17:00.004-08:00

One of Canada’s most recognized Olympians not to win a medal, Colin Jenkins, has been elected to Triathlon Canada’s Board of Directors by the organization’s National Team athletes, serving the role as Athlete Representative.

Jenkins, of Hamilton, will forever be remembered for dancing down the home stretch at the Beijing Olympics in what will be regarded as the greatest 50th-place finish at the Summer Games after playing a critical role in helping Canada win its second-ever Olympic triathlon medal.

A strong swimmer and cyclist, Triathlon Canada made a bold selection in naming Jenkins to the 2008 Olympic squad with a plan to designate him as Simon Whitfield’s domestique. Jenkins’ job was simple – help put Whitfield back on the Olympic podium, and he dedicated himself to the task wholeheartedly.

Jenkins allowed Whitfield to maintain pace over the 1.5-kilometre swim course, and repeatedly chased down the breakaways on the 40-kilometre bike with the former Olympic champion drafting behind. Jenkins did everything in his power to help Canada win a silver medal.

A consummate team player who exemplifies what it means to be Canadian, Jenkins is an ideal selection by his former teammates to represent them on Triathlon Canada’s Board of Directors.

Jenkins will replace 2008 Olympic teammate, Carolyn Murray, who has been the athlete representative over the last two years. Carolyn, who is expecting a baby in the New Year, did a wonderful job representing the athletes and we thank her for her contribution to the Board.

From www.triathloncanada.com

Engaged at the Olympics

2008-08-23T01:06:00.003-07:00

After watching the BMX finals yesterday Lisa was able to get a day pass into the Olympic Village to check it out. On the way to the village we made a quick stop to the Summer Palace to see what that was about ... it is a massive place with a big lake in the middle. We wanted to get to the Village so we did not spend too much time there.

Getting Lisa throuh security and accredited for the day went smoothly and we were in the Village and into the Caffeteria for lunch before we knew it.

After a good meal I showed Lisa around and we went for a walk and found a quiet shadded place to sit down and rest. I told Lisa that I went to the market to try to find her something that showed her how much I loved her. I said that I think I found something that she would like and that I got a good deal on it. She then hopped up all happy and said "lets go see it ... I want it now." I told her it was in my pocket and I pulled it out and opened a small box and she immediately jumped on me all in shock without me actually saying anything. After I got her to calm down and sit back down I went down on one knee and asked if she would marry me ... she said yes and jumped back on me again.

Lisa has made me the happiest guy at the Games ... no gold, silver, or bronze could be better than this! I am so excited to be spending the rest of my life with Lisa.

on my way to move into the olympic village

2008-08-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

I am typing this blog on my new smartphone that the COC gave us while we are at the olympics. it has been great to be able to contact family and friends back home with it.

so right now I am on in a van on the way to the olympic village where I will be staying for the rest of the time that I am here. I am really excited to immerse myself in everything olympic for the rest of the time.

the race yesterday was incredible ... was actually the whole day was. the race went as planned and we succeeded in what we set out to do. it was a great feeling knowing that the team of Simon and I went out with a mission and stuck to our guns and came out on top.

after the race I went to all the media stuff with simon and got to see what happens immediately after you win a medal. we went to the canada house and had a reception there with dinner. afterwards we headed to the IBC (International Broadcasting Centre). Wow. that place is amazing. I got a tour of the CBC offices set up there and where they do all the editing and broadcasting from. I did and interview with the Inside Track (the only podcast that I suscribe to) which was neat! and then we were off to where CBC does their live shows. the view from the studio was amazing. the backdrop that you see on tv is for real. at night all the olympic green area is lit up and it looks stunning. the water cube and the birds nest looked fantastic all lit up. I did a live interview with the french CBC with simon and then got to sign the canada flag that they have set up there that all the athlete that come through sign.

so far my whole olympic experience has been incredible. I want to thank everyone who has sent their congrats and kind words over the past 24 hours. it really means a lot to me to hear the amount of support that we have back in Canada!

well we are just pulling up to the olympic village now! First stop - the food court.

The Games Have Started

2008-08-10T08:10:00.008-07:00

My Olympic bike was finished being built yesterday. It looks awesome. Gabor (our team mechanic) stayed in the shop late in order to get it finished. It is already packed up and on its way to Beijing. Our bikes are flying over today to make sure that they arrive before we do. If they get lost then we will pack our backups and take those with us.

If you want to see pictures of it you will have to wait because Slowtwich is doing an article on it. It should be up very soon and I will put a link up to it.

The little send off for the triathletes at Fort Street turned out not to be so little afterwards. The bike shop was packed with the local triathlon community coming out to wish us good luck. It was a really fun night with some good snacks and some good drinks. There was a Q & A session and afterwards we signed some t-shirts that Fort Street was selling (the one above that I designed!) with the proceeds going to charity.

There was actually no watching of the Opening Ceremonies at Fort Street. It was just too packed. I was able to catch a little bit of it on my computer before I went swimming and was able to see Canada march out. I caught the highlights of it later on that day and they looked spectacular. It would have been neat to be there but there are more important things to take care of here!

We do not have a TV here in our apartment so we are only able to watch the sports live on www.cbcsports.ca/olympics. They have some good coverage on there of all the sports but it is without commentary. I would still rather watch it on CBC in HD on a big screen! Like Coach Joel does. He is lucky.

I wrote another blog for Slowtwitch.com the other day. You can check it out here.

Training is going good. I was/am getting a little sick. I think that I am on the mend today but I cannot be sure. Training has decreased which means that we are in taper mode. I should get better really soon with lots of rest.

The weather here could be better though. It has been cold and raining lots, just like fall weather. I do not think that summer has started here in Victoria, or that it will ever get going. This has been the worst summer since I moved here. WHERE IS THE SUNSHINE!?

Here are a couple pics from the Fort Street gig.

Everything going good

2008-08-06T19:42:00.007-07:00

Short recap on how things are going since NYC ... point form for maximum efficiency:

NYC race was tough, may have gone into the race a little tired from training that week.
since Des Moines I have changed my diet slightly. Really starting to show now. Feeling awesome in training and have lost some weight.
starting to piece together my Olympic bike with parts arriving daily for it in the mail. Need to get that together by Sunday as that's when it is going to be put on a plane to Beijing.
we are doing a piece on slowtwitch about the bike ... stay tuned for that.
we are leaving for Beijing on the 13th (one week today)
I am starting to get really excited about the Olympics now ... media is picking up on it more and more now.
was interviewed on CBC Newsworld today ... anyone see it?
knee is getting better all the time from hitting the car. I am able to run now but still keeping it minimal to maximize swim and bike energy
coming into the best shape that I have ever been in. Breaking training records here and there ... good to see right before I leave.
I have done a couple more blogs for CBC since I last wrote on here. You can check them out here and here. I will be writing another one in the next couple of days.
on Friday our local bike shop (Fort Street Cycles) is having a little Opening Ceremonies party for us. We are going to get some Chinese food and watch the show on TV with family, friends, and supporters.
Simon just got me a cool ice vest for Beijing from Nike. I posted a pic of it below ... looks like an armor vest ... I am going to war after all!
I have been away from my girlfriend for way too long! I cannot wait to see her in Beijing! Along with my mom, dad, my sisters Andrea and Claire, Lexi - a friend from university, and my aunt and uncle from England ... yes I have a big support crew going!
I got a lotto 6/49 ticket tonight ... I did not win :(

I think that is all.

Racing in America

2008-07-18T08:14:00.004-07:00

My America trip is coming to an end soon ... but not before the most exciting part ... we are off to NYC today for the weekend! I have never been to NYC so I am pretty excited about going there. We are staying right beside Central Park so the location should be awesome. We are only going into NYC today because the hotels there are a fortune, we can only afford a couple nights there considering that each room is going to be over $1200! OUCH!

For the time between the Mineaplois race and going to NYC we have been staying in a small city called Plymouth. It reminds me of being back home in Ontario with its hot and humid weather and the endless country roads. Plymouth was also just named the #1 City in America to live in for 2008. Quite the accomplishment!

Everyday we have been training out of the Life Time Fitness gyms that roam Minnesota. These gyms are unreal! They are massive and have everything you would want in a gym. Hopefully Life Time will expand into Canada sometime soon.

We also got to meet a cycling legend a couple days ago. After a ride that we did with the local triathlon club we were invited to a BBQ that Greg LeMond was at. He has won the Tour de France three times in the past. If you do not know much about him you should read up on him. He is a pretty incredible guy and has accomplished a lot! He was also shot with a shotgun in a hunting accident, lost 75% of his blood and survived to come back and win the Tour de France another two times. WOW!

Time to finish up packing!

Another day survived

2008-07-06T21:40:00.002-07:00

Yes, we endured and persevered through another day in the heat chamber. Today I came into the session "severely dehydrated" as I was told by Wendy after she analyzed my urine. I have been getting a little worse each day ... I just have to stay on top of it tomorrow and keep a bottle of water with me to get myself topped back up.

The session in the trailer was not too bad today. I felt better than yesterday and was able to keep my heart rate nice and controlled for the 90 minutes. Today we watched the movie "Jumper" which was entertaining. We try to watch a movie with a lot of action to keep our minds off the fact that we are in extreme temperatures. The other movies that we have watched in the other three heat workouts have been Terminator 2, The Incredibles, and Gone in 60 Seconds. Anyone have a suggestion for the last two sessions?

This morning I tried to go out for a run. I woke up with no discomfort in my knee but I was not able to get far without it starting to bother me again. So no running again for me. Just more Motrin and ice for me.

After the failed run attempt I headed down to Bastion Square for the Vancouver Island Olympic athletes sendoff. There was a little ceremony with a couple dragons for the 30 or so athletes that showed up to the event. It turns out that about 20% of the Canadian athletes heading to Beijing this summer train on Vancouver Island. We signed autographs for the kids that were there and the not so little kids (adults) that were interested. Pacific Sport even had made some Vancouver Island athlete training cards that the kids had for us to sign. Very cool!

After all that excitement we headed over to Thetis lake for an open water swim. This weeks training has been far from ideal for me with missing all my running and a fair bit of riding at the beginning of the week. I wanted to salvage this weeks training by having a good swim. During the big island warm-up loop I decided that it is about time that the big island loop record be broken and that today shall be the day. With the previous record of 14:50ish in my mind I went for it from the start. I was fading a little near the end but was able to come through in 14:34 for the new record. At least something this week went well.

Half way done heat training

2008-07-05T21:09:00.005-07:00

3 days down, 3 to go.

Heat training has been going good. The first day was really tough, yesterday felt like a piece of cake but today I felt like death again. It does not help that I went into the session dehydrated this afternoon ... it makes for a miserable 90 minutes.

These next three days should be much easier than the first half. Our bodies will have started to acclimatize to the heat and be better adept at cooling itself in those conditions.

So in the 4.5 hours that we have been in that trailer from hell, I have lost just a little under 27lbs of sweat (12.2kg). Thats over 6 two liter pop bottles! No wonder my body hates itself in there! It would be great for someone who wants to loose a couple pounds!

After every session I down a V8 to replenish some lost salts and head down to the ocean to ice the legs and cool down a bit. Last night when Jordan and I were icing (we went a little later) we could see fireworks going off in Port Angeles, Washington across the Juan de Fuca straight for the Fourth of July festivities. It was neat to watch and made the time go by a little quicker.

As for the knee buisness ... it seems to be getting better. A little stiff, but other than that no real pain. I have not tried to run on it yet since I put myself in a hole from that Tuesday run. I did 60 minutes intensity on the bike today and it felt fine. Maybe tomorrow I will try to run a little on it. We will see what coach Joel says.

New blog and heat training begins!

2008-07-04T07:02:00.002-07:00

My new blog is up on CBC. You can check it out by clicking here.

My knee is getting better. I took it easy again yesterday and went and got some graston and ART on it. Feels better. It may be stemming from a tight hip, or maybe not. Not really sure.

Yesterday was also the first day of heat training. I was not sure if I was going to be able to ride but I made through the 90 minutes of torture. My knee was a little stiff but it got better as the ride went on. Or maybe it was because I was not really pedaling the last 45 min because my core temperature was too high.

The first day is always the worst when we do this heat training. We are doing it the same way that we did before the Cancun World Cup last year. Pacific Sport has modified a trailer to make it a heat chamber. We monitor our core temperatures by having rectal probes in us. This makes it much easier to know when our cores are at its ideal temperature and when to back off when it gets too high. The feedback is immediate and makes for a much more enjoyable session than not knowing how high your core is and not knowing when to back off. As you can bet, none of us like to back off that much, we all think if 39 degrees core temperature is good, 41 is better!

This morning we have a swim workout at Crystal and I may try to run a little, seeing how the knee holds up. Then later on in the afternoon it is back into the torture chamber for 90 minutes of misery.

Knee Pains

2008-07-02T18:34:00.004-07:00

It seems like that little accident with that car has left some damage. My left knee feels like it is getting a little worse everyday. For the first couple days afterwards there was no pain, maybe a little soreness at the end of some workouts. But since my run yesterday, the pain has not gone away.

So today I took some precautions to try to get this thing healed as soon as possible. After the swim this morning, Joel and I decided that it would be best to take the rest of the day off and let it heal itself (I had a three hour ride and 60min run). I got a massage, iced in the ocean, took some motrin, and put ice packs on my knee all day.

I am glad that it is not a sharp, localized pain. Just a general soreness which I cannot seem to pinpoint where it is coming from. It seems like the pain is coming from under my knee cap. That is the best that I can do when describing it.

I am sure that this will settle down in a couple days ... maybe I should have gotten that idiots information when they decided to slam on the brakes in front of me! I have to miss my work because of this ... plus my pain and suffering has to be worth something!

Blog List and new header picture

2008-06-27T21:08:00.003-07:00

On the right hand side of this blog you can now see other BAMF athletes blogs and when they last updated their blog and the title of their last post. VERY COOL! Check it out!

I also changed the header picture above. That picture was taken about a month ago at a Teck Cominco Kids of Steel camp in Trail, BC. I flew into the interior BC for a day to help out at the camp. I had an awesome time and all the kids were great ... there were some future stars in that group! WATCH OUT!!!

Some blogs and a bad driver

2008-06-27T17:57:00.002-07:00

Jordan Rapp (my roommate and training partner) wrote a good post today on his blog about what it means to be a "team" in this individual sport. Click here to check it out.

I also wrote another entry for the Slowtwitch series "Road to Beijing" in which I write about my journey to the start line in Beijing. You can check that out here.

Training has been going well lately, if you do not count me getting hit by a car today. I ended up on the rear hood of the car ... luckily no bad damage to the body (other than a couple cuts and a sore knee) and more importantly no damage to the bike! I always say that it would be cool to get hit by a car and sue for millions ... well it is not as cool as it sounds anymore and I did not even sustain permanent damage. I will not be saying that anymore!

A trip back in time..

2008-06-16T10:10:00.002-07:00

A couple of days ago Lisa and I went to check out Craigdorrough Castle. I'm not really sure what its all about but it was owned by a rich Victoria couple. The castle has been used for many purposes since it was built in the late 1800's. One of the uses was an early home for Victoria College, now known as the University of Victoria. It was neat to go and check it out considering it is literally less than 2km from where I live right now and I never knew that it was there. Yes I know that is pretty pathetic.

Lisa has now gone back to Ontario and the training has started to ramp up again. Saturday and Sunday were solid training days including riding 5 hours on Saturday with 60min steady which I averaged 336 watts.

Today is a easy/rest day of just a swim and bike. I am not sure what the rest of the week is going to be because I am supposed to be racing in Des Moines this weekend but as I am sure you are all aware there has been some major flooding in the area lately. On top of being flooded, most of the bodies of water are polluted from the runoff of all the rain. As of now the race organizers still have not said anything about what is going to happen. They have changed where the race is being held and changed all the other races to a duathlon that weekend which is what I think will happen to our race. Duathlons are not my thing so I doubt that I will be making the trip to Iowa and instead get some solid training in.

Click here to check out this guys sign that he made for Worlds ... pretty awesome!

Vancouver World Cup and a ticket to Beijing

2008-06-12T10:11:00.004-07:00

I will not write much about the Vancouver race ... it was very hard and pretty cold. The week leading up to the race I was never feeling "on" and just thought that I would come around on race day, but that never happened. The whole race I felt like I could not relax and that I was always at full throttle and could not recover. Even when the paced slowed at times the recovery just seemed to be nowhere. This just made for a very painful 2 hours but the crowd there was absolutely amazing! When I was out there running (not very fast or near the front) the crowd was cheering so loud that it was deafening. I remember thinking "don't these guys know that I am so far back ... do they think that I am winning? Oh well, I will just imagine that I am winning and take it all in!" It definitely gave me some much needed energy out there and made the run just a little more manageable.

So a couple hours after the race I got a phone call from the High Performance Committee to come meet with them in their room. I went up in the elevator all nervous about what their decision would be and as you all know, I got the nod. It was just an amazing experience to hear that I will be representing Canada at the Olympics, something that I have been dreaming of since I started sports over 15 years ago. All the hard work that I have put in since then has paid off!

Of course none of this would have been possible without all the support and encouragement from my family, friends, and sponsors. It is amazing how many people have been behind me all these years and I am glad to show them that it has not been all for naught.

Most of the thanks should be going to my girlfriend for putting up with me moving away to pursue this dream and putting her goals and aspirations on hold so that this moment would be possible. YOU ARE AWESOME LISA!

My training partners and coach should be getting just the same amount of credit for my success. It is easy to say that all my success is because of me, myself, and I but that is simply not true. Our squad is the best in the world and all of our success is because of how much we push each other everyday day in and out. We have built a certain attitude and "code" over the past three years that we are all accountable to and because of this we are all better. BAMF.

Now comes more of the same ... lots of hard work because there is only just over 2 months until we line it up in Beijing.

I have also been writing a blog for CBC that you can read here. I will be doing regular blogs for them as well as for Slowtwitch (I will get one up there soon).

Thanks again to everyone who has sent their congratulations and encouraging words over the past couple days!

The Resurrection of the Blog

2008-06-04T15:23:00.004-07:00

Only a couple more days until Worlds. I am heading over on the ferry tomorrow morning and then picking my Dad, sister, and girlfriend Lisa up from the airport who have all come over from Ontario to watch me race. After the race they are all heading back to Victoria with me to visit and hang out for a couple days.

Here is a video that I found on the web today. So funny to hear Paul Regensburg commentating (or trying to). I think that they just ended up cutting his microphone because he was just babbling away (none of us would have done any better in that position ... it was a very exciting time!).

If the video does not work below try clicking HERE.

The Road To Beijing: Part 3

2008-05-06T20:54:00.002-07:00

Here is the third part to the series.

Go on over and have a read.

Training lately = hard = good :)

The Road To Beijing: Part 2

2008-04-17T22:19:00.002-07:00

Check out my second installment from Slowtwitch by clicking here.

I am going to try to be writing for them every week or so, that is why I have been blogging less frequently on here.

Interview from Ishigaki

2008-04-17T22:15:00.001-07:00

Here is an interview that I did with Barrie Shepley before the race last weekend in Ishigaki, Japan.

The Road to Beijing

2008-04-06T16:44:00.002-07:00

So I am starting to write a little bit for Slowtwitch. In case you have not heard about Slowtwitch, it is basically an online multisport magazine with a massive users forum.

The first installment is up on the site already. You can check it out by clicking here. I will be doing regular updates so check the site out for the next segment.

Cheers,

Colin Jenkins

www.slowtwitch.com

end of camp, been on plane, seen on news

2008-03-27T02:03:00.004-07:00

So the training camp in Flagstaff has come and gone. Starting the camp I was thinking how was I ever going to have a good workout let alone have a successful camp up there and be ready for a World Cup in four weeks when I could barely do a easy workout without feeling exhausted and out of breath. Well I got over being exhausted after every workout and recovered faster but I think that I just got used to being out of breath after every effort no matter how long even if it was just 10 seconds long.

I am now in beautiful Mooloolaba, Australia for my favorite race of the year (I think that it is just because I like the city here so much). It is the first World Cup of the year and I am well prepared for the race. I arrived late afternoon yesterday and having done a couple workouts down here at sea level, it feels great. I am not huffing and puffing after my efforts and everything feels really easy...exactly why we go to altitude in the first place!

On the flight down from Vancouver to Sydney we all got upgraded into business class and got seats in the "pods". That helped out a lot for sleeping because you can lie completely horizontal and make your seat into a bed, although not the most comfortable bed I have ever been in! We missed our connection out of Sydney because we were late getting in but were booked on the next flight only 60min later than the original. Then we had to wait a couple hours for other athletes in Brisbane to pick up because we were all booked on the same shuttle that the race organized. It made for a long day.

So we have done 5 workouts since we got here and they all felt great. I am really looking forward to racing this weekend. The weather has not been as good as last year, a little rain outside as I type this and thunderstorms in the forecast for the rest of the week including race day.

The local news (Channel 7) came and interviewed us today at our hotel. I have uploaded the "sit in front of the TV with the hand held point and shoot camera while trying to keep the camera steady and being very quiet" version of it to You Tube and posted it below. We should be getting the DVD version of it later on this week if the TV station drops it off. I will post that version on You Tube which should be much clearer and steadier.

Do The Test

2008-03-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

Now this is how you edit a video

2008-03-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

More on training and other stuff soon.....

Who thinks 2 spots is better than 1 in the Olympics?

2008-03-08T16:39:00.004-08:00

It seems like a very simple answer...the more athletes from your country at the Olympics the better. Yea, yea...I know...it is not about participation but about performance here in Canada, but when we are talking about a developing country I think that it is very important that they qualify as many athletes as possible. This increases the countries exposure to the world and increases the sports exposure within the country. The National Sport Governing body would also probably give the sport more money in the future if more athletes represent their country at the Olympics. We all know that the Olympics are the pinnacle for many sports including triathlon and most kids involved in sport dream of one day representing their country in the greatest sporting event in the World.

OK, so why am I making a big deal about all this? Well yesterday was the African Triathlon Championships. Every continent has a Championship this year and the winner of each race earns their country a spot on the start line in Beijing. Well it just so happens that South Africa has a exceptionally fast athlete that is ranked in the top 25 in the Olympic Rankings which guarantees him a spot on the start line without winning the Continental Championships. BUT no athlete can earn their country two spots in Beijing, only one spot per athlete.

So when this athlete went ahead and won the African Championships by 10 seconds ahead of HIS OWN COUNTRYMAN it made absolutely no sense at all. If he let his countryman win the race, that would have guaranteed South Africa two spots in Beijing if that athlete kept his ranking high enough throughout the rest of the year up until Worlds in Vancouver (last race for qualification). If he was worried about maybe getting injured later on this year and falling way down the rankings and not earning a spot on his own, I bet that South Africa would have choose him over his countryman who earned the spot to represent South Africa at the Olympics because he is a much better triathlete. I just do not get why he wouldn't let the other guy finish ahead of him, he was just 10 seconds behind. Surely their National Federation talked to him about this beforehand, it would have been in their best interest. Maybe they just did not know about this rule, but can they be that ignorant about something so big? Maybe he wanted money and the other athlete or the National Federation did not pay him? But could someone be that selfish towards another athlete from their country? I bet that other athlete had the same dreams as him growing up...in fact, I bet he has the same dreams as that other athlete NOW! Maybe this athlete wants to be the only male triathlete from his country at the Olympics because he likes all the attention and fame? But can someone be such a prima donna when so much is on the line? Maybe he just likes winning...then who could blame him!

I feel sorry for the athlete that came in second, actually, I feel sorry for the whole country of South Africa. When someone has an opportunity to do good for their country it should be second nature to take that opportunity and use it. I invite this athlete to come and train with our group sometime to see what being a teammate is all about. The offer is always open.

Quarterlife

2008-03-02T20:33:00.002-08:00

Today was my 25th birthday and I celebrated it by doing a tough treadmill workout of 5x3min with 2min rest. Then I had a nap and went to the pool to do a 200 for every year since my mom spat me out. Afterwards we went to the Outback where Joel treated me to a nice steak dinner and then off to Coldstones where the ice cream was on them because it was my birthday. Then we played the game Catch Phrase. Not a bad day.

Week one is done here in Flagstaff...2 more weeks left and then off to Australia for World Cup #1.

I AM SKELATOR!!!

2008-03-02T07:15:00.002-08:00

20 Questions With Yours Truly

2008-03-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

Lets just build into it guys...

2008-02-28T18:37:00.002-08:00

The last couple days have been rough up here at altitude. I have been getting some altitude headaches on and off and trying to drink as much as I can as it is very easy to get dehydrated up here.

Joel's idea when we got here was to go easy the first couple days, just to flush out the system from the race and get used to the altitude. Then we will gradually increase the intensity from there so we do not overload the body. Well the first day was flush, the second was rough, and the last two have been pretty damned hard. I guess that is Coach Joel's idea of building into it.

Yesterday we started the day out with a set of 3x100 fast, then 3x300 sub threshold all on 1:30 per hundred pace. We had to do that 3 times. The first two rounds were pull paddle on the 300's and the last round was swim. Thats where the altitude hits you like a ton of bricks. I had to pull the 2nd 300 to rest my legs or my heart would have probably exploded.

From there we had a quick lunch and went for a 2.5 bike with the last 60min steady. The group of us did that working pretty good together in a pace line, we were smoking! Then we hopped off the bikes, did a quick change and ran 40min (10 steady, 10 easy X 2) on our Mooloolaba course. Lets just say I hope I run quicker in the actual race. Day done.

Today was a bit more manageable. I started the day out with a 60min spin on the trainer (pic above) and then off to the pool for a recovery swim. Later on in the afternoon we did a 70min run on a muddy, red dirt road. Oh, and it was filled with potholes everywhere. Perfect place for a 30min tempo run. So we did 30min WU, 30min tempo, 10min cooldown. Running tempo at altitude is tough but it went by quick and the day is finally done.

Now Joel is coming over to watch Lost. It starts in 3 minutes so I am out of here.

Team BAMF Documentary

2008-02-28T16:02:00.002-08:00

The most important athlete did not get an interview...what's with that!

Jasper is a DAD!!!

2008-02-26T19:29:00.002-08:00

Congrats to Jasper Blake and his better half Jude for their new arrival into the world..."On Saturday February 23rd at 1:51pm, Finlayson Dundas Blake karate chopped his way out into the world and weighed in at 6lbs 5oz."

Welcome to 7000ft

2008-02-25T19:49:00.012-08:00

Here we are for round 2 of our training camps. Back to Flagstaff, AZ. We were here for 3 months last year and it is good to be back...back to the suffering.

We are set up nicely in a hotel for the 4 weeks that we are here. We have a stove top, living room, and a bedroom so there is lots of space in each of the rooms. My roommate is Dano...best one to roommate with out of the group!

We raced the Desert Du again this year. Duathlon's are not my specialty...it takes out my best aspect and doubles my worst which usually makes for a painful race of trying to stay as close to the leaders as possible. This year a couple more good guys showed up and it was fast...well at least it felt fast. The times were slower than last year because the weather was not as good. After the race we drove the 2.5 hours up to Flagstaff and got in a 3km swim before we went to Picazzos for Joel's birthday.

Today was an easy recovery day. A 4km swim in the morning and a 90min spin. I also went to the Chiro and had a massage today...my hip has been bothering me ever since I got here, probably from the plane ride.

Here is a pic that Dano took before the Desert Du of Paul and I. Paul went on to win the race. He is the man.

What is an average week of food around the world?

2008-02-23T09:45:00.002-08:00

Made it to Phoenix.

Check this out....a photo essay from TIME on what families eat around the world. Pretty powerful.

The official unveiling of the new team BAMF logo for the year

2008-02-21T20:42:00.002-08:00

Jet Plane Rides

2008-02-21T20:35:00.002-08:00

Im off to Phoenix tomorrow to race in the Desert Duathlon on Sunday. From there we are driving up to Flagstaff for a 4 week training camp leading up to the first race of the season in Mooloolaba, Australia.

Training has been going OK these last couple days. The body is tired from the long hours but it will be recovered for this weekend. I just got back from an awesome massage with Kim and getting adjusted with Rob before I go. It helps to have a great support team here in Victoria to look after us.

The CCES were at the pool again this morning. I do not like seeing them. The least I have to see them the better. The testing did not take too long though and I was able to get to breakfast shortly after. When I got home I was surprised with a big package from New Balance, well I was expecting it but I did not think that it was going to get here before we left. I tried on all the gear and it is cool stuff. All of it is coming with me on this trip...it is all much needed gear!

I am off to bed now. I fly out tomorrow afternoon. Of course I have not started to pack yet...I will leave that for tomorrow...it's the only way I do it.

Ishigaki World Cup 11 Years Ago

2008-02-19T10:18:00.000-08:00

so what's been going on....

2008-02-13T11:57:00.002-08:00

I love it when people say "so it's been a while since my last post" or "I promise that I will update this more often" when writing a blog. It never happens...so I will never say those things!

Training this past week was really tough...a different kind of tough that I am used to though. I put in just over 30 hours (an no that does not include time to get to swimming...time in the shower...time on the massage table....time recovering by eating....etc etc etc....we know there are athletes that do that...."oh put in 40 hours of training this week".....BULL_H_T! Although there are some who do put that many hours...many do not!) of solid training. This included 31.3km in the water...425km on the bike...60km running. Half of the time was on a saddle...oh yea, saddle sores here you come! The rides outside were usually miserable because it is only a couple degrees and raining. I curse Victoria for this. The past Tuesdays ride a cold front must have come through with 40min to go and it started to pour. Yea well, I was physically shivering on the way back home...took a couple minutes to get the keys out of my back pocket...my hands had no feeling in them and not working properly. I get inside and just want to undress and get in the shower....well I could not get my helmet unbuckled to take off. My fingers would just not work. I was about to jump in the shower with all my gear on (including shoes) when the thawing started. Wow, PLEASE GOD STOP, PLEASE!!!! IF I COULD HOLD A KNIFE STRAIGHT I WOULD CHOP THESE F'ING FINGERS OFF TO STOP THIS PAIN!!! I had to pace around the apartment, drenched in wet dirty clothes and pray that the thawing would end. Five minutes latter the pain subsided (I was happy to have fingers and not resorted to chopping them off) and jumped in the shower! Ahhhh, I just went from hell to heaven in just minutes. Again, I curse Victoria.

This week is another big week. Yesterday was a solid 5000m swim and a 100km HILLY ride...and you guessed it...IN THE RAIN (for most of it :D). Last night was also the Pacific Sport Gala. Three from our group were nominated for awards (Joel, Kirsten, and Simon) and Kirsten was the only one who brought home the hardware. I went for the free food...it was good!

Tomorrow I have 6 climbs of the observatory...fun fun fun. I cannot wait!....(maybe I can).

I am a Clean Air Champion

2008-02-03T09:31:00.000-08:00

I recently joined the organization Clean Air Champions to help raise awareness to the many issues that are affecting the declining air quality all over the world. You can check out my profile by clicking here that is posted on their website.

I LOVE CLEAN AIR!!!

Unger VS Gomez

2008-01-31T17:59:00.001-08:00

Some of the Numbers from Tucson

2008-01-31T08:30:00.000-08:00

Total Milage from Tucson training Camp (21 days):

Swim - 87, 500 meters

Bike - 1062 km

Run - 150 km

Camp 1....done

2008-01-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

I am just chilling out in a coffee shop in Fairfield...I am staying at Adam Campbells place but of course he does not know the password for his wireless internet so I had to come here to check it.

The flight back yesterday was uneventful. We got in OK and Adam was there to pick me up! Saves me some big $$$ not having to take a cab.

This week is a really chill recovery week. 3 swims/bikes/runs to recover from the big block that we just put in. Tucson was awesome but I am glad to be back in Victoria...although I would rather the sun...it is cold and raining in Victoria right now. Same old story.

Here is a picture of the last swim of the camp. I celebrated by jumping off the 10m platform.

A Local Legend

2008-01-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

I first saw this guy on the first Shootout ride here in Tucson. At the end of the ride I saw this guy dressed all in grey with sparkles all over his clothes. The next week at the same place at the end of the ride I saw him again dressed all in pink. Apparently he likes to color co-ordinate.

Last weeks Shootout he started riding into on coming traffic and ended up getting us pulled over by a cop while he took off. He only eats junk food before and during rides, doesn't drink water because it "weighs too much" and doesn't wear a helmet because "it does not look good and looks are everything." He is a LEGEND!

Some info on the Grey Wolf.

Some solid days in the bank

2008-01-23T18:23:00.000-08:00

The training camp is coming to an end in a couple days. We have been in Tucson for three weeks and have gotten in some great early season training.

Yesterday we started off the day with a 5000m swim practice...I am trying to think what we did but cannot remember. All the practices and days blend into one...don't know which day we did what. We then got all ready to climb Mt. Lemmon for the third time. The first couple times we went up to mile 11. This time we climbed up to mile 14 to which an amazing view was waiting for us. I was able to get into a really good rhythm and climbed pretty good. I had Simon and Johnny in tow and it was good to have some people to get up the climb with. it took us 65 minutes to get to mile 14. Drink and chocolate was waiting for us at the top from our sherpa joel. We bundled up for the cold decent and rode easy home, got into some run clothes and finished the day off with a easy run.

This morning was another 5000m swim set. A bunch of 800s neg split. Then we did a fartlek run along a wash for 70min and finished the day off with a 60min spin.

Wow, my computer just shut down my internet browser and I thought that I lost all this...thank goodness for automatic saving! I thought that I would have to type this all over...it would have been a much more condensed version....trust me!

Ok so here is some cool videos of crazy weather on mt lemmon. It is taken from one of the University of Arizona webcam's. Click here to check it out.

Also click here to check out pictures from the camp that coach joel has posted. He has taken quite a few photos so there is lots to look at.

what is this blogging that people talk about?

2008-01-20T18:22:00.000-08:00

OK, so no more seeslim....a new post. There we go.

It is Kathy's last night here...so after the swim this afternoon we went out for dinner to an all you can eat buffet...well we all came out there feeling sick and people's bowels were being over active in producing gas. The ride home was a stinky one thanks to Kyle and Dano. I think that it was all that hot brownie earthquake dessert that they kept piling on. I hate buffet's.

This morning was a hilly base run in the canyon. It hurt. Did not feel good. The swim felt much better though. That seems to be the theme the past two weeks.

I think that we are going to play a game of Catch Phrase before we go to bed....if we can pull some of the guys away from the football games on tv. It is a fun game. Probably not good for recovery since all our heart rates are in the 150's while playing it. Having a bunch of competitive athletes playing a game gets a little rowdy.

SeeSlim.com

2007-11-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

Check out this website and help support a good friend of mine. Sean was a training partner of mine and suffered a severe brain injury in a tragic car accident in 2004, and is now unable to speak and is confined to a wheelchair. They are selling t-shirts to help support brain injury research.

In the sun

2007-11-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

Hola everyone!

Just about to go out for a swim to check out the race course. We are really close o the race course so we are going to swim from our hotel over...check it out and come back. The water yesterday was insane...REALLY CHOPPY! It was pretty windy out but calmer today so the water should be calmer.

The hotel that we are at is really nice...the food is good and the rooms are big. On he menu for today is a swim, clean the bike, go for a ride, and relax for the rest of the time.

Here are some pics from yesterday....AUDIOS AMIGOS!

Getting ready for Cancun

2007-11-02T20:18:00.001-07:00

For the past week we have been poked, prodded, beaten, and put into hell....literally. Well at least it felt like hell. For 6 days straight we were put into a modified 5th wheeler for 90 minutes at 36-38°C at 70-80% humidity to bring up our core temperature to 38.5°C and then "maintain" that for the remainder of the time. The idea was to try to get the core up as fast as possible so you are at temperature for as long as possible. So we would get in there and do some 1 min on/off till we got our temperatures up. It usually took around 20-30min for the temperatures to get up there. Then all we really had to do was spin REALLY EASY for the rest of the time. For the first couple times our core would get too high (40 degrees) with just easy pedaling so we would just have to get off and sit down till your temperature got under control. It was neat to see how well your body could adjust. By then end of the week we were able to maintain our core's to the right temperature and still be able to pedal with higher watts...our temperatures would not sky rocket out of control like the first couple days. We also noticed that we were sweating more, sooner, and our sodium levels in our sweat went down...all purposes of why we did this.

How did they get all this data? Well everyday we had to put a probe up our butts which Wendy (the databot) could connect to a little computer to get our core temperatures...they would slide out once in a while....fun to stick your hands down your soaked bike shorts and digging around to adjust the probe....hahaha....Kirsten would love to see the boys do this! Every other day we would have patches put on our arms to get our sweat for analysis. We would also get our weights pre/post to see how much liquids we lost (I would average I think about 4kg or 9lbs for the 90min) and we would keep track of how much liquid we would ingest (about 3 litres for the 90min for me). Heart Rates were also taken with core temperatures every 5 minutes.

I find it really fascinating that just a one degree celsius change in your core temperature can throw your body into a panic. You start sweating uncontrollably and you just generally feel like ass. Just one degree....it is amazing. The body is a very cool machine, fun to do these tests once in a while to see how well humans adjust to the conditions around them.

We were the first group to use this modified 5th wheeler. It is right outside the offices at Pacific Sport and other sports plan on using this too. This is just one of the many ways that we are going to get ready for Beijing. Nice to test it out now to work out the kinks and to be prepared and know what you are getting into for next time. This is A LOT more controlled then blasting the heat and humidifiers in Joels little room in Flagstaff....those were good times....NOT!

Pictures below:

colinjenkins.ca

2007-10-29T14:32:00.001-07:00

You can now access this blog by going to www.colinjenkins.ca.

Yea I know, I am the coolest guy alive.

Check out this video of some wicked fast running. Awesome.

The Power Of Belief

2007-10-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

Ask yourself this...How important do you think belief is? Do you believe in yourself? Do you have belief in your teammates or co-workers? Do you have complete belief and confidence in your coach or boss that what they are doing is the best thing for you? The power that believing has can not and should not be underestimated, it has the ability to make a mediocre athlete GREAT, and a great athlete MEDIOCRE. Without having complete confidence and belief in yourself and the people around you, then oneself will never reach their true potential.

Of course every now and then you have that little devil creeping inside your head telling you that "You are doing too much, you are going to burn out, there is no way that I can do all this work" or "You are not doing enough, next race you are going to get demolished, pummeled, mutilated, flattened, pulverized, etc. etc." When those thoughts come digging in, thats when you tell the little devil to F&%K off and remember that there is a reason that you have a coach that hopefully knows what is right for you at the time.

Belief is a big thing in our squad in Victoria, without the belief and committing 100% to our program, there is just no room for you. There is no room for the half assed athlete, or the pick and choose athlete. It is all in and believe or go take a hike! With saying that, I have complete faith and BELIEF in our coach, Joel Filliol. It really is a no brainer when you have someone like Joel working for you. All you have to do is show up and he tells you what to do. I love it when Joel comes out with a crazy ass set and not one of us complains or peeps up to say WHAT THE!?!?!?! We might smile to ourselves but the set is said and all Joel has to say is "Ready, go" and we are off. Some great examples of this is we show up to a swim workout like any other morning and Joel says, "OK, 50x200, 10 swim, 10 pull, 3 IM, 2 kick twice through." Instead of us questioning Joel's mentality, the first thing said was "We better get started" and we were off on the next top. Another example was that Joel had a favorite saying last year when it came to certain running workouts. On the schedule all it would say was "400's". Ok so we know it is speed work. We show up, "Hey, how much are we doing?" Joel's reply would be "N+1." N being when you think you cannot take another step, then you do one more. We all think 10, maybe 15 since it is a speed workout. We take it out hard, 10 comes along and you are thinking "I am glad that this is finishing soon." We finish 10, then Joel says "ready go". 15 comes along "ready go". 20 comes along "ready go". 24 comes along "ok this is N". After 25 we are done for it. When you are coming in expecting only to do half as much work as you did the last half can be torturous. I don't know about the others, but I wanted to throw my water bottle at him but it was my BELIEF in the program that kept me going.

I have tons of examples like that...one being we were doing running hill repeats up Mount Doug here in Victoria with finishing the interval by coming down the other side fast and then recovering around the base. Well my hamstring was sore and tightening up when we had a couple more to go. "Joel, I think that I might be done, my hamstring is starting to get pretty sore and I don't want to make it worse." Joels reaction was priceless. Without looking up he says "OK we are leaving in 20 seconds" and not acknowledging what I said at all. I took this as him saying "Suck it up and stop being a wuss!" That may not be the best example but it was a time when I thought that coach knows best and I should do what he says. BELIEF IN BELIEVING.

I know that I got carried away with these examples but I think that it is extremely important that an athlete has complete faith in everything around them (coaching, equipment, sponsors, etc) and BELIEVE that they can achieve the impossible. BELIEVE that what they are doing is the best thing for them and better then what anyone else out there is doing. BELIEVE that they have the smartest coach, that their group is unique and works the hardest then any other group in the world. Having this mentality during training and bringing it to the start line thinking that you are better prepared than every single one of these athlete standing beside you means that you are already half way to accomplishing your goal. Have no doubts, just believe, BelievE, BELIEVE that you can do it and you will be amazed at what you are capable of doing. When those doubts start creeping in, you are FINISHED! Thats why in the picture above I have the Olympic Flag with the words "BELIEVE" above my bed, to remind me of why I moved out to the other end of the country and leave my family and friends behind. It reminds me of the belief that I have in myself and in our training squad.

I BELIEVE THAT THE IMPOSSIBLE IS POSSIBLE and that I will be on that start line in Beijing or die trying!

Here comes the winter

2007-10-18T16:47:00.001-07:00

Just got off the trainer/rollers. It is getting to be that time of the year when I would rather sit on my bike for a couple hours and stare at a blank wall than brace the cold and wet conditions outside. I am sure that soon enough I will just suck it up as I always do but for now...indoors is just fine with me. Plus I am in need of some winter training gear so not being properly dressed and equipped just makes it that much worse.

I rode the rollers for an hour then switched to the trainer for the second hour...just to mix it up a bit. Bit more comfortable on the trainer as I can move around a lot more freely compared to being somewhat at attention of where you are on the rollers so I do not fly though the sliding door window. It wasn't too bad as I was listening to an audiobook...Brother Fish by Bryce Courtney. It is starting off to be pretty slow and boring....hopefully it picks up a bit and gets more exciting. I cannot really find any more of his works to be better than the first book he wrote and still my favorite, The Power of One. Read it if you haven't.

Lots of swimming and riding this past little bit with the occasional run thrown in their. Next week we are starting some heat training sessions to get ready for the Cancun World Cup coming up fast. They ended up changing the race venue without telling anyone so we had our hotel booked on the other side of Cancun in a non-refundable hotel. We thought that it was going to be a lost cause and money well wasted but out travel agent got it changed for us to the proper side of Cancun. No worries now.

Dinner is calling my name.

Beijing Architecture

2007-10-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

Check out these videos to see what kind of buildings Beijing is building for the Games. Pretty incredible stuff.

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

Some pics from Greece

2007-10-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

Rhodes World Cup - Lessons learned

2007-10-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

Wow that was a strange race...many lessons learned though!

So the trip started out not the greatest. My bike got lost on the first flight from Toronto to London. The strange thing about it was that the flight was only half full, I checked in plenty of time before the flight, and I had PRIORITY tags on the bike. So when I got to London and there was no bike there, I knew that the chances that it would be found were slim to none. I checked everyday about the bike but all I was getting (and still get) is "TRACING CONTINUES. PLEASE CHECK BACK LATER." So no bike for the race. My bike box had all my bike stuff in it with my running shoes. Lesson learned...bring all shoes, pedals, one set of training clothes, and race stuff with me in my hand luggage from now on.

So on Friday I contacted the local bike shop and they lent me a loner bike. It was a 55cm (I am a 58-60cm kind of guy), a little on the heavy side with bad components (it had a triple front chain ring) but I was still happy to have a bike to ride. They also gave me a helmet and a pair of cycling shoes that were 1.5 sizes too small! I was able to borrow race wheels from Carolyn Murray after her race so the bike was the best that it was going to be. I was not sure what my measurements were from my old bike, so I had to guess and adjust my position on the fly to "what felt ok". Lesson learned....bring bike measurements to races.

Race time. HOT HOT HOT, oh yea it was a HOT HOT HEAT (which I am going to see tomorrow night in Toronto with Lisa :D). It was a run in (beach) start...I had a great start, right at the front, got in control fast and in the zone. Second or third going around the first buoy, oh yea! The I started to get swallowed into the pack. People grabbing my feet, hips, back and shoulders which shot me back a few places. "OH MY GOD, IM FEEL LIKE I AM DROWNING. RELAX. RELAX. GET THE F*%K OFF MY BACK YOU A$$HOLE. OH MY GOD, IM LITERALLY DROWNING. RELAX COLIN, RELAX" So that was the commentary going on in my head as I was getting swallowed up. Thank God the first lap was over, now I can start to swim. NOPE. Still getting beat up, and it was not a great feeling. I am a very confident swimmer but when you are in the middle of something like that, swallowing buckets of water, fighting for space, it can get to be a very panicky situation, I DID NOT LIKE IT ONE BIT. Well 3/4 into the second lap of the swim we started to swim into shore. I was on the inside at that point trying to find open water. GET THE F*%K OFF ME! YES! OPEN WATER! WAIT, THIS IS TOO MUCH OPEN WATER...WHERE DID EVERYONE GO? I stop, put my head up and S*%T!!!!!!!!!! The rest of the field is 25m to the right of me going around the last buoy! OH MAN, OH MAN, JENKINS YOU ARE AN IDIOT. THATS RIGHT, AN IDIOT! YOU DESERVE TO BE STERILIZED THEN DROWNED FOR SWIMMING THAT FAR OFF COURSE! Well anyways, I sprinted back to the last buoy and hopped into the pack. At least there was still some people around me. A couple minutes later the worst swim of my career was over. THANK GOD! So I was 2nd going around the first buoy, got put into a washing machine for the rest of the lap and came out after the first lap in 17th. Decided that it wasn't fair for me to be so good in the water that I thought I would make it a bit more fair and swam a little extra on the second lap, just for fun. Finished the swim in 57th. Thats right! I lost 40 places doing my little stunt. Lessoned learned...know the swim course (don't go into panic mode, stay calm when in a washing machine) and ALWAYS SWIM AT THE FRONT!

Got on the bike, rode HARD HARD HARD for 2 laps to catch up. YES! It came together. Now I know what it feels like to have to chase for that long....it sucks. For the rest of the bike I tried to stay out of trouble and conserve as much energy as I could with the Stallion that I was riding. A couple of breaks went off the front, some successful, others not. Only if I was on my LITESPEED bike!!! :( I found it hard enough just to stay in the main pack. DAMN BIKE, JUST DRINK, DRINK, DRINK, AND STAY OUT OF TROUBLE. OK. Bike done. THANK GOD THAT IS THE LAST TIME I SEE YOU MY SORRY EXCUSE FOR A STALLION! YEA YOU ARE MORE LIKE A PONY, A MINITURE PONY AT THAT WITH ONLY THREE LEGS, A DRINKING PROBLEM, AND THREE PACK A DAY SMOKING DIET!

Off the bike and into a pair of borrowed running flats that were 1 size too small. DAMN YOU, YOU SIZE 13 CLOWN FEET! I tried to stay in a pack for as long as I could. Running with people is a lot easier and more encouraging the running on your own way off the back. So I ran with some people for most of the run, I did not run that great but I was happy to get that far after all the set backs that came flying full speed at me this week. I finished 43rd.

So there were some highs of this trip (ummm, maybe not....cannot think of any....oh wait there was. Warming up in the water I saw schools of fish swim by in the crystal clear water and thought that it was "pretty cool to be here"), and then there was many lows or things that did not go my way. But out of those lows and mishaps I learned some valuable lessons. I know that it sounds funny but I grew as an athlete from this trip, a better prepared and smarter athlete...next year I will be able to use these experiences and prevent the mistakes that I faced during this trip.

Now it is dinner time. Then time to pack...HECK YEA I DONT HAVE A BIKE TO LUG AROUND! AP and I are on a 1:30am flight out of Rhodes tonight to London, then onto Toronto from there. Belly says "STOP TYPING, ME HUNGRY!" OK BELLY, LETS EAT.

Expiration World Record Attempt

2007-09-15T03:02:00.000-07:00

As promised...here is the video.

The land of the rising sun....oh wait...isn't that Japan?

2007-09-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

So I could not get onto blogger yesterday...but I found out a way to post blogs but I cannot view my blogs or anyone else's. Too easy to get around the Chinese censorship.

Well the rain stopped here and the women are getting ready for their races. I think that the race will be live on TV here...but who knows. Training has been going good...everyone looks ready.

Not much to do here...just watch a bunch of 24 episodes and trying to beat each other in respiratory tests. I am the champion with a lung capacity of 9.54 liters....Brent took a funny video of it. I will try to post it on youtube later on.

BLOGGING FROM BEIJING!!! (SHHHHHHHH)

2007-09-13T01:16:00.000-07:00

Do not ask me how I was able to get on blogger from here (Joel the computer hacker must have got around the firewall that blankets the country to censor their citizens) but I hope that tomorrow I am not blogging from the inside of some Chinese prison! I'll just say that it was JONES!!!

The trip so far has been going well....I am sleeping good and we have a full support staff which is seeing to our every need. We are staying in a wicked cool villa at the race hotel. Our villa is basically a small hotel with lots of rooms. It is good except that we have a bunch of Chinese sitting at our door (like a doorman) but all they do is sleep and sit there bored out of their minds...useless jobs.

There is a big sports complex on the grounds here....bowling, ping pong, badminton, 25m pool, treadmills, archery range, virtual golfing range, virtual kill and blow up aliens with big badass guns (which we are going to check out tonight!) after dinner. Speaking of food we have been cooking most of the stuff in our villa although tonight I am going to check out the dinner in the hotel which I have heard mixed reviews about. We went to the grocery store to get some foods with a camera man following us around and some guards at the entrance and exits. Lots of the food in there was sketch....especially the meats. Mystery meats are my favorite! mmmmmmm.....

We have checked out the course here....I like it a lot. The swim course is one lap....WIDE OPEN with long stretches. Bike course is hilly and a little technical and the run is mostly flat with little rises exiting and entering the dam. Going to be FAST!

As you can see their english translation is not that great...they call it CHINGLISH. Loads of it around and they are starting a massive crackdown on it before the Olympics here next year. After the race we are going to a big market in Beijing to get our hands on some cheap Chinese knockoffs like these sandals! I cannot wait!

Off to Beijing

2007-09-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

This upcoming weekend is going to be the test event for the Beijing Olympic games next year. They are treating this as if it were the actual games having the women and men race on different days and at the same time of the day that the race will be held next year. We are also racing on the same course that will be used so it will be good to actually see what kind of race we can expect next year at the Games.

The field is virtually identical to last weekends world champs in Hamburg except that the conditions and course is going to be opposite. Hamburg was cold and flat...Beijing is going to be hote, humid, and hilly which I am looking forward to...hopefully string out the packs a little more. Unfortunately we just got an email saying that the water was 18.8 degrees celsius the other day which means that if it stays below 20 degrees then it is going to be a wetsuit swim. Either way it does not matter too much to me but with a non-wetsuit swim usually people are more strung out in the water which means better chance for front pack to get away and stay away...it will take longer for other packs to form and get going.

I think that I have been recovering well since last weekend. I got a couple massages last week and had some good sessions with coach Joel. Joel has done an amazing job this year...just look at our squads accomplishments this year and you can see just how good he is. Every year we are all improving and stepping up from the year before...next year with the Olympics...people should watch out! All the pools in the area have been closed for yearly maintenance...WHY WOULD EVER SINGLE POOL CLOSE AT THE SAME TIME!?!?!?!?! STAGGER A LITTLE PEOPLE!!!! So....we have been swimming open water everyday this week and by the third day I was sick of putting on my wetsuit and getting in cold water....I was just thinking "Oh wouldn't Crystal pool be so good right now...it would be sooooo warm with all the old people peeing in the water keeping it at a nice bath temperature....oh how I miss you dirty, discusting, urine filled, old people shedding crystal pool!"

Well time to get going as Joel is picking me up soon for the airport. If you want to watch last years Beijing World Cup race you can find the mens race HERE and the womens race HERE.

ENJOY!

Not many hamburgers in Hamburg...lots of sausages though

2007-09-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

do race reports that come out this late still count? or do they still matter? will anyone read it? ha...well I don't care...read sucka's!

I did the Hamburg race last year...I love this race because there is just so many people lining the whole course cheering for your, it can be deafening at times! AWESOME!!!! I had a great start again even though some guy beside me clearly left early (I was thinking "oh no you just didn't do that!" while I was in mid air and he was already entering the water) so as soon I got to the surface and got ahead of him I tried to squish him over to the other guys beside him. THAT WILL TEACH YOU NOT TO LEAVE EARLY! I felt pretty comfortable for the rest of the swim and exited around 6th place. Hopped on the bike and started to chase down some early keeners that did not bother to wait for me getting on my bike. It took a lap and a half to catch them and then it ended up being a big swarm of bikes. The pace was on the whole time...hard to try to stay near the front out of trouble. Fun bike but not nearly as fun as the run would be (if sarcasm could be shown through the computer then it would be smacking you across the face right now). I did not feel that strong and fell off pace pretty quickly but the crowd still was giving me the pity cheer which was cool. Even though I was far off the front I still received loud cheers....I could not imagine how loud it would of been at the front running with the Germans. So that was that...to be honest I have not looked at the results yet so I do not know how I finished. But that was my first worlds as an Elite (not any different than any other world cup...just a bundle of fun!)

Next up is the Beijing World Cup next weekend. We are leaving this Monday for the infinite feeling flight over to China. I have been looking forward to it all week....so exciting.

Jordan Rapp is a SUPER STAR

2007-08-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-08-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

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.

Rest days and a slug

2007-07-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

The training group got smaller today as Simon and Kirsten left for Austria to race this weekend in the World Cup there. Jones got back today and will be doing training/recovering here for a week before heading off to England with me to meet Joel and the other two for the Salford WC. We have been pretty lucky this year as our BAMF training group has not been split up that often going to different races as it usually does at this time of the year. After this stint of races we will all convene back in Victoria to train as a TEAM and get ready for the World Champs and Beijing WC.

These last couple days for me have been recovery (easy swim yesterday, easy swim this morning followed by a 2 hour trainer ride watching the tour because it was raining outside and I melt in the rain). I also got a 2 hour massage today to help with the recovery. I have been having some pains in my shoulder this past week so Kim worked good in that area and it feels much better already. We will test it out tomorrow in the open water swim workout. Although the start of this week is recovery based, Joel said that the end of the week is going to be SOLID. We will see how solid SOLID actually is... ;)

I will leave you with a tale of a slug that I have been hunting in my suite for some time. Well a while ago I noticed that there were these weird marks on my wall by the sliding door. I thought that they were just water marks from a big rain storm last year that flooded my suite a bit and I had just not noticed it. Then I noticed the same marks on the ceiling coming from the sliding door. So I followed the trail along the wall, on the ceiling all the way into my living room, down the wall and behind the TV. That is where I lost the trail and there was no sign of the slug anywhere. Well yesterday when I was vacuuming (yes I do clean once a year) I noticed that there was a little trail on the carpet in-front of the DVD rack coming down the wall. The trail went into a little crevice beside the TV stand and lo and behold there is a really hard shriveled up crusted onto the carpet slug. Let me tell you that the journey it went on must have taken it at least a week...it went a pretty long distance for how slow they move. It must of made its journey when I was away at a race. Well I just got a knife and cut of from the carpet and chucked it outside. Maybe during the rain today it plumped up back to life and continued its journey...

I am quitting triathlon for this....

2007-07-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

blog blog blog

2007-07-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

I could write a lot of what's been going on these last couple weeks but I will keep it short...my bed time is coming up quick. Last time we talked I was sick. Well I got better, had a wicked week of training, and so far this week has been just OK training. And that is it.

I am confirmed for Salford to be my next World Cup. I head over the Atlantic to a little island known as UK. Lisa is coming with me also, I meet up with her in Toronto for the flight to Manchester but I will be in First Class enjoying the high life while she is in the back with the rift raft. We are staying with some of my family while we are over there. Should be a good time.

Other than training I have not been doing much. I could clean my suite...but that takes away from recovery and watching HEROES. I am half way through the first season...it is a good one!

OK, its bedtime...and oh yea, yesterday here in Victoria was the hottest day on record. It got up to 36.3 degrees Celsius...HOT HOT HOT. It felt like I was in an oven when outside.

"you PLAY, you PAY"

2007-06-29T16:29:00.001-07:00

That was one of the favorite sayings the coaches at McMaster University used to say come morning swim time when half the team would come hung over from a night at the pub. Well after the race last weekend in Edmonton a group of us went out for a bit and ended up at a karaoke bar singing with the Aussie team. The next morning my throat was sore and scratchy...I just thought it was because of my awesome singing the night before. Well it turned into a sore throat which has evolved into a head cold and today I am not feeling so hot. I am not sure if it was because of my once a year going out stint but boy oh boy I feel like I am paying for it now.

We started back into some hard sessions today. The swim this morning was a 6 rounds of 5x100 descend by effort and pace time. I felt like a bag of smashed apples but was trucking through doing OK. Others were doing much worse then me so after 4 rounds the coach made us throw on paddles and pull buoys and we did a 1000 straight to finish off the workout. Got some breaky in me and hit the hay for 90min before I headed to Commonwealth for a treadmill run. 30min WU then the set was 8-6-4-2-1 descending pace. I barely made it through the 8min'er, then on the 6min'er.......KABOOM. Done..."wow you really do look like a bag of smashed apples" says coach. "Just warm down and get outta here!".

I AM POOPED! rest rest rest sleep sleep sleep drugs drugs drugs and some more drugs to make me feel all better and salvage this week with some wicked ass training this weekend.

VIRTUAL OLYMPIC SPOT!

2007-06-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

Heck yea I now own a third spot for Canada for the Olympics...although it does not mean squat right now I still think that it is cool! I moved up in the Olympic Rankings after these last couple races to be ranked 52nd. Only 8 countries can have three athletes represent their countries next year in Beijing...and I have now earned Canada that last spot to have three athletes. We are fighting with a couple other countries to keep that 8th and final spot to send a full mens team. This next year is going to be tough to keep it but the Canadian Men are doing good right now. You can check out the Olympic Simulation here.

A quick recap of the last couple races:

Des Moines World Cup - Lisa made her way to meet me in Des Moines for the weekend to watch my race and be my support crew...it was great to have her there with me! Other than that Des Moines sucked! The city is dead on the weekend as everyone lives in the suburbs (Joel calls it Urban Rot). It was hot, hot, hot! I never really felt that good right from the start. The swim I was able to hang in but my turnover was getting really slow on the second lap. The bike was tough and the run was tougher...pretty brutal! Not pretty. But then again a third of the field dropped out so but I ended up finishing. The run felt like a jog...hard to keep moving forward. I felt like I was melting out there!

Edmonton World Cup - After Des Moines I flew the next day to Edmonton and stayed at Paul Tichelaars condo for the week. He let me have the whole place to myself and he stayed at his girlfriends place a couple blocks away. Over the next couple days my recovery seemed to be taking forever. I was feeling really tired all the time and my workouts were sucking. But by Friday I was able to have a good treadmill run which gave me hope for the weekend! In this race I felt a lot more sharp then last. The air and water were pretty chilly so it took me a while to get the feel for the water but I kept strong for both laps. Hopped on the bike and made it to the front pretty quickly and a group of about 18 formed and worked pretty good for the remainder of the bike putting 2 minutes on the chase pack. I ran the first loop of three with a group of runners that were much faster than me. I just wanted to last one lap with them and see what happens from there. I got dropped from them after that first lap and suffered on the second lap from the fast pace of the first. By the third lap I had recovered a bit and was able to finish strong in 13th place. I was happy with my performance on the day.

So far I have done 7 out of the first 8 World Cups this year. I knew coming into this year that I would be doing quite a bit of racing to get as many points as I can. Last year my best placing at a World Cup was 21st. So far this year I have four top 20 results with one of them being in the top 10! I am really pleased with how this year has panned out for me. BUT there is still lots of work to do to get ready for the next block of races. BRING IT ON COACH!

Quote

2007-06-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

"Our lives are inspired by the dreams we have from the earliest stages of our youth. When we combine passion and hard work, then success is always possible. While no road is ever straight, dedication and persistence will always lead to your dreams."

Chillin in Des Moines

2007-06-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

The temperature here is hot. The lake water is hot. Des Moines World Cup Triathlon is going to be hot! And my new HUMMER at the finish line looks even hotter!!! Especially with $200k in the back seat! hahahaha...i wish. So far this race has been first class. The committee has done a great job of getting everything ready and looking good.

Today we did a little bit of everything. I ran in the morning on the treadmills, rode the bike course in the heat of the day and finished it off with a swim in the lake. Later on we had the athletes meeting and then hopped on a bus that took us to the pasta dinner. We had to wait a little while for the food but when we were allowed to dive in it was very tasty! Especially the dessert. mmmmmmm.

Here are a couple pics from the last couple days:

This was on my bed when I got into the room...seems like I was the only one to get it...I guess they do not like anyone else and are treating me extra special because I told them that I was going to win this weekend and that I was a big deal back in Canada. They asked if I was better than Kirsten...I said she isn't even close!

Pounding the pavement...or belt I should say.

My new race suit that I will be wearing this weekend...wearing the BG colours hoping that they will like that and sponsor me for $100k...you listening big BG executives!?!?!?

Kyle getting caught trying to steal the HUMMER

I took this one for Dano...he would have been all over this!

1 Down...2 To Go

2007-06-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I raced in the Vancouver World Cup. It was awesome to go to a race and not have to get on a plane and travel for a full day or two to get to the destination. All it took was a quick ferry ride over and we were there. It couldn't get any better than that! Before the race I was worried that this was not going to be a good race considering how the race course was laid out...wetsuit swim, no sharp corners on swim, 1 big swim loop...all these factors usually mean everyone exits the water together and the bike packs come together fast. Well needless to say, I could not have dreamed for a better outcome to the race.

I had an awesome start to the swim. It was a run in start...a couple quick strides, dive in and flail the arms around like you are posessed by the same demond as Kirsten and hope that you are faster than the others around you. Well Kirstens demond sure helped me and after a couple strokes I had clean water and was heading towards the first buoy in the lead. Andy Potts came around me after the first third and I hopped on his feet and it stayed that way for the remainder of the swim. I exited the water in second...ran to transition as fast as my chicken legs would take me and hopped on my bike in third. Potts and a young Russian got away immediately and by the first time up the big climb (8 laps), 5 of us had quickly formed a fast charging chase pack. There were two Americans and two other Canadians (Whitfield and Tichelaar) in the same pack as me and by the end of the second lap we caught the leaders and immediately started gel and work like a well oiled machine. We would get time updates at the top of the big climb each lap (25 seconds, 45 seconds, 1:15, 1:30....) and by the end of the last lap we had made about 2min on a duo and almost 4min on the main chase pack. Wow...wow...wow...wow. That is probably the biggest lead that a mens field has seen in a World Cup in who knows how many years but that is very rare. Lots of time means that no one will be catching you on the run (I hope not!!!!) and that the race was between the 7 of us. Well lets just say that my skinny legs do not move as fast as the other 12 legs in the pack when we get on land. I ran as hard as I could for most of the run....was able to stay with one other athlete for half the run with a couple others just ahead. By the last lap of three I slowed up a bit to not take everything out of me on the run (still have two more races in two weeks to do) and finished the race in an awesome seventh place! Man I was excited....my first top ten in a World Cup! Holla!!!!

That result moved me up around 15 places in the Olympic Rankins. I am now ranked 57th...still need to move up a lot more to secure Canada a 3 man team to Beijing. Right now we are fighting with Spain for the last spot to be able to send 3 men to the games. There is still a whole year left of races so lots can happen between now and then.

After the race we jumped on the late ferry back to Victoria and I was able to sleep in my own bed after a good effort. It was wicked not to have to pack up and hop on a plane all sore and tired. Love it! A couple old friends showed up to the race to cheer me on. Gord and his brother that I met while at school at LU (on the swim team) were at the top of the hill cheering me on each lap...it was wicked to see them both again...thanks for coming guys! Also one of the support staff was a friend of mine that I knew from doing triathlons in Ontario back in the day....Jenn Turner. We used to be coached by the same guy when I first started the sport.

Well now I am all packed up and ready to go. We fly out of Victoria at 5:40am and start our trip to Des Moines, Iowa. I am meetin my girlfriend Lisa in Des Moines...she is flying out to be on my support team! A VALUABLE member of the team! This is one of our Olympic Selection races and there is $700,000USD on the line (the biggest prize purse in ITU history). The winners each get $200,000 and a H3 (Hummer). Lots on the line! There will be live audio and video coverage of this race on Sunday. My race starts at 4:30 local time (2:30PM Pacific, 5:30PM Eastern, 10:30PM BST for all of you in England following me) so check out www.triathlon.org for all the coverage.

Off to bed now...it is going to be an early morning!

P.S. Here are some pics from the race last weekend in Vancouver:

He didn't want his crown jewels falling out...

2007-06-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

Not the bike race I thought I would see....

2007-06-09T20:31:00.001-07:00

So I was just in the hotel room watching some Prison Break (great show by the way) on my laptop when we hear some shouting outside...I thought maybe there is a fight breaking out or something so we run to the balcony and what do we see....a bunch of naked people riding bikes down the middle of the street! Sooooo Funny! We saw on the news later on tonight that it was International ride your bike naked day or something like that...there is a couple more rides happening around the world today just like the one here in Vancouver in protest about the amount of cars on the road and commercialization. My mom asked if I jumped in and joined! hahah...not quite. When I got downstairs naked they were way down the road. Just missed them. The worst part was walking back through the lobby naked after charging out the door. Some people were looking and me strange, others looked away and covered their eyes, and some of the men were smiling at me....we are in the gay district in Vancouver by the way. hahahah...that would be funny if that actually happened but it didn't. Got you going there I bet!

Vancouver is awesome. I love big cities and racing through them is even better. APBSmith and I are sharing a hotel...we have been making our meals in the room....we have a full kitchenette which has been great to cook our own food. There may be some others that are not enjoying Vancouver as much. Some Kiwis were having coffee inside a shop with all their bikes stacked up outside the window....well a guy in a hooded sweatshirt came up and took one of the bikes right in front of them and took off. Well they all went for the chase but could not catch him...bike stolen right before the race....OUCH! Hopefully he gets a replacement right before the race. Too bad that happened here because this is a great city.

We went swimming at the race course this morning....wow, wow, oh wow it is cold. Swimming in English Bay in 13 degree temperature and rain is not my favorite thing in the world to do. Too bad the weather has not been cooperating. ITU puts on World Cups all around the world in exotic hot places....I guess they had to throw in a cold race to put the canucks in an environment that we are used to! They are calling for rain...no wait...clouds....no sun...or is it rain now? Who knows...the weather changed every 10 min here so who knows what it is going to be. It is going to be a little chilly though...thats for sure.

Well it is time to go watch some more Prison Break and put my feet up....maybe go get a little dessert before bed...mmmmmmmm!!!! I need the insulation for tomorrows race! That can be my excuse.

Ill leave you with a little cartoon that I found. I found it really funny...it happens to me too often!

Week in Review

2007-05-27T21:17:00.001-07:00

A good solid week of training has been put in the bank in the last week. Coming off a nice break after the last two World Cup races I was ready to get back into the swing of things head on.

Monday - open water swim workout at Thetis Lake. Two times around the big island...just swim. We found out that a couple of trees have been knocked down into the water and are now in our way....adds a bit of a challenge trying to get over, under, or around them when we are doing the hard efforts. Later on in the day was a ride with efforts in zone 5, zone 4, then 30sec pick ups...times three. Nice hard ride except for the fact that my seat collar broke and I was having to get off my bike every 10-15min to re-raise the seat because the replacement that I put on was not the right size (holiday today...no bike shops open).

Tuesday - wicked hard swim...2x100 start speed, 8x100 MRP....then do it all over again. Arms were not in it all the way but still able to push out some ok times. Then after getting a seat collar that took ages (no one has a 31.6 in the city!) I was off to do some motor pacing around the W Dog. Joel and I did 2.5 loops motor pacing then I did .5 lap TT on my own. 5min recovery...the 1 loop TT on my own. Able to push out a 11:52...im sure that I will revisit that later on in the year. A 30min run off the bike with some tempo effort on the treadmill to end the day.

Wednesday - Speed swim workout in the morning. Some 200's to start then a bunch of 50's to end. Nothing special this workout...check done. Then it was time for the treamill workout of the year (well so far). 12x3min with 90sec rest. #1 @6%@10mph #2 @ 4%@11mph #3 @2%@12mph...repeat 4 times. the first two efforts speeds were supposed to be faster...lets just say that they were a tad ambitious! I was just glad to be able to get in all 12 efforts. An easy 60min spin on the rollers and a 90min massage to end the day.

Thursday - Easy swim with drills in the am. Then at noon I went out the door for a 3 hour base ride with a 30min run off the bike. Legs were feeling the treadmill workout from yesterday.

Friday - easy 40min run at elk lake to wake up. Then it was off the Thetis to do some more open water swimming. This time we did 1 loop big island WU. Then 1 big island loop at effort. Rest. Then 1 small island loop at effort. The arms were a burning going head to head with dano and simon...yea I took them! Round 1 in open water goes to me! Many more battles will be fought here this year. Then a easy 60min spin on the rollers to end the day.

Saturday - Lets call it UVIC day. I rode to the university as a WU for the workout which was 3 rounds of 3 loops pack riding right into 2 loops TT. Everyone was riding strong...fun to mix it up a little and get rolling with the boys (and little kirsten who was beating some of the boys). Bike done, shoes on. Right into a run workout at the track. 4x1000 on 6min going just below 3min's. Then a 3.5km build effort around campus. Im spent. Ride home, eat quickly, go to ocean to ice legs. Take a little nap...head over to Commonwealth for a 30min easy tradmill run and back to the ocean to ice legs again. Legs felt good after the flush and ice.

Sunday - then today we all meet at Elk lake to do our long run. 2 loops of elk building with some strides at the end. Surprised that my legs did not feel that bad (must of been the ocean soak). Got home and hopped on the bike right away at watched an episode of the shield for a 60min spin. Layed on the couch all afternoon and headed over to Crystal pool for the last workout of the week. 5500m swim done and done....in the bank.

Almost 26hours of training in this week. Week one done...week two here we come.

Home was a nice break

2007-05-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Just got back to Victoria after taking some down time after the last couple of races in Hamilton at my parents place. Little training was done to recover and get ready for the next block of training and racing. I did my swims at McMaster University, and the rides and runs I did in the country side just outside my parents door. It was good to be back home and go on some of the old routes that I used to ride.

I went to McMaster on Saturday about noon to swim. I get there and there is a sign in the change room that the swim is canceled. I ask someone why the swim was canceled and they say "DON'T YOU KNOW!?!?!?!?! THE JASPER BLAKE IS IN TOWN AND HE ONLY DOES HIS SWIMS IN PRIVATE SO WE HAD TO GIVE HIM THE WHOLE POOL TO USE." Wow, Jasper...has the IM Canada win gotten to your head!?!?! Actually Jasper was putting on a triathlon clinic in Hamilton and I think that they were using the pool at that time. So because of Jasper I had to miss one of my swims. I think he owes me the 5000m that I was slated to do.

Today was the first open was session of the season. We slipped on our wetsuits (mine still damp from Lisbon...impossible to put on a damp wetsuit!) and did two loops of the big island (about 1300-1400m each) at Thetis lake. Going around the island we ran into a couple trees that decided to fall into the lake over the winter. Joel is going to have to bring his axe next session and start chopping some wood if he wants the record to be lowered!

There is going to be some really hard training going on in the next two weeks leading into Vancouver WC. Got to get my recovery in so it is time to hit the hay.

Two races later

2007-05-16T02:11:00.001-07:00

Lisbon - DONE
Richards Bay - DONE
What came out of them???? A lot of hard effort without much result. The packs came together in both races which does not suit me well. Too many fast runners...I need to be in a small group off the front killing it to get some time on the runners. In Lisbon the Canadians were at the front of the bike pushing the pace for the first half...nothing much came out of that...just hard efforts and the same people sucking wheel behind. In Rich Bay I broke away on the second lap...a weaker cyclist came with me...that did not last long. The pack caught us a lap and a half later and counter attacked us...DAMN, I was in the wrong break.

It is hard to take travelling so far to these place only to have the results that do not show what you are capable of. It is always a risk travelling to all these places spending thousands of dollars to get there and trying to make happen what you need to do well. I have to put in a lot of hard efforts in the swim and bike to try to have that gap on the runners coming off the bike...I cannot rely on my running and just sit in the bike packs...it is frustrating at times but I know it is always a gamble and every race is different and poses the possibility to have that perfect race I need.

Well the first half of the Olympic Qualifying is over...one year to go. Seven races done and nine more to go to count towards your points. Big improvements still need to come for me to get a consideration for the team...what does a year from now pose??? Only time will tell. But in that year there is going to be a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that make this Olympic Journey worth every moment.

Its been a while...

2007-05-06T01:15:00.000-07:00

since my last post when I was on my way back to Ontario for a visit. Lets see what I can remember what happened since then. I did some basic training at home...the weather sucked...seems like the cold, rainy weather from Victoria followed me so there was some trainer and treamill workouts to enjoy. From Toronto I hopped on a plane to Lisbon, Portugal on Tuesday to race in the third World Cup of the year. The race is on today...later on this afternoon. I am staying with Brent, Simon, and Kyle at a homestay of a local triathlete. They live in a really nice home and then mom is a saint. She has been cooking some meals for us and makes us feel at home...all without saying a word of english. We sometimes try to communicate...we think "maybe if we speak slower she will magically understand what we are saying"...nope...same old gibberish coming out of the mouth.

Joel and our local guide Paulo who has been driving us around everywhere went to the womens race this morning and left us on our own with getting down to the race site. Well they forgot to give us directions on how to get there...we went downt he past two days but driving here is a whole different ball game than back home...plua we live about 30min away. So there was three of us last night trying to get directions and find out where we live on Google Earth, Google maps, Map Quest, and Yahoo Maps. Well about an hour later we locate where we live on a map and agree on a plan of attack on getting to the race site...90% chance getting lost, thats my prediction. I think we should leave a bit early.

Here are some pics from the past couple days in Lisbon:

On the way into town.

Waiting for something to do.

I win in the sprint finish!

View from our room.

Kyle being Kyle.

Is this balsamic vinigar? Nope..wine vinigar!

Simon in hos usual place in front of a computer.

Local Pool where we have been swimming.

The Group with some locals.

Red eye flights make your eyes red

2007-04-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Right now I sit in the Air Canada Lounge at the Vancouver Airport waiting for my red eye flight to Toronto. Like coach Joel always says "Milk that lounge for everything its got!" And that's what I plan on doing! Not much to milk though since I am not a drinker. Oh and if I was...it would be game over!

Since getting back from my last race the training this week has been so so. Nothing great...mostly below par but the efforts are still there. Banking the miles, swimming the laps, doing the work. You do not want to hear the specifics or times...then you will be telling yourself "My 90 year old grandmother can go fast than him...and she's got only one leg, arthritis, and watches Y&R 24/7!" I'll spare myself the humility of all the comments and keep quiet.

The CCES (Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport) were on us this week. They are the ones that do the drug testing...they just show up unannounced to anyone of your training sessions or home and take a urine sample from you. On Friday morning they showed up at the end of the swim workout and tested Jill and myself. Jill having a magic bladder pipes up just after jumping out of the water "I can go now"...then there is me thinking a lot of words that are not appropriate for this blog towards her. I say to her "thanks for leaving me all by myself while I drink water like an alcoholic would drink booze if prize money was involved". Jill was done everything including paper work within 8 minutes of getting out of the water. Well done Jill! It took me a little longer...75 minutes and 5 bottles of water later...SUCCESS! I hate that process.

Nothing else exciting has happened over the last week...just living the life of a poor triathlete.

Back to rain rain rain

2007-04-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

Made it back home to Victoria in one piece. Can't complain too much about the flights...all of us got bumped up to first class from Tokyo to Vancouver...we rock! It was a bit of a ordeal but well worth the 75min begging the lady to give us seats up there.

I was able to sleep well last night. At swimming this morning everyone looked like zombies, only half awake. They were all up at various points of the night wide awake...lucky me was able to sleep easily all the way through without waking up. I could have kept sleeping much longer but the alarm shouted "get up you lazy wanker! Time to swim!". I made up for it with a 2 hour slumber this afternoon...i love naps! I also put together my bike, went for a 90min spin, easy 30min jog and had a nice Epsom Salt bath...all to aid in recovery for this weeks upcoming training.

The new rankings are up and I have moved up 8 places to 68th in the Olympic Rankings...lets keep jumping higher because I still have a long way to go! You can check out the highlights from the Ishigaki World Cup race here.

Time for a good dinner, House and more sleep!

And a shout out goes to LISA

I own 19th Place

2007-04-16T05:18:00.000-07:00

Another restless night trying to sleep after a race...can never really sleep well...just toss and turn all night. It just after 5am here, breakfast starts at 6:30am so thats what I have to look forward to! A shuttle is coming to pick me up at 7:50am and I am flying out of here at 8:55am. Should be back in Victoria before I know it!

So another hard race in the bag...equalled my performance from three weeks ago in Australia finishing in the top 20 again. That means that I get a couple World Cup points...something that I was not able to do at all before this year...the improvements are coming...little by little.

Coming into the race I was given the number 12 because of the race in Mooloolaba. High number means good start position! Usually I have a number way higher than that...it was a change to be able to pick a position before 65 other guys. BANG. Wicked start, head down, pounding out some strokes. I look around me and I have a body length on the rest of the field after 50 meters...badass start speed. I led the field for 700 out of the 750meters first lap. First one after the first swim lap gets the swim prime of $500US...so Marco Albert from Estonia comes flying by me in the last 50meters to steal my money...next time it is mine! The second lap I just stayed in the front pack getting tossed around with the swim current...came out of the water in 4th.

Out of the water ahead of me were the three that broke away and had a awesome bike. I got swallowed up by the pack that I stayed with the rest of the bike. This pack included Whitfield, Tichelaar, and McMahon all from Canada. Good to have some teammates up there with you. The pack worked OK not giving too much time to the three ahead of us, and we were distancing ourselves from the massive pack of guys behind up. It was crazy windy in some sections of the course...and with my 808's (deep rim wheels) I was getting blown all over the road...I had to really concentrate on stearing the bike...a little scary at times. I was glad to be getting off that bike after 40km.

I had about a 90 second cushion on the 40 or so guys in the bike pack behind us after the bike starting the run. I knew that if I was going to get another top 20 that I could not let them catch me. I never really felt good on the run, I had to really dig deep to keep the pace high and stay with the 2-3 other guys that I was running with. The run was 3 laps of up and over a big bridge, turn around at the bottom, come back over and down, then two out and back flat sections and repeat. The hill (bridge) was not my friend. I tried to warm up to her, run softly on her, seduce her...but she was a cold hard bitch of pavement that gave no mercy. I ended up running ok, finishing in 19th again after giving everything on that run, going through a world of hurt for 35min. Crossing the line I was so close to puking...I didn't want to move so I was taken away by the medical team, and put on a table. I played it up a bit that I was out of it so they would give me a IV cocktail. Sweet! Only got about half a litre in me and then they wanted to bring me to the hospital...UP I GOT saying NO and that I was fine.

All in all it is a good start to the 2007 season. Our squad I going to be working hard to keep the momentum going for the rest of the year. Next up on the bill is another World Cup race in Lisbon, Portugal in three weeks and then the weekend after that in Richards Bay, South Africa for the 4th World Cup of the year. On the way to Lisbon I stop off in Ontario for a couple days to see the family and on the way back from South Africa I have another 5 days with them...I am excited to spend some time back home in the Hammer.

Thanks for everyones support and encouragement!

Race day in Ishigaki

2007-04-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning to some dark clouds and a little rain. Apparently it was raining quite hard last night...too bad the rain had to come today...we have had great weather up to today.

Just went for a little jog with Kyle and Simon when we woke up...had a cold shower and now it is time to go get some breakfast in me. We have a long wait today till our race. We start at 3:45 local time. Ill just be watching some episodes of Lost to past the time.

It is going to be a tough one with the humidity, heat, and wind...its going to play a big part in the race. You can catch the action on www.triathlon.org starting soon. I think they have quite a few cameras on the course that they are going to be streaming live to that website.

See you after the race.

Recover Recovery

2007-04-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Well getting in a shuttle, on a plane, overnighting it on hard concrete, getting on another 18 hour flight and a puddle jumper to Victoria may not have been the best thing to do for recovery right after the race last weekend. Now I have been spending all week playing catch up for that great idea.

Getting off the plane in Hawaii and trying to walk a little I knew then that it was going to be game over this week. Both calves were like rocks. So what have I been doing this week to recover? I've been playing in the barely above zero Pacific Ocean, water running at the Commonwealth Pool, sitting in a tub of ice, rolling on a foam roller, roller pinning my legs like they were dough, and putting endless amounts of any ointment that will sooth the pain and loosen them up a bit. Now that it has been a week since my race they are starting to loosen up so they should be OK for next weeks training block. This upcoming week I will be doing all the same as last week and add in some massages and ART sessions to help get me ready for the next World Cup in Ishigaki and for another trip across the Pacific.

I have also been having to take care of a wicked blister that formed on the bottom of my foot during the race...usually I cannot feel the blisters during the race but I could feel the skin start to loosen up when I was pounding the pavement in Mooloolaba...so I knew that it was going to be a good one when I took off my shoes after the race. I was going to try to let it be for as long as I could before popping it but the hard run session on Friday did the trick for me.

With the water running that I have been doing, I have been able to get in some good workouts outside and on the treadmills. On Wednesday I did a easy 60min run with AP. Friday had us doing some good speed work down at Beacon Hill (6x90sec, 6x60sec, 6x30sec, 6x15sec...all with equal rest). Today I did a 1hour 40min run on the treadmills at Commonwealth. I have been happy with being able to get in these main runs this week...I was worried that I would not be able to last Monday.

Other then that I have been getting in some good swim and bikes in. The weather in Victoria has been holding up since we got back...no rain but threatening all the time. I still have bags and suitcases all over my apartment floor...still not finished unpacking...don't see the point now...may as well leave it all in there since I'm off in another week.

Time to hit the tub again for a nice Epsom Salts bath and then an early bed.

A Race, A Flight, and Back in Vic

2007-03-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

It has taken a while to get back to this blog and get writing again. Adjusting to the new time zone and training makes me tired and not wanting to spend too much time in front of a small screen typing away.

Mooloolaba was awesome. Its a small town right on the beach with great shops and cafes along the water. The race went pretty well there. The men’s race started at 1:30 to hot hot hot temperatures. The start was a beach run in with some good surf in the ocean. I had a lackluster start which saw me side-by-side with 5 guys all going nowhere fast drowning each other in our wakes. The front swimmers were pulling away to the right and the first turn was coming up so I put a surge in to get ahead of the men beside me and get a good position into the turn. I basically held onto the spot that I had coming out of that turn and tried to follow the feet in front of me to not get lost. I finished the swim in about 10th place, less than 10 seconds back from Walton and Potts who lead the swim. I had a good run up the beach and into transition, got on my bike quickly and put my head down for the first 1-2km to get onto the back of the main pack. Feet in shoes, a quick drink, and I was ready to rock. All the main contenders for the race were in this pack of 13, minus Brad Kadefelt who was in the chase pack. Our pack worked well together up and down the 16 climbs and had made 1 minute over the chase pack with 1 lap (5km) to go. Well those suckers decided to give Brad a chance at the win (how nice of them) and sat up to wait for the chase pack to merge with our pack as we rolled into transition. Run shoes on, helmet off, and I was on my way into the 10km run. I tried to take the run out conservatively knowing that 8 big hills and 30 degree heat will take its toll by the last lap. I kept my head down the whole run not knowing what place I was in. I faded a bit in the last half of the run and finished in 19th place. Maybe I should have been counting what place I was in during the turn around’s but I was just thinking "make it to the finish line strong...don’t bonk".

I was happy with my finish and how the race went. Of course the race could have been better...we could have kept that 1 minute lead over the chase pack...but having my first top 20 performance at a World Cup is pretty cool.

Now I am back in Victoria after leaving on a shuttle for the airport 2 hours after I finished the race, flying that night, sleeping on the floor in Sydney airport, flying 18 hours to Vancouver, having 30min to collect my bags, clear customs, check my bags again, clear security, and run a mile to my gate made the trip that much more enjoyable. NOTE TO SELF: NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!

Training has been going well since I have gotten back...I have been having some troubles with my calves being tight, but I am swimming good and riding ok. Just over 10 days until I am crossing that damned Pacific Ocean again for my next World Cup in Ishigaki, Japan. Hopefully I can keep this momentum going and improve on my 19th place finish

Race Day

2007-03-24T15:18:00.001-07:00

Race day today. It is clear skies and sunny….going to be a hot one for sure. I just got back from a short little run and had breakfast. The Womens race starts at 11AM, the Mens at 1:30PM. Live coverage is going to be on triathlon.org…don’t know what time it is all going to start at back home.

Yesterday I did my swim in the ocean…wow….big surf. Going to be a rally choppy swim and hard to get out there. They changed the swim from 2 laps to 1 big one. Should be a lot smoother that way…less fighting. I went for a short ride and run afterwards to make sure everything was ok. The rest of the day was spent in front of the TV and eating.

I have a flight to Sydney tonight…I get picked up 2 hours after I finish the race…so I basically have to get right back to the hotel, shower up, and pack quickly to make it. Not the most ideal situation but I do get home early. I have to overnight it in Sydney and my flight to Vancouver is early in the morning.

Well time to start getting ready for the race…oh yea…by the way I love tim tams...mmmmmmmm!

A Race Meeting and Some Pics

2007-03-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up to a torrential downpour…hopefully we do not see anymore of that around here.

Yesterday went well. We woke up, went to the internet café, had breakfast and then went for a swim at the outdoor pool in Cotton Wood. We did a little bit of race pace stuff…felt pretty good. Afterwards we went for a ride on the bike course with some pickups and then an easy run after. I went to the ocean in the afternoon to practice some race starts and exits out of the surf. The waves were pretty big so it is going to be interesting trying to get out of the surf fast during the race.

Late afternoon we had the race meeting at Underwater World. That was pretty cool….we got to check the place out before the meeting started. Lots of neat things there. After the meeting there was a 5km road race on the race course. It was 3 laps and there were some really fast running going on. The winner went 14:22 in a course with eight 180 degree turns and having to dodge loads of people on the 2nd and 3rd laps….fast!

For dinner, Kyle and I cooked up some chicken on the BBQ with some salad, potatoes, and pasta. Good eats. After cleaning up it was lights out.

There is not much going on here to report on. A lot of sitting around watching TV. My bike is in working condition and I am starting to feel rested.

I am off to the Internet Café now to fire off this blog.

Till next time….and these are some pics I took yesterday.

Cotton Wood Swim Pool

Beach where we start our race

Our Hotel

Paul getting eaten at Underwater World

Walk Through Fish Tank

We got to see a couple REAL SHARKS in the tanks!

The rest of the Canadian Boys

Some Fish in the Massive tank with the Sharks

Hanging out

Paul said thats what Fred Flinstone would use for a saw

Pile up

I didn't know Claire was in Australia! Hi Claire!

Another Pic of Claire

This Turtle has a freaky long neck

Some Otters....they like to play follow the leader

The Start of the 5km race

Lounging around and some good eats

2007-03-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am popular...I looked at the last post and already 6 comments on the first one...I am a super star! G&G, I borrowed a wheel from a friend in Victoria....it worked out well.

When you are at a race you usually become really good friends with the television in your hotel room. The TV here is not that great but it passes the time. When we were not in our hotel room the workouts for the day were a 40min run with some efforts, an easy ride and a good swim. We did the run on part of the run course which is going to basically be running up a hill and down the other side and turn around and back up and down. It is on the same part as the bike course….going up and down that hill 16 times (8 laps) and 8 times on the run (4 laps) is going to take its toll.

We did the swim in a 50meter 8 lane outdoor pool….I think that it was called cotton wood swimming pool. It was a really nice pool. They also had a 25meter pool under a canopy to keep shaded.

When putting together my bike yesterday I found out the my big chain ring got bent in transit…had to go find a bike store that could sell me a new one. We found a great store that gave me one for a cheep price since they could not find the real price anywhere…glad I went there! So my bike will be good to go for today’s workout.

Today we have got a workout to do in the pool, then practice some starts and run outs from the ocean. We also have a ride with some pick ups and a easy run. I think the weather is getting a little worse this weekend as they are calling for rain…hopefully it holds off.

Last night Kyle and I went out for dinner at a restaurant across the road from our hotel. The meal was amazing….it was the Aussie BBQ Mongolian night. Basically you filled up your plate with as much stir fry stuff as you can and then they fry it up for you. It was really good and filling. Well worth it.

This weekend in addition to he world cup is going to be a weekend of races. Tonight there is a 5km road race. Tomorrow is going to be a open water swim race and a bike crit. We will go check out the run tonight…should be good.

Nothing else to say…we have a race meeting this afternoon at Underwater World….we will maybe go check that place out before or after the meeting….maybe we get a complementary access.

Bye for now!

PS - Sorry for no pics...I promise tomorrow!

The reincarnation of the BLOG

2007-03-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

I haven’t done this for a while but what people want, people get.

I just finished a two and a half month training camp in Flagstaff, AZ, which is at 7000ft. The purpose of the camp was to train at altitude and get us ready for the upcoming race season. Although it was freezing there, we got some great training in.

Just before I left Flagstaff to come back to Victoria I received a new frame and race wheels. They are wicked nice. But in the flight home on Friday from Arizona to Victoria I opened up my bike bag to find that my rear Zipp 808 was trashed…got all dented and cracked. Got to be more careful next time.

I was in Victoria for 2 days and then I was off to Australia leaving Monday. I made it to Australia with no problems. I did miss my flight in Sydney but I was able to get on the next flight out 30min later and made my shuttle when we arrived in Brisbane to take me to Mooloolaba. I met up with Kyle at the Brisbane airport and the shuttle took us to our hotel about 60min away.

So far Mooloolaba has been awesome. Our hotel is nice, there is a grocery store 2 min away, the race site is right down the road and the ocean is very warm. Kyle and I went for a 30min swim in the ocean yesterday, got some groceries, went for a 30min run and just hung out. There is a lot of surfing in Mooloolaba. Running along the ocean yesterday and there was loads of surfers in the water. Another cool thing that we saw on our run was wild parrots…beautiful colours, just hanging out in the trees. When we went to get groceries we both noticed that most people do not wear shoes here….or shirts for that matter. If they are wearing anything on their feet, then they are all wearing thongs (as in sandals).

There is no internet at the hotel but there is an internet café where I am right now just on the waterfront. There are tons of little cafes and restaurants along the water…all outdoor seating. Tonight we will be going out for dinner to one of them. Last night we just bought a chicken and buns and had that for dinner.

Ill take some pictures and post them up later on. Bye for now.