A quick meal

Dinner last night. Really simple: chicken breast, pruscuitto, cherry tomatoes, olives, red pepper, garlic, spinach, asparagus - all cooked in one pan together.

Making quick and simple meals with lots of flavour is so easy to do!







This is the view I woke up to Sunday morning. Looking East-South-East over Victoria. Beautiful morning sunrise.

Great people, great vision

Yesterday ended up being a bit of a long day. I made the trek over to Vancouver in the morning to spend some time with friends, and attend a meeting that Speed Theory Vancouver was having with athletes for partnership opportunities. These people range from triathletes to road cyclists. People that compete on a pro level and as amateurs. The goal is to create a symbiotic relationship where the store and athletes support one-another, partly through a forum where we can all connect.

I'm really lucky and happy to be part of the Speed Theory gang again for another year. They have a fantastic vision for the next year, and it is really cool to see the store evolve into being so much more involved in the community (it alway has been!). They not only support individuals, but a number of prominent groups in the Vancouver area receive the same unwaivering support. I honestly have not encountered another place like it.

I am finding that my head space is in a really really good place right now. This entire year has made me so much stronger mentally and has made the process of training so much more enjoyable. The guys I train with are great, and their energy and drive makes me want more! It's a good thing since this time of year is likely to be the toughest to push through, with all the wind, rain and darkness. The great thing about Victoria, as I was saying to Jairus today, is that regardless if it is raining or not, the wind blows it right through. Today is a great example. Awesome place to be!!

Time to leave with a song. Haven't listened to Tom Petty for a while, but I heard this one again and thought it was appropriate:

I think I've been here before...

Last night I watched the final hours of Ironman Hawaii with Noa and Andrew and was blown away by the performances of those pros. Amazing, just amazing. Just a mention for Mike Neill and Jasper Blake who both made it to Kona this year, which in itself is such a huge accomplishment!

A suggestion came up about getting pizza. There was no more talk for a few minutes and then it was brought up again. So we ordered in. Perfect pre-race food. The Joint on Warf Street is awesome. They make wheat-free pizzas - so hard to resist!

So this morning I woke up at 5:15am. The alarm went off. I didn't just hit snooze, I turned it off. Good thing I had it set for 5:20 and 5:25 too - it seems I know myself too well. Everybody has been in the position where they are lying in bed, eyes open, thinking 'I'm not getting up' but then questioning their reasoning. This morning was one of those days. I knew that if I didn't get up then I wouldn't be able to get food in before the run, which probably wouldn't turn out too well. But I really didn't want to get up! Threw on the stereo and turned it up - it's a good thing I don't have neighbours below me yet. Got dressed, relaxed, and headed out the door at 6ish. Because I am so close to downtown I ended up walking in. Still felt good, relaxed, really really cold, 'damn I wish I'd brought gloves'. Got warmed up to wait in line for the bathroom. Pushed my way through all the people that were lined up at the start - I was pushing it for time - and got to the front.

First km I went out way too hard - when I saw the people beside me and in front of me I thought 'oh crap'. It felt good, but I knew I would pay for it. The problem was that Simon was right beside me and there were maybe 10 guys in front so I couldn't very well drop back. Simon was cruising! Made it look so easy. From about 2km onwards I slowed and got passed and felt like my lungs were burning. Finished with a 4-min pb over my last 8k in January (really though, it wasn't exactly much of a time to beat...), and got a pb through 5k over my last 5k in July. I was like 9th in my A/G and 24th overall - don't think I'll crack that top 5 A/G spot for some time....one day, though! Just a bit more work...

What did I learn...? It seems that every race/experience I do or have leads me to the same question. That's because I learn something new EVERY time. This time I went in really relaxed, on top of nutrition, and with a greater confidence in my ability. I came out realising that I need to figure out pacing (something I know is terrible). If I had paced better through the first 2k I would have run faster.

This is coming off almost a month of time off and easier training loads. Everything is slowly moving in the right direction! And, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Lunaracers!!! I have been running in them since July and they are AWESOME!

Time to make some pie!

Change is good!

New things are happening, life is good.

Change is GREAT!

I am headed back to UVic in January to start my pursuit of a physical therapy degree. For now, I need to get all the pre-requisites done for the application, since a geology degree just doesn't cut it when anatomy and physiology are concerned. Well, my application has already started... I have to bank 70 or more hours of volunteer or paid work in that field and I have found a physiotherapist (with 100% of the help and work being done by Noa...thanks coach! :D ) that will let me shadow her! Things are slowly falling into place and it is really exciting!!

Jairus and I went for a 1-loop run around Elk and Beaver lakes this afternoon which ended up being really informative for me. Not sure how much I contributed to the conversation, but Jairus put a lot of things into perspective and made some things make sense when it comes to running. Not being a runner, I find it hard to feel what I need to change, where with swimming I can feel things. I know when I am swimming like crap, I can feel it. I can feel what I need to change (whether I do or not is another story...), but running is totally foreign to me. Anyway, it is good to start running with people. The time goes by so fast, plus I have been trying to shy away from running with music since you don't race with music. Time to log the miles!

Tried making wheat free pumpkin pies last night... Buckwheat flour is not the best thing to use, at least as a third of the flour mixture. It turned out kinda like cardboard. The filling was fine - not really too hard to mess that up! Will have to play around with it a bit more. If anybody has good wheat-free recipes let me know! I am always looking for something different.

Jairus's roommate is apparently pretty darn good with mixing and creating music! Check him and his music out at his myspace page (for those that like to get into the dance groove....you know you wanna):

http://www.myspace.com/djlmkw

Strength

I borrowed this from a friend but I had to share...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jeOguqNIAo

Couldn't embed it into the blog, but click on the link.

Be Strong.

a sense of understanding

Initially I started blogging to tell friends and family of my journey through training. It has quickly evolved into more than that. It has become a place to vent when I need to talk to somebody, anybody. A place to stay connected with the triathlon community. Then there is the way I am feeling right now, which I have to put into words.

Being misunderstood is one of the worst things. Why is that? When you are always trying to make sure people are happy and please them and then are told that you aren't a good person (not in so many words), it cuts really deep. I apparently get pretty upset when this happens(that sounds pretty sad, I know, but this is where I'm at). Placing confidence and trust in somebody is hard enough as it is. So, do you go and try and change a person's opinion of you or do you move on knowing that they think of you in such a bad way? I say you do the former... Just writing down my thoughts here helps me express myself.

On a less intense and slightly (but not hugely) comical note, the person that parks beside me in the secure underground parking garage to my building had their sports car stolen yesterday... Comical only because it is so absurd, but really quite incredible that somebody would have the balls to do it. I don't think it helped that he had his windows rolled all the way down and his fob for all 4 gates in the underground parking garage sitting in his car...

I wish they had taken mine (oh and you know the keys are in the ignition and the driver's door is wide open... )! :P

Thrills

The end of one week, the beginning of another...

I want that thrill of racing to come around soon. Next weekend is the kick-off of a few months of running focus with racing almost every to every other weekend locally and in Vancouver. I'm stoked. Not sure on how well I will do next weekend, but it will be better than the last 8k I did this year and that is all that matters at this point. Time to get out there, put in the miles, have fun, and above all stay injury-free!

Today was amazing! The sun was shining bright without the interuption of a cloud in the sky, from the moment I opened my eyes right through the entire day. I had a relaxed and fun trail run through Mount Doug park this morning and it felt pretty good. Normally I don't venture too far off the beaten track but this time I got totally lost and ended up finding myself staring down at a decent drop off the rocks. Good fun. An easy bike ended the day of training, followed by a long but well-worth-it wait at Cafe Fantastico, down at Dockside.

It's late. I'm not tired. The jetlag is still playing havoc with my body clock. I should at least go try sleep....or watch Borat...

Later

"You can't hit a home run unless you step up to the plate"

Lazy Days

To say this week has been slow is an understatement. Trying to hold back and just relax is hard! The lack of structure and regimen has been good, I can't lie about that. I have at least found some things to keep me busy in the apartment. Pictures and photos are slowly taking their place on the walls and the corner of excess is starting to diminish in size.

So, to keep myself somewhat busy I have been searching for things to do in Victoria when the weather is bad (ie winter) and when I have lots of time to kill. Come January I will be at UVic so finding things to do will not be an issue, but for now... There is an indoor climbing gym not 1km from my place and I had NO IDEA until tonight. It is now on my very short list of things to do.

Tomorrow is an entire day off. Maybe a bit of team bonding is in order?