One last kick at the can

I know I've tried a few times to keep this up to date for friends and family but I certainly haven't done a good job at that.  I will give this one more attempt as I feel I have a bit more inspiration lately for training, racing and life in general. 

I guess I will back track a little bit and bring everyone up to speed on how I got to where I am today.  After starting to race again a little bit last summer I let everything go once again and put on even more weight.  At one point I was 220lbs!  Throughout the second part of the winter though I decided I wanted to race again a little bit this summer so I started doing some light training.  I entered a few local races during the later part of the winter and into the spring just trying to get back into things.
My first tri was North Bay.  I love this race for some reason but I was pretty nervous because I still hadn't lost much weight and wasn't in the best of shape.  It turned out to also be one of the hottest days of the summer being one of probably one 2 or 3 days that got over 30C.  It was a very tough race because of this and I really suffered in the heat but I was very happy being able to win the overall race.
Next up was Belwood where I only did the swim/bike.  Wasn't a great race, got there late so it was a rush to set up and no warm up.  Five minutes to start was announced and I was still trying to get my wetsuit on!  Still won overall in the swim/bike but wasn't what I was looking for.
I then did the Beaton Classic right here in Sudbury.  The event has been running since the early 80's and is unique because you still swim, bike, run but they also add in a canoe between the bike and run.  I've done the race many times but also as part of a relay never solo.  This year I decided though I was going to do it all.  Again I got lucky and it was probably the second day all summer that was over 30C.  I was really happy to be able to win this race even though my run really struggled because of the heat.  After I finished I was pretty dizzy and sick.  Took also 20minutes before I was able to stand on my own with no support.

A week later I raced the tri in St Josheph Island.  Had a really good race here despite going completely off course in the swim.  It was the first race where I actually started to run half decent again.  Again happy to get the overall win.
Thought I would go for 3 wins in 3 weekends and heading down to Parrysound for the triathlon there.  Another really good race but one of the top pro guys showed up and my fitness was just not there to stay with him so I had to settle for 2nd that weekend. 
Some alright results and a fairly big life change that I will speak to in a minute put a boost in my confidence to up my training even more and will be racing my first stand alone half marathon next weekend in Barrie and then my first "big boy" race December 6th in Palm Springs California.  It will be the US HITS Triathlon Series National Championships for the half ironman distance.  My first half ironman since 2009!  Things have been going well though in my preparation as I've been able to lose some more weight and start to put in more miles on the bike and run.  I've also started swimming with the master's team this year for the first time.  The last 8 years or so I've been swimming all on my own and never really could force myself to stay in the pool or lake very long so this will be good for me to have someone coaching me and an actual workout to follow.

The biggest news of all and that's way more important than anything else I've written about so far is a few weeks ago I was contact by someone claiming to be my sister.  First look at her picture pretty much sealed the deal but it was still a pretty big shock.  My sister Kelly was adopted at birth and about a year decided to search for her birth parents.  She found her mom first and then found out her dad had passed away and then found me.  Yes we have the same dad.  We've done a DNA test just to confirm everything and it came back positive that we are without a doubt brother and sister.  It's been great as Kelly lives right here in Sudbury with two great kids and her husband that we've been getting to know.  It's been pretty special to me not having any family and now being able to share that connection back to my dad with someone so special.  This whole thing has really renewed my outlook on life and has just been such a positive experience.

 

North Bay and Firecracker Race Reports

This past weekend I headed over to North Bay on Saturday morning for some coaching at the kids races of the North Bay triathlon weekend.  I had 8 kids from the team make the short trip over and they all did amazing like always!  After about 6 hours of being there I headed over to Josh's house who is a boy from North Bay I coach and who was racing in the adult race the next day.  Josh had just put some new pedals on his bike so for after some good pasta and chicken we headed on the bike for a little trip up the famous Lee's Rd.  After that it was a hot tub, a couple games of pool and then off to bed for an easy morning. 
Josh had a great race and finished 2nd overall among the individuals and I say that because there was also teams and I was participating as a team.  I was of course doing the swim, Charles Dumas from the Sudbury Cycling Club was the biker and Eric Leishman who just ran a 15:40 5km last night at the Firecracker was our runner.  We had a great race with all of us setting individual course records and the overall course record and finishing about 20minutes before anyone else and there were a couple things that prevented us from being even faster!  This looks good as the three of us will be teaming up again for the Beaton along with our secret weapon in the canoe who I've recruited from out of town who is a very fast paddler and this time our goal is to not hold anything back and set another overall course record but this time one that will not be beat!  Should be fun!
After I was done my part of the race on Sunday I quickly got on my bike and still headed out on the course as I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to bike the beautiful and challenging bike course North Bay has to offer!  Probably not the best idea since I was racing a 5km run the next day but I just couldn't pass it up.
On Monday the family headed into Lively for the annual Canada Day Firecracker Run.  First up was Hudson in the 1km!  He finished in a very quick time of just over 9minutes with a big smile on his face.  Then it was my turn...I really didn't know what to expect from my first 5km race after starting to train again.  I knew I would love to be back under 20minutes and I knew from my 3km on the track a couple weeks back it might be doable but this is a fairly challenging run course compared to running on the track!  I started out really strong and felt pretty good and I settled in right behind this one girl who was running really good.  Now I don't run with a watch but I've done enough of these I could tell we were running at a good pace and I started to get excited we might break 20min.  Everything was going good that is until I hit about 1km to go and things really started to hurt and I lost focus for a second and she was gone and there was no running back up to her.  I lost a lot of time in that final km and I felt like I had missed my chance of getting my goal by as I approached the finished I was surprised to see I was going to make it once I saw the clock and finished in 19:47 and 12th overall out of 93 runners.  The girl I was running with finished in 19:18 so it was a little frustrating to know I was on pace for that until that last km but it will come with more time.
Next up this weekend is I'm heading to Milton for Nationals off road triathlon.  Never done one before but I borrowed a bike from my new team mate Charles and as you can see from the picture Hudson say daddy is going to be #1 this weekend!  We'll see about that though...

 

 

Short update

This past week has been very rewarding to say the least.  I've already finished a couple of contracting jobs and have a couple more lined up.  I've always liked working with my hands and building things and that's exactly what I've been doing.  It's been a big change but I couldn't be happier.  Here's a picture of a bathroom I did last week.

On the training side of things I haven't done as much as I would have liked over the past week or so with all the changes but that's to be expected and I'm hoping things will get back to normal on that side of things.  However I am going to North Bay this weekend and will be coaching the kids on Saturday and then racing on Sunday morning.

Also got some great news the other day...Aron who is one of the boys I coach has been selected by Triathlon Ontario to the next stage of qualification for the Canada Summer Games this summer.  Aron started out with just over 20 other guys in Ontario who were trying for one of the 4 spots on the team and that list has now been shortlisted down to only 8.  These are the top 16-19 year olds in the province and Aron is only 16 and just to be named to this list is a huge accomplishment!  Aron will have a huge month ahead of him as he tried to get one of the 4 spots available.

A few updates

It's been a bit of a stressful week with my last day of work being tomorrow.  The good thing is I have a few carpentry jobs lined up over the next couple weeks so I'm going to go with that for now.  If you need anything built though please let me know!!

This past weekend was a busy one with lots of racing happening all over the place!  Devin was down south, Aron was in Winnipeg, Josh was in North Bay.  Everyone had great races but I'd just like to highlight Aron who was racing the first Jr National race of the season and finished 13th!  He had a great race and coming 13th in the country for 16-19 year olds and only being 16 is amazing.  Unfortunately he was just outside of the cut off of the top 8 to make it to the Canada Summer Games but it's nothing to hang your head about.
Myself and a couple others were racing in a swim meet over the weekend at the long course championships and I managed to win the 1500.  Still not a stellar time but I'll take it!
On Tuesday a bunch of us raced in the first Twilight Track meet of the season and I'm really happy with my race as my run has been the one of the three I've been doing the least of trying not to bring back any old injuries until I can get some more of the weight off but I came 4th in the race and I beat my goal time going in by 22 seconds so I was a happy camper!

I know you can't actually see me in the picture but I haven't found any other pictures yet of the race.  You can see about half my head to the right of the girl in the pink socks and I'm running in 5th place at this point and Jordano is in 2nd.

This weekend a bunch of us are off to Leamington for a triathlon however I'm only coaching this weekend and not racing.  Hudson will be doing his second ever triathlon so that will be exciting!  Here's a picture of Hudson the other night all ready to race and giving his best intimidating face :)

Espanola Duathlon and Tomorrow is a new day!

This past weekend we took the short drive over to Espanola for their annual duathlon.  Last year at this race it was a combination of rain and snow and it was very cold!  This year they were calling for rain however it held off for the entire race and the temperature was much better.
On the men's side Devin took the overall win and on the women's side Emmah and Lea went 1-2.  Spencer also won his age group which is great as he gears up for his first race in the Ontario Youth series.
This weekend is another busy weekend with Aron racing in Winnipeg in the first race of the Jr National Series that is also the qualifier for the Canada Summer Games.  Devin is in Binbrook, Josh is racing a 10km in North Bay and Jordano, Connor and myself are in a swim meet here at LU. 

Yesterday was a tough day as I went to ask my boss exactly what day my contract is done in mid August and he informed me that the date had been changed and it is now the end of next week.  That was some pretty tough news to take however today is a new day and I look forward to the new opportunities that lay ahead.  I'm very grateful of the good friends I have who have been so positive and have stepped up in helping us get through this bump in the road.

We've started swimming in lake so that's been fun to get out of the rectangle pool we've been confined to all winter!  Lots of fun was had by all :)

Woodstock Race Recap

This past weekend myself and fours others from the team travelled down to Woodstock for our first race of the season.  We arrived Saturday and went over parts of the course like normal and then headed back to the hotel.  Saturday also happened to be my birthday so I was treated to a very nice dinner at East Side's and a few gifts.  I am very thankful for these great friends as my family was unable to be there this weekend and it made for a great birthday! 
Sunday morning I got to the race site much earlier than I normally do and was one of the very first people there and usually I tend to get there a little bit later as I don't like to wait around and let my mind wonder with everything going on so I got my stuff in transition, got all checked in and then headed back to the truck and had about a 45min nap.  Once I got up pretty much everyone was there and getting ready for their own race so it was perfect timing to start warming up and head down to the start. 
I was only racing the Swim/Bike event as I'm really trying to take my progression back slow to prevent any injuries which I've delt with in the past with three previous stress fractures so I decided to hold off on doing the full tri until the next one.  So started lining up on start line and looked to my left and to my right and right noticed three guys who were going to make the swim interesting to say the least!  There were 3 guys who have swam 16:48, 16:08 and 15:52 in the 1500 in a pool recently so I knew we were in for a FAST swim!!  I knew I wasn't in good enough shape to swim with these guys but I said to myself that I might as well try and go for it and see if I can maybe get on the back of their feet and hold on for dear life.  As soon as we started I could see to my left a few feet over 2 guys going together so I gave it hell and got over to them and actually got behind Derek Quick (15:52).  I figured the other guy just got in behind me and was staying there but after we went around the first turn I noticed that we had opened up a gap.  I really can't tell you how excited I was to be swimming with Derek and that we had opened up this lead and I could tell he was trying to drop me as well as he was going from one side to another and each time I would try and pass he would cut me off so I just sat in on his feet and waited until we got to the shore and I had a good exit of the water and we both crossed the timing mats at the exact same time in 8:50 for the 750m. 
Out onto the bike I was still pushing hard knowing I didn't have to run afterward but I don't really think it mattered as it seemed like I really only have the one speed and I don't think it would have mattered it I was running afterwards or not.  On the way out it seemed like we were moving quite fast and I was pretty happy with it but as soon as I made the turn around it hit me like a pill of bricks!  The wind...I should have known!  The way back seemed like I was barely moving and the constant rolling hills with no real flat sections made it seem that much worse.  Regardless I finished the bike in 34:39 and that included a fairly long run from the timing mats at transition to the mount line and then back after the bike so overall I'm happy with it after almost 3 years off from any training or racing.

Last week I was very fortunate to attend the United Way's GenNext Volunteer Awards as I was receiving an award for the work I've been doing within the sporting community here in Sudbury.  It was truly an honor to receive this award and a big thank you to those who support me and to Lisa and Corrine for the nomination.

Up next is the Espanola Duathlon this Saturday!

Swim Meet Report

That swim meet kicked my butt!  I have an all new appreciation for swimming long course.  I'm pretty sure that was the first time I've swam a LC meet since before going to University so like 9-10 years ago.  All the swim meets I've done since then have all been short course and it was never all that bad going from a 20m pool at the Y to a 25m pool but going from a 20m pool to a 50m pool sure makes a big difference and it didn't take long for me to figure that out!
On the Friday night I had the 1500fr and things didn't start out well when I had 3.5 hours between my warm up and my race and well the warm up was pretty much useless but I really wanted to swim well so I didn't let that affect me mentally.  I went out really hard and probably too hard as I was leading some pretty fast guys from the start until about 500m and then things started to go south from there.  I just couldn't hold that pace an unfortunately these guys could and I think I ended up 4th or 5th with a 18:10 which is about a 17:40 short course time if you were to convert it so it's not horrible but it for sure leaves room for improvement!
That race pretty much did my arms in for the rest of the weekend and non of my races were much of anything after that point with probably my next best swim a 1:07 in the 100fly and even then...

Here is a picture of Hudson from some pictures we had done a couple weeks ago from Westmount Photography.  We really loved the expressions in his face on these!

 

 

There won't be too much happening this week other than getting ready for our friends from Germany who will be arriving on Friday for two weeks and staying with us. 

Thursday I will be receiving my award from the GenNext Volunteer of the Year Award from the United Way in the sports category so we'll probably do a little dinner and then the awards presentation is happening at Cambrian College. 

 

On Sunday was the Sudbury Rock Run here in Sudbury and Lea did a great job organizing it again this year and we had several people from the team running in the 5km and Devin ran the 1/2 marathon in 1:15 and considering it was below 0C and snowing and very windy that's a really strong time.  Jordano was in Ottawa competing in a duathlon and was 2nd overall and Isabella was at the same swim meet as I was and got another Provincial time so our team had a very good weekend!

So I decided there was one or two races this year I wanted to do but I would need my Elite card in order to participate in these races so on Monday this week I sent in my application.  I heard back today that my application was successful so for the 2013 season after a couple years off I will be competing again as an Elite.  This doesn't change anything from my earlier post of about my goals and objectives for this year as my main focus is still just on having fun, enjoying the sport and seeing where it takes me.  I may even play the role of domestique for a couple of the boys I coach and help set them up where they need to be coming off the bike.

Since we moved into our new house only 2 weeks before Christmas we really didn't know what to expect as far as what's under the snow so just now within the past day or two almost all the snow is gone around our place and it's been really exciting getting to see everything and start to work at getting things cleaned up and start exploring our property even though I did do a bit of that through the snow this winter.  I've learned that there is a little lake at the back of our property and it is full of pickerel so I'm really excited to find it and do some fishing there and maybe bring the canoe in.

Training has been going pretty good as well as of late.  Swimming is feeling fairly strong and I'm excited for the swim meet that is coming up in a week and a half!  The biggest surprise has been my cycling though with how strong I've been and a couple people mentioning that they've noticed as well.  All good things so just need to keep working away and hopefully it will all fall into place.

I have to say a huge Thank You to Cast Construction Inc. for their generous donation of $500 towards the Northern Ontario Triathlon Squad.  We've started sending out some sponsorship letter to some businesses around town in hopes of raising some money that will help the athletes on the team who are working very hard and will be putting in a lot of travel this year getting to races all over the World!
This Saturday we're having a team yard sale to also try and raise a bit of money for the team.  Sunday I have to go over to our old house because when we moved the ground was frozen so I couldn't take the play house I built Hudson so I'm going back on Sunday to take it apart and bring it over to the new house and I'll have to find a new home for it.  If anyone wants to help please come on over because this thing is a beast!