"Show me the Power"

A couple quick excerpts from my journal before I hit the hay.

Today I was reminded of a favorite memory from my UofG experience.

Every day after our morning training session we would walk out of the athletics centre and take a deep full breath of the day to come. We were happy with our accomplishments so far, and ready for more. Having triumphantly conquered what was usually an epic strength workout, walking along the cobble stone one of us would pipe up with something to the extent of, "Today will be a great day." The response would always be "You know what, today is a great day."

Quietly we pause to experience the conscious thought, the moment, and prepare ourselves for the rest of our great day. That's all it took. At any point during the day we could think back to that moment, preparation, and we were again filled with the energy we felt at that time.

This brings me to my next thought which asks the question, "Where does your energy come from?" Being the "science minded, HK'er," the first time I thought about this my conditioned response was: "well essentially energy comes from the release of a phosphate molecule from ATP." (lame, I know)

But energy comes from other places as well. Think about the change in your physical energy when you change your thoughts. Just as we prepared for at the beginning of each day walking out of the AC.

I'll leave it at that and let you ponder where your energy comes from.

One more technical matter. Today I was watching some PCS swimmers and I saw the double breathe... U G l y. Sooooo in conclusion, that's never going to happen again.

Pie in the Sky

My favorite food is leftovers. 100% Guaranteed, every time, no questions asked, always.

It doesn't matter the time of year, the time of day, what I've been eating lately, what I feel like eating, or even what it is. Up to a certain point it really doesn't matter how long it's been sitting in the fridge either, and the freezer solves this problem completely.

The thing about leftovers is that you can enjoy a meal you put some time into, day after day. You can also use leftovers to start something new, like soup, a stew, or just more flavor in a "dirty" pan. Another added bonus is that you can heat up pretty much anything in a frying pan with a little olive oil.

Leftovers are where it's at.

Today's diet:

Pre-swim: yoghurt, apple, handful of almonds.

Post swim: VEGA with Youth Juice and Antioxidant blend.

Official Breakfast: Leftover Shepherds pie

Lunch: Leftover Shepherds pie

Pre bike: Leftover Shepherds pie

Post bike/pre-run: Banana

Post run: Banana

Dinner: Leftover Shepherds pie.

Dinner #2: not sure yet 'cause there's no shepherds pie left.

skills for skilshaw

Crunch time. Next cyclocross race is in 1 week and it's officially time to learn the skills.

Practice session yesterday at Clarmont was decent. It seems to me like the faster and more aggressive you are going into any technical section, the better it goes. Just throw yourself into it head first, eyes open, ready to have a good time.





























Our swim in the afternoon was a good opportunity to stretch out the arms and legs after Saturday's effort. Today is devoted to sleeping, eating, laundry, and my mistress across the street....O'Brec.

Made it.

Well, yesterday's biggest accomplishment was making it to the washroom after the race. That was my mind set and focus for the last 4k. Once I got home I was king of the throne in the white room for the rest of the evening. Enough said. If you're interested, race results are at www.raceday.ca.

Today we had a spectacular sunrise. I made it onto the roof just in time to catch a good glimpse.

As I was just throwing on the clown suit for today's cyclocross ride I had a strong gut feeling (different from yesterday's) that this is going to be a great year. You know when you're just sure of something... well that was the feeling.

Time to hit the trails with Papaya, my trusty steed.

Hot ... Cold

Today I had the pleasure of participating in a heat chamber time trial at UVic. Most of the stats are hidden from the athletes participating in order to keep it "blind." Here's what I was able to figure out from today's TT:

Temperature - 25 C
Humidity - 60 % (Not supposed to know these, but it was fairly obvious)

We couldn't see speed, time, Heart Rate, power, or cadence but, I could see the distance traveled. Three hours earlier I had swallowed a pill which measures core body temperature. This was unknown to me, but monitored by the experimenters.

My strategy was go out hard and get right into the race. After all it's only 20Km, and will be over quickly. Every 2K I got out of the saddle and pumped the legs as if there were a hill, just to keep things interesting.

I was in a good rhythm, going hard with 5K to go. I thought, "Ok, start thinking about picking it up, then with 2K left, sprint for the line."

At 18.5Km I was told, "Stephen, time to stop." My core temperature was 39.5 +. I have a feeling athletes routinely get their temperature this high during hard work, but in Canada, this is the ethical limit for studies. Too bad because I was almost finished.

I threw on the ice vest and spun on the bike for 20 minutes, then hopped in the ice tank for 10. 8 degrees is COLD! These techniques are used for recovery, leaving me ready to rock for BC XC Champs tomorrow.

Swim this morning included some new challenging drills I will describe later.

Other news is that Papaya got a major makeover yesterday. She has new cables, housing, brake pads and rides better than ever. I can't wait for cross riding thisSunday, and racing next weekend up in Nanaimo.

The Weekend on the Rocks recording of Dave Matthews Band playing #41 is soo chill. Definitely one of the best.

Soleed Ruben, Soleed.

I like these colours.

On Tuesday I brought the camera along with me for the ride. It's possible to take some pretty good shots without even stopping to get off you bike. That probably speaks to the amazing scenery in and around Victoria, instead of my photographic prowess.

Of all the 1000's of hours I have spent staring across the water at Mt. Baker. Tuesday had to be one of the clearest. You can see the entire mountain range.

(click to enlarge)




There is nothing quite like the early afternoon sun on an Autumn day. Reminds me of mid afternoon naps in the sun. I'm actually part cat; don't worry about it.









Another favorite part of Fall are the wet leaves on the ground. This makes it easy to drift corners on the bike...

This picture of the goose reminds me of Elk lake. If you get the opportunity, take a look at the Hamsterly Beach from the Beaver Lake end. The lake is lined with colorful deciduous trees with a layer of green pine trees above. You might see a blue sky above that.

Pretty sweet, but you definitely need to be there.

Maybe a cross ride is in order. Then I can bring the camera.

Today's run was at the lakes. We did a little Fartlek, again as prep for Saturdays effort. The second 1/2 felt much better than the first. Warm up is important.

Cool down was a little exaggerated with a 10minute icing in the lake. Nice.

Run like the Gazelle.

Choices

This morning, just like every morning, I was presented with a few choices.

One of the seemingly simple choices was how to react to time split I was given. I'll be perfectly honest. I chose to be a little rattled and closed off my Self, and my mind. Not much can be accomplished in this mindset, let me assure you. Fortunately for me, the practice was just about complete.

When I walked out of the pool I looked up and saw nothing but blue sky. I took a deep breath of fresh, clean, crisp fall air, and surrendered, allowing the recently closed window in my head to open. The fresh air rushed in, clearing out some dusty cobwebs on the way. One deep breath and my day changed.

Yesterday was a double swim day followed by some Yoga, Hatha style.

There is lots of work to be done these days at OB Rec. It's great; I like to be busy.

Training updates and some pictures will follow. Now it's time to follow up this talk with some walk, or in my case ... run.

Rest

Today was a great day.

Let's start with the highlight. Just like I was saying last week, I work with Tepi in the gym in the evening. She is definitely an incredibly inspirational person. Today she finished off the workout with 10012m of rowing!!! in 1:05:12. Sweet. Everyone we told in the gym was so pumped about it. The energy was awesome, and you could feel the glowing light resonating with everyone she told about it. Truly awesome.

Briefly on training as it's getting late.
During the swim I was reminded of a quote a friend of mine back in Guelph came up with. "I don't need to rest, I can rest when I'm in the ground." -MW. This gave me a laugh as I was finishing off the kick sets, just barely making the pace time. The key here being that I was making the pace time... no need for rest, just get right into the next set.

It was so sunny today. I had a great ride of the waterfront. Mt. Baker was as clear as I have ever seen it. I could even count the trees on the Olympic mountains.

Today's run felt great. We did a little prep on the course for this weekends run. I didn't really feel like I was working while running today. I was there and it just happened.


pleasant dreams.

"The Human House"

Today I was reading a book on Vermont Folk Medicine. It was published in the '30s so you know it's got to be legit. One of the reoccurring themes was that of "The Human House," referring to our bodies. I like this term. I have thought about it before, from different perspectives, and this description seems to fit quite well.

The idea that we are living in our bodies, or that our body is like a sacred temple in which we are the King, Queen, or Master of all Masters, is surly thought provoking. We are the only ones who can build this temple and we are the only ones who will ever live in the temple. Only we can look out the windows and appreciate the view from within.

We get to choose what kind of stones to use where. We can even decide what we want in each room, if anything at all. This is our sacred temple.

The metaphor can go on and on. You can decide what it means to you, and how far you wish to take it.

Today was a light training day, as Mondays generally are. Easy swim in the morning, with a run in the afternoon.

Some of the most amazing things about living are the challenges we face every day. It's great. Each challenge, no matter what it is, presents an opportunity for growth.

Now I must leave, as the corn bread is smells ready. It's an SPK original with cinnamon and raisins.

2 Q's

Who are you listening to?

Who are you answering to?

Hop back on the train.

Lets re-cap the past 48ish hours.

Running on Thursday took some of the stink out of me. I took the rest of Thursday easy and hit the hay early. Friday morning I realized I could have done with an even earlier bed time.

There is absolutely no limit on the value of good sleep. Good quality sleep is always a great use of time. If ever possible, turn of the lights and go to sleep sooner! It is worth it.

Friday morning we had a 200TT in the pool. My body was feeling slow. No problemo, just remember not to resist the water. I still have this lingering cough too. It tends to rear it's face in the early morning. I imagine probably due to the supine sleep position.

I went out in a 1:10 which felt like a 1:30 (but hard), and came back in a 1:26 which felt like 2:00. OUCH! Not a representation of even my current swimming. After practice was finished I lined up for another shot at it. Out in a 1:12, back in a 1:19. A little better, but still... OUCH! I really wanted to do it again right there.

This is where I have to say, "Hop back on the train." Monday is the day. I have been dancing with this cold for 2 1/2 weeks now. My energy levels are still fairly decent, but when you need that good STINK to crest a plateau, sometimes it's harder with a bug in the system. And that is why Monday is the day when I am back on the tracks, bug free. Actually, nuts to that. Why wait until Monday? Tomorrow is the day.

After swimming I had a couple hours of work at Oak Bay, and time for a quick bite of lunch. Then I was up to UVic for a VO2 test. Sawweeeeeeet. My goal was to crack the 500 Watt mark on the bike. The trial is part of a PacSport study so I wont know my anthro or VO2 data for a couple weeks (patience is a great thing to practice). I do know, however, that I didn't quite make it up to 500 Watts. I closed my eyes at about 450 and hyperventilation started shortly thereafter. I am 100% positive I could make it to 500 on Monday morning.

After the VO2 Scotty, Andrew, Sharpie, and I played an EPIC match of Basket Ball at Lochside in the rain. That was a huge amount of fun. Definitely a must do again soon.

Aussie burger with fries at Canoe was pretty tasty. I am a big fan of beets.

Camping in the rain... yeah, that's right. We found a flat somewhat dry place to sleep and got a fire started. No white gas necessary, just good ol' fashioned shavings do the trick every time.

We started a strength training program before swimming this morning. I'm super stoked for this and can't wait to get pumped arms, ripped abs, and a chiseled body, like the cool people on TV.

Tomorrow the forecast is for trace rain. Cyclocross!

Thank You

Thank you to the World.

Thank you to the trees, birds, sky, wind, oceans, lakes, rivers, and mountains.
Thank you to the Eagle, the Deer, the Rabbit, the Cheetah, the Bear, and the Blue Whale.
Thank you to everything which enjoys The Breath.
Thank you to the People and the Places.
Thank you to all the past memories, and all the new ones to be created.
Thank you to the rocks, the minerals, and every finest most minute perfect part of all that is.

Thank you for being here, being there, and being me.

I am now Twenty three.

Dessert

I traveled to meet some old friends today. We exchanged gifts and threw on some fresh kindling.

Fire's burning,
Energies churning,
Answered the call,
Because the soul is yearning.

This is definitely the best bonfire dessert, roast banana. The only trick is that you need to flip the banana half way through the roasting process otherwise one end cooks way faster.

The pot in the top right corner was full of the most delicious stew made by chef G-man. We need to do another one of these trips. Now that the weather is becoming exciting, this would be an awesome time for the beach.

Today's training was pretty good. It took me a little while to get into the zone for the swim. I was pushing the river a little bit too. Remember, what you resist will persist. Just hop in the river and feel the flow.

During this afternoon's run there was a little GI distress happening. I'm not really sure what that was from, but certainly glad it's gone away now.

I have lots more writing down of today's thoughts for this evening. So now, it's journal time.

In the mean time, listen to some good music tonight and have a restful sleep.

Rattatatta taattaattaat,

This is where it's at.

Do you ever find yourself thinking, "this here, right now, this is where I am meant to be." That is just what I felt today at the beginning of swim #2. Right now I am meant to be in the water.

The double swim is great. It's not really a heavy load on the body, and I can tell the benefits are huge. Just by spending that extra time swimming, I notice a difference in how my stroke feels in the water. It's almost like you're already warmed up when you jump in. There isn't that need to quickly relearn and remember what it is you are working on. You can make progress from where you left off in the morning, taking further steps than possible in just a couple morning hours.

This afternoon we did an underwater swimming drill where we needed to streamline off the wall for 20m, experimenting with head position. I have been told that head position is important; today I felt why. The difference in resistance is massive. Swimming with your head just a bit above the arms is like throwing out a drag chute. No need to pull one of those around.

In the morning we had a decent 1200m kick set, for a total of 1700 this morning. Strangely enough I generally feel better as kick sets progress. I think it's just a matter of the body becoming more efficient once it realizes it will be kicking for a while. PK told us of an epic 4 x 800m descending kick set, where the last 800 needed to be faster than the first three, otherwise you get to make it an even 4k. Sweetness. I hope we get to rock that one this year, only the penalty for not descending will be 10 x the observatory. I'm serious. Then we can go do 10x the observatory anyways.

400TT tomorrow. wickedness. It's been written, now make it so.

Today I busted out more of "The Arsenal." One full head of garlic, roasted with olive oil of course. Fortunately I don't think anybody noticed.

Tonight I will break out a needle and thread for the speedo. That hole is getting a little out of hand.

Windy.

Short post this evening because it's almost time to catch a little shut eye.

Great day today swimming, and running. I also spent some more time getting to know Papaya.

On Tuesday evenings I work in the gym with a visually impaired lady. We generally start with the Treadmill, move on to Elliptical, sometimes a little Rowing, and then weights. These sessions are really enjoyable. There is so much to learn from everything and everyone around us.

I was starting to fatigue towards the end of my shift as it was the end of a fun filled day. Then I ran into a friend I have known since Grade 2. Some people just exude energy. Something about being around them just fills you with energy no matter where you are, or what you are doing.

Amazing.

Today smelt good.

I woke up this morning to some nice fog which smelt like the sea. The good sea smell: kinda salty, a little bit like those long seaweed tube things, some old waterlogged cedar driftwood smell, slight wet dog smell, and of course the distinct smell of seagulls.

That's got to be one of the best ways to start the day. A good wiff of sea air.

Swimming this morning was a decent 5k technical. It is amazing how after just one day off swimming it takes much longer to get the feel back. However, it's really almost 48 hours out of the water from Saturday morning to Monday morning.

The training lesson today was this: It doesn't really matter if you don't feel great in the water right now, because you are going to feel great soon enough, probably within the next km or so. In the mean time, ENJOY the fact that you are paving those swimming neural pathways so they can handle the winter traffic and weather. Soon they will be super highways with magnetic trains and flying cars. Sweet.
"It's all about this stroke, now it's about this stroke, make this one even better, and this one better still."

I met with a new PT client today. I have a feeling there's going to be some solid progressions made by December.

I finished the day with a short walk which smelt like Halloween. I guess it wasn't really the true Halloween smell; it was more just the late October smell. The Halloween smell would have to include pumpkin guts with salted roasted seeds (tasty), melted cheap milk chocolate(nasty), zippo fuel, and gunpowder from the fire crackers.

This evening's smell was that of leaves decomposing, fallen apples, mixed with a crispy air.

That's got to be one of the best ways to finish the day. A good wiff of fall air.

Cyclocross is wicked cool.

Saturday AM.
Swim short course. This was a great swim for me, mainly because I got worked over. The lead up set was 50 back, 75 free x 10 on one minute. No problem there. Then, the next bit of work was 75 bk/fr/bk on 1:15, 100fr on 1:15 x 7. The first couple were decent. I think I even got a little bit of rest. Luxury indeed. Then as the set progressed it turned into a continuous swim. Just hang in there.
I could have done the set on 1:20 and it would have been good work. I would have made the time no problem, had some rest, and in some views "done it properly." (side note here... thanks to my bro scotty for swimming around me.)

I think it's important to do things you think are out of your comfort zone. Beyond that too, even above your present ability. Because really, one of two things will happen. You will either surprise yourself and do it. Great, good for you, now you need a bigger envelope.... Or, you will not do it. But, in the process you will learn what it means to perform at that level. You are teaching your physical body what it means to do it. You are preparing your mental body to do it. You are coaching your emotional body to have the courage. Your spiritual body just gets stronger.

I'm going to skip a bit and talk about today's cyclocross race because it fits in here. One of the expert riders was telling me that he finds no matter what group he rides with in a cross race, it feels hard. That is, whether he is riding fast with the leaders, or slower with another group. Basically the moral is your body will rise to the occasion. It will do what you ask of it. Speed, Time... these things are irrelevant.

I found the same thing this morning. Starting out at the back of the pack, "ok this is kinda hard, but I'm going to ride with the group up ahead." Then once you're with that pack it's exactly the same thing, "ok this is kinda hard, but I'm going to ride with the group up ahead." Eventually here you are with the leaders, then you've reached the plateau. Remember rule #1: A plateau is not a limit, it's just a plateau. There are no limits, only plateaus. This is where you need to be conscious of yourSelf, and in this case: ride.

Here's a brief summary of the race:
It was a blast. I raced the intermediate division, came third and was named the most aggressive rider.

We started in a couple lines. I was at the back to begin with because of not having raced before. No biggie. I just got a feel for the race for the 1st two or so laps. After that I started moving up from one group to the next. I think I went from 14th, to 10th, to 6th, to 3rd. I was reeling in 1st and 2nd place and got within 7 or 8 seconds of second. Then the race was over, so I'll settle for 3rd this time.

Technically the race was pretty cool. There were a couple sections where we needed to get off the bike to run up a steep sandy hill and through some gravel. Then a single step which I needed to dismount for, but others were able to easily hop it. A little more practice and I'll have that down. There were also 2 decent sized mud pits we went through on each lap. The bike has officially been broken in.

I almost ate it on one a couple corners and some downhills a couple times, but managed to stay on the bike. You definitely learn pretty quickly to shift the weight around and take corners in the drops!

Now, back to Saturday afternoon where we had a sweet cross ride at Beacon Hill. There are lots of lessons learned these days. Maybe not all new lessons, but definitely more examples of the same thing happening again, and again... or maybe now I am just noticing things more clearly....let's call these "lessons" positive reinforcements.

Just be conscious of these things, and stay in the moment. Stay on YOUR path, Focus and Enjoy.

My new bike's name is Papaya.

Great day. There's still a little bit of this cough lingering around, but it's no biggie. Just taking it's time to make sure all the pipes are clean and ready for some good fall training.

100TT today in the pool. I went out in a 31, back in 34 to make a 1:05:1. All that needs to be said is next 100TT will be 1:02:02. Maktub! The rest of the swim was decent: 4 x 500swim, 100kick and a cool down. Feel the flow.

Scotty and I made some a more progress with the Run/Walk for the Homeless and got some ideas down for what will be a solid training camp this November.

Time for base run ... 56 minutes. Running workouts are really going by fast these days. Today was short, but still, it seemed over before it started.

Back at home I saw the cross bike staring at me. It said, "Come on just a short ride." So, I caved and took Papaya for a tour of the rocks at Cattle Point through Uplands Park. This is going to be a FUN Winter of riding.

I like this quote:

"Dream the Dreams that have never been Dreamt." - David Bower

The universe is an amazing place that will provide all. Be your dream.

Dummied! x 2

Great day today. I've got a couple funny stories too.

Let's begin with the pre-swim core session led by PK. Solid core session, I'll be feeling it tomorrow. I felt a little sloppy at the beginning of the swim as the abs were a little tired. Just a little more focus in that direction and all is good. Catch and Rotate!

Now apres swim stretch and I will make a long story short. The Waveside Cafe above the pool has the best muffins in town, bar none. Basically I was fooled by Bill (one of the dudes who works at the pool) into eating a muffin that PK had bought for himself while PK was on the phone. Good laugh, and with all the commotion plates are dropping, the till register doesn't work and everything is happening at once. The essence of funnyness. You kinda had to be there. Dummied x1

Then we checked out what could be new team coats from Frontrunners. I thought the Craft ones look pretty sweet. Definitely warm too.

Then Personal Training at OBRec. I put today's client through a fairly challenging lower body workout. I think it was thoroughly enjoyed. Time for meetings with 2 more clients and then lunch.

Nap time. (cut short due to construction next door, but it's all good 'cause I felt rested)

Stop by Oak Bay Bikes... New Cyclocross Bike! Norco CCX2, or something like that. The most important things are #1: it's orange, and #2: It's going to be a wicked winter bike which will allow me to hit up some trails. Maybe race this weekend up in Duncan! Time to get strong! We're also looking into new race bikes for next year. Right now I'm toying with the idea of the new Specialized Transition. No details yet, as we're definitely in the preliminary stages here...

Run practice where we nailed some hard tempo at Cedar Hill. One loop w/u. 15 minutes as 5Tempo, 5Hard Tempo, 5 Harder Tempo. 6 x 75 m strides. 5 x 1:15 Hill Repeats Fartlek style. Drills. Cool Down Loop. Stretch. MAN, IT FEELS GOOD TO BE DOING SOME REAL RUNNING AGAIN!!

Now to make an even longer story even shorter:

Apres Run...
"Where are my keys?" .... after careful inspection in and around the car... "Not here."
"Can I please get a ride home?"
"Can I please borrow your car pick up the spare set from my Gran's house?"
"Can you please drive with me out to Gran's house and drive back the other car once I get the keys?"
"Can I please borrow the spare set of keys?"

Now, back at Cedar Hill...
Another look for the keys and there they are sitting in the suspension system of the front driver side wheel..... Don't ask. Dummied x 2

Now I sleep.

Scientific Method ... Nuts to that.

Yesterday I decided to stop at nothing to put an end to the bug. So, I basically threw every herbal / food remedy I could think of on a list and tried them all together in one day.

The result: Success! However, I have no idea what it was that made the difference. It could have simply been just one more days rest and the extra sleep. Or, maybe it was all that garlic. I imagine it was a combination of things. Either way I'm feeling much better and had 2 good swim practices today.

Thankfully there was no TT today as I'm getting back into it after two days in bed. The morning swim was all about kick, and the afternoon was all about catching good water and holding good form.

Now that we're back in business, I'm looking forward to picking up where I left off with all the exciting progressions.

It's list time...

The Arsenal

1 Bottle Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Raw Head of Garlic
1/2 Bottle of Tabasco Sauce
2 Boiled Onions
8 Cups Lemon & Honey
Hippie Underpants Tea

Today So far:
17 hours Sleep
2 Hot Baths
Zheng Gu Shui
Ginseng Royal Jelly
Lemon & Honey
Elk (mmm tasty protein)

Work then bed...

Deliciousness

The Theme: Wild Game

The Stars of the Show: Elk, Venison, Goose, and Rainbow Trout
The Result: Deliciousness

Last night we had our Family Thanksgiving dinner. I always enjoy spending time with the family. It's a good time to feel grounded with people you've known your whole life. We still have a "kid's table" where my cousins, brother, and I sit and laugh. Awesome. Like I said before, things really haven't changed since I was 8. I still like riding bikes in the rain and eat at the "kid's" table.

As far as training goes, I was still a little bit under the weather yesterday morning. So, I opted for extra sleep and did an OYO swim in the afternoon before heading out to dinner. I felt SLOW for the 1st couple hundred meters. By the time I got through the 1st 1500 I was feeling great! and really happy to be in water swimming. It was nice to swim at my own pace for an entire drill/swim set, where I could focus entirely on my stroke and not the clock.

4K later it was time for a really quick shower and off to dinner.

This morning I busted out the big guns to shed the bug. Gargle with Tabasco Sauce, and chew on a clove of garlic. mmmm garlic.









Thanks for being there last night.

Quickie

Let's go ride bikes in the rain! Things really haven't changed much since I was 8.

Today's ride was EEEEZZZZ which was just what the doctor ordered. I had a good time chasing down one sprint from the breakwater to mile 0. I found myself halfway in between the leader, A-the man-MacDaddy-McCartney, and the rest of the group. I had to use both hands to get into my big ring because my fingers were too cold to do it single handedly. "Alright, now your locked in, may as well go for it!" It was too sweet a day to pass up the chance for a sprint...

After the bike I hit the hot tub / steam room to try and sweat out any remainder of this bug. Dude, those places are gross! The only time I will go in the hot tub or steam room is if I feel I'm grosser than the place, thus by diffusion of grossness particles, I become less gross in the process. Today, after a mucussy, wet, dirty, coldish (but still sweet) ride I was bordering on grosser than the steam room. So, I gave 'er a whirl.

Back home to bed for another two and a half hour nap. I had some entertaining reading this afternoon, and then watched the Canucks game. Tomorrow I'll run in the AM, and if I'm feeling up for it, a swim in the afternoon. Then it's Elk Eating with Family Kilshaw.

Here's a retro Fall Training Camp picture from 2005. That was a camp with memories. Dude, We's Strong Like OX! How's about hill intervals for the next 75 minutes.... let's make it 90. ...how about 120...Yeah!

T - 2 Sleeps

I think that one of the secrets to training, racing, and life as a whole is to simply Take Care of Your Self. I would like go into this more, but I'll save it for an earlier evening or possibly afternoon post.

Thanksgiving is indeed my favourite holiday of the Year. There are absolutely no expectations surrounding Thanksgiving. It's simply about being thankful for all that we have. What do we do for the Thanksgiving holiday? We visit our family and friends! We share delicious food. We go for walks, appreciate Autumn Colours, and the beautiful world we live in.

It's really the best part of every holiday conveniently arranged in one weekend. Christmas, Birthdays, Easter... they are all great, but there's definitely something special about Thanksgiving. Any opportunity to enjoy good, healthy food with friends and family... I'll be there. This is probably one of my favourite past times. Cooking food for a group of friends, sitting down, enjoying each others company, and just living in the perfect moment.

Let's recap the day. Still a soar throat this morning, but the steamed hippie underpants tea kicked in before too long. We did a 400TT kick this morning. Last year it would have been an amazing feat for me to just finish...this year 7:43. I'm looking forward to the next chance we have to do that one again when I'm firing on all cylinders. 7:20. Maktub!

We did another decent core session today... I was motivated by some other athletes to get 'er done, otherwise I would have just done a good stretch. It's great to have other athletes there to push you along when you need it.

Back home and I crashed in bed for two and a half hours. Wow I needed that sleep.

PacSport booth for just over an hour at the Marathon Expo. Sweet to see so many keen people living a healthy lifestyle.

I had a quick visit with the butcher, and he hooked me up with a couple lbs of some tasty bison for the weekend. mmmmm.

I have a new book to get into this evening. Nothing like a new book that you've been looking forward to reading for a while.

Lots more to write, but you'll have to read my Autobiography.

October De Fo(r)T

Happy B-Day to the G-Man! The G-Money-Honey. The G-Tar. The G Unit???
21 Is a sweet number. Make this year yours!

Swim this morning was decent. I woke up to the crash bang of dishes, headache, ahhh.
Time for Green Tea and Apple Cider Vinegar with some Honey to clear up the head. Perfect, I feel great again.

We had a 400TT this morning. I took 'er down in 5:15. I was expecting a little more swimming before the 400 free swim (timed) to be put up in black on the white, so my previous statement of 5:10 for the first 400TT....well, I'm just going to have to dominate that next time with a 5:05. Maktub!

Yeah...I'll have to say all in all it was a good swim. But let me ask you this: Where does your energy come from? Mine comes from the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...

Ok, now I'm home for a breakfast of spicy bean burritos. This cold stands no chance. Nor do the people walking behind my treadmill.

One of the best remedies by far is just the simple apple cider vinegar with honey mixed in water concoction. My Grandpa used to recommend this for practically everything. Plus, "If it's good for the horses, it's good for you too."

I think there's actually a biochemical reason for this one. Something to do with the acetic acid acid in the vinegar shifting the acid-base balance in your body way over to the acid side. Then the bug is like: "sweet, we like acidic environments," but your body says "Ha, tricked ya. The buffer in your blood is going to overcompensate and shift this maa into alkaline, foo."

At work I decided I will be trying out for Circ de Soleil pretty soon with my single leg, single medicine ball balance skills. I was entertained for at least an hour with that, leaving me with little time to clean the machines....shame.

I just finished loading up with some curry, and will take one more hit of apple cider vinegar before hitting the hay. Then it's off to that sweet place where I can fly. See ya there.

T - 4 Sleeps

Training is the definition of sweetness.

I woke up this morning with a bit of a soar throat. Lately I've been taking the Vitamin C and Ecchinace. The instant remedy that seems to work for me is honey comb. Get a nice big spoonful of some good organic honey comb and just chew on that for a while. You will feel better within 15 minutes, I promise.

If you're interested, other remedies include: Gargle with Tabasco Sauce, Horseraddish & Clove Tea, Sage Tea, Boiled Onions, and Honey with Apple Cider Vinegar. I will tell you more about these fix it all cures another time.

I brought a thermos of green gunpowder tea with me to the pool deck too. Basically just because of the name. The only draw back was the taste. The taste of green tea has been compared to that of steamed hippie underpants. A really dirty pair. A pair that has only been washed with organic non-g m o sand and hemp oil for the past 3 months. A pair that has flax seed stains on it and it has a faint aroma of chi tea, not to be confused with tai chi.

100 m into the warm up... I'm tired. 200m... yep, still tired. 300m... yeah, slowing down a bit.
400m... you know what... this is awesome! I love swimming. I was totally pumped to be there.
The main set was a perfect opportunity for us to work on what we've been practicing in drills for the past couple weeks. 3 x 1000m. Just steady swimming. Keep the focus, and keep the technique. Great swim.

Apres swim Hard Core was a little less than Hard Core. We'll call it a little bit of ab work. That was the core recovery day. Tomorrow we'll rock it Hard Core.

Work at OB Rec with a new PT Client was coolio. It's fun to teach new exercises to anyone who is gung-ho.

Breakfast time, Nap time, time to go grocery shopping, time to eat again, and then it's run time.

These are all good times. Run time consisted of 45 minutes base on the treads. The pace clock read 4:15 and HR was 131. I think running on a treadmill must be easy.

Dinner time, rest time, stretch time, time for ice cream, and bed time.

T-4 more sleeps until Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my most favorite of ALL holidays and favorite time of the year for that matter. More on this in the next few days...

Omelet.

Man, it was pouring this morning. I thought, "Sweet, run practice this afternoon in the rain!"
It dried up this afternoon and we had did a 60 minute run at Elk/Beaver with 20 minutes of steady state. Keep 'er steady state. Good talk on the run.

Swimming this morning was a blast. We upped the kick volume and rocked a solid set of drills. Apres swim core session was Hard Core. It's sweet to have a couple other people to do it with.

After swimming Scotty and I rocked some delicious Saturated Fat. Omelets to the X-treme with bacon and cheese. We balanced off a little of the Sat Fat with a couple tomatoes, onions, and obviously mushrooms. Throw down a couple potat's and we were ready for some prep work for the Run for the Homeless.

Things are rock'n and roll'n with the Run/Walk for the Homeless. We met with some important people down at the Victoria Cool Aid building today. It's going to be another great event this year. We're starting early, so prepare yourself now for what will be the greatest run event this side of New Years...

I was thinking about just how lucky we are. Here I am, LIVING in this city, in this part of the world, LOVING, LAUGHING, healthy, happy... how great it is.

This was definitely the day of omelets. Dinner was a Spanish Omelet with red and orange peppers, spinach, tomatoes and potatoes. Clearly coated with ketchup. It doesn't get any better than this.

This evening at work my goal was to be able to stand on one leg on one of the medicine balls for at least 10 seconds straight without falling off. I did it just before my shift ended at 9pm. That was sweet. Next time I'll try and make it a minute.

Time to hit the hay. Catch ya on the bright side.

"want to just chill and look good"

Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen.

Welcome to the greatest, most phenomenal show on earth, sure to leave you speechless....

Wake up. . . open your eyes. . . here you are.

Super chill feeling today. Maybe it's the weather.

After a nice 4K in the pool this morning Scotty and I got the ball rolling for the 2nd Annual NTC Run/Walk for the Homeless. We have a blog: www.ntcrunwalk.blogspot.com. Be sure to check it out for updates on what will be the greatest run event on earth!