When you train with a group of people there are certain moments, comments, quotes that stick with the group. Neil is especially good with words in the early morning swim hours. Yesterday's quote of the day came from Neil.
"Stuff that feels hard now, makes stuff that is hard in the future possible." - Neil the swim master Harvey
The above comment put a positive attitude in my head before a challenging swim set yesterday morning. It's about creating the future.
Today I was starting to fatigue towards the 2nd half of our swim. The volume adds up. Patrick noticed the change in energy levels and put a quote up on the board.
The quote itself doesn't matter. The change in attitude, thought, and energy it brings about is what counts.
Lots to think about over the upcoming recovery week. I'm looking forward to shifting gears for a couple days. In the mean time . . . rest and recover for a great day tomorrow.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Rain Woopels
One of my favourite parts of this season is meeting with people you haven't seen for a while; Spending time with good friends and family. This evening I enjoyed dinner with some of my oldest friends.
I've known Killian and the Millers since I was in grade 2. That's going back aways. All the way back to the days of Mtn. Climbers on the Musgrave Field and Rain Woopels with Mrs. Dorworth.
Talk about childhood, Killian and I did it all; Camping, Sailing, Baseball, School, basically everything from K -12. I'll spare you the extensive list and inside jokes. Every reunion includes good memories and a little bit of reminiscing.
Killian's Dad Danny, is always there with exciting stories, words of wisdom, and encouragement. Nice evening. Thanks to the Millers for being there, solid, #1.
I had lots of pull swimming today. I remember when anything over 10K was epic for the day. I also remember when 1000m nearly left me drowning in the shallow end of Oak Bay Rec. 10K is still lots of swimming, but it's no big deal. It's a Change in Attitude, Change in Thought, Change in Energy.
I will wake up tomorrow with a fully healed knee. Time for cellular rejuvenation.
I've known Killian and the Millers since I was in grade 2. That's going back aways. All the way back to the days of Mtn. Climbers on the Musgrave Field and Rain Woopels with Mrs. Dorworth.
Talk about childhood, Killian and I did it all; Camping, Sailing, Baseball, School, basically everything from K -12. I'll spare you the extensive list and inside jokes. Every reunion includes good memories and a little bit of reminiscing.
Killian's Dad Danny, is always there with exciting stories, words of wisdom, and encouragement. Nice evening. Thanks to the Millers for being there, solid, #1.
I had lots of pull swimming today. I remember when anything over 10K was epic for the day. I also remember when 1000m nearly left me drowning in the shallow end of Oak Bay Rec. 10K is still lots of swimming, but it's no big deal. It's a Change in Attitude, Change in Thought, Change in Energy.
I will wake up tomorrow with a fully healed knee. Time for cellular rejuvenation.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
fire
Another day for the books. I love adventure.
I woke up this morning and spent some time finding just the right size kindling, some larger pieces, and a good protected area.
As I stepped out the garage door this morning I felt a couple rain drops. Something about loading up the car in the dark with supplies for the day starts a bright spark for the day. It reminded me of adventure trips, camping, sailing, climbing, skiing, anything out in the living world.
By the time we were in the middle of the main swim set the fire was well on it's way to burn strong through the day. No amount of rain could change that. It was one of those fires you could throw a waterlogged piece of driftwood on and it would still burn, eventually becoming the ambers for fires to come.
Nice swim. The standards have changed. New possibilities. New expectations.
Cyclocross was absolute wickedness, as usual. Andrew showed me a new route through Francis King park. That was a sweet part of the ride man. With warm fingers and toes that hill is definitely climbable.
It was great to give Munn a little bit of Fartlek. I can't wait to try that out on the F-1 this spring.
One of the things about cyclocross is you are guaranteed to be extremely muddy from tip to tail. With consecutive rides this means putting on muddy clothes the next day. Today I found a way around this. It's simple. After the ride, walk straight into the showers with all your bike clothes on and do the wash. For even more efficiency and enjoyment, bring a chocolate milk in there with you. Hang up the clothes at home and your ready for the next one, clean as can be.
Today's run was at Cedar Hill. My heart rate started HIGH, and found it's way back to base within the first lap. Next 2 laps were a slight build, and on the 4th Andrew and I brought it up to Steady State. I was happy to finish off the day with some comfortable running and a little bit of effort.
This evening Tepi rocked and rolled on the rower for 2:18:04, a total of 20318m. Nice one Tepi.
Now I let the fire burn down. Todays coals will start a good one tomorrow morning.
I woke up this morning and spent some time finding just the right size kindling, some larger pieces, and a good protected area.
As I stepped out the garage door this morning I felt a couple rain drops. Something about loading up the car in the dark with supplies for the day starts a bright spark for the day. It reminded me of adventure trips, camping, sailing, climbing, skiing, anything out in the living world.
By the time we were in the middle of the main swim set the fire was well on it's way to burn strong through the day. No amount of rain could change that. It was one of those fires you could throw a waterlogged piece of driftwood on and it would still burn, eventually becoming the ambers for fires to come.
Nice swim. The standards have changed. New possibilities. New expectations.
Cyclocross was absolute wickedness, as usual. Andrew showed me a new route through Francis King park. That was a sweet part of the ride man. With warm fingers and toes that hill is definitely climbable.
It was great to give Munn a little bit of Fartlek. I can't wait to try that out on the F-1 this spring.
One of the things about cyclocross is you are guaranteed to be extremely muddy from tip to tail. With consecutive rides this means putting on muddy clothes the next day. Today I found a way around this. It's simple. After the ride, walk straight into the showers with all your bike clothes on and do the wash. For even more efficiency and enjoyment, bring a chocolate milk in there with you. Hang up the clothes at home and your ready for the next one, clean as can be.
Today's run was at Cedar Hill. My heart rate started HIGH, and found it's way back to base within the first lap. Next 2 laps were a slight build, and on the 4th Andrew and I brought it up to Steady State. I was happy to finish off the day with some comfortable running and a little bit of effort.
This evening Tepi rocked and rolled on the rower for 2:18:04, a total of 20318m. Nice one Tepi.
Now I let the fire burn down. Todays coals will start a good one tomorrow morning.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Rest Day
Today I have been resting the body. It is really easy to put yourself in the "go mode" and just stay there, even during rest days.
Sometimes it's a good thing to sleep in, wake up, have breakfast, and decide to go back to bed for a couple more hours. After waking up for the second time you feel a little groggy, but well rested. Now you do what you need to, work, etc, then go back to bed for a few more hours. When you wake up for the third time that day there is a real rested feeling. Finally, eat well and go back to sleep for the night. This time around rest day = sleep day.
I am looking forward to our final build week before a rest week over the holidays. There will be an emphasis on cyclocross and swimming.
Here's a training recap from the few days leading up to our run/walk event:
Friday - good swim with a PB on the 200m Free. Next we swam a 2000m straight set where I swam about 4 minutes faster than 3 weeks ago. Drafting helps. Friday evening I set off to swim and run at the Crystal Pool. It was nice to run into other athletes finishing off their weeks training on a Friday evening.
We began the weekend with a standard Saturday swim including some long sets and basic aerobic swim training. This is where we boost mitochondrial density in the shoulders. I have to say, Saturday's water felt a little bit like molasses. The upside of swimming through molasses is that you can catch lots of of it. That's a good feeling.
On Saturday afternoon we did a group cyclocross ride which was not incredibly long, but definitely epic. On the way back we decided to blast through a couple farm roads / lakes. I have to be honest, I wasn't really expecting the group to follow through that massive pond. When I looked back to see the rooster tails flying on either side of everyones bikes as they pedaled through the water, I smiled. Way to go guys, that was fun. Climbing up through that random farm field / mountain was a blast too.
The quote of the day came from Patrick. Looking across a field we saw what looked like a fire road under some power lines. Patrick commented, "That would be sweet if we could ride up there." After scanning the field for rabid dogs and pitch fork baring farmers I replied, "We could bomb across that field, bushwack through that patch of trees and make it up there." A moment of consideration and silence followed. With quiet and somewhat excited confidence Patrick replied with a simple, "Go."
Now it's time to give Papaya a bath.
(ps. if you know why the header picture is all squished at the top of the blog, please send me a note)
Sometimes it's a good thing to sleep in, wake up, have breakfast, and decide to go back to bed for a couple more hours. After waking up for the second time you feel a little groggy, but well rested. Now you do what you need to, work, etc, then go back to bed for a few more hours. When you wake up for the third time that day there is a real rested feeling. Finally, eat well and go back to sleep for the night. This time around rest day = sleep day.
I am looking forward to our final build week before a rest week over the holidays. There will be an emphasis on cyclocross and swimming.
Here's a training recap from the few days leading up to our run/walk event:
Friday - good swim with a PB on the 200m Free. Next we swam a 2000m straight set where I swam about 4 minutes faster than 3 weeks ago. Drafting helps. Friday evening I set off to swim and run at the Crystal Pool. It was nice to run into other athletes finishing off their weeks training on a Friday evening.
We began the weekend with a standard Saturday swim including some long sets and basic aerobic swim training. This is where we boost mitochondrial density in the shoulders. I have to say, Saturday's water felt a little bit like molasses. The upside of swimming through molasses is that you can catch lots of of it. That's a good feeling.
On Saturday afternoon we did a group cyclocross ride which was not incredibly long, but definitely epic. On the way back we decided to blast through a couple farm roads / lakes. I have to be honest, I wasn't really expecting the group to follow through that massive pond. When I looked back to see the rooster tails flying on either side of everyones bikes as they pedaled through the water, I smiled. Way to go guys, that was fun. Climbing up through that random farm field / mountain was a blast too.
The quote of the day came from Patrick. Looking across a field we saw what looked like a fire road under some power lines. Patrick commented, "That would be sweet if we could ride up there." After scanning the field for rabid dogs and pitch fork baring farmers I replied, "We could bomb across that field, bushwack through that patch of trees and make it up there." A moment of consideration and silence followed. With quiet and somewhat excited confidence Patrick replied with a simple, "Go."
Now it's time to give Papaya a bath.
(ps. if you know why the header picture is all squished at the top of the blog, please send me a note)
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Successful Event ... Thanks!
Today our NTC Development group hosted a successful 2nd annual Run/Walk for the Homeless. Great work everyone! The whole group worked together well and solid teamwork came through.
Thanks to our many sponsors for the event: Running Room, Old Victoria Water Company, Hayak Air, Kook FM, Cobs Bakery, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Oak Bay Bikes, Prairie Inn Harriers, Pacific Sport Victoria, the CRD, and of course our many Volunteers who braved the wind.
It was great to be able to sit back a little bit and watch the event unfold this morning. Everyone knew exactly what to do and took care of business with a smile.
Food was taken care of by Patty Davidson, and Andrea Kent. Nice work on that one. Food is always of primary importance at this sort of event.
Richard Thomas had the coffee and hot chocolate situation under control from way before early this morning to the conclusion around noon. I've heard good things about the coffee and some day I may be converted. Until then, keep brewing up the delisciousness for everyone to enjoy.
Barb Sharpe knew exactly what needed to be done. It was like she had done this all before. Barb teamed up with the highly devoted scholarly skills of Alex and Kyla Coates to register all of our participants.
Gaby, Kyla, Alex, and Kerry made an awesome team organizing draw prizes. You guys came up with some great ideas this morning. Keep the inner genius flowing.
Our course layout managers, JP, Sharpie, and Aaron cotrolled the flour technician positions with superior skill. They also managed to fit in some extra workouts by rabbiting each race.
Andrew Russell brought our sound system but later he disappeared. In his place, Santa returned with friendly greetings for everyone.
Jasper Blake was our muscle for the day. He cleared the path of any fallen trees, set up the finishing chute, and I saw him single handedly pick up a car and carry it to a different parking spot.
Our Cool Aid Volunteers managed the money side of things. Thanks for your support of the event.
Bob Reid from PIH brought an epic amount of race set up experience, timing equipment, and a megaphone that provided much entertainment while everyone was running.
Ron Phillips took care of anything requiring tarps, rope, a jeep, or produced power. When I arrived there were flood lights in the picnic shelter. I thought, "This event is pro style."
St. John's Ambulance provided a nice piece of mind. How many times have I gone to the St. John's tent after an event to pick up some blister patching supplies? Thanks for being there.
Scotty ran around all morning making sure things went smoothly and everyone was happy. Nice work on the megaphone. Good work buddy.
Patrick was there as our grand master. ". . . PK will know what to do."
I'm sure I must have forgotten a number different things. That's because whoever took care of them did such a great job, it went completely unnoticed. There must have been a hundred little things where everyone silently pitched in to make things run smoothly. All those little things were much appreciated.
Finally, Congratulations to all those who donated, participated, and congregated at the lower parking lot of Beaver Lk this morning. You were part of a great event, supporting a worthwhile cause.
Training is great....updates tomorrow.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
recapitulation
The last few days have been JSA including some solid base training sessions.
Swim recap:
Tuesday's highlight was the 400s set: 4 x (3 x 100 kick on 2:00 + 1 x 100 drill/swim on 2:00 + 400 swim on 6:00 dec 1 - 4). Improvement. 5:24, 5:21, 5:14, 5:10. Now change the standard and go faster.
Wednesday am swim: breakpoint. main set was: 24 x 50 as 3 on, one ez. 34-35 seconds, 37 strokes. Next week stroke count will be 36. pm swim was all about the camera with 6 x 800.
Thursday swim: lighter volume at 4.5 for the day.
Bike recap:
My work schedule now accommodates the 10:00 ride so I have been able to rock the cross world with Andrew and his new steed, black magic. Sweet riding this week mano.
Tuesday's destination was Mt. Doug. We set up a good loop there. I find riding loops is the best way to hone in on skills. It allows you to practice the same maneuver time and time again until you have it down. It's just like sailing practice, tight courses make you fast. Each time you round a corner you can push it a little further.
On Wednesday we rode the dump. Cool and crisp day with some sun. Perfect.
Today we ventured out to the park at Stelly's and Wallace Drive. Here is where we will really learn to ride the corners. It's not too technical, so you can just carve your way with some smooth speed.
Run Recap:
On Tuesday I was absolutely famished by the end of our run. Running in the dark reminds me of fall roller-ski training back in Guelph. Awesome.
Today's run was at Elk Lk. completed.
Run/Walk this weekend.
Swim recap:
Tuesday's highlight was the 400s set: 4 x (3 x 100 kick on 2:00 + 1 x 100 drill/swim on 2:00 + 400 swim on 6:00 dec 1 - 4). Improvement. 5:24, 5:21, 5:14, 5:10. Now change the standard and go faster.
Wednesday am swim: breakpoint. main set was: 24 x 50 as 3 on, one ez. 34-35 seconds, 37 strokes. Next week stroke count will be 36. pm swim was all about the camera with 6 x 800.
Thursday swim: lighter volume at 4.5 for the day.
Bike recap:
My work schedule now accommodates the 10:00 ride so I have been able to rock the cross world with Andrew and his new steed, black magic. Sweet riding this week mano.
Tuesday's destination was Mt. Doug. We set up a good loop there. I find riding loops is the best way to hone in on skills. It allows you to practice the same maneuver time and time again until you have it down. It's just like sailing practice, tight courses make you fast. Each time you round a corner you can push it a little further.
On Wednesday we rode the dump. Cool and crisp day with some sun. Perfect.
Today we ventured out to the park at Stelly's and Wallace Drive. Here is where we will really learn to ride the corners. It's not too technical, so you can just carve your way with some smooth speed.
Run Recap:
On Tuesday I was absolutely famished by the end of our run. Running in the dark reminds me of fall roller-ski training back in Guelph. Awesome.
Today's run was at Elk Lk. completed.
Run/Walk this weekend.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
time to sleep
Today I woke up and decided how the day would be great, and great it was. I'll describe it later because now it's time to sleep.
Here's a picture from one of my favorite places:
guess where...
Here's a picture from one of my favorite places:
guess where...
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