Count down to IRONMAN 2011

Yesterday registered for IRONMAN Canada 2011.

Let the training begin

Lake Chaparral Triathlon

Last triathlon of the year.

One week after the Calgary 70.3 I decide to do the sprint distance at Lake Chaparral, but due to some encouragement from my Dad and brother I moved up to the Olympic distance.

I was so tired at the start I did not feel great about how the race was going to go but everyone was there and I paid for it so I just went for it.

Swim - Have I ever said I hate swimming well I still do, started with freestyle but still have not gotten it figured out so backstroke it was, slow and steady not sure of the time but I think it was about the same as the last Olympic I did

Bike - Not sure I said I hate hills but I do the coarse was 5 laps so I got to do the one long steep hill 5 times, I finished in over 2 hours longer then last time but tougher coarse so not overly bad.

Run - All good I was felling good for the run, it was OK.

Finished and won my age group, heck I always win my age group but thats what you get when you race yourself I will take it.

Kids of Steel

I am the proudest dad in the world, heck I am tearing up writing this (So lame).

Jack my 5 year old did his first Triathlon a kids of steel event at Lake Chaparral in the 7 and under age group.

Swim - After waiting for over two hours they got in to the water, my wife took him in she said that he cried and wanted out once it got deep and as he got closer to me watching on the dock he wanted to get out with me but she convinced him to swim toward her and that worked out. as they were getting out of the water he wanted to stay in as he was getting it.

T1 - Once out of the water he was soooo happy he was fist pumping and so proud of himself.

Bike he race out of T1 got on his bike and took off I followed as I was not sure how he would do but he rocked it, he was passed by one kid was was determined to get him fun to see his competitive side, he rang his horn and into T2

T2 - Met my mom at T2 she took the bike and he was off.

Run - He was fast really fast I could not keep up he only slowed down to find out which way to go, I just encouraged him from behind. He them sprinted to the finish it was awesome he totally rocked the whole thing.

It was over in the blink of an eye I am again so proud of him and hope that he continues to kick ass both him and his brother will do it next year.

Calgary 70.3 Half Ironman

First thing first I have to give a huge thanks to my Dad and Brother for being my support crew for this race (Without them I would not had finished), and second a big thanks to all the volunteers and organizers.

August 3rd @ 2am I was awaken to thunder showers and rain on my skylight it continued until I left so I knew that it was going to be wet I was just hopping that the wind would be going my way.

I arrived at ghost lake around 4:45 half way on my way I realize that I left my nutrition at home so had to turn around and pick that up but had left early enough to no big deal.

When I got to ghost lake it was raining still and muddy, I got my bike ready and the rain started to end, at the same time all the buses started to arrive with the other athletes so it got a little busy but I was pumped, I met Cheryl a race official she was super helpful in getting me organized and was a super support the whole race.

6:10 the race starts I am in the water swimming freestyle well I suck at that and cant sight to save my life, I end up way off coarse so I switch to back crawl I still cant swim strait but better then freestyle only real problem is its so slow, at about the halfway point I get caught by the next wave then around 3/4 of the way through I get caught by the wave after that.... I hate swimming I was slow and frustrated but kept on going, I finally got it done in 50:45

Get up to my bike change and get on the road, transition was 6:13

So I am on the road and I feel good there is no wind so that makes me happy, I had done the first part of the ride so knew what to expect the only thing I was not ready for was the mosquitoes I was attacked by them it was brutal, I was also passed by many people but was expecting that and everyone was very supportive.

When I got to around the 50km mark I was ahead of schedule and still felt really good, headed up the Cochrane hill and still felt good my average speed was just right....But then I started to crash well not so much crash but just got beat down the climb out just kept going and going and going and to top it off I could feel a head wind coming up.

I got to the top and was happy that I was on my way to the "fast" section of the coarse well I got a head wind so the section I was counting on to make up time was a huge fail, the closer I got to the finish the more I new I would not make the cut off, now I did not know for sure what the cutoff time was I assumed it was at 12:00 and knew that I would be in around 10min after that but would be close to finishing in under 5hours.

I pulled up to the last right were my brother was waiting for me, I had missed the cut off, I continued to T2, I was not able to cross the timing mat due to the cut off but with a quick call to a race official I was told I could keep going so off I went total time for the bike was 4:53:40

So onto the racing chair I went nice downhill to start then a slight uphill, I then came to the first big down hill, I met up with my dad and brother here I was able to get down no problem, off across the bridge to the south side there are some very large hills at over 9% and one at 15%. On the big hills I received support from my brother to get up them (with the RD Approval) the run was had definitely not a good coarse for a racing chair way to hilly and narrow so had to watch out for runners but being that I was so far behind there was not as many of them on the coarse, also a thanks to Tony my police escort.

I approached the finish slowly it was on an uphill grade (nothing but hills all day), I started to get tunnel vision and started to break down I was physically and emotionally done I crossed the line and it was over, got my belt buckle and finisher shirt.

Total time for race was 7:53:16 under the 8 hour cutoff!!!

The days that followed I felt pretty good not overly sore but definitely fatigued.

Unfortunately due to not making the bike cutoff I officially got a DNF seems lame as they let me continue and I ended up finishing under the official race cutoff so I guess I will just have to kick some bigger ass next year!!

Calgary 70.3

One week to go.

I have been feeling really good since Coral Springs, I am feeling stronger and more prepared. Note I could be more prepared.

I think the swim will be fine should take about an hour or less I hope I start with the pros so I will be swimming by myself until the first age group catches me.

T1 should take about 5min

The Bike is going be the make or break it for me I only have 5 hours after the last wave to finish it so really I figure I will have about 4hours and 30min I have to average 20km/hr and have been right around that speed in training.

Once the bike is done and I hit T2 I will be home free i will be able to do the run in 2hours or less but after riding part of the course the other day I have some issues with the two hills one gets to 14%grade that I will really struggle with but once that is out of the way it will he all good.

I am very exited about this race, it will be one of the hardest things I will ever do but I have to get my kids a medal and there is only one day to do this, finish.

Coral Springs Tri it Triathlon

Best Triathlon yet!!

Last year I did this triathlon as my first ever as a para-triathlon at the sprint distance but this year I decided to move on up to the Olympic distance and use it as a bit of a warm up for the Calgary 70.3 as they are 3 weeks apart.

In the morning when I got up and saw the big dark cloud I was not happy but by the time I was set up and ready to go the Sky's cleared and it ended up a beautifull day.

The swim was good if I could swim a straight line I would have taken off about 10-15 min I figure but finished in 47min

The bike was good I felt fast and ended up going just under 2hours

Then the run, I had not been in the race wheelchair since December so it was a challenge but I still felt good.

At the start my goal was to finish in under 4hours I crossed the line, looked at the clock and it was over 4hours ah crap...... But then then I was told that was the start of the first group soooo i finished in

3:47!!!!!!!

So happy and based on last years result I was over 30min faster so super great race for me

Huge thanks to my dad and my brother for all there support and help.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS - PARA-CYCLING

First time at nationals and what a great experience.

First I went in totally under trained, after being sick more then I was healthy for all of June I reset my expectations as I knew I was going to be near the bottom or very close so I changed my mindset to have a great time and really learn from the other riders.

The first race was the time trial on Saturday it was 20km and not overly hard but it did have some hills and there was a head wind, well I got my ass kicked in a big way dead last by a long shot.

Sunday was the road race it was 40km long in 5km loops, this turned out better then expected I finished 2nd!!!! when they called my name my coach and looked at each other and thought WTF thats a mistake but apparently I outlasted the others in my class so I will take it.

Things that I learned
1. I need to ride way more
2. I need to lose about 30-40lbs

So over all a great time and looking forward to next year.

Took me long enough

So its only been a few months time for another post, this will be short and sweet as I have a brutal memory.

1. Mothers day race 10km - Well I won this one so that was great, first race of the season and on the new bike..... But it did not go well I blame the weather the rain then snow at the start caused me some issues by about 3 km in my hands and finger started to loose feeling by about 8km in I just wanted to finish and could tell that my hands were in bad condition. Best part seeing my kids at the finish line they are so cute but ended up with frost bite on my finger tips so for about a few months some finger tips ended up being numb no good.

2. Golden Triangle weekend - What a great adventure spent the long weekend with my Dad and brother on a 3 day trip in the rocky mountains. Starting at the castle mountain junction heading to Radium the first day then from Radium to Golden then from Golden back to castle moutain junction just like a triangle. At about 100km per day and some super crazy climbs I only did about 60-70km per day. The weather was great and it is riding in some of the most amazing country in the world.

3. Calgary Marathon - So last year I did this in 2hour and 14min my goal this year was to be under 2hours well that did not happen I was sick for this event and finished in just over 2 and a half hours, so this sucked fro me but just need to move on.

Now I ended up sick for most of June and the problem with that is that the Canadian National Para-cycling championships are the the end of June so I got in a pretty much no training at all and it effected my results but if you have read this far then you would have already seen my blog on the results if I have not posted it yet then come on back.

PM Gear - Skis

Just a really quick entry and a plug for a great company.

I bought a pair of PM Gear Skies back in January they are BRO 174's and all I can say is they kick ass, I have used them from boiler plate conditions to fresh powder and they have been great they are my goto ski.

Almost as good as the ski's is the customer service, I bent a ski due to the abuse I put the ski through 3 days of bumps on one ski with the combined weight of about 200lbs is tough for a ski. Well PM Gear hooked me up with a replacement I was not expecting it but I got it and thats great.

So bottom line you want a great ski buy from these guys you can only get them on line.

PM Gear FKNA

Oh they also sponsor some ski skier named Andy, so they are supporting everyone who enjoys a little gravity hucking down the hill.

Skiing Camp Jackson Hole - Grand Targhee

Well this post is one month late but I had to get it done more so to show off the great photos that I got.

So after having my bobsleigh driving course canceled at the last minute and with plans to attend the Grand Targhee all mountain camp, I decided to make my way down to Jackson Hole and try and get into the Adaptive Steep and Deep camp I figured if I did not get in I would at least get some skiing so really a win win.

Happy to say that I was able to get into the camp and it was the best thing I did all year my skiing improved soooo much, I ended up changing the way I ski I learned new drills and techniques that moved me from what I felt was an intermediate level skier to an advanced one "at least thats what I was told".

Since it took so long to get this post in I will just have to sum up the trip and if anyone wants more info let me know, so to sum it up

Jackson Hole Steep and Deep ended up being Steep and Technical due to no deep but this was great for me and allowed me to work on my skills. Thanks to Kurt, Nate, Nick, Ryan, Blair, Elizabeth for helping me out during my days they made the experience amazing and thanks to JH for having this camp and being leaders in adaptive integration, oh and hi to Connie she is one of the owners of JH and chatting with her in the bar was really cool, also see below about Hannah she gets a special post coming up.


Grand Targhee another great camp I was able to rock this camp, well I felt I did with my new skills from JH I was doing steep stuff, lots and lots of bumps and even went into the trees!! I would never have gone into the trees before. Again huge thanks to Joel, Matt, Cindy who tried to take me out, Gil and all the helpers at GT again another great camp.

Bottom line if you are an adaptive skier you need to goto both camps or at least one, you will improve you skills, you will have a great time, you will come back.

OK here are the links to the camps that you must goto, oh and if you are not an adaptive skier great you can still go but go and help out you pay less and get to make a difference in a persons life.

These are the two groups that put on the camps:
tetonadaptivesports.com
adaptiveadventures.org

And here are the camp links:
jacksonhole.com
grand-targhee

All right now time for some photos, right now just going to put up some photos that got taken of me by Hannah Hardaway, who is this person? well she is a professional photographer that I got the pleasure of hanging out with at Jackson Hole and she happened to take some kick ass shots, note the first two photos.

Here is her website: Hannah Hardaway Photography

Here is a link of some photos that she took at the Jackson Hole Camp:
Jackson Hole Adaptive Camp Photos

Well thats it I did get some more skiing in at Panorama and Kicking Horse on my birthday but its time to switch to summer mode and get out training.

Kicking Horse + Sit Ski = Kick Ass Time

Best Weekend Ever

This last weekend I had the privilege to join a group of friends that teach the disabled program with me CADS, these amazing friends made this weekend unforgettable!

So thanks to Jakob who did a lot of the heavy lifting carrying around and setting up my ski, Kendra Jakob's back up and super star.

Special thanks to Cheryl Link for the use of her stunning house she is an amazing architect check out some of her stunning work here MOUNTAIN MODERN

Ok now on to the skiing, I was a little nervous before the first run I was not sure I was ready for this hill and the nerves only got worse the farther up the gondola we went and I saw the amazing terrain that we were about to ski.

First run was not so great over half way down with my nerves gone I was flying, I felt fantastic this was going to be a great day then I hit a small bump got air caught my front down edge on the landing then boom, I explode out of my sit ski sheared my buckle right off I was flying through the air with only my feet attached to my sit ski, I recall being in the air and seeing my ski thinking I should not see what I am looking at.

I was able to get back into the ski and ski down with a little help from John, who was able to rig up a temporary strap once down I was able to get a new buckle from the very friendly ski patrol to continue the day.

The rest of the day was great I was really able to push myself with the huge amount of terrain that this hill has.

Day two I was a little sore but was ready to go, and go I did Kendra introduced me to "Bubbly" a run that I would do 5 times that day it was a great time.

I also took on "My Blue Heaven" not the groomed part the mogul part, fell a few times but its was a good challenge.

I then went for my biggest challenge of the weekend the run called "Think Twice" I thought way more then twice but with Jakob following behind me I took the plunge literally, I dropped in and was ok traversed then made my first turn it was fast and I fell into the hill but it was all good, got up traversed a little more made a turn but did not commit that was a mistake I tumbled a bit down the hill I stopped in a awkward position but luckily Jakob was right behind me helping me up. I did some longer traverses to get down the rest of the way down and learned a few things about my level of skiing, I want to advance, I will nail this run next time.

The rest of the second day was a little more low key I was getting tired and still had to drive home so I took it easy.

Bottom line a kick ass weekend I will be back to Kicking Horse again and again it was truly epic for me and to my understanding it gets even better!!!

Now for photos and Video as they speak louder then my crappy writing skills.