Feeling Lucky

Things seem to be coming together for Ironman. I swam 5000 meters and rode 2 hours today. Over half the ride was climbing and I am finally starting to feel comfortable on the inclines. Tomorrow is an easy swim and then I am off to Penticton on saturday for a seven hour ride and a 45 minute run. One more week of hard stuff and then it is taper time.

I took a few moments today to reflect on where I am at this point in my life. I came from a home where one parent had a grade 4 education and the other grade 12. They did what they thought was right but as I was growing up I always felt inadequate and was made to feel that I could not do anything right. In retrospect I would say there was a lot of paranoia in our home. Conversations in our home usually included some sort of criticism and there was little love or affection. Positive relationships were not something that was modelled and that is something that I am still paying the price for.

I left that behind for the most part when I was 19 and have not looked back. Eight years of university, a variety of careers and now I am a school division administrator. I have been with Donna for 35 years and things keep getting better. I am blessed with three incredible daughters who are all going to make the world a better place in their own way. We converse like equals and Kaitlin told me today she was giving up a trip to see her boy friend in Vancouver so she could be with me at Ironman. That is the kind of love that we have built in our family and I was truly touched. I have a nice home in Winnipeg and a great condo in Kelowna where I am fortunate to be able to spend my summers. Today's ride through the orchards and country side here in paradise brought a lot of thoughts and feelings to the surface. I do not know what I have done to deserve all that I have but consider myself to be one of the luckiest persons in the world.

5 Weeks and Counting

It has been two weeks since my last entry. I do not know how the daily bloggers do it.

I competed in the Desert Half Ironman the weekend after my last writing. The race is very well organized as all aspects seem to run like clockwork. My race started off with a decent swim as I completed the 2 kilometres in just over 35 minutes. The race is advertised as one of the toughest half ironman races anywhere and that is due to the bike and the temperatures that are typically encountered. This year the temperatures were not an issue as it did not exceed 30 degrees during the day. As a non climber, the bike for me is over the top. As soon as you leave transition you climb Ritcher, do the Seven Sisters, turn around and do it all over again. The climb up the back side of Ritcher is even more challenging. Unlike the front side the climb on the back side is almost continuous. I was passed by so many people that it was depressing. My time was a few minutes slower than last year which also was a surprise. My run pace was pretty consistent and I completed the half marathon in just over three hours. The 5:43 was a little slower than I had hoped but with little taper I was relatively pleased.

Donna and I spent the weekend at a new resort called Walnut Beach. After the race we returned to the room changed and then spend the afternoon around the pool. It was a great weekend and we think we are going to do it again year. I will plan out my training a little more next year and may give up one of the two local olympic races. I would also like to do a marathon in the off season but do not know how I am going to make that fit.

My concern about doing the race was being able to recover in time to be able to get some quality ironman training in before taper. It took me about 9 days to start getting my legs back. This left me three weeks to taper. I have created a well balanced schedule for the three weeks which culminates in 20 hours for training. Each week will see a long ride ( 150 to 200 KM), a long swim (5000+ m) and a long run ( to 2.5 hours). I have just finished that first week and things have done well. I completed the short version of the IMC course yesterday and ran 40 minutes off the bike. Today was a short swim and then a 2 hour run. The body generally feels great. The only aches are a small twinge in left ankle and a small tickle in the left hip. Considering how the hip felt at this time last year this is insignificant. I will keep the hip and core exercises up right up to IMC.

Our days seem to be very full. After training in the mornings we are on the go most afternoons. We both can see why people say they have no time after they retire. Tomorrow is the swim across the lake and Sunday is a short brick in Penticton and then we are going to float the channel with the Penticton crew.

Okanagan Summer

Well I have relocated to the Okanagan for the summer. We have a condo in Kelowna and it will be my training based for the next 6 weeks. We arrived last Saturday and have a great 5 days for training whic included a 5 hour bike (over 2 hours of climbing), 2+ hour run, solid brick, and 2 great swims at Giro. The first swim was 3 laps of the bouys and the second was four laps. Next two weeks I will progress to 6 laps. We have met some other triathletes at the beach and have had some great story swapping sessions.

I am racing in Osoyoos this Sunday. It is a half ironman and I am glad the weather forecast has changed for the day. Last weekend they were calling for highs of 41 but know they are saying it will not be higher than 30. We have a unit booked at a new complext called Walnut Beach. It looks great on the net and both Donna and I are looking forward to a weekend away. The plan is to take it easy on Saturday, race on Sunday followed by beers, wine and tapas...