I hope I can sleep.

Tomorrow morning is the 26th Coronation triathlon. I registered for it months ago and I am quite looking forward to racing in it. Here is my dilemma.  It is 1AM and snowing. I am not sure if the triathlon is happening. I am registered to start at 8:40.  The forecast for race time is for 2c and rain.

I could work tomorrow and I would hate to give up a payday for nothing if the race is canceled.  I decided I will prepared to race and I am going to go out if the race is on. I am not sure what the organizers do if there is bad weather. I figure if Deb can go camping with girl guides in this weather then I can race in it too.

I have packed a kit bag full of layers and extra gear and I will have to figure out what to wear when the time comes. OK It is now 1:30 and I need to be up at 6AM .  I hope I can sleep.

May training camp

On the May long weekend the Ironteam leaders organize a training camp in Penticton to give us a chance to try out some of the Ironman course before the big event. It is promoted as a fun atmosphere with some riding thrown in. The cost is supposed to be 10 dollars (for beer). 

More than 20 of us made the trip and we all stayed at a nice place on the end of town called the Rivershore Motel.  It was nice and clean and had a courtyard where we could hang out and discuss the days activities.











Friday afternoon we went on a 40k ride thru the Naramata bench area.  It was fast and fun with a few good climbs and a nice warm up.

The big ride was on Saturday the goal was the Ironman course from Okanogan Falls to Osoyoos and then up the Richter pass over the seven rollers and up to the highest point of the Ironman bike course the Yellow Lake Summit. Deb drove the SAG wagon so everyone could put extra water and supplies in the car and she took these great shots.
It was about 120 kms with a strong wind that made for a difficult day.  It felt very good to get this ride under my belt.

On Sunday morning it was raining so we hung out at a local coffee shop until noon. When the rain stopped we did an easier ride, the first part of the Ironman course from Penticton to OK Falls and back. Not too many climbs and up McLean Creek road, past some vineyards and ranches, very nice.

After the ride, some of us went to Oliver for an open water swim.  Up to this point I had never done an open water swim in a wet suit before. It was a cooler day and there seemed to be some concern about the water temperature and how cold it was going to be. We changed into our wetsuits right on the beach and jumped in. It was a bit cool but the suit did its job and kept me warm and with it I was able to swim about just fine. What a great feeling!

The Monday most people left early to head home.  Deb had a great idea for me. She suggested that run the last half of the marathon course. So in the morning she dropped me off at the halfway point of the Ironman run at Okanogan Falls and I ran back to Penticton, through town and to the finish line.

I ran great and loved the experience.

A new path.

 I went wetsuit shopping with Deb yesterday.  We went to a local shop called Way Past Fast and I found a wetsuit that fit really well. It has a big nineteen logo on the front that represents the hiway number in Hawaii that part of the the Ironman championship course takes.  I am pretty pleased with the fit and the suit. Deb bought it for me as a birthday present for my fiftieth birthday.  While we were at the shop I picked up some swim fins and a new bike helmet.  A flashy orange helmet so I will be more visible and it has bug screens to keep the bees out.

This week has been great and I have managed to stay on course with my training program. The swimming is coming along and went for a ride today on a new path across the North Saskatchewan river.  The training is going well, I feel really good, healthy and strong.  Perhaps I am still not working as hard at training this week as some of my teammates, but I feel good and I am getting to do most of the work outs. What has been so great is the support I have been getting from my wife

When I go swimming I get a text message from Deb with a quote attached, for example:
"Spectacular achievements are always preceded by painstaking preparation." Roger Staubach.

I often get little sayings and I think the level of support that I am getting from my wife is fantastic and very very appreciated.

Besides I got to ride my bike on a new path to a new part of the city today... how bad can that be?

It is getting busy

Hello my name is Rick, I am a blogger. It has been two weeks since my last blog.
OK two weeks of great training topped off with a trip to Vancouver for the 2010 Sun Run.

It is a 10K run with 51,000 other people that goes through downtown Vancouver towards Stanley Park and around the city.  I ran this race with my dear sweet wife and some very good friends.
It was a great experience with all of us running a personal best. The best thing was not the time we ran, but that we ran. When I run I am free. I feel so privileged to get to run and participate in such an event. I get such a wonderful sense of freedom and I feel so blessed. Even though I am training for an Ironman, to run 10K is hard work and my heart was beating at over 155 beats per minute.  I really pushed for a good time and I feel happy with the result. I am most proud and pleased that my wife and friends also participated and had a great race.  This was an incredible weekend and I am so grateful that I was able to share this experience with people that I love and I will remember that forever.

Super Sunday: I ran along the trails next to the river

Today was great!  I got up early and went for a swim lession with Lincoln and the Cops team at the Hardisty pool. We swam a 300 meter warm up and the a 9 x 100 meter workout. We finished up with some instruction on drafting and passing during a race.
After the swim it was time for the weekly long run. I haven't really been keeping up with my runs
(a lack of time and trying to swim more). According to my Endurance planner I was supposed to do a 2 hour run today.
The group of us headed out towards the river valley trail system at a pretty good pace (5.15).  It was a nice spring morning slightly overcast and about 8c.  I stayed with the lead pack for the first 15 mins. and as we headed east through Goldbar park towards Rundle I thought that the pace could be wearing me down faster than I wanted if I was going to run for the 2 hour work out.  I slowed to a more comfortable pace of 6.0bpm and my heart settled into a nice 142 bpms. 
As I ran along the trails next to the river there were lots of people out walking thier dogs or kids. I would try to say hello to people as I ran past.
Another team member Albert joined me about 6 km into the run. He is new to the team and is more about the swimming and running and not as interested in doing Ironman just yet. We ran along and chatted as we chased the lead group further and further North through the park system.  Every once and a while the lead group would stop for a break and wait for us.  As soon as we caught up the group would start out again, so we would just keep running.
After we ran through what looked like a whole new park system and reached a little more than 10km   I decided it was time to turn around.
Albert and I ran all the way back to the pool talking and enjoying the run.
It was fun to run with Albert and it felt great to put on some serious mileage today.  My Garmin HR watch said that I burned about 1600 calories on the run and ran a total of 20.45km.