Letting go of it all...

Life is funny.

Have I said that before?

Yeah, I think that I really have :))

The lesson of the year is about letting go. Attachment to all things holds us back. Detachment allows us to move forward.

Like really.

It's not complicated - it's like trying to drive around in your car with your emergency brake on. You will move forward, but not likely very quickly, and not without smoke ;)

I have confirmed that life is just like that.

You take that brake off, and you move forward. It is inevitable... it is beautiful.

Life is awesome... some days it's hard to get out of bed in the morning, but that doesn't mean I am not enjoying myself, it just means that sleep is optional right now ;)

teehee

So... where are you at my friends?

There's a few of you out there that have put miles on in the way of progress in the last two years, but I haven't heard from you. I trust that all is well... but feel free to tell me how it's going.

I love hearing from you, even if you don't hear from me... know that :)

Things are progressing rapidly, business is set to more than triple this year, and I know it will... just putting all the people and the pieces into place to ensure our success in the coming years. It's looking awesome, and I am stoked.

I am moving in a few weeks... as much as I despise moving, I am going to have an abundance of help, and it's time to lose the attachment to some of the material things that I have grown attached to in my life, along with the slightly less material things ;)

Woohoo!!

I think that a celebration is in order - soon I think.

Ok folks... hold me to that.

:)

Stand by for more... it's coming!!

AWESOME!!

:)

¿San Jose?

Well... I find myself in San Jose, met up with Alli and Dexter in Cañas yesterday to see a housing project in progress... pretty nice stuff, well constructed and yet affordable. Sweet.

Dexter was awesome in driving us all over the countryside, and we ended back up in San Jose, nothing spectacular to report here, and we probably should have headed North from Cañas to be sure.

So today, I think it will be our mission to head from San Jose to near Liberia, or right back into Liberia. Time will tell... we do not have a schedule yet.

Last night we stayed in the lap of luxury - a bed and breakfast for $70, which actually included breakfast and HOT water. Well, warm water... but it was the closest thing to hot that I have experienced (minus the sun) since I arrived last Monday. Hot shower was awesome!

Not a lot to report, but thought I would post a quickie anyways...

Hope all is well, if even cold, back home. I will be ¨back in it¨ within about 48 hours.

Umm... yeah, looking forward to that.

See you all soon!

Hola de Montezuma!

En caso de que las playas estén calientes, las mujeres hermosas, y la cerveza está fría. Lección uno para hoy: llevar dinero en efectivo para Montezuma!

Ok... just to expand on the above - lesson one for today... bring CASH to Montezuma!! There is no bank here, no bank machine, and no way to access money. A good portion of today was spent driving around in a pseudo-taxi from town to town, through the bush it would seem. Anyways... suffice it to say, bring cash to Montezuma (I am certain it says that in the guide book, but seeing as I don't have one... I wouldn't know ;)

teehee

So... I didn't spend a day in the sun and I was burned... and I have been burned in more than one way now (for instance, the $40 cab ride to get cash today was a pretty good burn ;) Sonofa.

Ok... enough about burning.

Montezuma is beautiful, relatively quiet, and I believe it to be pretty safe... everything seems to be pretty relaxed here. Relaxed is what I dig :)

Awesome.

I hope that this message finds you all well and warm back home... it is frigging hot here!

(ok, enough taunting I suppose)

Hope everyone is well, check back for another dispatch soon!!

Hugs...

Clinton

Today was... a day :*)

Well... I find myself somewhere on the coast of Costa Rica, without a map, without a book, and without dinner in my belly. That said, I have discovered the differences between a $20 hotel room and a $40 hotel room are... in no particular order:

- Toilet paper
- Soap included
- TOWEL included!!
- Hot water in the shower (if only it would work)
- AIR Conditioning!!

So, I have decided that not having a map or a guidbook was the worst possible decision. If only... d'oh. My favourite last words.

I find myself in Puntarenas, which is somewhere on the West Coast according to Google Maps. I seem to be surrounded by water, that is what I do know, and incredibly enough, I have internet access across from my hotel. Damn I am hungry.

Yes... so in my infinite of infinite wisdom, I figured I would take a run before dinner, then I found myself running around in circles looking for my hotel... three laps later, I found my hotel again, along with an Internet Cafe and a convenience store.

Next stop dinner.

Not sure where I will end up next, but guessing that I will shoot for San Jose... I really want to visit the housing projects more than anything, though having trouble connecting with Dexter too... argh.

To be continued...

No manure, no magic...

Hmm... watched I "heart" Huckabees today with Jim, we both caught that line.

Awesome really... it explains a lot :))

Hehe. It doesn't make the manure smell better, but it does explain the need for the manure.

Anyways... the holidays are done, the partying isn't (I figure that 2008 ought be a party unto itself, why let the party end?? I won't let it ;)

In reflection today, I realized that (once again) there is meaning in everything, but the meaning that we find is our own. We can apply meaning to anything, and that can be our truth, but it is only our truth. It might, by some "coincidence" also be someone else's truth, but that's not relevant. When we apply meaning to something, it is our meaning... and it may only be true to us.

Yeah, the forest is thick baby... but look deeper.

We choose to apply meaning to every single experience in life, from birth to death. No experience is actually positive or negative, happy or sad - unless we say it is... that is us applying meaning to an experience. It is our personal truth.

Death is not bad, it's you that decides it is bad.

Birth is not good, unless you decide that it is.

Try to filter life through those glasses, and things will become more clear.

Choose meaning, and try to choose the positive meaning... why piss around with the negative? There's no point, no point at all.

Ok... /rant off :)

I hope that everyone's new year is off to a fantastic start.

For me, work begins again tomorrow, and I have to see if my pants still fit, then adjust the lifestyle accordingly (back to the grindstone folks, the elastic pants aren't allowed at work ;)

Hugs all.

Peace out.

me

(hugs implied)

I love Northwest Airlines

I am at the Calgary airport, waiting more or less patiently for my flight... which, because of my silliness this morning was moved from 8AM to 1:50PM - I have been sitting here ever since.

Ok, some standing involved.

As luck would have it, I was about four minutes too late to collect my boarding pass (the US customs folks are a bit sticky on the timing of passengers, and the four minutes mattered apparently).

The fellow at the counter was kind enough to trade my milk route tickets in for a more direct flight WITHOUT charging me an extra cent, which is pretty awesome. Ok, more than awesome really... he took hours off of my travel time and removed one potentially problematic connecting flight.

Cool.

Next up... Laura tried to check me in, only to discover that my credit card had never actually been charged, because my address information was not up to date on file, and the card could not be processed. She spent a solid 15 minutes on the phone sorting it all out... again no extra charge.

I cannot be certain as to how this would have worked if I had been flying Air Canada, but I am sure the experience would have involved me bending over to grab my ankles :)

So I guess the summary is this - I have not left the ground, but I am still a happy camper :)

Wheee...

Boarding starts in 20 minutes... so I had better run off to get my Frappuccino... or however that is spelled :)

Ciao all... update soon.

me

Off to Amsterdam...

For a while now I have felt a pull to the conference that I am headed to this weekend in Amsterdam. Too many signs have been dropped in my path, and I am keen to see what lays ahead.

It seems that the conference will be pretty intimate and interactive, and I will be formally "launching" the AWESOME cards - THANK YOU A MILLION to Amanda Woodward for the BRILLIANT design work on this - it truly is BEAUTIFUL!!

Yeah, it took a while to produce, but it was well worth the wait - it looks exactly as I had envisioned it... I have already begun handing them out in Calgary, and with this launch in Amsterdam, soon the cards will start showing up around the globe.

That is VERY exciting.

For those of you who have not been privy to the details on the Awesome Card - the idea is to carry them around with you and hand them to people you think are awesome. It is a fun way to say "Thanks for being such a great person" without saying those words.

I am stoked about that.

The cool bit is that Neale Donald Walsch will be there, and it looks to be a weekend full of great stuff... I am really REALLY excited to meet Neale, and to pass him a box of the Awesome cards... it will be a real honour to have him handing them out too!!

Woohoo!!

In other news, life is rocking right along... all sorts of big stuff coming to a head here, so I am working on preparing for that. Bootcamp is slowed down as we head into the cold stuff, but the real troopers are still out there "sweatin' it out" in the cold.

Oh yeah... for those following along, I finished Personal Best Level 2 this past weekend, and that was an awesome experience. If you don't know about PB and are in Calgary or Edmonton, drop me a line and I can fill you in - the experience is incredible, and I would urge you to get out and try out level one if you are curious :))

Awesome.

Ok, I think that is about enough for tonight - more to follow, next update either from Amsterdam or en route :))

Hugs and love to all...

Clinton

Whispers in the wind

I walk around this material world, and wonder what is real and what is illusion.

Or what is illusion even.

The ancients asked "are you dreaming when you are sleeping, or when you are awake?"

It is pretty clear that it is both... and I don't even know when I am awake most of the time.

This dream is good, even if it isn't "perfect" but then again, what is perfection?

Talked briefly with Jim last night about objectivity. I know what the word means, but does it exist? With our ego, our past, our history, our "knowledge" and beliefs... how can we be objective about anything? Every decision we make is somehow influenced by our past.

Or is that the next level?

True objectivity, I can see, is difficult if not impossible... but I think it is worth trying to find.

Now that I think about it, there's probably a few levels between here and there.

But objectivity is possible.

I will find it and report back :)

Love you all... every last one of you :))

Just being... trying not to do anything...

Ok, that is harder than it sounds.

I have said, and been told, that I am a human BEing not a human DOing, so I ought just be content being... not doing.

Why is that so hard?

We are conditioned to do... not just to exist and experience (which you can do without doing ;)

Yeah.

What a weekend... spent some time up North in Grande Cache with Alli, her brother, her father and step-mother. We were all out there to help Ryan work his way through his first Death Race... with Ryan being the second of the siblings to accomplish this amazing feat... and accomplish it he did. He endured like a trooper from start to finish, and did not complain through the entire thing.

One word for that - awesome :)

The weather was the pits, which put a real damper on the training plans for the weekend, but I got back and got my butt in the pool. I did manage a solid 1,500 - 2,000 metre swim in Hubbles Lake yesterday with Alli, and another 2k plus in the pool this morning, with a run still to come... so not all is lost :)

I don't know the significance of this post, but to say that I still exist, and things are moving forward... each day better than the last, or at least different, which is better :)

It's just me... existing... in Calgary.

For now.

Over and out :))

Clinton

Bringing Survivor Bootcamp to Edmonton and Calgary

Well, it's been a crazy couple of months, and so I figured it was time for a global (and personal) update to the blog :) Things have changed dramatically, and generally for the better :))

The latest news is that Alli and I are no longer together. It was with a heavy heart that I saw her leave my life as a partner, and leave Calgary for Edmonton, but our relationship has transitioned to that of business partners (as well as great friends) and I am happy to announce that she is joining me in my quest to offer a superior bootcamp experience to the residents of Edmonton. She is starting two Survivor Bootcamp classes on June 4 in Edmonton... one at 6 AM and another at 6 PM. If you know of anyone that is interested in joining up, have them take a look at the schedule found at survivorbootcamp.com - loads of outdoor fun and fitness to be enjoyed over four weeks. So much fun that most of our participants come back for a second round.

I have been busy at work with the identical venture in Calgary - I am now offering two identical classes in downtown Calgary - again, 6 AM and 6 PM five days a week. You can find more information about my classes at survivorbootcamp.com - I am currently doing this part time, while IT is still filling my days... not too much new to report on that end :)

I just wanted to throw this update out there, in case any of you were not aware of the major changes in my life as of late... it's been rough, but I feel that things are really looking up :)

Thank you to everyone for your support... hope to see you out at the races soon!!

Clinton

Power meters... all hype, but buy one if you want ;)

Stumbled on this one today...

http://www.trifuel.com/training/bike/power-meters-hype-or-hyper-effective

Wow... what a lot of hype!

I have been sucked into this trap before, and have even considered spending a bunch of money to monitoring my power (ok, I HAVE been sucked into this - I own two electronic trainers, both of which support power).

Having now observed a group of elite athletes at work, and seeing not one of them interested in power, during a race or training, I can safely say that this technology is more hype than anything else... so I can now add it to the pile of everything else that I have experienced - including heart rate monitors, swim training tools and whatever other junk I am forgetting about ;)

So why the hype?

As best I can gather, it helps justify most of these coach's existence. Without a power meter, and a bunch of complicated power-focused workouts, they would be out of a job. Ditto for the heart rate - more justification for their crazy complicated workouts.

But, the pundits will say "it works for me!!"

Of course it does, you are training, and training well... most of your workouts are focused and you are putting in the miles and hours. Why wouldn't you improve? You just don't need all that junk hardware.

It's even been proven that HRM's aren't worth a penny when it comes to accuracy when related to exercise effort (Borg RPE is accurate, HR is not - go figure, YOU actually know how hard you are working, better than the HRM).

Yeah... argue if you wish... but I present you the facts - 20 of the best triathletes on earth, one week, no heart rate monitors, no power meters... just hard work, sweat, and smart coaching... from the heart. Awesome stuff. Just awesome!!

Some days...

Just go well.

I don't know what clicked today, but it was a good day... so good that when I wanted to stop at 3k in the pool, I kept it up - figured "I can do this to 3,500" and for some reason, I just kept it going after that, and finished it all up with 4,000 even (or so - I cannot count... so I would say it was 4,000m +/- 300m ;)

Which raises a very important point - when I have ABSOLUTELY nothing else to think about when in the pool, how is it that I cannot keep it straight in my head how far it is I have gone?

Probably because I am busy thinking about 100 other things... like a device that would make counting laps easier... something I could strap to my finger that I could "click" every 100m or so... kindof like the Axe guys on TV. Meh... Marc tells me that focus is preferable... all I can say is that I am working on it.

That all said, I had a discussion with a fellow triathlete today (Katie) about this very thing... training long leaves us a lot of time for reflection, which can be good or bad (I have been experiencing both as of late).

This period of reflection is an awesome time to come up with... life plans/goals, recipes, theories, and well... just about anything that you can think about. On one hand it's good (since when is thinking bad) but it's a bit of a curse too - like when I cannot remember, for the life of me, how many lengths I have done.

Ah well... enough of that ramble.

At "lunch" I did 5x1000m intervals, with a bit of jogging, for a nice 40minute run. Next week I will pull it all the way up to the prescribed 6x1000m on 3:45 (I did have the time right, just not the number of intervals ;)

As a sidenote, my left calf is still annoying me, but it will wait until I can see Adam on Friday... wheee.

Until my next post, I hope all is well out there... hit me back with some comments, let me know that you are alive!

ciao

The weekend...

Well, Saturday saw me run in the Banff Calgary relay race, which was awesome. I started leg five and our team was in 50th place and by the time I finished, we were in 27th place. I must say, there's something to be said about starting towards the back of the pack... passing was fun :)) Leg five was ten miles, so it wasn't long, but it hurt. For some reason my left calf was bugging me, and my right heel has been nagging at me again as of late, and I figured it would all work itself out by the end. It really didn't, but the tailwind helped keep me fast :)) Our team placed 18/87 - which is a new record for them :D

Oh yeah... our team name was the Bantrel Bobcats... fun!

Sunday was Sunday. There was no wind early in the morning, and the sun was out, it was perfect weather for a ride.... but instead I vegged it. Everything was still too sore for me to contemplate doing much more than riding... and then riding fell off my list of priorities somehow :(

Today was better... did my two classes, got on the bike, and did a little bit of a speed run (these were meant to be two separate sessions, but lunch didn't work out today). Tomorrow is going to be a better day, I can feel it!

And thanks for the response to my last post Anonymous... food for thought - you are right :))

The quantity obsession...

This is my random thought post of the day... it seems that we, as a society, are obsessed with more, not better. And this is sort of a "more at all costs" endeavor.

Not cool.

I began thinking about it today, as I passed a dentist's office in downtown Calgary. There was a sign that said something to the effect of... "Children smile 400 times a day on average, Women smile 70 times a day on average, Men smile 8 times a day."

Now... I think the point of the sign is obvious, but it got me to thinking... one GRAND smile should be worth more than one insincere smile, but how does one measure the quality of the smile. And what about the length? Surely if I start smiling in the morning when I get out of bed, and don't stop until I fall asleep, that smile must be worth more than 100 small smiles, no?

Now... perhaps I am beating the point to death, but we seem to get sucked into this notion that more is better, when clearly this is seldom the case. We are consumed by the idea that we should have "more for less" and that this is good. Hence Walmart is the leading retailer on the planet... ayeee.

I feel that I have been sucked into this in past, and it scares me a bit, because I like to think that less is more (I once heard that "Les is more" but that was about something entirely different ;) Teehee... I do believe in moderation, and possibly even scarcity... when you have too much, you don't know what it's like to have nothing... and there's nothing left to dream about.

That ring true? Anyone still reading?

Well... for those still obsessed with quantity, I got 2,000m in tonight at the pool. Was supposed to be 2,900 - but I cut it short in the name of quality ;)

Have a great Friday everyone! over/out.

Time flies...

I probably have another post that was entitled something similar, but I couldn't come up with anything more original at this hour :)

I could go on and on about what things have gone on since I last posted, but it's long, and involved, and I will save it for a day that I have more time.

For now... let's talk a bit about training.

I have been on and off the wagon more times than I can count, and now is the time to be gettin' back on. I am roughly six weeks out from my first "in season" race - this one in BC... so no time to mess around at all ;)

I am trying a few new things, today I ran just over four miles in my more or less bare feet... this is something that I have been working on all along, but Marc made a suggestion recently that sealed the deal... so I am in. I ran indoors today, however, because the rain/sleet/snow was too much to endure, given my entire lack of clothing for this sort of weather (it was nice out this morning - that's my excuse ;)

Tonight is a solid swim, intervals. The run went well... let's see how the swim goes.

Oh yeah... for those that haven't heard - I have started up my own business in Calgary - you can find out a bit more at survivorbootcamp.com - this adds another two hours of work to my day from Monday through Wednesday, but it's worth it... AWESOME stuff!!

More to follow... and soon (tomorrow).

Love you all!!

Clinton

The dust is collecting...

The collection of dust has been growing on my blog, and for good reason. Finished one job in one city, moved to another over the weekend, and attempted to start life here... then there was the NYC marathon, followed by a brief trip to the Mayan Riviera... and then back to a harsh cold reality in Calgary.

So... here I am. I have tonnes to catch up on in this blog, but for now, I will spare you a load of detail. Suffice it to say that I AM still alive.

2007 base training started for me this week, but that's been mixed in with a pretty intense after-hours self improvement course that I have been taking, which will end on Sunday evening. So, real training starts on Monday... at which point, normal blogging will resume.

For those that don't know, I had a chance in September to visit the Sutto Squad up in the mountains of Switzerland, specifically in Leysin. It was a trip, and there's lots of information to add in about that, but for now, you know I was there, and trained with the best. The best summary of that trip is this - I spent a week with a group of exceptional people - all great, but mostly just very dedicated to what it is that they do. Just extremely hard working. That's the secret... really!! I could name names, but that's hardly worth doing - they are a collection of the best triathletes on earth, who very kindly let me sit in on their training and even share their lanes (despite my comparatively slow swimming :) What a cool experience.

Ok... off to my evening course, then onto whatever training I can squeeze into my weekend. I am too tired already, but I will see what I can do... I can always catch up on my sleep next week ;)

Hope everyone is well!!

Four hours and counting...

Well, I have been working on a blockbuster post - not quite there... so here's my interim post.

I am in New York City, and am on my way to the bus here shortly... then onto the start line, where I will apparently fire it up in fewer than four hours.

If you are around and feeling like watching, check things out at:
http://www.nycmarathon.org/home/index.php

Update in about 8-10 hours!!

Clinton

Well that sucked...

A bit.

Sorry for the delays in getting to this post, I suppose I might have been more quick with the post if I had finished the race an hour or two sooner than I did (may have had some extra time to type a blog entry ;)

Meh... the swim was typical, pulling it in just under an hour in the water... lake was clean and smooth, and was able to pull some draft off of a few helpful folk up front. People were clawing at me from behind and my larger concern was losing my timing chip... but it stayed put ;) Once I got out, the strippers stripped me (with some solid effort on their part, and a serious rolling around in the mud on my part) and I headed off to put on my shoes, helmet, and sunglasses... then off to find my bike...

The ride started out OK - I was to keep things real on the bike, and leave a bunch for the run. By halfway, I was on target for a 5.5 hour bike (respectable, given the effort) but by the time I reached the end of 180km, six hours had passed. Todd's wife Lee-Ann was out on course (pictures courtesy of her ;) and she told me yesterday that I "did not look well" coming up Yellow Lake... which is where she snapped me (from behind ;)


I don't think I looked so bad from behind, but what can I tell you for sure. I wasn't feeling particularly GREAT heading up that hill...

The move from bike to run was good, things felt solid, and I got into transition and even felt like visiting the washroom, which is a good sign. Did that, carried on my way... and the run started out great. My first step on the run is to drink down a larger than average liquid "meal" and allowing it some time to digest prior to pushing it real hard on the run.

That meal never really digested, at least not for the first half of my walk (run :))

I took it really easy because it didn't feel as though anything was going to be staying down, and I know that I need my fluids in me, not on the road. Well... the theory is good, but it cost me anything resembling a decent run, and by halfway I had given up on achieving anything similar to what I had set out to do... save for finishing that sucker.

As they say in French... c'est la vie :)

Now for the next chapter.

Things are feeling pretty good, and it's only Tuesday morning. I still have a sore neck and a couple of sore feet, but the swelling on my right foot has more or less subsided, and the blisters are nearly half healed.

I think that a renewed focus on the Olympic distance race on Saturday will see some different results, but the results on Saturday are not what I am aiming for... it's the experience.

Thanks for the support everyone, and I will keep you posted as I progress towards my race this weekend. Things are looking positive for that experience!!

over/out

Clinton

Results, results, results....

Before I even begin, I wanted to say "hello" to Jordan who dropped me a line just the other day. Apparently Jordan has been following along, and was out there on course with me at GWN last weekend. It was a brutal day by all accounts - and despite my best efforts to "avoid" the heat, I was caught in the worst of it on the run, with not enough fluid OR calories in my system to even begin the run. I should have done a 1:40 half marathon, but ended up doing a fair bit of walking, much to the chagrin of my coach. Hmm... have I been there before... according to my mother, I have, many times (in fact, just two weeks prior at K-100 ;)

Well, anyways - things were a bit slow towards the end of the bike, but overall I was pleased with my swim and bike splits - and we just won't talk about that run. Ok, I will talk about it, but just briefly... I managed to sort things out after half-way, but it was a bit too late for me. What do you know, another negative split (yeehaw).

Congratulations to Jordan for finishing that sucker... it was BRUTAL hot for the first time in history, according to those that have done it before (I was also a virgin to this race ;)

Oh yeah - Alli cleaned my clock on the run, and passed me at about 12k in - she didn't look back, and finished solid - just over five hours.

Well, it was a week of relaxed training, including a leisurely 80k ride yesterday... then onto ITU Edmonton for little Sunday morning Olympic distance action.

The swim was OK - I haven't seen all of the results, but I was out of the water first in my age group, which was cool... then onto my (never used) Kestrel for a ride through the hills in the river valley. That was fun, but not exactly speedy. I was about eight minutes shy of where I wanted to be on the bike... my legs didn't have any more speed in them :( Ah well... the run went OK, my recorded split on the run was 44:46, which is also a bit slower than I would have preferred, but given the circumstances, I am content... finished third in my age group which qualified me for the World Championships in Switzerland.

Now - I am nowhere near a contender for ANYTHING in Switzerland (save for the bottom half of the pack) BUT I have signed up to go do it, just for fun. I think it will be cool to hang out with some of the best athletes in Canada and the world... for a few days :))

Well, that's about all that I have for now, but keep an eye out here as training progresses. The next 48 days are all that remains of training opportunity for me pre-Ironman, and I have a few things to sort out in those 48 days ;) Only 54 days remain until the world championships... and ditto :)

If things get a little boring in this blog (I am a wee bit short of time at the moment :) check this out, I am logging all of my training here now:

http://weendure.com/user/cwasylishen

You can see all of my upcoming events, along with everything that I am doing... including weekly and monthly summaries. It is a new (free) service which is wonderful, even if lacking a few small things. Enjoy!!

The journey isn't anywhere near over...

I started this thing with the intention of keeping people that were interested in knowing what was going on at this end "in the loop" and I have done a real crap job of that since returning from Australia... so here is my first effort at rectifying that :)

We are very much back in Edmonton, with training back on track (more or less for me, absolutely for Alli :) I guess in all reality, training has been less than optimal, but I am more or less back on track. This weekend and next are races, so they are a bit of "a break" then it's back onto the hardcore plan, need to get all things in order - Ironman Canada is in 57 days. I feel that the fitness in the tank, but I need to do some fine tuning over the next 50 days :)

So... this weekend is Great White North - a half ironman distance race held in Stony Plain, just outside of Edmonton. The weather forecast is looking good - says high of 27 degrees, and with the race starting at 8:00 AM I should be well and truly finished prior to the serious arrival of the "serious" heat or the potential thundershowers. Will check the weather prior to departure tomorrow.

Tomorrow's race holds a bit of a story - my buddy Todd and I agreed to race the bike leg of the course... the winner taking a yellow jersey. The idea was that we would both be motivated to train harder than the other on the bike, if nothing else. I really figured Todd would pull it all out in the training, but he seems pretty convinced that I will win tomorrow - only time will tell. Race is from T1 to T2, will report back on who is the big winner post-race.

Great White North is also a big race for Alli - she's shooting for a spot at Ironman Canada, for which GWN is a qualifier. Her age group is larger than normal (61/700 - just under 9% of the field). My age group on the other hand, is 144 large, or about 21% of the total field. All that whining done, I am already signed up for IMC so there's really no pressure for me ;)

Next weekend is ITU in Edmonton, an Olympic distance race that will hold qualifying spots for the ITU age group world championships in Switzerland, which I am going to take a serious shot at - I would really like to visit Switzerland in September, so let's see if I can pull it off!! More on this to follow.

In other news, I am doing a couple of boot camps, and now employed on contract by a company called Fifth Dimension Software - they make blood tracking software, and I am helping them out while they do a massive rollout for a major American customer :)

Ok - time to get out for my pre-race bubble tea. Race report to follow...