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
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Thursday, May 31, 2007
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
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!!
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!!
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
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
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
Monday, May 07, 2007
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 :))
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 :))
Friday, May 04, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
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
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
Friday, December 01, 2006
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!!
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!!
Sunday, November 05, 2006
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
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
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
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...
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
Sunday, July 09, 2006
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!!
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!!
Saturday, July 01, 2006
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...
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...
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Time is a wastin'
:)
Well, I have been very delinquent in posting, but not without reason (a fancy way of saying "excuse")
Anyways, we travelled the balance of the way back to Melbourne, enjoyed some cold camping out near Gulpa Creek, a couple of hours North of Melbourne, and then headed back to pack our things, and head out. The return trip was not without hassle, from the campervan rental company who refused to drive us to the airport (our taxi cost to us, $120). To those travelling Australia - beware the likes of Calypso Campervan - while I don't mind supporting the little guy, this company is worth avoiding. If you want additional information, drop me a line :)
After dealing with the extraordinarily expensive taxi ride to the airport, we sat and waited for the opportunity to check into our flight. To pass the time, we played "musical luggage" and swapped things from bag to bag, so that no one bag weighed more than 70lbs each... the maximum allowable. Once the check-in opened, we got to endure the second baggage discussion of our trip (first was with Air Canada). They insisted that the per-bag maximum was now 50lbs (like they can change this on you mid-trip) and we would need to pay around $600 for excess baggage... but they decided to give us a deal - instead, they insisted I check my carry-on and pay them $200 for doing so. I agreed, for no reason other than to get it over with... the fight with Singapore Air over that $200 charge continues.
Anyhow... a brief stopover in Singapore (two days) netted us a little bit of a cultural taste (short of an actual experience) and then the long trip home. I managed to confuse the date that we would be returning (damn time/date change) so we were lucky to be greeted at all when we arrived at 1:00 AM at the Edmonton International Airport.
We've been back for two weeks, moved in, moved out, moved in again... and we are hanging out on the South Side for now. Just sort of settling back into life.
That said... the journey continues, so keep watching!!
More to follow... thanks for reading.
Well, I have been very delinquent in posting, but not without reason (a fancy way of saying "excuse")
Anyways, we travelled the balance of the way back to Melbourne, enjoyed some cold camping out near Gulpa Creek, a couple of hours North of Melbourne, and then headed back to pack our things, and head out. The return trip was not without hassle, from the campervan rental company who refused to drive us to the airport (our taxi cost to us, $120). To those travelling Australia - beware the likes of Calypso Campervan - while I don't mind supporting the little guy, this company is worth avoiding. If you want additional information, drop me a line :)
After dealing with the extraordinarily expensive taxi ride to the airport, we sat and waited for the opportunity to check into our flight. To pass the time, we played "musical luggage" and swapped things from bag to bag, so that no one bag weighed more than 70lbs each... the maximum allowable. Once the check-in opened, we got to endure the second baggage discussion of our trip (first was with Air Canada). They insisted that the per-bag maximum was now 50lbs (like they can change this on you mid-trip) and we would need to pay around $600 for excess baggage... but they decided to give us a deal - instead, they insisted I check my carry-on and pay them $200 for doing so. I agreed, for no reason other than to get it over with... the fight with Singapore Air over that $200 charge continues.
Anyhow... a brief stopover in Singapore (two days) netted us a little bit of a cultural taste (short of an actual experience) and then the long trip home. I managed to confuse the date that we would be returning (damn time/date change) so we were lucky to be greeted at all when we arrived at 1:00 AM at the Edmonton International Airport.
We've been back for two weeks, moved in, moved out, moved in again... and we are hanging out on the South Side for now. Just sort of settling back into life.
That said... the journey continues, so keep watching!!
More to follow... thanks for reading.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Brief race report...
The day started early for us - 3:00 AM is when my alarm went off, though Alli was intent on sleeping until 3:45, she dealt well with my interruption to her sleep. The day starts with a brief run, a bunch of eating, and the necessary toilet visits (first of many ;)
The conditions at the time that we retired were not great - the wind was howling, and blowing the campervan around. We were a bit nervous going to sleep... but by the time we arose, the wind had ceased, and all was calm around us. The weather would continue to be perfect throughout the day (high of around 25 degrees is about as good as we could ask for - though a bit cooler would always be better, beggars cannot be choosers ;)
After breakfast, we gathered our swimming gear and headed down to the race village, where we proceeded to finalize all things prior to the start of the race (Alli had to change a tube before she even started the race).
The race start was a deep water start, which looked promising - everyone was seeded by their estimated swim time, which should technically provide a good distance between swimmers. The swim start was to be by canon, though as we were waiting for the canon, an air horn sounded, and the race began (I suspect that this was someone in the crowd, but I may never know - it certainly was no canon). I expect that the canon start was subsequently cancelled - firing the canon AFTER everyone started swimming would have really confused the swimmers :)
As the swim started and progressed, I discovered that a number of the swimmers in the wave in front of me had grossly underestimated their swim times (as I passed them on the swim). I tried desparately to find someone to draft off of, but I couldn't find anyone fast enough to bother with... and every time I found clear water in front of me, the attack came from the rear - I would equate this to beeing a teenaged girl at a prom - I have never been so groped in all my life!!
Well... I won't bore you with the specifics of the swim, but I took it pretty easy and managed to get out of the water just shy of an hour, which was my goal, so the result was sufficient :)
Off to the bike - first transition was smooth and straightforward, and the bike felt good to start... though I quickly learned the difference between driving the course and riding the course - driving is a lot more simple than riding ;) The hills were largely unrelenting - though mostly rolling, there was steep ones in there. It has been said that this is the toughest course on the Ironman circuit (exceeding the difficulty of both Canada and Kona - though I will reserve personal judgement on this until such time as I visit Ironman Canada in August ;)
The bike course was a three loop course, and by sometime in the second lap I had started the dehydration process (though I was largely unaware of this at the time). I figured this out late in the third lap, though it was a bit late to catch up prior to the start of the run - so the run started as more of a walk than a run. By the second lap of the two lap run, I had sorted the hydration bit out, and things picked up considerably. Due to daylight savings time, I ended up running a good part of the second lap was done in the dark, which was not a problem - in fact, the lack of sun was a welcome change indeed.
So... the injury that I sustained last week had very little impact on my race overall, though my lack of hydration certainly did affect my race (which was the simpler of the two to look after on the course, given the many aid stations). I wish I had done it differently, though just starting and finishing is an accomplishment, I have much to gain prior to coming back and doing Canada...
Alli will post her own race report, but the brief summary - she ended up coming in about ten minutes behind me, so we got to sit in the recovery tent together ;) She flatted out on the bike course, and the resulting tire change cost her a good 20 minutes... and she ended up falling just short of third place - so she remains a bit dissapointed on that point, but the accomplishment was still significant.
Both of us are well, just healing the little wounds from yesterday... today I feel fine save for some chafing on the back of my neck (the worst) and two blisters on my left foot... nothing major. Muscle soreness is nearly non-existent.
Thanks everyone for your support pre and post event... will post more later, as I find the time!!
The conditions at the time that we retired were not great - the wind was howling, and blowing the campervan around. We were a bit nervous going to sleep... but by the time we arose, the wind had ceased, and all was calm around us. The weather would continue to be perfect throughout the day (high of around 25 degrees is about as good as we could ask for - though a bit cooler would always be better, beggars cannot be choosers ;)
After breakfast, we gathered our swimming gear and headed down to the race village, where we proceeded to finalize all things prior to the start of the race (Alli had to change a tube before she even started the race).
The race start was a deep water start, which looked promising - everyone was seeded by their estimated swim time, which should technically provide a good distance between swimmers. The swim start was to be by canon, though as we were waiting for the canon, an air horn sounded, and the race began (I suspect that this was someone in the crowd, but I may never know - it certainly was no canon). I expect that the canon start was subsequently cancelled - firing the canon AFTER everyone started swimming would have really confused the swimmers :)
As the swim started and progressed, I discovered that a number of the swimmers in the wave in front of me had grossly underestimated their swim times (as I passed them on the swim). I tried desparately to find someone to draft off of, but I couldn't find anyone fast enough to bother with... and every time I found clear water in front of me, the attack came from the rear - I would equate this to beeing a teenaged girl at a prom - I have never been so groped in all my life!!
Well... I won't bore you with the specifics of the swim, but I took it pretty easy and managed to get out of the water just shy of an hour, which was my goal, so the result was sufficient :)
Off to the bike - first transition was smooth and straightforward, and the bike felt good to start... though I quickly learned the difference between driving the course and riding the course - driving is a lot more simple than riding ;) The hills were largely unrelenting - though mostly rolling, there was steep ones in there. It has been said that this is the toughest course on the Ironman circuit (exceeding the difficulty of both Canada and Kona - though I will reserve personal judgement on this until such time as I visit Ironman Canada in August ;)
The bike course was a three loop course, and by sometime in the second lap I had started the dehydration process (though I was largely unaware of this at the time). I figured this out late in the third lap, though it was a bit late to catch up prior to the start of the run - so the run started as more of a walk than a run. By the second lap of the two lap run, I had sorted the hydration bit out, and things picked up considerably. Due to daylight savings time, I ended up running a good part of the second lap was done in the dark, which was not a problem - in fact, the lack of sun was a welcome change indeed.
So... the injury that I sustained last week had very little impact on my race overall, though my lack of hydration certainly did affect my race (which was the simpler of the two to look after on the course, given the many aid stations). I wish I had done it differently, though just starting and finishing is an accomplishment, I have much to gain prior to coming back and doing Canada...
Alli will post her own race report, but the brief summary - she ended up coming in about ten minutes behind me, so we got to sit in the recovery tent together ;) She flatted out on the bike course, and the resulting tire change cost her a good 20 minutes... and she ended up falling just short of third place - so she remains a bit dissapointed on that point, but the accomplishment was still significant.
Both of us are well, just healing the little wounds from yesterday... today I feel fine save for some chafing on the back of my neck (the worst) and two blisters on my left foot... nothing major. Muscle soreness is nearly non-existent.
Thanks everyone for your support pre and post event... will post more later, as I find the time!!
Friday, March 31, 2006
Last pre-race entry...
Everything is done and set for tomorrow morning. Will be heading down to the start line in about 13 hours - race starts in a little less than 15 hours... both of us are a bit nervous, but that will be far behind us once that gun goes off in the morning.
Everything is clear in our heads now - just the blood sweat and tears left (mostly sweat ;)
Thanks again to everyone for your support leading up to the race - be sure to keep an eye out on the ironmanlive website for our progress as we go.
Race starts at 7:00 AM local or 2:00 PM Mountain. If you live elsewhere, check this link for your local start time.
Post-race report to follow!!
Clinton and Alli
Everything is clear in our heads now - just the blood sweat and tears left (mostly sweat ;)
Thanks again to everyone for your support leading up to the race - be sure to keep an eye out on the ironmanlive website for our progress as we go.
Race starts at 7:00 AM local or 2:00 PM Mountain. If you live elsewhere, check this link for your local start time.
Post-race report to follow!!
Clinton and Alli
The day of reckoning approaches...
Well, it's Friday night (and the post that follows took a very long time to get up).
Did the carb load dinner and listened to all sorts... from the 18 year old who is doing his first Ironman on Sunday (just decided it would be cool to do) to the 71 year old man who will be completing his eleventh Ironman... some crazy and inspiring stories.
Lisa Bentley got up and gave us a chat about her brush with a burst appendix in Kona... what an incredible story. I don't know how she lasted as long as she did (and she was more than willing to finish the race).
Anyways... much inspiration, two more sleeps...
Hope all is well back in Canada!!
G'nite for Friday!!
Did the carb load dinner and listened to all sorts... from the 18 year old who is doing his first Ironman on Sunday (just decided it would be cool to do) to the 71 year old man who will be completing his eleventh Ironman... some crazy and inspiring stories.
Lisa Bentley got up and gave us a chat about her brush with a burst appendix in Kona... what an incredible story. I don't know how she lasted as long as she did (and she was more than willing to finish the race).
Anyways... much inspiration, two more sleeps...
Hope all is well back in Canada!!
G'nite for Friday!!
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Hello from Port Macquarie
Hello everyone, it has been a while since I posted – a fact that I can attribute to our almost non-stop travel up the coast (bouncing from town to town) and infrequent access to the internet. We have now landed in Port Macqaurie, home of Ironman Australia and have settled into our campervan site. We have a neat little home here…
So, to bring everyone up to speed, I will skip most of the travel up to the past weekend and give you the goods from there…
On Sunday we went for a ride on the coast, near a small town named Ottsford. Rode off into one of Australia’s many national parks. The ride was great - nice ups and downs, and a little bit of flat in there for good measure. The road was windy and narrow, and as I rode along, I got to thinking again about motorists – I had slagged them in a previous post, but I failed to really speak to the good drivers, of which there are more than plenty. So I had decided early on in the ride that this was what my next post was to be about.
While driving that winding, and often slow road, many motorists (including motorcyclists) would wait patiently behind you until there was a decent flat/open stretch to pass. This is something that we, as cyclists appreciate. Nothing is worse than someone ramming past you on a blind corner, in a rush. In fact, I don’t know if we had a single bad motorist pass us on that ride (at least I certainly did not see one).
After a little more than an hour into the ride (it was a super-easy ride) I stopped to wait for Alli. From where I was stopped, I could see Sydney in the distance. Where I pulled over, I found a dollar coin on the side of the road… I took this to be a sign of good luck. I picked that dollar up, put it into my back jersey pocket and when Alli came up, we turned around for the second part of the journey.
I began to enjoy the ride back… easy on the hills up, hard on the way back down… the bends were a lot of fun (akin to driving a sports car in the mountains – though these were hardly mountainous roads ;) I took a particularly long steep and windy stretch hard, enjoying the curves – gaining speed as I went… and had a motorcycle right behind me doing the same (could hear him, but wasn’t looking back). As I came around the final tight turn of that descent, I was going somewhere around 50-60 km/h – and as I hit that turn, I realized I was pulling it too wide. With a car oncoming, and a motorcycle behind me, I lost my nerve and flinched. I do not even know what happened, but I went down. I missed the car in the far lane and the guy on the motorcycle behind me went down and bumped me from behind (this was an inconsequential “tap” after he had nearly come to a complete stop. I stopped very effectively with my body (and bike unfortunately).
Once I had come to a complete stop, I remember dragging my bike with one foot still attached to a pedal to the far side of the road… like a wounded animal.
Now if I had thought the motorists were good up to this point, you really should have seen the show after I crashed. The fellow on the Ducati behind me was unconcerned about anything but my well-being. This, despite the fact that he had just gotten his motorcycle back from being repaired… and the damage to his motorcycle was not pretty.
The next to stop was a couple in an SUV who helped the guy move his motorcycle off the road (I was in a bit of a state of shock still, and couldn’t quite grasp the fact that he could not easily lift the bike on his own). Once they got his bike off the road, we assessed the damage (no pun intended). I really cannot get a good view of my own ass, save for in the mirror (which was not readily available) so I had to take their word for it when they said it looked pretty bad. It certainly did smart – and my Speedo tri shorts were never to be the same again…
Alli came along, and it was sort of funny – she didn’t even realize what had gone on at first from the other side of the road things looked well – though she could not quite understand why everyone had decided to accumulate right on the bend at the bottom of a relatively steep decline. She was pretty upset when she saw the damage (probably more upset than me).
We exchanged details, and the couple that had stopped in the SUV were extremely generous in offering my bleeding butt a ride back to our van… and then subsequently offered us a place to stay. Did I mention that these people were FANTASTIC?? Wow… such super people. The guy on the bike… his attitude was “don’t worry about the bike, that’s what insurance is for – I am just glad you are all right.” Hmm… could I have had a better guy following me? And I have made no mention of his torn pants and scraped knee (though seemingly inconsequential to my injuries, they were incurred as a result of my poor judgment on that hill/corner).
Once I got back to the van, I surveyed the damage and pulled out the first aid kit. Cleaned off the two worn knuckles (ouch) and put band-aids on where possible.
Then I remembered my lucky dollar – checked in my back pocket, and it was still there.
Now, for the uninitiated, you might not have noticed, but despite all the damage done it was still a very lucky day. The damage done to bike and rider are insignificant to death, and I cheated death that day. If that car had been a couple seconds later, or had there been another car behind the first, I would have been in serious trouble. Ditto for the guy on the motorcycle – he very well could have ridden right overtop of me, and that would not have been a pretty picture.
Ah well – went down to the local lifesaving club and had the lifeguards check and clean my wounds (well, Alli did most of the cleaning actually, and they covered up the damage for me).
The bike had certainly seen better days – I shaved a significant amount of carbon from the front handlebars, but I think it will hold together. A few other scapes, and somehow scratched up the fork a bit, but I think all is well there as far as structural integrity goes.
All of this just seven days out from the race – this was a hard pill to swallow, but training came to a literal screeching halt after that. On Tuesday I visited a doctor’s office in Shoal Bay, where they promptly (minus the two hour wait in the lobby to get in) cleaned my butt up, patched it up, fired a tetanus shot into my left arm (ouch) and sent me on my way with a prescription for antibiotics to save me from any infection that might crop up.
Things have been sore, but by yesterday (Wednesday here) things have almost returned to good working order. My butt still hurts to sit on, and I am constantly aware of the missing skin, but it is not that big of a deal. Diversity in training is what I call that.
So… that was Sunday, and today is Friday. Just a few short days until race day. You should see this place – triathletes everywhere. At around 6:30 I woke up and went to the washroom, and an older fellow – probably mid sixties was coming out of the “amenities building” wearing dark blue spandex running tights and long white socks over top. Not something you would traditionally see at a caravan park (or at least not something that I would expect to see here when Ironman was not on).
I think I mentioned it in a previous post, but not too sure – the local tourist bureau started up an “adopt an athlete program” where businesses or individuals/families could adopt an out of town athlete to cheer on come Sunday (after all, most out of the athletes competing will be from out of town – out of 1,500 people competing, 24 countries are represented, and there are only 11 locals doing the Ironman – needless to say, those 11 locals will be well represented in the crowd).
Anyhow, I was lucky enough to get adopted by the local visitors center. The visitors center is staffed by a bunch of fantastic ladies, who were all very pleased to learn that they were sponsoring a “professional triathlete”. Oops… now who told them that?? I had to correct them, or else they would only serve to be disappointed, especially with my recent run-in with the road… well, that AND the very competitive nature of Ironman here in Australia. These Aussies are plain nuts… or at least their times have been incredible in years past.
The town has literally come alive with Ironman athletes… the caravan park is nearly full and it is mid-week. I am sure that the net impact on this small town will be substantial… probably the largest single even in the entire year. What is fascinating to watch, however, is the varying craziness of these athletes. It is clearly the time to slow down, yet on an easy jog that Alli and I did last night, this guy goes wizzing past us like he was on the way to a fire… but there is a lot of assuming going on here, so I will stop ;)
Final note – some of you are interested in watching our progress this weekend, and so I though I would share with you how to follow our progress – or at least how I believe that you will be able to follow our progress. You can go to http://www.ironmanlive.com on race day and look for a link to Ironman Australia (it should be pretty big and/or obvious on the day). Once you get the option to track an athlete, you will be able to search us out. Should you require our bib numbers they are: Alli – 318 and I am 1492. I do not think that those are subject to any change, but we don’t have our bibs yet.
Alli has not had much of a chance to access the internet either, and has not posted a blog entry for a while, but she will be on that shortly. Until then, she says HELLO to everyone that might be reading!
Until the next post, from Port Macquarie… Clinton and Alli
So, to bring everyone up to speed, I will skip most of the travel up to the past weekend and give you the goods from there…
On Sunday we went for a ride on the coast, near a small town named Ottsford. Rode off into one of Australia’s many national parks. The ride was great - nice ups and downs, and a little bit of flat in there for good measure. The road was windy and narrow, and as I rode along, I got to thinking again about motorists – I had slagged them in a previous post, but I failed to really speak to the good drivers, of which there are more than plenty. So I had decided early on in the ride that this was what my next post was to be about.
While driving that winding, and often slow road, many motorists (including motorcyclists) would wait patiently behind you until there was a decent flat/open stretch to pass. This is something that we, as cyclists appreciate. Nothing is worse than someone ramming past you on a blind corner, in a rush. In fact, I don’t know if we had a single bad motorist pass us on that ride (at least I certainly did not see one).
After a little more than an hour into the ride (it was a super-easy ride) I stopped to wait for Alli. From where I was stopped, I could see Sydney in the distance. Where I pulled over, I found a dollar coin on the side of the road… I took this to be a sign of good luck. I picked that dollar up, put it into my back jersey pocket and when Alli came up, we turned around for the second part of the journey.
I began to enjoy the ride back… easy on the hills up, hard on the way back down… the bends were a lot of fun (akin to driving a sports car in the mountains – though these were hardly mountainous roads ;) I took a particularly long steep and windy stretch hard, enjoying the curves – gaining speed as I went… and had a motorcycle right behind me doing the same (could hear him, but wasn’t looking back). As I came around the final tight turn of that descent, I was going somewhere around 50-60 km/h – and as I hit that turn, I realized I was pulling it too wide. With a car oncoming, and a motorcycle behind me, I lost my nerve and flinched. I do not even know what happened, but I went down. I missed the car in the far lane and the guy on the motorcycle behind me went down and bumped me from behind (this was an inconsequential “tap” after he had nearly come to a complete stop. I stopped very effectively with my body (and bike unfortunately).
Once I had come to a complete stop, I remember dragging my bike with one foot still attached to a pedal to the far side of the road… like a wounded animal.
Now if I had thought the motorists were good up to this point, you really should have seen the show after I crashed. The fellow on the Ducati behind me was unconcerned about anything but my well-being. This, despite the fact that he had just gotten his motorcycle back from being repaired… and the damage to his motorcycle was not pretty.
The next to stop was a couple in an SUV who helped the guy move his motorcycle off the road (I was in a bit of a state of shock still, and couldn’t quite grasp the fact that he could not easily lift the bike on his own). Once they got his bike off the road, we assessed the damage (no pun intended). I really cannot get a good view of my own ass, save for in the mirror (which was not readily available) so I had to take their word for it when they said it looked pretty bad. It certainly did smart – and my Speedo tri shorts were never to be the same again…
Alli came along, and it was sort of funny – she didn’t even realize what had gone on at first from the other side of the road things looked well – though she could not quite understand why everyone had decided to accumulate right on the bend at the bottom of a relatively steep decline. She was pretty upset when she saw the damage (probably more upset than me).
We exchanged details, and the couple that had stopped in the SUV were extremely generous in offering my bleeding butt a ride back to our van… and then subsequently offered us a place to stay. Did I mention that these people were FANTASTIC?? Wow… such super people. The guy on the bike… his attitude was “don’t worry about the bike, that’s what insurance is for – I am just glad you are all right.” Hmm… could I have had a better guy following me? And I have made no mention of his torn pants and scraped knee (though seemingly inconsequential to my injuries, they were incurred as a result of my poor judgment on that hill/corner).
Once I got back to the van, I surveyed the damage and pulled out the first aid kit. Cleaned off the two worn knuckles (ouch) and put band-aids on where possible.
Then I remembered my lucky dollar – checked in my back pocket, and it was still there.
Now, for the uninitiated, you might not have noticed, but despite all the damage done it was still a very lucky day. The damage done to bike and rider are insignificant to death, and I cheated death that day. If that car had been a couple seconds later, or had there been another car behind the first, I would have been in serious trouble. Ditto for the guy on the motorcycle – he very well could have ridden right overtop of me, and that would not have been a pretty picture.
Ah well – went down to the local lifesaving club and had the lifeguards check and clean my wounds (well, Alli did most of the cleaning actually, and they covered up the damage for me).
The bike had certainly seen better days – I shaved a significant amount of carbon from the front handlebars, but I think it will hold together. A few other scapes, and somehow scratched up the fork a bit, but I think all is well there as far as structural integrity goes.
All of this just seven days out from the race – this was a hard pill to swallow, but training came to a literal screeching halt after that. On Tuesday I visited a doctor’s office in Shoal Bay, where they promptly (minus the two hour wait in the lobby to get in) cleaned my butt up, patched it up, fired a tetanus shot into my left arm (ouch) and sent me on my way with a prescription for antibiotics to save me from any infection that might crop up.
Things have been sore, but by yesterday (Wednesday here) things have almost returned to good working order. My butt still hurts to sit on, and I am constantly aware of the missing skin, but it is not that big of a deal. Diversity in training is what I call that.
So… that was Sunday, and today is Friday. Just a few short days until race day. You should see this place – triathletes everywhere. At around 6:30 I woke up and went to the washroom, and an older fellow – probably mid sixties was coming out of the “amenities building” wearing dark blue spandex running tights and long white socks over top. Not something you would traditionally see at a caravan park (or at least not something that I would expect to see here when Ironman was not on).
I think I mentioned it in a previous post, but not too sure – the local tourist bureau started up an “adopt an athlete program” where businesses or individuals/families could adopt an out of town athlete to cheer on come Sunday (after all, most out of the athletes competing will be from out of town – out of 1,500 people competing, 24 countries are represented, and there are only 11 locals doing the Ironman – needless to say, those 11 locals will be well represented in the crowd).
Anyhow, I was lucky enough to get adopted by the local visitors center. The visitors center is staffed by a bunch of fantastic ladies, who were all very pleased to learn that they were sponsoring a “professional triathlete”. Oops… now who told them that?? I had to correct them, or else they would only serve to be disappointed, especially with my recent run-in with the road… well, that AND the very competitive nature of Ironman here in Australia. These Aussies are plain nuts… or at least their times have been incredible in years past.
The town has literally come alive with Ironman athletes… the caravan park is nearly full and it is mid-week. I am sure that the net impact on this small town will be substantial… probably the largest single even in the entire year. What is fascinating to watch, however, is the varying craziness of these athletes. It is clearly the time to slow down, yet on an easy jog that Alli and I did last night, this guy goes wizzing past us like he was on the way to a fire… but there is a lot of assuming going on here, so I will stop ;)
Final note – some of you are interested in watching our progress this weekend, and so I though I would share with you how to follow our progress – or at least how I believe that you will be able to follow our progress. You can go to http://www.ironmanlive.com on race day and look for a link to Ironman Australia (it should be pretty big and/or obvious on the day). Once you get the option to track an athlete, you will be able to search us out. Should you require our bib numbers they are: Alli – 318 and I am 1492. I do not think that those are subject to any change, but we don’t have our bibs yet.
Alli has not had much of a chance to access the internet either, and has not posted a blog entry for a while, but she will be on that shortly. Until then, she says HELLO to everyone that might be reading!
Until the next post, from Port Macquarie… Clinton and Alli
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Hello from Canberra...
Just a quick note to say hello from Canberra. We are making our way slowly up the coast, enjoying a few of the sights and experiences :)
Training continues, albeit in taper mode... slowly winding down to almost nothing. Today is a day off, then back on again tomorrow.
All is well (and sunny) here.
Hope everyone is well, more as we find time and access.
Clinton and Alli
Training continues, albeit in taper mode... slowly winding down to almost nothing. Today is a day off, then back on again tomorrow.
All is well (and sunny) here.
Hope everyone is well, more as we find time and access.
Clinton and Alli
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
No news is good news :)
Just a very quick note... on the clock here, and time is nearly up!
We are headed up the coast towards the race venue - have moved about 1,000km since we left last Thursday. Currently in a small city called Batemans Bay. Nice little town.
Tomorrow we will be heading into Canberra for a day or two. Canberra is the capital of Australia, and home of the Australian Institute of Sport (Alli is really keen on visiting the AIS so we will be making a stop there).
More soon... maybe even a few pictures at our next stop!!
Oh yeah - we are nowhere near that cyclone, so fear thee not - it is considerably North of us.
Miss you all... more soon!
Clinton & Alli
We are headed up the coast towards the race venue - have moved about 1,000km since we left last Thursday. Currently in a small city called Batemans Bay. Nice little town.
Tomorrow we will be heading into Canberra for a day or two. Canberra is the capital of Australia, and home of the Australian Institute of Sport (Alli is really keen on visiting the AIS so we will be making a stop there).
More soon... maybe even a few pictures at our next stop!!
Oh yeah - we are nowhere near that cyclone, so fear thee not - it is considerably North of us.
Miss you all... more soon!
Clinton & Alli
Monday, March 06, 2006
Fat - the good, the bad and the ugly
Now, we all know that midsection fat is ugly... but that's not what I'm talking about here :)
I ran across an interesting article on ironmanlive.com about fat in the diet. This is an often misunderstood item - over the years many people have been misled about the role of fat in the diet.
This article is not quite complete, but it is good reference... so take a peek.
A bit common sense, but so is eating (in my humble opinion :)
Bottom line - don't forget the fat!!!
I ran across an interesting article on ironmanlive.com about fat in the diet. This is an often misunderstood item - over the years many people have been misled about the role of fat in the diet.
This article is not quite complete, but it is good reference... so take a peek.
A bit common sense, but so is eating (in my humble opinion :)
Bottom line - don't forget the fat!!!
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