Yuk!

Most of us at one point or another have likely suffered from this, my turn! Runners toe or toe nail, whatever the heck it is! This Saturday I did my day long trainer ride with no leg problems at all, as it turned out the only pain I had was at the end of the day my toes becoming larger than my shoes! Yep, I had to ride with my feet half out of my shoes in order to get it done, because stopping is never an option!
Then Sunday I had a run scheduled, was I looking forward to that! With my right toe being purple and having a heart beat of its own it was sure to be a run to remember! Me and the little man on my shoulder had a talk, he figured I should pack it in and not do it. With the OCD attitude that only a wannabe IRONMAN could have I sent the little man flying across the room! The first 1/2k of my run was numbing! Then I figured out how to run by adjusting every other joint and movement so that my toes would not hurt. As you can imagine, that was a fantastic run, 15k running out of balance with an adjusted stride and a big fat toe! YUK! I got it done much to the dismay of the little man! I got the last laugh on that one!
Yesterday I figured would be easy with no toe issues as I was going to be in the pool. Lesson learned! I got into the pool and found out quickly I had to do some taping to hold the toe intact. I kicked twice and the water current got a hold of my nail and almost ripped it off! OUCH! Did that hurt! I got out of the water, taped it up as well as I could and finished a 3200m practice with pleasure. The only frustration being those glorious people who have no clue how the heck to swim when others are in the lane. In the later part of the practice it was like being at a race? Why? The guys swimming seemed to insist on following zero logic, swimming towards me, going fast, then suddenly stopping, frustrating but good swim training! I followed my swim by doing some weights. In order to do any of the 'heavy' lifts, I needed to take my shoe off to stop it from hitting the front of my shoe. The looks I was getting were hilarious, walking around with only one shoe had everyone looking at me wondering what I was doing! No one asked?
Overall, damaged toe and all it has been an awesome start to week 8 of training! As it progresses, the workouts get harder but they are easier to get done. I am going to continue to follow the program as it is moving me forward with good results towards the start line for my first IM!
Although today was a rant, this is still one of the greatest rides that I have been on! With 10+ hours a week a couple of injuries are bound to come along. So, I write this post sitting in the walk in clinic to get this speed toe addressed so that I can get along with the training task at hand!
Happy training!
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Another great training day!

Yesterday was another opportunity for me to get some serious bike trainer miles under my butt!  It turned out to be a great day for indoor rides with winds screaming and the temperature down near freezing.  I likely would have done my rider inside at home if I had not arranged my options prior.
After a great week of training and a good rest day Friday, starting off the week on a good note is always a great thing.  So the plan was to do that very thing!  As I prepare for the RIDE TO CONQUER CANCER I am working towards my fund raising goal as well as raising awareness for the ride. LULULEMON was a great part of my effort yesterday, I set up my trainer in the Square One store and spun the day away amongst the staff and customers.  It is such an awesome way to bring attention to the ride.  You have to understand how busy the store is, from the moment the doors open until the last minute of the day it is lines up with people.  As they made their way by me everyone asked what the heck I was doing allowing me the chance to talk about this very important cause.  It was great to see how people reacted to the cause and how grateful they were for the effort put forward by all the people that do it.  The day was a great success from the promotional perspective as well as giving me a great chance to get another few miles under my seat.
In total yesterday I rode for 7h15m spinning at an average of 79 with an average HR of 129. I did not have a way to measure distance, however based on perceived effort and other data, I figure I wold have rolled 210km.  A little past half way through the day I also got out and did a transition run to see how things would go. It was a great run where the physical adjustment was seamless, I had no problem getting my legs moving and was up to pace in no time.  I did have a small issue with food, have tried some new nutrition yesterday. Now I know that I wont be using Honey Zingers, it made my stomach go crazy.  After I was off about 1k and let the world no where I was via the the insane gas I was passing, I seemed to be over it.  So lesson learned! Overall an awesome training day and a great success! I think I am about done on long trainer rides now!   Thank you very much to Bryan from http://trainingpayne.blogspot.com  for the use of his trainer.  I also think I got some good IM mojo from it  !
Last night was hte great reward to a good ride!  Met up with some buddies and had some beers and ribs! Yummy!  All around a good training day!
Hope your weekend has been great and you have put in some productive miles!  Cheers

A good day for a rest!

So today was 'rest' day! Could not have been better with the rain pouring down like cats and dogs! It was nuts for a while. But, rain didnt stop me from getting organized and relaxing!
Tomorrow I am doing another 8 hour trainer ride to raise awareness for the RIDE TO CONQUER CANCER, I look forward to doing this as it is for such a tremendous cause. I have to thank Bryan from http://www.trainingpayne.blogspot.com/ for his help with my effort tomorrow. He has let me use his trainer to do this ride! As I think about it, I hope that some of the good vibes that are in that trainer come to me through osmosis! He has done a lot of training on that thing and it has produced some great results. It was great catching up with him post IMSG and hearing about his race first hand. He is an inspiration to talk to about IM as he is so passionate about it. As a first timer, having the opportunity to speak to someone like Bryan is awesome as his opinions and lessons come from a ton of experience and a lot of great coaching along the way! I value being able to learn from a guy who has shown some awesome results and seems to only be getting started! Thanks for the beers and the stories Bryan, it is always a blast!


Yesterday I was sent an email from Lululemon that is part of the staff and community learning more about me as an ambassador. The questions are along the line of the 'things about yourself' excercise that some of us have completed. I had a lot of fun answering the questions and thought I would share them with you as well! Hope you enjoy!


Have a great weekend, and dont forget to do something awesome for your Mom!






Our team wants to know you better and we want to share what we learn with our community. We're going to post on our COMM board in our store "Get to Know Our Ambassadors" and we will be featuring you on our f-book page :) Please take a minute to answer the questions and return to me by Sunday May 9th ...thank you so much! I'm excited to read your answers and share with our team!!!! These questions came from our team...here we go....  


What would you set as a goal for yourself if you were guaranteed to succeed?  


To Complete My Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance Level 4 Certification!  


What is the best piece of advice you've ever been given?  


Do not have expectations of something you can not control! Do your absolute best at what you do and you will be successful. If you are not in complete control of an outcome and you set an expectation, you are potentially setting up for failure. Do your best and success will prevail.  


If you didn't have anything important to do, what time would you get up in the morning? 7AM. 


Although mornings are a quiet time for me, being up and capturing the day is great!  


If you could have something named after you, what would you want it to be?


A school/building for underprivildged kids.


What was your favourite toy as a child?  


A little Fisher Price car with keys! I still have it with the keys in a memory box at home.  


If you could choose one of your personality traits to pass on to your children, what would it be?  


Confidence. I would want them to believe in themselves and feel that they can accomplish whatever it is they desire to see complete. 


If you could have a room full of any one thing, what would it be?  


Friends and family! They make the world turn!  


Have you ever met a famous person?  


Canadian Olympians! 


What do you think you will be doing five years from now?  


Being a trainer, coach and motivator!  


Do you like chunky or smooth peanut butter?  


SMOOTH  


What is one thing that you believe everyone should do at least once a day?  


Be kind to someone! Life is to short not to be happy, share that with everyone that you can!  


What food is your guilty pleasure?  


Chocolate  


What is your worst habit?  


Taking on too much!  


What is your biggest inspiration that keeps you doing what you do everyday?


Seeing people succeed. Chasing my passion for teaching and coaching is all about seeing the smile on someone's fave when they reach a goal that they set out to do.  


What super hero powers would you want if you could have any?  


Cure for Cancer super powers!  


Furthest place you've been?  


Europe, South America  


What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?  


Every day! I know that is an easy answer, but being able to see what challenges and opportunities are out there to enjoy makes each day a great one!  


Coffee or tea?  


Extra Large Black  


What is your signature theme tune?  


Anything from BLue Rodeo  


What is your favourite season? 


Winter, bring it on! Love to ski and would travel the world to follow the season if I could.  


What legacy do you want to pass to the next generation?  


Generosity and kindness! Share with others the life than I am able to live and be known as a person who made others scared by challenging them and made them smile for doing what they didn't believe they could!  


What is your proudest achievement so far?  


Getting married to my wife Trish!  


What makes you smile?  


LIFE! Being blessed with health and the of the friends and family to enjoy it with.

That is a little more about me! Cheers!

Bike, swim......thanks mother nature....no run!

So, that little Crossfit class I went to!  Well, apparently it is the breeding ground for the little man on the shoulder that tells you not to work out!  Yeah, seems I had about 10 of them in the past 24 hours!  But, I am training for an IRONMAN, so away with you, you stubborn little shit!
After my class yesterday I had to run around like a chicken with my head cut off.  By the time I was done it was time to head out for my LULU run and I did not get my nasty but good bike workout in.  I thought I would get it done when I got back from the run.  Well, by the time I got back from the run, the little man was on my shoulder dancing and sticking his tongue out at me!  I think he actually called some of his other little friends for a party!  My glutes had seized and my legs were screaming, doing a bike workout would have been counterproductive!  So the little man won!  FOR NOW!
After running around this morning and attending a trade show, it was time to face off with the little man.  Yeah, he might get me temporarily, but unless I am losing my cookies and cant walk he was not going to win the battle!  I headed home, got my gear on!  this time it was my turn to look at the little guy on my shoulder, laugh at him and then with one solid flick of the finger send him flying across the room!  Even my friend thought the little man had won!  No damn way!
The workout was tough!  Getting on the bike with my legs and glutes screaming at me is not likely the idea of fun most people have in mind?  But, I wound up the pedals and did my ride!  It was a short one but tough with some sprints, big gear grinds.  Each time my HR climber the little man would jump back on and smile at me like he thought he could get me to quit!  Good thing I was on a trainer and did not have to worry about balance, I was able to flick him off each time!  My ride looked like this, short but sweet:
Avg Speed:  35kmh
Watt:  223
Cadence:  79
HR:  144
Distance: 26
Time: 44 min
The pain in my butt and legs starting the workout only made the workout more satisfying to finish!  Damn you little man, go and pick on someone else, one of those soft people who gives up easy!  HA!

As soon as my butt got out of the saddle it was time to put on my speedo and get to the pool!  The little man tried me on for size again!  This time I was in the car and able to make him fly!  Fly little man fly!  It was a great site.  I guess not giving in must be one of the qualities of an IM, because there was no way that I was letting that happen.  The swim was not easy, however, it did make me find a relaxed and easy swim.  I found the 3100m practice to be very soothing and beneficial although a little tough.  I think there was more benefit doing it physically tired than not doing it.
Oh yeah!  Then it was tome for s ROGA run!  It was my day, I do 3 runs a week that are 'extra' runs that are not part of my training.  Today I was happy that I did not have the extra run.  I guess mother nature had a bad day and decided she was going to treat the planet like crap to show her dismay!  THe sky was black and the clouds shook!  Running in the rain is one thing, when the sky is electric, NOT!  So, off to home for a great dinner!
Overall, it was an awesome training day with a great mental victory.  Time to get some rest and see if I can get my glutes to start working again!  Cheers and Happy night!

you gotta try this!!

So, each day of my life I like to try something that challenges me, something that puts me out of my comfort zone.  Those challenges might be physical, mental or a combination of both.  I like being pushed beyond my limits and learning from the experience.  I guess that might be why I chose to sign up for IM as a challenge.

Today I tried something new which seemed to me to be moderate on that scale, HA!  did I learn a good lesson, in many ways!  Not to ever underestimate a physical challenge and that I love pushing myself to the point that I am going to collapse!
Have you ever tried CROSSFIT training?  If you are the kind of person who believes in pushing yourself and does not believe in giving in to a little pain, this is your gig!  I went into the class thinking, 'hey how tough can this be?'  WOW!  it kicked the pants off of me!  I loved it!  Here was the line up of what we completed:

Warm up

2 minutes skipping
10 push ups
10 sit up
10 dislocates                            all of this x2
10 samson stretches
10 supermans
10 squat

Main Set

200 meter dash
5 hanging squat cleans
15 burpees                               all of this x4
15 kettle bell
30 seconds rest

Sounds  easy eh?  NOT!!!!  by the 4th set, I could barely lift my hands over my head to clap them for the burpee!  my heart was pounding out of my chest, and if I did one more set I likely would have had to go to the room that is painted with a guy vomiting!  They painted it there for a reason!  It was a 17 minute all out anaerobic torture workout! All that being said, based on the work completed, I can see how a long term program would turn you into a powerful machine!  It is something I will likely incorporate in order to activate fast twitch and to develop more power in my practice.  I just hope I can get out of bed in the morning to think about it some more!  I want to thank a fellow LULULEMON ambassador, Ruth Sheridan and Kate Warrren for the invite to her gym and for pushing my limits.  If you live in the Burlington area, check this out for a great workout challlenge, Crossfit Connection  !  you wont regret the workout!(or you might?)
I followed my torture session today with a short run with the LULU gang!  It was a good night with some new runners joining us again!  Each time we get new people out it is great.  It means that the word is getting out there and that is the point of the program. It was a short run only doing 6-7km, but felt good to loosen up the Crossfit affect!  As always found it to be a positive and fun experience.  

I found smooth!

After finishing a great weekend of training and relaxing I started the week on a smooth and great note.  I wish I could say it was because I found a million dollars and I am doing nothing but training for the next 6 months, but it is just as good!
Today marks the start of the aerobic training phase of my training.  I dont really know what that translates to as all the practices look very similar to what they were in the first 6 weeks.  They may be a little more intense but not so different. One thing that it does say clearly is there are no more optional 'I am tired practices'  All the workouts listed are to be done in the manner that they are listed without exception.  As the book says, it is time to start training and acting like an IRONMAN.  Also, it insists on making sure to be doing my ABC's for running as they are a big part of the improvement.  So, like a good little soldier,  bring it on, I am so ready to attack the next phase and turn it up a bit.

Today was  a great start, with a good pool practice.  The distance was easy with a 3500m swim with some 500 easy repeats and some kicking.  The kick was good, with the exception of the heart beat in my big toe from my marathon toe swelling.  I can feel myself getting stronger with my kick, it is translating into faster drill time as well as a more consistent kick when I am swimming!  Wahoo!  practice making improvements, imagine that!  The kick was half the good part, then the 500 repeats.  It was the greatest practice for finding a good rhythm while I was swimming.  Within 50 meters I found myself feeling like I was sliding through the water rather than trying to kill it!  My breathing was easy and relaxed and I was able to bilateral easily as I chose to.  My balance in the water seems to be improving allowing me to work on other parts of my stroke.  Ideally it will allow me to pick up a little more efficiency for the long run.  Right now, I am starting to think more about efficiency and preservation than going out to kill the time.  It is after-all my first IM and I want to get out of the water able to ride without being exhausted from a swim.  I will continue to work on stroke and balance and it should make for a respectable result at the end of the day!  Overall it was an awesome practice giving me a feeling of progress and accomplishment in the water!
I have to repeat, I am loving this stuff right now!!  I need to preserve the feeling somehow for those days later on when I am tired and bitching because I am exhausted!  I think I can manage that as there is a lot of positive vibes to capture right now!  Sharing my vibes with all of you!  Cheers!

Oops, time to catch up!

it has been a busy few days, awesome busy though!

Friday was a great day for weather up here in the far north, not the 23 degress that they promised, but sunny, not a lot of wind.  Yes, you guesses, that equals one heck of a good scene for a bike ride!  SO that I did.  Spent a great mid day burning rubber covering 80km at a 32-33km/h speed with a <130 average heart  rate.  We did a good section of hills over the course of the ride to get the on the road hills into my legs!  One of the satisfying parts of my ride is having found my old cycling form again.  A couple of years back when I was riding all the time, I was able to kill the hills and still have the gas at the top to roll away with comfort.  Last season when I started on this journey,  tried to do the same thing, only to have the cycling gods kick my in the butt and tell me to get back on my saddle and go to work for a while.  So, like an obedient little man, I guess I  must have listened because I kicked the pants off the couple of hills that were on our ride!  The short steep one and the long one and all their little friends in the middle were sheer entertainment!  As you can sense, I am happy as could be about this.  The ride once again convinced me that the work to date is working! Friday was also a day that I slacked off a bit!  Yeah, instead of going to the gym I met up with an old pal.  Just as I was getting in the car, a friend that I have not seen in a couple of years called me, so I detoured and went to the pub to catch up.  I did not feel bad about it as I have been going for a few days now and a 'rest' is not going to kill me.  It was great catching up with him and sharing stories of what we have been up to!
Saturday this weekend is to have been 'rest' day.  Yep, a true day with no workouts and nothing to do.  So, I got out of the house at 7AM to join my ROGA group for the Saturday run.  It was a short and slow run so I will count it as a break.  Mind you I am convinced the extra 3 short slow runs a week that I am doing I attribute to where I am currently am physically.  I dont think without those runs I would have smiled through Boston or Around the Bay.  Being done the run meant that the rest of the day was one to catch up.  So that I did.  I finally got my tri -bike off the trainer an ready for the road.  I had to put on my bottle cages, change the skewers and do some general maintenance.  As well it was time to hook up my cadence monitor for my Garmin.  I am looking forward to being able to operate on one platform rather than Polar on bike and Garmin on run.  I cant wait to get out for a ride this week and get on the road in an aero position!  One of the coolest things with a weekend with a rest day, was the opportunity to get a nap in during the day!  IT ROCKED!
Saturday night was a pre race dinner with  a 10k road race in the AM.  A good pals don agreed he would feed us a pasta dinner which I happily accepted.  It was a great dinner and done at a reasonable hour to get some rest for an early race start.
Sunday AM was the Down the Hill 10k!  It is a great race which is mostly down hill with 15000 runners.  As I said a little earlier my races this season are more to get out in the adrenaline environment than to go fast.  But, the day worked out alright for me.  My finish time for the run was a 46m40s.  I was ecstatic with that.  That represents a pace of 4:41 which I am very pleased with at this point.  I have just started speed work, I had a lot of fuel in the tank.  Overall my running is getting stronger, I have a long way to go however time will give me the chance to get there!  Trish also ran an awesome run, with a 1:04 which is a huge improvement on her pace from normal.  She was very happy with what she accomplished.  I am finishing my Sunday with another long run with some of the people that are art of my ROGA clinic in order to get them  the miles they should be doing.
Overall it has been a great weekend with a lot accomplished.  I am looking forward to continuing the chaOS!
Bryan from http://trainingpayne/blogpsot.com has a great IMSG race this weekend.  Check out his race report and you will want to go and race it!  Congratulations Bryan, way to keep inspiring the IM wannabes!