She's gifted

We're home from our little trip to visit family for Christmas. It was nice. A quick couple of days, but nice to see everyone and catch up. I hadn't seen some people since before going away for three months, so there was a fair bit of catching up to do.

It doesn't really need to be said, but Darcy is extraordinarily gifted, at least from my point of view. This trip she proved that she has an undeniable for having to go to the "baff-yoom" right as we're passing the last rest stop on the voyage. She did it Sunday afternoon and laughed about it all the way to her grandparents house, "Woo hoo, I have a stinky bum!"

She had a blast playing with her cousins, eating garbage and staying up way too late. Last night we managed to get her to bed at a relatively normal time and she slept for nearly 12 hours. When I went in to get her this morning I was immediately engulfed in two distinct smells; poop & vomit. She claimed that she hadn't pooped, but said she had a scratchy throat (while whipping her face off on my shoulder). My theory was that the smell of toxic poop her diaper had forced her to choke on her own filth. She was fine for the rest of the day. Eat well, played hard and had a solid nap.

On the drive home tonight, right as we were passing the final rest stop, she declared that she had "pee and poop". What a gift. And then she pooped. I find out later that even if we had stopped, it would have been too late. She wasn't upset by the dirty diaper and we were within 20 minutes of being home, so we pressed on. As we got about 5 minutes from home, the smell of toxic poop again forced her to choke on her own filth and she spewed all over herself, her blanket, her car seat and her brand new Dora doll. But she was remarkable calm and patiently waited for us to get home. As I was getting her out of the car she said, "Oh no, what a mess I made. Oh no, look at my Dora." But we got her cleaned up and put her right in bed and she never even shed a tear.

Sue can't sleep because she's worried D's going to be sick again tonight and I'm on midnights. So I should be sleeping now to prepare myself, but I can't sleep either. I'll pay for this around 4am...

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UPDATE (12/27)

Well, I was wrong about two things. One, I was paying for not sleeping closer to 2am. Two, Darcy must actually be sick because she was up from 4:30-6:00am with Sue throwing up again. This kid is so needy, geez!

The tally last night was something like:
Sets of sheets: 2
Pillows: 3
Pyjamas: 3
Hours Sue slept: 3.5

Happy Birthday to me

I turn 32 today. It was a good day, I worked the midnight shift and came home to hear Darcy say, "Happy Boofday Daddy" she was pretty excited for me. Then she said, "My boofday is June 6!"

Somehow I fluked my way into having the 25 & 26th off, not bad for the rookie. So were headed out of town to see some family.

And I quote!

My dear wife and I were recently discussing books to read. She said that she could recommend a couple that she knew I was going to like. On Dec. 13, 2006 at 1337, referring to one book, her exact words were, "It's not like Pride & Prejudice, it's good stuff."

She tried to take the words back. But at last I was able to uncover the truth; Sue is not the P&P fan that she claims to be. Now we're going to have to change Darcy's name.

Never a dull moment

*** Warning, this post is about a 2 1/2 year old pooping.***

Today Darcy was on the toilet, pushing her brains out. As usual, she needed to have a book read to her to accomplish the task at hand. So I was reading about Baby Pluto following his nose, but she kept getting distracted and was forgetting the task at hand. I asked what I thought was a simple question and the following conversation ensued.

N: Darcy, did you do your poops? Where did your poops go?
D: I dunno. Did you take them?
N: No.
D: Did Mommy take them?
N: No. Are they still in your bum?
D: Yes, I will pull them out (tries to put her hand under her bum).
N: No honey, push them out. No hands.

Sorry kiddo!

Tonight's Daddy-Daughter night, while Sue is at work. We were playing some silly games, like where she throws the mini-nerf football off my head and laughs like a maniac or when she says, "Don't laugh Daddy." And then I laugh and she laughs. Good times.

She also asked for a horsie ride and climbed on to my back. We took a bit of a ride and then she decided to get off. But before I could let her, she did a back dive and landed on her toy telephone, head first. The bruise came up within a minute. She's going to look like football player tomorrow.

She's the birthday girl

Happy birthday to my beautiful wife, Sue.

I can't believe you're really that old.

Love,
Nick

PASS

I'll save you the suspense; I passed.

However, it's a total hollow victory. Four of my classmate did not and I feel like I've lost family members. This morning was the worst few hours I've ever been through, seeing people disappear was unreal.

Thanks for your support during these last three months. Big thanks go especially to those who helped Sue while she was alone. I'm just glad that it's all been worth it.

I just wish it felt better than this.

The Waiting Game

So it's all over but the waiting. I find out my results Wednesday morning, hopefully by 10am. If all goes well, I graduate Thursday and start work back home on Monday.

I'm not going to lie. Yesterday was the most stressful day of my life. Although I'm reasonably sure that Wednesday morning will surpass it, up until this point, I've never been as nervous as I was yesterday. I know that a lot of my classmates feel the same way, so at least I know we're all feeling the same way.

It's time to let it all go now. Sue and Darcy arrive this afternoon and Sue and I are going to see Elton John tonight. That will be a great time and, for the record, it is her birthday present, so that has to earn me some big points in the husband of the year category.

ps: I switched to the new version of blogger (I'm sure you could tell). Now chalk full of beta-goodness.

Ironman Florida

Yesterday was Ironman Florida. Several people from Windsor made the trek and competed. I found a few of their results and as if completing an Ironman isn't sick enough, they did it some disgustingly fast times.

Matt Gervais: 9:45:49
Mark Kloppenburg: 9:58:40
Shelley McKee: 13:52:20

World class guys! That is amazing.

No time to blog

I'm into the home stretch and I've barely had any time to read email, let alone think about blogging in the last week or so. The next week doesn't look any better. I write my final exams next Thursday and Friday.

Congrats go out to the recent marathoners, Glenn (4:21) and Krista (4:43) in Toronto and Jake (3:34!) in Detroit. Great job. Well deserved.

Since the stress level of the final exams is building in my life, I've taken to running on the treadmill (gasp!) to blow off steam. Tonight was an exceptional steam blowing session. Another new personal best: 5km in 19:44 (3:57/km or 6:21/mile). It felt good.

Hopefully after the exams of next week I'll have time to blog.

Meeting Goals

One of my New Year's resolutions was to run 700km. It was a bit of an arbitrary number, based on what I had run last year and was hoping to increase this year. I met that goal last week. I've swam almost twice as much as last year, but being away from home has killed my cycling and I'll fall about 600km short of my goal. I think if I really push it, I might be able to get to 1000km, but the early morning darkness is really killing my long runs.

Yesterday, I went for a 10km run and set out at what felt like a fast, but comfortable pace. In the end it turned out to be a 43:02 run (6:55/mile), crushing my old PR by 44 seconds. I never felt like I was working all that hard and my heart rate didn't even get as high as when I've raced. Woo hoo!

Hard Week

This has been a hard week. Darcy had a few break downs after her Papa left and Sue has to deal with it all herself. I just can't consider my being here to be fair to her, even in the smallest degree. I just really feel that I should be at home now. And on Tuesday I very nearly decided that it was time to pack things up and leave. Being away for 9 weeks has gotten to me and I want it to be over.

Fortunately, I have the most amazing classmates and several of them could tell that I was not myself before I even had the chance to tell them. We just know each other well enough to know when something is wrong. In the end I had a break down myself and again they were there to pick me up and to talk me away from the cliff. Some of the best advice someone gave me was, "If you quit now, you go home with nothing and this has all been a waste. If you stick it out, you go home with something. You've got to go home with something."

I'm feeling better about life, but still wish this was over. I had the first round of final exams today and feel that I totally rocked them. Two more weeks of learning, a week of exams, a week of orientation.

It had to happen

Groups start their training sessions roughly every two weeks. The group that is two weeks behind me got their exam results today. I remember how stressful it was sitting, waiting for your turn to get the results. But, obviously, I passed and was very relieved.

Things didn't go as well for a couple of people and they were escorted off the premises. I saw some of their classmates and every one of them looked like they had seen a ghost. They were relieved to have passed, but blown away by the reality that their friends weren't coming back.

On the bright side, I have now finished 8 weeks. I have 3 weeks of learning left, 1 week of exams and then a final week of orientation before heading back home!

Marathoners

A quick shout out to Glenn & Krista (Sue's cousins), who are running the Toronto Marathon this Sunday. Go get 'em! You've trained hard, now race harder. A few short, mind you possibly painful, hours is all that remains between you and a lifetime of bragging rights.

Also to my former co-worker Jake, who makes his run at a Boston qualifying time in Detroit on October 29. Have fun Jake, but don't forget to change your clock that night! It would sort of suck if you were an hour early (or would it be late? I never get it right). I seriously hope you make it. That would be amesome.

Half way

Today marks the academic halfway point for me! Woo Hoo! This has been a stressful week with exams and waiting for the results, but I passed, so I keep on going with the process.

Today also marks one more week until I get to go home for Thanksgiving. That will be awesome, I can hardly wait. Poor Darcy is so out of sorts and poor Sue is having to deal with everything. It's a pretty crappy situation, but we're halfway there.

Thanks to all those who have emailed support, it meant a lot especially this week.

ps: Happy 60th Birthday to my Father-in-law! Way to go H, you've honed that body into one that doesn't look much older than 70!

Have you heard of this?

There is a club called the "Marathon Maniacs", their goal is usually just to complete a marathon in all 50 states at some point in their lives. Some are little more hardcore and try to do 50 marathons in 50 states, in one year.

But this is crazy. Dean Karnazes is the ultimate of ultra-marathon runners. He has been featured in Runner's World several times and was one of the first people ever to run over 300 miles at one time! Although, he did admit to occasionally falling asleep while he was running.

His lastest endevour has been to run 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 days. Don't worry Sue, this is something that I will never have interest in trying. It's for the clearly unstable.

Stress time

We are rapidly approaching our first set of "pass/fail" exams. We do them early next week. Even though I feel well prepared, I've done very well on all the review material and have improved the little areas that needed improving, the stress level is rising quickly.

I'm enjoying the program and have wonderful classmates. These are some of the most dedicated and supportive people that I've ever had the pleasure to work with. But that is also how we got here...

So, I've got a few days of practice and studying left, then it's crunch time.

Feeling guilty

Darcy had a great week last week with Stef, but this week has noticed the difference with Stef gone. I can't help but feel guilty for putting Darcy through this stressful time. She's so young and she doesn't understand that I'm not there right now. She's at the point where she doesn't really want to talk to me on the phone. I think that's because she doesn't want to talk to me, she wants to see me, to play with me, she wants me to be there.

I know that if all goes well, this will really pay off in the end. But right now I feel like a pretty terrible father for forcing such trauma on her young little life.

One Quarter Done

Three weeks in. It's amazing to think that I'm already 1/4 finished. In some ways it feel like I'm been here for ever, but in other ways it feels like time has just flown by. I have an amazing group to work with, we can totally count on each other for help and support. That has made life away from my family easier.

I'm still keeping in shape. I'm not biking nearly as much as I'd like to, I get out maybe twice a week, but my running is still going nicely; I get in about 20 miles a week. I'm also able to swim more consistently and the weight are always available too. Although, I have yet to actually touch them...

Combined, I've managed to put in over 150km in since I've been here.

Home

I'm home in Windsor for the long weekend. On Thursday I told Darcy that I would see her Friday. We barely made it, but I was in her room watching her sleep at 11:55 pm. When she woke up this morning, I walked in and she started to say "Hello, Mommy." But she caught herslef and spent the next five minutes saying, "Daddydaddydaddydaddydaddydaddy!" In between that she would say, "You were in the telephone." It's good to be missed.

Oh yeah, Sue missed me too.

Tonight on CNN - program change

There was supposed to be a documentary feature about the eight years that Sue and I have been married, but it's being replaced with ongoing Katrina coverage.

What some people will do for ratings!

Love you Sue, even if we don't have our own tv special ;)

Distance

I'm in Montreal for the weekend. Stef and I went for a long ride this morning, nothing hard, just keeping an easy pace over mostly paved trails. We got as close as we could to the F1 Track, where the Champ Car Series is having a race this weekend. We were within a kilometre of the track and could see the tents, I could also hear the cars all the way from here, about 12.5 km away. We did do dome gravel trails and a few sections of trails that are still being completed. Some good hills and some good descents (with some nice skidding). It was a great ride, we were gone for 2 1/2 hours and covered 47.5 km, according to Gmap Pedometer.

It was an intense first week. I'm really enjoying the learning, but it's really hard to be away from Sue and Darcy. If you've read Sue's blog, you'll know that Darcy's having a tough time adjusting to my being away. It's having an effect on all of us. Fortunately, next weekend is a long weekend and I'll headed home to see my favorite girls! Yee Haw.

I love Air Canada

Have you seen Windsor Airport? If not, it's small. I think there is one gate. Yet, the last two times I've flown from Windsor to Toronto, my bags have been lost. What is up with that? How hard is it? There was only one plane in Windsor, how come my bags didn't get on it?

I won't even get into some of the other diasters that AC & I have shared. I could write a book about it.

My dear wife, who I totally ADORE for her wisdom, suggested last week that I take a uniform as carry-on, just in case. Being the obedient husband that I am, I followed her advice and packed everything I'd need for one day in my carry-on. Except toileteries. Now, my first day is done and I STILL DON'T HAVE ANY LUGGAGE!!! I'm told that they will be delivered today, but I'll believe it when I see it. Big points to Sue for coming up with her idea. Wow, I'd be so totally up the creek without that suggestion.

So here I am, with the clothes that I wore yesterday and the one uniform I carried on. Hopefully my bags come soon.

Like right now would be nice.

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UPDATE: 9:00pm

Apparently I'm quite a powerful writer. It turns out that as I was writing my little rant, my bags were being delivered that very minute. Hah. Oh wait, they were only 22 hours late, so it's really not THAT funny.

Some things

There are some tri pics up on my Flickr page. Jake took them(thanks eh!). I tried to post some here, but blogger can be stupid about those sort of things.

If you notice the one with the floating sludge, maybe that'll explain why I had a mini-barf or 'vurp' while I was swimming. I had forgotten about it until Monday afternoon. About 3/4 of the way through I had swallowed too much water and the GU energy gel I took before the swim was starting to fight back. Mix the two things together and a burp with a tiny little bit of flavor is what I got. Thankfully, nothing more than that.

Jake noticed that I came out of the water way sooner than he expected. There were about 15 pros who start 3 minutes ahead of everyone and then the men under 40 were the next wave to go. He figures I was in the top ten of my wave out of the water. I was first in my age group, but didn't know that at the time. It's funny though, here I am disappointed with my time, but top in my age group and well ahead of everyone else. When I got out on the bike about I started getting passed by a number of people who were flying. At the time I thought to myself, "Why are these guys so far back?" Never realizing that it was me who was so far in front.

Last night I went for a 5 km run. I had decided earlier in the day that I was going to break my PR of 21:11 and then Jake challenged me to break his record of 20:35. I got to the halfway point at 10:13 and was pretty sure I could match Jake's time. It was very hard work, but I cranked it out in 20:19! That works out to 4:04/km or 6:32/mile. Shattering my own PR by 52 seconds. I was gasping for air like I never have before; an awesome run. This way I leave my job with the fastest 5 km time at the shop, if only for a day.

That's right, I'm done at the print shop. It was hard to say good-bye. I had been there for seven years, three months and fifteen days, give or take. With both of our family's being out of town, we've taken to adopting people as our family. My co-workers were family and it's hard to see them go. I leave Sunday for my training period. It's 13 weeks long, but fortunately I'll be home again in two weeks for Labour Day. Sue will be on her own for a week and then she's taking in a boarder for a month or two. She's a girl who's getting pushed out by her current landlord and is getting married in December, so doesn't need a lease. The timing is perfect and Sue is excited about having adult company. Also, after Labour Day my sister has agreed to stay for a week to take care of Darcy. It sounds like Stef has a whole curriculum planned, hopefully she can keep up with Darcy's pace.

I'll have internet access while I'm away but I doubt I'll have much to blog about. My goal is to study hard and pass everything. They have great facilities so I'll also be able to keep my swimming, biking and running at a good level. No fall races for me this year. Next year I'll do an Olympic tri for sure.

Titcombe out.

Race Details

It was a perfect day. A little chilly when I left the house, but beautiful by the time the race started. We couldn't have had better conditions.

The Swim (800 metres):
Same course as last year, straight out & back along the shore. Because of this it's really shallow the entire way. My strategy this year was to be more aggressive and get towards the front of the pack. I was near the front, but really didn't settle into a good rhythm until the second half. Even though the lake was very smooth, I kept swallowing water and, for some strange reason, my goggles decided that today would be the first time they leaked. So I had to keep emptying them. I felt good the whole way, a decent effort, tired but not too tired. Here's where things get weird. I got to the timing mat and hit the split on my watch, 14:30. What? Two full minutes slower than last year. Very strange.

I did some looking at the results and compared times of big name people with their times of last year. Almost everyone, including the pros, was about 2 minutes slower. So, it seems a little fishy that everyone would slow down by nearly the same margin. I can see myself slowing down that much, but not the pros. There were some world class racers there and it just seems impossible that I would slow down by the same amount as they would. My conclusion is that either this years swim course was too long or that last years swim course was too short.

Anyway, I was now two minutes behind schedule and had ground to make up. After the swim, here is my placing:
14:30 - 40/161 overall & 1/19 age group

T1 (swim-bike):
As I'm running up the beach the swim cap and goggles come off. Last year they had kiddie pools to wash your feet of in (I slipped and almost fell), but there were no pools this year. Fortunately, I had planned to wash my own feet off anyway. I got to my bike, sprayed one down, put one sock on and slipped on one shoe (thanks to my YANKZ laces, highly recommended), then repeated the process on the other foot. Voila, I've got my shoes on all I have left to do is get my shirt on. Somehow I managed to put my shirt on half inside out and got stuck. So I wasted about 30 seconds wriggling out of my shirt, getting it the right way and finally getting it on.
Time: 1:54 (1:13 faster than last year).

Bike 30 km:
There's not much to report about the bike. I worked hard and kept the pace as high as I could. We were blessed with a tiny headwind for the first half, but I knew that the would be a tailwind for the second half. I was drinking gatorade every ten minutes and took a GU energy gel after 30 minutes. I think that I ended up over doing it on the bike and had too much stuff in my stomach for the run. Oh well, lesson learned.

My time on the bike was:
55:45 (32.3 km/hr) - 71/161 & 12/19 (18 seconds slower than last year).

T2 (bike-run):
Put the bike back on the rack, take off the helmet, start running.
Time: 43 seconds (15 seconds faster than last year).

Run (6 km):
I knew I was a much stronger running this year. It showed right away as I really didn't feel too bad off the bike and ran with a good stride immediately. A few people passed me in the first couple of km, but after the halfway point, I did not get passed once and must have passed a dozen or more people. I was running stronger as they were fading. In the last 2 km, an older gentleman and I were running together and started picking off people ahead of us. We hit the 5 km marker and I picked up the pace again, he was a few seconds behind me at the line. Turns out he was Richard Kniaziew, a local man who once did the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. His daughters have both been very successful triathletes. One of them, Blaire, place eight in her age group at Hawaii last year. Clearly I was in good company.

I was very happy with my splits:
4.41
4.35
4.28 - 13:44
4.26
4.29
4.18 - 13:13
Total run time:
26:57 - 51/161 & 7/19 (1:08 faster than last year).

The official standings have me at:
1:40:03 - 58/161 & 9/19 (3 seconds slower...)

They say that the clock doesn't lie and I won't argue what the clock says, but I know something is not right. Initially, I was disappointed about the swim putting me so far behind, but I figured that with the amount that I actually swim, the result was fairly predictable. But now I know that something was different from last year, either way I know I improved. I'll just have to go out and crank it up another notch next year.

Time = Huh?

The official results aren't posted yet but, according to my watch, my time was 1:40:00. Or, exactly the same as last year! Huh? How is that even possible? I knew I wasn't going to set a world record, but I was hoping for some improvement. Like not even a second or two? Weird.

Once the official results are posted I'll write a report and all that.

Release the hounds!

Sunday is race day for me. I'll be competing in the annual Windsor Triathlon. It's an 800m swim, 30 km bike & 6 km run. Last year I finished in 1:40:00 and I'm very confident that I will improve upon that this time around.

As usual, I give myself three goals:
I know I can do less than 1:40:00.
I'd really like to do less than 1:35:00.
I'd love to do around 1:31:00 or better.

One last easy swim-bike combo tomorrow morning and then rest until Sunday morning. Then it's time to hammer.

Pirates - Movie Review

Warning, if I haven't seen it I will ruin the plot, not that there was much of one.

Okay Disney, what's the deal? I can't figure out who you're marketing this movie to. It's way too long for anyone, way to gory for kids under 10 and way to predictable for anyone older. What's up with that stupid love triangle? And I'd also like to question your lack of imagination and recommend that you try to invent new monsters.

So, it's too long. It runs around 2:20 and could easily be 40 minutes shorter. As most people that I've talked to have said, "It's long and nothing happens." Ohhhh, there's Capt. Jack Sparrow using himself as a human pole vault! Ohhhh, there's Turner being overbearing and super-clever. Ohhh, there's Capt. Jack again speaking circles around everyone. Ohhhh, there's Turner escaping from a rolling prison ball, and then from a rolling water wheel. Ohhh, a three man sword fight. And my favorite, ohhhh, a scary octopus like monster that can will swallow you whole and then keep you undead for a hundred years on the ocean floor.

This monster has already been in some small films that have had limited success. I believe you'll find it in "Return of the Jedi", he eats Bobba Fett. And it makes a cameo (in it's flashy new water form) in "Fellowship of the Ring" as the fellowship is entering the mines of Moria. Seriously, this is the best Disney can come up with? Pretty uncreative.

What bugged me the most was how Keira Knightley's character turns herself into a no good pirate floozy. She challenges Jack to do what is right and not to force her into a situation where her honor would be compromised. For a moment we think he's abandonned everyone and his beloved ship, The Black Pearl. In the end he returns to what he wants most, his ship and goes down with it, proving that he is a man of (moderate) honor, after all he is still a pirate. Knightley's character, one the other hand, abandons her honor to lure Capt. Jack into being trapped on the Pearl while it is under attack. Is that really the character type that Disney is looking to sell to young girls?

Writing: poor, trying to be way to clever way too often.
Acting: Depp is very funny, I like him. Knightley is nice to watch, but a terrible character. Bloom tries to do too much with very little.
Action: Cool, but repetitive and the sequences are too long.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Word verification

I've been getting some 'comments' lately that haven't been contributing to the blog. So I've turned on the word verification thingy.

Sorry for any inconvenience. Spammers stink.

Oh boy.

I was at the pool this morning and I've started to recognize some of the regulars. Two that really stick out are a pair of older men and that are seriously overweight. I'll call them Mr. Big #1 and Mr. Big #2. They know each other and are forever talking about different business ideas in the locker room. I'm pretty sure that Mr. Big #1 is the owner of a couple of local restaurants. Sometimes Mr. Big #2 makes it into the pool for a swim. I think Mr. Big #1 just uses the hot tub.

Today they and I were the first three people in the locker room. The combined weight would have been somewhere in the neighbourhood of 860 lbs., and I tip the scales at 160 lbs. Since the triathlon is next weekend, I was using this as a chance to practice getting dressed while wet and getting used to biking after swimming, so I was getting my locker set up and putting my stuff in order when I heard a clapping sound.

I turned around to see that Mr. Big #1 had sat down on the bench between lockers, but he was naked. His enormous 350 lbs. butt was firmly planted on a slotted bench in a communal locker room. I shuddered and nearly gagged. As I promise to myself, I will never touch that bench or any other bench in that locker room ever again.

After thoughts

It's Thursday and my legs finally feel normal again. I can walk downstairs again without any trouble and I had some decent power on my bike rides today. Which is good, because I'm going to do my first post-race run today. Just an easy 2 miles to remind my legs what it feels like to run. Hopefully they cooperate.

I was looking over my splits. Each 5 km got slower, not surprisingly.
5: 23.35
10: 24.37
15: 25.05
20: 25.35

This race offered free massages to anyone who signed up. I thought that was going to be a treat. The problem was that the tent was full of people who ran the 5 km race and were getting full-body massages, so the people who ran the 10 km had to wait for them and the people who ran the half-marathon (21.1 km) had to be last to get a massage. Jake told me that the same thing happened to him after running the Forest City Marathon (London) in May. He eventually saw an open table and just lay down. Someone got mad that he cut in front of her kids, who ran all of 2.5 km, but he didn't really care. After all he had just run a marathon, that's 42.2 km, if you care.

Maybe I'm coming across like a jerk (it's my blog, I can do that here), but does anyone who ran 5 km really need a 45 minute full-body massage? I ran 21.1 and I only wanted my legs. There's got to be a better method of giving free massages. Surely there could be cut-off time frames for the other races and then when the half-marathoners come in, they get priority? But again, unless you set the world record, does anyone who ran 5 km really need a massage? So after signing up, I waited around for almost 15 minutes and still had at least 20 minutes to wait when I decided to leave. That could be part of the reason that it took four days for my legs to feel like legs again.

There is Strength in Numbers.

It was hot here today. I don't know what the actual high was, but yesterday set a local record. The course had some shade, but not nearly enough. I covered myself in Darcy's SPF 50 sunblock, even still my nose got a little burned.

Jake and I ran well and chatted together for the first eight km. We passed a few people, we got passed by a few people and we played tag with some others. We tried to run through the water stops, but we quickly realized that it was more important to get the water in us then to splash it on us. At about the eight km point Kelly, one of the people we'd been playing tag with, joined us. She has run eight marathons, including Boston twice. I was impressed. During the rest of the race we found out that she is turning 40 and has two kids, 7 & 9. She didn't look like it! So now there were three of us running together. The chatting we did really helped take the focus off the heat.

We got to the half way point (10.5km) in 50.44. I was very happy with that time, considering the heat. Sue, Darcy and my in-laws were waiting for us at the turn-around and gave us some bags of oranges that I had prepared. The oranges really hit the spot. I was having trouble drinking Gatorade (some mild nausea) and was only able to take in water without feeling sick, so the oranges helped get rid of the sugar taste left by Gatorade and gave me a bit of a boost too.

At about 14 km I started to have trouble. I was running well, but couldn't keep cool. It was here that I was most glad for having these two more experienced runners chatting. Even though I couldn't say anything, the conversation really kept me distracted from the task at hand and I knew that I couldn't let them get ahead of me. If they had dropped me, I surely would have crumbled. I really learned the truth to the saying 'there is strength in numbers'. At 16 km, as I walked through the aid station, I got my wind back and started to feel better. "5 km left. I know I can run 5km." That was all that was going through my head.

With about 4 km left things were starting to turn for the worse again. Jake is a very nice guy. He was in a really good mood today and thanked every single volunteer and police officer on the course. As he and Kelly joked with each other I thought to myself, "Jake is really in a good mood. But, that good mood is really starting to p!ss me off." I gave myself a little head shake and thanked him for keeping me in the race. With 2 km left Kelly said that she wanted to pass the girl that was in front of us and she took off. She went by easily and it completely crushed the other girl. As soon as Kelly went by, the other girl started walking. She was broken. When Jake and I went by, with about 1.5 km left, she looked really disappointed.

We caught Kelly again at the last turn and pushed her to keep up with us for the finish. But once I could see the line, I just let everything out and Jake and I sprinted for the line. I heard the announcer say, "Here come two guys who can feel the finish line!" I crossed about a step or two ahead of Jake. Our second half was done in 52.34. A very solid split.

Our splits were very steady throughout the race. Right around 4:45-5:05/km. Our first one was too fast, 4:24. But our last one was just as strong, we finished the last one in 4:25. For the record, I beat him to the line. But officially, he is listed ahead of me in the standings. I'm okay with that because if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been where I was. He did all the work, I just tagged along for the ride. Total time: 1.43.18, 19/55 overall & 10/17 in age group.


I feel great about it. For the first time this race has ever been held, it was top notch. Things were very organized and the aid-stations were pretty well done. My biggest beef was that plastic cups are really hard to drink out of while running. But that didn't matter, because I walked through most of the aid-stations. And I got to meet Shelley in person. It was an honor to get my finisher medal from someone who's completed five Ironman races.

Great to meet you Shelley, thanks for putting together such a great event!

Time

Official time: 1:43:18 (7:54/mile)

Something like 18th overall. Jake really help me through some tough times. The heat was insane.

Full report to come.

Prediction

So what do I think I'll run on Sunday?

Goal: Finish the race.
Must beat this time for my own pride: 1:45

I know I can beat this time is I run well: 1:40

If conditions are ideal would like to run: 1:35

The forecast is for 33C on Sunday. So if it's hot and sticky first thing in the morning, I'll run slower so that I don't totally fade in the second half. If things go well, I'd like to run the first half in 46 minutes and the second half in 50 minutes.

I've done my last short run already and will rest for the next two days (while travelling back home). My legs should be pretty fresh Sunday morning.

--- UPDATE: It is sorching hot here in Windsor, so I'm going to add at least five minutes to all of these. I'd rather finish on slowly on my feet than not at all.

12 mile break down

I did my last long run on Monday. As if a 12 miler isn't long enough, the weather made it feel longer. I started at 8:10 pm, so at least the sun was behind buildings and I didn't have to roast, but it was still 31C. I ran slower, as planned, in the heat and I drank a lot more than usual. I was done my bottle by mile 7 and used the city water fountains along the river to refill. I stopped three times to soak my head, the last time I did a full head-dunk into the Bert Weeks Memorial Fountain. That was really nice. I only lost one pound on this run.

I ran well enough for the first four miles, done in 34:36. The next four were hard. I was going into the wind and the heat was getting to me, finished those in 37:50. The last four miles were hard to run because my legs were feeling pretty tired, having already put in ten miles on the bike getting to and from work. But with the sun now completely gone and the temp dropping, I got through them in 34:36. The last four miles were exactly the same speed as the first four miles. Weird. Total time was 1:47:16 @ 8.56/mile.

My schedule has me taking it easy this and next week (which is good,because I'll be on vacation) short runs of 3, 4, 6 & 2 miles before the1/2 Marathon Sunday July 30th.

8 miles - hot and sticky

I did an early morning run today. Jake & I started at 7am, which is good practice for me because I don't normally run in the morning and I've been wondering what I'd do to fuel myself before the half-marathon. Jake suggested that I eat before bed and drink a lot too. It worked great. I had a bottle of Gatorade for the run and never had any problems. Except for the heat.

We did a 4 mile out & back. The first 2 were shaded, very nice and comfortable. 3 & 4 were with the sun at our backs, but into a stiff head-wind. Not bad, but it did make us work. I was happy when we hit the turn-around, or I thought I was. 5 & 6 were possibily the worst two miles I've ever run. Not for pace, but for suffering. It was early enough that the sun was right in our eyes and it was already very hot. The wind was now behind us, so it felt like we were running through a sauna. I don't think I could have done another mile into the sun. Neither one of us said much during that time, we could afford the extra energy. Miles 7 & 8 were back up through the shaded streets and we both recovered right away. We were soaked and dripping, but it was a great run. I lost about 3-4 lbs. in sweat.

8 miles - 1:01:43 @ 7.43/mile

I'm the flatman

While biking to work this morning I heard a sound that I'm not at all familiar with, PPsssssssttttt. Oh man, I got a flat.

Fortunately, I was only 2 km from work, so I made it there by slowly riding on the rim. I honestly can't remember the last time I got a flat while riding. I do remember having a tube explode on me while filling it, but not while riding. After taking the wheel apart, turns out my tire blew the side wall and the tube popped. Oh well, I suppose I should be satisfied with eight years out of that tire...

Vonage

I hate using Bell Canada. It drives me crazy that we use them for both phone and internet. So recently the option of internet phone came to Windsor and we signed up with Vonage. So far it couldn't have gone any smoother. I've called their help line and actually been able to talk to a human.

Yes, shocking, I know.

Thanks for the crappy service Bell. I hope you don't miss ripping me off too badly!

One slow stroke at a time

I did a swim today (my first this year), got to the pool early and was the first one in. My plan was to do an easy 1000m, not worry about time, just put in some time and get my strokes in. I was doing sets of 50m with 15 seconds break in between.

The first 200m felt fine. Hard work, but not too bad. When I hit 500m I knew that I wasn't going to be able to do the full 1000m. My stomach was starting to turn and I knew that fighting through just wasn't worth it at this point. So I decided to stop after 800m. I was pretty beat.

What really bugs me about this pool is that it is WAY too hot for swimming lengths. Last year they'd post the temp. and it was always above 85F. I'm sure it was at least that hot today. Swimming is hard enough work, doing it in a bath is just plain uncomfortable. I tried to cool down with a shower, but after ten seconds, that even turned hot.

By the time I got changed and left for home I was sweating. You shouldn't sweat after swimming.

Decision Time

Maybe you remember me writing that I might have to wait up to two years to hear about getting a new job, maybe not. Well, as I posted, I forwarded the last bit of paper work that they needed last Tuesday. I was ready to sit and wait for how ever long I needed. Well the wait wasn't very long. I had an offer emailed to me the very next day. So over the last week I've been in contact with them, getting info about where I'll be staying for 13 weeks (just outside of my home town Montreal), how the program runs, how if I fail one test I'm immediately sent home (yeah, no pressure!) and of course, when I'll be taking the program. I'll be in class M-F all day, but I'll have my evenings and weekends to myself. Which will be nice because I'll be able to spend time with my parents and sibs. I've been given two choices, neither are great, but I think I've made my decision. I can go from Aug 21-Nov 16 or Sept 5-Nov 30.

Two weeks difference that really makes no difference in the long run. If I go in August, I get to miss our anniversary. If I go in September, I get to miss Sue's birthday. Either way, I'm in the dog-house. The Sept option has a bit of an advantage. One of my goal races is the Montreal Triathlon (Olympic distance) on Sept 16. If I go in Aug it means that I'm going to lose almost a month's worth of biking and some crucial swims before race day, I could still do the race, but I wouldn't be satisfied giving it a half baked effort. If I go in Sept I can use the two weeks before the race to taper and be in great shape to give it my all on race day. What to do? This is where I've realized that the 'advantage' of going with the Sept option is actually a disadvantage.

I'm going there to train for a new career, not race a triathlon. I've got to be focused 100% on learning new material, not on how my training for an inconsequential race is progressing. If I don't do the triathlon this year, will I regret it? No, not at all. It would have been fun, but my life won't change either way. If I do the triathlon this year and get injured or fail a test because I was focused on the race and then lose my shot at a great career, will I regret that? Yes, forever. I cannot mess up this opportunity. I have to be focused for 13 weeks of intense learning and the triathlon will only be a distraction.

I'm going to go in August and not do the triathlon. It's not like the training I've done so far is wasted. I still have the 1/2 marathon at the end of July and the Windsor Triathlon in the middle of August, before I leave town.

Officially Injured.

My leg was very sore this morning. I'm walking with a limp and using the stairs very awkwardly. It's official, I'm injured. I've told myself that I won't run again until at least next Saturday, 10 days between runs. I biked to and from work as usual and that felt 100% normal. So my plan is to go for rides where I would have gone for runs.

D'oh.

Ouch.

I had some track work to do tonight, 4 x 800. This is definitely my favorite distance, but usually four repeats is not quite enough to make me feel like I really worked hard. Tonight was going great until I started the last repeat. I pushed off hard with my left leg and felt the Achilles tweak. It hurt a bit, but in a testosterone enhanced state, I figured I could finish the 800 metres. After all, there were only about 798 more to go.

It wasn't too bad, but I could barely run for my cool down. I could tell that I was noticeably limping. I've done some good stretching and iced it. We'll see how it is in the morning, I may have to adjust my weekend run if it's still too tender.

D'oh.

Some stuff

I haven't much to write about lately and even if I did, I've had even less time in which to write. I thought summers were supposed to go at a slower pace then the rest of the year...

Part of it is that Darcy is going to bed later (which is nice, because we can play longer), part of it is me training for a 1/2 marathon and 2 triathlons and part of it is just wanting to be outside during the beautiful weather. It's been amazing here. Really warm during the days and then cooling off nicely at night. Perfect weather.

I've already run farther this year then I did all of last year.

I've got all my certifications done. So I'm officially waiting for the call to get trained (13 weeks away from the family) for a new job. Although I could be waiting for up to two years. But my part is done, all I can do is wait.

Oh, and one other thing. Chris Pronger, thank you for helping get the Oilers to game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. I do appreciate that even though you consistently took stupid penalties, you did have a role in shutting down some big stars. However, losing in game 7 and your request for a trade only further proves that you are still an oversized useless oaf.

Ironman Coeur d’Alene

Tomorrow is the Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Almost 2500 people will brave the cold water (16C) for 2.4 miles, then ride through hills for 112 miles, just so they can be sufficiently warmed up to run a marathon.

Shelley is competing in what will be number five or six for her. Crazy.

Ironman has a very cool system for race day. You can track athletes as they progress throughout the day. It's a very handy system, especially when it takes over 12+ hours for the 'average' person to finish.

Moon in June - 10km race report

My goal going in was to beat my PR (43:46), I knew that was a lofty goal, but this was an "A" race, so I had better put up or shut up.

My co-worker Jake and I were running together and our goal pace gave us a little bit of a cushion for us to break 44, if not get close to 43 minutes. Running with him was great. It helped having someone right there with you. The race started at about 7:15pm and it was still 30+ Celsius. It was scorching hot. The run started well and we were pacing perfectly for the first 6km. However, my stomach started to slosh at 4km and the heat from the road started coming through my shoes. I could seriously feel my feet starting to burn. I saw Sue and Darcy at the halfway turnaround and D said, "Hallllooo Daddy!" which was really helpful at that point. It was after the 6km point that I started to fade. The heat played a big role, but equally as big was the lack of water tables. If I'd known there wasn't going to be enough water, I would have had Sue throw me a bottle at the halfway point. She said that some other people were doing it. I really wish we would have known to think of that!

The course was set up as a 2.5km out & back (once for the 5km race, twice for the 10km race). The only water table was the 2km point. You go it at four times in all (2, 3, 7 & 8). So I drank at 3km but then had to wait until 7km for anything else. That was a really hard thing to do. After 6km my mouth was dry and it wasn't so much that I need a drink as much as I needed to get something wet into my mouth. I think there should have been another table at the 5km point. This is where Jake started to pull away. Just a few steps at a time, but by the time we reached 7km he had about ten seconds on me. The eight km was my slowest, but I worked through it and did well enough in the last two. I was eager for the ending and did not have anything left when I crossed the line. Very tired & sore, but satisfied. Finish time: 44:10 @ 4:25, 40/200, 8/21 in my age group. Results are here.

My splits look like this: (Goal: 43:20 @ 4:20)
4:23
4:18
4:33 - turnaround into the wind
4:17 - feet start to burn
4:15 - 21:46 first 5km
4:15
4:28 - really need something wet
4:37 - hard.
4:32 - where is the end?
4:30 - 22:22 second 5km
Finish (pictured): 44:10 @ 4:25

Training Snobs

As I've been putting more time into my training, I've been struck by something odd. There are a lot of training snobs out there. As I go biking or running, if I see someone else doing what I'm doing, more often then not, I'll give them a wave or a head bob or a hello. There are times that I get return gesture, but I can't believe the number of times that people won't even break their stare to glance over and smile. I know they see me. If we're biking, I know that I notice all the cyclists and look at what they're wearing and riding, and they don't??? If I'm running and someone is coming in the opposite direction and we both move over to make room, do they not see me wave? Is it just me, or do you people have some sort of notion that you're actually training for the Olympics? What is so serious that you can't glance over and crack a grin? Is it that my bike is too old, that my tires aren't super slim, that I have clip-in pedals, or that I don't run with an iPod? Seriously, I don't care how fast or slow you're going, how much better than me you are, or how expensive your bike is. The fact is, if you're "out there doing it" all the rest of us who are "out there doing it" know that actually getting out there can be the hardest part, so is it really going to kill you to encourage (or at least acknowledge) the effort that others are making?

Long run - 10 miles

This was my first ten miler. The first time I've hit double digits. And strangely, I was more intimidated by last week's 8 miler then this 10 miler. The start was tough, as usual, with tired legs from biking and the end of my training week. But my mile 3 things were going well. I took a new route tonight and that really makes time go by quickly. All the way from my place to the bridge and back. The first two miles were pretty boring, nothing to really look at, but once I hit the path by the river it was a really nice run. Lots of people out walking in the downtown plazas, taking in the nice night. I felt great at the half way point (5 miles in 42:12) and knew I could keep that pace up for the second half, if not a bit faster. Once I got to the last two miles, the boring ones, I was tired but motivated to finish strong, they ended up being two of my fastest ones. I did the last 5 miles in 41:11, so I was very happy to have done a negative split.

10 miles - 1:23:21 (8:20 avg.)

Overall, slower than planned, but like most long runs, this was all I had in me. I have an easy run on Thursday and then a 10km race Saturday night. I'm hoping for a PR of 43 minutes or under.

Speed work - mile repeats

Last night I did my speed work out for the week. Scheduled was 3 x 1600 @ 6:36 pace, with 2 minute recoveries in between. That's really fast for me. I knew I'd be able to do the first one, I knew I could probably struggle through the second one, and then I hoped to be able to suck it up and gut out the third one.

About a mile away from our place is the old Ford Test Track, a paved track that is a mile loop, so I ran there. Locals tell me that it hasn't been used since the 50's as an actual test track and since I've been here the city has re-developed the soccer fields and baseball diamonds on the infield. A lot of people ride their bikes, walk their dogs or just walk there. It's a really nice place to run and I'll go there for bike rides too, to avoid traffic.

My repeats went like this:
6:15 - too fast, but I gained some confidence knowing that I could run slower and still meet my goal.
6:35 - perfect.
6:33 - it hurt. The last 1/2 mile or so I got some pretty decent side stitches. I had to keep telling myself that it'd be over soon, just keep running. I was very happy with how it went. That's my hardest workout for a few weeks, so I'm glad to know that I'll be able to do what's ahead of me.

The only thing about running at FTT that bugs me is the people who are walking their dogs. First, at most entry points there are "doggy doo" bags. But I saw a few people letting their dogs fertilize the grass. Secondly, people who don't keep their dogs on leashes and let them chase you when you run past. And thirdly, people who have their dogs on leashes, but still let their dogs chase you. On my last lap, I came up on a mother and daughter walking their pug. They saw me coming and kept the dog close to them, I passed them wide, but the dog came over to take a look. When I looked back, the dog was right on my heels for about 20 feet or so. I guess until the extendable leash ran out. I know that this dog wouldn't have done any damage to me, but having a dog nip at your heels, isn't the most comfortable feeling ever. I'm not a dog owner, but isn't there some sort of etiquette about not letting your dog potentially bite someone?

Just my two cents.

I don't mean to alarm you...

Two years ago.

On June 4th, 2004, Sue had a doctors appointment and she was told that "nothing would happen anytime soon. We'll see you in two weeks." I was scheduled to play a solo Sunday morning, June 6th, and had been working to get it polished up. On June 5th, we had been out late for dinner at a friends place and came home to watch the overtime of the Stanley Cup Finals. After the game was over, Sue got up and went to the washroom. I started falling asleep, I remember thinking that Sue was taking FOREVER. "What on earth is she doing in there?" A minute later, she came out and crawled into bed. "I don't mean to alarm you, but I think my water broke."

How was that NOT supposed to alarm me!?

A little over 12 hours later, we had a daughter.

I don't mean to alarm you, but I think I have a two year old.

Long Run

I did my 8 miler. A stunning success, I wasn't sure how it was going to go. My legs felt heavy and the first two miles were slow, but I ran strong the rest of the way and finished it in 1:04:24, for an 8:03 average mile.

Weekly Recap

I did all my scheduled training this week. It ended up being over 300 minutes. Which is pretty big volume by my standards.

My track work was great again, this week I did 4 x 800, at 3:08 per interval. It made me remember why I loved running track in high school. The 800 is such a great distance. First lap, see what every one else is doing, second lap, crank it up and beat them. It was raining slightly during the first two repeats, but enough to be refreshing, not annoying. During the third repeat it poured. Like soaked to the bone drenched. By the forth repeat the sun was out. I hit all the intervals and managed to make the last one my fastest. Two miles (with recovery breaks) in 12:35.

This afternoon I went for a ride and found it to be too easy. I was going along at 30km/hr, but not even working, my heart rate was barely 100 bpm. I knew that that could only mean one thing: strong tailwind. So I knew not to expend any extra energy, because I'd need it going against the wind. When I turned around I knew that I had made the right choice. I was pushing to keep the speed at 25km/hr and my heart rate was over 145 bpm.

We'll see how this effects my run tomorrow. I'm going 8 miles (13 km), my longest so far. I hoping for something between 64-72 minutes.

Long Run

Yesterday was my long run, a 6 miler. Nothing fancy or special about it, except the amount that I can sweat, done in about 50 minutes. Slower then planned, but it was crazy hot and super humid. I started at 8pm and it was still over 30C + humidity. I was dripping before I got through the first mile. I kept a steady 8:14 pace for the first three, then my left calf started to cramp (not surprising given the heat) and the last three were at 8:33. It's still a little tender today, weird. Nothing at all in my right Achilles, that's a good thing.

I've been giving my legs ice bathes for the last few nights. I take our biggest pot, fill it with cold water, add ice and then soak each leg for ten minutes, twice. Getting in is interesting / painful, but it's done wonders for working out the kinks from my lower legs and feet. Very refreshing after a hot run like yesterdays.

Combining Workouts

This week my schedule had a speed workout yesterday and I have a tempo run tomorrow. I've had to do some training for work this week, so I wasn't able to run yesterday and won't be able to tomorrow either. So tonight, I combined my workouts.

I started with the tempo run, just 3 miles. My target pace was 7:35-7:40 per mile, I finished at 7:34 per mile. It was a terrible start. It felt like my legs were made of lead, it took about the first mile to get into it. So sore and tight all over. I guess I've been on my feet a lot at work and I was really feeling it in the first bit. But by mile 2, things were feeling good and the pace was very steady. Overall, this started out as a bad run, but turned into a very good one.

After I was done, I headed over to the high school track a block away. My speed workout was 4 x 400 at a target pace of 91 seconds per 400 or 6:04 mile pace, with 2 minute recoveries in between intervals. I was a little unsure how fast I'd be able to go, with tired legs and having just done 3 miles at tempo, but it was only 4 x 400's, if I can't suck THAT up, what good am I? My intervals were: 92, 89, 92 & 92 or a 6:05 mile. Bingo! I was very happy with that. Not to say that I wasn't working hard on the third and forth intervals, but I did what I set out to do.

A day off training tomorrow and a long ride on Sunday. Hopefully this week I'll be able to bike farther than I ran.

My Achilles Heel

We all know who Achilles was right? An ancient Greek warrior, he is known for being the most handsome of the heroes assembled at Troy, as well as the fleetest. When Achilles was born, according to the most common version of the myth, Thetis (his mother, a sea nymph) tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx. But she forgot to wet the heel she held him by, leaving him vulnerable at that spot, the Achilles tendon. It's kind of a bad break, but that's also where he was fatally wounded. Kind of like Lou Gehrig getting Lou Gehrig's disease.

After I did my triathlon last August, it took me a few days to work some kinks out of my legs. One major stiffness was in my right Achilles tendon. I battled soreness in it for a little while, then added an elastic ankle brace to my running wardrobe and things improved dramatically. No more stiffness, no more soreness. Good deal.

I kept wearing the brace during my runs and at some point during the winter the soreness started coming back. Recently it has been getting worse again. Although it never hurt during the run, the morning after (even if I stretched my Achilles thoroughly) it would be very stiff and quite painful. The only things that would help were more stretching in the mornings and some Vitamin I before OR after the run, but even those didn't really help much. My concern was really starting to grow, as this could really turn into an injury like Achilles tendinosis or worse, an Achilles tendon rupture. I was type-cast in the role of Achilles while getting my BFA, so the irony wasn't missed.

Last week I did a four mile tempo run, with the brace, and felt really good. A good strong run, right on tempo, no worries. But an hour or so after the run, the Achilles was really starting to throb and get that pins & needles feeling. It felt like by brace was too tight and it had cut off the circulation to the area. The next morning things were really tight and uncomfortable. So I decided to try running without the brace.

I did a three mile tempo run on Saturday and was fine. Not even a little soreness afterward, some good stretching, no need for vitamin I, and the next morning my foot felt better than it had in a long time. So on Monday I did a slow six miles without the brace. Again, my Achilles was fine before, during and after. I did take some Ibuprofen, as a preventative measure, but never had any stiffness or pain. There was a little soreness, but I'll attribute that to having to run some hills and the longer miles. Once again, the next morning there was no soreness or pain. YES!!!

Weird that what originally helped me overcome an injury in the end almost caused me a worse one. I'm not really sure why I kept running with the brace, maybe out of paranoia, maybe out of comfort, but I wasn't really sure when to stop using it either. I guess that's been decided now.

The Black Lung

Remember when Zoolander gives up his brilliant career as a male model to go back home and work the coal mines with his father and brothers? Remember how after one day he was coughing and wheezing, thinking he'd contracted the dreaded "Black Lung"? Remember the weak little girl cough he had? Darcy tried that strategy on us yesterday.

Last night we had some running around to do and combined errands with dinner at the mall. Darcy and I always go to A&W, she likes the chicken fingers there (Mmmmm, Yummy, yummy!). Well, we'd forgotten to bring a cup for her, so we tried letting her drink a carton of chocolate milk through a straw (Mmmmm, chalk mak!). She did very well, not even spilling a drop. However, she discovered a really good way to scam her parents.

After coughing on a piece of chicken, we gave her some milk to drink. After that, every bite she took was followed by a couple of tiny little fake coughs and, "Chocolate milk, please?" (Chalk mak, pees?). I don't think she ever took more then a bite without 'needing' to have more milk to stave off the impending choke-fest.

My little drama queen.

Need to bike

It's rained here for about a week, which means I haven't biked in a while. And it's driving me crazy. The running is going well, my official 10 week training program starts this coming Monday, but I will go crazy if all I'm doing is running.

Today is nice and sunny. Warm breeze, dry roads. It's my off day. The schedule is such that I can't bike on Wednesdays. Fear not, tomorrow it's supposed rain all day. Clearly the Mother Nature is taunting me. I really need a few good hard rides to get those juices flowing again.

Last year was all about building up to the distance. So every day was a higher step achieved. This year is about going faster (and a little farther), so I'm really anxious to get out there and start hammering.

Marathon Man

Jake (a co-worker) ran his second marathon today, the Forest City Marathon in London, ON. His goal was 3:45 and he crushed it with a 3:44:15. Which, in a race this size, was good enough for a seventh place finish in his age group. Nice.

Good stuff Jake. I hope you're not limping tomorrow.

I'm in the pool

This has nothing to do with swimming.

In April, I posted about the possibility of a new job. At the time, I was told that I wouldn't hear anything until June or July about whether or not I had passed the interview. Yesterday, a thin envelope came from them in the mail. I was out of town for an Exalt concert, so Sue had to stair at the letter all night. The suspense was killing her.

The letter was a "pleased to inform me" letter. While this doesn't guarantee that I'll be sent for the extended training or receive a job offer, it is a good sign. I've made it to the short list, now I need to get a couple of certified qualifications because having them "will expedite your future placement".

The waiting continues.

Trying to find my tempo

As I posted in my training plan, my tempo runs are supposed to be around the 7:35-7:40 pace per mile. Tonight the weather was windy and it looked like there was going to be heavy rain, so I decided that this would be a good time to try a tempo run and get home fairly quickly.

My first mile went by in 6:52. I thought, "Woo, a little too fast. But it felt good. Try and slow down some."
Mile two: 7:16. "Hmm, slower, but still too fast. Alright, I don't want to get rained on and there's a nice tail wind, tonight will be a hard run. What have I got in me?"
Mile three: 6:56. "Holy moly. 3 miles in 21:04, that's quick."
Mile four: 6:51. "27:54 for four miles? That's a sub-seven average!" It's a 6:58.5 to be exact.

And the tank was not empty, I could have gone further. Clearly there has been improvement over the winter. Last year, my fastest run home was 28:40 (7:10 pace), I think this is a sign of good things to come.

So it looks like I've got some self control to work on in these tempo runs. But I enjoyed the hard run and it didn't rain.

Training Plan

*** Warning, this is a long post about training ***

Over the last month I've been working on a training schedule for the summer. There are a few races that will be my "A" races, where I plan on leaving it all out on the course, the kind of race where you are completely sucking wind at the end. And I'll have a couple of others that will be "B" races, or races where I go for race experience and use the race a hard training period, but my main focus will be an easier goal time.

There are a few obstacles that I'm facing; having to pay for all these races, my schedule could change and trying to plan into September & October now just isn't smart, but hopefully my "A" races and goal times will be:
June 17: Moon in June 5 km or 10 km - 20:00 or 43:30
August 13: Windsor Triathlon (Long Sprint) - 1:30.00
September 16: Montreal Triathlon (Olympic) - 2:45.00
October 22(?): Run for the Cure 5 km - 20:00

My "B" races and goal times will be:
March 19: Spring Thaw 5 km - 22:00 (Done, ran 21:54)
July 14: Beat Beethoven for Breast Cancer 8 km - 34:30
July 30: Tecumseh 1/2 Marathon - 1:36.30 (7:22 pace per mile)

The key race in my schedule is the 1/2 Marathon. It's a brand new race and is being organized in part by the none other then Kona Shelley (she's actually done the Hawaii Ironman!). Building my running towards this race will put me in perfect shape for the two triathlons. Let me explain...

I read a great 16 week marathon training program in the August '05 Runner's World. It involved running three times a week and cross training at least two more times a week. I still can't commit to the time that marathon training requires, so when they wrote a 10 week half marathon version (March '06) I was sold. Now that I'm able to bike to and from work regularly again, all my cross training needs are taken care of. I only need to run three times a week to build up to half marathon distance (13.1 miles).

The three runs are organized like this:
#1 - Speed work; ranging from 4 x 400 up to 3 x 1600 (around 6:30 ppm)
#2 - Tempo runs; ranging from 2 miles up to 8 miles (around 7:35-7:40 ppm)
#3 - Long runs; starting from 6 miles and going up to 12 miles (around 7:52-8:00 ppm)

I got interested in triathlon to begin with because it doesn't focus on one event. For starters, I could never be a competitive swimmer, cyclist or runner, the talent just isn't there. Secondly, if I was only training for one sport I would get terribly bored. I need the constant change of running and cycling to keep me sane. That is what I love about this program, you have to cross train to get the most out of it. I've also read that since triathletes train for three different disciplines, they tend to have more balanced whole-body muscular development than pure cyclists or runners, whose training emphasizes only the legs. Although, I don't spend nearly enough time training for the swim.

So what about swimming? Truthfully, it's a bit of a concern. In a lot of the beginner training that I've read people talk about how nervous they are in open water, how far 1000 m can be to swim, how they are overcome with panic during the mass start. And it's all true, swimming is not easy work and I am no fish, I'm not going to blaze through any swim portion. The 'washing machine' feeling of any mass swim start is a little unsettling, but as long as I can remember, I've been swimming. I used to be a life-guard, I've been on competitive swim teams, played water-polo, so, swimming has never intimidated me. I'm totally comfortable in the water. Last year I was able to get my swims in early Saturday mornings and worked myself up to a decent 1000 m. That is still probably the best time for me to get my swimming in, I may just have to stay in the pool a little longer this year.

Most of my weeks will look something like this:
Sunday: Long bike (1+ hours)
Monday: Easy bike (to & from work) & Long run (6+ miles)
Tuesday: Speed work - bike
Wednesday: REST
Thursday: Easy bike ride (up to half of race distance at an average pace) & Speed work - running
Friday: Medium/Hard bike ride (up to half of race distance at an above average pace)
Saturday: Swim (early morning) & Tempo run (evening)

Last year all, except for my long rides, all of my cycling was done 'in transit'. So only twice during the week is there extra time commitment, and it goes towards running. My long runs will most likely start from work-home (4 miles) and then add on my different routes from around the neighbourhood. One of the most important parts to the schedule is having the long rides and long runs on back to back days. It can be punishing on the legs, but you really absorb a lot of benefits by putting the two on back to back days. I did it this way last year and it proved to be very successful for me. As long as I hit all the runs and have two hard rides during the week, I know from last year that my transit rides make up the slack. If I feel like taking an easy day, I know I'll be glad for the break.

While I've been running all winter and have got a good start on the cycling, the real build up starts at the end May and goes for 10 weeks to the end of July, leading to the 1/2 Marathon. That will put two weeks away from the Windsor Tri and in prime form. The Montreal Tri is a month after that, which leaves me plenty of time to take an easy week and then build hard again for that race. Well, that's the plan anyway...

Rough Weekend

While not as rough as what the Police Officer's family is going through, we haven't had a good few days.

Darcy woke up at 3 am Saturday morning (Friday night) and had puked (we think her milk might have been a day past due). She then continued puking about every ten minutes until 4 am, when we realised that at this pace we run going to run out of sheets and sleepers in about 17 minutes. So there was a 4 am load of laundry, then I made a run to the 24 hour drug store at 4 am and had to drive right passed the spot where the cop was shot, there were already flowers. Then she puked about every 15 minutes until 5 am. By this point her stomach was empty and you could tell it was really hurting her to vomit. At 5 am she went about 20 minutes and then half an hour. Her last puke was around 5:45 am. She slept until almost 9 am, so did we. She ended up having a pretty good day yesterday, she ate a little lunch, had a long nap, played outside a little, had some supper, drank water and wasn't sick again. She slept about 12 1/2 hours.

This morning she and I had breakfast together. I gave her half a cup of milk and she seemed fine. Until we went upstairs to get Mommy. She puked on the stairs and then again twice more in the next half hour. She been begging me "Milk Dada? Water Dada? Apple Juice Dada?" all morning. She's just been cuddling up to me saying, "My tummy oww." No more pukes yet. NO more milk for a few days, that's for sure.

The scorecard looks like this so far:
Darcy's sheets: 4
Darcy's sleepers: 6
Sue's shirts: 2
Sue's pants: 2
Nick's shirts: 3
Nick's pants: 1
Carpets: 2

Not a pleasant post.

You may have heard, a Police Officer was shot and killed today in Windsor. It is the first time since 1957 that an Officer was killed in the line of duty and the first time EVER that one had been shot and killed. Disturbing.

What's more disturbing is that, according to Gmaps Pedometre, it happened 800 metres from our house. I kid you not. An intersection that I cross every day going to and from work, that I have driven, biked and run passed hundreds of times. Dad, this the intersection that you walked to for Chinese food last September. Because much of the area was cordoned off and they were still looking for a suspect, I took a different route home. When I came up our street, I noticed that our normally quiet street was really quiet. No one was around. No kids playing, no one sitting on their porches. Too quiet.

Even more disturbing, is that just as we were leaving to go to a friends house for dinner we saw our neighbour was out on her porch. We exchanged greetings, but you could tell she was upset. Earlier in the afternoon she had been on her way to write an exam and passed the spot literally a minute or two after it happened. Through her tears she told us how she saw him laying on the ground, blood gushing out of his head. She saw him moving on the ground, trying to get up, but unable to do so. She didn't know what had actually happened, she thought that maybe he'd been hit by a car. But she didn't have her cell phone, so was unable to do anything. That's the part that was killing her the most. "What if I had done something? What if I had a blanket in my car? What if I had my phone? No, he died alone on the sidewalk."

Ironman

This is a 5 minute video about Ironman. It is the distance that I one day hope to complete. Not because I think I can win, but because doing it is the victory. As Teshie says, "this is about limits, reaching them, exploring them, exceeding or coming to the conclusion that are none."

I've seen this video and others like it hundreds of times. I see their pain and suffering. I've read peoples accounts of doing an Ironman, there is nothing easy about it. I do not take that for granted. Knowing what people go through to complete one of these races inspires me. And somewhere deep inside me is a burning desire and a need to do this.

Thanks to Flatman for posting this.

Hammer Time

I want to be 10 minutes faster in the Windsor Tri this year. To do that I need to cut at least 5 minutes out of the bike portion, which means going from an average speed last year of 32.5 km/hr to 36 km/hr. I think it can happen.

Today was the first day that I've really hammered it on the bike. I went from work to home in just over 13 minutes and was able to sustain 34+ wherever there were no stops. The best part is that I still have three higher gears to use.

Vocabulary Explosion

Darcy's vocabulary switch has been moved from "On" to "Overdrive". Apparently, she's right in the middle of the vocabualry explosion. Not everything is clear, but this week she's been non-stop putting two and three words together, she's also been trying out some big long words, like "Chocolate milk, please?" It's hard to resist such a polite little girl.

The other day Sue was getting her out of the car and said, "Darcy tell Daddy want you want." The kid looked me dead in the eyes and said, "Baby sister." The next thing I remember was the EMT's giving me mouth to mouth.

FOR THE RECORD, there is NO baby is process. While we're not ruling out the possibility of other little Titcombes, there is nothing to report. Period.

Apparently, Dora The Explorer had a baby sister and Darcy never stopped saying "Baby sister" all day long. Instantly aging both her parents 10 years in the process.

--- UPDATE ---

While there is still nothing to report, I've been informed (by my sister-in-law, Hi!) that Dora's mom actually had twins. A boy and a girl. So, apparently Darcy doesn't want anything to do with a baby brother, just a baby sister.

Ankle Problem

Since Tuesday my left ankle has been bothering me. I sprained it in 1993, really badly, and again in January. I took my time recovering and my ankle never really bothered me again. There's some pain about an inch below the ankle bone, on the outside of the foot. Nothing is swollen, but it is tender if I push on it. I ran tonight and could feel the tenderness the whole time. I've reintroduced myself to biking to work, but I can't think of anything that would have aggravated the sprain.

I was hoping to increase my mileage this weekend, but I guess I'll play it safe and wait.

Lotus Elise

Remember the James bond car/submarine? It was a Lotus Esprit. Back in the 60's and 70's Lotus was an up and coming name in the sports car world. They gained a lot of notoriety in F1 while Colin Chapman was leading that team, until his death in 1982. He was a pioneer to the sport of auto racing and many of his innovations are still in use today. After he died, Lotus fell off the map, but has had a bit of a resurgence lately, with the help of Toyota.

Their latest incarnation is the 2006 Lotus Elise. I saw one last week and took a close look. It's a small car and, not surprisingly, it looks like the Toyota Spider, but hotter. Way hotter. If the Spider looks like a fast car, then the Elise looks like an Olympic sprinter. Enormous air intake on the hood and grill, monster brake discs and calipers. Right down to the tires, super slim, almost racing slicks, that are sure to keep the wheels glued to the road.

It's available in hard top, but I couldn't find a price for the submarine option.

Life Altering Questions

My parents and sister were here for the long weekend. Here are some of the questions that Darcy asked:
Where's Papa (Grandpa)?
Where's Papa's car?
Papa?
A book, Papa?
Another book, Papa?
A walk, Papa?
Again, Papa?

And since they've gone home:
Where did Papa go?

I think she has a new favorite person.

Heart Rate Monitor

Today was my first run with my new HRM. I've playing with it for the past few days and am very impressed. When I just sitting around, not doing anything, my resting heart rate is usually below 50 beats per minute. The lowest I've seen is 44 bpm.

I need to establish what my peak heart rate is, so that I can zero in on my ideal zones. There are many easy ways to figure that out (210 - age gives me 179, 214 - 0.8age gives me 189.2). But I'm a sucker for punishment, so I'm going to do it the old fashion way; work it up until I can't get it any higher. I'm in good shape now, so I'm fairly confident that my max is higher than the equations show. Once I know what it is, I'll be able to focus on heart rate training more seriously.

Here are a few numbers that my watch recorded today (my run was 6.5km in 31:34):
Calories burnt (based on the weight that I input): 552
Avg HR: 163
Max HR: 176
Min HR: 133

Some hilarity, from a galaxy far, far away...

Here are a few funny little Star Wars spoofs:

Napoleon Skywalker - having seen both movies will help.

Store Wars - an Organic attack on the Empire.

More Spoofs - these are not as strong as the other ones.

It's Finally Here!

In January, I lost my watch, so I ordered a beautiful Timex Heart Rate Monitor off eBay. Unfortunately, it was lost during shipping and never arrived. I contacted the seller and he was going to send a replacement, but was out of stock. So he gave me a refund and asked me to check back with him in March. So I did. Once he had more in stock, he sent me the replacement and finally, three months after I originally ordered it, it came today!

S W E E T N E S S !

Long Weekend

I was telling Sue yesterday that Jake was doing a 22 mile training run yesterday. Her response was simple; why? Of course, he won't be able to go the full 26.2 on race day if he doesn't work for it now.

I've been part of a Youth Band of the Salvation Army for the last 3 1/2 years. We represent the region from Windsor to Woodstock. Right now we're in the process of planning a trip to Bermuda next May, as a return for hosting their band, which is coming here in November. Clearly we got the better end of that deal! I'm officially too old to be in the band, but I got roped into being on the planning committee and now I'm stuck. Anyone who knows me is probably thinking, "Yeah, it must be a real burden for Nick to have to play in a brass band and go on trips." Okay, I admit, there are some perks.

This weekend was one of those times. We had recording sessions on Friday night and Saturday morning. This meant for a short night Friday (home after midnight, gone by 7:15am), and a looong day Saturday. While I'm was practically falling asleep over my diner last night, it was worth it. For the same reasons Jake puts in huge miles for the marathon; you can't have the glory without the suffering.

I think that makes an interesting theme this week.

Change of Scenery?

In late November I sent my resume to a very large company. Since early January, I've been doing testing to see whether or not I qualify. So far, I've done very well on all the tests and very nearly got exempt from ever needing to be tested again in one area.

Today I had my formal interview in front of the board of directors. A little nerve wracking, but not as intimidating as I feared. All those years of 'opening night jitters' helped me deal with the nerves. The tough part is the waiting. I won't find out anything about today's interview until June or July. If I move on to the next step, I'll be sent away for an extensive training period. And the kicker is, even if I pass the interview, I could be in the waiting pool for as little as four weeks or as long as two years before I get sent for training. IF, capital I and F, I pass the training period, then I've got the job. If not, I need something to fall back on (like maybe my current job?). To me (and to Sue), this opportunity is worth the wait and the risk.

That's pretty much all I'm going to say about it.

The Magic is Over

Officially, the 2006 NCAA champ has yet to be crowned, but our office pool is over. Jake wins whether or not Florida beats UCLA. I'm in second place right now, but if Florida wins, I'll drop to third. Shameful.

Incidentally, Jake ran the Martian Half-Marathon (see his shirt?) on Saturday. He did very well, running 1:41:38 (a PR), beating his goal of 1:45. Well done Jake! Our next head to head battle will probably be at the Moon in June (5 or 10km), I know you're all giddy with anticipation.

Goal #2 - Complete

Today I completed another of my goals for 2006. I ran 10 km in under 45 minutes, I finished my 10 km route in 43:46. Considering it's the third time in my life that I've run that far (once 13 years ago at John Abbott & once in January), I'm very happy to have met my goal time already. Maybe I set it too high, but there's still room for improvement.

I've been having some really good runs from work lately. So I figured it was a good time to try another long one. We had another spectacular day here, it was around 15C and I wore shorts and a T-shirt. I felt strong throughout the first half, but my 5km time was a little slower than where I wanted it. The route takes me right by the house and I had left a water bottle on the porch this morning. Once I got some water in my mouth, it made a big difference. I did get some slight cramping in my left calf around 7km, but it never got painful. I did get one tiny blister on my left "piggy who went WEEE WEEE WEEE all the way home." That was because the seam of my Ultimax socks went right over the edge of the toe. No big deal, easy enough to fix next time.

This ended up being a great run for me. At the race last week, I ran 21:54 over 5km or 4:23/km. Based on that time, according this fatigue calculator, my 10km should be 45:37. If you double my 5km time, 10km would 43:48 - and I beat that time and pace today! I guess that shows that I had a very bad run during the race and I had a very good run today.

Nearing the end of the Madness

I'm sure you all know by now, the Final Four has been decided. This weekend proved again why they call it "March Madness". It's the first time since the early 80's that no #1 seeds made the Final Four and George Mason is the highest seed (#11) to make it this far in a long time, and could be the highest seed ever to make the final if they beat Florida.

As for the office pool, there are only four people that still have a team alive. I'm holding strong, but now in second place and all my hopes rest on UCLA making the final and Florida not making the final. Jake is beating me, I think he's getting used to that... If Florida wins, Jake wins it all. If Florida loses their game to George Mason and UCLA makes the final, then I'll win. Those are pretty long odds.

A small rant

Tonight was a night to run home from work. It did not get off to a good start.

Right at the beginning had a little "heart to heart" with the railway police for crossing the tracks after the train had gone by, but the gates were still down. I only got a warning, what a sweety. Then a 400 lb man told to run on the grass, because it would be easier on my knees. Clearly he was an expert.

Usually I use these end of day runs to de-stress after work. Today I was more stressed when I finished.

Madness Baby!

I'm not a basketball fan, but I cannot resist following the NCAA tournament every year. It's one of those great equalizers in life. You don't have to know anything about basketball or you can follow every game, and the odds are you'll pick the NCAA tournament equaly. At work we do a pool for the world's tackiest trophy.

After night #1, I'm in first place. More updates to follow.

UPDATE!

After the first weekend, I'm still leading the office pool. In the first round I picked 26 of 33 games (including the play-in game) and in the second round I picked 11 of 16 games. I have five of my elite eight still alive and all of my final four (Texas, UCLA, UCONN & Villanova). I've picked UCLA & Villanova in the final, with Villanova winning it all.

Race Day

Not a good race. I ran at a good pace, but couldn't get warm. There was a cross wind and my fingers and nose didn't get warm until 4.5 km. I had some serious side stitches from 4 km on. I just never felt that race instinct. I wanted to catch some of my pacers, but just couldn't make the move. I've still not found a good way to eat when running in the morning, today I had a bagel w/cream cheese & a banana, 2 hours before running. My gut just got worse as the race went on. I was happy with my time, but I wish it had been a better run.

Some things I noticed: The guy who was lined up beside me with a DOUBLE jogging stroller got behind because of the mass start, but then blew by me around the 1 km mark.

A kid who was less than 11 passed me after the turnaround and I could barely keep up. He finished two spots ahead of me. While we were in the finishing chute, I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Hey man, you were awesome." He was kind of shy about it, but the girl who finished right in front of me said so too.

The winner went sub-15 minutes. Holy crap.

My co-worker Jake had a great race. He took off like a bullet and I knew that there was no way I was going to keep up with him today. He finished 56th overall and 9th of 32 in our age group. His time was 20:35.

I finished 87th out of 395, 15 of 32 in my age group. My time was 21:54. The results are posted here.

I still have a soft spot for The Force.

Courtesy of Jason Kottke, I couldn't pass up taking this little quiz. And so I encourage you to take 3 minutes and "let your feelings guide you." - Ben Kenobi.

I don't know what web 2.0 is. For the record, I got 35 and moved out of my parents basement over 9 years ago.

Running Hard

The weather has been amazing here recently. For my last couple of runs I've been wearing shorts. Last week it rained while I was out and when I came in Darcy took one look at me and said, "Dada, why ze watur?" I asked her, "Why is Daddy covered in water?" "Yeah." She was fascinated by the fact that my hair was soaking.

Today is was 18C while I was out, in shorts and a T-shirt, in mid-March. I love it here. The wind was very strong today, but lucky for me it was at my back the entire way (from work to home). I tried to pick things up a notch, but couldn't get the speed that I used to have. Still I managed a very respectable 29 minutes for 6.5 km. My legs felt great the whole time, but between 3-4 km I got a good side stitch. By the time I hit 5km, the hard breathing was getting to my gut. I've had no pain in either ITB for a couple of weeks now. Stretching works.

All in all, I should be happy with this run, but I'm always expecting more out of myself.

Race #1

The seasons first race for me is next Sunday morning. Our local Running Factory hosts the Spring Thaw 5K. The very informal DigiPrint Running Club seems to have disbanded after the Santa Shuffle in December. Chris discovered he has a bone spur on the ball of his foot and Lorne wasn't all the motivated to keep slugging through the winter months. Jake's going warp speed in his marathon training (he'll be running the London Marathon on May 14th). I've had a rough winter, two weeks lost to injury and another 10 days lost to sickness running through our house. So it'll just be Jake and I going at it next week.

I'm not expecting much. I haven't been working on speed, so I'll be happy to finish around 22 minutes.