Thursday, December 14, 2006

Lady Di

Well, there is not a whole lot of training going on around our house. Between home improvements, holiday parties, and loads of treats, we are truly enjoying some time off. Since we moved into our place last summer, we have dreamed of covering up the neon walls with more neutral colors, hanging some pictures, arranging our furniture, and just generally making our home look like "us." And that's exactly what we've been doing...slowly but surely...

The truth is that, nearly three weeks into our "home therapy" project, we are still painting. We've decided that either painting takes a lot of time or we're really bad at it -- or both! We've repainted the kitchen three times to date because we hated the color we picked each time. Now we've finally settled on a color, but need to do a second coat with a more durable finish. The bathroom, which was supposed to be spa blue, has received two coats of a minty green hue, and I feel compelled to inform each and every visitor to our home that we did not, in fact, smear Aquafresh toothpaste on every wall. Though mint green could be an appropriate bathroom color, it overwhelms our small space and is destined to be covered over with a safe, beigy variation. Our new rule is to stick to basic colors for basic items (e.g., walls, furniture, appliances) and bring color in through accessories that are easy to change if you don't like them. Yes, I know, that does seem logical. But we are learning by doing, people! Oh, by the way, if anyone is looking for interior paint in buttercup yellow or spearmint green, come see us.

Finally, I will post some slightly blurry pictures of Disco in her new ladybug outfit. (Note the wings and antennae!) She spent last Saturday hanging out with her friends and upstairs neighbors Uncle George and Auntie Janice, who snapped these photos while she was playing in their living room. For those of you who are wondering, yes, Disco will be packing the ladybug costume in her suitcase for her trip to Texas later this month -- a lucky few of you may get to witness the extreme cuteness in person!



Friday, December 01, 2006

And the Painting Begins

So this weekend is shaping up to be quite busy and full of paint. We are attempting to prime and paint our entire condo over the course of the weekend. When we first bought our condo we did so on the basis that it needed a paint job really bad. So here we go. I plan on taking many pictures along the way and will up date on the journey. This is the first time painting a house for both of us. Wish us luck!

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Seattle, Hot Wheels, and an Unexpected Offseason

So a lot has happened since our last triathlon related post. I'll give you a quick rundown.






Injuries plenty
Sickness Everywhere
Canceled Races

Basically I learned being new to this whole triathlon thing my body needs a rest after a the long summer racing season. The marathon that Kristi and I had scheduled for November proved to be too ambitious. As a result, after the summer races ended and we started to pack on the training miles in preparation our bodies started to give us some signals that we needed a rest. I got a fairly serious calf injury that has taken almost 7 weeks to fully heal. Kristi injured her hip and knee and to top it all off while trying to keep the training volume up and with our nutrition being less then perfect germs took advantage of our weak immune systems. I missed a week of work, have had a slow recovery and Kristi has fallen sick as well. The past 2 months have not been good and neither of us got to the starting line of the Seattle Marathon.

So what is the lesson learned? The body NEEDS a rest, so give it what it wants.

With that aside and our plane tickets already booked to go to Seattle we figured that we would take it easy and have a nice relaxing weekend. We checked out the very cool Experience Music Project, got nice massages is a Russian bath house, Kristi shopped till I dropped, we ate WAY too many vegan donuts and I picked up some slightly used racing wheels at an amazing price!

Really the only important thing in the above paragraph are the wheels that I have obtained that will hopefully propel me to lightning fast speeds at races this year. They are beauties :). Zipp 606 clinchers, which are essentially carbon fiber wheels which have a deep rim profile that will make me a lot more aerodynamic in my races. The front tire has a 58mm deep rim and the rear 81mm. I should get an extra 1.5 - 2 KPH or speed on the bike out of them which means that hopefully I'll be able to push around 33 - 34 KPH (21 - 22 MPH) in some of the shorter races.

Kristi picked up lots of new clothes and was very excited to be let loose in a city with real shopping. In around 10 hours of shopping we didn't even cover more then 2 square blocks! Her shopping stamina is quite remarkable. I have never seen her so focused an motivated :). We also got a chance to check out the Whole Foods in Seattle. So much vegan and organic goodness packing into such a small place. We ended up eating breakfast there 2 of morning that we were there and ate 8 donuts! Well I ate about 6 of them but I figured what other occasions do I get to eat donuts!

Lets see what else happened. Oh yes, we got massages at a Russian bath house called Banya 5. This was my first professional massage ever and I must say that I will be getting more. Although my masseuse put me into excruciating pain as he dug into my back on several times, it was actually quite enjoyable. I'm not sure how to describe it. But it was a good pain.

Well there is a fragmented description of the past weekend as well as the past few months of training. Hopefully all the resting and relaxing we have done will lead to happy training in the new year. I suspect that our coach will have us taking it easy over the next few weeks and start into some serious training come January.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Hot Child in the City


Hello, folks. I write to you from a bathtub in the city of Elvis impersonators and shotgun weddings. Yes, that's right, I am in Vegas. For work, not fun mind you, and hard work at that. Standing on your feet all day while schmoozing with doctors and trying to sell medical devices really takes it out of you. But why am I writing from a bathtub, you ask? Good question.

You see, in this city, cheap hookers abound, but I challenge you to find a gym open past six o'clock in the evening. My hotel's gym is only open from 6:00 am - 6:00 pm, which means that the 15k run that was planned for today has been scrapped in favor of a leisurely soak in the tub before dinner and the obligatory "team-building" (i.e., binge drinking with co-workers) that typically follows. Though I suppose the reasoning for terrible gym hours is clear -- get thee into the casino -- it is nonetheless frustrating. I was really looking forward to a precious hour of "me" time in the midst of all this teamwork. Not to mention how proud I was of myself for mustering the energy to even put on my gym clothes after such a long day. I suppose my only option at this point is to peel myself out of the bathtub and meet my colleagues for what I imagine will be a long night after a long, long day. On the upside, the hotel I'm staying at has a roller coaster. That should get my heart rate up!

For those of you who have been worried since the beginning of this post about me using a laptop while in the bathtub, let me put your mind at ease. I have made it to the end, dear friends, without so much as a minor shock. It's just as well...I'm sure there are plenty of shocking Las Vegas moments yet to come.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Ode to Disco

It's been a rough couple of days for our little Disco doggie. An accident at the groomer has left her with ulcerated corneas that, though healing nicely, are causing her a lot of pain. Through it all, though, she has been her spunky, playful, and just generally loveable self. What's not to love, really?







And since I'm posting photos, what the heck...here are a few more.

No, that's not half of the Village People! It's James and Kristi on the way to a Halloween party.


Kristi about to dig into breakfast at a Penticton restaurant.


James and a big sandwich. No real reason for posting this other than, wow, look at that sandwich!

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Just Half and We're Baked


Several weeks ago, James and I completed the Royal Victoria Half Marathon. Please refer to photo of us at left, looking happy and exhausted. The distance was a first for both of us, something we love because you always set a personal record the first time around! Though the day was cold and rainy, it was a fun experience to take on the challenge with so many other people, and it was an important stepping stone on our way to the Seattle Marathon.

Since our last race, we have upped our mileage as well as our time in the pool. Because we continue to be plagued by overuse injuries, presumably caused by missing too many key runs throughout the summer and early fall, the mandate from our coach is essentially to spend as much time pool running as possible. All of our long runs are long run/walks, and we are focused on injury prevention and our long-term Ironman goal. While it's not particularly fun to aqua jog, get poked by the chiropractor, and roll around on a big piece of foam (okay, that part is kind of fun), I'm glad we're having these complications now instead of the middle of next summer. The point of a fall marathon was to introduce us to endurance training and help us work out the kinks, and it's done exactly that.

And now, as we prepare to slog through a long, wet winter of training, let us review exactly how we ended up here.

First, James and I went to spectate at Ironman Canada in Penticton BC. We met up with a bunch of our friends from Victoria. Some were racing, some were just spectating like us, but all were confirmed tri-geeks.




We watched the swim.


We watched the bike.


We watched the run. (Yes, that is Lisa Bentley.)


And somehow, even after seeing all of this, we still waited in line.


And we signed ourselves up for 2007.


And then we went to Hawaii and forgot all about it.


Don't you wish you were in Hawaii right now? ;)

Monday, October 02, 2006

The Right Stuff


Being strict vegetarians, James and I like to think of ourselves as a nutritionally conscious couple. However, when you're trying to be conscious of so many other things at the same time -- work, bills, housekeeping, triathlon training, doggy care, social life, marriage -- it's inevitable that something will occasionally slide. And for us, lately, it's been our focus on nutrition.

Sure, we eat a vegan diet, eschewing all animal products (except honey, occasionally) in favor of plant-based foods. But the busier we get, the more we tend to shift away from wholesome, home-prepared, vegetables and legumes to more processed, grain-based convenience foods. And let me tell you, we can feel the difference. So today, as we both battle a hangover from a particularly successful weekend dinner party, we will re-focus ourselves on the veggies and commit to making thoughtful food choices. After all, what's the point of doing so much hard work in training if we're not doing the easy stuff, like eating, properly?

Here's our daily plan, with quantities listed per person:
  • Strive to eat 1 lb of fresh, raw veggies.
  • Strive to eat 1 lb of cooked green veggies.
  • Eat no fewer than 4 pieces of fruit.
  • Eat at least 1 cup of beans, legumes, tofu, or some combination of those.
  • Choose starchy vegetables over whole grains, and whole grains over refined ones.
  • Eat 1-2 oz of raw nuts and seeds, plus some flaxseed.
  • Minimize use of added oils in cooking.

We both agree that eating this way makes us feel better. We both agree that we deserve to feel good all of the time. And we both agree that a little bit of planning goes a LONG way in helping us make the best choices to support our training and recovery and just keep us happy and healthy in general. Wish us luck!

Monday, September 25, 2006

Getting back on the wagon!!!!

So training lately has been what you might call a little lacking. As well a lot has happened since our last blog entry of almost 2 weeks ago! I know people have been in suspense for the next great great entry by yours truly. Actually I'm sure you hoped it was Kristi writing because her english skills are a 'tad' better. I guess you'll have to take what you can get :)

Kristi's bum is "on the mend" as our chiro has said and I suffered a torn calf muscle during a long run, so I haven't really been able to run much. Kristi had her longest run ever yesterday at an amazing 20k and our wonderful coach Carolyn just gave us our October schedules. It's going to be one hell of a month. Forget about all the swimming, biking and strength training. If all goes well I will have run 235km in around 22 - 23 hours in the month of october with my biggest week at around 60km or 37mi! For some that is the amount they run during an off week but for me that is crazy amount of ground to cover. I'm excited to heal up and get back at it!

Guess what else is going on today! It is Disco's 1st Birthday!!! The little girl has definatly become quite a larger part of our life then I ever anticipated. She constantly makes us laugh and has become quite attached to her mum... In fact every morning Disco now cuddles up into Kristi's belly and demands a belly rub....

I know what you are thinking. These people need a life, but if you met Disco I'm sure you would warm up to her just as much as we have. Also we have a life, it's called triathlon.. oh wait you ment social life.... ya you got me there...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DISCO!

Thursday, September 14, 2006

One Month and 7 Unwanted Pounds Gone!














So it's been a month since the last unflatering photo and it's time to step on to the scale again to see if any of the blubber has come off. Well I'm happy to say that it has. I'm now down to 184 for a total loss of 7 pounds in the last month. I've decided that my goal weight is going to be around 160 pounds so I've got another 25 to lose. Looking at the pics it seems my man boobs have gotten a little smaller, but all in all there really isn't all that much difference. Oh well, hopefully the scale will continue to dip in the direction I want :)

Pain in the Butt


Yesterday I had my first ever visit to a chiropractor to address my piriformis syndrome (yes, I correctly diagnosed my own butt pain) and the neck pain that has been bugging me since our car accident last week. He did what I guess was a preliminary assessment, gave me some exercises to do to help with the piriformis, and asked me to come back on Friday to deal with my neck.
It was a very interesting experience, unlike any medical treatment I've ever had. He started out by asking me a bunch of questions and then had me stand up with my shoes off and looked at, I think, the overall alignment of my body. He then did a bunch of interesting things like assess my knee tracking (bad), check my balance (bad), and compare strength and flexibility on the two sides of my body.

Now for the really interesting part. He spent quite a few minutes doing this very crazy thing which he called "applied kinesiology." Basically, he asked me to make a movement with a body part to isolate a particular muscle or muscle group, and resisted the movement with his hand to determine, he said, if my muscles were firing properly. According to the doctor, I should be able to resist the force he was applying on every single exercise because it was not a strength thing, and he wasn't applying much force. At one point, though, he found a few leg motions during which I was not able to work against his resistance. He proceeded to poke me in a few places along the front of my thigh, and had me try again. And somehow, magically, I could suddenly resist the force he was applying against my movement. To further baffle me, I suppose, he had me jump up and down on the ground, then try again. I could not resist. Then he poked me again. I could resist! What was going on?!?!

I went back to my office and Googled "applied kinesiology," and most of the websites I found were articles explaining exactly why it's a crock of poo. I'm not so quick to judge, though. I fully believe that my body (and all of existence, really) works in ways that I don't yet and may never really understand, but I still want to try to understand it. One of the very fascinating arguments against AK, as they called it, was that my ability to resist my doctor's force had nothing to do with the precise locations where he administered pokes, and everything to do with my belief that he had somehow made me stronger by poking me. This phenomenon, called ideomotor motion, is in my opinion a hundred times MORE exciting than the idea that he somehow reset the energy along my meridians...or whatever he said he was doing. If the two of us believing that he was making my muscles work better did in fact make them work better, that is pretty powerful stuff!!

I have so many questions for this doctor, but he seemed a little rushed, and I'm not sure he's into patient education all that much. I can't blame him, really. He had patients lined up practically out the door of his small clinic. I even saw Simon Whitfield, a professional triathlete, leaving the clinic as I was going in. Next time, I think I will ask the doctor to poke me exactly where he pokes Simon.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Ironman, Holidays and More


Well it's been a long two weeks since my last entry. Kristi and I went to Ironman Canada, and then off to Hawaii where we lay on the beach away from phone calls and computers. Sounds relaxing hey... well kinda... A lot happened in the past two weeks but I'll try to keep it short :).

So on August 25th we headed off to watch Ironman Canada, to cheer on our friends taking on the race this year, and to sign up for the grueling task next year. I can't really explain what it is like in Penticton the day before the race. You are constantly overhearing conversations about strategy, race day nutrition, and course conditions. The little, quiet town is full of triathletes who have come from all over the world to compete in the race. This year, 2350 people would jump into the water for the mass start.

On Sunday we got up early and drove from my parents house where we were staying (and eating way to much good home-cooked food) to the race start in Penticton. Watching the swim start was something else. Seeing over 2300 people dive into the water all at once was inspiring. Next year, we'll be in that mess of people. After the swim started we I headed into the water, standing almost waist deep to watch the competitors come in. I was able to snap a few pics of some of our friends coming out.

After all of the swimmers were out of the water, we headed out for breakfast and then decided to drive the bike course and cheer everyone on along the way. It was also a good chance to see what we would be up against next year. Well it's not going to be an easy bike.... It was pretty cool driving along beside all the bikers. I felt like we were watching the Tour de France from a team car, zooming from cyclist to cyclist along the way.

For the run, we headed back to Penticton and got a bite to eat with some friends at a patio along the course. The food was pretty bad but the view was pretty good, so I guess it was a good trade off. We saw a bunch of people we knew starting the marathon and Kristi started to cry. She was getting quite emotional taking it all in. The day really is quite amazing, and watching people you know struggle through it is even more inspiring.

After eating, we drove out to the run turnaround and then went back to Pentiction where we got a spot at finish line and cheered people on as they finished over the next 4 hours.

Watching the race was incredibly inspiring. Seeing so many people out there searching for their limits and testing what's possible really opens your eyes. After watching the race, I now understand why people go back and do this over and over again. We left Pentiction excited to start our journey next year to the finish line. Next year we'll take on the race and, hopefully, inspire someone else to redifine what is possible, just as we felt watching all of the amazing people out there that day.


As for the holiday which has caused this long delay in updating our blog, lets just say that Kristi and I both got sick pretty sick, we saw a sea turtle swiming in the ocean (very cool), and our car was rear ended on the way back to Victoria from my parents place.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

The End of Season One

So it seems that it has finally come. It's the end of August, all of my planned races have passed and I'm on my last of 2 rest days before training for my November marathon begins.

Six months ago Kristi dragged me into this crazy sport after she learned about the tri clinic at our local YMCA and I don't know it I could ever thank her enough. Not only has the past six months given me a glimpse of what is possible, but has woken me up to what it is to really live. Triathlon has done more then enabled me to swim, bike and run for a long distance, it has opened me up to the endless possibilities. I'm beginning to see that life really is what you make of it and that any goal is attainable if you are willing to work for it.

This time last year I told Kristi that there was no way I could enter a try-a-tri with her because I couldn't swim 300m let alone bike 15k and run 3 after. Being the amazing person that she is she got me sign up for a swimming lesson and then the tri clinic. Now a year later we have both completed multiple triathlons and road races and are on the way to Ironman.

I'm proud of myself, I'm proud of her and I'm amazed what we have been able to accomplish in such a short period of time. It's made me realize that it's not the destination that matters, but the journey along the way.

Well I guess that’s enough sappy reflection for one day. Its 11pm, I've got to get up early because I've got a marathon to train for, and I couldn't be happier.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Kelowna Apple Race Report

Kelowna Apple Triathlon - Olympic
2006-08-20
Kelowna, British Columbia
Canada

Total Time = 2h 36m 54s
Overall Rank = 188/446
Age Group = M2529
Age Group Rank = 13/19

Pre-race routine

Kristi and I got up at around 5am. Basicaly just ate a few bagels, drank some water and headed off to the race at around 6am. My heat didn't start until 8:30 but transition closed at 7:15, so I had to get there to set everything up and get ready a while before my heat started. This race was the Canadian National age group championships and as I expected the field was really strong. I beat my PB by over a 1.5 min which would have put me in the top half of my age group in the olympic I did 2 weeks ago, but today that time put me 13/19 in my age group. The top 6 in each age group qualified to be on team Canada and got to enter for the world age group championships in Hamberg, Germany next year.

Event warmup

I did about a 400m swim 15 min before the race start, with a few sprints.

Swim (1500m - 28:29, 1:54 min/100m)

This swim went much better then my race 2 weeks ago. I still swam a bit off course, but all in all it went much better :) In my wave were the M2529 and the M4045 age groups. It was a run into the water from the beach for the start which was new to me. I was just hoping not to get mauled in the sprint to the first bouy. Luckly I think I made it through quite well. The first loop I was with a pack of swimmers and I got to draft a bit but for the most part I think I was being drafted off of. I had hands hitting my feet for the whole first loop. At the end of the first loop we had to get out of the water and run on the beach to start the second loop. I was expecting chaos at that point because the turn around on the beach was pretty small but it actually wasn't too bad. The 2nd loop was not as good as the first. The pack had thined out and I had less people to follow. As a result had to rely on my own sighting skills (which are pretty poor :)). I got to the first two bouys alright and then as I was rounding the second bouy looking for the next one to sight I saw 3! In the chaos of the race I couldn't figure out which way to go. I just kinda tread water for about 30 seconds trying to get my bearings. Eventually I saw a few people up ahead swimming towards a bouy in the distance and decided to just follow them and hope for the best. Luckly they were right. The rest of the swim was pretty uneventful with the exception of this one guy who kept trying to swim over me even though it seemed like there wasn't really anyone else around us.

T1 (2:23)

The transition area was a bit of a jog away from the beach and took a little longer then I hoped.

Bike (40k - 1:16:01, 31.6 KPH)

The bike course was 4 loops and was changed from the course last year becuase of construction. So to change it they had to add in a pretty big hill which we had to climb 4 times. That kinda sucked. Beyond that hill this course was pretty fast. There was one guy that was playing cat and mouse with me. We seriously passed each other about 7 or 8 times. It was jsut back and forth and we would pass each other at the exact same points on each loop. I actually really liked this bike course and my parents we out spectating so I had a chance to see them 4 times on the bike which was a bit of a boost. They keep hearing about this crazy triathlon stuff I got into this year and they finaly got a chance to see what all the months of training are for. I also ended up catching Kristi on the last loop of the bike course and it was great to see her. She looked pretty strong and was climbing the hills really well. She ended up taking over 7.5 min off her Oly time from 2 weeks ago in this race!
T2 (0:52)

Good fast transition. I did take my feet out of my shoes a little early though.

Run (10k - 49:10, 4:55 min/km)

It was HOT! I knew it was going to be really hot so I expected that my run time would be quite slow today. It actually turned out to be faster then I expected. I thought I would be over 50 min for sure in this heat. The run started off pretty well and I saw my coach along the course cheering me on. It's always great to see people you know on the course. The run course was really flat but I didn't really like it all that much. It seemed like they didn't have enough room for a decent 5k course so they had us doing out and backs down steets and even run around a track to tack on some distance. My parents were out again on the run course so it was good to see them. I was really happy with my run preformance though. I was passing a lot of the women who were in the swim heat that started about 15 min before me. Every aid station I would try and take in a bit of water and throw 2 cups of water over my head to keep the body cool. There wasn't really any shelter from the sun on this course so the heat was getting to me a bit. The first loop indicated that I was on course for about a 48:00 - 48:30 min 10k, but it looks like I slowed down a bit on the last 5k.

Post race

Walked around a bit, ate 2 banana's and drank 4 cups of gatorade.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Shoes?!?


Since James got to talk about shoes, I think I should get to as well. So, here are some beauties that are on my wish list. Too bad they're only available in the US. That's probably the most annoying thing about living on an island -- the utter lack of good shopping! Seriously, every woman I talk to organizes shopping-centric trips to the mainland or to the US or at least includes shopping time in her vacation plans. It's a wonder there's no Vancouver Island uniform given the lack of options.

What does this have to do with Ironman? It's marginally related, I suppose. The point is that, where we live, if you want a triathlon wetsuit, there are probably 20 different kinds to choose from and 10 different stores that carry them. But if you want a pointy-toed red leather flat, you're out of luck.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

New shoes :)


Sadly nothing in my life any more seems to be more exciting then getting a brand spanking new pair of running shoes (other then waking up next to my wife every morning. Yes Kristi it's you then new shoes :)). This is what triathlon has done to me and being a woman must feel like. I used to be excited about so many things, now it's shoes and bikes. However a pair of shoes is a little cheaper then a new bike so they bring me more joy on a day to day basis.

Why all of this talk about shoes you ask? Well I just picked up a new pair that I didn't exactly need. However they look fast and hopefully I will be faster by association. Now I'm sure you're saying James, I could really care less about your shoes, but it's my blog and chances are if you are reading this you have nothing better to do and will continue to read about me and my shoes.


I picked up a pair of Brooks Axiom 2. They are light, sleek, provide a moderate amount of support and more importantly look fast. I've worn many different Brooks starting with the ever so stable Trance, then moved down to Adrenaline because a shoe expert said the trance was too much shoe for me. I've been working a lot on my running form lately and now that I primarily am striking on my mid foot I thought I would try something lighter and a little less stable for tempo runs and speed work.


Yes I know, that was a pretty crappy blog entry, but it's going to be a long year and I assure you there will be worse :)

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

You look like killer whales!

Today like almost every other Tuesday Kristi and I normally head out to the lake for a swim. Today neither of us wanted to go, but neither of us wanted to have an empty space in our training log either. So we eventually headed out, got suited up and jumped in the lake. Once we were in the water it was great and I was happy to be out there, which is typically the case.

Today was pretty easy, we just had to do a 1500m loop. Well I wont bore you with the details of the workout, but we did get a pretty interesting comment once we were finishing up and got back to the beach.

There was a man with his wife and three kids who told us "we looked awesome
... Like 2 killer whales". After he said that I immediately looked at Kristi to see how she would take being called shamu... I know he meant it in a good way, but you would think if he was married he would know NEVER to call a woman a whale or any other large mammal. I've been married for just over a year and I learned that one long ago! Luckly Kristi took it well and the man got to leave the park with all vital organs attached. Oh ya and he asked us if we were marathoners, which was an odd question given what we were at the lake for.

Anyways, another day and another swim. Only 4 more sleeps till our goal race. I looked at the weather today and it's supposed to be sunny and 35C (~95F for any American readers :)). Not ideal by any means...

Monday, August 14, 2006

Race Photos!!!

So we just got our race photos in the mail from the Self transcendence Triathlon we raced in last weekend. As usual it seems Kristi's looks great and I look about as attractive as Quasimodo. For some reason every race photo that has ever been taken of me looks terrible! I've heard that there may be others posted on the race website so I'll have to see if anyone caught me on film in some good light during the race :). Here are the pics...


This weeks training (Aug 14th - 20th)

At the end of this week we'll be racing our goal race of the season which is the Kelowna Apple. So our coach has us on a bit of a taper.

Mon: 5k Race Pace
Tues: 1.5k Swim
Wed: 20k Bike 5k Brick Run
Thur: 1.5k Swim
Fri: Travel to Kelowna
Sat: 20min swim / 20 min bike / 20 min run
Sun: Kelowna Apple Olympic Distance Triathlon!

Sunday, August 13, 2006

191 Pounds!

I thought to start things off I would post a pic of my body (which at this point is quite unflattering) after each month and hopefully see the positive changes this year will bring on. I just weighed myself and to my surprise I checked in at my heaviest in quite a while. 191 Pounds! I knew that my diet had been pretty bad lately but I didn't expect that I had put on this much weight. In the interest of documenting my experience I will post a few pics that I'm not overly happy with...


Who are we and what are we doing?

I'm a Civil Engineer working for a construction company in Victoria B.C. I graduated about 2 years ago and moved out to Victoria seeking a job and hoping to accompanied by my long time girl friend and at the time fiancee who was finishing her masters degree in Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University.

Kristi is a Biomedical Engineer and my beautiful wife. Originally from Dallas, Texas she moved up to Victoria to marry me and some how sucker me into agreeing to adopt a little yorkie we named Disco.

We meet 5 years ago on a study abroad program in Paris organized between my former university (University of Saskachewan) and her's (Texas A&M). Now just months after celebrating our 1st anniversary we have decided to take on another challenge together. We have decided to attempt Ironman Canada 2007.