Syracuse 70.3 half will be a race my friends and I will never forget. Five weeks later and we are still talking about it. All I will say is the weather was 102 F or maybe more, the humidity outrageous and the storm wicked. I recently heard there was hail. Some say the race should have been cancelled from the get go due to the heat but eventually it was called due to the thunder & lightening storm. All I can say is I completed it even if I had to walk the run. The time was awful but the toes say it all.
Mt. Tremblant Training Camp with Ironmotivaion was a great weekend to learn. The number of "campers" were optimal this year with Kim, Lucie, Alison, Deanna, Jim, Karen Lisa and I joining. Under Coach Paul & Christine we headed out for our bike on Saturday and run/swim on Sunday. One of my goals this year was to ride the Ironman distance - 180K - which happened this weekend. I was very lucky to be driving up and sharing accommodations with Alison, Deanna (who are training for a full) and Lisa (an Ironman). They all gave me great advice on my nutrition which is always lacking. I followed their advice and this 180 was a blast. My troublesome shoulder decided it had enough after a 1.3K swim which is frustrating but the silver lining is its this year not next. The run was fantastic and went by extremely fast running with Lisa & Karen. Another valuable lesson running can be fun when done with others.
Grand Fondo Ottawa happened the weekend after the camp. I was scheduled for 170K but due to the shoulder backed off to 100K. The route took us through my home country including the big town of Almonte which is 4 miles out side of the Hamlet of Blakeney where I grew up. I did not learn my lessons from the week before well as my nutrition was bad and the 100k was actually harder then the 180. This is different riding as its group riding / peloton riding. We ride close to together and draft each other just like Canada Geese do. Like what you may have seen on the Tour de France. This can prove to be a challenge until we learn each others riding styles. Within the first 20K a rider went down and another rider behind him. As this point I was riding with Morgan and Andrew both fire fighters. Although the ride does have medical people it was comforting to know we had them along as they knew exactly what to do and took over when the fellow went down. He nor his bike was hurt but it does give one an appreciation of how careful we need to be riding in a peloton. As we came into Carp my lack of nutrition kick in and it was such a wee hill I thought I would have to walk but my training partner Jeff got me through it and we all finished in good spirits.Barry and I decided to stay an extra day and headed off to the Canadian Cold War located at the Diefienbunker in Carp. During the Cold War "Dief" had a huge four story self contained bunker built with smaller versions throughout the Country. If nuclear war did break out government and military staff would operate the country from this command post or one of the others if this was unavailable for some reason. It is really a feat in engineering and was built in an exceptionally fast time. I would recommend checking it. http://www.diefenbunker.ca/
As part of the exhibit they had a room dedicated to political cartoons of the time. I saw this one only to realize we have not come very far from the 60's. All we need to do is change the names of the countries about to set the fuses off. It was a very sobering moment for me. This weekend I headed up to Chalk Lake with the DRTC to test my shoulder but it was sore after about 100 meters but I finished one loop which was 350 meters. It is gradually getting better as the bike ride after did not bother it so much. As always I try to ride with faster people including my friend Jeff. This week I was with Mark, Brooke and Jeff. Brooke is a professional triathlete and just watching her ride was a lesson in itself. Just amazing. Mark as always is a wealth of information and we might just change my cassette which may make my love of hills even greater.
The future..
For the immediate future its resting the shoulder until its better. I fear not being in the water will bring my fear back of it but Ironman requires a good shoulder. Jeff, his wife Erin & I are heading to Mt. Tremblant Ironman in August to volunteer. It will be a different experience supporting our friends and fellow athletes rather then being one. As a volunteer we get the first chance to register for 2014. Yep, the full distance is just over 365 days for Jeff and I. What a ride we have been on since we talked in our first beginners swim class.
In October I'll be riding in Oshawa's inaugural Ride for the Refuge. This is a 25k or 50k cycle in support of Gate 3:16. If you are in the area I'm looking for team members. The entrance fee is $25 or raise $150.00. My distance is 50K but as this is a two loop course you can ride with me for the first 25 if that is your preferred distance. My team is the CrankAddicts. A fitting name as I am addicted to my bike. Details can be found at: http://rideforrefuge.org/location/oshawa
