New Ironman Pro Membership

This week a new membership came out for Pro Athletes who race 70.3 or Ironman events. WTC has made a membership, which costs 750 US, and allows professional athletes everywhere to race any event at anytime. They also explained that the money raised will be used for anti-doping costs.

Thoughts anyone?

2010 Gear Up

So the colour scheme has changed for 2010. Pink is out and Red is in! Was over at Gears Bike shop the other day and was able to get a sneak peak at my bike for 2010. I will be riding the Specialized Transition Pro. This bike is Crazy! Not only did it win the Prologue at the Tour De France but guys such as Macca and Tj Tollakson, who are throwing down the fastest ride splits in Ironman ride it! I am super excited to get it and start training. After talking with the team at Gears I can see why they are one of the best bike shops around. Not only do they care about their cyclists but they are also super knowledgeable about everything to do with bikes. Head over and check them out! 2010 is going to be great!

I have started back into light training for 2010. I fell weird not heading to Florida right now and getting ready to race the 70.3 World Championship but on the other side of things I am able to recovery and get ready physically and mentally for the long winter and the large amount of training I will be doing! To allow the pro's and age groupers who are racing good luck!!

Many athletes have asked me what the plan of attack is for November and what to do during this time? It has taken me many years to finally say a break is needed over the month of November. Not totally off but running for me is fun right now and just enjoying being out with friends...who I usually can't run with because of the speed I am training at. Also I love getting out on the Mountain Bike with Sean or Bob and just kidding around! This is why I do the sports because I enjoy it, not because it is a job. I am however getting ready to swim fast. I have talked with my coach Mike Rutledge from Mississauga Aquatic Club and the goal is simple. 26min for 2km in the water. I was hitting 28 last years and that just doesn't get it. I kill myself on the bike to catch up and then I am burned on the run. Time to swim.

So to everyone enjoy a month of fun training and plan the goals for 2010. Always good this time to thank the people who have stuck by you over the season wether it be sponsors, family, training partners or friends!

....In saying that thank to;

Gears Bike Shop for supporting me in 2010 and gearing me up with the fastest cycling bikes and gear around
Saucony Canada who has the best racing and training shoes ever made
Cera Sport who is keeping me hydrated during the long training sessions and races.
Xterra Wetsuits for keeping me fast in the water..even in a non-wetsuit swim
Sable Water Optics for allowing me to see in the water! They are the best googles
ISM Saddle...no saddle sore or bum pain..need I say more?
The Running Company for being there since I was an age grouper back in 2004
Altitude Tech who lets me feel like I am living in Colorado at 9 000ft!
LG for Gearing me up with the fastest Aerodynamic Helmet around and light carbon shoes
2XU for the best compression around
Trigger Point Therapy for keeping me injury Free

Also I have to thank my coaches Mike and Lisa who deal with me on a day to day basis....trust me that is tough!
and last But not least my wife Shannon and Rufus who are my two biggest supporters, when I don't want to she is the one who tells me to get out there and train. Love you Babe.

Sorry for the long post but had stuff to say!! Good luck guys in CLEARWATER!!!! RICHIE WIN IT!!!!!!

Great Weekend Away

What a great weekend!

Shannon and I were going to drive to Chicago but thanks to a close friend we ended up flying down! We left bright and early to Chicago boarding a 8:15 flight. We landed and were off! Shannon and I headed to the Magnificent Mile, which is actually pretty neat! We went to town hitting all the shops along the way. Of course we got a few things!!!

We finished off our day and headed back to the hotel for 2ish then got ready to head to the fight. Now the funny part about this is we kept asking people were the fight was and nobody had a clue! We were getting a bit worried until someone said it is 22 miles outside of town?? Weird. So off we went! The Undercard fights weren't that great..so Shannon took a nap and I got a Fedor Shirt!! Now for the main event! Fedor vs. Rogers.

Rogers got a stiff jab out of the gate on Fedor and broke his nose. The crowd was going crazy chanting USA....I guess it's what they do. The Fedor got in some bombs until he was mounted by Rogers who landed a few heavy blows! Now Shannon and I had to think fast. We wanted to see the fight but being in the middle of no where meant we had to act fast at the end of the fight to get out and back to the hotel...22 miles is a long way back! 2nd round began and again Rogers put the pressure on Fedor who was bleeding from the face. Then it happened! Fedor stepped in, faked the shoot and gave Rogers a right hook that landed square on the chin of Rogers sending him to the floor!!!! Man what a fight!! As he was hitting the ground Shannon and I ran out the door got a cab and made it home!! So good! We jumped on the plane in the morning and I was able to get in a game of golf on Sunday!! haha

Back to Business now. Great Practice this morning now heading out for a 2 hour ride!

Weekend Festivities!

This weekend is huge! Main fight event in Chicago. Oh yes, the windy city! Shannon and I are heading out tomorrow 6am to catch a flight to the Strikeout Fight to watch Fedor!!! So most of you are like who is this guy Fedor and why does he get to exclamation points!! haha He is the best fighter in the world. I googled him, I know. He will be taking on Rogers, who is a big dude, but Fedor is undefeated and looking to take another win. Ideally Fedor and Brock Lessner would be a good fight, but lets me serious! Lessner will get dropped!

Amazing! So this morning I headout out early to Lisa's house to do a 3 hour training ride which was pretty good. Hurt a bit but haven't really hit it hard on the bike for a month now! Will be taking training off tomorrow to head to chicago then back for Sunday morning! Monday is go time.... Time to get back into things!!

And Now.....

I am never saying I have exciting news again. After 5 different people asking if my wife was pregnant I have learned my lesson. Right now Shannon has to deal with me and Rufus and many of you who know me that is work in itself.

Still going to make you wait....

Want to do a huge thank you to Ian at IMFIT.CA and Younique Cycles.ca. As many of you know the past year I have been with Guru and IMFIT.ca. They helped me with bikes, set-up, VO2 max testing and just being a great guy to talk too. I put my all into helping Ian because I truly believe he is guy who is very passionate about making people better, faster and stronger. I also recommend anyone in the Area to check out his shop located on Main St. In Milton. If you want to get fast then heading to Ian is the way to go.

Now for the exciting news......

Our Personal Training Studio, Kim Gym (after the owner Steph Kim) is located in Port Credit Mississauga. We have a great facility, which is for private personal training and attached to the gym are 2 yoga studios. Across the Street is Gears Bike Shop and on the South East Corner is SPC Physiotherapy. It has taken a bit of time to get everything set up but there is a huge opportunity to make Port Credit a powerhouse for athletes!! Training, yoga, cycling and Physio...what more could an athlete ask for!

So....

In 2010 I will be riding for Gears Bike Shop on a 2010 Transition Pro. I am excited about the new partnership and what it can do for both companies as we get bigger into the future. Gears is a world class shop with amazing mechanics, bikes and anything you need to cycle. I am super pumped about the Port Credit Area! PC WHAT!! just kidding!!

More To Come....no babies

Road 2 Hope Race Report

So...marathon... one word...hurts!

Ok, so now it is over and many people asked what I was looking to do. My goal was to hit around a 2:48 marathon, and I ended up doing a 2:51:33...this is how it went down.

Going into the race I was a bit nervous. Not because of the distance but because I was scared I would have no one to run with. I was going into the race with no knowledge of the pain I was going to feel. Lisa and I had a plan and I was going to stick to it as well as I could!

I race started fast and right away I was sitting in 8th overall. I ended up running with a guy named Roger, who was great to work with! We each took a Km and held around 3:53 per km. At the 21km mark we were sitting around 1:22 and by the time we hit the 30km mark we were at 1:58! This was perfect we were right on pace for a 2:48 ish marathon finish. At the 21km mark we headed down...and I mean down the Red Hill Valley Expressway, which was 8km of pain on the quads. This I believe set up the last 10km to hurt as much as it did......

Before I get into the pain, I must say the weather was perfect and I had a kit from Saucony, which was perfect. Arm warmers, singlet, shorts, Type A3 Racing flats and 4 gels tucked away in the arm warmers. Thanks again Mike for making my first marathon feel not so bad in the chaffing department! haha

Onto the hurt.... I hit the 32km and started to feel fatigued. I have felt tired before but when Lisa said it would hurt a lot I didn't expect this. I went from 4:00 per km to 4:15 -30 per km. I was starting to fall apart. At the 35km mark I was passed by the lead female and Roger was able to keep with her. Figured he knew what he was doing when it was his 10th marathon! My goal now was to survive and not stop. At the km marks Lisa and Dave got me going by telling me to surge and keep surging until the end! I pushed as hard as I could to get that sub 2:50 marathon but came up 90 seconds short....

I am super happy with my result and have signed up for the Boston Marathon in April. I am still not walking properly today and respect every Marathoner and Ironman around. I have never been in that much pain and for some weird reason am excited to do it again! Thanks to Saucony, Cera Sport and of course LB and Dave! Couldn't have done it without your support and telling me Rufus is beautiful! Oh and can't forget my main crew (Shannon and Rufus)!! Love you both!

Time to rest and have some very exciting news coming in my next blog!!!...stay tuned!

Loyal to the Sport

With the marathon around the corner I am proud to announce that Saucony Canada is standing behind me in full support! I have been wearing their Type A3 Racing Flat for 3 years now and honestly there is no shoe out there that will beat it! The shoe is light weight, breathable, good support and looks awesome. Thanks Saucony, I am very excited for this weekend and your support!

My coach called me today and it got me thinking. She asked me what I am going to think about during the marathon? I have trained my bum off for this race and the running side is ready to go now just have to get my head around the mental. People always ask me what I think about and I will let you in on a few thoughts. My main drive is my wife She has put up with countless hours of me not being around training so when I race I always look at my wedding ring and say "I can walk for the next week if I have too...not now." My other main drive is taking specific workouts like 13 x 1 mile or running from Port Credit to Milton. It hurt so much but I got it done!

This marathon is going to be great. I have my thoughts in place and mentally prepared for this race. To all racing good luck, I will see you all out there.

Get READY!!