Peterborough Sprint...Yes Sprint!

Haha. Wasn't going to race this weekend but was asked to keep Bob company heading up to Peterborough..which only took us 2 hours to get there...Bob is a solid driver!

Was feeling tired after a hard day Saturday of training but was gonna have some fun...cheer the boys on in the half and hope for the best in my race!

I came out of the water just behind the lead back of Juniors. Thanks to 2XU, Xterra and Sable water Optics! I then got on the bike and hammered my new Blackwell Wheels, which go really fast...haha After catching up with the Junior Draft Pack...(there was around 5 of them!) I was able to pace them and come 2nd off the bike! Although my legs were sauced.

I was able to run the 5km in 18min, which put me in 5th overall...not too bad after the prior day of training. The boys did great though! Sean said it was going to be a training day...yeah right...turned into him winning the Half Ironman in 4:03...killed my time by 15min! Dave came in 4th with a solid 4:11...Good work boys!

Post week of training!

Saturday turned into a festival of fun..haha Jenn and I met up and ran 11 miles in the Valley, which are crazy hills and rolling! I made her hurt..great work Jenn. After that we hit Kelso for a 2km swim...nothing crazy, worked on some sprints and swam some laps. Then we hit the bike for 90min. Took it out to the hills and brought along my buddy Derek. It was a solid day and knew it would hurt Sunday..haha

Friday: I took the day off and did a solid Golf game with Mike!

Thursday: 80km bike ride and a 5km run off the bike..swam during the day too

Wednesday: Another Solid swim, 10 mile run with a 2 hour bike..nothing crazy!!

Texas 70.3 Race Report

What a race in Texas! At the race meeting the water was only 76 so that meant no wetsuit swim. I was feeling really confident in the swim and knew it would be a good day. After a crazy start I cam out of the water in 29min, which for no wetsuit is wicked! Thanks Xterra for making me fast!

Onto the bike I was in a great position. I was around 10th overall and ready to hammerfest the bike into the money. The wind was coming from the Southeast and nailing us right in the face, which was fine with me. The rain picked up around 25miles in and it didn't help on the descents out of the canyon. I was feeling ready. I was fueled up and the legs were ready to run...what could possibly happen.....BANG! Two flats with 5 miles left in the bike...I was demoralized. I couldn't believe this is the second 70.3 I have blown a tire on. Side note: The wind and rain brushed stickers or as they are called "goat heads" onto the road, which are pieces of plant or cactus, which shred your tires! Long story short I was at the side of the road for 25-30 until a lady said I could have her wheels to finish! Thank you again whoever you are!

After arriving into transition I almost called it a day until Dee Dee told me to go run it off....All I thought was run off a 1/2 marathon? haha...but I did and I thank her very much for the push. After having a nice bathroom break I still ran a 1:32 on the run..and easily could have went sub 1:25 on the run...will be ready for Newfoundland in a couple weeks.

Overall I recommend the race to anyone. It is very laid back and the people are great. The course is a solid one and the wind will make it fun! Back to training now

Updated Week From Texas

Workouts from Friday:

Ended up going to Kelso for an open water swim. Did the 3km loop around the perimeter. Feeling solid in the ater. Later that day I did 60km on the bike and ran 20 min off the bike. Trying to get that 110km. Now at 80km for the week

Saturday: What a great workout today! After a morning at the gym Amaral came over and we suited up for a bike ride. 5km into the bike ride we saw a mass of people heading west on Brittania..so we followed of course! It was the ride to Conquer Cancer. We helped out by pulling people who had amazing stories to tell, from how they quit smoking to do this, and how they survived cancer. After going out 55km with they, Mike and I decided to turn around and head home. We did around 110km that day. Later that after noon I did a 30 min run then had to clean as we got ready to go to a Shower. Getting gifts is fun!

Sunday: Woke up at 7am to the phone ringing...did I mention I was hung over. It was Derek. We ended up going to Kelso for a swim. I thought it would be smart not to bring a wetsuit. Well a km in I thought my nipples were going to peel off chest. This is why you should always have your Xterra Wetsuit on you at all times! I learned my lesson Glynn!

I was supposed to get in a run but never happened. Life came first and it involved a clean of the house, All and all a solid run after for the week of 86km

Monday: We haven't been getting the greatest weather to train so after a 12 hour day at work I got on my bike and did a 40km spin with pickups. Still avg over 200 watts! I was flying. Later that night was meeting with the DJ for the wedding. So no swim

Tuesday: I was able to get into the water for a 2km swim. Stroke is feeling really good and in Texas I believe it will be a wetsuit swim! We will find out race day. Gonna need Xterra's help opn this one.

Wednesday: TRAVEL TIME. I got to the plan for 5:50 am. After making it from Buffalo to Detroit, Detroit to Dallas, Dallas to Lubbock, I was finally at my place of destination! I was picked up by Steve, who was more then welcoming and can't thank him and his wife Dee Dee, for everything. After we got back to his place we headed to Texas Tech (Sorry Steve!) for a swim practice. What a beautiful outdoor pool. I did 3km hard and it felt great.

Thursday: (Today) Just got in from a 50 min run with pick ups! Legs are feeling awesome. I am heading for a massage at 11:30 then off on the bike for a 50km ride. The new Blackwell Research Wheels are looking amazing and everyone here is jealous.

Feeling good!...Ps. Love you Shannon and Rufus!

Week of Hurt

Like I said I would report back on the hurt from Wednesday.

We met at Gulliver's Lake at 9:30 and did a solid warm up before getting our wetsuits on and hitting the water. We did another warm up then 4 x 800m hard around the bouys. I will able to latch onto Brit and Jenn in the swim (thanks ladies...haha) On the Last repeat we ditched the wetsuits and went to town!

The plan for the bike was 3 loops of a 15km course. I brought my road bike with my powertap to monitor the output of watts I was pushing. The 1st lap went ok. I couldn't get into a groove and to be honest was feeling beat up for the next two laps. After the 1st lap I started to feel great. Legs were moving and averaging 300 watts on the bike felt easy. Sean, Yorke and I broke away from the group and never looked back. I haven't felt this good in a while. Legs had no feeling, which is a good thing! No pain, I think it is the tent. After the 3rd lap it was time to run.

So for 45km we averaged 40km and 290 watts on the bike..that is sick. The run felt even better. I was able to throw down a 17 min 5km off the bike and just out run Sean. Body is feeling solid.

Later that night I went for another 9km run with Shannon. It was a nice run to end the night.

Thursday was another epic training day. The goal was to break! I met up at 11am with Mat Reid at his store Runner's Den Waterdown. A solid shop if anyone is in the area! The workout was to run to Downtown Hamilton YMCA for a swim and back. We found out that the run was around 14km to the Y and 14km back! 28km run we ended up doing. My legs felt great. I hammered it the whole run and just felt good. The swim however wasn't that great. Really was hurting only did around 2000m in the pool. Needed to get prepped for the run home..haha

Thanks for the workout Mat.!

Right now including Sundays race I have ran a total of 75km...gonna make a 110km!

Muskoka Chase Race Report

Sorry it has been a while since I last updated my blog. I have been in serious training mode coming up to the Muskoka Chase race the past weekend. It was a 2km swim, 55km on the bike and a 15km run.

Last weekend was a great prep weekend for me. After a killer day with Dave (100km on the bike and a 3km swim) I entered the Bread and Honey 15km run. What a day! First when you wake up and your legs are that fatigued you just hope for the best.

I got to the race and right away knew it was going to be a hot one. After trying to keep on 6:10 mile pace I feel off and pulled through a 59min 15km run. I ended up 10th overall in the race and only 10 of us cracked an hour. We later found out the temp was 39 degrees! No wonder it felt hard.

The week went fast in prep for the Muskoka Chase weekend. I had some exciting news though. Blackwell Research, the best wheels in the world have sponsored me to represent! They are killer wheels and accounted for my insane bike split..haha Also Sable water Optics for making me see in the water. Without them I would probably be down stream somewhere..haha

The race breakdown: The idea is the girls get a handicap, which this year was 18:30 min. I told Jenn to go fast because I was after her..haha ...I didn't catch her..

Leading up to the race I was feeling great. My body was in working order and ready to race to win. I went out in the swim and found a group to hand on too. I was able to hop on someone's feet and we came out of the water in 32 min, thanks too Xterra and Sable for getting me in a good position out of the water. After a fast transition I got on my bike. I knew today was going to be a solid day.

For everyone who doesn't know Muskoka it is pretty damn hilly! As my coach told me not to burn out in the hills I really kept watts consistent and still came away with the 6th fastest bike split of the day. Thank you Blackwell Research..haha. Heading into transition I was feeling great.

I got off the bike and attacked! My goal was to stick with Nat, who was killing it....we came off the bike together and hammered the run. My goal was to run sub 60min for 15km. I felt good and with the hot weather I knew it was going to be solid. Nat took it out hard and was running just over 6min miles. I a hilly run course we had to be careful. We started to pick people off and finally Nat broke away from me.....my goal was to stay consistent and not lay it on the table 8km in. I finally caught Dave Gagnon, who was a great French Triathlete. After dropping him he picked up the pace and surged past me. I wasn't going to let that happen! We picked up the pace and ran down Nat at 12 km. Gagnon kept that pace up and put a couple surges in the run, trying to drop me. Thank god for Yorke on the side of the road yelling at me! The last 2km was a nice climb. My goal was to put a dirty surge in and drop him for good. I held back on his feet then hammered and didn't look back!

I took the run in 58min and finished 11th overall with a surge to finish strong. I was really happy with the race. Everything is coming together and ready for Texas next week....let it be hot!!!!

Monday Workout: 3km swim around Kelso with Kyle. Felt awesome
50km on the bike....did a bit more cause I got lost in Mississauga..haha
15min run off the bike easy

Tuesday Workout: It was a busy day at work, but I was able to do 12km run in Hilton Falls. My puppy was able to do 10km before almost falling over...he is my little trooper!! Then came back to the gym and did another 5km tempo on the treadmill. Run is feeling good and trying to really make it strong for Texas!

Wednesday is going to hurt. I had a cancellation and just relaxing right now before a workout that is going to break me..haha...Will report the hurt. I again just wanted to say thanks to 2XU, Xterra Sable water Optics, Altitude Tech, and Blackwell Wheels....All of them are keeping me going fast!

Big Day With the Boys

What a solid day of training. Started off with big day at the gym. Started 6am until 10am with clients working there asses off! Good Work Ladies and Gents!

I met up with Team Turnpike's one member Dave, Yorke then man! and Rachel..haha. We went too Gulliver's Lake, and did a killer swim workout. I did 1 loop moderate. 1 loop hard then 1 loop trying to hold onto Dave and Yorke...always fun..haha. All up around 40min of swimming! XTERRA IS SICK!

Then came the thunder! Dave and I did a solid bike ride through the hills on Halton . We ended up averaging around 32km and rode 3 hours around 96km. Off the bike Dave did a 40 min run and killed it. I took my puppy for a walk! Racing tomorrow!

Awesome day.

Chase Weekend Training

Sorry it has been a few days since I last posted a blog.  Work and training have been crazy.  

Race Report from Milton:  Everything was feeling great.  I had a couple great weeks of training with my team and leading up to the race I felt prepped and ready to go.  After a few open water swims with my new Xterra Vector Pro X 2 I was ready to race.  Sean and I got to the race site early and got in a solid bike and a swim to get us ready to hurt.  The swim went out hard and I felt awesome.  I got into grove and came out with the 2nd pack.  That was probably my best feeling swim in a while.  I got onto my bike and hammered.

The wind was directly in our faces, which I loved.  I was able to work my way into 4th overall just behind Andrew Yorke.  I stuck Forth position off the bike and was feeling really good on the run.

I took the run out hard and stuck it strong.  Johnny attacked on a climb and overtook me for 4th overall I ended up finishing strong in 5th.  Overall I am really happy with my race.  I felt strong in all three events and ready for Muskoka then Texas.

After the race Sean, Jenn and I did an extra 6km run because the race was pretty short for us long distance athletes!

Monday came quickly and after a long day at work I got home and headed out on a 10 mile Fartlek run.  The run felt great, legs felt great and was flying!  After the run I headed to the pool for a hard set.  Warmed up with 500m then did 500, 400, 300, 200, 100 Descend.  Felt really strong on the main set then did 10 x 100 mod on 1:40 coming in around 1:31.  Later that day I got out onto the bike for a 2 hour spin.  Felt really good.  That night I headed back into the altitude tent and slept around 9000ft!

Tuesday was an awesome day.  The rain was coming down hard and I don't know about anyone else but running in the rain is why I run.  I did another 10 miles but did 5 x hill repeats at Jack Darling park.  Long and consistent!  Running is coming along.  After I got home I headed to the pool and did 300 warm up then 15 x 100 on 1:40 1-3 descend!  That main set was for Mat..haha  Then did a couple 500's to make up the swim.  Really working on my catch and getting faster..can't let down Xterra!

Wednesday was EPIC!  Started on at Gulliver's lake up in Hamilton.  We did a 20 min hard swim. The new Xterra suit was feeling fast in the water and the catch was coming along.  Onto the bike we did a 15km loop, where Nat and I broke away and hammerfested a crazy bike split averaging over 310 watts for the loop into a 5km run.  We were hunted down like zebra's on the 1st loop of the run..haha.  The next set we were feeling fatigued but did a 30km loop.  Nat and Sean were able to break away and keep it into the run.  We did another 5km loop.  Body is feeling solid.  Was pretty tired after this day....I actually was loosing vision..haha...crazy head wind.

Thursday came and went.  I decided to take it easy on the body and did a 10km run with my puppy who is running faster then me and did a team swim.  More on speed work last night.

Today I am getting ready for an open water swim.  Gotta get the swim down then going for a 2 hour easy ride.  Nothing crazy today ...gearing up for the weekend!

This is going to be a great training weekend up in Muskoka.  Nat, Sean and I are going to up north and doing 110km bike ride into a 30min swim.  Then Sunday 55km bike ride into a 15km run..Should be fun!

Also I just wanted to wish our Canadian athletes all the best in the Worlds this weekend.!  We have some amazing athletes competing and I hope everyone Kills it!

Hewson:  It is time to let the dog out

Mat :  Bike like a boy

Johnny:  Run like you beat me..haha

and soon to be brother in law Kyle, I wish you all the best ...do what you do and kill it!!