No, I haven't been in hiding

Since Rev3 Cedar Point, I decreased my mileage, spent time with my family and really focused on my run. If you look at all the results in the WTC 70.3 Events, if you aren't running a sub 1:15 off the bike you aren't getting on the podium. Shannon and I talked about plans for next season and after giving a shot at Ironman, we both agree, I suck at them. I just don't get them and to be honest suck at holding back and not going full throttle. At least I can admit that, lol. So next season is all about speed. I know most people will say a 70.3 race is still long but in training for Ironman this is a walk in the park and training will be similar to an Olympic distance event.

I joined Toronto Olympic Club out of Toronto about a month ago and haven't looked back. Paul and Kevin have amazing coaching skills, and great work ethic. Every workout has a purpose, which I always believe in and there are some really fast runners out there. This is exactly what I need to get faster. So far, the workouts have been tough but focusing on speed and technique has really improved my running.

My first test of speed was at the 10km Trek or Treat. My goal was take the first 3km pretty hard around 10min then settle it in. After 3km I was feeling great and no one was around. Saucony was the main sponsor, so it was nice to take a win with them there

This takes me to last weekend. I wan't supposed to race, but I had the itch. For most people reading this you are probably similar to me and have the need to race and go fast! On the Saturday I signed up for the Road 2 Hope Half Marathon. I haven't done a half marathon in a while so I had no expectations. My plan was to go sub 1:18 and help Larry get a Sub 1:18, which he did!! 1:17:51. 10 km into the run I was feeling great and was sitting at 35:10, so I figured I would keep the pace up. At 10 miles I was rocking at 57:20 and working the numbers in my head I was on a 1:15 pace. With 3km left I turned into a serious head wind and, really had to work but managed to push through and hit a 1:16:55. Not bad for going in with no expectations;)

Tomorrow is Raid the Hammer with Sean and Jen, and I am super pumped to run and get dirty!! It has been a long time since I have done one of these so hopefully I still have a bit of navigational skills in me!!

Other then that life is good, big race coming up is Boxing Day 10 Miler, and Miami Half Marathon!! Thanks to all my sponsors Saucony, Xterra, Rudy Project, Wheels!!

Cedar Point

I arrived in Ohio on the Friday and was snuggled in at the Knights Inn. I was feeling good and excited to race especially after a crash in Lake Placid I wanted to show that I could do Ironmans.

I was training prior to the race with Sean and was feeling good, no pain, except a burning in my neck, which I shook off because that's what we do. I got out on my bike on the Friday and Saturday and again had a little burning in my neck but felt great! I have to thank Wheels of Oakville for hooking up my newly acquired P4 with Disc and 808...man it is fast!! Saturday came and went and I was ready to race Sunday morning.

I knew a lot of the guys were fast swimming so I was either going to get on some feet in the front pack or be in no mans land with the slower guys behind me and me somewhere in the middle. After 500m of dolphin diving in my Xterra Vendetta I was off swimming. My stroke felt good and within 1500m I feel off the front pack and as predicted was sitting in between the fast and slow pack. I was ok with that, and really focused on lengthening my stroke and staying focused on the task at hand! I came out of the water in exactly 60 minutes, not bad but was ready to bike.

Got on my P4 and was off! I settled in real quickly to 230 watts and got some gels and water into me. Around 10km the burning started again in my neck and really started to hurt, like really hurt. I figured I would survive, I was with a group of guys and wasn't giving up my position! Around 120km I was in pain, and finally sat up from my aero position. The last 60km was gruelling I had a ton of thoughts going through my head and mostly was around if I was going to pull out. I kept saying to myself I can do this what is a little pain in the neck and every time I tried to move my neck I told myself it is over.

So here it is. I rolled into transition with a surprisingly fast bike split of 5:10 and called it a day. I knew what I was feeling and after getting x-rays and talking with my sports doctors they all agreed I did the right thing and could have caused some serious problems with my neck.

So the issue:

I have always had neck discomfort and as most people know when I run I usually need a big 'back crack' after because I am in discomfort. I attached an x-ray that shows my c-spin, which shows a 'stacked spin'. What this does is causing 26lbs of pressure straight down on my spin. After I crashed in Placid my neck muscles weakened and I could support my neck. Your neck should look like a fan and as you can see my neck does not do that. So it's all about fixing my neck in the off season and regroup after a disappointing DNF.

Thanks to my sponsors: Saucony, Wheels of Oakville, Xterra Wetsuits, Cera Sport, Sable Water Optics

It's been a great year and next year will be a bit different. I'm hanging up my Ironman belt and will be focusing on half ironmans, my family and my golf game;)

Lake Placid

So after Rev 3 Full Ironman Last year and learning Ironman is a whole different ball game I ramped up my training and really focused on the long runs and long bikes to get ready for the 9-10 hours it takes to do a race. Training up to the race went amazing really was injury free for the most part and I was feeling good.

When we got to Lake Placid it was hot. We stayed at a high end (....ok It was called the Sherwood Motor in Lodge) haha it was a log cabin about 8 miles away with no A/C. If you can handle the heat and don't mind using appliances from the 1932 Olympics then this is your place. But in all honesty it was good to be outside the downtown area, which can always get a bit hectic.

As we sat in the pro meeting Greg Welch announced a no wetsuit race because the water was above 76.1 degrees. Thank god I brought my WTC Legal Race Skin from Xterra or it would have been a long day out there.

As we waited in the water for the gun to go off I was with a group of guys that I usually come out of the water with in most 70.3 races so was ready get my draft on. Gun went off and the lead back took off pretty quick and I settled into a group of 8 swimmers. I will never say this again but they were actually going a bit slow so I pulled out in front and gave a little 400m push. Came through the first lap in 31 minutes. I a bit slower then my wetsuit 29 min swim and after the 2nd lap and transition I was 1:04 swim. Not my best swim of the day but was super excited to get on my bike.

Cervelo P3 was dialed in and Wheels of Oakville had supped it up ready to go fast. I was running a zipp disc with a tubular HED3C front. FAST I was had my rudy project shades and helmet..making me look like I knew what I was doing! First lap was great I avg 250 watts and stuck with my buddy matt hit the 1st lap at 2:33 right on pace then it happened! A guy in front of me dropped a bottle out of his special needs bag and as I was grabbing mine I tried to avoid it and wiped hard. My bag went flying, I went flying but bike was ok!!

After I made sure my body was ok, I quickly grabbed all my bottles and food got back on the bike and got back to work all bloody and covered in road rash...can't say I was too impressed at that point but hey, shit happens. At that point I lost a bit of time (about 10min )to Matt and lost my little pace group. Boo.. haha

2nd lap was ok. I slowed down the pace a bit not to let the adrenalin take over and focused on nutrition. I worked a lot with Cera Sport and a carb paced powder to take in close to 250-300 calories per hour. The weather was around 35-38 degrees so my goal was to intake close to 1 litre per hour of water and also have a few snacks along the way.

Onto the run. I'll be the first to admit I was nervous. I blew up a year ago with bad nutrition and pushing the pace so the goal was simple...don't walk!! and run. I got off the bike and legs were feeling awesome. I started out and the first 10 miles flew by. I kept saying to myself I feel good, again 15 miles I kept saying I feel good, by 20 miles I was getting nervous but of course felt ok. So when I got to the last 6 miles I decided to stay save walk aid stations and hammer in between the runs like a 6 x 1mile hammer fest. When I got to the finish line I knew I could have gone harder but I learned a lot from this race and didn't blow up. Gotta thank Saucony for a great pair of racing shoes. The fast twitch are insane!!

After a tough day at the office I finished 11 out of 30 pros and had a time of 10:08.

However I learned a ton out there and am ready to do what I am capable of doing! I held back a bit but now am confident that I can race an Ironman. That is why in 4 weeks I am heading to Ohio to race the Rev 3 Full and Give'r!!

Thanks for all the support and will be going hard in Ohio. Thanks to my support crew Shannon, Hayden love you both. Bob, Karen, Randy and Jen for keeping me going through training and racing!

2 weeks to Placid and Peterborough was HOT!!

Today was the 2011 Peterborough Half Ironman. It has been a couple years since I did this half ironman and I threw down a 4:13 last time so was excited to race but 40 degree heat made it difficult. The Swim was a 2 laps and I felt really good in the water. I finished the first lap and it said 15 min? I have been coming out of the water in around 27-29 min so knew this swim was long. Also Jen Amaral who is a very talented swimmer came out in 29 min..she is a 26 min swimmer. Into transition I was feeling pretty good and quickly went to work on the bike.

Today was a day for nutrition. I usually intake around 800 calories on the bike for a 70.3 but today I decided to up it to 1200 with the heat. Man was it hot! I quickly made my way through the field and was told I was sitting 3rd overall. The guys in front of me were flying. At the turn around I was right on a 2:15 bike split but when we hit the turn around I got smacked in the face with a head wind. I decided to be smart, knowing I had to run in 40 degree heat. I avg 270 watts into the wind and really focused on nutrition and staying hydrated. With about 20km left I was caught by 2 guys and we paced each other back into T2. I got off the bike in 2:24 and legs were feeling ok.

Into the run I knew it was going to be a long day. The heat was crazy and need to give a shout out to the top 3 because they fought hard and put up a great result. I got passed and was sitting 4th overall and was feeling the heat. I knew this was just a training race so when I got passed I slowed the pace to my Ironman pace and felt good. I didn't see anyone else for the race and cruised into the finish. I can honestly say the heat was the hottest I have ever raced in and to all the athletes who competed today great work, it was tough and if you finished job well done.

It's all about being smart right now. Turning the engine off for a couple weeks and get fully recovered. After a great race in Welland and a solid training effort today I am tired and going to be ready for Placid.....Goal for next 2 weeks is to not eat too much lol.

Welland Half Ironman

If you are just tuning into my blog here is a quick background on my life. Just opened a new gym in January, had a baby March 1st and did I mention I decided to race an Ironman. This takes us to the weekend in Welland. First words from my wife were you better do well with all the training you have been doing. lol She backs me the whole way with racing especially knowing the caliber of athletes I will competing against in Lake Placid. Love you Shannon. Also it was Hayden's first Half Ironman and had a shirt on that says "my daddy's faster then your daddy's!!!"

The week leading into Welland was tough. Monday was a 13mile track workout with 2 x 2 mile (ouch) and Tuesday jumped straight into a 36km run, which felt good as the run went on. Wednesday I cranked the bike and same friday. Swimming was going great too so all and all a solid week of training going into Welland. Randy and I took Saturday off to give us a day rest...all you need as an Ironman haha.

Race day I felt tired but strong. I was excited to race haven't raced a long distance race since last year so was pretty pumped. The canal was actually cold so got to wear my Vendetta Wetsuit, which is crazy fast and always wearing my sable goggles. Gun went off and I tried to keep on the group in front but fell off and settled into a 1:30 pace. I was ready to bike.

Goal on the bike was simple...hammer. Get to my threshold and hang on. My Cervelo P3 was a monster and I decided to test out my 2 hed 3 wheels with my Wingspan Rudy Project helmet...can you fast. Bike time was 2:14 which is a 40.2 km/h. I was caught by one guy on the bike who picked up the pace for the last 10 km and man he was avg 43km/h and hammered my legs. To be honest I thought he was going to fall apart on the run but...

Off the bike I was sitting 3rd overall. I have been training for an Ironman so hammering a bike and running felt a bit off because I haven't trained that way so the first 5k I kept it a bit easy and let 43/h biker get ahead of me and figured I couldn't catch him...he held strong and have to say great job because he was running well. The last 16km of the run I brought the pace down to 4min per km and was clicking along felt smooth....just running right lol

Needless to say I finished with a 4:15 Half Ironman, which is a great way to start the season on tired legs. Next up is Peterborough and then Lake Placid Ironman.

Thanks to Xterra, Sable, Wheels of Bloor, CEP, Saucony, CeraSport, Rudy Project!! You guys make me race fast and look pretty haha.

Training Update

I can honestly say in the 6 years I have been doing Triathlons this is the most consistent I have ever trained and the strongest I have ever felt. I know a lot of people will read this and wonder how is that possible considering I have a child and a new business? There are a few factors that I take into considerations and hopefully they will help others get better.

1) Training Partner- I have finally met a training partner who is always on time, doesn't bring excuses to the table and has the same goals as me. We push each other in different aspects of the sport. He is a diesel on the run and I can push a bike so we help each other. Both owning our own business' we are able to train mid day but we are very punctual and always on time. No screwing around, no wasted time, time and rest. I guess what I am trying to say is misery enjoys company. The weather has been horrible but having someone their who will go out makes it all worth it.

2) Priorities- Before signing up for Lake Placid I had a serious talk with my wife. I knew the first Ironman I was undertrained but I was going to give it my all this time and train and race to my full potential. In doing this I needed a program that factors in family life, workouts and my business. The biggest difference in this program is how specific my workouts are...excuse my french no bullshit miles, quality and rest! Also taking Saturday off. No taken up weekends away from Hayden and Shannon train during the week and family on Saturday.

3) Wife- Having a wife that understands a professional triathlete. I will be the first to admit I am selfish. You have to be doing this sport. Long hours of training for what? Me breaking the top 8 prize money is a long shot but I do race with the best triathletes in the world. Shannon is the one who understands and on those long 5 hour training blocks she is great taking care of Hayden. She understands the training going into this race and is the first one to ask what time my workout is at and of course, "did you swim today"

Hope this helps a few people I know how great this season is going to be. Have amazing sponsors helping me out and with the backing of family and friends I can't wait to race.

I have posted some Picks from MIM Race last weekend. Sean and I headed down to the new 5150 series. What an amazing field of athletes...shows me why I need to learn to swim faster lol. Had a great bike to run though;)

Lots to talk about!

Sorry it has been a while since I have written a solid blog. Life is full speed ahead. Work, Wife, Hayden and Training have been the only thing on my brain. I have the best wife around because after some discussion I am giving Ironman another shot. This time I'm not messing around. Rev3 Cedar Point was an Ironman event I thought I would have the fitness for and didn't respect the distance enough going into it ( meaning didn't put the quality long runs and bricks together). Swim/Bike was easy but run polished me off. This year I have the motivation, support and training behind me to really step up my game and race how I'm supposed to race an Ironman. Lake Placid will be the Ironman July 24Th.

Currently I have 4 solid weeks of training under my belt including a training camp in Arizona. This next week is a rest week, which is a great time to test out my speed at Memphis in May. I will be heading down Thursday night to Memphis and goal is all out. I have been feeling great coming off the bike so will be fun to lay it out for 10km and not like the 30km runs I've been doing lol.

Other news! Received an email from Rudy Project and they will be helping me out for 2011. I am now equipped with the fastest TT helmet on the market and some crazy new sunglasses which I will be wearing to race and casually. Can't wait to test it out next week!

Also going into Memphis I will get to put on my Xterra Velocity Speed suit. USAT still allows the suit in their events, which means I will still be able to float haha. WTC has changed their ruling on speed suits, which means Xterra and all other speed suit companies had to make a lighter suit with less buoyancy. For Ironman I will be wearing my Xterra Vendetta Wetsuit which got me out of the water last year in 57 min, It's a beast in the water and really allows for a lot of roll.

Other then that life is great I will be racing Peterborough and Welland Half Ironmans with no taper to gear up for the big race.