Mississauga Half Marathon

Race Review.  Well after a crazy training week who would have thought about doing a 1:22.  

My goal for the day was to hold 6:20 per mile.  I took it out and stuck it.  I didn't change the pace once and Dave was right, it did feel good.  After I finished I got to see my Fiance Shannon cross with an amazing time of 1:46.  She is a machine and I love her so much!  PS she doesn't like hugs after running a half..found that out real quickly!

After the race we headed to Cora's for a solid meal and then we went out for dinner with my family.  A solid day and happy with the results so far.  Now I just have to stick it off a bike.  Thanks Glynn!

This week has been all about the run and swim.  I am gearing up for Texas and it is going to be a chilly race so Xterra is going to get me through the swim with their Vector ProX2.  Fast in the water..fast on the bike and kill the run..I don't ask for much..haha

Tomorrow is a serious brick with the boys...!

Epic Training Week

 What was supposed to be an easy week turned into a crazy ass training week:

Monday was the travel day so was sort of SOL for training.  Although flew home with Richie Cunningham, who is a really down to earth guy.  Just gotta catch him in the future!

Tuesday was back to business.  I did an easy 10km run at Hilton Falls.  Really just wanted to loosen up the legs.  Then the swim set was great.  200m warm up.  4x 100 on 1:45, 200m easy, 4 x 100 on 1:40, 200 m easy, 4x 100 on 1:35, 200 m easy, 4 x 100 on 1:30, 200 m easy.  Followed by 12 x 12.5 head up front crawl 12.5 spin the arms out.  Then a cool down.  Main goal is to increase my threshold.

Wednesday was another solid swim.  300m warm up then 12 x 200m 1-3 descend.  300m cool down.  Avg I was coming in on 3:10 an fast was 2:58.  Then did a great tempo run.  15min easy 15min 6mile pace then 15min 7mile pace with a cool down.  I think I did around 8 miles.

Thursday I headed to Flamborough to to track.  Did a solid 3mile warm up then 4 x 1 mile trying to hold 6:20 per mile.  Let me know tell you this is harder then it looks.  The first few I was coming in sub 6 min mile.  So my main goal was to pull back on the rains a bit.  I finished off the last two at around 6:10 per mile.  Then did a 2 mile cool down.  Not a bad 9 mile run.  Then did a awesome pool workout with Mat.  It was 8 x 100 with 20 sec rest then 200 m recovery into 8 x 50 threshold on 3 min.  My avg speed was around 37sec per 50m.  It is coming.  Need to get that technique down.  into 2 x 200 m scull swim. All and all a solid day

Friday was swim day.  After some intense running workouts I wanted to focus on the swim.  So I did a solid warm up around 500m then did 4 x 500m on 9 min.  I felt great.  I was feeling realy consistent and flowing the stroke.  Thanks Mat!

Saturday was the day.  Hewson came over and wanted to lay a hurt on me;)....or was it the other way around.  We took Benson and Stella out on a 90km Journey.  For anyone who doesn't know...those are our tri bikes.  Funny part is no one ever waves to you on a tri bike....I don't get it..haha....  The main goal today was to be consistent.  So we stuck 200w the whole ride.  We went from my place all the way to Limehouse and back....ok we really got lost and ended up in a place could limehouse.  After almost being hit by a guy in a pick up we got the hell out of Limehouse.  Off the bike we took Rufus and Remy for a solid walk in the field then got to work on the run.    Did  I mention I am doing the Mississauga Half Marathon today (Sunday)!  We did a 10km run and really worked on form and changing a few things on my stride.  For people who don't know I am a major toe runner and Dave thought it was a bit too much.  After fiddling with a few things I am very excited about the outcome and ready to try it out today.

Today is sunday morning 5:20am and my legs are a bit fatigued after this week...haha  Feeling really sold for today race.  Shannon is still sleeping so I have to go wake her up!

will post the results later!

St.Croix Race Report

What a trip!  It started on a full day flight from Buffalo to Chicago to Puerto Rico and then headed to St. Croix.  I left home at 10am and didn't arrive until 8:30pm at night.

I was picked up by Janine, who is my number one St.Croix girl!  I was welcomed into her home and her family is amazing.  After a great meal of salmon I headed to bed.  I will update my pictures because when I woke up all I could see was Paradise!  And a new best friend named Ermis.  A 120lbs Mastif.

The Thursday we headed to the boardwalk to the start of the race.  After putting on my new Xterra Speedsuit I did the 2km swim course and you couldn't ask for better conditions.  I also saw some rays as I was swimming.  That night we went out for dinner and then headed to the 5km Race at the Buccaneer, which was part of the 70.3 course.  I ended up right behind Faris Al Satan and took a solid 4th place in 18:24.  Felt great!

Friday I headed to the beast after a 750m ocean swim!.  It was a mile climb up the mountain with a avg 20% grade.  It was intense and after an adventure on the bike we finally made it back to Cane Bay.  That night we headed to the Jump off, where the town shut down the streets and we walked the streets and had some dinner!

Saturday was rest day and final prep.  After meeting up with guys at the Pro meeting I headed to the swimming pool and got in a 500m swim, then got on my bike for a 20min ride and a 15min run with some pick ups.  Feeling good and ready to go.

Sunday was Race day.  Woke up early and felt great.  The start involved a 200m swim out to an island to the start.  The weather was turning bad and the waves were choppy.  Nerves got the best of me and after trying to keep on the heels of the big boys I fell off hard core.  If it wasn't for my Xterra Speedsuit I don't know where I would have ended up.

After exiting the water I regrouped and hammered the bike.  After 10miles my water bottle fell off my bike and that was part of my nutrition gone.  At around mile 21 aka the beast it started to down pour.  The weather got really bad but after mile 40 the rain cleared up.  I was able to pull back a few of the guys and was in the top 13 pros.  With 10 miles left, heading down a hill on the east coast my chances to place top 10 ended when I blew my back tire out.  After taking 10 min to get that sucker repaired it was too late and I shut it down.  I have a half marathon this weekend and didn't want to kill myself on the run.  I cruised the run and ended feeling happy that I finished the race and didn't pull out.

I learned a lot from this race and even though it was not a great one, I sucked it up and finished.  I want to thank Tom Guthrie for making all this possible, The Schuster Family for taking me in and all my sponsors, who without them I would not be where I am today!  Also a big thank you for getting the speedsuit to me before I left XTERRA!  And Altitude Tech!

Time to train harder ... really motivated to kill it.  Texas is next!

Feeling Strong

Today was a nice day. The weather wasn't great but woke up feeling refreshed after sleeping at 10000 Feet in my altitude tent. Today was to be an easy one after a killer weekend with the boys, and to be honest I was a bit sore after playing a golf game with my business partner Steph. If anyone cares I had a solid round. 89 for the 1st of the season...not to shabby.

After training clients all morning my body needed a workout and running was going to be the answer. Today's workout called for a 45 min easy run with pick ups. Lay off the swim for today. (Sorry Dave for not coming tonight!) The run went really well and did a solid 9km. I ran in the trails and pushed the hills and recovered on the top. Body is feeling really good. Will be wearing the new Xterra Speedsuit for the race, which I am very excited for.

Also stopped by Racer Sportif today and talked with Frank. The RAAM team is gearing up for a challenging adventure across America. The call from Frank was 30min all out pulls! That will be epic! Also wanted to send out my respects to Dennis and hope all goes well tomorrow.

Time to rest ..eat and sleep. Almost travel time!

Ready For St.Croix

Well it is go time. I have been training very hard for the past couple months and ready to put it to work.

March was a great month of training in Clermont Florida with Sean and Nat. We through down a big 10 days and by the end did over 25km of swimming, 106km of running and 600+ of cycling. Everything is feeling great and lost a couple pounds on the way. After returning home the weather never got better but I pushed through and with the help of some good friends, got some serious training in.

It is now April 26th and I leave on the Wednesday for the islands. I just received my new Xterra Speedsuit, which is the best out right now and ready to perform with it on the non-wetsuit swim. My goal for that race is to hang on the back of Craig's feet..haha

This past week was some great training. Good friend Dave Hewson came from the slums of Toronto to help me out in Milton. He had to deal with no traffic, beautiful sceneries and a hurt from me..haha . On the Wednesday we through down a 75km bike ride, which was all in the hills. It felt great and my main goal was to be consistent and really work on my peddle stroke. Of course swam that night and it seems the sets keep getting harder. Dave made us warm up 2000m 50m free on 50sec x 4 then 4x100 on 1:45 x3 with a 200 easy . Then it was 800m (200m on 3:00m 4x100 on 1:40, 200m on 3:10) x 2 with 300m in between easy. We ended up swimming over 4000m that night.

Thursday went to the track. It was great to be outside and threw down 6 x 400 , 2 x 800, 2 x 1000m. It felt awesome. The body is feeling great. Swim is a given

Friday turned into an epic training day. The weather wasn't that great but that didn't stop Dave and I to get our hurt on. It was a brick day to get the legs used to hurting off the bike. After a easy 10k warm up we threw down a 10km bike ride hard with a just under 3km run. The first set was insane. Dave was all about the hurt and we averaged 265 watts and off the bike I ran 3:18 per k and Hewson threw down 3km flat to hunt me down like a zebra.haha. The next set we went for broke and averaged 270watts and hammered a solid run off the bike. All and all amazing workout. We then went to the pool and hammered out a hard set. Just got the arms moving and was able to stick out 2km.

Yesterday was the day I knew I was ready to race. I brought out the race bike, which is a P3 from Cervelo. Probably the best bike ever! It was a great ride averaging 200 watts for the whole ride. In the middle of the ride I did some 5-10min pick ups and legs felt awesome and ready to race. Hewson and I then got back after a 65km bike ride and threw down a 44 min run , sticking 4min k's. However there was a little twist to the run. We ran moderate pace out and negative split on the way back. Altough the wind was 30+ in our face on the way back..Hewson almost broke me.

Feeling good today. Going for a golf game to get my mind off things and recover!

Winter Training

What can you say about this weather. -15 to -30, wind that can blow you over and loosing feeling in your body. Other then that training is going Great.

Last Sunday I had a solid half marathon. Not what I wanted but there was a crazy head wind on the way in from the run. I ended running a 1:25:04, which is pretty good for early in the season. After that to calm the legs Shannon and I went for a 90 min Cross Country Ski.

Monday was another fun day. Bob and I made it out on our roads bikes for a solid 85 min ride. For a winter day it was perfect we maintained a solid effort. After that I took Rufus for a 30min cross country ski. He is getting bigger and faster! Tonights swim practice was from 9pm to 10pm. It was a tough set. 14 x 75 IM into then 15 x 100 IM 1 to 3 descend. With a solid warm up and cool down. I also have a bet going with my coach to make every swim practice till May or I have to do 10 x 100 fly!

Tuesday I really felt the legs, so I took it easy. Did an easy 30 min run, worked, and then went to swim practice. This was a tough one. The coach thought it would be fun to burn out our arms before swimming! In between each set we did 100 pullies. The set's were 3 x 1000. First set was Fly, Back Second Set was Back Breast and Third set was Breast, Free. After that we did 5 x 200 Pull Descending. Was hitting 1:25 per 100, which for me is really good. Swim is coming along nicely.

Wednseday. I Love Wednesday! I really like hurting on this day. In the morning Rufus and I went for a quick cross country ski then I rested for track that night. Today we took it easy with 5 x 800. Coach said to go a bit easier but I was able to hit 2:37, which hurt but felt good. That night another solid swim with sprints!

Thursday was a light day and did an easy trainer ride then another swim practice at night .

Friday I took the day off work! What a awesome day, got my taxes done and then threw down 14km run up the escarpment. Went up 14 sideroad and did 90 hard followed by a light jog going up. When I hit the top of the escarpment I went 5km tempo run and it felt good. After taking my time going down Bell School Line I picked up the pace for another Fartlek!

Only 5 days until Florida! Get me to the warmth

WED, THURS

Wednesday was a solid training day.

Ended up doing a track workout on the treadmill. Warmed up 3km then did 9x400m on 1:15. The run felt good and I didn't overdue it. Did a 3km warm down. All together a 10km solid day of track.

Thursday: Woke up to a -17 C day so had to make the best of it. Ended up doing a 12km run with pick ups. I was supposed to due hill repeats but will get them done Friday. My avg was around 4:25 per km with the pick ups. The run felt good except for the footing, which I had to be careful with. I wasn't able to make it swimming. Kyle is heading back West and then down south to Arizona so we went out for a nice dinner.

Today is going to be another solid day of training which i will post later...

Tyler