Japan

A week ago my wife`s stepfather passed away so the next morning we packed up our things and took whatever savings we had and flew to Japan to take care of my mother in law.It has been extremely heartbreaking this week especially going through my first traditional japanese funeral but the hard part is over and now we are going to do some travelling here and shopping. Everyone is doing well and we will probably extend our stay just to make sure mama will be taken care of. I thought twice whether or not to include this info on here but figured it`s a big part of my year.Needless to say i`m still looking forward to coming home and training my ass off! but for now Japan`s where the hearts at.

bike day

Actually stationary bike day and 90mins of it! sooo exciting but looking forward to some roads soon. Some new swim goggles came in the mail today and yes I'm wearing them now on a friday night while I'm on the computer and they're holding up pretty well..haha, so tomorrow I'll be up early and run to the pool and swim it up! Right now there's a benefit for Haiti going on and I've donated twice this week, but it got me thinking that maybe i can raise money somehow for a cause while I train for the ironman,just another random thought as they tend to pop up easily on the bike or on the run but not while i'm swimming as my favorite swimming thought is breathing!

Hill run

Up bright and early as the sun's about to rise,I have a small bowl of oatmeal with almond milk and glass water,some light stretching,a quick pull of G2,lace up and gone. Now I'm at ease as I find a nice pace a few minutes in to my morning run around the hilly streets of Burnaby, breathing in the fresh morning air I think to myself "this is awesome" I then realize that there's no need for a toque,gloves or a jacket for that matter as it feels like spring and the winter olympics are here in 22 day's! Anyhow 40 minutes goes by and I arrive home energized for the work day ahead.

Rest Day

Half a month now has gone by and it's amazing the amount of time that is spent on training. I do realize this is a lifestyle and it's one that i'm definetly comfortable with, I get so much energy knowing that it's how far I can push myself and how well trained i need to be in order to accomplish this! In a strange sort of way the rest day's are harder but I can imagine that will change. I'm also thinking of the races i should be entering soon and the Vancouver Marathon in may is one that i plan on doing but the Vancouver Sun Run probaly not because 50,000 is a busy race unless I want beat my previous time..damn it! ok maybe haha. The major one will be my first triathlon and that decision is to follow so these were just some of my rest day thoughts.

afternoon workout

Well I was able to leave work early today and so I headed straight to the pool and got a 30min swim in followed with a 30 min treadmill run. At the moment I'm trying to get a proper pace set in the water but no matter how controlled i start,I still end up going much faster than i should and that's gassing me! I see people in other lanes looking so controlled and as if they could go forever..In time I'll get there. Also today I picked up a copy of local hero Simon Whitfield's book "Simon Say's Gold" He won the first gold medal for the triathlon at the Sydney olympic games in 2000. I was teaching english in Japan at the time and I can remember vividly watching that race and cheering and pumping my fist in the air as he took the gold! I was so far away from home but at that moment i was so proud to be from Vancouver! Since then there's been something brewing and 10 years later I'm finally doing something about it. What's up my fellow BT's? nice to see ya' let's do this!!

Wed 13th

Well, back at it after a couple days off and I started with watching a promotional video on youtube of the Kona Ironman in Hawaii. So then I was pumped and ready to start training again,then I drove to the pool (just happened to have the same song on cd from that youtube video playing) get changed,make sure my goggles are tight,swinging and loosening up the arms and then I dive in! pull,pull,breathe,pull,pull breathe! the first 25m are smooth and my forms tight then after 50m need to catch my breath... and once again the pool cooled my jets haha. The full Ironman swim is 3862m and in Penticton that will be in Okanagan Lake with a few thousand people swinging and kicking around me! Anyway I swam for another 30 minutes then jumped on the bike for 53 minutes then drove home cranked that beat satisfied with another step towards ironman, next day of rest will be Monday and until then swim,bike run! Ohh and I'm extremely motivated to see Mom,Carly and Shirley now on here as followers.

10 days

First of all a special hello to my three followers haha! Ten day's in and not much to say except that A) 80min on a stationary bike numb's the butt, B) at the gym the new year's resolutionist's are starting to drop off, and C) I like swimming,and finally D) every single day means so much and that's good living!

more swimming

So it took 25:41 to run to the pool and then i spent 32:56 in the pool,then ran back home in 29:30 so that was a good workout and I'm feeling it right now! Tomorrow I'll drive to the pool for a 40min session and Sunday I'll be back on the bike for for 80min,Monday's will now be rest day's and next week I should have a set training schedule that will be swim heavy for the time being.

Tri shopping

Went to Pacific Multisport today it's a Tri shop on 28th and Main and the guy there was cool telling me the bikes they carry and how I could get a custom bike made from scratch from a company called Guru which is from Montreal,I'm still leaning towards a Cervelo though from Speed Theory on 4th or La bicycletta on Broadway but I still need to save my twoonies and loonies. I've ordered some Aqua Sphere goggles for the pool off ebay as I expect to be swimming three times a week now. Did some weights and core exercises in the gym today,tomorrow I'm going to run to the pool and swim for 32min then run home,it's 5k each way.

Pool Time

Well I took my training to Canada Games Pool in New Westminster today and spent 25 minutes doing lengths and after 2 full lengths of the front crawl i had to stop to catch my breath,and at that point I was still only in the water for less than five minutes! however once I slowed down and concentrated on breathing properly things were good for the next 20min. Today was a far cry from a 2.5 mile swim in an open lake but now I have an idea about the level of training this will take. After the swim I rode the stationary bike for 48min,and I think within the next couple of weeks a proper training schedule will start to form.

day 3

So here's where i'm at three day's into the year,first of all i feel great and that i can do much more which is a good sign but all the miles and hours are still to come and rest and injury prevention is crucial and i get that. Anyway yesterday i went to the gym twice to work on my core strength and to do some stationary bike spinning and early this morning a 35min run around the neighbourhood,Sunday mornings are great for runs because there no one out there.I was going to wait until February to do some swimming but i'm too curious to see where i'm at in the water so wednesday morning i'll hit the pool and do some lengths but until then i'll rest up a couple days.

Ok so I woke up this morning in a new decade and the first thing I did was weigh myself and so I’m starting 2010 at 200.8 lbs or 91.3kg if you’re using a Japanese scale. Next I grabbed a Gatorade out of the former wine cooler and went to the gym spent 33.06 on a treadmill at a 9 min mile pace which is slow and steady. This month I’ll be focusing on building up my endurance by running and also getting comfortable adjusting to a new healthier diet. I’ll look back at this post and remember day 1 running for a half hour on a treadmill! Haha let the games begin. Happy New Year.