This post will be lame because I'm too lazy to come up with something sweet to say or even post any pictures.
I did the Vancouver Half Iron this past weekend and it went a little something like this:
The swim was nuts. It was my first beach start ever - typically you start in waist deep water, and for some reason it was more ferocious than usual. I'm used to bumping into people and receiving / dishing out little kicks but on this swim I got kicked in the face, then kicked in the groin, and later smacked on the back of the head. Who does breast stroke at the start of a swim? Seriously, if you're going to be kicking out to the side, swim out of the way, and not where you are going to be assaulting my junk. With that said, I was overall happy with my swim performance, coming out of the water in just under 35 minutes.
I was excited to use my new Garmin Forerunner 310XT Multi-sport GPS watch to track my race. I spent a little time the night before learning how to use the multi-sport function but on race day I forgot and screwed up my timing. About 5 minutes into the bike I reset my watch so I wasn't exactly sure what my time was for the rest of the race.
The bike was my worst bike this year. I don't know what happened. I've felt strong the last couple of weeks and even the day before we went on a short bike ride and my legs felt strong, but on race day they just felt empty. Normally it takes me a little while to get going as I adjust from swim to bike but on this race it was the opposite. I thought I had a decent first lap of a four lap course but then I got slower and slower each time, allowing more and more people to pass me. It got pretty depressing.
By the time I got off the bike and was in T2 eating a Snickers bar (most delicious Snickers bar of my life by the way) I starting thinking about pulling the plug on the race. It's hard when you have a personal best you want to improve on but know there is no chance. I thought to myself, do I really want to run 20km just to do worse than I did last year? I was hungry and depressed but wasn't made up on my mind so I started out on the run knowing that the run course passes by the transition area every 5km and I could drop out in 5km if I wanted to. I got about 1 or 2 km in when I decided, yep - I'm dropping out and I started to walk. I don't know if it was fatigue or that stupid Shaun White Oakley ad I saw on the bus stop that really annoyed me. You know the one, Inside Outlaw or something like that. I don't know why that bugs me so much but every time I see it I'm annoyed.
When I neared the 5km mark I couldn't bring myself to quit just yet so I ventured on. I ran into Scott Chris who was volunteering that day and I stopped and chatted with him for a couple of minutes. I continued walking for about 5 minutes and then started to run. For some reason, I just continued to run and never stopped again until the race was over. I was feeling pretty good and even skipped a few aid stations.
I ended up finishing in 5 hours and 23 minutes. Not great, but not bad considering how much I walked on the run. For some reason I had it in my mind that I was going to finish in around 5:45 so when I came to the finish I was pleasantly surprised.
Oh well, maybe I just need to accept this year as a write-off. My performance has been pretty lame but at least I'm getting some good experiences. So far in this race series I have experienced cold, depression, and bonking. Learning how to deal with these problems is only going to help me achieve my main goal right now which is to complete Ironman Canada in under 11 hours in 2012.
The next race is in Sooke next month. I'm considering sitting this one out but we'll see.
Anyway, hats off to all my friends who raced this past weekend. Many achieved new pb's and new distances.
Shawnigan / Victoria Half Ironman Race Reports
Triathlon season is alive. I just finished my second Half Ironman 3 days ago and it's hard to believe the next one is just 11 days away. My training this year has been less than stellar so as to be expected my results have not been that great so far, but there have been some positives. Race reports below.
First race of the season was at Shawnigan Lake on May 30. It was an amazing trip with about 10 people from the UBC Tri Club heading out for the adventure. Big thanks to Celeste's mom for putting us all up. The race started with a swim in freezing cold waters. I'm glad I went in early to let my body adjust to the temperature because the shock when my face hit the water was unbearable at first. Soon the water was fine to swim in and the real challenge was how the cold would be affecting me later on in the race.
When I got on the bike I had a hard time getting my legs going because they were so cold. I keep telling my legs to spin but they wouldn't listen. It was a 4-lap course around the lake and my first lap was okay, but then my second lap was a couple minutes slower and wasn't going well. When I hit the third lap something happened - my legs came alive and my adrenaline was pumping. I started yelling at myself to push. Not in my mind, I'm talking full out yelling out loud. I'm sure people thought I was crazy. Every time my legs started to burn I just keep yelling, "oh yeah! I love it! I love the burn!" This lap was 3 minutes faster and I held that pace for the next lap passing a lot of people. It was the first time I had a faster second half so I was pretty happy about that.
The run was average. I'm not running as much this year, and what was once my strongest event has now seemed to become my weakest. I held a consistent 5:00min/km pace for the whole 21 km and finished in just under 5:15.
My legs were tired but as I approached the finish line I had the idea to ninja kick across the end, so I did.
Thanks to a small amount of people in my age group and two of them dropping out of the race I surprisingly finished 3rd in my age group.
I had three weeks to go until my next race in Victoria. I decided to start going to the open water swims at Kits Beach with Vowsa to work on my open water swimming and sighting. This proved to pay off as my Victoria swim time was about 6 minutes faster than at Shawnigan.
The bike course in Victoria was pretty tough. There are a lot of rolling hills which take a toll on the legs and it got pretty painful near the end but I pushed through. I started the run feeling okay, legs were sore, but I was pushing through and they started to warm up. I was able to catch up to and pass a couple of people in my age group so it wasn't going too bad.
For a couple of days prior to the race I had been a little sick and my appetite wasn't that big. This was my problem in Victoria. Near the end of my first lap of a two lap run course I started to feel hungry. I`ve never felt hungry in a race before and I knew this was going to be trouble. I started to feel light-headed, which turned to dizziness. I began to run zigzagged and my vision was going in and out. Clearly I was bonking. I considered trying to push through it and hopefully making it to the finish but I sensible decided that the smart thing to do was to pull the plug. I finished the race but I walked from 15km on and so I was passed a lot. I dropped 74 spots on the run. I ran the last 500m or so and finished just under 5:30.
Sure the race didn`t go well, but I dropped a lot of time off the swim, and my bike ride was relatively good. It was slower than Shawnigan but the course was a lot harder so that was fine. I just need to work on my running and I should be able to come in sub-5 consistently. I also dropped a minute off both transitions. So there have been improvements. Hopefully I can plan my nutrition better and have a good race in Vancouver July 4. I think it`s too soon to make any substantial gains on the run but hopefully by the Sooke race at the end of August I`ll be cruising.
Here are the results:
Shawnigan
Swim: 39:24
T1: 3:23
Bike: 2:44:19
T2: 2:28
Run: 1:45:23
Finish: 5:14:55
First race of the season was at Shawnigan Lake on May 30. It was an amazing trip with about 10 people from the UBC Tri Club heading out for the adventure. Big thanks to Celeste's mom for putting us all up. The race started with a swim in freezing cold waters. I'm glad I went in early to let my body adjust to the temperature because the shock when my face hit the water was unbearable at first. Soon the water was fine to swim in and the real challenge was how the cold would be affecting me later on in the race.
When I got on the bike I had a hard time getting my legs going because they were so cold. I keep telling my legs to spin but they wouldn't listen. It was a 4-lap course around the lake and my first lap was okay, but then my second lap was a couple minutes slower and wasn't going well. When I hit the third lap something happened - my legs came alive and my adrenaline was pumping. I started yelling at myself to push. Not in my mind, I'm talking full out yelling out loud. I'm sure people thought I was crazy. Every time my legs started to burn I just keep yelling, "oh yeah! I love it! I love the burn!" This lap was 3 minutes faster and I held that pace for the next lap passing a lot of people. It was the first time I had a faster second half so I was pretty happy about that.
The run was average. I'm not running as much this year, and what was once my strongest event has now seemed to become my weakest. I held a consistent 5:00min/km pace for the whole 21 km and finished in just under 5:15.
My legs were tired but as I approached the finish line I had the idea to ninja kick across the end, so I did.
Thanks to a small amount of people in my age group and two of them dropping out of the race I surprisingly finished 3rd in my age group.
I had three weeks to go until my next race in Victoria. I decided to start going to the open water swims at Kits Beach with Vowsa to work on my open water swimming and sighting. This proved to pay off as my Victoria swim time was about 6 minutes faster than at Shawnigan.
The bike course in Victoria was pretty tough. There are a lot of rolling hills which take a toll on the legs and it got pretty painful near the end but I pushed through. I started the run feeling okay, legs were sore, but I was pushing through and they started to warm up. I was able to catch up to and pass a couple of people in my age group so it wasn't going too bad.
For a couple of days prior to the race I had been a little sick and my appetite wasn't that big. This was my problem in Victoria. Near the end of my first lap of a two lap run course I started to feel hungry. I`ve never felt hungry in a race before and I knew this was going to be trouble. I started to feel light-headed, which turned to dizziness. I began to run zigzagged and my vision was going in and out. Clearly I was bonking. I considered trying to push through it and hopefully making it to the finish but I sensible decided that the smart thing to do was to pull the plug. I finished the race but I walked from 15km on and so I was passed a lot. I dropped 74 spots on the run. I ran the last 500m or so and finished just under 5:30.
Sure the race didn`t go well, but I dropped a lot of time off the swim, and my bike ride was relatively good. It was slower than Shawnigan but the course was a lot harder so that was fine. I just need to work on my running and I should be able to come in sub-5 consistently. I also dropped a minute off both transitions. So there have been improvements. Hopefully I can plan my nutrition better and have a good race in Vancouver July 4. I think it`s too soon to make any substantial gains on the run but hopefully by the Sooke race at the end of August I`ll be cruising.
Here are the results:
Shawnigan
Swim: 39:24
T1: 3:23
Bike: 2:44:19
T2: 2:28
Run: 1:45:23
Finish: 5:14:55
Victoria
Swim: 33:17
T1: 2:10
Bike: 2:47:12
T2: 1:28
Run: 2:04:46
Finish: 5:28:51
My First Century
Over the last few weeks I have been trying to increase my base mileage on the bike in preparation of the Half Ironman race series that I'm doing that starts this weekend.
A few weeks ago I did my first mountain climb up Cypress which nearly killed me, luckily there was an ice cream truck on the way down and we stopped for some much needed sustenance.
At about 136 km in I was riding over the Burrard Bridge, Vince pulled off and Barry, Sherwood, and Matt sped on ahead so I was on my own. I surprising felt pretty good except for some mild discomfort in my gut. I knew that I would be under 100 miles if I just went straight home so as I reached the University Endowment Lands I continued to loop around campus to get the extra miles that I needed.
As I continued my ride, the pain in my stomach grew stronger and stronger. It became sharp and breathing became a burden. Every time I drank or ate anything it hurt. I pushed on anyway. Fears of some internal rupture filled my mind but I pushed them aside and kept riding. And then, believe it or not my spleen ruptured! I didn't know what it was at the time but the sharp shooting pain in my stomach forced me to stop my bike. I fell to the ground grasping my mid section in agony. I knew something was wrong so I called 911. Everything after that was a blur, I have mild recollections of the ambulance ride but mostly I just remember waking up and having the doctor explain to me what happened. Okay, not really. No rupture. But that was the scene that played in my mind. I pushed on. It was strength vs will, me vs the road.
My bike computer wasn't working so I had no idea what my total distance was. I knew that after Vince and I separated I had to complete 26 more km to reach the 100 mile mark and I thought I had done it. I went home and mapped out my ride. The total distance: 100.002 miles. Talk about calling it close.
It feels great having accomplished this goal. It was a challenge but rewarding and that's what it's all about.
A few weeks ago I did my first mountain climb up Cypress which nearly killed me, luckily there was an ice cream truck on the way down and we stopped for some much needed sustenance.
Vince enjoying his Spideysicle
The week after that we decided to tackle Mt Seymour. It was painful but I didn't near death so I considered that an improvement over the week before. We added some extra miles so that when I got home I had done 125km that day.
At the top of Mt Seymour
Our victory food, Cinnamon Buns from Cobs
Sunday night I was planning out my bike ride for Monday and I got the crazy idea to do a Century which is a 100 mile ride, that's 161km.
I woke up Monday morning feeling a little sore from my 20km run Saturday afternoon but was still determined to complete my first Century. I packed a lot of food to ensure my body would be fueled for this undertaking and left to meet the boys. I knew Vince and Matt would be coming but I wasn't sure who else would be coming. When I reached the meeting place Sherwood was there waiting and shortly after Barry arrived. My plan was to take the ride nice and easy so that my legs would hold out but with these two there I knew that wasn't going to happen; I don't think they have a slow gear, so I was a little worried about how this ride would proceed.
Once the whole party was together we set off. Our ride to Deep Cove was not insanely fast but near the end of it I was having trouble just staying in their draft; clearly I was the weakest link there. I managed to hang on and soon we cut over to Mt Seymour. I decided to take the ascent easy and I was surprised at how much nicer that felt. After Mt Seymour we once again stopped at Cobs Bread for some tasty snacks and then proceeded onward. We went to Indian River Road and then headed west to Horseshoe Bay. Now it was time to head home.
As I continued my ride, the pain in my stomach grew stronger and stronger. It became sharp and breathing became a burden. Every time I drank or ate anything it hurt. I pushed on anyway. Fears of some internal rupture filled my mind but I pushed them aside and kept riding. And then, believe it or not my spleen ruptured! I didn't know what it was at the time but the sharp shooting pain in my stomach forced me to stop my bike. I fell to the ground grasping my mid section in agony. I knew something was wrong so I called 911. Everything after that was a blur, I have mild recollections of the ambulance ride but mostly I just remember waking up and having the doctor explain to me what happened. Okay, not really. No rupture. But that was the scene that played in my mind. I pushed on. It was strength vs will, me vs the road.
My bike computer wasn't working so I had no idea what my total distance was. I knew that after Vince and I separated I had to complete 26 more km to reach the 100 mile mark and I thought I had done it. I went home and mapped out my ride. The total distance: 100.002 miles. Talk about calling it close.
My First Century
It feels great having accomplished this goal. It was a challenge but rewarding and that's what it's all about.
Brylee Drew Wight
There have been a lot of amazing things happening in my life lately but this post is devoted to the best one of all. My newest daughter, Brylee Drew, was born Tuesday April 27 at 5:45am.
Janelle was given the due date of May 1 but for the four days previous to Brylee's arrival, Janelle had been having a lot of contractions on and off. Sunday night was looking quite likely as they started to become quite regular. She called me and told me to come home, I was at the school studying for a final exam the next morning. I came home and for the next few hours the contractions continued and then all of a sudden they stopped. I was bagged, and due to the lack of sleep and loss of study time I was in no shape to right a final exam Monday morning. Luckily my prof was very understanding and he let me post-pone my writing until Thursday.
On Monday Janelle felt no movement from the baby all day which was quite unusual for Brylee who liked to kick a lot. She called the midwife at about 4pm and she was told to head to the hospital for an assessment. It turned out everything was fine which was a major relief. We explained to the midwife that we would really like her to induce labor. This typically would never happen before a due date unless there was some medical reason but Janelle's family is known for quick labors and Kaylen was pretty fast and there was some concern about having a baby in the car. There was also the issue of final exams; I already had one postponed, and I really didn't want to postpone any more, not to mention all the study time I had been missing. To shorten the story they decided to break Janelle's water at about 10:30pm Monday night and then we were to wait. By 2 nothing had happened so they gave Janelle Oxytocin and at 3:15am she started having contractions. They woke me up from off the floor at 3:45 as things were getting going. And at 5:45 Brylee came out. 2.5 hour labor with only 4 minutes of pushing, not bad.
Brylee was 7lb 10oz, blue eyes, brown hair, 20in long and healthy.
She is the most adorable little baby, I realize I'm biased but she is really cute and we are all really excited to have her.
The labor went great and both Brylee and Janelle were able to come home from the hospital that afternoon which was a good sign.
Janelle was given the due date of May 1 but for the four days previous to Brylee's arrival, Janelle had been having a lot of contractions on and off. Sunday night was looking quite likely as they started to become quite regular. She called me and told me to come home, I was at the school studying for a final exam the next morning. I came home and for the next few hours the contractions continued and then all of a sudden they stopped. I was bagged, and due to the lack of sleep and loss of study time I was in no shape to right a final exam Monday morning. Luckily my prof was very understanding and he let me post-pone my writing until Thursday.
On Monday Janelle felt no movement from the baby all day which was quite unusual for Brylee who liked to kick a lot. She called the midwife at about 4pm and she was told to head to the hospital for an assessment. It turned out everything was fine which was a major relief. We explained to the midwife that we would really like her to induce labor. This typically would never happen before a due date unless there was some medical reason but Janelle's family is known for quick labors and Kaylen was pretty fast and there was some concern about having a baby in the car. There was also the issue of final exams; I already had one postponed, and I really didn't want to postpone any more, not to mention all the study time I had been missing. To shorten the story they decided to break Janelle's water at about 10:30pm Monday night and then we were to wait. By 2 nothing had happened so they gave Janelle Oxytocin and at 3:15am she started having contractions. They woke me up from off the floor at 3:45 as things were getting going. And at 5:45 Brylee came out. 2.5 hour labor with only 4 minutes of pushing, not bad.
Brylee was 7lb 10oz, blue eyes, brown hair, 20in long and healthy.
She is the most adorable little baby, I realize I'm biased but she is really cute and we are all really excited to have her.
The labor went great and both Brylee and Janelle were able to come home from the hospital that afternoon which was a good sign.
Me with Brylee a few minutes after she was born
Kaylen loving being a big sister
Our newest family photo
On her way out of the hospital
It didn't Janelle long to start putting bows in her hair
Our cute little girl
Happy mommy with her baby
Eyes wide open
Oh Canada
I would have to say that my Olympic experience has been amazing. It first became real to me when I drove to Maple Ridge at 5:30am to meet a group of people that I would be carrying the Olympic Torch with.
The Torch Relay
It was an experience I will never forget. A group of about 15 of us met in the town hall to receive instruction on what was to be done, we were given our torches, and driven to our legs of the relay. Before they dropped the first person off, they asked us all to share our stories of why we were chosen to be a Torch Bearer. It was inspiring to hear the stories of ordinary Canadians doing extra-ordinary things.
I was excited to carry the flame for sure, but I was worried that the experience wouldn't be that great because I was scheduled to run at 7:13am in a tiny town and I couldn't talk any of my friends to come out and watch. I figured there might be 2 or 3 people on the side of the road and that would be it. I was wrong. Maple Ridge was full of Olympic spirit. When I got dropped off, the whole side of the road was lined with people, hundreds of them. They had flags, and cameras, and smiles, and cheers. It was amazing.
As I was standing at my start point waiting to go a looked down the road and saw it, the Olympic Flame, the same flame that had been lit by the sun in Greece, that had traveled by boat, by plane, by car, and by foot, it had traveled tens of thousands of kilometers and had been carried by thousands of people. Excitement filled my body as I realized that it was coming to me.
Previously I had wondered how I should carry the torch: should I walk and make the moment last as long as I could, or should I sprint it as fast as I could, or what? When I saw that flame coming to me I knew there was only one answer - I was to run it with Olympic pride.
My First Event - Sweden vs Slovakia Women's Hockey
The Olympics had started and I was enjoying watching it on TV and figured that would be the extent of it. Then I got a slew of texts from one excited Janelle exclaiming she had won ice hockey tickets. She entered a draw and her best friend's name was picked, she offered to babysit, then her name was picked, and she said "Never mind". We all got to go together to Thunderbird Arena here on campus and sit on the front row. It was women's hockey which in my opinion is not to the same caliber as men's and Canada wasn't playing; however, it was a great time. Just the whole atmosphere. Flags waving, people cheering, everyone having a great time. The buzz continued.
Downtown Explorations
I went for a bike ride downtown to check out the Olympic venues and Pavilions. The line-ups were huge but I saw what needed to be seen and then came back the next day with Janelle and Kaylen. We started by Science World and worked our way past Olympic Village, through downtown, and to the Waterfront were the Cauldron was. It was neat to see all the flags up and take pictures of things. Robson St is a zoo; they have blocked it off from traffic and there were people everywhere. Pretty cool to soak up the excitement around here.
Canada vs Russia Men's Hockey Quarter Final
Janelle and I had considered blowing some dough to buy some Men's hockey tickets for a Canada game. We undulated from yes let's do it, to no it's too much. When Canada became scheduled to play Russia in the quarter finals I just couldn't resist. Many predicted this to be the Gold Medal Game with two amazing powerhouse teams. Most people wanted $750-$1000 per ticket. I wasn't going to pay that much. I started the morning by emailing a bunch of people on Craigslist with low-ball offers. I basically said that if the game is about to start and you are worried because no one has bought your tickets give me a call and I'll buy them off you for cheap - better than losing out on the money. After a few nasty replies I figured that maybe this wouldn't work.
My next idea was to head to the venue with a pocket of cash and see what scalpers were looking for. They wanted $900-$1000 a ticket. The game was scheduled to start at 4:30 and it this point it was 3:30. I thought an hour before the game started they would start to get worried and sell for cheaper but apparently they had tons of time, and more than likely the cost would go up as the time went by, and I'm an idiot, and to get out of their faces. Janelle was worried that I was going to get punched out. What do you expect - scalpers - they are the scum of the world, you can't reason with them.
I realized that an hour before was too early to low-ball so we took off for a while and planned to come back at 4:15. I figured we would be missing the first period as we were busing back home because there was no way we were getting tickets. As we approached the venue I saw a guy holding up about 10 tickets. This guy has got to be getting desperate I thought. I asked how much and he said $600 each. That's the best I've heard so far. I offered $500 each and he tried for $550 but I was firm on 5 and he took. As we were walking away I saw two guys, who we ended up sitting beside at the game, buy two tickets for $600 each. Suckas!
Because we got our tickets so late we walked in the building right as they were about to drop the puck. From the entrance way I could hear the chants: GO CANADA GO! GO CANADA GO! It was electrifying. As I walked up the stairs to the seating area into the arena the sound got louder and louder. I looked out at thousands of people all wearing red and white, cheering as loud as they possibly could for Canada. As I joined in I cannot describe the feeling I had. It was worth every penny. And the game was great - we stomped them Russians. I read a good article describing the feeling in the building partially copied below:
"Both Russian and Canadian fans in Canada Hockey Place tonight created something like a force field in the building, especially in the moments before the opening faceoff—a bizarre collective energy that I’ve never experienced at any gathering in my life. It’s one of those things that make meetings between two hockey-mad nations so memorable. And I’ll remember this one for as long as my memory works."
After the romping of Russia the celebrations continued into the streets. It was an experience I'll never forget.
Are you Still With Me?
The Olympics have been great. It's wonderful to be here and to catch in all the patriotism that is not usually seen in Canada and to feel the excitement. I guess there's only one thing left to say:
GO CANADA GO!
The Torch Relay
It was an experience I will never forget. A group of about 15 of us met in the town hall to receive instruction on what was to be done, we were given our torches, and driven to our legs of the relay. Before they dropped the first person off, they asked us all to share our stories of why we were chosen to be a Torch Bearer. It was inspiring to hear the stories of ordinary Canadians doing extra-ordinary things.
I was excited to carry the flame for sure, but I was worried that the experience wouldn't be that great because I was scheduled to run at 7:13am in a tiny town and I couldn't talk any of my friends to come out and watch. I figured there might be 2 or 3 people on the side of the road and that would be it. I was wrong. Maple Ridge was full of Olympic spirit. When I got dropped off, the whole side of the road was lined with people, hundreds of them. They had flags, and cameras, and smiles, and cheers. It was amazing.
As I was standing at my start point waiting to go a looked down the road and saw it, the Olympic Flame, the same flame that had been lit by the sun in Greece, that had traveled by boat, by plane, by car, and by foot, it had traveled tens of thousands of kilometers and had been carried by thousands of people. Excitement filled my body as I realized that it was coming to me.
Previously I had wondered how I should carry the torch: should I walk and make the moment last as long as I could, or should I sprint it as fast as I could, or what? When I saw that flame coming to me I knew there was only one answer - I was to run it with Olympic pride.
My First Event - Sweden vs Slovakia Women's Hockey
The Olympics had started and I was enjoying watching it on TV and figured that would be the extent of it. Then I got a slew of texts from one excited Janelle exclaiming she had won ice hockey tickets. She entered a draw and her best friend's name was picked, she offered to babysit, then her name was picked, and she said "Never mind". We all got to go together to Thunderbird Arena here on campus and sit on the front row. It was women's hockey which in my opinion is not to the same caliber as men's and Canada wasn't playing; however, it was a great time. Just the whole atmosphere. Flags waving, people cheering, everyone having a great time. The buzz continued.
Downtown Explorations
I went for a bike ride downtown to check out the Olympic venues and Pavilions. The line-ups were huge but I saw what needed to be seen and then came back the next day with Janelle and Kaylen. We started by Science World and worked our way past Olympic Village, through downtown, and to the Waterfront were the Cauldron was. It was neat to see all the flags up and take pictures of things. Robson St is a zoo; they have blocked it off from traffic and there were people everywhere. Pretty cool to soak up the excitement around here.
Canada vs Russia Men's Hockey Quarter Final
Janelle and I had considered blowing some dough to buy some Men's hockey tickets for a Canada game. We undulated from yes let's do it, to no it's too much. When Canada became scheduled to play Russia in the quarter finals I just couldn't resist. Many predicted this to be the Gold Medal Game with two amazing powerhouse teams. Most people wanted $750-$1000 per ticket. I wasn't going to pay that much. I started the morning by emailing a bunch of people on Craigslist with low-ball offers. I basically said that if the game is about to start and you are worried because no one has bought your tickets give me a call and I'll buy them off you for cheap - better than losing out on the money. After a few nasty replies I figured that maybe this wouldn't work.
My next idea was to head to the venue with a pocket of cash and see what scalpers were looking for. They wanted $900-$1000 a ticket. The game was scheduled to start at 4:30 and it this point it was 3:30. I thought an hour before the game started they would start to get worried and sell for cheaper but apparently they had tons of time, and more than likely the cost would go up as the time went by, and I'm an idiot, and to get out of their faces. Janelle was worried that I was going to get punched out. What do you expect - scalpers - they are the scum of the world, you can't reason with them.
I realized that an hour before was too early to low-ball so we took off for a while and planned to come back at 4:15. I figured we would be missing the first period as we were busing back home because there was no way we were getting tickets. As we approached the venue I saw a guy holding up about 10 tickets. This guy has got to be getting desperate I thought. I asked how much and he said $600 each. That's the best I've heard so far. I offered $500 each and he tried for $550 but I was firm on 5 and he took. As we were walking away I saw two guys, who we ended up sitting beside at the game, buy two tickets for $600 each. Suckas!
Because we got our tickets so late we walked in the building right as they were about to drop the puck. From the entrance way I could hear the chants: GO CANADA GO! GO CANADA GO! It was electrifying. As I walked up the stairs to the seating area into the arena the sound got louder and louder. I looked out at thousands of people all wearing red and white, cheering as loud as they possibly could for Canada. As I joined in I cannot describe the feeling I had. It was worth every penny. And the game was great - we stomped them Russians. I read a good article describing the feeling in the building partially copied below:
"Both Russian and Canadian fans in Canada Hockey Place tonight created something like a force field in the building, especially in the moments before the opening faceoff—a bizarre collective energy that I’ve never experienced at any gathering in my life. It’s one of those things that make meetings between two hockey-mad nations so memorable. And I’ll remember this one for as long as my memory works."
After the romping of Russia the celebrations continued into the streets. It was an experience I'll never forget.
Are you Still With Me?
The Olympics have been great. It's wonderful to be here and to catch in all the patriotism that is not usually seen in Canada and to feel the excitement. I guess there's only one thing left to say:
GO CANADA GO!
Hardcore Time
Okay, I realize that everyone has a different definition of the word hardcore. I think it can pretty much be summed up by this picture:
Or of course we have this one:
There are so many sport heroes and legends to draw inspiration from.
With race season fast approaching I have determined that it's time to stop mindlessly training and time to get serious again.
With that said I've decided to set a goal to log 180km of running starting now by the end of March. That may not seem like a lot but keep in mind I am also swimming a couple of times a week and cycling every week as well.
I invite any one else to set new goals for themselves. Please feel free to share them with me and we can work to push each other.
Or of course we have this one:
There are so many sport heroes and legends to draw inspiration from.
With race season fast approaching I have determined that it's time to stop mindlessly training and time to get serious again.
With that said I've decided to set a goal to log 180km of running starting now by the end of March. That may not seem like a lot but keep in mind I am also swimming a couple of times a week and cycling every week as well.
I invite any one else to set new goals for themselves. Please feel free to share them with me and we can work to push each other.
500m Swim Test Set
The UBC Triathlon Club has started it's new spring race series which means there should be some good smack talk coming up.
Today I did the 500m swim test set. The team did this a couple of weeks ago but because of my San Francisco trip I missed it and had to make it up today. I wasn't really sure what to expect going into it as I'm a little unsure of my swimming abilities. When I joined the club back in September of '08 my best 500m swim time was about 10:38 or something like that which is about 2:07 per 100m.
The swim is usually my least concern with my triathlon training since it's the shortest distance and the least time is usually lost in a race and I have focused more on running and cycling. This year has been a little different though. I decided that I wanted to pick up my swim time a little bit for the '10 race season. In January I was comfortably swimming at a 1:50/100m pace and my goal is to be able to hold a 1:40/100m for a half Ironman swim of 1900m this summer. I know I'm not quite ready to hold that pace and was expecting somewhere around 8:45 for this test set.
I did my warm up and was not feeling particularly well and considered putting this off until Thursday but decided to go for it anyway. I started my set and was feeling great. I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard, but more like I was holding a strong steady pace. I ended up completing it in 8:29 which is a new pb for me. Yeah! I know it's no stellar time when compared to some of the other people I swim with but it's good for me and I'm happy about it. It's fun to train towards goals and see them become realized. That's one of the things I love about triathlons - your progress is easily measured and you can see benefits to the work you put in - it's a very rewarding sport.
I would like to pay a little tribute to my buddy Winstorm. We have been bugging him for the last year or two about how slow he is at swimming. He has now in his 5th year with the club and it seems like as long as I've been there his swim time has remained constant and he has watched newbies come in at a slower lane, later to join his, and then to pass him. Well, he is proving that he has that fighter's spirit and has seen drastic changes in all events, but lately with a big jump in his swimming. Good job Winstonian, looks like you might be a threat this summer after all.
On a side note, I just realized that the Subaru West Coast Triathlon Series starts in 3 months and I don't feel anywhere near ready. It's amazing how fast the off-season went by. It's time to get hardcore again. Hourrah!
Today I did the 500m swim test set. The team did this a couple of weeks ago but because of my San Francisco trip I missed it and had to make it up today. I wasn't really sure what to expect going into it as I'm a little unsure of my swimming abilities. When I joined the club back in September of '08 my best 500m swim time was about 10:38 or something like that which is about 2:07 per 100m.
The swim is usually my least concern with my triathlon training since it's the shortest distance and the least time is usually lost in a race and I have focused more on running and cycling. This year has been a little different though. I decided that I wanted to pick up my swim time a little bit for the '10 race season. In January I was comfortably swimming at a 1:50/100m pace and my goal is to be able to hold a 1:40/100m for a half Ironman swim of 1900m this summer. I know I'm not quite ready to hold that pace and was expecting somewhere around 8:45 for this test set.
I did my warm up and was not feeling particularly well and considered putting this off until Thursday but decided to go for it anyway. I started my set and was feeling great. I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard, but more like I was holding a strong steady pace. I ended up completing it in 8:29 which is a new pb for me. Yeah! I know it's no stellar time when compared to some of the other people I swim with but it's good for me and I'm happy about it. It's fun to train towards goals and see them become realized. That's one of the things I love about triathlons - your progress is easily measured and you can see benefits to the work you put in - it's a very rewarding sport.
I would like to pay a little tribute to my buddy Winstorm. We have been bugging him for the last year or two about how slow he is at swimming. He has now in his 5th year with the club and it seems like as long as I've been there his swim time has remained constant and he has watched newbies come in at a slower lane, later to join his, and then to pass him. Well, he is proving that he has that fighter's spirit and has seen drastic changes in all events, but lately with a big jump in his swimming. Good job Winstonian, looks like you might be a threat this summer after all.
On a side note, I just realized that the Subaru West Coast Triathlon Series starts in 3 months and I don't feel anywhere near ready. It's amazing how fast the off-season went by. It's time to get hardcore again. Hourrah!