Friday, August 29, 2008

IMC 2009

Unexpectedly my race target for 2009 has come into focus - I was able to secure one of the 200 spots sold online in a matter of a few minutes earlier today for Ironman Canada.

As of now, there may be four friends from Australia on the course at the same time next August 30.

I'm not sure who was more excited - Margreet or me. Neither of us actually expected that I'd be able to secure a spot. In fact, Margreet could have secured one for herself too.

Time now to move and get settled and back into a training regime.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

10k

I ran the Richmond Flatlands 10km earlier today in a time of 41:39 -- not particularly fast and yet not too slow either. It was good to be racing, the first time since the half iron in early July.

The conditions were hot and humid, reminding me of Malaysia.

The race has inspired me to race again and so I'll take a look for something soon.

New focus

Triathlon will have its day shortly. However, Michael Phelps has dominated in the pool and I found this comment in a Globe and Mail story

In his seven-day-a-week training routines, which start with a 5 a.m. alarm-clock call, and can include up to 15 kilometres of repetitive lengths and sprints each day, he is not so different from the hundreds of elite swimmers left in the wake of his double-jointed dolphin kicks. Where he manages to outdistance his rivals, according to expert observers, is in the blending of his body's rare gifts with the intensity of his planning and concentration.

"It's his physical ability, it's his ability to race," says USA swim coach Mark Schubert, rhyming off Phelps's clear advantages, "it's his ability to get excited when he needs to and to come down when he needs to come down."

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Running Again


It's summer and perfect weather for long runs. And here in British Columbia it also means running into wildlife. I have had two recent encounters.

The first was a week ago when I was nearing the end of a spirited 90-minute effort. I turned to finish up a hill, very close to home, and there was a deer with antlers on the sidewalk, nonchalantly munching on some plants.

I stopped, crossed the road, walked a bit and then started running again.

A few days later we were out for a walk with a friend visiting from Australia. It was a last minute decision. We opted to go to a running path about a 10-minute drive from our house. She was keen to see a bear. While we've seen a lot of bears in the past three months, we've not seen on anywhere near here.

But as we were walking, one was spotted in the brush.

Our friend was sure she saw one on the side of the path though we were less sure. Until a bear suddenly appeared on the path about 50 metres in front of us.

As often is the case with black bears, they tend to bolt when they see people and this one did the same. We were too taken aback by seeing it so close that no photos were snapped. Oh well. Sometimes a close encounter doesn't require photographic proof.

Today we are heading into the same area for a long run. If we don't see the bear, who apparently is a local, that would be OK with me.