The Twilight Zone

For any of you that check the blog and wonder hey its been a while since he has written in here? Longer then usual? It because I have been in the twilight zone. The rest of November was fairly mundane with picking up the odds shifts at random jobs, school, and various treatment to help my shoulder. There were a few times I felt inspired to write but I just never got around to it. Plus I really had no racing plans for next year. I was in limbo.

Now when December came around that is when I truly entered the "twilight zone". What is it you ask? Well for someone like me who sleeps regular hours 10-6, 12-8, 1-9 etc. With the exception of the night of a good party which might throw me off I am a person who appreciates a good sleep. In December the post office gets busy.....very busy. For those who don't know I got hired on at Canada Post last April. Well for the past few weeks I have been getting shifts all week from 2am-7am, 12am-8am, 10pm-6am back to back. Need less to say it has thrown me for a loop. I work all night I sleep all day and I don't really see normal people just the other zombies at the post office at 2am. I will say the first week was hard but now going on to my fourth week I can say that I am well adjusted, and oddly enough I kind of enjoy being a creature of the night. My brother calls it being on another level. He said "man your room is right beside mine and I havent seen you in days". Its crazy but hey I needed a change because November was a bore.

On the racing front I could not take it any longer I needed a goal. I was unmotivated and getting fat fast. So this week I signed up and I am in for Ironman 70.3 Florida in Halnes city. As soon as you click the accept button your cognition shifts. "Shit I want to fucking crush this race, time to drop the hammer". Everyone is different and having an upcoming race really motivates me. Some people can be motivated enough just to stay fit. Right now in my life I have a competitive drive to push to the next level. I don't want to just be fit or just finish I want to race and I want to place. This will be my first race in the new age category 25-29 so the competition gets a little tougher but I also have another year to make improvements. This is an exciteing time and will also help with discipline this Christmas season.

Other then that life is good. Got most of the Christmas shopping done, got some cash coming in, and got a race to look forward to. Nothing to complain about. Its all good. To help you stay motivated here is another beautiful display of running from Craig Alexander Kona 2012.




Stay Motivated!

What Have I Been Doing?

With no more races and being laid off you would think I have nothing to do but write on the blog. This is true but when your training is cut back to offseason mode and your laid off really theres not much to talk about. Along with the seasons somethings are starting to change, and maybe its time to reflect.

Most importantly on the training front, I have finished up massage appointments and Chrio to help work out some shoulder, and hip issues. I must say I have never been to a Chiro and my first appt was a positive one. I had went in for some active release therapy (ART) and ended up getting adjusted and feeling fantastic and it actually carried through to the next day. From there I have really been focusing on keeping the hamstrings loose especially while running. After watching Andreas Ralert running (which can be seen at the bottom) in Kona I am more determined then ever to put up a sick run split in my next event. I am easing back into swimming its really touch and go with the shoulder I want to try and get my weekly volume up around the 20k mark for the winter months, and build a really solid base. As for cycling its been really just casual rides. Using my fitness as a form of transport I actually went a whole week without driving, which was pretty cool. I am looking to sell my bike and upgrade for next season so if your looking for a full carbon bike I have a 56 and your can have it ready to go with 105 for $2000 CDN. For details shoot me an email at dsohor@shaw.ca

As for life, pretty much caught up with the family. Me and the dog have had a lot of time to hang out which is nice. I have been working on my mental state, as sometimes the high training volume can take a toll. Really just trying to live as clean as possible, maintaining the minimal bread and dairy. Got rid of my truck with hopes the cash will help me fund my next bike purchase. I will be graduating in april with a B.Kin. From there its just find a job that can pay the bills and allow me to do the things I love. Isn't that everyones battle?

Anyways I am going to let some more stuff pile up, I am sure Christmas will be a hoot. Until then train safe, train smart.

Davis

twitter: @wpg_wild_cat

Well That Was Short Lived

Just got an email from 5150 yesterday telling me the race is cancelled. Just peachy. Of course its after I book everything for the trip and now I am going to get dinged for cancelling flights and everything. What a pain in the ass.

I guess I will be training like a pro in the off season now. Its probably for the better my shoulder needs a lot of treatment anyways. I am not going to dwell on it. It sucks but I am sure with the extra time I have I will find something to do.

D

Living Like a Pro

That's the goal this month. I got laid off at the end of September and squeezed into 5150 Clearwater, because I loved being in Florida and it gives me a goal for the month of October. I am going to live like a pro.

I have watched dozens of training day videos of all my favorite pros, and I dream of being able to go through a day like that. Where your main focus is your training, and everything else comes second. Yes I am in school but only one class, and that comes second. Right now I am eating sleeping and breathing training. I know its only a month, but I am very excited to see what I can get out of myself on this race. I guess it also helps that I just PR'ed a half marathon my 6 mins. Needless to say my tires are pumped up.

So far its going well, it is not even a real life change. I was doing it before but I had the inconvenience of an 8 hr job in the middle of my day. So even though I am training more it really doesn't feel like it. I am more relaxed and more recovered.

I am still a little tight from the half marathon pr on the weekend but a little rest will fix that and I will be good to go by next week. Check back for updates on me training like a pro!



Train Smart

D

Operation Half Marathon Revenge Accomplished

After my running performance in Vegas, needless to say I was discouraged with my running abilities. I had really put focus on my running this year with some intensive focus in the early season. I had an opportunity with an early season half, and was not given an opportunity to fully perform. As hard as I tried it was just not a pr day. Report can be re capped here.

Coming into this race I was not feeling 100 percent either. The cold weather is setting in and I have put on a few pounds especially after racing Vegas and relaxing a bit. I also woke up tight. But I needed to put that aside and do what needs to be done, RACE a half marathon. Not run it race it.

Once we arrived at the race site and the caveman in me fired up. I was feeling better I was feeling competitive. Not full out jacked, but willing to run. There was competition there lots of fit people and another guy that I know goes sub 1:20 (we will refer to him as sub 1:20 guy). I tried to stay focused and just get loose.

Time flew by and in no time we were lined up. After the speeches the gun went off. I immediately pulled in behind sub 1:20 guy and took his draft for as long as possible. But he was running at sub 1:20 pace and slowly pulled away. Mentally I blocked that out I was starting out feeling good and I liked that. The first 2 miles were good well below the 6:45 pace I was looking for. I believe I was closer to 6:00-6:20 ish. Then the race changed..

Since this was a muti distance race offering a 5k, 10k and half marathon distance there was a turn off for a 5k loop. The sub 1:20 guy took that turn off. I was now leading the half marathon. My mind set shifted. This could be my race, I was feeling good, it was a nice day, and I was in first place.

Through the first 10k loop I stayed strong. So strong in fact I pr'ed my 10k with a time of 39:30. Saw it on the watch I was greatful and then shifted my mind to staying strong on the second lap and avoiding my typical 10 mile shut down. Knowing I had a buffer I backed off a bit and tried to stay even and paced. Surging when I had the opportunity and pacing when it was time.

The second lap was longer and felt like it never ended. I didnt start really suffering until the 12th mile and then I was digging. The race just looked so good on the watch I wanted to keep the numbers where I they needed to be I knew I was paced to break 1:30 the question was by how much??

Coming into the final stretch I helped another participant to finish strong and then started my sprint. I never looked back the whole race, until the end, to see that no one was even close. I saw the clock was reading 1:25 high I knew I was gonna be in the 1:26 bracket so I soaked in the whole race. I double pr'ed, I broke 1:30, and I am finishing first! I cruised across the line arms up!!! Totally thrilled.

You just always gotta come prepared. You never know when your going to have that race. Race every race like it is the most important race of your life, always do your best and you can never have regrets. Your best is always going to be changing, but you need to adapt to the situations. I am just really grateful I was able to conquer some personal barriers that day and it worked out well.

Winkler Half marathon

1:26:34

10k split 39:30

Revenge Weekend

Well it has come time, I am coming into what I am calling revenge weekend. I am running a half marathon on Sunday and I am kicking its ass. My goal this year was to break 1:30:00 which with my built and training hours should be no problem. I got robbed by the blizzard in may for the police service and that was the only half I had scheduled all season. I put up a nice time of 1:38:52 in RI at the end of a HIM so I dont see why there should be a problem for me crushing 1:3o:00. I made sure to take adequate rest after Vegas and then I nailed down some solid run focused weeks. I am feeling good about this race, the weather has been good and I race the course last year. Its a two looper so I can get a good even split. But I plan on killing it. I am going to try and stay even the first lap run with cola in hand and not have a typical Davis mile 10 shut down. Anyways wish me luck race report will be up Sunday hopefully.

D

Vegas Race Report

Well what would this race be with out some adversity. My triathlon life so far has not been a cake walk. You talk to some pros and they just do the work and everything works for them. I have always had a struggle weather it was the sickness before Muskoka, or the car problems in Calgary. All that aside I am still making improvements so when I do have that flowing year the results are going to be exponential. With that said lets break down the trip and the race.

So save a work day, and with it being in Vegas I was able to grab a direct flight Thursday night at 9. Not to say that Thursday wasn't totally stressful. I seem to have a problem of over booking myself and Thursday was no different. I had work 7-3:30 then class 4-5:15 and then be at the airport by 7:30. As you other triathletes know, triathlon trips or "Racecations" are not to be confused with "Vacations". Racecations are all work and triathlon being as specific as it is everything must be accounted for. I don't know what it was about this trip but I felt uneasy leaving. Thinking back now I think that I have just be come so comfortable with traveling to race or train I had accounted for everything and it felt easy. It felt to easy, but I guess I now just have my systems set up and thats why its so easy. I was stressing for not reason. Like any trip once the wheels picked up into the plan I felt relaxed. There was nothing I could do now, but deal with the problems as they come.

I grabbed a quick nap on the 2hr 45 min flight and we were in Vegas by 10:10 Vegas time. Grabbed the rental car which ended up being a hummer haha, hit the grocery store for some good food, and then hit the hotel for a sleep.

Friday like any other work day we (my aunt and I) were up earlyish around 7:30 because we had work to do. So we went and grabbed some breakfast and headed down to the expo for nine. Like last year the expo was top notch and American sized big. I have some great pics I will upload later. I met Chris Leito who was a D bag and Craig Alexzander who is a gem. I acutally was able to talk to him, and we reminisced about Muskoka, and I grabbed a set of newton runners. From the expo and check in we moved to the race sight to go check it out. I gotta say they do not mess around in Vegas! WOW! it was picture perfect venue absolutely gorgeous. It felt like we were not even in Vegas it almost felt like we were in France the way things were set up.

From there we grabbed a quick nap at the hotel and then we headed to the banquet. Once again purely top notch. This event really made you feel like you were on top of the world. They had a drumline, slide shows, and good quality food. I found out there that it was worth the money I spent to get the good swim skin because a lot of people got turned down. After this we were pooped and back into bed early.

Saturday we were up at 5:45 because we needed to get the race sight for the practice swim between 6:30- 8:30. I did my mini triathlon and everything was in order. Picked up my racing flats which came in just in the nick of time, to go in my race bag and dropped of my bike. After that tried to stay low key and eat good food and get good rest.

RACE REPORT

4:45 Wake up:

Up early had my pre race meal of a couple boiled eggs a banana a wrap and then started to hydrate it was a total of about 700 cals. Got to the race site in time to set everything up and then just try and get in a good head space. I was relaxed, again with this race almost to relaxed. Going in I was ready to give it my best. You can not be disappointed if you just give it your best. But you also must remember that your best is always changing. As part of some of my pre race thoughts I was running the last 6 week block through my head.

Starting with the positives:

I have done the work.

Half Ironman distance doesn't scare me anymore

I got out to hills 5 out of the 6 training weeks

I have done everything in my power to do well here

Negitives:

The sickness knocked me out for 10 days and hurt my physiology (tight hip flexers, muscles loss, never fully recovered running speed)

Felt a little tired

Swim

The nice thing about racing at worlds is that its all the best athletes. Racing other Half Irons in the 18-24 cat your go off last, the group breaks up into the fast and the slow and then you are catching the slow people of the other age cats. At worlds the whole field is fast so it was easy to find someone to draft off that was swimming at my pace. I felt good in the swim I felt strong the whole way and I was suprised at my time because it went by a lot faster then past swims. Out of the water around the monster transition run loop and up the switch back on to the bike.

33:09 (1:44/100)

Bike

The bike, everyone wants to know about the bike, this is my office, and I went hard. With the stupid late start it was already getting hot at the start of the bike course. The hills were not terrible and the up hills were nicely balanced by the down hills. Bryan because I know your racing here soon, you have nothing to be scared of. Muskoka is way worse, conserve you power on the down hills get into a nice tuck and power the uphills you will be fine. When there was a windy flat section thats were my prairie roots shined like 24 carrot gold and I lit guys up. The last 5 miles into t2 were pure up hill just to really punish you going on to the run. Coming into those final miles I knew I had to build a buffer if I wanted the 2:30 bike split. I was able to come into the climb at about 22.7 and came off it at 21.72. Coming off the bike I was feeling good I just need to have the strong run and I would be laughing.

2:34:43 (21.73 mph)

Run

Here is that adversity. I started out and I could feel that climb in my legs my quads were tight, it was a feeling I had never experienced, and I have been doing more then enough brick workouts short and long. The first mile or two were normal little hurt waiting to get my legs and really lay the hurt down. However things did not go the way I wanted, they started to go down hill fast. I was almost in a panic I had never felt this before it was total nutitional failure I was slowed to the death march. At this point I was worried about finishing, I watched my average mile time fall off the radar. It was a tough mental moment to know that even my best right now could not get me the time I wanted. I saw my dad on the side he knew I was hurting. I tried to stay calm and looked back on my nutrition. I had my salt, I had my cals, there was one thing left. Hit the cola and hope for the best. So thats what I did the next couple aid stations cola and water. In two miles it was like a brick to the face BANG I was right as rain you wont believe it but my mile times came back down to 6:20!!! It was a relief to see my normal fitness. At this point I knew I couldn't get the time I wanted to I moved my thoughts to enjoy the day your at the world champs and finish strong. So thats what I did I finished as strong as I could and that was the best I had that day.

Here is a commentary on my splits:

RUN SPLIT 1: 1.21 mi 1.21 mi (8:12) 6:46/mi

Feeling good here following my plan.

RUN SPLIT 2: 3.22 mi 2.01 mi (17:53) 8:53/mi

Things not looking good here taking sodium pills sticking to plan waiting to get my legs and start crushing.

RUN SPLIT 3: 5.4 mi 2.18 mi (20:22) 9:20/mi

Now worried about finishing slowed to a death march. Wobbling not myself. Telling myself to enjoy the day.

RUN SPLIT 4: 7.72 mi 2.32 mi (20:29) 8:49/mi

Running nutritional analysis on myself, evaluating where did I go wrong decide to hit the Cola hard!!

RUN SPLIT 5: 9.9 mi 2.18 mi (16:08) 7:24/mi

Get hit like a rock to the head absolutly crush the 3 miles of uphill.

RUN SPLIT 6: 12.88 mi 2.98 mi (20:38) 6:55/mi

Stay calm and bring it home strong just felt good to be normal again. Enjoyed the day and was just happy I was able to finish strong. Great learning experience.

A dispicable 1:51:30 (8:35 pace)

In conclusion, its over that was what I had on that day and now its time for some well earned recovery and to set up next year. Three positives on this race:

1. Had a great swim and great cycle.

2. Learnt more about nutrition.

3. Was able to adjust on the fly and get back to normal.

I just have to be happy with that, keep my head up, get back to work and earn those improvements. But for now its time to celebrate, I am in Vegas!! Until next time,

Happy Training!!

D

Ironman 70.3 Worlds Vegas:

Swim: 33:09

Bike: 2:34:34

Run: 1:51:30

Total: 5:03:40

Straight To The Top

Well its been a long, hard, and successful season. If I include my spring running block I have been going fairly steady for about 25 weeks. Needless to say after this race I am ready for some real rest. Not the couple days and then easing back into training rest. I mean rest until I feel 100% then I will focus on my fall running. Don't get me wrong I still want to bang out at least a half marathon before the snow hits. But I am determined to fully recover.

This last 6 week block has been hard. It started out with the sickness which lingered around for just over a week. Then because its August the last month of summer here, everyone wants to get the most out of it so there was lots of trips to cabins, which was good because I got to hammer the hills but it was still extra work, but good work. I think it was mainly the sickness that kicked my ass and it was really hard to get back in gear.

But coming into this final taper I am really just focusing on rest. All the hard work is done, and now its time to get paid. I know Vegas is going to be hot so I have been doing my best to acclimate, I got my nutrition plan worked out and ready to go, got the swim skin for the warm water, the bike is set up and ready for me to put the hammer down, and got some new racing flats so hopefully no blisters. I dont think I have felt more prepared. I do have 6 half under my belt now. I am really excited to go out and enjoy this one, pain and all. Its the end of my season and I am going straight to the top.

Craving a Run

Its been a while since this has happened, but on Wednesday while I was hacking away in a ditch with a weed wacker I found my self really craving a run. Its a weird feeling if you have ever experienced it. You just have extra energy, your light on your feet, and you want to just start running. Sometimes this feeling goes away as you lose energy from the work day. But on this day I was able to maintain it right through. When I finally got to running I kept my head held high and I was striding strong. I felt really good and I had a good handle on my HR. Even though it was hot it was a really enjoyable run and I really appreciated it after what had happened to my running early this month with the sickness.

Moving into the weekend I am gonna rest up and put two really hard sessions Saturday and Sunday. I am looking forward to testing my limiters just to prove to myself I am still strong, as I have been battling with myself lately just because I have been so tired.

But thats enough blabber for now I will try an do a quick write up to re cap the weekend but until then, stay positive, and train hard.

D

The Worst Beginning

Well I thought everything was going well in terms of recovery after RI, with a PR at the Kenora Olympic distance and some good rest in between I was feeling confedient about going strong into my next training block. But then the long weekend came and all hell broke loose.

The week leading in was a recovery week from Kenora and was fairly standard. I had stressed some ligaments in my foot from running in a very minimalist shoe. Nothing major no breaks and nothing some ice and rest couldnt take care of. I took this week really easy knowing I was going back into a full training block for worlds starting the first week of August. I did some easy bikes to keep the volume up and had a couple of good swims. Including a 3k open water swim race. That went really well I placed 2nd overall and got a metal for best rookie! with a time of 44:34 I couldn't complain but it was also open water and I dont really know how close it was to 3k, but that would put me at about 1:28/100m. I was trying to just enjoy the cabin relax eat good food and chill before starting this training session. But then things starting to go down hill.

Starting Monday of the long weekend I woke up with a violent fever, I soaked the bed, and I felt like garbage. I had thought maybe I got some heat stroke so I spent the day re hydrating and resting. I pushed myself to work on Tuesday feeling about 75% and put in a tiny run of maybe 15 mins. I felt very weak. That night I was woken up every 2 hrs by stomach problems and my fever had come right back up and I once again soaked my bed with sweat. This time I called in sick. I needed to get better I could not afford to miss this crutial training time. The line ups in the walk ins were ridiculous and I settled for calling the provincial help line and speaking with a nurse who was rather helpful and we figured out that it was most likely some food posining. Which makes sense because I remember eating some meat I thought was a little to rare. The rest of the week was pretty much a write off for training. I some how pushed out a 3hr cycle on the Saturday, and finally started to feel normal again by Monday. By this time I had gotten in to a doctor and he assured me this was normal for stomach flu's because it takes 7-10 days for the stomach to re build its lining.

After all that it brings us to this week where things are finally back to normal. My hr is normal and my running legs are mostly back. It was weird after the sickness I had almost totally lost my ability to run. I had no endurance or leg strength until this past Sunday, where it all seemed to come back at once. Having the gift of running taken away from me really made me appreciate running. It has motivated me to become as effecient as possible, and remember that I really do love running. For the last 2 weeks I have hated it and it was really hard metally to break through that and get it all back. That being said I am grateful now that I feel good and have most of my energy back.

Stay tuned for more details on Vegas Prep and the 2011 World Championships at a brand new venue!!!!!

Happy training

Davis

On The Edge of Glory (Race Report)

Well I have lots to write about, so lets try and keep some organization. First I will talk about the recovery week from Rhode Island, then we will move into the week getting back into training and end off with the Kenora triathlon Race Report.

Recovery Week:
The recovery week was used to catch up on life as well as recover the body. The max amount of time that I worked out was around 20 minutes or so. I really just focused on other aspects of training such as rest, and nutrition. Which got a little slipped up with some beers and rye with my bro. But really there was nothing special I did a lot of stuff around the house that training would just not allow me the time to do. I also did a lot of organizing for my new trip to Vegas!

Lead up week:
Coming into the next week I was racing on the Sunday. I have never raced this close to my A race before and I had no idea how to handle my fitness. After some research I treated this week as a taper. I kept the workouts short and intense and allowed lots of time for recovery. By the end of the week I was feeling back to normal again, and fairly ready to go.

Race Report:
This race was unique in that it was held in Ontario, which provides the challenge of hills. These local races are small compared to the 70.3 events and coming off the Rhode Island high I was barley nervous coming into this race.

During race morning everyone was congratulating me on my accomplishments in Rhode Island. It felt good I was starting to feel that I belonged in this crowd, even with the long hair and the beard. Race set up was fairly standard I set up transition and did my little pre race warm up. I didn't really have many nerves I just knew I was going to go out there and just lay it down and enjoy the day.

Swim:
Once I was all warmed up it was time for the swim start. I positioned myself with a good line at the front of the pack. As the gun went off I went out very hard as part of my strategy, and then settled into a groove. I could see there was a pack ahead of me but I try not to let that bother me anymore. I know my swimming needs improvement but I am seeing gains and I just need to be patient. I focused on staying long and really pulling all the way through my stroke. Just by using proper sighting I saved myself at least one position. My endurance felt good and I was still able to put in a decent sprint finish.

T1:
I came into T1 with a different attitude this race. I charged it I sprinted into T1 had a smooth transition and did a flying leap onto my bike. T1 was smooth!

Bike:
This is where I start to do damage. Like I said I was about 10th out of the water, but at 7 mins into the cycle I was in 2nd place. The first 5 min my heart was not even in my body, I was pounding so hard. From there I settled into a hard manageable pace, and tried to stay consistent. Kenora is known as a hilly course, but coming from Rhode Island it really was not that bad at all. With a final time of 1:05:07 I thought I would have some jam left to run. (fastest Bike split on the day came off bike in 2nd place)

T2:
I wish I could say t2 went as well as t1 but..... it didn't I racked my bike but it fell off so I had to pick it back up with my helmet on. Weird rules but there rules. Other then that my shoes popped on and I was chasing first place in no time.

Run:
Coming up the first hill I could see the 1st place guy. I knew he had beat me out of the water I must have done some damage on the bike. I pushed hard for the first 3 k bouncing off the rev limiter, the garmin was just a beeping at me. I was cruising at 6 minute miles occasionally touching under in the 5:50's. At 3 k I had caught up and was drafting behind 1st letting my hr come back down. It came down, I waited for a hill, and then I opened it up a bit. I got out in front and opened up a decent gap. I held it for the next couple miles, but the course got hillier. It was then I started to feel the race from 2 weeks ago and I took a bit of a beating. At around the 6k mark I got passed again, and I didn't have enough to chase from that far out. So from there I tried to stay as strong as I could through to the finish. Of course there were hills all the way into the finish as I opened up my sprint and finished strong for a 40:29 run. I missed breaking 40 by 30s it was kind of a piss off but I had no regrets of going out hard and leaving it all out there.

Overall:
What can I say I am living the title PR or ER. I have been to the Kenora hospital once and was prepared to go again if I had to. But with a PR at 2:09:07 I could not be more thrilled. It would have been the icing on the cake to take first but you have to be happy with personal improvements as well.

Kenora Triathlon (PR):

Swim: 23:30
Bike: 1:05:07
Run: 40:29

Total with transitions:
2:09:07

Amica Rhode Island 70.3 Race Report

Well its done, to save the suspense it was a success! After all that training and all that stress it was a great race. Even though I was nervous going in it was not un-manageable. The American races are much different then the Canadian ones. There are just more people in the area which brings with it a stronger field of competition. Hanging out at the expo I always get nervous around the people, and I need to remind myself that I have done the work and now its time to perform. I was able to get it under control for the most part, thankfully I had Kelice there for support.

After the expo we had a chance to go out and drive the bike course which was also intimidating. Being from Winnipeg I never know how I will perform on a hilly course. One advantage I had was the ability to ride on bad roads, and these roads were bad. There was a section at around mile 45 where you were not allowed to pass because the roads were so bad. It was going to be tough to hit my goal of 2:30:00.

Going through the bike course took longer then expected so we didnt have time to do the run course and I dont know if that was a good thing or not because there was a monster hill which I did not budget for.

As for the swim course, it ended up being a no wetsuit swim, which caused the debate of weather or not to wear a tri shirt or not. Even though it ma produce some drag putting a shirt on in transition can eat up more time then expected.

This is all just a breif description of how I was feeling.

Race Day

Race day started at 3:30 A.M because we needed to catch a shuttle at 4:45 and we were 30 min from shuttle pick up. Which I found to be a little ridiculous that they made athletes pay $8 for the shuttle when we payed $300 to do the race. I had a light breakfast when I woke up and made sure I stayed hydrated because it was suppose to get warm later in the day. We arrived in transistion around 5:15 and I had plenty of time to set up my bike and transition area. And warm up.

Swim
The 18-24 age cat started last. So there were lots of people to catch and pass. I did a brief warm up and just soaked in the atmosphere. Before I knew it we were lined up to go. All that nervousness I had before was now gone. It was go time and I was racing to win. When the gun went off I charged the water and started out strong. I know swimming is not my strong suit and without a wetsuit i was not expecting a pr. So I stayed focused on forum and just really being consistant. I came out of the water 33:51 12th in my age cat. Not where I wanted to be. I charged the transition and tried to be as quick as possible. I am usually fairly curtious to other athletes in front of me who look like its maybe there first time. But this time I had the hammer down and I was taking to prisoners. I charged out of transition ran and jumped on my bike and immediatly went into the hurt locker.

Bike
My heart felt like it was pounding out of my cheast in the beginning. But eventually I fell into a rythem. The hills were consistant and I tried to ride them as powerful as possible. When there was a flat section I really lit it up, thats my bread and butter being from the praries. By the first time I looked down at my watch I was averaging 22.4 right where I wanted to be I was just thrilled. The only technical difficulty that happened was coming over a bridge I lost my aero water bottle which forced me to turn around and go get it costing me a few seconds. There was a monster hill at mile 30 which took a chunck out of the average speed but I was able to regain it by the end of the course. With a final bike time of 2:3o:13 I was now in 4th place and had the 34 fastest bike of the day including the pros!! I was thrilled. Kelcie was yelling in t2 "Davis you killed that bike course you must have past 5 guys". Sure enough I had moved into 4 place.

Run
I have given up on racing with a heart rate moniter because then I start thinking to much. I just started running. There was a hill that lasted the entire second mile, and I plowed it on the first lap. I did not check my watch until the end of the first lap which gave me a time I wanted to see I was averaging 6:53/mile on pace for a 1:30:00. I had no expectations on making this last but I was sure as hell going to try. On the second lap it was now mid day and the heat was setting in. That hill on the second lap seemed to be twice as long and my legs began to shut down. It was more then mental at this point. Thinking of my friend Joel Perks telling me "you have to race to win" I was using all my mental games to keep pushing but I needed to clear the lactic acid. I was forced to walk run my way up the hill, but I made it and was able to sink back in to a nice pace. In the end I was able to hold on to a pr 1:38:00.

Recap:
Over all I was really happy with the race because I was able to live to the name PR or ER with a time of 4:45:34 3 mins faster then Clearwater!!! But because of the area the compitition was strong and that was only good enough for 6th place. With 2 spots in my age cat for Vegas I was nervous. But then roll down time came around it was down to one spot. As we listened in suspense as they called 1 name (3rd) then another (4th) then another (5th) I looked at Kelcie..... " I think its me"...... Davis Sohor. WOOOOO!!! I am going to Vegas!! I was at the last one in Clearwater and the first one in Vegas. It was a good confirmation that last year was not a fluke. So I guess stay tuned as I prepare for another go at the 70.3 World Championships.

Amica 70.3 Rhode Island

Swim: 33:51

Bike : 2:30:13

Run: 1:38:11

t1: 2:09
t2: 1:10

4:45:34


Pics and video will be up soon,

Definitely in America

Well yesterday was spent traveling, and it was relaxing. Thats right bouncing airport to airport was relaxing. I have done enough of these races now that they are no longer stressful. I really have nothing to stress about, I have done the work now its time to get paid.

Both the flights went well I watched my bike box like a hawk making sure it made the transfer. I was watching it when we got off the first flight and saw the baggage handlers take it off and they saw me watching. No one likes someone watching them work, but I just waved gave them a thumbs up and a big smile. Trying my hardest to show my appreciation for what they were doing. They all waved back with big smiles, and my bike was the first piece of luggage on the next plane. I really appreciated the service considering last time Delta left my bags for another flight.

Things just got better from there. When I went to pick up my rental car because I am young I get charged a premium for the car, and Kelcie was going to need to drive we were able to apply her fee for also being under age to getting an upgrade instead. So I went in, and instead of getting a standard american car and they ended up giving me a turbo Volvo! Haha, and I love cars and interstates so when we got on the road I hammered it and man that thing goes pretty good. 225hp awd turbo.

We got a little lost driving around and had to use the old school way of communication to find our hotel which ended up being pretty fun. Who needs gps. I mean yes it would have been handy but the old school way of actually talking to people worked just fine.

The rest of the night was fairly uneventful. I set up my bike and we had some dinner. But things got a little more interesting when we hit the local Walmart beside our hotel. I never understood "the people of walmart" because in Canada the people of Walmart are usually interesting but nothing out of the ordinary. In the states thats a whole different story. The giant store is basically empty, except for a few eccentric and magical locals meandering amongst the aisles of Wally World. Upon our entry we discover a larger black man with a sinister grin upon his face. Just aimlessly smirking at all patrons entering the doors. his sweat pants were a clear indicator of attitude towards the world. In isle 18 we discover a the special breed of human one only hears about in the historic tales of Walmart. A blading, well pierced man well in his thirties wanders about frantically searching for nothing with a young woman. His tight, dirty, tattered wife beater is'nt the current issue. What caught our attention so much that it sent Kelcie behind a rack of dresses to laugh in hysteria. This man was sporting tight booty shorts, they weren't even cut off jeans. They were camo spankies. Kelcie could have fit them. Finally, to top off our customer encounters of the wild, was a man who walked into Kelcie. He apologised, and continued to talk to him self. He just kept going and going. Finally turned around and said, "at least i haven't answered my own questions yet. Well, at least not today." And then like that continued off into the mysterious aisles of Walmart.

Check back to see how race check in goes.

D

Just Hold On

Well I am here, I have made it to the taper. I have to say I feel pretty dam good about it to. With one more day left in June I have cleared 1000km and worked 40hrs a week.

Swim: 31,650m
Run: 173.5km
BIke: 811.4 km

Total: 1016.5

And it wasnt even that bad. Last year I never cleared 1000km while working, the only month I cleared was the month before Clearwater after I was laid off. I guess I am getting better at this training thing? Needless to say I feel ready. I was a little worried this year because I took my training into my own hands to help me understand and test my own training theories. At the beginning I knew it would be hard to stay motiviated, not having some one to report to. But I was able to design ways to keep me accountable. It seemed to have worked, and I have the mileage to show for it. I was also able to really crack down on my nutrition this month and really start feeling good about my eating and training nutrition. Overall I feel very ready and now I just need to hold it together through this taper and hope for a nice day next week to really lay it all on the line.

Solid Swim

Well it was the first tri of the year this weekend, and it went well. The day could not have been more perfect. It was calm not to hot and just a gorgeous day to be out on the race course. Even though there was no real pressure on this race I always get myself worked up. I get axious around triathlon people and I begin to doubt my abilities, when I really need to just calm down. I was up really early around 4:30 a.m because I had to use the washroom, but I did feel rested, it was not a nervous restless wake up. I stuck with my game plan this morning and just focused on hydration and had a banana. This stratagy has worked for me in the past with running races. I have also been on the other side were I take on too much food and that never works out well. This was a good race at a hard effort to really see how my body was going to respond.

I was one of the first people at the race, it felt good I dont like being under any pressure. I took my time set up and did a really long warm up session. I had enough time to go for a ride check my bike out, a run see how the legs felt, and a decent swim. I really wanted to warm up the swim I had noticed in training that a longer warm up was key to feeling fresh in the water. The rest of the morning was pretty standard and nothing really threw me off. I was able to get in all my bathroom breaks and I felt well hydrated and not over full.

Swim

At the swim start I felt ready to go and had actually managed to calm myself down quite a bit. The start was nothing special and kind of uneventful. My basic plan was to draft most of the first lap, fall into a pace and then progressively pick it up in the second lap. But to my surprise I strated out strong and ended up in a zone all my own just off the lead pack and in front of the rest of the group. As much as I wanted to draft I could not squeeze in the oppurtunity. The leaders were not far off and I didn't feel I was over exerting at all. But I stuck to the game plan. Coming out of the water I heard my girlfriend tell me I was not more then a minute behind I was stunned and I knew there were only 3 guys ahead of me.

Bike

When I started the bike I felt a bit queizzy, It took 5-8 min to really get my legs under me and fire up a good hard push. It was a 3 loop course and by the start of the second lap I was in hammer mode. I knew one of the guys in front of me and I had taken him out I was unsure of the second guy. I thought my nutrition plan was working well but it was here where I saw it begin to faulter. I needed a gel for that last 20 mins of the ride and I would have been perfect. I began to feel fatigued.

Run

Here is where I really realized I needed that gel. I just could not settle into the steller run times I had been putting up in training. It was a good lesson learned. The run was fairly uneventful I pushed through it running mostly by myself taking on water and trying to salvage the race.

In conclusion I was happy with it. My bike and run times were consistant and I put up a new PR swim bringing the total time to 2:13:10. More importantly I think I have my nutrition plan perfected for the olympic distance, I will be able to seal it on the next race which is not until August. But until then happy training and keep checkin back for updates on training, the taper and Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island.

D

1:11:11

Well it happened my first 1st place overall finish! Sure it may have only been a local duathlon but I was the best athlete there on that day.

It was a long week, including an 8hr over night shift at the post office which doesn't really help with recovery. So it was a tough week non the less. But when I arrived on Tuesday night to the duathlon and realized that the guy that beat me last week wasn't there I knew this was my chance to do it, it was my turn to lead the pack.

My warm up went ok I could feel that I was tired and I was really just hoping I could keep it together for this race. The weather was no help either with a strong east wind and some light showers. But when the gun went off it was go time.

I broke to the front right off the start to show my place in the race. It was a 2 loop run and bike course and I could hear the pack behind me for the first lap. I averages a respectable 6:01 pace and going into the second lap I could hear my gap opening up. I was first into transition with a first run at 15:22.

In transition I saw the others who were chasing me. I started out on the bike hard, but I was really feeling it in my legs I was just not recovered from the week enough. I was still able to hold off the guy chasing me for 3/4 of the first lap. We then proceeded to play cat and mouse for most of the second lap until I decided to just stay within reach right behind him and really make him push into the hurt zone. As we came into transition I snuk past as he removed his shoes and beat him into transition.

As we started out on the run I could see my stratagy worked by keeping him in the hurt zone he was hurting even more on the run and by the end of the first lap I had opened a substantial gap. I could feel it now my only goal was stay cool stay even and dont slow down. I usually dont look back but I took one quick peek with 1 k to the finish and saw that this race was mine. Fueled by adrenaline I picked up the pace to around 5:55/mile. I sprinted hard to the finish from about 300m out and it felt good.

I had done it I had won first overall, and the race was not a blow out I raced it and I won. It felt really good. The creepiest thing was my watch time was 1:11:11. Very weird. But overall I was happy and I am really going to focus on recovery for next week. Because as fun as these are I really dont need to be killing myself every week this early in my training and at a distance which isn't really close to what I am racing. But I can chalk this up to another sucessful race and a good start to another season.

Fresh Race Season Report

Well you can train all you want but you can not control the weather. Mother nature will do what it wants when ever it wants. Last week was beautiful, the weather was gorgeous and my taper was going well. I though on Wednesday I would take a look at the forcast for my first half mary of the season on Sunday. It read like this:

Wednesday :Sunny high 15
Thursday: Sunny high 10
Friday: Slight cloud high 10
Saturday: 1mm Rain in morning high 8
Sunday: Wind gusts up to 80k, 2 cm of snow -3 and -10 with windchill.

Really? Are you F&%king serious....... Yup. I thought to myself this is a sick joke. And I hoped and prayed that environment Canada was wrong as per usual. But as the days counted down it was not looking good.
It was a mental battle all the way to the start line to accept the fact that it was not going to be the best day. But when the gun went off I went out full tilt PR or ER, and I was on a decent pace too my split at the 10k was 40:32. But eventually all the little slips and the cold weather got to my system. I tried to take in some water that I didnt need and it caused me to cramp up and the 60 k freezing wind nearly stopped me in my tracks. I tried as hard as I could to keep pushing but it was a hard fought battle out there that day. I ended up with a 1:32:48 only 30 sec off my Pr and in the given conditions I was happy with it, and it was good to get a half under my belt early to see how my body would react.

Not wanting to waste my fitness I was back at it again on Tuesday for a duathlon at Birds Hill Park. It was a 4k run 26k bike and 4k run. I was unsure of how it was going to go i felt ok, my calves were tight, but ready to go none the less.

The race was suppose to start at 7 but due to technical issues and bad organization it started at 7:30. So I ended up warming up twice. It was nice to get my bike race ready, I forgot how sharp it looks. My dad was rockin a new bike as well a Cervelo P3, he got lots of compliments on.

Anyways when the gun went off I took off to the front of the pack with me and another guy. He was about 20 seconds per mile faster then me and slowly broke away throughout the race. But I held a strong 2nd until being slowly passed by another guy. I came off the run in 3rd place (run one 15:15), and went out on the bike hard. I caught the guy that passed me within 5 k of the bike. After catching him he slowly crept passed me once as I was recovering, until I passed him one last time and that was the last that I saw of him(bike 41:00). My second run was solid I got into a nice groove quickly and was able to shake my arms out and stay loose. It showed because my second run was only 10 seconds slower at 15:24. For a strong 2nd place finish.

In reflection for next race the only thing I would like to improve on is a faster transition I took my time in there and used it as a little recovery. That and I am going straight to the top next race just sayin. Total time was 1:11:38 next race sub 1:10:00 PR or ER.

Yes this is MAY 1st in Winnipeg

Gotta hurt a little bit (Race Report)

Last weekend was the final of the puma series, the 15k. I had felt good all week, had a couple of really good speed sessions and I should have know I was going to need to recover some where in there. I went for an easy run on Friday and Saturday am I could start to feel the recovering process. My legs were flat. Which is good, it means I really maximized my speed training. My goal for the 15 was to hold my goal half marathon pace, and not go totally bananas, I have become pretty good at maintaining even pace and it make for a much more interesting and calculated race. I guess its a good bad thing with the Assinaboine park course is that its 5 k loops. Good its easy to time your laps and stay consistent, bad it can be a little annoying mentally especially on the 2nd lap.

I arrived early, completed standard race warm. I could still feel I was not fully recovered, but the nice thing about racing is the atmosphere covers up some of that weakness. The gun went off and I settled into a pace quickly. I could tell I was going to have no problem worrying about going out fast. The first lap felt ok I had a split of a high 20 I was happy with that. Going into the second lap was tough knowing I wasn't even half done. But I was still hitting my mile targets. I used others in the race to block some of the wind and really strategies my race slowing down an speeding up but still maintained goal pace. The third lap was just much easier mentally knowing that the finish is coming I was able to just tune out and finish up what needed to be done. Overall I didn't think I was going to be as consistent ant as I was (maybe varied 5-10 sec per lap) and I was happy with that considering that I started out fatigued. The total time was 1:03:48.

Social Running (Race Report)

This past Sunday was the longest run I had to do in my half marathon training. The run was 16 miles. I have a love hate relationship with the long run. Sometimes they go really well and they are relaxing and sometimes it is just a really long painful couple of hours. This run however fell as part of the puma series. The race was a 10k (6miles) and the long run required 10 miles easy and 6 miles at half marathon goal pace. So I decided to show up early and bang out a few miles and then use the race as my harder effort.

In the morning I had nothing but a banana to eat, as I had eaten a lot before I went to bed. I find eating little in the morning has had a positive effect on my running. I stared out running the 3 mile loop at the park at a nice relaxed pace. I ended up running beside a friendly, very fit looking Asian fellow. The beauty of not running with headphones is that I was aware and enjoying the moment. We started to chat he was doing 22 miles that day! Last year he qualified for Boston, he said he usually runs 2 marathons a year. He was interested in triathlon and asked how we train for all three. I said its always 2 a day and told him how the fitness in each of the sports is somewhat transferable.

I then moved on to the second lap feeling good I had some power bar after the first 3 miles. On this lap I met up with an older runner that I knew was fast. He is well over 50 and can still crank out 5 k times in the 17's. He was very friendly and is one more person to talk to at running events.

I managed to complete a little over 6 miles before the race started. I was happy with that. My goal for the race was just to run even 6:50 mile pace. Little did I know I was in for a surprise. I started out a little to fast of course due to the race atmosphere and the slight downhill of the course, but was able to settle into a rythem. I was drafting off anyone in front of me to conserve energy. Then my competitive edge sparked up as I saw a kid that was maybe 10 in front of me. So I worked my way up there and eventually pasted him. I gave words of encouragement to others who looked to be struggling because I know what thats like, and I was really grateful I was having a great day. After the first 5 k I grabbed a water and a power gel. My first lap split to my surprise was a 20:49 averaging a 6:39 pace. In the second lap I led most of the way paying back to some of the people I sucked on for the first lap. My pace was way under what I was aiming for I was averaging about 6:40 a mile feeling very relaxed. At the finish I pulled a guy all the way into his PR and that felt pretty good. I had a total finish time of 41:58 Which was a total suprise to me I was not expecting that at all.

After the race I cooled down with a 3 mile easy run bringing me to my 16 miles. And I have to say it was absolutly painless. It was nice to run this Sunday and really enjoy the social aspect of running and the sense of community. I felt included as part of a group. It was a very nice way to spend a Sunday.

Good Start (race report)

Well Despite horrible weather I managed to PR my first race this year! As I mentioned in the last couple weeks posts I have been running more and have cut some weight. I knew I was in condition to PR but waking up this morning it was raining and cold. Unlike yesterday which was beautiful. As usually I was extra conscious this week about sleep, diet, and alcohol consumption. I felt ready coming to race start I was up yearly about 2.5 hrs before race start I only had a banana because it is just a 5k and I wanted to stay light. Had a little coffee on the way and one energy gel about 20mins prior to start. I had run my plan over in my head breaking it into 3 one mile segments, and I wasn't to nervous.

When the gun went off you can not help but take off. I was concious of this and settled into a pace within the first km. In the first km theres a down hill and an uphill so I guess they kind of balance out I think just being aware of the course helped. I tried not to look at my watch often but I did glance down time to time to make sure I was close to the pace I wanted.

In the second mile there was a windy section which I was able to tuck in behind someone to conserve energy.Then I took the lead I knew that I was running strong and I didnt want to miss my goal cause I was following someone else. I was still feeling strong here and my main goal was just to stay even. I knew I had a good first mile and if I could maintain for the second and finish strong it would be a good race.

Coming into the third mile I finally started to feel some hurt. So I tried to focus on form and not just pushing. Its a downhill finish so I tried to really use it and be as effeciant as possible. When I could see the clock I saw I had a possibility of breaking 19, even in the snow. This was more then I though possible to I really cranked it at the end. And..... I DID IT 18:57. I broke the 19min barrier. I was thrilled, almost puked, but thrilled non the less.

Overall its a good start to the season and the theme of PR or ER.

I Forgot I Love Running

It has been tough getting back into running 6 days a week. But once your there, there is nothing like being a runner. I am at the weight I want to be I am light on my feet and I feel fantastic. There were so many runs in the summer last year where I just dreaded having to go out. Doing some runs totally fatigued. Now that I am just running I am able to really push the hard ones and actully see the benifit of easy runs. Coming up this week will be the first test of my run training. I will be racing a 5k at the familer Assinaboine park. I have a PR on this course of 19:15 and I am looking to break the 19 min barrier this year. Last year I was sucked out and heavy, this year I am thin and ready to rock. I have done a ton more intervals and I am just hoping it all comes together on Sunday. Other then that my shoulder feels really good I think it has really healed up nice and it is now warm enough to cycle outside which is a huge motivater. But my focus is still on running until May 1st for the Police service half marathon. Happy Training

The Focus is On Speed

Right now the workouts are short I am only doing between 7-10 hours a week. A nice break from the in season training. But the focus now is speed. I have really pushed this in my running and cycling. I think last year I was to conservitave in my training focusing mainly on hr, and that was it. HR training is effective and it got me up to the distance I need to cover. But now its time to work on speed or intensity. I have found the proper rest times I need to get the most out of a workout and I am really maxing those out. I think part of the increased intensity is just from feeling fresh. By the end of the season I was pretty burnt out. I now think that it was from the pure volume I was doing.

It was really a great day today +2C so I had to run out side. I did a 3 mile tempo run and was aiming to hold 6:45 pace. I blew that away and was able to hold 6:38. At the beginning when I was just laying into the speed I passed another guy running with headphones in and he was like " oh shit" totally scared at the pace that I passed him. It made me feel really good and was a good motive to continue a strong pace. It also reminded me why I dont wear headphones. The guy was totally not present in the moment. If he didnt have the headphones on he would have heard me coming. Running clenses the mind and the body and I am grateful I can appreciate that.

Sport: Run

Duration: 20 min + wu and cd

Distance: 4.8 km

Avg. speed: 14.4 km/h

Avg. pace: 4:10 / km

Intensity: 10

Taking a Toll

Well so far its been a cold snowy winter. I usually dont mind winter. I was riding my bike regularly it was shaping up to be ok. But now its been a consistant -25C (at mid day colder mornings and nights) + windchill (-30 -40) for about a month and I am really getting sick of it. I embraced it at the beginning but I am over it now I would just like it to go away. I see the people outside as I walk into school they dont even look cold. They look like there in pain. People who are cold kind of move a bit to stay warm they breathe heavily. The people I see there face muscles are contracted so tightly its as if they have there head out the window of a car moving 120 km/h. And there not moving, its as if they are frozen still.

On top of that I have developed a soreness in my shoulder. It feels joint related and the weather could be effecting it. It is in my left shoulder, the one that I have broken in the past. I know there is scar tissue in there and it may be causing the soreness. I am scheduled for physio on friday and I remain opptimistic about a quick road to recovery. I think I noticed it early enough that I can tackle the problem get some decent rest and be back to full strength.

In more positive news we have moved into Feburary, moving us closer to spring running season. I plan on initiating a 12 week running plan to break 1:30 in the police service half marathon on May 1. I am sick of being a slow runner and its time to really step it up.

Actully Feel A Bit Better

Well after concluding the 2 week detox, I have to say I feel better. I jut feel fresh. Its still cold as shit and I sleep a lot but not as tired. The workouts have been decent, still sitting at exactly the same weight. But there is now a feeling of freshness.

I was listening to an endurance nation podcast today about off season training. It also touched about how ironman training can be incredibly taxing on the average age groupers life in terms of time. They really stressed the point about only devoting your mental focus for 12 weeks. This way you do not get burnt out. Thats one thing I have done to myself over the last 2 years is mentally beat the shit out of myself. I spent a year thinking about Muskoka. Then I got sick and did shitty. So I spent another year grinding myself to make up for it. I did make it to Clearwater, but by the time I got there I was so mentally and physically burnt I wasn't really able to fully appreciate it. Looking back on it now I appreciate it more then when I was actually there.

Over the last little while my race season has started to come together a bit. I am registered in one half marathon and contemplating a second, and registered for Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island. There are plenty of oppurtunity for tune up races in between but I am happy with these choices for now physically, mentally, and financially.

The last 2 years my training has mainly been based on volume. The first year I had never done the distance and was purely focused on finishing. The second year I ramped up the volume and saw some gains but nothing extra ordinary. This year I am going to take a different approach and really focus on intensity. I am going to train faster. Before it was longer which allowed me to go faster at shorter distances keep a lower heart rate. But this year I am going to train faster and then race faster then that. This is going to be completed by shortening the time spend training but working at a higher intensity throughout the winter to develop a good base of speed. I will then slowly increase the volume to where it needs to be but instead of it being the main focus tempo will be the main focus. We will see how that translates on race day.

Cant Shake It

I dont know if its from starting school, the weather, or the past Christmas season but I can not shake off this feeling of tiredness. I am like a bear in hibernation all I want to do is sleep. Starting back at school isn't a great motivator either. This is hopefully the last semester that I will have to attend school. At this point I am so close I do not want to push it off for another year. I have never taken a full course load in my post secondary career. But knowing that if I can complete it, I will be done with school is a huge driving force. Right now all I am doing is trying to stay positive and hoping that my energy level will soon return to normal.

That being said I did have a solid run today. I shortened it up to 8 miles but I was really surprised at the pace I was able to sustain. It took exactly 1 hour which made the mile times 7:30/mile average. Taking into consideration I was slipping around most of the time, and I cant for the life of me lose one pound. I was very happy with the end result.

This weeks focus is to continue to get good sleeps, continue to follow my detox outlines and try and regain some energy.

Sport: Run

Duration: 1 hr

Distance: 8 miles

Avg. pace: 7:30 / mile

The 2 Week Detox

Even though I kept the Christmas season mostly under control I still packed on a little weight and family took priority over exercise. I figure it will be good to commence in a 2 week detox. From what I have read 2 weeks should be enough for me to really feel back on track. I am not following a perscribed plan, instead I am working the creative juices and creating my own.

Davis Sohor's unofficial unproven detox:

things eat home cooked natural foods

avoid sugars

no alcohol

and drink lots of water

use body as transport ( ride bike places)

get full sleeps

Lets be honest theres no way I going to do one of those lemon water detoxes.

So far my unofficial detox has gone well I have my winter bike totally set up ready for winter riding. I found a cereal where sugar is not even in the top 5 ingredients never mind top 3, and I have already turned down 3 opportunities to drink.

But there are still 2 weekends I need to make it through so I will keep updating on my progress.

Banff

Well I have survived another year in Banff. I was able to keep drinking to a minimum and sustain injury for another year. I also managed to squeeze in two amazing runs while I was there.

We will first review the bad, so we can then end up on a positive note. On the first day there were two fairly serious injuries. The first one one of the passengers broke their wrist in 2 places. As if that was not bad enough one of the people I was riding with compressed a vertebrae. Both of these injuries were enough to keep these people out for the rest of the trip.

On the third day there was one more injury. An exchange student managed to do some serious damage to the cartilage in her knee. She was also out for the rest of the week and may have to fly back to her home country.

It is too bad that these injuries occurred but snowboarding is a risky sport and sometimes you pay the price.

That being said there was also lots of positive on the trip. I have been thanked numerous times from many people saying how much fun they had and how they would have never been able to organize it them selves. New years was an absolute blast there is nothing better then being surrounded by mountains and celebrating new years with people form all over the world. I was also able to find Kelcie a nice piece of jewellery made from a rare fossil called Amorolite.

Overall I was able to keep drinking to a minimum, get a few runs in, and not get hurt. Now its time for a 2 week detox and really bare down this semester at school.