SAD

The weather in Winnnipeg sucks thats a given. In the past week it has gone from no snow and about -4 to about 25-35cms of snow and fucking cold. To go along with this I think I am getting effected by SAD seasonal affective disorder. I am really trying to stay positive but the weather is really just so shitty and sitting in the house drives me insane. But I was doing some reading and suppoitly a quick shot of carbs helps relieve the symptoms of SAD. So we will try that out and see how it goes.

As for training I have hopped back on track. I did a little swim yesterday and its amazing what a week will do to your body. My legs felt fresh first time in a long time. I only did 2000 with a couple of 100m repeats in the middle non over 1:35 and the first one was actually 1:25. I ran into another avid swimmer at the pool he was asking me about my training and racing. I told him about the season and how I was fortunate enough to make it to Clearwater. He was surprised I was back in the pool. He said"Aren't you going to take a month off?" I said"Haha no a week is enough and cutting back from 20+hrs a week to 5-10 that is time off." .

Its weird what endurance training has done to my mental process I break almost everything up into 10 min blocks because thats what happens while training if your not pushing for an HR or stride rate or cadence or destination. Sometimes when it just hurts you just say I can do 10 mins thats a coffee break its nothing. I find my self doing that a lot quantifiny things into 10 min blocks even a 4 hr shift doesn't seem that long after you have spent it riding a bike.

As for today I figured I would go for a little run not the best thing to do I guess but 20mins felt pretty good and I really enjoy winter running. I wore the gps and HR moniter but didnt check it once while I was running. 20 mins turned out to be really refreshing actually.

This season I dumped a lot of money into my bike. Last year I bought the basics a tri bike and wheels. Now that I have got pretty much my dream bike I am looking to upgrade my wheels. So on the block are my 2005 (undimpled) Zipp 404 tubular wheels. The wheels are in mint condition never crashed and come with tires and skewrs, I also have a campy freebody if you need it. They retail for around $2200USD. I am looking for $1000CDN I am open to all offers.

Off season

Once you get into triathlon if you really embrace the lifestyle is very hard to get out. Its like your in the mob. There is always something to keep you in it. When your training you have a purpose when you race you feel like you belong. When the season is over you think to yourself "what now?" last year with my poor performance at Muskoka there was only one option Train my fucking ass off and race hard next year. So I promptly signed up for Calgary, Syracuse, and MAO. Overall it was a good year this year. But you never learn anything from success. Although I accomplished most of my goals this season I now get to make new ones for next season. I am still working on them some of them are not directly triathlon related but they are related to my life so I can continue to live the endurance athlete lifestyle. After Clear water I was pleased with the finish under 5 hours. But it was only because of the cycle that it was possible. For the last few days I have been critically analyzing my run. I have come down to three ideas as to why it was sub par:

1. Genetics I am bigger Polish/Ukrainian, and I have never had my vo2 or lactic done.

Plan: So both of those are on the immediate to do list to find how to maximize my body type. And look into specific run coaching

2. The mental game. I always wondered can I push myself further into the hurt locker. When you think of it now its so much different then racing. While I was racing I was pushing so hard. To a point where it was the final time up that bridge my legs were like no we dont want to run anymore. I said to bad we are fuckin pickin it up all the way to the finish fuckers and I forced it. Either way I think I have some untouched mental capabilities.

Plan: Learn various focusing methods really harness my body as a whole.

3. Dont forget it was a long season. I forgot that I was on a performance program for 34 weeks. thats over a half year and makes for a very long season. I was pretty wiped by Clearwater. So for now I am really putting focus on rest and recovery something I didn't do last year. The more I read the more I realize that recovery is truly where you make all of the gains.

Plan: really listen to my body in the off season there will be plenty of time to hurt when its go time. Just stay fit eat healthy develop habits that will be helpful for next training season.

There is a little update as to whats been on my mind in a week with no training. haha Really its just mental training I cant wait for the next race I am thinking Boise in June and then WC's again in September should make for a better timed season.

Rest week

Clearwater Race Report

Well its done! and I broke 5 hours. 4:48:27.

I woke up early and totally relaxed. I was almost to relaxed for this race. I was not on a mission to kill I was enjoying every moment. I arrived early, watched the pros start. I was cool to see the tv chopper up there. Hard to believe I am actually here. I was there 2 hrs early but we know how that goes by and feels like 30 mins. Before I knew it I was suited up and in my gate waiting to start. There was a pretty goof vibe between the guys in my section, lots of people talking. Quick warm up in the water and BANG the gun went off.

The Swim:

The swim went well. It was my first time swimming a race in the ocean. I though it would be worse. The salt water and the current's didnt really bother me it was that I was always fighting someone. This made it really hard to lock down a rythem. I tried my best to stay on course and look for gaps. the end result was a 32:09. Decent.

The Bike:

As I was aware the bike course was going to be fast. And it was. It was not totally as fast as I though originally there was a decent amount of wind. True prarie conditions, I felt right at home. Thanks to Graeme Mather for borrowing me his 808's I fit in with the rest of the bikes there. Since the 18-29 year olds started last I spent my whole bike ride passing people I was only passed by 2 major 15-20 person packs. This didn't bother me I really wanted to race clean and I was happy I did. In T1 I managed to forget my watch I realized it while still in transition but there was no turning back. So the whole cycle was based on percieved effort and nutrition was taken according to mile markers. Having the watch may have helped but it could have also been desctuctive. Without it I was more present in the moment and really enjoyed the experiance of riding with some of the best athletes in the world.

The Run:

When I transitioned to the run I was able to grab my watch because I knew I was going to need it to keep my HR under control. By the time I got on the run course it was HOT. I took sponges from evey aid station for 13 miles. Which in the end I think paid off I never reached a point of totally over heating. My first lap was strong, but after the turn around it was like being hit with a sack of bricks. The second lap was a total grind and I really needed all the electrolytes I could get. I just really focused on keeping the core temp down because I know for me once that goes up its game over. Coming in on the last mile usually I start to really hammer down. But on this time I hammered for about 1500m and the last 100m I looked back there was no one there. I am going to enjoy this I slapped high fives all the way down the line with the biggest genuine smile I have had on my face for a long time.

Once I crossed the line Phil K promptely handed me a beer and I was able to get my finishing picture beer in hand.

Overall I would have like to put up a better run performance so that will be my focus next year. That being said this was one of the most enjoyable races I have ever done. I was smiling and totally happy the entire race. I felt really alive something I havent felt in a long time, and it felt really good.

Swim: 32:09
Bike: 2:26:37
Run: 1:43:23

Total: 4:48:27