Its coming

Hirbirnation is coming. I am actually slighly looking forward to it.

That is one of the things about Winnipeg, there may not be 4 seasons but there are definitly 2. Summer and Winter.

In summer you spend time out side, go to the cabin, you spend money (quite a bit of it actually), visit with friends, its great. By labour day long weekend I find I am usually ready for a change of pace. Since the winters in Winnipeg are absolutly horrendis. It makes it easy to stay in sleep a lot and save money, to spend on the next summer of course. Its a nice little cycle. You cant really get any quality riding done outside, but a good indoor trainer will do the trick if your tough enough. In fact last winter was the worst winter in 126 years, and I set new bike split PR's all summer.

This winter I have lots to keep me busy in my new pad, and could use the hibernation to save some cash. This summer has been jam packed with activity and tons of fun. But its time to step back and reflect moving into the winter hibernation that is coming, to be sure I get the most out of it.

D 

The Biggest Challange Yet

Despite what I might think it has been an incredibaly productive summer. I started a new full time job, bought a house and began renovations, took two professional development courses, maintained a training regimined and was still able to perfrom in triathlon. On paper it was intimidateing, but do able. I was fuelled up I had the energy.

My days looked something like this

4:30AM wake up

5am coffee, fueling, breif streching

5:30  AM out the door to first training session

6-7 (7:30) Training

7:30- 8: Commute to work, Shower, change

8:30-4:30: Work

2 walks
1 streching session or stride work

5-9: Dinner, renos/school work, sleep

Rinse wash repeat for 6 months.

Sure enough I made it through. But my never quit attitude is now finally catching up. I am exhasusted to say the least. I started to feel it in July and began to rest. But did not fully commit. I also did not account for the other life stressors coming from school work etc. To summerize it is now the end of August, I sleep 9-10 hours a night dont train and I can barely get out of bed.

There is work to do.

Its time to rest and recover HARD. I have never been this fatiged before EVER. Now there are two choices. Continue in denial and again half recover and good deeper into the hole. Or commit fully this means no working out, clean eating and sleep. Lots of sleep. coming from a schedule where I didnt have a spare second this is going to be difficult but nessecary. I have a plan and now it is time to stick to it until I am well. Not for one month or two months, but until I am healthy and well. I will post more specifics about the plan as I progress. But for now it the problem has been identified and I a have made a commitment to recovery.

Until next time

30 Day Writing Challenge

Well here it is the last post was on Jan 20,2014. So much has happened, I honestly do not know where the time has gone. I was able to get most of it out on some paper but its time to actually put some effort into writing. So as always you need to set a BHAG aka a big hairy ass goal. So the goal is to write everyday. No word limit no topic no structure. Just write everyday. On anything, and it doesnt matter if it sucks. In fact I expect the first couple to suck, and I expect you to comment on them.

Change ultimeatly comes from taking action. Consistantly. One of the biggest mental battles going on in my mind right now is " I am not where I want to be but I am happy and enjoy the actions I currently consistantly take. I am not where I want with these action so they must be changed. How much are you willing to commit to get where you want? Do you really have to commit that much? Maybe theres another way that you cant see? Maybe not?" I have been on and off testing different patterns to try and achieve different results. Maybe I am just not sticking to them long enough? But at what point to you have to look hard and say this is just not working? 

All of this thought has come down to the belief that there is a disconnect between my body and my mind. My mind wants one thing my body signals another. So it would seem the focus would need to be on matching the signals of the body with the goals of the mind. Too deep? Well to bad for you :).

I have spent a lot of the past year accumulating knowledge, and gaining motivation. This needs to be a year of action, and BELIEF. I know what I need to do, so stop making it more complicated. Take action and BELIEVE IN IT. Why is it humans feel there is awalys a better way or you need more or things need to be more complex. Maybe the answers are extremely simple and you just need the discipline to take consistant action, and the results will come. Or maybe not. Lets see if we notice a change though the writing over the next 30 days. What change do you want to see? What are you willing to do to get it? How consistantly are you willing to do it? Are you willing to let go of who you are to become who you want to be? 

Time To Test

Well, its time. Time for another blog post. Time for some testing. Sorry the posts are so few and far between but I only get inspired to write when I feel I have something that is going to help you out. Writing about my own training is pretty monotonous, the work gets done everyday, some days are good some are bad, that's the way it is. But if I can help you, now we are on to something!

So it January now, you have probably set some goals race season is coming and you want to nail it. Well to start off you need to know where your at. By finding out where your at you can set up strategic plans to get where you want to be. Here are some of the tests I find useful.

Swim:
500 warm up
1000 TT
Cool down

Get you your base line pace for 100m interevals

Bike:
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	Duration	% of FTP	% of Heart Rate
Warm up:	20 minutes – endurance pace 3 x 1 minute (1min R) – fast pedaling 100 rpm 5 minutes easy Riding	65       65	AET           AET

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Main Set:	5 minutes All out effort 10 minutes easy riding 20 minutes Time Trial	MAX       65       100	MAX           AET           AET+max
Cool down	15 minutes easy spinning	Sub 65	Sub AET

Run:

20 minwarm up
5k TT
Cool down

Get average HR and thats your aerobic max.

Go out hit these tests up. Smash yourself, have fun and see where your at.

Keep on keeping on,

D

DROP THE HAMMER!!

Get Your Christmas Ducks In a Row

Well your coming out of your off-season, your getting back in the groove of training. You have also probably put on a little weight. Well at least I hope you have. There is just no need to stay at race weight all year long. Hopefully your recovered. But that little weight you put on has the possibility to turn into a bunch if you don't have your ducks in a row before the festivus season.

I have been involved with focused endurance training for 6 years now. I have tried to deal with Christmas in many different ways.

• Dont care and pack on a ton of weight
• Try and do huge workouts the day of family gatherings
• Starve myself through the whole season

None of these work, so don't waste your time. But through my ketotic dieting adventure this last year I have come up with a few decent strategies that allowed me to enjoy events and not go totally off the rails. So here they are.

Write out a plan:

Yes physically write out a plan of how you are going to approach the event. Be descriptive put yourself in the feelings of how you will feel visualize it, and remind yourself how you will feel if you over eat or drink.

Practice:

Great you have a plan now practice it. You have a month before the week of Christmas/ New years. Practice it. Life will give you many opportunities.

Limit Choices not Portions:

This one works well. Since Christmas dinners usually consist of potlucks there is a massive variety of food, and the mind being the way it is wants a little piece of all of them. Use this opportunity to breath slow down and limit your choices, and say you can have as much as you like. What you hopefully will find is that by limiting the choices you will get tired of the same taste in turn will generally eat less. If you know portion control is an issue then set up a limit for this as well such as I can have as much as I want as long as it fits on a coffee saucer! This will inevitable make the portions smaller and force you to think every time you go back up to stuff your cake hole

Set a weight limit:

Set a weight gain limit safe bet is 8% above your in-season weight. ex race weight: 180 max gain limit: 14lbs 194lbs.  Hopefully you haven't put this all on already. I like to use 10lb as a nice round number.

Set a time limit:

No more eating after 7:30 PM. Period. There is really just no need.

Socialize:

Once you have your coffee saucer plate put it down, chug a huge glass of water and then find out how your parents are doing. Maybe you can help clean up? Engage yourself in the event, its not only about food, despite what it has been worked up to be.

Dont tell anyone what your doing:

Your a triathlete, you have a ton of discipline, but maybe you also like to brag....... DON'T. Dont tell anyone what your doing. People are funny, even if there not training for endurance  sport and they are totally happy, they might get offend by the choices your making for you. Read that again. The choices your making for YOU.  Just because someone else is letting it rip doesn't mean you have to join, as bad as THEY may want you to. So use some of that discipline keep the goals to yourself, use the happiness that's brewing up inside and share it with others.

So there you have it a couple simple tips to help conquer one of the toughest mental parts of the season, and not become Fatty McButter Pants. As an added bonus leave a comment with your plan, I will hold you to it! I want to see you succeed and I am sure others do as well. So until next time, Keep on keeping on, Wishing you health and happiness this Holiday season.


Davis




All that temptation is temporary. On the other side of pain is success.

My Ketosis Adventure So Far

Well with tri season winding down and off season starting its time to start looking at what changes you can make for next year. Weather that's a fancy new aero bike or a diet change. Now is the time to start planning.

Last October during my off season I was looking for ways to take me to the next level. Training has become habit, which allowed me to explore a bit. While studying for my CSCS, I developed a heightened interest in nutrition. Where I saw the need for improvement at this time last year was dealing with the weight I had gained after my tractor rollover accident. 

So I began to poke around and I wanted to take a different approach. While reading Chris Mccormack's book he talks about turning to body builders for solving his hydration needs. He looked outside the box. I wanted to get lean. Whos the leanest??? Body Builders.



October 2012: 185 maybe approx 10%BF



So I began to dig deeper and I came across intermittent fasting. That's its own story and you can follow the link and read for your self. Tons of information there. But eventually I found out about nutritional Ketosis.  Again there is a link to the definition as it has its own lengthy definition which if you would like to talk about it further we can grab a coffee. I now drink mine with coconut oil.

Anyways I have noticed over the past few months a lot of big names in triathlon are beginning to recognize that this type of diet my be useful. Since you may not believe me check out all the work being done by Tim Nokes the author of the Lore of Running which he is now re vamping. Joe Feril world famous triathlon coach and author of the Training Bible, Dr. Aitia. and Ben Greenfield. (this is a great post about him actually just finishing Ironman Canada 2013!!)

And I thought I was being original. Remeber when you think your the only one someone else has beat you there.

Anyways to keep this a blog post and not a book, It took me over a year to develop the habits required to sustain this diet for a longer period of time. Christmas was a fail, Snowboard trip was a fail, and then when I started to really bring in intensity I was not prepared and another FAIL. One of the hardest things is dealing with the backlash of the general public. It should be called KeNOsis. because you have to say NO to a ton of foods and habits you are used to eating and that are still good for you but not for ketosis.  But I have now reached a state where I can comfortably manage day to day and I have decided this style of eating is perfect for base building.

I just wanted to add to the pool of subjects of people who have tried this. To be honest I was a little self conscious to make this post last year, as people tend to think you have problems when you are eating butter and drinking coconut oil. But this stuff really does work especially in the base phase.

Briefly what it allows your body to do is become more metabolically efficient, by effectively using fat as an energy source, at lower intensity. Perfect for long distance triathlon (HIM, IM, Ultra)

If you have further interest in the subject stay tuned as I am going to get some metabloic testing done to get some solid numbers to go along with this. But if you have any questions please post in the comments or contact me as I would love to help you give it a shot.


Stay Healthy, Stay Happy

August 2013 179 6%ish BF

Eating for Recovery

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Eating for Recovery:

When I think of recovery I think of the 3 R’s. Repair damaged tissue, Reduce inflammation, and Restock glycogen stores. Nutrition is a curial part of any sport and in daily life. With more research available it is becoming easier for the general public to adopt complex strategies and eat like a pro.

Food is comprised of three macronutrients Protein, Fat and Carbohydrate. Conveniently each of these nutrients covers one of the 3 R’s. The main function of Protein is to repair tissue. The main function of fat is energy storage and it is also an anti-inflammatory.  The main function of carbohydrate is energy and it is the best macronutrient to restock glycogen. For my training in order to hit my target 3 R’s and manage macronutrients I follow Joe Feril’s 5 phase eating system.

Phase 1: Eating before exercise:

The goal of this phase is to provide adequate fuel for activity. Top up all muscle energy stores. So you are not starting on an empty tank, which can decrease performance and increase recovery time.

This phase begins up to 2 hours prior to exercise. Here is where you want to take in some moderate and higher glycemic index carbohydrates. Depending on your experience with digestion this can be a “meal” but also just a snack. 400 calories is sufficient. A GORP bar makes a perfect pre workout snack!!

Phase 2: Eating during exercise:

During exercise water is the only substance which needs to be consumed for any activity lasting less then 60-90 minutes. Beyond 60-90 minutes is when you can start to add in very high glycemic foods, such as fruits, and sports gels to keep that fast fuel coming to the body to allow it to perform at a higher intensity.  It should be noted that liquids will always be absorbed quicker then solids. 

Phase 3: Immediately following exercise:

Immediately following activity your body’s muscles are more then 10x more absorbent to glycogen then any other time in the day. This is not a free pass to chow down an entire birthday cake but it is a great time for another GORP bar because it has a solid amount of carbohydrates along with much needed protein for tissue repair.

Phase4:  As long as the workout lasted:

Continue to eat portions of moderate to higher glycemic index foods after activity.  If it was a 3 hr workout you may have difficulty getting in all that food in one sitting. So in this example you would continue to restock glycogen for up to 3hrs post exercise.  You should aim for 4 cal/lb body mass.

Phase 5: The rest of your day:

The rest of the day is most likely made up of low intensity activity such work, cutting the grass, vacuuming etc. The goal of this stage is to eat lower glycimc foods to prevent your body from storing excess energy as fat. Focus on getting adequate protein and the remainder of healthy fats.

And there you have it a 5 phase eating system to help you recover better, so that you can get the best workout today and be ready to go for tomorrow.

The Beauty of Commuting

I have to say it is a bit of a piss that my car is still not fully functioning. But everything happens for a reason. Not having a car has forced me to man up and put my aerobic motor to work. Commuting on my single speed for the last 2 months.

In the beginning it was a bit of a hassle, but eventually like anything else it becomes a habit and you work out all the kinks. You almost become attached to it. I began to really pride myself on riding to and from work everyday rain or shine. It also becomes a bonus hour of aerobic work everyday. Now hitting 3hrs a day of training was no problem. I was already down one hour by the time I got home. Not to mention I haven't spend a penny on fuel in 2 months.

There was also a much needed mental shift. I was getting on a bike for transportation, not speed. I turned my brain off and just enjoyed it. Sprinting from light to light or get around a car, just having fun with it.

I feel that after 2 months I developed a good system that was working for me. Here are a few tips I came up with that helped to reduce any stress or excuses that come with bicycle commuting.

• The first couple rides are difficult because your not set up yet........... get over it
• If your tired after work or its windy or raining....... enjoy it, eat some extra dinner.
• Set up a commuter basics bag (back pack)
• Flat kit(separate bag)
• tube
• lever
• pump
• Sealant for speedy repair if in a hurry
• Lock and key
• Throw over slush pants
• Thermals
• Light Rain shell 
• Some change in case you need to hope on a bus
• Leave lots of time enjoy the ride at least the first time you ride. Arrive early so you can change
•  If you can leave work cloths at work do it. In fact leave a couple sets. So you dont have to worry about packing work clothes.
•  Wear the same stuff everyday reduce your un needed stress      

That is pretty much it. After a week you should be pretty set up and your only concern is the actual ride itself. If your in the city you might even notice its the same time if not faster to ride a bike!!

Feel free to leave your comments and experiences.

Hope you are all fighting fit!

Davis

The Power of Maca

I have tried a variety of supplements in the past, but nothing has come close to the effectiveness of Maca powder by Navitas. Maca is a potent, superfood which claims to increase stamina, boost libido, and combat fatigue. It contains a wealth of nutrients including amino acids, essential minerals, fiber, plant sterols, phytonutrients, vitamins and fatty acids.

After making just one morning shake and adding Maca I immediately noticed a boost in my energy levels and mood.  As someone who suffers from depression, I will have to say as of right now it has been more effective then any anti depressant I have taken. I also noticed increased endurance performance.

The powder has a fantastic yet mild taste and adds a nice texture to my smoothies. The 90 serving package of powder by Navitas was reasonably priced at $29. I would recommend this product to anyone even if you are not an athlete. It boosts your mood and will give you enough energy to kick that caffeine habit in the morning.

Lean Green Mean Morning Smootie Mix
1 Banana
1 cup blueberries
1 Scoop  Protein powder
1 tbsp Navitas Cacao
2 cups Spiniach
5g Navitas Maca Powder
1 cup unsweetend almond milk


Enjoy!

Crowdfunding

Well I have successfully gone through my first bout of crowd funding thanks to swaggercap.com.  I made a video, ran a campaign, and now its time to fill the rewards. One of my sponsors was a site called www.starstreet.com.

Starstreet.com is a site which takes fantasy sports teams to a new level. It allows you to make some cash with your prized picks. . You can bet on all major sports leagues including NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL. They have three systems of betting Pick 5, the Stock Market, and The Daily.

First of all I will say it was extremely easy to sign up and depositing money is done securely through pay pal.

Pick 5:

Pick five is simple and you can get a free trail when you sign up. All you need to do is make 5 correct picks as to who will score more fantasy points between 2 stars on the opposing teams playing in the game.

The Sports Stock Market:

This is a truly revolutionary idea that allows you to buy and sell sports teams in real time, and watch as there value changes depending on there performance. Just like trading actual stocks.

The Daily:

The daily contest works like this:

1. Draft your team.
2. Enter contests for tomorrow.
3. Score more fantasy points than your opponent(s) and win. 
   
   There are different tournaments you can enter at different wager levels, which allow you to manage your risk.
   
   This is a new fresh idea to the hold patterns of sports betting. Starstreet also makes it easy to play from the comfort of your own home. 
   
   For more information please visit starstreet.com   also see this clip presented by CBC News.
   
     
    CBC News review
   http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/business/2010/06/02/kosik.sports.stock.cnn#/video/business
    /2010/06/02/kosik.sports.stock.cnn

On, Off, and Grey

Endurance athletes are a breed of there own as we all know, and beyond that they develop  individuals quarks, and mental games to continue to get the work done.  At this time of year I find I struggle with validation. I am getting the work done there are some tests which allow me to see improvement, but there is not a race in sight. I am dieing for some validation that my work is paying off. Why am I so attached to results? Why can I not just be happy with getting the training done?

For me it becomes a flip flop argument in my head. If I relax I don't get the best effort from myself, if I come in with intense focus I will eventually burn myself out and yell and scream at everyone around me because I begin to think they are "in my way". I become a light switch I am on or off.

I am not sure where this mentality came from. But I have come realize that it is only my opinion and not an absolute truth. Yes it is important to get the most of yourself when you are in the middle of a set of intervals, but it is also OK to enjoy the warm up/cool down and you need to BELIEVE that. Even though you are going slower then the old guy 3 treadmills down. Are you trying to impress him?

Moving forward and shifting focus off of base training, and into higher intensity, will require yet another level of focus. This can spin off a couple of different thought trains. One you look back and think " I should have been preparing for this". Two good old self doubt comes in "Am I going to be able to deal with this pain? Have I lost my ability". No you haven't, how just haven't been there since last season. And this year is different anyways. As long as you are aware of that, when the time comes hit it....... hit it, my guess is you will surprise yourself.

That said there is no On or Off Black or White. Last year is not THIS year your a different person. Throw your old light switch out and get a dimmer switch, and toggle the crap out of it. Keep your goals set and use the focus you need to get where you need to be. But there is no need to kill yourself on a recovery run.

Have fun stay focused ( however much you need) and keep moving forward.

D

What are you doing?

Over the last few years health & fitness has blown up on all levels. Concepts about strength training, endurance training, nutrition have all gone through total overhauls. With the help of the internet there is more available information then ever, compound that with social media and it spreads faster then warm organic butter on spelt toast. You can see this in the gym if you pay attention, there are people training specifically and they are consistent in how they approach workouts, then there are those who have dressed the part and are following what ever came up that month in Men's Health.  With all this information out there it brings the question, are you doing to much? Too little? What exactly are you doing?

As a recently graduated Kinesiology major, and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. I find I look at my workouts differently.  I analyze movement on a different level, as any good trainer should. There are a lot of movements, (despite what we may think) that are not natural. 

We have seen this with the blow up of barefoot running. Pretty much telling everyone they are running wrong because of there shoes. I guess this may be true to some point but on the other side we don't all have the flat feet required for efficient bare foot running.


Then there is crossfit. Getting anyone and everyone to do power lifting. Which in turn has brought on an obsession with the squat. And these gym produce some nice squats and dead lifts. You can go to any gym take a seat and watch a variety of horrible squat techniques. Just another example of a functional movement that we take for granted and are probability doing wrong.

This is where an educated trainer can be helpful, even if you don't need or want someone in the gym with you. I am not talking about the guy that took the weekend course or was a model or competes in fitness competitions. I am talking about some one educated. Someone that knows how to do research and can filter through what is valid for you. Having someone with an in depth understanding of physiology can help you to decipher the myriad of information and help you to set proper realistic goals, and make sure your doing the appropriate work to get there. The same way you go see a physiotherapist or masseuse during rehab why wouldn't you see a professional when getting bigger stronger faster?

This is where I hope we will see some regulation in the personal training field. Not because I don't think some of those "other" trainers are not good, some of them have more experience then me, and you could argue that this is more valuable. But I do believe that there should be one step in the certification process that teaches trainers how to do research. As I am beginning to work in the field I really see the value in being able to back up the programs your prescribing with some reason why. Sure you can get people moving and get them to loose some weight, but why not teach them how the body is loosing the weight while its happening? I think being able to do research and educate clients will only help the whole industry, and moving forward to make the profession of training people more professional. Because it should be. As a trainer your working with peoples most valuable asset there health. So next time you have a workout with your trainer or if your just hitting the gym on your own I challenge you to ask why? Why am I lifting in this rep range? What are my goals? Is what I am doing now moving me closer to my goals? If you cant answer your own questions with some confidence, go out and find the answer. Skip the mess that is on the internet, skip the local macho man at the gym and speak with an educated professional they would be more then happy to help you out, and who knows maybe you will pick up a new training partner to push you farther then you thought possible.

Go out there and get after it!


D


Free press article:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/health/brains--or---brawn-188634221.html

How I Beat Christmas, Newyears, and Mexico, The Power of A List

Christmas, New Years, and Mexico, nice life whats there to beat right? Well when you want to race at a higher level you need to ask yourself how bad do you want it? Are you willing to sacrifice to get what you want? I knew I wanted it bad so I need to come up with a way to get through these events without wrecking some of the fitness I had gained. Not to mention I was still battling with my increased weight from the accident which seemed to settle around 185lbs, 15lbs up form race weight. much higher then I would like it do be. So here are the strategies I used to stay on track.

Take some time before the event when you are calm and undistributed and make the conscious choice about how YOU want to fell about the event or situation. Write this down. Then go though situations that may cause you to sway from what you want. Others that are treating it as all you can eat and drink buffet, traditional pastries after dinner. Yes it is the holidays but why does that mean YOU have to be glutinous to the point of sickness? Is that inline with YOUR goals? Probably not. But the choice is up to you! That's the beauty, and now you have made the choice that your not going to let that happen.

Now make a list of these situations or triggers, and write out exactly how your going to combat them. Yes COMBAT your going to war with your own mind. Remember it is lazy and will always take the easy way out.

Once you have this list set up some kind of a check in system. I just used the reminder app on my iphone that came on at times when I knew I would need it. But this could be a writing on your wrist, or a blue dot on the wall. What ever is going to remind you of end goal.

Then at the end of the night come back to your list and check to see how many of the battles you were able to win. Be accountable but make a game out of it. This is fun now, everyone likes games. Your only bettering yourself.

I will admit Christmas was hard I got beat on one of the occasions and had a turkey hang over. But then New Years got easier, and when my dad sprung a spontaneous trip to Mexico on me with one week notice after Banff. I looked at it and said lets F@&king go! In the end I was able to come out of the three weeks down to my goal weight of 179.  This was all because I decided I had enough, and it was time to take control. Not only do I fell great but it is a big mental boost moving forward into more focused triathlon training.

So the next time you have an event or situation coming up that may be challenging mentally ie: race, social event, whatever your vice is. Make a list and show that sucker whos boss. Dream it List It DO IT!!


D

The Rest Of The Trip

Dec 10,

After my visit with Bryan I was back home with the boys, doing two back to back long rides I needed the day off. I did what you do on holidays kicked back watched breaking bad and made sure the boys were taken care of so they could focus on studying. It took me a while to develop some flow but of course by the time I was leaving I had a routine started. Figures.

I was going to leave to Montreal today but it was the teams wine mixer and I got an invite! I know hockey teams can be a tight knit bunch but Paul pulled some strings and they let me squeak in. I made one of Kelcies delicious sangrias, and it was a hit. It was nice, party I fit right in a lot of the team related to me. I like to think that I keep well red and I can have a decent discussion on a variety of topics.  Its university level hockey so the egos are faded and they are focused on school. They are grown ass men. I had to go downstairs with the girls when they did there secret santa gift exchange as some kind of penalty. Here take your drink and go hang out in the basement with all these girls..........Ok.  Actually there was one other guy down there. His name was Evan, we got talking, asked him if he played hockey and he said ya but for a couple years he was on the U23 cycling team!!! What are the odds. We really hit it off great dude, I don't think he expected to meet another endurance athlete at a hockey party haha. It was cool to hear what its like on the inside of elite level cycling. He said he rode on team Team Garneau, but didn't want to commit for another year he had, had enough. Although he said some of his friends were riding pro, in Europe this year. The night ended well, didn't drink too much wine, but I did have a few too many cookies.

Dec 11.

Woke up groggy with a red wine hangover, toughed a run which was good got most of the booze out of the system before the train ride. Before I knew it I was packed up and headed down town to catch the VIA rail to Montreal.

Trains are awesome! Enough said right there. Easily the best form of travel, round trip was $88, and I couldn't believe the amount of space I had in there. On board free wifi, and 4 hours went by like nothing. Got tons of work done, booked my hotel, and some reading done as well.

I turned to the guy beside me and what are the odds,  but he's going for his PHd in nutritional sciences at McGill.  I thought perfect I can figure out why I keep gaining weight. It turned out I knew almost more then he did. He was really just getting started in nutrition, his main background was chemistry. Long distance triathlon should be a prerequisite for nutrition. He was still a nice guy we exchanged numbers.

I was in the hotel by 9 and I finished up some work in the room and then headed out for a walk. It was a nice night so much nicer then Winnipeg. I thought wow you don't need to go to Florida to get away from winter WTF am I doing in Winnipeg. Walked through old Montreal very cool, but it was Tuesday night and everything was pretty much dead.

I walked back up St. Laurent and walked into a Hookah bar. Thought why not. Had a read and a lemon hookah what was absolutely delicious. Read my book for a bit and just hung out.

I was out of there by 1 and sleeping by 1:30 or so. It was a laid back evening.

Dec12.
 My day in Montreal I needed to seize it. But I was having some lower leg pain. So running was out I needed to find a pool. The first order of business was a nice french breakfast. There was no way I was going to eat at anything remotely franchise like so I walked around until I found a nice little cafe and grabbed some bacon eggs fruit and a crepe. It was fantastic.

From there I took the subway to the old velodrome which in now the Biodome. Yes the biodome like the movie with Paully Shore.  Great experience and a good bang for your buck at $25. I cant say anything really stuck out I just took a lot of pictures and took it all in. I did learn however that there are no penguins on the north pole. So the Coke commercials with polar bears and penguins are 100% false.

Included in my entry was also a ride up the elevator in the Sportex. As I walked in I could smell the pool, and sure enough it was open to the public, so I knew I needed to get back here for a swim. After getting a sky high view of Montreal I ripped back to the hotel did a 180 and got back into the pool for a swim. It was a really nice pool, duh. But everything about it, nice big lanes, perfect temp, and everyone had great pool etiquette.

After the swim I needed to refuel. What better way to refuel in Montreal the with a poutine. The bartender at the Hookah bar had recommended La Banquise a 24h place so I made it a mission to get down there. During the walk I started to think what I was going to do for the evening. I also managed to find a little pastry shop and blew $25 on a small box of french pastries. Which was well worth it. I figured get a bottle of wine eat some chocolate head downtown and see where the night takes me. I got to La Banquise  and ended up getting a chicken and pea poutine. Phenomenal. Great service I was in and out of there quick.

On the way back I grabbed my wine and chocolate along with a pile of vegetables to wash down my poutine. Got back to the hotel and had a quick chat with a friend form Winnipeg that ended up suggesting a few places to check out. So that was a start.

I ended up heading out but it was still only Wednesday, and still not much going on. I went from bar to bar having beers and just talking. Saw a cool art display downtown with some musical lights that you controlled by walking in front of them. At 1 AM I decided it was time to get to bed.

Dec13
This was a pretty uneventful day and can be summarized fairly quickly. I woke up grabbed breakfast walked around McGill campus, tried to get some shopping in and then was on a train for the next 7 hours until I was back in the apartment at around 8. And I think I got to bed around 10.

Dec14
Back in Toronto and back in the routine. Hit the pool nice and early, because the guys team was playing the girls team as a fun christmas event. So I got back in time for that.  At the game I talked to the team AT and she agreed to come check out my leg to see if I had any injuries to be worried about. So she swung by later on told be I needed to start stretching more because my lower leg muscles felt like guitar strings. I will attribute some of that to sleeping on a couch for 2 weeks. But nothing serious and she said it probably wouldn't hurt to try running.

Dec15
This was another filler day. Just focused on getting my sessions done and reading. Paul had his final exam tomorrow.

Dec 16
This was it Paul was finished today. It was an exciting day for him. I went for a run early and felt good I had been taking an Iron supplement and I was able to get my heart rate up and my legs felt good.

Paul finished his exam around 8 and we made the trek into downtown Toronto and hit a bar called Tattoo. For Sunday night it wasn't bad. We had fun, Paul was just relieved to be finished exams. I know the feeling. It was nothing special we spent too much money and drank too much. Grabbed late night falafel to soak up the booze and crashed.


Dec 17

Well they say you save the best for and that couldn't be more true for this trip. After a good Sunday night out in Toronto I kicked Paully out of bed and we were rollin by 9:30. We were just going to go to Yorkdale mall but once we were on the subway we were in one, and decided to go all the way downtown.

We got down to union and did a coffee comparison Paul got Tims I got Starbucks. I still find Starbucks has better quality and service compared to Tims. Not to mention they also keep you hooked with the Starbucks card, which if you only drink black coffee like me it ended up making Starbucks the same Price.

Once we had coffees we walked over to the Eaton Centre, and just soaked up downtown. During the walk we came across a Bixie station. All I have to say about Bixie is WOW.  What an awesome concept. It was a super smooth super fun experience and definitely deserves its own post with an in depth look at the experience.

We got a solid shop in at the mall and found a place that serves all day breakfast. Just what the doctor ordered. By that time we had done some good walking and had a half our of riding downtown. Absolutely perfect way to spend an afternoon. Besides the mandatory Christmas shopping it was also a fairly cheap afternoon. From there we snapped a few pics at Dundas Square and hit the subway home for a quick nap before the late night flight.

Pauls captain Jesse Messier drove us to the airport. The guy is a absolute gem. He was also studying Kinesiology, and we started shooting the shit. Asked him what he was going to do when he was finished. He was in the same spot as me, a little unsure. He mentioned he had some friends that were working with high level coaches, which I thought was  pretty cool.  We also started talking about fitness testing he was telling me he did a VO2 test and scored 86!!!! Thats insane. I don't know if they messed up the numbers, but if thats legit the guy needs to start doing some endurance stuff.

The airport was pretty standard we saw some family friends Paul went and had a drink. I just couldn't take it any more, and wanted to be home. Flight was standard and we were sleeping by 2.



Next up Christmas...... Brace yourself


D

Swagger Cap.

Swaggercap.com what is it? Swagger cap is a new website that allows any athlete to raise funds for anything by offering any unique skill they possess. I think it is an absolutely brilliant idea. There are limitless possibilities for how much you can raise and what you can offer. The only catch is you have to be able to deliver.

Being a relatively shy person I was hesitant of the idea of self promotion. But I knew at someday if I want to have more time to train I need to start selling myself, and put value in what I am doing. When I first heard of swaggercap.com I was immediately intrigued by the idea, because I am someone with a wide interesting range of skills. I just needed a confidence boost to get me started and start telling people about what I am doing.

 I was more then eager to get a fund up on swagger cap. So I pushed myself way beyond my comfort zone and made a video wrote some lines and sent it in.  I had no idea what to expect there were no examples to even base my fund off of it was totally new and totally exciting. To my surprise I received a personal email with personalized recommendations on how to make my fund better. I was totally inspired and went further out of my comfort zone to make the fund even better.

As a result I now have swaggercap.com's first fund! It is a product I am proud of and happy to call mine and promote to the public. I want to take this time to thank the starters of swaggercap.com for creating a platform that made this possible, for getting me inspired to be proud of what I am doing and put some "swag" in my step, and for helping me learn how to more effectively promote myself a field in which I had no experience. Truely grateful for the opportunity, and already thinking of bigger and better things for the next fund! So what are you waiting for! Get over to swaggercap.com support the athletes, support a great site, and start funding you purpose today!

D

My Visit With "The Captain"

The week of Dec 3-7 was uneventful, I laid pretty low at the apartment and just smashed episodes of breaking bad. A secret thing I have been wanting to do for awhile. The weather was the shits and I wasn't really intrigued by the idea of venturing into downtown, which like any other big city is an insane money pit. I still have my hopes and my money saved up for Montreal. To top things off on my high intensity run on Monday my heart rate did not want to come close to AET. Since I am working on knowing when to rest this year I took 2 days off and RESTED, didn't fill it with other crap just rested. The only thing I did do was go for some osteo on Wednesday, which was very relaxing. It was nice to see that the diagnosis and procedures were consistent with Winnipeg.  Come Thursday I felt pretty good and got back into it. My HR was a little resistive but one I got it up there it stayed up there.

 On Saturday I had planned to make my way over to my Uncle Bryan "The Captain" Payne's and do a bit of riding. For those of you who don't know the Captain, hes a 10x Ironman finisher and a beer Cono Suer. Unfortunately he has had some recent health problems which can be read about at trainingpayne.blogspot.com. I do not feel obligated to talk about other people health. Due to his current health hes on doctors orders to abstain from drinking, and high intensity training for 6 months. Talk about a lifestyle shift.

I was going to use Toronto transit to make my way over there as an adventure but being the full time beauty that Bryan is he came and picked me up. The ride back gave us time to catch up on a lot. I cant say everything, but it was a good start. It was +4, -3 with the wind in TO. Don't forget it was raining too. Well it might as well be a hot August night for a Winnipeger. So I kitted up pretty good and went and earned some kilometers.

After the ride Bryan insisted I take a pull from his fresh keg of Amstel light that he cant drink. He says it gives him great pleasure to give it away. The beer was followed by a nap. When the evening rolled around Bryan was kind enough to invite me to his neighbors Christmas party. It was really nice, mid 30`s couple, good food and of course some beverages. Once I was out of there I pretty much fell asleep on the walk home, it was straight to bed.

Sunday

Sunday`s weather was suppose to be shit, but I dodged a bullet and it turned out better then Saturday. What can I say the universe is working for me on this trip. Little colder, but it wasn`t raining. Huge difference. Bryan came with me on this ride it was good to spin together for a bit. He lead me to a climb I wanted to do. Its called rattlesnake. I am not sure all the details on it but I did it four years ago, and I owed it an ass kicking. It still hurt but it was good hurt, so I didn`t mind.

That hill definitely snuck up for some late ride punishment. For the first time in a while I got Da Bonk. Its been a long time since I last bonked. Its not even painful you just know your in the bonk. I loaded up on chocolate bars to get me home and just smiled at the fact I was riding my bike in December. Bonk or no Bonk.

After the ride I had a recovery beer and Bryan drove me back to the GO train to get back to York. I deeply thank Bryan and his family for having me it was an absolute pleasure to catch up, and it made for a really great weekend logging miles.

Toronto

November 29,

My birthday!! Flew out to Toronto at 5 am was here by 9 in time to log a 13 mile run. Legs felt like they had been on a plane for a couple hours but the work got done non the less. It was a decent run here got to hop back into shorts which was nice. The route wasn't great but it doesnt have to be you just need to get the work done, and when your traveling that's half the battle.

After the run my bro picked me up to head to York University to see watch his game and find out where the exam was. Him and his roommates left early, which gave me a couple hours to hit the books and take a nap.

Despite the 10-5 loss my brother had a good game he was +1. It was  good to see him play, after the game we just hung out and shot the shit, and Paully drove me back.

November 30,

Standard exam prep. I was up early logged a few hours on the books before taking TO's fantastic transit system over to visit my brother. I was able to sneek into the York gym facilities. This gym was straight out of the 1960s. Weights all over the place and everything was just weathered. But again the work got done. One thing that was cool was I got to run on this really neat treadmill. It was motorless and called the woodland curve. Very natural feel and the time really flew by on it. I looked it up later too bad its $6000.

Dec 1.

Exam day
The reason I am in Toronto is to write my CSCS certification exam. Today is the day of the exam.
I had a terrible sleep. Even though I was not really nervous I still was tossing and turning like the night before a race, waking up every 2-3 hours. I know this is a sign of doubting my ability. But I knew I had done the work and I just needed to stay calm. I actually woke up at 5:55 before all my alarms, I had everything laid out so the morning could be fairly automated and it could just smoothly get to the exam stress free. It was a nice surreal walk at just after 6 over to the subway in the mall which is normally packed with people. I did not see one person. It amazed me how people work as a whole, in unison. I was in there the day before and it was hard to move. Here it is, same place, and its empty. 

The subways do not run as quick in the morning which made me sweat a bit but it was a good thing I left myself a big buffer of time. Plus I was able to use my flashcards as I was waiting.  I got to the exam room at 7:45 and the exam did not start until 8:30. As more people started to gather around the room, I actually felt a bit better. I dont know why. There was a brief feeling of jealousy and nervousness about the other people but I realized that I am just as qualified as all of them, and there is no need for those feelings.

I dont want to bore you with detail about the exam. But its a 2 part exam, and I felt I was more in the groove on the second part then the first. I started off a little shakey but I was able to gain confidence throughout the test. Overall it was fairly stress free all multiple choice.

After the exam I felt good, a lot more energized then I thought. So I took that energy quickly stopped and vested my brother before his can and shot back over to the hotel. Since I was feeling great I hopped on the bike and smashed through a session. It was a shitty hotel bike but it did the trick, and the bottom line is that the work got done.

I capped the day off with a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant and was in bed early so I was able to get up and run the next day.

Dec 2.

Move in with Paully day

I got up at around 9 although I was in the sleeping zone could have easily slept well past noon. I was pretty good about getting straight down to work and nailing my run despite it being rainy and shitty out. I couldn't really complain after some of the run I have been having in Winnipeg. The run actually turned out to be really nice, and I was able to find a building I had wanted to go to without even having to look for it. I it ended up just being on the running route. Now thats flow. The run was timed really well and gave me just enough time to pack up and get out before my already adjust late checkout time.

Me and Paully grabbed a quick breakfast in the mall and then headed over to York. Its tight living here, but only for a short period and we are gonna have a blast.

My afternoon consisted of finding the North York YMCA and getting over there for a swim. Talk about packed what a mess that pool was. You have people double arm back stroking in the fast lane. I just did my shit and got outta there ASAP.

After that picked up some good healthy clean food, and headed back to the apartment to call it a night. Just hung out with the boys and got to bed early. The life of an athlete fairly simple.


Until next update..

Get Honest

Everyone talks about how many miles they rode or how many hours they put in this week. Or how they toughed it through a session. No one likes to talk about when they HAD to rest. When they woke up and the felt like a bag of assholes and had the balls to say I cant put in my best effort today and it will do me more harm then good. I say HAD to rest because you never really HAVE to. Its a choice and as a more is better thinker most of the time you will push through and do a shitty workout rather then get honest and rest up. For the last few seasons I have always based my progression on how many miles I was putting in or how many hours I was logging per week. But what is the quality of those hours? This season I am focusing on being honest. Its one of the harder things I have done. Its harder for me not to do a workout out then it is to tough one out and write it down.  There is a time and a place for it. Sometime you have to push though to make the break through but sometimes pushing through will break you. It has the potential to wreck the rest of your week.

If we were all the highest level of elite we could wake up get a blood test, check our catecholamine levels and we would know exactly weather we were over trained or not.  But as an age grouper you have to base it on how you feel, and what else you need to get done in the day. For me the big thing is food. Nail the big workout and get to eat a couple extra calories. But when you just need to physcailly rest what do you do?

Stratagies:

• Catch up on LIFE!!! 
• Yes we all have them outside of training watch a movie with the misses, or stack some firewood just stay busy.

•  Do the stuff you usually ignore.
•  Foam roll, stretch, bulk meal prep, etc

• Write it down
• up date logs 
• reflect on your training 
• realize its all going to be ok

So the next time you wake up in to fog get honest with yourself maybe its a sign to rest up and catch up on the other things in life!

Write It Down

When completing any kind of training your looking for a result. Weather its to get faster, stronger, slimmer, smarter it can be anything really. How do you know if you have actually achieved any of your goals?

In sport there are competitions which act as a form of test. Are we winning more games? Swim times? Bike times? Run times? Thats great, but maybe race day your not feeling your best, or the weather is shits. You need to account for that. People will get down on themselves for a shitty performance and not look at the whole picture. Or the make excuses. Maybe you weren't as fit as you thought?

 Its also not uncommon to be nervous on race day. Why is that? Because you have doubts in your ability. If you were confident in your ability you would not be nervous.

So the question is how do you KNOW how fit you are? How to your create that confidence in your ability? You keep RECORDS!!! Test yourself regularly, and know exactly where your at. If your not where you want to be ask yourself why and how do I get there? Is it realistic? This way when the race comes your not guessing. You know you have done the work, you know where your at, you know what to expect and, NOW all you have to do is go get the best from your self.  The records can also be used as motivation later to see how far you have come. Or to quickly solve a re-occuring problem.

So quit just doing the work to do the work. Write it down, keep track,  be proud of what you have accomplished. So when the race doesn't go your way you can look and know weather or not you gave your full ability. Then from there you can learn and keep moving forward.

Until next time write it down and have FUN!! Happy Training

D

Deeper Recovery

Ever since this accident things have been weird. Yes weird. I managed to dodge a lot of serious injury and I am grateful for that. I have never experienced whiplash before. It is a rather unusually acting injury.

In the beginning I had mild soreness along the front of my body which was to be expected. It wasnt until weeks later that the real full body soreness began to set in. This is where I was spending a lot of time just laying down to avoid pain. From there I began to crack..... a lot as the joints began to re align. And the most interesting of all....Weight Gain. I have put on 12-14 pounds in 3 months. I have come up with three reasons I belive may be causing it.

1. Honest Reality

Although I feel I am eating in accordance with my reduced activity level, the only person I may be cheating is my self. Maybe I am overeating, and not being strict enough on my choices. But 12 pounds is overeating by 392 calories everyday since the accident. Which is possible, but unlikely because I do track calories. And have been able to regain some of my activity level.

2. Water Retention

Inflamation of  muscle tissue  and a bodily respone to healing to inflame to reduce movement and retain water to repair cells. But should have subsided by now I would think.

3. Most Recent Suggestion. Nerves???

The possibility of pressure being applied to a spinal nerve therefore creating an over stimulation in a region of the brain that would monitier digestion. I found this one to be the most interesting because it would be happining at a subcontious level. Consiously I have being doing everything I can to make it easy for my digestive system. But it is possible that there is a problem beyond my conscious control because I have been experiencing digestive issues. Coincidence? This reasoning came from an osteopath who had suggested there was a malalignment of two lumbar vertebre causing overstimulation of the hypothalamus. It sounds like pseudo science hodge podgem but, stack that with an assessment from a physiotheripist comfirming tesnsion in the specifc aera of the malalignment, and an unusual onset of depression, leads to evidence that my weight issue may be controlled beyond conscious control. Either way I am intrigued and have began to closely monitor performance mood and weight in correlation.

For now I am treating the depression, and focusing on reliveving tesnsion for the low back muscles to see this may be the link to where this creeping weight is coming from. My goal is to be back to normal by Christmas, which through moderate caloric restriction should be a non issue.  I will keep monitiering laxitiy of the back along with mood and weight to see if there is any corilation. I am also under the belief that I need to just relax and let the body auto regulate.

Please feel free to comment and discuss the topic. I struggle with the ability to organize all my thoughts at the moment. But would be more them happy to discuss any questions you have further.