Going Local!

As we approach the end of our holidays and are on the eve of another year, it is a great time to look both forward and back.

We had Christmas dinner in our first house with Matt's parents (who drove up from Nova Scotia), my parents, my sister and her boyfriend (all from Toronto). In addition to the fantastic company and wonderful memories that we were able to make, we were also able to cook a 100 mile meal thanks to Wendy's Country Market. Matt had been told about this place from a colleague at work so we decided to make a trip out to the country to see if we could source Christmas dinner locally - and it was easy!

We picked up our turkey, roast, veggies, cheese and dessert all from the market - got to meet Wendy, Rick and their daughter - and had such a positive experience that today we received our first delivery from their mobile market to our front porch. In the upcoming year, we are going to see if we can buy most of our food locally and get away from the processed foods that we occassionally eat. Should be a real adventure! We'll keep you posted on our discoveries.

We also went to Toronto for a day to horse around with my niece and nephew from Mexico - Anna and Allan. Playing around with them should count as a workout! But who could refuse them when they're this cute...


For new year's eve, we decided to just take it easy and are home watching the World Junior's hockey game and later a movie.

Losing Mic (Major Michelle Mendes) made this a hard year but with deep sadness comes growth and I am looking forward to rekindling & nourishing relationships, planning out our race schedule (New Orleans?) and finding some more balance between work and play.

Happy New Year Everyone! Thinking about all of you where ever you may be :) A

Does this Count as Cross Training?

Winter arrived in Kingston with a bang yesterday! We had been experiencing a long spell of good weather but mother-nature decided to make sure that we knew we were no longer living in BC. The first day of shoveling was actually kind of fun but by day 2 (7:30am this morning) the novelty had worn off.
The tri bikes are now permanently affixed to the trainers in the basement and we are praying for the light at the end of the tunnel. As if getting up early to swim wasn't bad enough, we've been cautioned that we should add an extra 20 min to our morning routine to shovel out. Man, do we miss Victoria!!!

Besides the snow, Christmas feels like it has sort of come and gone at the College. The cadets are well into exam routine so most of the Christmas activities were last month. In November, we attended the Annual Christmas Ball with good friends Miss (middle), Cal (left) and Sean (RMC Rugby coach) and (literally) danced the night away.


We also served our respective Squadrons Christmas dinner in the Mess. Below is a pic of John (another Squadron Commander) and I monkeying around and our new friend Toure before the dinner.

Bumps in the Road of Training

It's been one of those weeks when things don't go exactly as planned with your training and your schedule for the week seems to go to the dogs - or at least that's what it felt like. We got to the pool on Monday at 5:45am as per normal, but to our surprise it was closed because a little kid pooped in the pool on Sunday, keeping the pool closed Monday morning. Our coach tried to make the best of it - some dry land training (working on our stroke on top of tables) and some drills in the kiddie pool BUT we still had to go back at lunch to make up the distance that we missed. For some reason, this little blip in the road set everything askew this week - we ended up moving workouts around and skipping workouts to try and make up for the lost time in the pool which was pretty frustrating. It seems to be one of the trials and tribulations of triathlon training - how to fit training for 3 sports into 1 week - and although painful, it was a good learning experience - Hopefully next time this happens we can ride out the waves a bit better. A

Settling In.... Sort Of

For a couple of months now, we have been promising to update on our big move from West to East and believe it or not, this has been the first opportunity that we've had to.... breathe.
Needless to say, our new jobs at the College have been much busier then expected but very rewarding in many ways. The biggest adjustment has been trying to rework our training schedules. The best time to catch the Cadets is either in the morning (before 0745, at lunch, or after 4:30pm (ie. after class). Most of the time in between is usually open to train whenever we want - it just has been a bit of an adjustment to reworking our schedules. Thankfully after a pep talk from Noa, things seem to finally be moving along. Check out the article that was written about our first few months on the job.

As well, moving from a 1600 sq ft townhouse into a 1900 sq ft + finished basement house has been a huge adjustment. Finally, after many months of searching (and thanks to the Mennonites!), most of the house is finally furnished and we're getting settled. To be honest, there are many rooms that we hardly go in, but the good news is that there is lots of room for company! So if you're ever in town... look us up! (Although... I must say that at this time of year KTown is no match for Victoria - believe it or not, its almost time to hang up our bikes). Having a lawn and garden has been a HUGE challenge - I did not inherit my parent's green thumb - but luckily they're not too far away!
We're slowing getting settled - not quite there..... but almost. It has been a huge adjustment but so far things have been working out well :) A

This Is It!

Well, we have been away for a bit (figuratively that is). We'll be giving an update his weekend with everything that has been going on but until then I just wanted to drop a quick note about Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT



Amber and I went to see this movie tonight and I would have to say....it is quite amazing. Whether you like Michael Jackson or not, one thing is certain, he is an amazing artist. To see someone that is so passionate in what they do and a perfectionist is unbelieveable. It was evident in watching the rehersals that he is a visionary when it comes to his artistry. He makes the people around him great. On top of all of that, to see the back-up dancers and musicians and their passion for music and dance, and their desire to work with the "King of Pop" is great.

One thing that hit close to home is that to be excellent in whatever you do, you have to be passionate, commited, knowledgeable and surround yourself with people that are all of the above and more.

Before too long, Amber and I will be planning out next year and what races we will be doing. We'll be looking at goals and plans for the year.

For all those that have either dropped a line or made a comment, the answer is yes, we have been delinquent and we'll attempt to ensure we update more often.

Ironman Canada....Complete

WEll, just a quick update. I will do a full report tomorrow. I have now completed my first Ironman and it was great....and very painful. I had some serious muscle cramping issues about half-way in to the bike which hampered the rest of the day. My goal was to finish 11:00-12:00 and I am glad to say, I succeeded. Final time - 11:54.08.

Unfortunately, I will not be doing IMC next year but I'll be coming up with a race plan in the near future. M

Twas the Night Before...Ironman!

Well, the time has come for the big day. Ironman Canada kicks off tomorrow at 7:00am (Officially) but I'll be up around 4:00am for some food. Last night was the carbo load dinner which was a good time. Amber and I had a great time hearing about all the amazing people that will be competing this year.





Today was a non-eventful day. Well, not really but we tried to stay low key. George and I did some last minute tune-ups and got our stuff ready. We hit the transition area just after lunch to drop our stuff off. It went pretty smoothly.

Amber, the Comisso's (George and Sheila), and the MacMillan's x 4 (Billy, Pearl, Mark, Ashley) spent the day wine touring at Mission Hill, Quail's Gate and Sumac Ridge with a nice pit stop for a late lunch/snack in Peachland.

Tonight, we got together for a family dinner to celebrate Amber's birthday. To my surprise...and embarrassment, Amber had t-shirts made ("IronMatt Support Crew"). It was pretty funny.



Anyways, it is just after 8pm and I am off to bed. Not really nervous, but pretty anxious to get on with it. This will be the culmination of a lot of work. We will update after the race. I'm #287 if you want to follow at ironman.ca.

George (#619) and I the night before.

Wine Anyone?

Well, the Okanagan Valley is definitely known for its wine. I, unfortunately have had little opportunity and have been the DD for the rest of the family. It's been actually pretty relaxing. Here we are at Road 13, a small little BC winery.

We've been having some great food and I've been getting in some tapering with some short swims, bike, & runs. Amber was even kind enough to join me in Lake Osoyoos for a swim. I managed to bruise the top of my left foot which has not been the best but it only is slightly painful running. Lots of polysporin to help with the scratches.

Today we made the journey from Osoyoos to Penticton. I left Amber and the gang and made the drive early in order to meet up with a friend - George. We accomplished a lot today. We registered early to avoid the crowds, got some free recovery Crocs, did a bit of training, got a few other things and relaxed. Amber and the parents explored the desert and downtown Penticton. I'll try to avoid the crowds over the next couple of days as people tend to be pretty tense. I am sure it will only get worse as Sunday draws near.

Speaking of Sunday, the temperature is supposed to be close to 35 degrees Celsius so that should prove to be interesting. Good thing I have been training in the humid, hot weather of Kingston.

Until the next one, keep it easy. M

In the Promise Land

Well, we made it to Osoyooss yesterday and it is really nice to be out of Kingston, not working and just focusing on next Sunday. Both Amber and my parents made the journey with us, so it is nice to have some people around to take the mind off of things.

Amber and I managed to upgrade to business class for the flight from Toronto....so...I took advantage.



We arrived in Vancouver and we had all of our luggage which was very nice. Mind you, we did not travel lite.



Once we arrived in to Osoyoos, we met up with my folks at Spirit Ridge. I did not stick around long as I headed for a 15k run to shake out the legs. Run went well despite being pretty stiff from the plane and van.

Now we are just relaxing and I'm getting ready for IMC on Sunday. Just about to head out for a quick spin on the bike to make sure everything is working properly. It is very nice and not humid (quite the change from Kingston).

M

13 Days!

Well, things have definitely been moving along. We have been settling in to the school and the kids are great...aka very funny. Air conditioner in the house was finally fixed on Saturday and not a moment too soon as the weather has changed drastically. The temp has been getting close to 40 w/ humidity. It has been tough. No A/C in the office so it's hard to work.

Training has been moving along and I'm in to taper. Have had some right knee issues stemming from being too tight and IT band problems. After multiple massage, physio, chiro, and some hard work, I've turned the corner and things are looking good.

We'll be heading out to BC this weekend and prepping for the big day. Amber, her folks and my folks will be joining the journey so while I prep, they'll drink (wine tour anyone?)

The plan is to bring the computer so I'll post some blogs and pics on the way.

Got the race number as well (#287) so if you are interested, you can follow athlete tracker at Ironman Canada

Until next time...M

Home Sweet Home

Well, hectic as always but here is a pic of our new home....finally.



Hopefully we will get more up soon. The house is coming along slowly. We managed to get some more furniture delivered yesterday and a friend got some buddies to help us out with some electrical issues and an air conditioning unit that is not functioning (home inspections are not worth the money b/c you can't go back when they screw up).

It was a busy weekend with lots of training. The 2 big events...180k bike on Sat (I ended up having a guest for the last 3.5hrs - Tony O'Keeffe - 23 times Ironman finisher, RAAM solo rider finisher and 4 time Ultraman World Champion 2nd place - definitely nice to have someone with that much experience to bounce ideas off and just listen to) and 21.5k run today which was very humid.

That's about it. Take care. M

August Already

Well, it's August and less than a month away from Ironman. We've been up to a lot and we'll fill you in tomorrow. Since the last post, we've moved in to the house, bought furniture, I've flown back to Penticton for a training camp with Coach Noa, and we will compete our first race in Ontario tomorrow.

K-Town Tri is tomorrow and we will both be doing the long course. The weather looks iffy but we'll see how it goes.

Until after the race...have fun. Good luck to the guys in Calgary doing Ironman 70.3.

Ciao. M

Well...We're here.

We have arrived in Kingston after a couple of days with Amber's family. Training went well with a nice long ride through the back roads and farms just north of Toronto. The weather was just like the rest of Canada, cool and windy. It was a nice visit.

Now we are in Kingston and things are a little wonky. For some reason the bank did not have everything sorted out despite our best efforts last week. So, after 2 mtgs with the lawyer and a third visit to pick up our key. So, we have the house with only 1 key, 2 post office box keys and no garage door opener. Oh well... The adventures of home ownership!

The next step would be to move our stuff in but there is a delay with the truck so we probably won't get our stuff until Thur or Fri. This is a definite pain in the butt because we are suppose to go to triathlon nationals on Fri. Unfortunately this may not happen as a result.

I know we have promised pics but our computer is in getting looked at as it decided to die today so as soon as it is fixed we will post some pics.

Lastly, we are going on 2 wks in hotels which is starting to wear thin. Trg is tough and we're pretty tired overall. Hopefully things will get better soon. On the bright side - it's great to be in Kingston finally!

Canada is a BIG Country

Happy Canada Day. This country is huge! Well, it has been a bit of an adventure. We left Calgary on Tuesday and decided to go as far as Winnipeg (yes....that is a very long drive...in hindsight, we would have not gone so far...it took 13hrs+). It was a long day. We are now in Thunder Bay after a not so long day but a cluster nonetheless. We intended to get up in Winnipeg this morning to get in a run but it didn't work out and we slept through 3 alarms. This led to getting to Thunder Bay a little later than planned but we managed to get in a run.

Overall, the drive has not been that bad but the change in time zones (losing an hr everyday) has proved to be a pain. We are now on Eastern time so that is finally finished. The training has not gone as well as we would have liked but with a not so busy week, we should be able to fit in the missed workouts without disrupting the schedule. Looks like we will hit the pool tomorrow morning prior to heading to Sault Ste Marie...should be fun.

We will hopefully post some pics a little later. Until then, ciao.

Visiting with Family

Our last day in Penticton had us biking a part of the Ironman course and then testing out the chilly waters of Lake Okanagan - brrrrr! We left Penticton at 8am and then continued East towards Calgary, where we've been since Sunday. The drive through BC was stunning and unforgettable - we have some great pictures that we'll share as soon as possible.
We had a really fantastic visit with Mark (Matt's brother) and girlfriend, Ashley and their adorable dogs, Noodle and Guiness - will post pics tomorrow. We also had a great lunch with Aunty Chris today and are now all packed up for the long journey east to Winnipeg. It will be an early morning tomorrow as it is a good 12-14 hours to Winnipeg - our longest drive of the trip - hopefully it won't be too painful. All in all this has been a fantastic way to see this beautiful country of ours.

Enroute East

We left Victoria this morning onboard the 9am ferry and I must admit it was bitter sweet - bitter in that we're leaving so many great friends but sweet in that we are looking forward to this next chapter in our life. The car is definitely jam packed so hopefully we'll lighten the load along the way. We made a quick pit stop in Merritt, BC for lunch and are now in Penticton, BC for a few days. The B&B we are staying at is further out of town then we wanted to be (we're in Naramata) but it will be good to have a day for Matt to train on the Ironman Course tomorrow. We're heading out for a bike ride early tomorrow morning and then will swim and run Sunday before we head towards Calgary. We'll also check out the market tomorrow and load up on lots of fresh fruit for the rest of the drive.

The Locusts Have Arrived!

Well, the packers have arrived. It is absolutely amazing how fast these guys work. That being said, we have a lot of crap so unpacking should be fun. The car is packed...if it was not for all the trg gear & the duty free it wouldn't be so bad.

Aside from that, there is not much else going on. This is a relatively quiet trg week but well start ramping up soon enough. Before we sign off we just wanted to give a big thanks to Coach Noa. Without her help we would not be progressing like we are. We look forward to what the future brings. Noa's dedication & knoledge are second to none and were happy to have her on our side.

We'll try to keep regular posts on our trip across the country.

Amber's Race Report - I am a Half Ironman!

Today was truly a great day! This was the race that I have been working towards since October and I couldn't have been happier with the results - it would have been awesome to be sub 5 hours 30 minutes, but considering that I honestly thought I would be done in 6 hours, I really surprised myself - even looked at the clock at the finish line twice to be sure! I guess it goes to show that hard work and training do pay off - it was a great feeling arriving this morning and knowing I was ready - thank-you Coach Noa!

Swim
Shawnigan Lake two weeks ago was my first open water swim start and I couldn't have started in a worse position - in the middle of the pack which resulted in being swum over by a bunch of people. I'll post a Youtube video that will give you an idea of what these swims are like. But... back to this morning - a great swim! Started on the edge, rode someone's wake to the first buoy, then fended for myself for a bit and then joined back up with the traffic for the sprint to the beach. Official swim time: 34 minutes, 10 seconds

T1
Pretty good although I did spend at least 5 minutes in the water wondering if I should have put clear lenses in my sunglasses because it was pretty cloudy. Tried jamming my gels into the bottom of my shorts and seemed to work well. Time: 2 min 31 seconds

Bike
I knew that this was not my forte so rode the first lap fairly easy but keeping a steady pace. Ride was great except for the occassional segments of heavy rain that filled my shoes with water and for one milisecond made me wonder "What the hell am I doing out here in my bathing suit in this weather?!?". The bad weather didn't last and the second loop was good. My Argon is definitely a speed machine with the SRAM Wheels - it feels great to go fast! Official bike time: 3 hours, 3.36 seconds

T2
Under 1 minutes (56:56) - nice and fast - wish I had brought another pair of socks because they were soaking wet from the bike. Oh well - no time to worry about it - time to run!

Run
The run was really great. Felt really strong coming off the bike and settled into a steady pace. By now the sun had come out and I was focused on watching the route so as not to get caught by any of the roots. Something must have been wrong with my timing chip because it said I did the run in 55 min which is impossible (it was 20 km long), but I know that I was well under 2 hours which was a great accomplishment. Most importantly finished strong and felt great.

Official 1/2 Ironman Final Time: 5 hours 32.24 minutes

Matt's Race Report - NB Half

I figured I would try to be timely with this post. Before I got any further....HAPPY FATHER's DAY. Hope everyone had a great day. I'll let Amber complete her own race report so without spoiling it, she did amazing.

First half ironman out of the way - now that it is down, my goal was 5hrs. I figured this was doable but I would have to push. Turns out, I didn't have to go crazy and my time was 4:51:25 - I'm really happy with that result given that this is only prep for Ironman Canada. Fitness seems to be ok. Definitely room for improvements.

Swim (29:33 - 1:34/100m)
Nothing like being in a small pool with 500 of your closest friends all trying to get to the same location in a hurry. Better than Shawnigan but I have to be more aggressive. I managed to place myself in a good position for the start. I got off to a good start going hard for about 100-150m. Managed to get some feet for a bit of a draft. The problem was that I kept getting spit of where I wanted to be so I ended up swimming alone for a bit. This made for a more tiring swim than planned. Definitely slowed a bit towards the end.

T1 (1:50)
Definitely slower than planned but not horrible. I had a terrible location in the far corner.

Bike (2:42:14 - 32.2kph)
Bike started off pretty good and I got in to a good rhythm. Overall I was happy with the time but things were not great. I was never so happy to get off my bike. Right hip was tight right off the get go but that settled down. Around the 35k mark, my lower back was giving me some terrible issues. Felt like I wanted to cry at one point. First time this has happened. If my lower back is tight, usually it goes away. This time, I was not so lucky. Did at least 10k out of the aero position at one point b/c it was bothering me so much. It definitely zapped some power. It was pretty windy at points and the down-pour of rain at one point sucked. All in all, time was good but I was not comfortable. I also did not eat or drink enough but I'll let coach Noa in on that.

T2 (1:29)
Still a little slow but I ended up putting on socks as I had a blister from my shoes the other day. Also elected to use my fuel belt for the run.

Run (1:36:20 - 4:49/km)
I felt pretty strong off the bike. The cadence and turnover was going well. That slowed down at a couple of points but for the most part, it was good. Still too tight in the shoulders. Had 2 gels and a little bit to drink (not enough fluids). The course was around Elk Lake and it was nice to run on the trail. My right calf/Achilles and hamstring were not too horrible but they were tight at times (I've been having issues for the last 3 wks with these - recovery week should help). Overall, I was really happy with the run...just need to build on this as we move forward.

Overall, the race went well. Things could have been better from a logistical standpoint but the overall result was good. Standing in the line for the port-o-john 10 minutes before race start with no warm-up complete and the wetsuit to put on is not the best plan. I really have to sort out nutrition and I need to take a bit better care of my body.

Points to Ponder
This is a non-draft legal event on the bike. There was definitely a lot of drafting as a couple of packs whipped by me on the bike. That being said, there was one individual that sat on the wheel of anyone he could (bib 286) which is definitely not in the spirit of the sport. Oh well....some people...
The volunteers were awesome yet again and the race was very well organized....

That's it, that's all....back to packing....almost forgot we move in less than a week.

Cheers. M

Work's Complete

Yesterday was our last day of work. We have a few days "off" before they come to pack up our place. "Off" is a relative term. Fri is a rest day before the first real big race of the year. It is also a day for us to take care of a bit of business prior to the move.

The last few days have been pretty good. They had a lunch on Wed for Amber and the guys took me out for lunch on Thur. Wed night was an imagery session courtesy of coach Noa which was pretty good. I remembered the importance of visualization from using it playing sports growing up but the imagery uses all of the senses. It is definitely worth while.

Aside from that, we are trudging along getting ready for the move and "resting" up for NB 1/2 Ironman on Sunday. Now, all we need is for the rain to hold off.

It has been bitter sweet over the last couple of days. It's exciting to start a new job in a new area but we are leaving behind an excellent community and good friends. All will be missed but only a short flight away. I'll be back in less than 3 wks for Ironman camp in Penticton with a lot of the gang. Should be good.

We start our drive on Friday and will attempt to keep everyone posted on the voyage across. Hopefully we'll even have a few photos.

Take care. Keep smiling. M

Rolling Along....!!!

Whether we like it or not, things are rolling along quickly. Training has been going pretty well. It's been a tough week on Amber as she was away last weekend for 4 days with work and she did not manage to get a lot of rest. As for me, the run focus that Coach Noa made has been great but I'm finding it tough to hit the paces...easy runs are too easy, harder runs tend to be not hard enough (except for the track which is always hard work with the rest of the gang). It's just over a week until we take on the first half ironman. The Victoria New Balance Half Ironman will be 21 June (Father's Day for those that need a reminder). It should be a good day. We have some goals but we'll leave that for a later time.

Moving....well, it's been a bit of a cluster but prgressing slowly. It will happen regardless whether we are ready or not.

A new addition to the family (get your minds out of the gutter)....iPhones. Yes, we have succumber to the technological age and both got iPhones. We needed an update and since this is cheaper than what we have now, we figured we would jump in. In all honesty, they are amazing.

The BIG NEWS ---- PARTY TIME!!!!! This weekend will be our big moving bash with the gang coming along. One of the good things about all of our travel is duty-free booze. Since we can not move it, it will be party chez nous. Since we drink very rarely with all the trg and a big trg day Sat & Sun + race weekend a week away, we'll be doing it in moderation. But, it will be great to see everyone before we leave.

That's really about it. Take it easy. M

Random Rants

So, there have been a few thins on my mind so I figure I'll share them.

Man's Best Friend
Now, I love dogs...would actually like to get one some day in the future but at present time I am starting to dislike them (I guess it would be more appropriate to say their owners). There is an area in Victoria along Dallas Rd that is an "off leash" area. In general, I think this is great. However, over the last week or so, I have almost run over a couple of dogs on the paved section, I've had 2 chase me as I was running and the ones that are on those leashes that are retractable - for the most part, their owners allow them to do whatever they want....so, a trip wire they create. It is extremely annoying.

Broken Glass
On my long ride today, the shoulder of the rode was littered with a lot of broken glass. Most of this came from liquor/beer bottles so it is nice to see that drinking and driving is alive and well. The least they could do is take their empties home. This is very annoying given how easy it is to get a flat. Just so you know the majority of it was out in Langford.

Stupid Drivers
Granted there are a lot of stupid bicyclists on the rode, there are a lot more stupid drivers. I past a girl yesterday with an "N" (ie. new driver) on here car - she was listening to her IPod with headphones in both ears while texting on her cell and driving at the same time. I highly doubt she has near the skill to accomplish the task. Time will tell. There are also those drivers that seem to thinking it is funny to lay on their horn as they approach a cyclist from behind. They are morons.

The Weather
The weather has been awesome out here over the last week. That being said, the weather folks got it totally wrong for today. It did not clear up and in fact it rained a little. Some things never change.

Amber is away for the weekend for work down in Portland. I'm trying to sort some stuff around the house and prep for the move. Aside from that, it's been a good training weekend. Tomorrow will bring a long run and a swim. Today was an ok ride (about 110k) followed by a short run. Looking forward to Victoria 1/2 Iron in a couple of weeks. We'll be hitting the road a few days after that.

Cheerio. M

0 for 2

Well, we have purchased 2 dining room/kitchen tables and we are now 0 for 2. The first one arrived 2 months late without the chairs so it was returned. We then decided that we would wait until we found a table we love. We found it but unfortunately, the company screwed up and now it is cracking terribly.



So, as you can see, although it is suppose to crack a bit, it should not be this bad. Given that it sits 8 people, the chances that it will get worse are highly likely. The top has also started to crack. So, we will soon be on the hunt for #3. Hopefully we'll have luck and the table will work. We don't have time before we move so that will be one of the first things we take care of when we get to Ontario.

On a brighter note, the weather is absolutely gorgeous out here and we are getting ready for our group ride. Should be a good one. M

Shawnigan Race Report - Finally

Ok, I'm finally getting around to doing the Shawnigan Olympic Race Report. A week ago today, we completed the first open water swim race of the year. It was great day, the weather was awesome, and a lot of the PT gang was racing.

Swim

1500m, 2 lap swim. Well, it did not go as planned. I ended up positioning myself in a terrible spot and did not get on any feet for the first lap of the swim. Add to this the fact that my sighting was absolutely horrible and it made for a long first lap. The second lap was a little better but the lines I chose were not the best. Getting around the buoys wasn't great either as I didn't keep my line and got knocked out of position a couple of times. I exited the water and had a bit of trouble getting to the zipper to get the wetsuit off. Overall, it was pretty frustrating and a lot slower than planned.

T1

Considering how long it took me to get the suit off, it was not horrible. I ended up losing one of my shoes off the bike as I was getting on due to trying to avoid the number of cyclists that were at the mount line.

Bike

44k - 2 loops of Shawnigan Lake. The bike course was pretty great. The roads were not awesome but the course was scenic and rolling terrain. I don't really have too much to say about the bike. I tried to maintain a constant pace throughout and make sure to push it when I could

T2

Went really well. Dismount was quick and I was able to get on the run in less that 1min.

Run

10k on a crusher dust trail. My nemesis. Got off pretty good but the cadence was not the best. Shoulders were pretty tight. Only past by a couple of people and managed to catch one of them at the line.

Overall

In general, the race served it's purpose. It was a good training evolution. I know I need to work on the open-water swimming and running (in the last 3 events, I have had the slowest run from my position to number 1 - obviously this is a weak spot). Rode the bike home after the race which was good. Aside from that, there is the Vitoria 1/2 Ironman in a couple of weeks so we'll see how that goes.
Until then, it is off to some run testing with Coach Noa, an open-water swim and a long run. Sundays are great. The weather is awesome so the it should be a great training day.

Ciao for now. M

Hectic Times

Well, it seems as if we have been running around a lot lately and haven't had much time to do anything. A bit of an update....we got a house (our first). It's been a great experience and a headache all at the same time. Here is a pic of the kitchen minus the appliances that we just purchased last week.



We'll put some more photos up once we are actually there with our stuff in the house. Considering, we live in a 1300 sqft townhouse and are going to a 1900 sqft house (with a pretty much finished basement), there might not be much in there.

Aside from the house, we've been trying to take care of all the stuff around here in preparation for moving. That has been more time consuming than we thought. When you add all the training that we've been doing (& work I guess) there does not seem to be much time for anything else.

We've done 2 races in the last 3 or so weeks. The Sooke Spring Sprint Tri and the Shawnigan Lake Olympic Tri. They went ok with lots of learning. I think we know where we need to work. We'll post a race report in the coming days.

Here's a pic of Coach Noa and some of the gang at Sooke.



Lastly, we've managed to get some open water swimming in prior to the Shawnigan Lake Tri and it has been cold. Good thing for wetsuits.



Until next time. M

My Friend

It's taken me many days to sit down and write this blog entry and even now I don't know what to say to make any of this okay. We, her friends and family, were and still are devastated by the news that Michelle is no longer with us but we are trying to seek happiness in the many wonderful memories we had together. I first met Michelle at the Recruiting Center in Toronto and we became fast friends in first year at RMC while playing varsity soccer together. Despite moving miles away, we managed to always stay in touch and I was a better person for having known her. I feel blessed to have been a part of her repatriation, the Highway of Heroes, the visitation, her funeral and her burial - I will take these moments in time with me for the rest of my life and seek comfort in the fact that we were able to celebrate her life and hopefully inspire people to be as thoughtful and brilliant as she was. A

Sick of Being Sick

We had a busy week with work, training, and getting ready to head to Kingston house shopping. Unfortunately my cold has come back which has made things difficult. I haven't done any training since Wed. The weekend went pretty well. We were suppose to swim at BC Provincials and then have a 10k road race on Sun. Amber managed to do it all and posted some good times. She managed the 1500m swim in just over 27min which is pretty good. Today she competed in the Sooke 10k and did well despite all of the competing during the weekend.

This week will be just as hectic. Hopefully training will resume as I am slowly starting to feel better. We'll see when I see the doc on Tues. Aside from that, we are getting ready for a triathlon camp Fri- Sat, to fly to Kingston on Sunday and return in time for Amber to do the Vancouver half-marathon the following weekend. It'll be busy but things are moving along despite some bumps in the road. We took some pics of Amber's bike so it will be up on the blog soon.

Until then, take care. M

Happy Easter

Just a quick note to say Happy Easter. We hope everyone has a great long weekend with family and friends. We almost went away for the weekend but with things being hectic around the house with the up-coming move and the work we needed to do, we decided to stick around Victoria. It looked like it was going to be a terrible weekend but the day has been beautiful which was great since we spent over 3hrs on the bikes.

Take care. M

One of those days

Well, Amber is away with the girls for the weekend so I am home alone. It's not too bad as I have been able to get some stuff done around the house. Today was a big training day and it went....great and horrible all at the same time.

The weather has finally turned nice so I was off for 100k on the bike and then a run. I have a new system for holding spare tubes and the 2 I was carrying fell out about 30 minutes in (at least that is when I noticed it). That was the first issue and would lead to a stop half way at a bike shop for spares (this would result in problem 2). Sydney is a small little town out by the ferry with A LOT of elderly people. I had the privledge of having a run in with one such lady driving her car. The result of a car trying to turn left when I am going straight is a quick slam of the brakes and a quasi over the handle bar moment which leaves me landing on my hip. (we'll see how that feels tomorrow) This is where I went a little balistic as the lady didn't stop and turned, went and parked her car. (Note: Running on the road in carbon fiber road shoes is difficult and it is hard to stop as they are slippery). By the time I made it over to the car, I was quite mad and finally realized who was driving. Needless to say, I screamed a bit. Her response.....I bet you are thinking an apology....nope...."You should have been paying better attention!" Turns out the reason I didn't notice her until the last minutes was because there was another moron attempting to run the stop sign. I was hoping it would have been someone else behind the wheel as I may have bashed there head against the stearing wheel. Anyways, I digress. I felt a little bad when I left as I lost my temper at an old lady but it was the straw that broke the camals back. Last weekend Amber had an asshole in a red car lay on the horn and drive as close as possible to her and a couple of friends while riding. A few weeks before that, there was a major crash out here with a bunch of cyclists getting hurt. The paper proceeded to blame the cyclists. I can elaborate on that if someone would like. On top of that, pretty much every ride I go on results in a close call because someone either is not paying attention or is in too much of a hurry to be safe around someone on a bike. So, if anyone has access to soem grenades for my next encounter, they would be much appreciated. The cyclists always ends up on the losing end but I figure, if we carry grenades, it might help to even out the odds.

The rest of the ride went well, the day was beautiful, and the run was nice along the water. It's time for supper. I will also be trying to become more Zen....M

Oh....to be Lance Armstrong

As some of you may know, I've had some shoulder injuries in the past. A shattered right collar-bone was left to fend for itself. While checking out a blog, "The Workbench" (you can read the entire article by clicking on the link), I noticed that Lance Armstrong, after braking his collar-bone, is receiving a carbon fiber (1st in the world) replacement from Bontrager (bike parts company) in order to speed up the heeling process (a couple of days for the stitches to fix themselves vice 1-2 months). I wish I had that opportunity. M

Latest News

Our apologies for not updating sooner but we have both been sick with the plague since arriving home from Ottawa just over a week ago. We were in the Nation's capital taking part in CF Swimming Nationals. It was a great weekend with almost 50 swimmers from across the country (Army, Air Force and Navy) and a few posted outside of Canada taking part. The swimming was held in conjunction with Master's Ontario Provincials...in all, almost 600 swimmers competed in the weekend's events. We had the privlege of watching Alex Baumann swim competitively (At the 1984 Olympics, Baumann was selected as Canada's flagbearer for the opening ceremonies. He won gold medals in the 400-metre individual medley, setting a world record time of 4:17.41, and the 200-metre race, lowering the world mark to 2:01.42. The 400-metre gold was Canada's first in swimming since 1912.) - it was very impressive especially since he set a national or world record in every event he competed in for his age group (45-49). The swimming was great with both of us setting PBs in a number of events - Amber even got a gold in the 400m Freestyle in her age category! In total, there were 11 swimmers from the Navy Masters Swim Team - by far, the largest regional team. Lots of lessons were learned and many great memories were made.

Here's a picture of the West Coast team at the Awards banquet - we claimed 11 gold medals overall (Thanks in part to our Michael Phelpian Coach, Tony Zezza who brought home 6 gold medals himself).

On the posting front, now that our messages are in, we've started the daunting task of finding a house in Kingston. Looks like we'll go out for our house hunting trip in a few weeks and move in June.

Training is going well, despite being sick, especially now that we got our new speedy Tri bikes - the Argon 18 E112 (in mini-size for Amber). Here is a picture of Matt's bike before the UBC Tri.

The Good and The Bad

Bad

I'll start with the bad. A friend, co-worker, on occasion boss, and fellow Sea King pilot died last Thursday in the Sikorsky S-92 aircraft off the coast of Newfoundland. Tim Lanouette, who had over 20 years in the Air Force retired in the summer of 2008 and started working for Cougar helicopters. It ended up that he was one of the pilots on the helicopter. He leaves behind 4 young children. He'll be missed by all.

Good

On a more positive note, it is official, I recieved the posting message this morning and we will be moving to Kingston this year to start a new adventure in a new location. Until then, it will training as per normal.

Take care. M

First Tri of the Season

For our last weekend of leave we headed to Vancouver for the first triathlon of the season and both raced the Olympic distance (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run). The weather was definitely daunting but the snow held off and we ran the race in about 5C which was better then expected - although we are looking forward to warmer weather for the next one! It was a good opportunity to get a gauge on our training and see where we are at - as well as learn a lot about what to do better next time around.

I finished 2nd in my age group (101 out of 226 overall) with a final time of 2:55:31.6 (Swim - 31:38; Bike - 1:31:38 Run - 52:17)
Both the swim and run were strong but I've definitely got to work on the bike part!

Matt finished 5th in his age group and 22 out of 226 overall with a final time of 2:33:58.0 (Swim - 28:55; Bike - 1:15:57; Run - 49:08)
Matt had to run over the finish mat not once but twice(!) due to a timing chip malfunction - so his time was likely faster then posted.

It was great to get back on the road - we're definitely hooked! Next tri of the season will likely be the Sooke Spring Sprint Tri in May. Until then... swim, bike, run... A

A Couple of Days Away

We decided to head over to Pender Island for a couple of days to relax and get away. We've taken this week off work but didn't want to head anywhere too far away so we planned this little getaway for a few days. Since we always go to Salt Spring Island, we decided to change it up and head to Pender.

We've been staying at a place called Poet's Cove. It's the off season so it's been nice and quiet.



Last night, we ate at "Aurora" here at the resort. The food was fantastic with a beautiful view. Matt had the beef tenderloin and I had the rack of lamb and we finished the night off with two decadent chocolate desserts.

Today, we went for a rainy run along Gowlland Point Rd. Luckily, I was only out for an hour but Matt had to battle the elements for an hour and a half. We had lunch at "Syrens Lounge" and then had a couples massage at the Susurrus Spa. After the spa, it was nap time! We spent the rest of the afternoon planning the rest of the week. We're just about to head off to dinner and then relax for the rest of the night. A

Some interesting humour!

Well, I'm in Halifax and Amber is in Toronto. I must admit....we both like the nice weather of the west coast. The cold will definitely take some getting use to.

If you'd like a laugh, check out this video. We were laughing pretty hard the other day when we were watching this on tv. For those of you who like cheese, I'm sure you'll appreciate it.



Until next time, we'll be trying to keep warm.

M

Wrist....

Well, I figured I might as well post these now vice wait. Below is the wrist before:



So, in case you are wondering....the wrist is not supposed to look like that. That's what multiple broken bones, a dislocation, and torn everything looks like.



This is the side view.

Lastly, is the wrist after surgery.



So, that is my wrist and one of the major limitations in whatever I do. It can definitely be a pain.

M

From there to here!

Well, as the majority of you know I, (M) have been heavily involved in sports my entire life. Playing pretty competitive hockey and baseball for a number of years, I seemed to "lose" interest after high school (politics maybe?). In university, I played for the fun of it and got into rock climbing. Turns out that after graduation, I had trouble finding the time to get it in. I guess it did not help that I spent a lot of time in the flat lands. After living in Victoria for a while, I started to get into mountain biking. As everyone must be aware, a left shoulder dislocation and right shattered clavicle (at the same time) and a myriad of other injuries (think wrist - I will post some interesting pics of this injury for some of you that may not have seen the x-rays in the coming days) led to this becoming a poor choice of sporting hobbies. After multiple months recovering, I decided to take up road biking. Turns out that I loved it.

Over to the better half - She played soccer growing up and in university. Once in Victoria, she found the running bug and has been doing that ever since. After completing a number of races, she thought it would be a good idea for me to join her....turns out this was a slow process....the only running I liked to do was for other sports. Since she ran, I ran....since I was road biking, she decided to try that out as well.

So, given that we have both played team sports for the majority of our life, we liked the competitiveness. I wanted to compete - not necessarily against everyone else but against myself. Since we have a lot of friends that are in to tri we thought it may be interesting. Turns out we love it and it has been going great.

I seemed to have jumped into the deep end...last year, we went to watch some friends complete Ironman Canada (IMC). Next thing you know, another friend and I are both doing it this year. This had been in the plan but just not so quickly. For those that do not know, that's 3.8km of swimming, 180km of biking, followed by a marathon (42.4km), or 140.6 miles total. I'll be doing that this summer...the day before I turn 30....I guess it will be a good birthday present. Amber will do her first marathon and complete a half-ironman in June. So, if you notice we are not updating as much as we would like, it is because our part time job (training) is taking up a lot of time. As an idea, this is a typical week for both of us.

Mon - wake 5:00am for 6:00 swim practice. 7:30 - out of the pool and quickly off to work. 4ish - work is done and we'll complete another workout (usually a run or bike) followed by supper and prep for the next day. - Every day seems to run kind of like this...early to bed, early to rise.
Tues - AM - run/bike, PM - group run workout
Wed - AM - swim practice, PM run/bike
Thur - morning usually off except for work but sometimes bike/swim, PM - run workout at the track
Fri - AM swim practice, PM possible workout but usually the light day
Sat - AM swim practice, PM - long bike ride
Sun - AM - long run, PM - recovery ride (shorter), usually the day we prep for the next week.

That's pretty much it. We'll be posting a few more interesting tidbits soon. We just completed another swim meet. I'll be heading to Halifax for a week with work and Amber will be in Toronto for work from Friday till Tuesday. Once we return, we have a week off (from work) and will use the time to "relax".

Until next time....
M

Where we have been

We've been away lately. A couple of weekends ago, we went to Whistler with our coach for a cross-training weekend. It was a great time. We did some snow-shoeing (first time ever) which was an absolute blast and an awesome way to spend a few hours. On top of that, we went to the pool and got a short run in around Whistler Village. One of the definite highlights was seeing the ski jump portion of the Nordic Combined at the Olympic Nordic Village site for Vancouver2010. It was pretty crazy.

Imagine heading down a steep ramp at 90+mph with no other place to go but off the end and then flying through the air 140m and landing on a very steep icy slope only to bomb down the hill on skiis over 7' long without turning.....neither can we!

Last weekend, we took part in Race #2 of the Island Race Series (Cobble Hill 10k) and we both had PBs.

Amber's Results - 15/24 in age group w/ a time of 49:31 (4:57/km) - 274/491 overall

Matt's Results - 12/20 in age group w/ a time of 44:08 (4:25/km) - 146/491 overall

It was a pretty good race and we had a blast. Unfortunately, I had to run another 8k to get the run I needed for the day.

This weekend we were in Comox for a Regional Development Camp for swimming. We had a great time with the group that was there and despite being water-logged, the swimming was a blast as well. We learnt a lot and improved overall.

Amber is heading to Vancouver later this week for work for 4 days so I have managed to get some time off of work to join her. So, we'll be in Vancouver this weekend.

Looking forward to the weather inproving over here. M

Moving on the Horizon

As most of you are aware, we will be moving this year. We were pretty certain where we were going and it has been confirmed. I had my annual interview with the Pilot Career Manager and baring a major issue, we will be moving to Kingston this summer. We are pretty excited with the change and the new adventure but, at the same time, sad to be leaving Victoria. I will be going back to the school as a Staff Officer. We will most likely be making our journey come June and there will be a lot that has to be done prior to leaving. We will be sure to keep you all informed.

On another note, some of you have been asking and I am sure some others are wondering, what is with all of the races and working out.....we'll provide an update very shortly and it might clarify why our weeks are so jammed packed with "things".

Hope everyone is well. M

Lows and Highs

Last week ended on a low when we heard the news that Grandpa Harry had passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 8th. I am so happy that I was able to make it home for the holidays and that we celebrated Christmas with him. He sat at the head of the table and each and every aunt and cousin was there. I have so many wonderful memories of Grandpa - playing "boogie-man" in the basement (We'd hide as kids and he'd come looking for us with the lights off and a flashlight under his chin which made him look really scary!), counting the huge jar of pennies he had at his house every time we visited and as I got older, hearing about all his travels around the world. I know he passed away knowing how much everyone loved him. I will post a link to his obituary/guest book for those that are interested.
On a high note, Matt and I competed in the first race of the Island Race Series - The 30th Annual Pioneer 8km. All past winners had been invited back and it was the BC Road Race Championships - so needless to say the pace was fast!
Here are our results:
Matt finished 219 out of 630 overall; 21 out of 28 in his age group (Men's 30-34) with an official time of 35 minutes 45 seconds (4:28 minutes/km; 7:12 minutes/mile).
Amber finished 377 out of 630 overall; 17 out of 28 in her age group (Women's 30-34) with an official time of 40 minutes 19 seconds (5:02 minutes/km; 8:07 minutes/mile).
This weekend we are heading to Whistler for a training weekend with Matt's Ironman coach but also have the Montgomery family in our thoughts at this difficult time. A

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone!
The trip back from Toronto was definitely far less adventurous then the way there, but regardless it was nice to have a week to ourselves to relax in Victoria - by the time we got home, thankfully most of the snow was gone! We are nearing the end of our first week back at work and looking forward to a great year of training and racing.
The Island Race Series kicks off this weekend with the Prairie Inn Pioneer 8km race. This series includes 8 races between now and April of distances from 5km to Half Marathon (21km). Matt and I are signed up for all 8 and are hopeful that we'll be able to compete in the majority of them.
Swimming is also going really well and at the end of the month we'll be heading up to Comox for a training weekend with the Navy Masters coach we train with three times a week. We're also looking forward to competing in a few more swim meets in February and March to sharpen our skills!
Of course, we are also anxiously awaiting the start of the Triathlon season which kicks off on May 10th with the Sooke Spring Sprint Triathlon. In the meantime, we've been keeping busy on our bike trainers, running in the rain (and on treadmills when we decide to be wimps) and (of course) in the pool swimming laps.
It was so nice to see everyone in Toronto over the holidays. Both Christmas Eve with the Calderon's and Christmas Day with the Montgomery's were memories that will be truly cherished. We're so sorry we missed the MacMillan's this year but are hoping that our move to Kingston, Ontario in the spring will allow us to see you more often. We're still waiting on the posting message which will be released in March, but so far things are looking good... keep your fingers crossed!
Wishing you all a wonderful year of health and happiness! Amber & Matt