Run For Sherry.....

http://www.shutupandrun.net/2012/01/virtual-run-for-sherry-arnold-february.html

Saturday Funnies

Stolen from other blogs




And



Oh yea, my knee doesn't hurt anymore but my calf is killing me. I can barely walk. New Year, new coach and same old problems...............

Tag, I'm It

So Adena nailed me. 

11 Random Things About Me

1.  I'm not getting much work done today with all this blogging (so far this has taken several hours)
2.  I'm pretty much an A-hole when I'm tired and don't get enough sleep (which is all the time)
3.  I rarely get lost although I do use a GPS
4.  I can remember phone numbers and license plates
5.  I can't spell if my life depended on it.  Thank god for spell check
6.  I've back packed to Australia, New Zealand, Western Europe, Israel and Egypt.  I've eaten Mcdonalds in every country I've been in and it all tastes about the same.
7.  I work less than five minutes away from where I grew up.  My parents still live in the same house
8.  I have one sister and three brothers - two have done mutiple Ironmans and I'm trying to get my third brother into triathlons or at least duathlons
9.  I'm cheap and shop at No Frills (discount grocery store)
10.  I've done five bungy jumps. Four vertical (the highest was over 100 meters - 300 feet) and one horziontal in a bar in New Zealand.  Duh, of course alcohol was involved!
11.  I wake up between 4:30 - 4:45 am every day without an alarm.  If I need to wake up earlier, I can without an alarm.


My answers to being tagged:


1. What is your favourite ‘weird’ food to eat?
Beer


2. If you could have any job/career at all, what would it be?
I'm doing it now


3. Do you know how I can get my safari address bar back permanently?
You're SOL, switch to Google Chrome

4. What is your best race memory?
My first traithlon was Belwood sprint in 2009 and I was running full blast.  Right at the 6 km sign, I rolled my ankle and went down like a zebra being shot except I tucked my shoulder and my momentum carried forward.  I sprang up and took off running.  Everybody around me cheered.  Coming down the last 500 meters, I was sprinting full out and I didn't feel my ankle but after the race I took off my shoe and my ankle swelled up like a balloon


5. What is your favourite song right now?
LMAFO - Party Anthem



6. What is your favourite training/racing gadget?

POWER TAP!!!  - eat your heart out John P
 7. Do you prefer to train with a team, or alone? Why?

Depends.  Usually if I'm running or riding (indoors) alone because I start around 5 am and no one is around.  If I'm swimming, then with my swimming bud.  Swimming alone sucks

8. What is in your fridge right now?

Beer and food.  What else would be in a fridge?

9. Favourite TV show? (if you watch TV)

Hmmm tough one.  I don't really watch TV other than sports highlights.  I like Holmes Inspection (which I rarely see), Weeds and Mad Men but I borrowed the sets from my manager and watch them on a my kids 7 inch portable DVD player so I don't actually watch it on TV

10. Favourite book?

Don't really have a favourite book but the book I'm currently reading (again) is Nick Leeson.  The original rouge trader who brought down a 400 year old English bank




11. Do you have any pets? If so what, name, age.

Yup three of them

Rebeeca 8
Vanessa 6
Jake 4.5



 Here are the rules:


1. Post these rules

2. You must post 11 random things about yourself

3. Answer the questions set for you in their post

4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer

5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them

6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!


11questions for you to answer:

1.  Why and how did you get into triathlons?
2.  Dark or white meat?
3.  Beer, wine or liquor?
4.  Where did you grow up?
5.  TT or road bike?
6.  Favorite vacation?
7.  What do you do now that your parents did (and hated) when you were growing up?
8.  Your favorite sport (not including swimming, biking or running)?
9.  How many days per week do you spend on Slowtwitch?
10.  How long ago was it since you've been hammered (drunk)?
11.  $20,000.  What would you buy with it?

First Indoor/Outdoor Brick

In my last post, I mentioned that the batteries in the Power Tap hub died despite being replaced in September 2011.  I have no idea how to change the batteries nor do I have any tools so I decided to take it to a very well known local bike store (LBS) in Toronto.  Fortunately its only 10 minutes away from my work so Friday afternoon I had a lunch meeting and after took my rear tire into the store.  I had called on Thursday and they said it would only take 10 minutes to change and cost about $30 which I was totally fine.  During lunch I had the tire in the trunk of my car and the weather was a little chilly probably around -5 degrees Celsius.  I took the tire in to the LBS and watched the guy struggled to take the hub off.  He tried for about 15 minutes but the tool kept slipping off the hub.  He finally declared that the hub might be too cold (from sitting outside) and wait for an hour to warm up.  I had to get back to work for a meeting so I agreed to come back in a couple of hours realizing it was Vanessa's birthday and I promised to take her to McDonalds for dinner earlier that morning.

My meeting ran way longer than I anticipated and worse it started to snow.  By this time it was around 5:00 pm and I knew with the snow storm it would take over about 90 minutes or more to get home.  I got to the LBS and they still couldn't get the hub off.  They had several employees try to get it off and finally decided to use a wrench to take it off but they would have to crunch (destroy) the hub.  They said it would cost about $15 to replace the hub and I said go ahead as Vanessa would be freaking out by now as it was around 5:30 pm.   They said it would take about 15 minutes to change it so I whipped out to a nearby electronics store to get Vanessa's birthday present (great parenting).  I came back and they somehow managed to get the hub off without damaging it and had changed the battery.  Sweet!  They changed the batteries and then tested the hub.  They turned on the computer head as they spun the tire but there were no power readings on the head.  They couldn't figure it out and I was dying to get home.  They dicked around with it for another 15 minutes before giving up.  The other bike mechanic was busy with a customer doing a bike fitting.  They suggested I leave the tire with them and when the mechanic was free he could figure out what the problem was and later that night, I would meet up with one of the employees near my home and he could give me back my wheel.  It was the best they could come up with so we exchanged cell phone numbers and I took off.  I had my traffic GPS and it showed me that I had a long drive home.  I was probably about 20 minutes away from the LBS when I got a call and the guy asked me if this was a wired Power Tap unit.  I said yes and instantly I realized why there were no power readings from the head.  I HAVE A WIRED UNIT AND THAT'S WHY THERE WERE NO READINGS!!  DDDDUUUUHHHHH!!!!!!!  I turned around and went back to the LBS and with my tail between my legs, picked up my wheel.  It took me over 90 minutes to get home as I got stuck in traffic and my traffic GPS was useless.  I promised to take Vanessa to Mcdonalds Sunday night instead.

Saturday mornings Jake has indoor soccer at 9:30 am and I had a two hour ride and a 30 minute run schedule and Vanessa had her birthday party starting at 12:30 pm so the only way I was going to get this workout in was to get up at 4:30 am.  One thing coach wants me to do is to ride at a steady power output.  Previously when I was riding on an unstructured workout, as my mind would wander, my output would wander.  Now coach wants me to ride at a steady pace throughout the entire workout.  The trouble with that is when ex-coach changed my Power Tap batteries my watts suddenly shot up by 25%.  I mentioned it to him and he chalked it up to I gotten a lot stronger but this was a significant problem at Muskoka 70.3 last year.  I had no idea what watts I should have been riding at.  I would be coasting and my Power Tap showed I was still generating watts even though I wasn't peddling.  With the change in the batteries, I think the problem has been corrected but I still don't know what watts I can generate and maintain so this morning was a bit of trial and error.  The first set was a disaster as I rode way too easy and my heart rate was no where near what the target heart rate should have been.  The second set was better as I rode about 25% harder.  One thing about these workouts is that it sure makes time fly when doing a structured workout by watching your watts, heart rate, cadence and time as opposed to just riding for two hours.  I had a portable DVD player and was watching Aliens vs Predator.  It was one of those movies that I'm glad I didn't pay to see it in the movie theatre.

After the ride, I had a 30 minute run which normally wouldn't have been a problem but it was about -15 Celsius with the windchill.  I had brought downstairs a complete change of clothes and dried off as much as I could.  I think it took me about 15 minutes to change clothes as I was soaking wet from the ride and its hard to put dry clothes on while you're wet.  As soon as I ran 100 feet I knew that I should have dressed warmer.  My back was wet even though I had changed shirts and the cold wind instantly whipped down my back.  It was snowing pretty good so I couldn't even run that fast.  I told myself this run wasn't about speed but just to build up base.  My toes and figures were freezing despite wearing my cold weather socks and gloves.  I need to wear warmer clothes.

Now that said, this has been an awesome winter as its only gotten cold a couple of days.  On Tuesday, it supposed to hit 7 degrees.  Unheard of for mid January!!  However, the downside of this great winter, is a smoking hot summer.  There is no fun running when the temperature is 40 degree Celsius (+100 degrees F).

Tomorrow is my long run of 90 minutes.  We'll see how the knee holds up as it was a little achy today but no issues.  My gout issue was not a problem today and seems to have disappeared as fast as it appeared.

Just Swimming, Biking And Running Along

Well half way through my first "official" training schedule and its been pretty much the same as the "unofficial" training schedule.  On the swimming front, nothing going on other than the usual Masters stuff.  I got beat by the coach and his 15 year old daughter in a 25 meter race.  They did butterfly while I did freestyle and they both smoked me.  I need to find some 10 year olds so I can build up my self esteem. 

On the riding front, the batteries in the hub for my power tap died again.  Oddly enough, they were changed by my previous coach in September.  I watched him open a drawer and pull out a couple of batteries and place them in my hub.  Hmmmm I wonder how "fresh" they were?  Well I guess I know the answer to that question.

On the running front, because I signed up for Around The Bay, the oldest race in North America, I've started to ramp up the running.  I was only running twice a week for about 50-60 minutes and need to start building the base.  I mentioned to coach that I signed up for ATB and she expressed surprise as my long run has only been about 1:10 but I checked last year's schedule and my long run for the same week was 1:30 so I'm not that far off.  However, my right knee has been bugging me after I ride and run.  On the pain scale, its very very minor but I went to see Dr Stoddard just to check things out.  He poked, prodded and twisted my knee around but couldn't really find anything wrong.  He wasn't sure what it was but suggested to do lots of stretching of the quads. 

After the appointment, I went over to my parent's house (they live five minutes from my work) and went for an hour run.  The weather wasn't bad but it started to snow and the wind was nasty.  It snowed just enough to cover the ice on the paths.  I actually ran through a golf course  The Donalda Club is a very exclusive private club and I actually used to work there as a waiter (my first job as a waiter) many years ago.  Actually I was working there when Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers. I think the membership is $100,000ish.  Obviously no one was on the golf course but I stuck to the cart path which was a little icy and had a layer of snow covering it just to make things interesting.  My knee began to bug me but I pushed on and finished the hour run (later I check my schedule and was only supposed to go for 45 minutes).

Last night my knee was throbbing even more so I iced it down and this morning its was ok buuuuutttt my left foot was very sore.  The knuckle spot behind my big toe was very sore and warm.  It seems that my pseudogout has returned.  It is very similar to regular gout and is just as painful.  It only appears once every two years and it comes and goes after a couple of days.  One thing that seems to help is if I scrunch my toes.  I think it helps move the fluid out of the joints.  Let's hope this doesn't last long

Tomorrow is my first indoor/outdoor brick.  I have a two hour ride followed by a 30 minute run.  Did I mention it -10 degrees Celsius?

Today (Friday) is my official "off day" so I dug up the P90X yoga video and started doing some yoga.  I lasted 30 minutes and turned off the yoga and rolled on my $50 dollar trigger point roller.  I made sure to nail the quads which were painful. 

That's all I got. 

And So It Begins......

Tomorrow marks the first day of training with my new coach.  I've already received my schedule for the next two weeks and while it doesn't look all that different from my previous schedules, the one major difference will be doing bricks at this time of the year.  Normally, I don't start doing bricks until May but coach says that we do them all year around.  No big deal except I wonder what it will be like to do a two hour trainer session and then run outside when its like -20 degrees?  We'll soon find out.

It certainly has been an interesting last two months trying to find a new coach.  Working in the "service industry" myself, I'm quite shocked on the lack of service that is in triathlon coaching.  I contacted several coaches out of the blue but was referred by friends who knew and recommend them.  The first coach never responded to my emails while I traded emails with another coach, upon trying to confirm our meeting, she never responded.  I find this attitude totally bizarre.  Either they are full up and don't want anymore athletes or I don't fit their profile (maybe they looked up my race results).

I toyed with the idea of self coaching as I know lots of athletes who have completed Ironmans that I could rely on for information but while I have completed two Half Ironmans, moving up to a full Ironman is like moving into the unknown.  Triathlon training isn't exactly rocket scientist stuff, however I don't want to risk a DNF on my first Ironman simply because I was trying to save a couple of bucks.

Why I picked my current coach was due to several reasons
1.  My two brothers who used to do Ironmans had said good things about the coach
2.  I know two other guys up here that are currently working with coach and have said good things
3.  I met them at Muskoka 70.3 and saw the interaction they had with their athletes
4.  I met with my coach and liked the game plan she laid out and this is the key.

Like most people, training for triathlons is like juggling balls.  Its a constant shuffling of priorities around and trying to jam in workouts and some do it better than others.  With a young family (8, 6 and 4.5 years old kids) and a sometimes demanding job (come February, I usually work 6 days a week and have evening meetings) its almost impossible to squeeze in 15-20 hours of training.  And if I did, the impact of my "tiredness" would fall upon the kids.  Its not fair to them or my wife.  Coach offered what I thought was a reasonable and doable plan for Ironman Mont Tremblant and that's what it came down to.  While it would be nice to qualify for Kona, right now that level of training is simply not possible.

Here's to a great 2012 race season for everyone!

Seriously???

Divorced man suing over wedding pictures says case is
about broken promise



Jennifer Peltz


It may come across as an extreme case of nuptial nostalgia: A now-divorced man saying a photography studio should pay to recreate his wedding to make up for what he considers flawed pictures and video.

But after being branded a “groomzilla,” Todd Remis said Tuesday his now-notorious lawsuit is about holding a business to a pledge, not holding onto a broken marriage.

“It was their failure to deliver after a promise and a handshake” agreement to retouch the photos, Remis said in a statement provided to The Associated Press. “How could a business treat a customer this way?”

It was his first public response to a flurry of acidic commentary on the case in recent months.

While suits over wedding photographs aren’t unusual, what set Remis’ case apart is his mention of wanting to reconstitute the ceremony and celebration of a bygone union. He said during sworn questioning this summer that the two began divorce proceedings in 2008. The split was final in 2010, and he said he believed his ex-wife had moved back to her native Latvia.

Nonetheless, “I need to have the wedding recreated exactly as it was so that the remaining 15 per cent of the wedding that was not shot can be shot” and the album and video completed “so we have memories of the wedding,” he said during his July deposition, according to a transcript. “So we would need to recreate everything to complete that.”

After his remarks about recreating the wedding appeared in a story in The New York Times in November, Remis’ quest became a punchline in quarters ranging from the legal blogosphere to the city’s tabloids. The Daily News gave him a “New York Knucklehead Award”; CNN’s Anderson Cooper included Remis on his “RidicuList.”

Remis declined through a spokeswoman to be interviewed.

Remis sued H&H Photographers in 2009, saying the venerable suburban New York studio had done a shoddy job of shooting his and Milena Grzibovska’s December 2003 wedding at a century-old hotel overlooking the Hudson River.

The photographer ignored the couple’s request not to shoot in front of a mirror that ended up reflecting photographers’ lights, and the photographer and videographer left 45 minutes before the end of the reception, missing the last dance and the bouquet toss, says Remis, 44, who has worked as a stock analyst.

Grzibovska, who is in her early 30s, had come to New York in June 2002 from the University of Iceland to study how to teach English to foreign-language speakers, according to a piece that September in a Columbia University newspaper.

The couple had paid a $3,500 advance toward a $4,100 total price for the photos, part of a wedding he said cost $48,000 in all, including guests’ travel.

Still, Remis and his bride “were newly married and in love” and not looking for a fight with photographers, his statement says.

H&H co-owner Daniel Fried says he stands by the quality of the two hours of video and the hundreds of colour and black-and-white photos, which were shot on film.

“I think the photography is lovely,” Fried said by phone from the studio in Irvington, New York. But he said he offered in 2004 to adjust the photos and upgrade the wedding album, telling Remis the two needed first to pick out which pictures they wanted.

“Obviously, I couldn’t turn back the clock,” Fried said.

He says Remis never got back to H&H until he wrote in 2009 to demand a refund and interest — about $5,750 in all — and the completed photos and video.

No contact information could be found for Grzibovska.

The idea of a wedding-photos dispute that outlasted the marriage has been met with raised eyebrows by Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan, who invoked lyrics from the Barbara Streisand hit “The Way We Were” in a ruling last year that threw out some legal claims but let others go forward.

“This is a case in which it appears that the ‘misty watercolour memories’ and the ‘scattered pictures of the smiles ... left behind’ at the wedding were more important than the real thing,” she wrote.

And H&H co-founder Harold Gillet put it more bluntly in an August 2010 letter to the court: “The divorce renders the further demands for photos, etc., ridiculous.”

Both sides have suggested they might be open to a settlement, but the case continues for now.

Doh!

Wow!  I'm glad this didn't happen to me when I did it in New Zealand but then I only did a 105 meter jump





CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA—An Australian tourist bungee jumping in Africa plunged 111 metres into a river when her cord snapped, but she managed to swim to safety with a broken collarbone and her legs tied together.


Erin Langworthy told Nine Network television news Sunday that she blacked out briefly when she hit the Zambesi River on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe on Dec. 31.

“I felt like I’d been slapped all over,” the 22-year-old from Perth said.

Video taken of the jump shows the cord snapping and Langworthy smacking into the river before the current pulled her into rapids.

“You get sucked under and then you pop up so it’s very disorienting — I didn’t know which was up or down,” she said.

She said the trailing cord repeatedly snagged, so she “had to swim down and yank the bungee cord out of whatever it was caught on to make it to the surface.”

Langworthy swam through the rapids to reach the Zimbabwe bank.

Southern Province Police Commissioner Brenda Muntemba told tahe Post Zambia newspaper that Langworthy was treated at a clinic in Zimbabwe before being evacuated to South Africa.

The jump from the Victoria Falls Bridge is operated by Safari Par Excellence, whose website describes the bungee experience as “111 metres of pure Adrenalin!”

The 27 Rules of Conquering the Gym

The 27 Rules of Conquering the Gym By JASON GAY



This is the time of year when even people who hate the gym think about going to the gym. Many of us are still digesting whole floors of gingerbread houses, and jeans that fit comfortably in October are now a denim humiliation.
Sweating is a good way to begin 2012. Exercise, like dark chocolate and office meetings that suddenly get canceled, is a proven pathway to nirvana. But if you're going to join a gym—or returning to the gym after a long hibernation—consider the following:

1. A gym is not designed to make you feel instantly better about yourself. If a gym wanted to make you feel instantly better about yourself, it would be a bar.

2. Give yourself a goal. Maybe you want to lose 10 pounds. Maybe you want to quarterback the New York Jets into the playoffs. But be warned: Losing 10 pounds is hard.

3. Develop a gym routine. Try to go at least three times a week. Do a mix of strength training and cardiovascular conditioning. After the third week, stop carrying around that satchel of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.

4. No one in the history of gyms has ever lost a pound while reading "The New Yorker" and slowly pedaling a recumbent bicycle. No one.

5. Bring your iPod. Don't borrow the disgusting gym headphones, or use the sad plastic radio attachment on the treadmill, which always sounds like it's playing Kenny Loggins from a sewer.

6. Don't fall for gimmicks. The only tried-and-true method to lose 10 pounds in 48 hours is food poisoning.

7. Yes, every gym has an overenthusiastic spinning instructor who hasn't bought a record since "Walking on Sunshine."

8. There's also the Strange Guy Who is Always at the Gym. Just when you think he isn't here today...there he is, lurking by the barbells.

9. "Great job!" is trainer-speak for "It's not polite for me to laugh at you."

10. Beware a hip gym with a Wilco step class.

11. Gyms have two types of members: Members who wipe down the machines after using them, and the worst people in the universe.

12. Nope, that's not a "recovery energy bar with antioxidant dark chocolate." That's a chocolate bar.

13. Avoid Unsolicited Advice Guy, who, for the small fee of boring you to death, will explain the proper method for any exercise in 45 minutes or longer.

14. You can take 10 Minute Abs, 20 Minute Abs, and 30 Minute Abs. There is also Stop Eating Pizza and Eating Sheet Cake Abs—but that's super tough!

15. If you're motivated to buy an expensive home exercise machine, consider a "wooden coat rack." It costs $40, uses no electricity and does the exact same thing.

16. There's the yoga instructor everyone loves, and the yoga instructor everyone hates. Memorize who they are.

17. If you see an indoor rock climbing wall, you're either in a really cool gym or a romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson.

18. Be cautious about any class with the words "sunrise," "hell," or "Moby."

19. If a gym class is going to be effective, it's hard. If you're relaxed and enjoying yourself, you're at brunch.

20. If you need to bring your children, just let them loose in the silent meditation class. Nobody minds, and kids love candles.

21. Don't buy $150 sneakers, $100 yoga pants, and $4 water. Muscle shirts are for people with muscles, and rhythm guitarists.

22. Fancy gyms can be seductive, but once you get past the modern couches and fresh flowers and the water with lemon slices, you're basically paying for a boutique hotel with B.O.

23. Everyone sees you secretly racing the old people in the pool.

24. If you're at the point where you've bought biking shoes for the spinning class, you may as well go ahead and buy an actual bike. It's way more fun and it doesn't make you listen to C+C Music Factory.

25. Fact: Thinking about going to the gym burns between 0 and 0 calories.

26. A successful gym membership is like a marriage: If it's good, you show up committed and ready for hard work. If it's not good, you show up in sweatpants and watch a lot of bad TV.

27. There is no secret. Exercise and lay off the fries. The end.



Where's my infomercial and best seller?

Time To Start Training



New Year's Resolution 2012

Stolen from http://iwannagetphysical.blogspot.com/

At least this morning I managed a 8.5 km run at a dreadful pace of 6:15 min\km.  Oddly enough there weren't many people out at 7:00 am New Year's Day.

Oh, and I signed up for Around The Bay 30 km race in March

How's your over hang?

2011 Year In Review

Well 2011 certainly didn't go down as I planned.  Although I was rather pleased with the results of my running races, the triathlon season was pretty much a write off because of a stress fracture from the Toronto Marathon.

The race season was supposed to be as followed:

Chilly Half Marathon
Around The Bay (30 km)
Sporting Life 10 km
Toronto Good Life Marathon
Muskoka Long Course
Peterborough Half Iron
Calgary 70.3
Muskoka 70.3

So how did the race season go?

Chilly Half Marathon
I missed a PB by seconds despite rolling my ankle three times during the race.

Around The Bay 
A race which is older than the Boston marathon and one I've wanted to run for a long time.  I've trained three times for this race but only run it once due to injuries.  Oh yeah and I beat John P.

Sporting Life 10 km
DNS

The Toronto marathon.
My first marathon.  It was a crappy day and rained a lot and I could barely walk after the race. As it turned out I got a stress fracture on my lower shin.  That pretty much eliminated most of the triathlon races for the summer.

Muskoka Long Course
DNS

Peterborough Half Iron
This race turned into an Aqua\Bike as I still couldn't run.  I decided to give everyone a 25 minute head start on the swim as I stood on the shore watching the athletes come out of the water for the end of the first lap.  Only then did it dawn on me that it was a mass start.  Doh.  Also, it was smoking hot and had nutrition issues on the bike.

Calgary 70.3
DNS.  Although I was in Calgary during the race, I could barely run.  My long run was up to about 5 km.  The race would have been painful to finish (literally and figuratively)

Muskoka 70.3
A major disappointment as I was one minute slower than last year.  I thought with riding my new tri bike and power tap all summer, I would have seen an improvement

Tammy did a couple of Duathlons.  Guelph and Orillia - Kids of Steel and -Duathlon.html. The kids did the Kids Of Steel triathlon and it was a lot of fun on the Saturday and Tammy did the Duathlon the next day.

Looking Ahead To 2012
Well first thing is to look for a new coach.  I need to make a decision rather soon while i am still training it will be time to ramp it up.  On Friday morning I rode for 2:45 using my new riding shorts I bought on Boxing Day.  Tammy had given me an action DVD so I watched the first two movies.  The first one was dumb as it was about a small town cop discovering evidence about the Kennedy assassination and cover up.  The next movie was with Dolph Lundgren which I've never heard of and for good reason.  It was just brutal but it helped kill the time.

With Ironman Mont Tremblant looming in only 231 days, 2012 will be filled with lots of hard and long days.

Happy New Year and all the best for 2012!

Boxing Day Score

Once upon a time ago, I used to go Boxing Day shopping (the day after Christmas and everything is on sale) with my brothers.  We would spend hours and hours at various malls around the city shopping for clothes and electronics.  We had it down to a fine art.  Leave the house by 6:00 am and hit several stores by 7:00 am.  Sometimes we'd be done by 11:00 am when the malls where getting crazily busy, other times we'd push on through and fight the crowds and come home late afternoon.  We'd usually spent lots of money and come home with tons of stuff.

Fast forward to this year.  I had zero desire to go out although I did browse on Best Buy's website for the Boxing Day sale which started Dec 25th at 8:00 pm.  I was mulling over getting a plasma TV for the bedroom to replace the old but still working 20 inch TV.  I passed as the prices weren't cheap enough.  Something about "need" versus "want."  However, I did decide there were several things I "needed" at Running Free.  They had 25% off everything plus and additional 20% off if you spent more than $500.  We got the full 45% off everything.  We picked up three pairs of shoes, two for me and one for Tammy.  I changed my shoes after the Toronto Marathon in May and the shoes are completely destroyed.  Talk about a heel striker.  The heel is completely worn down on the right side.  We also purchased new riding shorts, gel, bathing suit, and a new foam roller

This one is a lot more expensive but different than the other foam rollers I've been buying.  This one has a hard plastic tube inside so it can't be crushed unlike the foam rollers which over time lose their shape and effectiveness.  Not this one.  They sell for $50 but with the sale, I got for 45% off.  We spent over $700 after the discount.  Ouch

Last week I went to a physio therapist downtown a the Toronto Athletic Club Clinic in one of the office towers.  Ryan had come highly recommended by Scobie and I was looking for someone to build a simple but effective workout schedule for strength training and that I could do in my basement with minimal weights (ie body weight).  I had not used any my physio coverage from my work benefits so this was perfect.  I saw him three days in a roll.  The Toronto Athletic Club is on the 36th floor of an office tower and is pretty high end.  It caters to all lot of the downtown executives.  I'm not sure what the monthly fee is but it can't be cheap however, if I worked downtown, it would be super convenient.

On the first visit, I went through a series of strength and balancing tests.  Overall I wasn't bad but came up with a failing grade with a score of 13/21.  Basically any score lower than 14 can lead the body to injuries and oddly enough, I get hurt every year.  The second and third visit were going over the program that Ryan built for me. Its a pretty basic program that focuses on the glutes and legs and can be done with minimal weights and within 30 minutes but Ryan assured me that's all I need to minimize the injuries.  This should be perfect as I thoroughly agree that I need a strength training program but could never get anyone to build me one.  We'll see how it goes

Touchdown!

Nothing else going on.  I ran on Christmas Day for 9.5 km and hit 181.2 pounds on the scale.  Oink oink

The Boston Marathon

Today a work colleague offered me the chance to run the Boston Marathon 2012 (without qualifying) via a special sponsorship/fundraising entry.

I thanked him but declined.  One of my brothers had run Boston several times to which he qualified each time.  I think my qualification time right now would be a 3:35 marathon to which I'm not even close.

Somehow, I felt that if I did accept, I didn't belong as I didn't "earn" my entry.  Odd.  I guess that would be sort of like going to Kona by winning the lottery.

David Wilson

David Wilson


 
DAVID WILSON It is with profound sadness we announce the passing of our family member, David Wilson on December 12, 2011. Loving son of George and Barbara Wilson, devoted husband to Anny-Sandra Hamel and proud father of Marissa Rose and Arianne. He will be greatly missed by his sisters Karen (Mike), Susan and Michelle and brother-in-law Jean-Sebastian (Nathalie). Loving uncle to Megan, Kaitlyn, Audrey and Catherine. Highly respected son-in-law to Jean Hamel and Carmen Guay. Cousin to Keith (Jayne), Chris (Cindy) and many other cousins. David had a wonderful "joie de vivre" - a positive, outgoing person who loved life. His girls were his greatest source of pride and family was of utmost importance. David was a successful investment advisor with Nesbitt Burns, loved his new cottage, and shared many wonderful adventures with friends and family
 
 
I haven't talked to Dave in a couple of years but I've know Dave since our rookie training class back in September 1997.  I saw him a couple of times when I went downtown and we'd have a beer or two and oddly enough, I was thinking about him a couple of weeks ago. 
 
I don't know what happened but I do know that Dave was a good guy and he had two young kids that were a little older than my kids. 
 
This is a tough time of year for many people. 
 
Rest In Peace Dave

Feeling Like a Loser This Holiday Season?

Here's How to Hire a Bigger Loser!

by: Jane Wells

Now this holiday season - you can hire a bigger nerd than you.

A friend forwarded me an ad on Craigslist which pitches the services of the greatest holiday must-have ever—a Criticism Deflector.

"Perhaps you're the least successful of a number of siblings and will be reminded of this bleak reality ad nauseam during the long weekend," the ad began in originally pitching the service for Thanksgiving. "If you're losing sleep over the possibility of yet another Power Point presentation on the reasons why calling your life a failure is too good for you; then I can help."

The ad offers the services of a man in Asheville, North Carolina, who's willing to come to dinner with you and appear to be an even bigger failure than you are. This would make you look better.

"Don't be the most piteous person in the room, have the satisfaction of watching your pathetic proxy wear out your source of negativity."

The seller charges by the hour and offers several different packages: Loser ex-boyfriend, roommate who can't get life together, and co-worker with obvious drug/mental problems.

Too bad Thanksgiving passed. I could've used this guy.

I reached out to the seller to see if his services are still available for Hanukkah and Christmas.

They are.

I also got the hilarious back story on how the listing came to be.

"I started a blog earlier this year that centered around Craigslist postings," wrote the seller, who prefers to go by the nom de plume of H.D. Wimbledon. Turns out, Mr. Wimbledon is a former cable news anchor and reporter in Asheville who lost that job and has been making ends meet working part time at a local community college. In February, he launched his first tongue-in-cheek Craigslist post offering free breakfast to anyone who could explain the TV show "Lost". "I HAVE seen every episode of Lost," the ad reads, "repeat I HAVE watched the entire series, I just can't tie it all together." The ad got enough buzz that one of the creators of the ABC hit show put it on his Twitter feed.

There then followed a series of other Craigslist offers, including my favorite, an offer of "free candy" with a photo of a seedy looking van. "Comes with complementary van ride." Wimbledon's blog got some attention, but literary agents have yet to ring the phone off the hook. So the aspiring writer continues to Tweet hilarious musings and occasionally add another listing "just for kicks and giggles." 

I don't know Wimbledon's real name, even his name on Twitter isn't completely accurate. I just know that he's a guy. I also know he likes cats, because in one email he notified me he'd be offline for a while. "I’ve got to take my cat to the vet. I’m sure you’re shocked to learn I’m a multiple cat owner."

That's funny.

As for the Thanksgiving ad, Wimbledon tells me he didn't get many bites, but he's hoping for something more substantial during Christmas. However, he's willing to be your loser companion year round "for wide variety of other occasions such as class reunions, office parties, poetry slams & winery tours."

Wow, to be the biggest loser at a poetry slam will take some work.

Now That's Got To Suck!

TOKYO—An outing of luxury sportscar enthusiasts in Japan ended in an expensive freeway pileup — smashing a stunning eight Ferraris, a Lamborghini and two Mercedes likely worth more than $1 million together.

Police say they believe the accident Sunday was touched off when the driver of one of the Ferraris tried to change lanes and hit the median barrier. He spun across the freeway, and the other cars collided while trying to avoid hitting his car.
Even a used Ferrari in Japan can fetch $100,000 or more, meaning the total damage may be $1 million or more.
Police declined to comment on the total amount of damage, but said some of the vehicles were beyond repair.

NTV quoted the driver of one of the tow trucks brought in to clear the scene as saying it was the most expensive crash site he had ever seen.
No one was seriously injured, but police in Yamaguchi prefecture said 10 people were treated for bruises and cuts. Police say 14 cars were involved altogether.
The luxury cars were all in one place because they were being driven by a group of automobile enthusiasts on their way to nearby Hiroshima.






On the training front, I rode on the trainer for two hours on Saturday.  In a word....UGH!  I began to bonk around the 1:30 mark and took a quick pee break but mentally it was tough.  One trick I did learn from reading Jordon Rapp's blog, is to count to 300 and then start over again and again.  That keeps the mental focus on the counting and not looking at the watch every 35 seconds wondering how I am going to finish the workout.

On the running front, I ran twice last week and my foot seemed ok.  The Planter fasciitis doesn't seem as bad as I've been strengthening and stretching my calves.  I admit that over the last several months, I haven't been stretching my calves after each workout.  No doubt, this is payback. I use a small wooden roller for the bottom and both sides of my feet.  Holy crap, did it ever hurt when I first started rolling but now its not too bad.  No John P, I didn't pay for this roller.  Someone gave it to me for free.



On the coaching front, I was supposed to meet with another triathlon coach who came highly recommended from a friend.  We exchanged emails and she wanted the usual info goals, expectation, experience etc.  She also wanted to know my race results from 2010 (I presumed she meant 2011).  Seriously, how hard is it to look up somebody's results by going to Sportstats?  Hmmm, that started me wondering but we were supposed to meet on Thursday at 3 pm but did not set a place.  I emailed her early Thursday morning but didn't hear back from her.  This is the second time I've sent a triathlon coach an email requesting a meeting and the second time I've received no response.  Maybe they a) looked up my results and decided I'm useless as an athlete and didn't want to coach me, b) don' t read emails although this last coach was sending emails from her iphone c) aren't looking to take on new athletes or d) not familiar with customer service.  Just like my last coach

CFL Reunion - 73 Year Old Start Brawling With A 74 Year Old!

Laughter turned to gasps when two former Canadian Football League rivals in their 70s exchanged vigorous punches on stage at an alumni luncheon in Vancouver this week.


In an online video that has quickly gone viral, former B.C. Lions quarterback Joe Kapp, 73, started the ruckus by offering former Hamilton Ticats defensive lineman Angelo Mosca, now 74, a sprig of flowers.

Kapp later said he was trying to end a feud that dates back to the 1963 Grey Cup game when Mosca injured Lions running back Willie Fleming with a hard tackle.

"I'm Angelo Mosca and someone starts waving a flower in my face," the former wrestler said later. "You think I'm gonna take that?"

Mosca, who was sitting down, lashed out with his cane. Then Kapp threw punched Mosca, knocking him off his chair.
"He hit me on the side of the head with a cane," Kapp said.

To which, Mosca replied, "When I went down, he kicked me."

CTV's Suneel Joshi said the fight was so bizarre, the crowd initially thought it was staged.

"People thought it was a joke -- until they saw the right hook from Joe Kapp."

When interviewed after the altercation, Mosca said he was simply defending himself.

"You take a shot at me, I'm gonna take a shot at you," he said.

Counting Calories - Fail

Someone brought in a large box of Peak Freen choclate cookies (one of my favorite cookies).  Everytime I walk by the kitchen, I grab two or three.  So much for counting calories.

Simply brutal

What Is Going On?

Just a quick update to let you know what is going on....nothing. 

A while ago, I bought a trainer tire and started using it when I rode my trainer (obviously).  Well it was a real PITA to put on but the next morning, it was flat so I struggled for another 30 minutes taking the tire off, changing the inner tube and putting the tire back on.  A couple of days ago, I got another flat so yesterday I took off the trainer tire and threw it in the corner.  I had an old tire from a couple of years ago and I'm just going to use that and ride it until there is no tread on it.

I'm using Saturday as my long ride and this week I really struggled to finish.  Normally I'll ride for about 90-100 minutes looking to burn about 1,200-1,500 calories however this Saturday, it took me 105 minutes to burn 1,000 calories.  It was a brutal ride.  I wasn't feeling all that great and probably a little tired from Friday's ride.  This morning, I rode for 65 minutes and burned 955 calories (I was pissed off).

On the running front....no runs.  My foot is still sore but I've been using a wooden roller on the bottom of my foot and it hurts like hell but its getting better.  I've started to stretch my calves more and started doing some calf raises and I think its helping.  I'll try and run this week and if it still hurts then I'll go see a doctor.

One the dieting front, just two words.....oink oink.  On Thursday morning, I hit my max weight, 180 pounds up from my race weight of 170 pounds.  I was going to buy some new suits (I wear one everyday) but a couple of years ago, I bought a new one on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas where everything is on sale) and by June it was too big.  I've also noticed my current suits are starting to get a little tight, so we are back to counting calories.  That means weighing, measuring and recording everything I eat (well almost).  The goal is to keep the calories down to about 1,800 per day while burning over 2,500 calories (including workouts).  The first thing I noticed is my serving size has gotten a lot bigger.  The plate seems much more empty when I measure everything.  The second thing I noticed is that I'M STARVING ALMOST ALL THE TIME!!!  What does it say if I finish eating a meal and I'm still hungry?

The goal is to get down to 175 the end of the month.  Yea that should be fun with all the holidays coming up.


 

IMAZ 2011 Finish - Pat Tillotson

Pat Tillotson - You Are An Ironman!!! - 17:00:00




Stolen from

http://iwannagetphysical.blogspot.com/2011/11/one-final-im-az-post-finish-line-video.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SteveInASpeedoGross+%28Steve+in+a+Speedo%3F%21+Gross%21%29

Minnesota Wild calls on 51-year-old beer league goalie

Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via GETTY IMAGES

Richard J. Brennan

Beer league goalie Paul Deutsch says it finally dawned on him that being called up by the Minnesota Wild wasn’t a dream when a valet parking attendant at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul opened his minivan door.

“Here they were valet parking my minivan. There is a Range Rover is in front of me and an Audi is behind and here I’ve got my four-cylinder minivan with the company logo on the side. The valet guys were dying (laughing),” Deutsch told the Toronto Star Thursday.

All the 51-year-old owner of an embroidery and screen sprint shop in the St. Paul’s area — called up by the Wild on Wednesday as an emergency backup goalie — says the only thing he can remember about the trip to the arena is being really scared and in a state of disbelief.

After all, his reason for making the trip is one of hockey legend, the kind of story that gives hope to pickup hockey players everywhere.

“I raced home and got my gear and started heading down to the arena . . . I don’t even remember how I got there. I was thinking to myself ‘I can’t go into this game … I don’t deserve to be there.’ I was very scared because what if …,” said the season’s ticket holder.

Earlier in they day he got the call from Bob Mason, the Wild’s goalie coach and golfing buddy, saying he had to sign a contract right away because he was needed immediately as an emergency backup to starter Josh Harding for Wednesday’s game against the Nashville Predators.

“I got called at 3 p.m. and I was probably at the arena by 4:30 p.m.,” said Deutsch, who joked that it did mean having to give up his regular Wednesday night game.

Because of NHL rules, the Wild weren’t allowed to sign a goaltender with professional experience. Deutsch’s amateur tryout contract fit within the rules.

Almost a year ago, a desperate Phoenix Coyote team in a game against the Rangers turned to Tom Fenton, a 26-year-old graduate student former goalie from Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y. The Canadian-born Fenton too didn’t get into the game but has a story to tell his grandkids.

While Deutsch is no stranger to some of the Wild brass — he’s a good friend of former Wild assistant coach Mike Ramsey — and has been the practice goalie for a number of years for the team, this call was entirely different. He was one injury away from having the professional spotlight on him.

Deutsch, who didn’t even start playing goalie until he was 37, was signed after Niklas Backstrom was declared out for personal reasons. And it was unclear if the night before the U.S. Thanksgiving whether Matt Hackett, being recalled from Houston, could make it to the Twin Cities in time.

“I was very scared because here we were talking about Hackett coming from Houston on Thanksgiving eve. ‘Come on, how’s going to do that?’”

Deutsch’s improbable shot at playing in an NHL game ended almost as quickly as it started when Hackett arrived at the arena just before the 7 p.m. game time and Deutsch was scratched.

He did however get out on the ice for about a minute or so during the warm-ups and better yet, he gets to keep his jersey. Chuck Fletcher, the Wild general manager, has also promised a copy of his NHL contract.
“This is something that I didn’t even realize, on that ice for a warm-up there are 40 men out there, big guys … and there is nowhere to go. And I couldn’t get out of the way. I almost clipped (Minnesota Wild forward Brad) Staubitz with my stick. He came over and said ‘can you imagine if you cut me during warm-ups.’ I was just a buffoon out there,” Deutsch said.

After the warm-up was over he discovered that Hackett had arrived in time. Deutsch’s locker had already been cleaned out to make way for the NHLer.

“Reality hit in a hurry. I was just gone. And there was my little chair with towel on it sitting in the room off the locker room where the sewing machine is and the skate sharpener and that stuff,” Deutsch said.
Deutsch stuck around to sit in on Wild coach Mike Yeo’s pre-game team meeting before taking his equipment off and heading to a suite with members of his daughter’s under-14 girls hockey team, which he coaches. He watched his beloved Wild win their fifth straight game with Harding making 23 saves.

“The whole thing was pretty cool,” he told the Star, adding he hopes he doesn’t have to pay for the puck he threw into the crowd as a souvenir.

Pat Tillotson...You Are An Ironman!!

Ironman Arizona Nov 2011

In case you haven't seen it on other blogs, Patricia Tillotson (age 56) from Wilmington, DE finished Ironman Arizona in dramatic fashion:

Swim 1:38:20

Bike 8:06:09

Run 7:00:00

Finishing time 17:00:00


Ironman Announcer Mike Riley (white hat) is screaming encouragement

2011 IMAZ male winner Eneko Lianos (blue shirt) is clapping

2011 IMAZ female third place finisher: Meredtih Kesslar (blue jacket and black hat)

2011 IMAZ female second place finisher: Lindsey Corbin (grey jacket)

Wow!

The Kid Is Back

The World Triathlon Corporation

From the Toronto Star

In 2008, Providence bought the World Triathlon Corp., which at the time staged or licenced the rights to 53 Ironman and half-Ironman events a year.

Endurance competitions were booming in the U.S.

In 2007, 800,000 racers participated in triathlons, and despite its modest coverage in the mainstream media, its popularity was on the rise. World Triathlon in 2007 generated more than $500 million in royalty payments from companies to put its Ironman brand name on watches, sunglasses and other items.

By 2009, 1.2 million racers participated in triathlons, and while the sport appealed to many, it was a still considered a gruelling challenge. A 2009 survey reported only 17 per cent of triathletes had finished an Ironman race in the previous year.

So this year, in a move to broaden the sport’s appeal, World Triathlon announced a new 13-race series called 5150. Races in the series would feature a 1.5-km swim, a 40-km bike ride and a 10-km run. (A traditional Ironman triathlon is a 3.8-km swim, 180-km bike race, and a 42-km run.)

Within five years, World Triathlon chief executive Andrew Fertic told The SportsBusiness Journal, the series could have 50 events averaging 2,300 athletes and more than 100,000 total participants.

New Canadian $100 Bill



Rippppp

So Canada gets a new one hundred dollar bill that is supposed to be indestructible as its made from plastic. 

Oppps, I ripped one.  I did the same thing in Australia when I ripped one of their five dollar bills that is made from plastic as well




Protester Literally Thrown Out of Zuccotti Park

See ya! Toronto, you're next!

Nada

Nada is going on these days.  I have nothing to write about for training.

• I'm eating like a pig.  Halloween was deadly.  I took a whole bunch of candy to work and people got mad at me
• I'm still looking for a coach.  I've interviewed one and want to talk to more
• I think I have Plantar fasclitis so I have not been running all that much (once a week)
• I'm riding indoors three times a week.  Had a hell of a time putting on the trainer tire 
• This is the time of year I get SAD except I do not get sad, more like extremely irritable and angry
• Jake's arm is still broken and now he had a fever for the last several days 

That is pretty much what is going on in my life

Poor Jakey

Post Halloween

Clearly there are some very creative pumpkin carvers out there

Happy Halloween

Who Wants Broccoli?

OJ Comes To Toronto!!!

Stolen transport leads police on chase across Ontario

By John Miner, QMI Agency

LONDON, Ont. — Police are pursuing a stolen transport truck that hit a police cruiser earlier Monday morning.

The tractor-trailer was stolen at about 4 a.m. in the Niagara region.

With about a dozen cruisers following, the truck rolled down Hwy. 403 and onto Hwy. 401, passing through the Woodstock area.

The driver then got off the westbound lanes, turned around and headed back eastbound through the Kitchener-Waterloo area and toward Toronto.

At 11:30 a.m., police were still pursing the truck, which had exited 401 and moved onto the QEW.

The truck apparently had a passenger who bailed out earlier.

1:22 p.m. Flatbed has pulled off the road near the Burlington Skyway at 1:22 p.m.

1:27 p.m.  Reports that driver of flatbed is in custody. Trying to confirm those details

Ahh yes.  Life in the Big City.  Never boring