Like a Fish outta water? And other things

So I may do something I never thought I would. I may join the "Fishtwitch" March challenge on slowtwitch. On this web forum, they create these little challenges and then you track and log your training and you can see where you rank in terms of different things (overall volume, distance, time, # of workouts, etc) amongst the other participants in the challenge. So they have some that are run specific (100 in 100), overall volume based on a points system, and there's ALWAYS a monthly "Fishtwitch" one, which is basically just swimming volume. I've never given that one much consideration because I've always know I don't swim enough and never had the desire to swim anymore than I absolutely HAVE TO. Well I figure if I wanna get faster, I'm going to have to get my butt in the pool A LOT more. My goal is to do 10, 000M per week, that's 2000M workouts 5 times per week, for the month of March. I'm pretty sure that if I do this I will match or be close to last YEAR'S OVERALL volume of swimming! That should be an awesome challenge, and it's great for active recovery from running. So I figure by the end of March I'll have some half decent swim fitness, and then I can seek out some help in terms of my stroke, to make it more efficient, and thus make me a little faster. I swam a hard 50M last night, all out, at the end of my workout and did it in 42 seconds, which I'm pretty happy with.

Today we're off to Surf Camp! We need to be in Sydney by 5:30PM but I think Tunes and I are going to go in earlier than that. I want to get to Southside Runner's (a store) to pick up some compression socks. These aid a lot with recovery and injury prevention.

When we get back from this trip I'm HARDCORE into finding a job. I need to get something soon as, even though Julia is making decent money, and enough to cover our basic living expenses, if we want to be able to save and take a nice trip or two I'll have to work as well.

Anyways, I'm off to the pool!

March 14

We were discussing how long we've already been here, feels like it's gone by so fast! We were trying to think back to a year, feels a long time ago. Closest thing I could remember was March 14th, Dine for Diabetes.

March 14th: Last year, Dine for Diabetes, this year Sixfoot Track Marathon, ALWAYS dad's bday. :)

PS - Mom and dad, I've been in the pool Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday so far this week. I'm going back tomorrow! I did 37 minutes (1500m), 50 minutes (2000m) and 52 minutes (2100)

Booyah

Surfing this weekend. Next weekend nothing. Weekend after that Sixfoot Marathon! Weekend after THAT National Swimming Championships (@ the National Olympic Aquatic Center (2000 Olympics)) Weekend after THAT, nothing. Weekend AFTER THAT, Ironman Australia @ Port MacQuarie with Jared and Katie and Julia (and probably meet up with Patrick)

So:
Feb 28/Mar 1: Surf Trip (Which Jared won the draw to win his money back! Lucky dog)
March 7/8: Nadda
March 14/15: Sixfoot Track Marathon and Jenolan Caves/Blue Mountains trip
Mach 21: National Swimming Championships
March 28/29: Nadda
April 4/5: Ironman Australia!

Booyah! And I'm joining the Kembla Joggers tomorrow. A local running club. I hope to get some structured training in. They meet formally with coaches twice a week, once at Beaton Park for running on the track (drills and such) and once at Stuart park for more corss country type running. It'll be good to get some feedback and perspectives from pro coaches and meet really fast runners. Last year's winner of sixfoot was a Kembla Jogger! BOOYAH. All towards the goal of a BQ @ Boston. :)

What else?
Oh yeah, first assignment got back today, 17/30. Ya, sounds bad. I haven't heard ANYTHING better though. Oh wait, one, 23/30. I heard LOTS (4 - 5) 15s a couple of 16s and one other 17. Wow, we either SUCK or they mark HARD. It was a group assignment (pairs) so those marks reflect twice as many people's work, if ya know what I mean. Ah well, can only get better I guess.

Tunes has had a little cough/head cold lately but I think she's getting over it. She used my nasal spray and said it's helping. She's excited to get into training and I know she'll do awesome. I think she'll actually join the KJs also. There's lots of shorter events that we can participate in for free also.

Our washing machine is busted, has been for almost a week. Laundry is piling up, and smelling awful, and I'm outta undies (well tunes cleaned one pair by hand) :) A guy came in today and looked at it and knows HOW to fix it but needs to write up an invoice and get the part he needs. Probably not til next week. Laundromat tomorrow. We also got a bigger fridge today, well sorta. Lee bought it ($300 and we can sell it back to them later) but it wasn't delivered.

Ok that's it.

Word to your mother.



PS - A period as in "." that ends a sentence? Ya that's called a "full stop" here... wtf? weird.

A Pretty Wicked Day

Background: MY friend Katie joined the tri club here in Wollongong and has met a ton of people. I was intending on going to the Australian Long Distance Championships in Huskisson and renting a car to get there. I heard a couple of weeks ago that she was getting a ride to the race from a gentleman on the team so I asked if I could tag along also. I got the green light so I was excited that I didn't have to pay for the car rental!

We met Ian at his place at 7:30AM and once he was finally all packed up we hit the road around 8ish. His son Matty came along too, a 7 year old with way too much energy. This whole day, from the onset was awesome. I was sitting up front with Ian and on the way down to Huskisson (where he grew up, about an hour and a half's drive) we got a great history of the different towns along the way and the landscape and such. Really interesting stuff.

We got to the race and I was itching to get down to the transition zone/start/finish/expo area to see all the excitement. We got down there and I heard on the loud speaker that Craig Alexander was 2 minutes down during the run. We got there about 3 hours into the elite's race so they were all out running and we'd see them finish soon. I killed a little time in the expo tent, checking out some stuff and picked up a BodyGlide stick as it was something that I was looking for in particular. Then we went back out and waited along the finishing chute for the pros to come in. First it was Pete Jacobs, a name I recognized and the new Australian Long Distance Champion. Then a short while later, the man, Craig Alexander came through, and then a bunch of the other people, who really cares? So I got some good photos of Pete and Craig finishing and hung around the back of the finishing area to see if Craig would come out as I wanted to get a photo with him real quick. That didn't really happen, he spent a ton of time in there giving interviews and getting massaged. So then we went over and watched some of the tri club people finish and I met a ton of them, all very nice people. Katie and I went back to the expo area and were checking out tri suits as she was looking for one. We found some at a good price and she started trying them on. I saw a pair of Orca race bottoms for $35, which back home retail for like $80 and grabbed them up as I only have one other pair.

A short while later we left the race and started again on a little tour of the area. First we went for food. Then down to a little beach area where I saw some MASSIVE pelicans, but we were truly on a hunt for Kangaroos. So we were told to head down to the St. George's Basin (maybe I'm wrong on the name) Golf Course. So on the way Ian spotted some in a field and we pulled over realy quick and got some photos of them! They were fenced in and a good distance away but it was still super cool to see. We got back in the car and continued to head down to the golf course. Finally we found it and there were TONS on this one hole, maybe 20 - 25 or so, and some with babies! We got TONS of photos and videos and got up real close to a few, it was really cool. The one in the photo with me was the largest of the bunch.

We returned via the mountains and got stuck in a little traffic but it wasn't too bad because it was interesting to just listen to what Ian had to say about the area.

I got home and showed Tunes the photos and she is very jealous. :)

The End.

Doing Me Proud!

So yesterday I was bored and checking out my race stuff and setting up my training program for the Gold Coast Marathon. I saw that it had me racing a HALF marathon on May 17th. This is common for marathon traiing programs as it is a good gauge of how your training and fitness is coming along. I searched for one on that date and found a nice little event in Canberra, which is only 3 hours away by car and the race itself was only $35. So then I told lil Tunes about it. It's cool that I'm/we're doing all these little races as it gives a chance to see all these other towns that we won't get to see on our big main vacation. So out of the blue I was like "Why don't you race this one too? Why wait to run a half marathon until July, you can do it now, you know you can." And she can, plus it's not til May! "And then you can run your first FULL marathon at the Gold Coast Marathon in July! Think about, let me know." She thought for about 8 seconds and said "Ok, I'll do it." I've never been more excited! She's not only going to run her first half in a few months, but her first full in about 4.5 months! I'm so excited for this. We both start our formal training on the 16th of March, the Monday after the sixfoot marathon. Not sure if I'LL be starting that day, we'll see how I feel, but SHE certainly is!

She said to me yesterday that she wanted to go for a long run, and have me go with her, at her pace. So today we're going to go run 16km along the coast cycleway. That will take us a good ways out and back, I did 18k along there yesterday and really enjoy the route. Out and back you can get in around 30km total I think, so I've got a lot to discover out there! Tomorrow I run 38km, so that oughta take care of it. :)

My little Tuna, and the reason I found running in the first place, is going to run a marathon this year! I'm so proud. :)

This, that and the other thing

All sorts of stuff going onthese days, both school and leisure.

School has picked up this week and we're in lectures now with the secondary people also. This means I have class with good ole Jared. I've also signed up for all of my tutorials for this term. They were strategically chosen based on creating large gaps suitable for training. :) I'm only on campus Mon - Wed which is pretty sick, but I'll be there other days to train as well. There's definitely going to be a lot of work to do in these classes. I mean it's nice that we've only got school 3 days per week, but we're talking 7 - 9 hours of class on those 3 days, yowzers. And there's LOTS of assignments and readings to do accross the courses.

Beyond that it'll be some busy weekends coming up!

This weekend I'm going with Katie down to Huskisson to check out some races. Craig Alexander is racing so I'm hoping there will be an opportunity to meet him and grab a photo. :)

Next weekend is the Mojo Surf trip. Basically it's Friday to Sunday, way up North past Port Macquarie. Should be an awesome time!

Two weekends after that and I'll be racing the Sixfoot marathon up at Blue mountains. Katoomba to Jenolan caves. Tunes, Katie, Lee, Jared and probably Michelle will be coming.

THEN another 3 weeks after THAT we're heading BACK up to Port Macquarie (Tunes, Jared and Katie) to see Ironman Australia. We'll rent a car on Sat Morning, drive up (a little further than Ottawa to Toronto) and then come back late Sunday. That should be awesome too!

Then it's a bit of a grinder til we leave in June/July for our 3 week trip. Good time to make money and focus on school I guess.

These little weekend trips aren't terribly expensive. I mean the Katoomba one is in and around $70 per person (plus $110 for my race entry) and the Port MacQuarie is $100 each for car and accomodations.

GOOD TIMES! And the sun decided to come out today!

PS - I've been training like an animal. Getting consistent at the pool, running and SOON cycling. Focus is still on running til after Gold Coast Marathon, then heavy on the cycling, swimming with maintenance running.

3:10 to Boston, part two, begins today. Last year I missed the train by 12 minutes, can't let that happen again.

Facts and Figures

This one's gonna be point form style, no structure whatsoever as I couldn't be bothered this morning. :)

- Tomorrow Julia goes to Sydney to meet up with Michelle when she arrives. She super excited for that!

- Today is Valentines day, and we both work. :( I'll hafta think of SOMETHING special to do for her

- Yesterday I had a test in my Numeracy class, wasn't easy, wasn't terrible.

- This week we start a whole new set of classes and I'll have lectures with Jared!

- Mom is sending me a box of goodies for my bike. :) My helmet, shoes, seat and a few others. I'm excited for that! And I'm the high bidder on a pair of pedals on ebay. Ends today, fingers crossed.

- The more I read about the sixfoot marathon, the more excited I get! It's going to be an unbelievable experience. I've heard from a lot of people that they've never been more sore after a race than this one! And these are people who have AT LEAST done an Ironman or another Ultra... uh oh! :)

- Today's my last shift at GNC. I was supposed to get paid today, but I don't see it there, so I'm kind of annoyed.

- Speaking of money. Julia is working now so the cash flow will start to go back to a positive and we can start saving up for our July travels! :)

- Weather has been gay for a few days now. Always overcast and rain here and there and a LOT cooler. Definitely not beach weather.

- As soon as I can find a trainer I'll be down in our basement, rockin' bike workouts. That'll be awesome, I think it's a perfect set-up.

- We went to the Wollongong Hawks LAST ever home game last night. The place was PACKED. It was a great time. They have this funny cheer "We love you 'cause you're from Wollongong" sung to a good tune... haha

- Tomorrow will be a barn burner of a day. Julia is gone to Sydney and I think I'm just going to beat myself into the ground with training. Run 20 - 25k, do some weights, maybe a swim and maybe a Mt Keira hike.

- I miss the family. I still get to talk to them on chat and skype and whatnot, but I just miss being there on a Sunday. I'm really going to miss being there for when Sierra arrive. I miss Lucas a lot too because I can't even tralk to him and I miss giving him a big hug.

That's it, that's all.

Commitments

I’m committed to a lot of things. I’m committed to my lil Tuna, to make her happy and take care of her for the rest of her life. I’m committed to my schooling and getting a great education to come home and find a job, so I can take care of my lil Tunes for the rest of her life. I’m Committed to my training and racing, to living a healthy lifestyle and taking care of myself. I’m committed to my family, which is growing fast and furious! I’m committed to a lot of things in life. There’s no bigger commitment though, than to my little Tuna. I sometime imagine what it would be like to be without here, especially here in a completely foreign place. Sure I’ve met some people and have Jared, but she’s what really keeps me going forward. I’d never have a chance of accomplishing what I have and what I will without her. So I’m committed to her 100% in whatever she needs from me. Commitment is important in life, you must fully commit yourself to something, or someone, in order to be completely satisfied, or to succeed in life.

We planned some of our trip in July. We’ll go to Brisbane, run the half/full marathons and then make our way up to Cairns. We got a one way train ticket ($285) and will stop in certain places to see stuff. We want to see the great barrier reef (duh), Fraser Island, Airlie Beach, and cape Tribulation (rain forests). We’d also like to do skydiving. I need that element of adventure, and seeing stuff is cool and fun, but I hate the though of actually relaxing and enjoying myself, not exactly my style. The adrenaline needs to be pumping. So that’s it, we’re gonna do our own thing, set our own path and just go for it. We looked at a few tours but the dates of departure/arrival just didn’t make sense given the time frame of my break.

I’m well into my training now for the sixfoot marathon. And we have a total of 5 of us going, so costs are way down! NIIIIIICE. I’ve booked a place, basically $150 for the five of us per night and we’ve got it for two nights. We’re right at Jenolan Caves which is right at the finish so that’ll be cool. I’m really excited for this trip, and the whole experience! I’ve also booked a car which is like $45 or so per day plus gas, unlimited KMs. Bring on the blue mountains!
I like to run. The end.

A new addition to the family....

No... it’s not little Sierra (YET) it’s little Miranda, my new Cervelo Dual! She’s an ’04 model, but in great condition and with some new parts. She’s red and white and very patriotic. I’ll have to get Julia to dress her up a bit with Canadian flags or something. No pedals, so I’ll have to get those and maybe swap out the seat for something I prefer (maybe my own). It did come with bike computer which is cool and a holder for an aerobottle, should I decide to get one. It’s funny because when I got my Trek, it was down to him and a Dual, I’ve always wanted a Cervelo, regardless of the model. I’ll make her my own. She rides real nice, I took her for a quick spin in the parking lot and everything went smooth, shifting and riding felt awesome. She’s made the trek (much like me) from Ontario, along with her previous owner a very in shape lady from Toronto who’s been teaching primary school in Sydney for the past 7 months. OK, why Miranda? ‘cause that’s where I got her. I was at my work, which is in Miranda, which is a girl’s name, and a girl was her previous owner, so it seemed fitting. I got my bad boy at home and now my little lady here (besides my lil Tunes). Don’t be fooled, I expect to kick ass at Ironman Western Australia on Miranda. J I’m sitting here on the train writing this, staring at her beauty. It’s like one of those adoption stories, where people travel all over the world to adopt a child, except I just have to take her home on the train with me, about 2 hours of travel time. J I’m thinking of getting a trainer and setting it up in our basement here. That’d be sweet. It’s an underground parking garage but nobody can get into our spots (enough for 2 cars) as they are enclosed and locked with a gate. So I could set up a trainer and entertainment stuff down there and kick my world famous trainer rides in the basement during the winter months. It’s still outdoors, but it’s pretty mild (~10 – 15C) so it’ll be nice for those rides! SHIT, I’m getting myself excited here! One thing at a time though and I still realize that there are other bills to pay, but I’m just excited that this is actually starting to come together. I thought IMWA would be a pipedream, but it’s now becoming more and more a reality.

Next up though is a 45km mountain run (www.sixfoot.com). I’ve been doing research on this race for a while now and I think this is one I HAVE to do. Sure I’ll be racing, but I won’t kill myself, I just want to experience the race and survive it. It’s super hilly, both up and down and some arduous terrain to say the least. There’s even a river crossing that can be knee high or above my head, depending on the year (I’m guess knee high this year as there’s been somewhat of a drought). You don’t have to get wet though as if you deviate about 15m up the path there are some rocks to cross over so you can stay dry. Everything I’ve read about this race makes it sound epic and I’ve talked to some people that know of it and have heard amazing things. It’s a one way race, starting at Katoomba and ending at the Jenolan caves, and apparently the landscape and scenery is absolutely AMAZING. I’m hoping to rent a car and get a few others to come to, as I think the whole area is so beautiful that others would want to come just to check it all out! If I can get a certain number of people interested it may bring down all the costs. Renting cars here isn’t too bad, about $45AUD per day with unlimited KMs and there are no special requirements as a Canadian driver. For this race I’ll have to hit up some major hill training in the next few weeks. I’m think of once a week running up mount Keira and really putting a hurtin’ into my legs, just to get mentally and physically prepared for the hills. I also expect to walk a bunch of this race as the hills are just TOO much and few people actually run the WHOLE thing, well I shouldn’t say few, but more certainly walk than don’t! The race is a mere 5 weeks away! I’m pretty excited, though not committed. Should I pull the trigger? I think so. Maybe this next week I will, see if I can get people interested in coming down to Katoomba and the Jenolan caves. So for the next few months (as Gold Coast Marathon is in July) I’ll be doing a major run focus, but a good amount of swimming for active recovery and just to get some in and then I’ll slowly incorporate cycling back in when Miranda is ready to rock and I’ve got a trainer and such set-up.

School? Right. So here’s the deal with that. Apparently as of the 16th of Feb we’re only on campus 3 days per week, but two of those days are busy from 8:30AM to 7:30PM. But we have 4 day weekends, every weekend, and I’ll be able to enjoy them as I won’t be spending 9 – 10 hours TRAVELLING to and from work. I’ll still be working, but it’ll be in Wollongong and only 10 – 15 hours per week, enough to cover costs and save a bit for travel and racing. I’m banking on Tunes getting some good work in and covering a good chunk of our living expenses. School is exciting, and I’m really enjoying the material and learning to be a teacher, I think it’s something I’m really going to enjoy. I’m also enjoying having Jared here, as he FULLY understands my training lifestyle and we can chat about it and even train together and motivate each other. So that’s good stuff.

Tomorrow is the 8th! You know what that means? That means that my little Tuna has reached a milestone and set yet another benchmark. She’s managed to put up with me and my boshit for a solid four years. She deserves one major medal, and a T-shirt, maybe some bagels and OJ, we’ll see. I work tomorrow but she’s going to get on a train and head towards Sydney and I’ll get on the same train at Sutherland. We plan to head into Sydney for the night. Maybe go for dinner and some sort of show and then meet up with our peeps and go partying Sunday night. See we have a school field trip in Sydney on Monday, so many of the students (including my 3 housemates, Michelle’s sister, and Jared) have gone there this morning for a full weekend of fun in the sun and partying at night. That’d be a blast! But I’d rather have the place to ourselves tonight to relax and enjoy each other’s company. We rarely get 5 minutes alone in that place, let alone A WHOLE NIGHT! I look forward to see what she’s got planned for us.

PS – It’s hot here. And hot is awesome, if you’re at the beach. But hot sucks when you have to go to work in black pants and sit on trains and at train stations, SWEATING. I heard Sydney is the hottest place on the planet this weekend, Ottawa may be the coldest.

I feel myself getting fitter and fitter. Last weekend I made up this 28 day challenge for myself where I was going to train my ass of and diet better than I ever have before to get in the best shape possible. Interesting what writing goals down and committing yourself to it and having rewards for success can do for your daily motivation. One week and I dropped from around 168 to 163.3 this morning. That’s awesome. My goal was UNDER 160 by the end of the month for when we go on our surf trip. And I’m getting tanned, so being lean AND tanned = sexy time, and that’s exactly what the goal is.

Pickin' it all up a notch

Big things on the horizon. So much for the laid back, relaxed atmosphere out here. I'm about to kick it back into overdrive, and live like I'm used to, 100% balls to wall. :) In other words I'm getting myself a set of wheels today. This oughta make my travel time a lot easier for stuff like groceries and travelling to and from school, and I'll be able to hit the gym on days that I'm not at campus. I'm gettin' a mongoose mountain bike for $100. Looked to be in good condition, I'll see it today. Also, school just went up a notch also, as in stuff is coming due. First assignment is due today, a group thing in pairs, not something I'm fond of but what can ya do?

The 28 Day Challenge:
For the month of Feb I've challenged myself to get in the ABSOLUTE best shape ever. I designed a log and program to help get me there and now it's simply up to me to put it all into action. It consists of weights 4 times per week, minimum of 30 minutes of cardio a day plus a ton of walking and simply staying active throughout the day and eating very clean and smart, AND of course hitting the beach to work on the ole tan. :) The goal is to get to 159 or less by Feb 28th, which is when we have our surf trip.

I'm paid up in tuition until August but may just finish it all off now because the AUD is low and my value would be good. It was around .78 when I paid the other day and it's up just over .80 now so I think I may have to pull the trigger soon!

That's it that's all, school time.