Connor Hammond

Quote of the week

2010-06-15T13:18:00.001-07:00

"This is the good life"-TL

My new Home

2010-05-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

I was only home in London for one week before it was time to return to Guelph. I moved into my new home on Monday, which is a relatively nice house when compared to most student housing, so I can't complain. Only problem is it is a little far from the university, and although the bus stop to the university is just a few metres away, I have no bus pass during the summer months so I resort to biking to swimming in the morning, which isn't very pleasant. During the summer months my roommates chose to live at home, so i will be all alone for the next few months, I'm not complaining, but if you talk to me in a few months I am sure my life will be like the plot from The Shinning. So we will see how this plays out.

I competed in a bike race last weekend in the pouring rain. Nothing big, just a 45 km road race/crit that I used to do when I was younger. I wanted to race cat 3, but you aren't allowed to compete in that division if you are racing on a one day permit, so I raced cat 4. My goal was to go in and just keep attacking in the hopes of forming a successful breakaway. I must have attacked 10 times, most of which were solo, but the pack just would not let anything go. It ended up coming down to a sprint. With 1 km to go I found myself in about 8th position. I just stayed there and let the lead out men keep the pace high. With 200m to go people stated sprinting, and I was forced to squeeze through 2 people to get to the front before I could unleash my sprint. As soon as I started sprinting I knew that the W was mine, as no one could match me. I have never won a bike race, and although it wasn't very competitive I am still pleased with the effort that I put in.

Training in Guelph has gone alright. With most people gearing up for racing down south in the next few weeks, I find myself doing most of my longer bike workouts alone. Just me and my ipod. It really sucks seeing everyone starting their race season already while I am sidelined due to a bad winter/spring. Oh well, you got to make the best of every situation, so while my season is delayed, I have taken the opportunity to become a stronger biker. Nothing like ridiculous hours in the saddle with terrible weather to keep you sane.

Springbank Road Race Podium

And as I write this it is snowing outside. Gotta love this weather, 25 degrees one week, snow another.

So until later,

What up.

2010-04-29T05:25:00.000-07:00

Well I have neglected this long enough, and now that I have nothing to do I might as well return to writing useless information on a site that nobody reads. A couple weeks ago, between countless hours in the library, I remembered that I had a blog. In an effort to rejuvenate my motivation to update this thing, I decided to give this site a complete overhaul. Sadly it didn't work.

The last few weeks have been really hectic with exams, training, and other miscellaneous things. I finished up exams on Friday, so I have officially made it through first year. It was tough to get motivated for exams, as countless hours were spent in the library when it was so nice outside, and all I wanted to do was train. So hopefully all that time spent at a desk paid off.

Since finishing my last exam I have returned to London. Wow is it ever nice to get out of res, sleep in your own bed, and not worry about running out of money on your meal plan. The bonus thing is that I am forced to eat healthier, and since the caf isn't a 5 min walk away, it means no more vending machine meals because I am to lazy to walk that far.

Training has been going really well, I am biking like crazy, and swimming and running are coming along. I decided to skip the first two ITU races, Monterrey and Ixtapa because I felt that I could not meet my own standards, one because Monterrey was right during exams, and two because I hurt my ankle a month ago and that put me off running for a while. My first race will be in Milton on June 6. Milton is my favourite race. Although the frigid waters are usually a deterrent to most in early June, I just can't pass up the opportunity to race on one of the hardest courses in Ontario. 5 km into the bike you climb the escarpment, then 25 km of rolling hills. As soon as you begin the run your have to climb an incredibly steep hill, and the next 7km is never flat. During my early years it was always my first tri of the season, but the last few years I have been forced to skip it as more important races were on the agenda. So it will be nice to get back to my roots.

Now some bad news. Since October, a group of people have been striving to be the best, and last week their dreams were crushed by a little boy with a whisper stache. Yes, I am talking about the Ottawa Senators. Another year, another crushing defeat. One day it will be our time, just not this year,

So thats it for now, hopefully the next time I update it won't be months from now. Here is a commercial for the Canadian Athletes Now Fund that does a good job of summing up everything an athlete has to go through in order to support them selves financially. Enjoy;

So until later,

Stress relief

2009-10-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

6 weeks down, 6 to go. If I can make it through the next week with out having a nervous breakdown and ripping the hair out of my head, then I should be fine. School isn't all that hard really, just do the work and you will be fine. Only problem is work just piles up and before you know it you are swamped. I don't know how some of the other students deal with the stress, but as I sit in class I can see the students on their laptops playing farmville on facebook (man I miss farmville, but this is exactly why I got rid of it), or watching videos. One of my towermates likes to play Supermario. He is going for all 120 stars.

I guess that some students have farmville, others Supermario. It got me thinking, what can I do to relieve the stress of school, then it hit me as I was right about to go for a run. I train. It might not be as productive as harvesting your crops or raking leaves from your neighbour's farm (get farmville on facebook to know what I am talking about), but it gets the job done.

Since my last post I have moved on from Scrubs to another medical show, House. Although I haven't had much time to watch it because I have been so busy with school.

So until later, probably after midterms

Back to School

2009-10-05T17:31:00.001-07:00

I have been back at school for 3 weeks now. I only missed a few days of school from being in Australia, but those few days add up. It took me over a week before I had all of my textbooks and other reading material, and another few days before I was caught up on my readings. Having not been at school for over half a year, I had developed a rather slack work ethic, but I am back on track now. I am majoring in Human Kinetics, so I am taking lots of science and math courses, which will make for a hard semester, but I am only taking 4 courses instead of 5, so that lightens the workload quite a bit.

I am still on my down time right now. The rest of the gang started up last week, but I am taking until after Thanksgiving off. Since I have a lot of free time, I have been watching Scrubs. Here is one of their better clips.

So until later,

World's Race Report

2009-09-16T01:05:00.000-07:00

Well it is 4am, and I can`t sleep. I am talking to Yorke on msn right now, he is in the same boat. The 14 hour time difference is really killing me, now back to the race.

Leading up to the race I was pretty nervous. Because we raced on the last day, there was a lot of time between the u23`s and our race for the nerves to gather. Usually there aren`t any signs of nerves until the pre race meeting, but watching the u23`s seemed to bring them out, and the pre race meeting later that night only brought them out more. The one thing that seemed to make them go away was the elite mens race. Just watching it seemed to ease the tension.

We raced at 1:15 on Sunday, which is unusual for the juniors. The only race that I have ever done that late was Lubbock back in April, and that didnt go so well (puking on the run due to poor nutritional). Race morning I got up and went for a run, took a shower and shaved down, then I had a modest breakfast. There wasn`t a lot of talking going on with me, which usually happens before a race. To kill time I downloaded some new music, which really helped.

We left the hotel at 11:15ish to ride over to the race site. Yorke watched our bags while we rode along the spit. Got to the race site, checked in, did a short run, and a nice long warmup in the pool. I felt great the whole warm up, and absolutely amazing during the swim. After I finished my warmup I headed down to the beach to get in a few starts, but by the time I got down there they had already started marshalling everyone, so I had to can that. Usually I am a nervous wreck in the final 30 minutes before the race, but I was more excited than nervous this time. Some thanks has to go out to Tyler Bredshneider for that. Remember earlier when I said that I downloaded some music that morning, well I remembered Tyler talking about the movie Any Given Sumday, and Al Pacino`s pre game speech played a small part in what allowed me to cross the line between partial nervous breakdown, and excited to kick some ass.

I was number 7 going in, so I was pretty close to the end, but that meant that I had a long time after being called to visualize about my race. Sharon, and Craig have this saying, just think about the first 10 strokes, dont think about anything else, and that really helped. The horn blasted, and I just killed the first 10 strokes. By that time I had put everyone at my hip, and over the next few hundred metres I just kept distancing myself from them. I was tied for 1st to the first bouy, and myself and the other guy swam the next few hundred metres side by side. Rounding the final bouy I started to pick the pace up and moved into the lead for good. In the final hundred metres I pushed it a little more so that I could lead out, which i did. So the part of the race that terrified me the most was now over, and couldn`t have gone any better.

I had a smooth transition and headed out onto the bike. I rode solo for probably the first 500m before the pack caught me. Brownlee really wanted to stay away, and of the eight of us, only about 5 of us were doing work in the first few km, so i decided to let everyone else wrk while i sat in . It was not that I didnt have the strenght to pull through, I atually felt great on the bike. It is more that I was just content with saving my legs and not wanting help someone I knew was a really fast runner distance himself from everyone else on the bike. I took a few pulls a lap, but I wasnt going to be working my tail off with 4 other people just sitting at the back, so I decided to be one of those people. Sure, if I had worked really hard, we could have stayed away, and maybe that 20 second lead we started the bike with may have grown, or may not have. I am still confident that I made the right decision. We stayed away for 2.5 laps before a pack of 15-20 caught us, and after that I didnt go to the front. I just stayed in the top 10 to keep safe. On the final straight away everyone was crushing it to make it to the front, including me. Making the final corner into transition I was sitting in about 5th, which was perfect.

I had a clean dismount, but my bike pedals kept spinning, so my shoe kept hitting the ground causing my bike to skip, so I had to carry it for a few steps so the pedals would stop turning. I had a smooth T2 and headed onto the run in third. My race plan is always to build the run, so start controlled and pick guys off during the second half. I felt really good the first km. A few guys had run through me, but I felt that I had gone out steady and had enough left to crank the second half. I finished the first loop and was in about 8th. A few hundred metres into the second lap a group of guys caught me, and I didnt have that extra gear to go with them. I tried, but after 500m I dropped off. At the turnaround I tried again to pick it up, but it still wasn`t there. With about 500m to go there is a hill, and I gave it everything I had to catch the group in front of me, but by the time the hill was finished I was still off the back and was totally spent. There wasnt much left in the tank for a sprint finish, so I stayed in the same place, 12th.

Overall this was the best race I have ever had. I felt great the entire race, and although I didnt have that extra gear that I know is there, it was still my best race. All of the Canadian Juniors had great races. Some may tell you other wise, but few people come to world`s their first year and rock it. It is all one big learning experience, and they all did better than i did my first trip here. Alison Hooper, in her first year of triathlon was 6th, 6th!!!!!!!!, Kyla Caotes was 8th!!!!!!, and Rachel Edwards was 31. Matt Sharpe was 26, and Ian Donald was 42 despite having a stellar run. I wish they would schedule the Jr. women on a different day because I have never actually seen it. I only see about a minute of it because I am always focused on my race.

So Australia was a blast, I had a great time hanging out with everyone, now if only I could get back to my regular sleeping pattern.

So until later,

Australia Update

2009-09-10T14:44:00.001-07:00

We left Victoria Thursday night, and after the 12 minute flight to Vancouver, we boarded our 15hr Air Canada flight to the land down under. When we arrived we had to pass quarentine, which was a hassle. They have sniffing dogs everywhere to smell out food. One found me because I had had a turkey sandwich in there at the Vancouver airport. The lady searched my entire bag top to bottom, and when she found nothing, she still insisted that I had something in there, so she searched it again. The whole time I am telling here that I had fruit and a turkey sandwich in there 15 hours ago. Finally she let me go stating that it must have been the remanents of that turkey sandwich.

After quarantine is when the real fun began. We were supposed to fly from Sydney to Brisbane at 10am, but we didnt make that flight, so the group was booked over three flights. Lucky me, I ended up on the last one at 4pm, so I was stuck with a handfull of others in the Sydney airport for 6 hours after a day of travelling. The only good thing that came out of that was some very fierce games involving a tennis ball. This included hurling it as hard a we could trying score between the oposing team, target practice, volleyball, and cricket. The airport people finally pulled the plug on us at cricket when we were hitting the ball a ways through the terminal. That killed a few hours, although it did leave everyone who played with very sore shoulders for the next few days. We finally made it to our hotel at 7:30pm, where upon i went to bed and was k'od for the next 12 hours.

Training has steadily been getting better. It takes a while to recover after a day and a half of travelling, but the legs/arms are starting to come around. I have had some effortless sessions in the pool, and my legs are starting to get that spring back in them.

Yesturday we went to a protected park for a run. We saw a few kangaroos and wallabies, but we didn't see any koala bears, and we were looking. A couple people almost took a spill because they were running while looking up at he trees.

Today is the U23 race, which officially marks the beginning of the World Championships.

So until later,
CH

Londoner off to Oz

2009-09-06T04:03:00.000-07:00

Connor Hammond heads to Australia for junior worlds after winning two silver medals in P.E.I.

For full article click here

Victoria

2009-09-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

So I have been out in Victoria since last Wednesday for a Pre Worlds training camp. It is nice to be back, although I was only here for a month last year, I missed it. I don't know if I could see myself living here all year, being in Vancouver last year turned me off the whole living in a place where they get no snow, but get a whole lot of rain. I am homestaying with Matt Sharpe, his mom Barb, and fellow PTC'er Ian D. They live about a mintue walk from Commonwealth pool, which is nice in the morning.

I have done a little tour around town, refreshing my memory of Victoria. I had breakfast at Lady Marmilade'sthis morning with ian, yorkey, and Jairus. Lady Marmilade's is this little restaurant below my apartment last year that has the best french toast, which everyone got, and it is still as good as I remember. Craig took us on part of the waterfront loop, and I have done a lot of riding around the observatory, which was still quite fresh in my memory.

Training has been alright. My hamstring has steadily been getting better, and I have more power on the bike and run due to that. My body was a little shelled from a track workout that we did last week. It is not that it was a tough workout, more the fact that I did it 2 hours after landing in Victoria after a 5hr flight. I have been doing most of my workouts with Pat Kelly's group, with the National Team guys joining in on a few of the workouts. Today was one of those days where they joined in. We did 3X(2X Broadmead loop[a hilly 4.5km loop]) round one was tempo, and rounds 2,3 were building to race pace. That pace is all relative becasue it was geared towards the National Team guys. Rd 1 I was pulling my share, even though some of the hills were done as all out sprints. Rd 2 I pulled twice, once in the first 30 seconds, and once in the last 30 seconds. Rd 3 I just hung on the back for dear life. The problem was that they would climb the hills so hard that I would need time to recover, on the flats I was fine, but if I pulled on the flats I would have been fatigued going into the hills, which would have resutled in me being dropped. So I decided to play it safe and hang on for dear life on the hills. After the bike we had a 3ish km hard run on trails. My legs were pretty fried, but I still managed to post a good time.

I am only in Victoria until Thursday, I wish there was more time, but with Australia creeping ever so close, its almost time to hop on a 15 hour flight to down under.

So until later,

CH

Greatest Blog Ever

2009-08-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

Click here for your viewing pleasure.

So until later,

CH

Canada Games, Day 6/7

2009-08-19T18:20:00.000-07:00

the last two days haven't very exciting. Yesturday we went for an early swim, then we watched the Ontario womens beach volleyball team face New Brunswick. It was a close match that came down to the last set where the won by a few points. the rest of the days training was just a nice light hour bike.

I went an watched Ontario wrestle Quebec yesturday. Although I didnt get to see everyone wrestle, from what I saw Ontario had no problem beating them. We won 47-7, which is quite substancial. I dont know if Quebec is a powerhouse, but based on their population, they cant be too far behind us.

Last night the entire team went to Dorelles parent`s cottage for a little get together. We played some ultimate frisbie, in which my team dominated. they we played croquet, where Alexander killed everyone. He was done the course before we were even halfway, hidden talent discovered. They had tons of seafood, and fresh PEI potatoes for dinner, which was all excellent, and a nice change to the pasta, rice, and steamed vegetables that we get here everyday.

Today we went down to the race site to get in an openwater swim, and to practice our relay takeovers and dives. Tommorow is the team relay. Eight or nine teams will tow the line with a 300m swim, 6.6km bike and a 2km run. B.C. has to be the favourite with their dominate performance in the individual race. That doesnt bother us, we like being the underdog, no pressure.

My body is starting to come around. I wasnt that sore after Tuesdays race, but I can feel the power that has been lacking the last week start to come back. `

So until later,
CH

Canada Games, Day 5

2009-08-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

I didn't have time to right a post last night, so you are just going to have to deal with it 12 hours late. Yesturday was the individual race for the triathlon. Race morning went off without any problems, got up, ate, made sure I had everything packed, and then we took the shuttle down to the race site.

I set up my trainer in the athletes tent facing the race course so that i could watch the girls go by as i warmed up. Dorelle had a good race, coming 5th, Joanna was 6th, with the fastest run, and Domi was 11th. Aparently the water was really choppy, so we lucked out with that, but it was so much hotter for us.

I did a nice long run and swim warm up, and then it was go time. We were lined up by province, with me in between Tristan and Ian. I had a fairly good dive, gaining about half a body length, but then everyone just kept clawing at my feet for about 25 metres before I could get clear. The B.C. guys and two N.S. guys were all side by side for the first 300m to the bouy. Then it strung out a little, with me getting forced back in the pack. I just swam on feet the rest of the way in having no trouble doing so. Into T1, a ran past my bike to antoher cervelo, then realized it wasn't mine, so i had to go back a few bike to mine. This almost caused me to miss lead pack.

On the bike i just had nothing. I have never had any trouble pushing the bike in a tri before, but it took everything that i had just to stay in the pack. My legs just felt awful, and i know that if i had felt well i would have had no problem pulling through. We put about 1 minute on the chasers on the bike, so we started the run about 1:40 up. In the last km, JP broke away, putting about 10 seconds on us, and i knew that the other B.C. guys werent going to chase him, so i decided to let him go, and maybe that little surge would take something out of his legs.

I started the run with the mindset that i would build throughout it. I guess it worked. I felt awful from the start. My hamstrings were killing me, and I just had no pep. After the first loop I had dropped about 10 seconds behind a group of 3 guys. I started to feel a little better, and I emphasize a little, so I picked it up. In one lap I brought back that 10 second gap, and gapped them by about 10 seconds. The third lap really hurt, and the heat was starting to get to me (35 degrees). My hamstrings were giving out, and it was all I could do to stay ahead of Cole for second. I crossed the line in second, 50 seconds behind JP and 10 seconds ahead of Cole. Congrats to both of them, they both had amazing races.triastan and Ian posted the 1st and second fastest runs, I know they are a little disapointed, but you have to take the positives aways from this race.

Here is a photo from our newsletter of me at the finish, found here.

So until later,
CH

Canada Games, Day 4

2009-08-17T16:56:00.000-07:00

The heat wave continues to roar across PEI. The last few days we have seen temperatures reaching 35, which reminds me of last years summer back in Ontario. The only way to escape it is to workout either very early, or very late. Which means that I was up again at 6:15 so that I could eat and then go for an hour ride, all before 8:30.

We went down to the race site today for a quick open water swim, nothing special, just some 50m starts. I have been feeling really good in the water the last few days, and with B.C. and us starting close together, I am sure that that feeling will come in handy. My running and biking legs are steadily coming around. I dont know if it was the short flight, or just some overall fatigue, but when I got here my legs just felt awful.

Tommorow is the individual event for triathlon. We race at noon, with the girls going 2 hours before us. I am excited to finally race, the games experience is quite something, and I am happy to be one of the first athletes to compete in triathlons debut at the Canada Games.

Thanks to everyone else who has sent me an email, and thanks to everyone who has helped me out this year. Here is one of my bigger fans, although she can't talk yet, and I will tear it up.

So until later,
CH

Canada Games, Day 3

2009-08-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

Not much happened today. A few of us woke up early to get in an hour bike. We rode along the waterfront, it was a nice ride. Well paved roads, with almost no cars, although it was 7:30 in the morning. After the ride it was time for a quick little snack and then off to the pool. Most people did a little over 3km, but I have found that I swim better on a little taper, so i did the main set twice, and a longer warmdown, totalling 4500m. Once the swim was over I had a nice nap, more of a short sleep actually.

We had our pre race meeting today, nothing I haven't seen before. The course is the same, except for the run which they lengthened the loop to limit the amount of laps (5 last year, 3 this year). I was interested to find out the starting order, which was selected randomly. Each province is designated a sport by their starting number, which they cant change once they get on the pontoon. Sask. is first, and B.C last. Ontario is ranked second last, with N.S. in between us. That is great because most of the good swimmers are on the left side, which will create a good train.

Here is a picture from the Opening ceremonies that the team Ontario photographer took of me. It also made it into the days newsletter, here.

So until later,

Canada Games, Day 2

2009-08-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

Today we had the opening Ceremonies, I have to admit, I was a little skeptical at first, but after seeing the setup of the athlete village, my skepticism subsided. Our day started with getting up at 6:30 so that we could do a short swim/bike before we had our pep rally. We decided to swim at the beach instead of the harbour, big mistaked. The water was so shallow that we could get our swim in because no matter how far we swam out, we could still touch the bottom with our hands while swimming.

We made it back for our pep rally, which was kind our cool. They showed some videos of various sports, and the day before, one of which yours truly managed to sneak into, lol. After getting "pumped up" we had lunch, then hopped on a bus to the opening ceremonies. We were given a bunch of Ontario pins to trade, which is very popular around here. I managed to get a few before i got bored and stopped. I will steadily build up my collection over the coming week.

Once everyone was tired of the heat outside, we moved inside to the staging area, which was even hotter. After some cheering and music, and what felt like 5 hours (was actually around 2) we finally got to march into the arena. My doubts were imediately dismissed. It was quite the setup, with lots of cheering fans. We did a loop around the stadium, which included meeting the Prime Minister, and then we took our seats. After that there were some speeches, a few bands, and they raised the flag. this took another 2.5-3 hours. It would have been a lot better if they had shortened it just a little. The benches, coupled with the amount of people in there made it a little uncomfortable for that amount of time.

I will upload some pictures ffrom the opening ceremonies tommorow.

So until later,
CH

Canada Games, Day 1

2009-08-14T18:18:00.000-07:00

I will take lots of photos, and try to post everyday while I am here, its a long shot, but it can be done.

I arrived in Summerside PEI this morning to a hearty welcome. We left Toronto on a chartered flight (its nice to just get off the bus and walk on the plane without haveing to deal with checkin and security). After a two hour flight, we arrived in Summerside. The 150 or so athletes got off the plane to be welcomed by banners, and a quick usher into a conference building for a briefing.

The athlete village used to be an old army barracks/converted hotel, in which they took everything out of the rooms and put bunk beds in instead. We are rooming with the sailing team, which makes 6 people in a normal hotel room. That isn't even bad, our girls team is rooming with 11 rowers, which makes 14 of them to a suite, which is 2 rooms, and one bathroom, ouch.

There is a cafateria, in which they serve three meals a day, and unlimited snacks for 6-11pm, which is nice. There is also a games hall, in which there are video games, comptuers, a pool/ping pong table, and a couple tv's. A few of us played some wierd bean planting card game that Craig had. Thanks to some crafty tactics I won.

As far as the training goes. We went for a short ride down to the beach along part of the bike course. The roads look fairly well maintained, there are a few bumpy sections, but nothing I havent experienced before. Last year the swim was barely wetsuit legal, not an issue this year. Stepping in the water reminded me of Des Moines (30ish degrees), but as we got farther out, and the water got deeper, it cooled off. The temperature will definately make in a non wetsuit swim :).

So until later,
CH

Misc.

2009-08-13T18:53:00.000-07:00

A little recap of the last month or so since I went off the grid. Des Moines was a good learning experience. A good wake up call for when I move up to the u23 category next year. Our team (Kyla, Myself, Sarah, Jeff) had no expectations going in, and we were thrilled to have such a great final result. i think we were 13thish of 19ish teams. I came home, had a week or so to recover for nationals in Gatineau. I needed all that time to do so. Nationals finally rolled around, I hadnt tapered for it, just a few days of rest. Had a great swim/bike with 3 of us staying away. Started to cramp on the run, fell back to 5 or so by the end of the first lap, rallied on the second lap by just pushing through it, and magically started to feel really good, so i just kept building the second lap, and kept reeling guys in. I finished first, so my second National Junior Title, which is nice to get back.

I now have Canada Games on the adgenda. I leave tommorow morning. Wow did it ever creep up fast. I remember after Coteau, when I still hadn't made up my mind to whether I wanted to go or not. I only get one shot at this team because of my age, so I am glad I made the decision to compete. I will be competing in both the individual (Aug 18), and team competitions (Aug 21). I must admit, I am more excited for the team competition that the individual. It is definately a more exciting race to watch, and to race, althoughit is also much harder to race.

so until later,
CH

Des Moines Team World Championships

2009-06-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

Live coverage here

So until later,
CH

28.8 Degrees

2009-06-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

Well it is very warm here 28.8 degrees celcuis. Some people may say that 28.8 isn't very hot, but let me finish. It is not the air that is 28.8, it is the WATER. At the athlete breifing last night they said that 28.8 degrees was the lowest that they got. When the sun is out in full force, as soon as you step outside you start to sweat.

Tommorow is the world cup with $750,000 total prize money up for grabs, and with my race on Sunday, I am excited to watch. The set up here is absolutely top notch. The race venue is second to none with a little merchandise village and tones of seating around the finish line, now if they could fill the seating with fans, then that would be impressive.

The course for the Team relay is relatively easy, loop swim, a 3 loop 7km flat bike with tons of corners, and a 2km flat run.

so until later,

CH

Coteau Race Report

2009-06-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, so i am finally getting around to writing a race report. So here is how it went from what I remember. Race morning I had a small breakfast then Tyler and I headed to the race site.

I was a little worried leading up to this race because I had just finished my biggest training week of the year so I was unsure how my body would react to the stresses of racing. I did a short warm up on the bike and run, then got my wetsuit on and did one loop of the course, and I felt awful the entire time.

I was ranked second coming in behind Matt V .so I took a spot beside him at one end of the pontoon. It was a wierd start, all of us on the left couldnt hear the starter, so all we heard was the horn. By the time we reacted, everyone was already in the air, which caused the pontoon to shift out from under us, so everyone on the left basically belly flopped into the water. I swam the first 50m with my head down, then looked up and everyone on the left had about 15 metres on me. I took me the better part of 500m to finally work my way past everyone to get up to lead pack. I exited the water in 10, in what was definately my slowest/worst swim in a few years. I had a quick transition, and headed onto the bike.

I had to hammer the first km of the bike because i was in no mans land, but I finally cuaght on. A group of 7 or 8 of us formed and some of us worked well together. Sharpe flatted after the first lap, so that left us a little short, but there were enought people pulling in the pack that i didnt have t really worry about getting tired. Overall the bike wasnt too stressful, and we entered t2 with about a minute lead.

On the run, the leaders took off like they were running a km repeat. I just stayed back and let them die off. About 1km into the run I moved into the lead annd just kept building. At the turn around I noticed that the chase pack had some strong runners, so i really pushed the third stretch, then at the turnaround I knew that there was a big enough gap that Iwasnt going to be caught.

So I was first overall, and a relative newcomer to junior racing, Tristan Woodfine, a first year junior was second. Watch out for this kid in the future because he can run.

So until later,

Coteau du Lac

2009-06-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

Race report to come later

Canadian Triathletes Connor Hammond and Kyla Coates Win Teck National Junior Series in Quebec
—Paula Findlay stomps field en route to winning women’s elite gold

COTEAU-DU-LAC, Que.—Canada’s Connor Hammond and Kyla Coates won the second stage of the three-race Teck Triathlon National Junior Series on Saturday in Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec near Montreal.

The 18-year-old Hammond, who finished second at the PATCO Championships earlier this year, maintained pace with the lead pack through the 750-metre swim and 20-kilometre ride on the bike before storming to the lead in the five-kilometre run. The London, Ont. native crossed the line with a time of 57 minutes 42 seconds.

“It was a great day and I was able to get out of the water with the lead pack. We worked well together on the bike and I just gave it all I had in the run,” said Hammond. “Last week was a very tiring 24-hour training week so my legs were a little tired and I was really fatigued coming in. I’m happy I was able to finish on top.”

Hammond was joined on the junior men’s podium by Ontario’s Tristan Woodfine, who finished second with a time of 58:01 after posting the fastest run time. Quebec’s Marc-Antoine Christian locked up third spot at 58:33.

Victoria’s Kyla Coates continued her golden streak by winning her third consecutive women’s race in as many starts this year. Coates, who captured the PATCO Championship title and the first race of the Teck Junior Series in Winnipeg this spring, bolted her way to the top of the podium again on Saturday with a time of 1:02:53.

Coates was joined on the women’s podium by Ontario’s Joanna Brown, who locked up second spot after posting the fastest time in the run. Brown stopped the clock with a time of 1:03:12. Christine Ridenour, of British Columbia, powered her way into third place after clocking-in at 1:03:50.

Meanwhile, Coteau-du-Lac also hosted the elite men and women Olympic distance races under ideal conditions Saturday.

Edmonton’s Paula Findlay stomped the field in her first race of the year after recovering from a stress fracture in her foot. The 20-year-old budding star on Canada’s national squad clocked a golden time of 2:03:50 in the women’s 1.5-kilometre swim, 40-kilometre bike and 10-kilometre run.

“I was really happy with how I raced today especially since it was my first of the year,” said Findlay. “I have been slowly progressing on the run and need to continue working hard, but I was just happy to be able to finish a 10-kilometre run without any pain.”

Findlay was joined on the elite women’s podium by Victoria’s Kerry Spearing who finished second at 2:04:50, while Ontario’s Ayesha Rollinson ran up from the chase pack to grab third place with a time of 2:07:35.

The elite men’s results were not available at publication.
The Teck National Junior Series is the nation’s premier development race circuit which allows athletes and coaches the appropriate focal points for training and monitoring athlete progression. The annual three-race series is used by Triathlon Canada for World Junior Team and Canada Games selections.

Canada’s top junior triathletes will now head to Gatineau, Que. for the third and final stop of the tour, July 11.

(Although the elite results weren't up, AP was second and Yorke broke out of his shell and had an amazing race to finish third, congrats guys)

So until later,
CH

Popular website

2009-06-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

Well, Craig has gotten on my back about not posting very much, so here is a very popular website that I like to visit a lot.

Training is going well in Guelph, so can't complain about that.

So until later,

CH

Next few days

2009-06-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago I came down with a little illness. It was just a mild cold, I took a day off of training and i feel a lot better now. Hopefully I can be fully recovered for tommorow becasue I am competing in a 5km on the track in London. I am looking to finally crack that 15 minute barrier. The start list is very competitive, with about 20 people entered under 15 minutes, so if i am going to finally break the barrier, this is going to be the race to do it at. A performance list can be found here.

On Thursday I am heading down to Guelph for the summer/next 4 years, so I am looking foward to that. Thats it for now, not much has happened lately.

So until later,
CH

"I would rather Die than go to Guelph" My Bad

2009-05-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, if you had talked to me last year about where I would be going to university I would have said McMaster, and maybe something like "I would rather die than go to Guelph". But after comtemplating about it late last year, I decided that Guelph is a better place for me. With my coach, Craig Taylor, based out of Guelph, and a great squad training there, with the edition of a few athletes next year, I really feel that it will be great for my developement. After spending two weeks there during March I feel that I made the right decision.

So until later,

CH

Oklahoma Race Report

2009-05-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well, what can I say, PATCO could not have gone any better. One of the best races that I have ever had. Leading up to the race I had been training very well, so I knew I was capable of doing very well.

I had a solid warm up, which helped to take the edge off of the nerves. I was ranked 49th, and with the largest field of the day, 75, I was right in the middle. Everyone before me decided to line up on the left because it was slightly shorter, not much though, so i took the right side. After that people started to line up beside me. They screwed up on the number of spots and had to extend it, so i lost my end position by 5 places. They were a little disorganized for the swim start. They didnt have any speakers, so one moment I was standing there, and the next the horn went. Withing about 20 strokes I was in clean water. I swam the next few hundred metres by myself before hitting the first turn in about 4th. From there on I just swam on some feet and rested for the rest of the race. I exited the water in third, had a quick transition and was first onto the bike.

I realized my lack of bike fitness about 200m into it. An American took off, then a South American went too and I was unable to respond, but that fitness will come over the next few months. Cole, Aaron and I rode together got 5km before two guys caught us. we worked together for another couple km before Aaron and I made the decision to wait for the chase pack which was only a few seconds away. After that the pack pretty much grinded to a halt. We caught the chase pack, but other than that nothing happened. There were attacks, but none of them sucessful. The roads had many cracks and holes in then, so a few people went down. In the last few kms, I made my way to the front of the pack and entered transition in the top 5, about 1 min down on the two leaders. I had a good transition and made my way onto the run.

Just exited T2

Starting second loop of the run

My plan was to build the run. I felt great on the run, and was running behind the leaders of the chase pack not even trying, so I passed them. Ian joined me about 500m into the run, and then an American, and the eventual winner (ran a 14:18 5000m indoor this year) passed us right after. Ian and I worked well to catch the leaders. After the first lap we had caught one of the leaders, but the two Americans remained up the road. At the turn around we were within sight of one of the Americans, and the eventual winner was running with him. With about 200m to go, 2nd place was about 20m ahead of me. I started sprinting, I had caught him with about 100m to go, I passed him, but he surged ahead and passed me, then gave it everything I had to put it into final gear. I held him off for second place, and about 20 seconds behind the winner.

It was not only a great day for me, but many Canadians. Kayla placed 1st, and Marianne 3rd in the junior womens race, and Andrew McCartney placed 3rd in the U23 division after leading everyone, including olympians out of the water, and congrats to Ian Donald who had a breakout performance on the international stage. Last year the Junior men only had one in the top 10, this year we had four, so our junior men are finally beginning to establish themselves in the world, congrats guys.

Me on the podium

Canadian Juniors collecting 3 podium finishes

So until later,

Oklahoma Update

2009-05-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

PATCO went well, placed 2nd. I will give a proper race report tommorow because i have been travelling since 5:15 this morning. Here is a media article from Tri Canada about PATCO.

Canadian Triathletes Win Four Medals at PATCO Championships

OKLAHOMA CITY, U.S.A—Canada’s next generation of Olympic triathlon heroes stormed the podium by winning four medals in men’s and women’s races at the PATCO Triathlon Pan American Championships in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on Saturday.

Victoria’s Kyla Coates set the pace early in the junior race consisting of the 750-metre swim, 20-kilometre bike and five-kilometre run, to post one of Canada’s best-ever overall showings at the PATCO Championships by winning the women’s race under cool and very difficult morning conditions with a time of one hour six minutes and 30 seconds (1:06:30).

Full article Here

Oklahoma This Saturday

2009-05-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

So it has been a few weeks since my last post. I never did give a race report for Texas, so it will be one of the many things included in this post, along with my lead up to PATCO.

So my flight was cancelled due to severe thunder storms on the way down. I didn't end up getting to the hotel until around 7:30 the night before the race. Lubbock is a pretty desolate place, with almost no trees. I put the bike together and then went out for dinner. The race was in the afternoon, so I got a nice sleep in.

The course was interesting, a really short swim, a hilly windy bike, and a flat run. Swim didnt go very well, after the first 100m my heart was in my throat, so I had to back off a little. I still came out of the water 2nd, but a ways behind the leader. There was a nice present for us out of transition in the form of a big hill, then another one about 500m after that. The bike never got organized, and I ended up soloing about half of it. Run came and we were 2 mins behind the leader. I took off out of t2 in third, but my legs were very tired. I started having stomach problems about 1.5km in to it. About 100m after the halfway point I pulled over to the side of the road and hurled. 4 guys passed me during my pit stop, but after that I felt great and managed to finish in fourth.

Last Saturday I rabbited the Ontario 10,000m championships in London. I would have loved to have been able to run the whole thing because I have great endurance right now, and it was a competitive field, but with PATCO being my main focus, it just was't an option. It was a very windy day so the race was going to be tough, good thing I was only going to 4km. I split it perfectly, knocking off 3:05's like clockwork. I rolled through 4km leading the chase pack of 4 or 5 guys in 12:20 running relatively easy.

I got my new Nineteen Frequency Wetsuit the other day. Being a swimmer, I can`t stand to have any restriction on my shoulders, and the frequency is about as close as I am going to get to that feeling. It has 5mm legs, and 1.5mm rubber for the wingspan that makes for a very felxible suit. Thanks Nineteen, I am looking forward to setting some fast swims in your suit.

I leave for Oklahoma tomorow, so I am getting pretty excited. My training has been going very well the last month, so I am excited to see what I can do.

So until Later,
CH

What to do, What to do

2009-04-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

Today is going to be a very long day. It started out with getting up at 4am in order to make it to Detroit for my 8am flight. I made it with plenty to spare. The 3 hour flight to Dallas was went smooth for the first 2 hours, then we hit so rough weather. It was a little nerve racking with the lightning coming every minute or so, but we got through it with only some minor turbulance and arrived in Dallas to torrential downpoor.

Once in Dallas I took a nap because i had a 2:30 layover. After a 45 minute nap i woke up to find out my 12:45 flight was cancelled. I got put on stand-by for a 1:40 flight, and booked a 5:10 flight. the 1:40 got cancelled, so i am about 20th on stand-by for a 3:30 flight. So it looks like I will be getting into Lubbock at 6:10, just in time for the mandatory 4pm race meeting. Awsome.

So as you can tell i am bored out of my mind. Its not like there is anything to do in an airport but wait, and i am tired of listening to music after 6 hours of it.

So until later.

Results are in

2009-04-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

Well it has been 6 days since the 5km showdown, and I have been dreading this moment the whole time. I lost the 5km showdown between my dad an I, so the people that voted for my dad won, sorry i let everyone down. In order for me to win, I would of had to run a 13:50. I think my dad was lying about how fast he could run in a ploy to get the radio back. No one runs a minute thirty faster than they think they can for 5km. So that is my theory.

My race went really well. I had a seven second pb that I set in July last year, with no real speedwork. The course profiles for both are perfectly flat, so they should run roughly even. I went out really hard, and paid for it the last 2km, but i was running with 2 other people, and i didnt want to let them go. I was second overall, but I lost to a kenyan, so it is basically a win. Results can be found here.

Tommorow I leave for Lubbock Texas to compete in the first tri of the season. I fly out at 8ish am, so that means an early morning, awsome. I am really looking foward to getting all the cobwebs out. Matt Vierula and I are the only Canadains going, so it should be fun.

So until later,
CH

5 KM CHALLENGE

2009-04-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

Connor VS Bruce

2______1

Here are the results of those who voted. The race is only one day away, so if there are any straglers out there who haven't voted, time is running out.

So until Later,

Beginning of the Season

2009-04-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

So training the last week has gone well. The weather has been very inconsisstant, but what ya gonna do. One day it is 10 degrees, the next it is -5 with a few inchs of snow. I just finished a hard four week block, and now I got a rest week leading into the first race of the year.

There are only 3 days to go until the Good Friday 5km, so keep the votes coming in on who you think is going to win between may dad and myself. We only have a few votes so far. I am really looking foward to getting the season underway. The week after Easter is the first triathlon of the year in Lubbock, so i am really looking foward to that.

Last night was the end of March Madness, and the team i was cheering for got rocked. Michigan lost 89-72, last years game went into overtime, this years was over by the end of the first quater.

So until later

CH

Training/racing/other useless blabber

2009-03-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

Training has been going really well since I left Guelph. I am in the third week of a four week block, and I was still going strong, until today. I will explain below.

Every other Friday in the pool we do 10x100 on 1:30 best average. I was pretty skeptical when i got in because i hadnt't been feeling the best lately, and warmup was no exception. My stroke felt long but laboured, so I was hoping that I would loosen up before the main set. And I did, I started out just above my 400 pace for the first four, and then from 5-9 I held under it. I kind of died on the last one, but nobody's perfect.

On the run, I know that I have been running well over the past month, but I had no way to guage it. My running coach Steve Weiler and his squad the London runner Distance Club hold two winter time trials a year to guage where your fitness is. At the end of February I ran a 15:10, and in one month i have knocked 45 seconds off of that time, which puts me at a pace that is just over my personal best for 5km. I was pretty surprised to see how fast i had ran it in because i was a little sore heading into it. But now my legs are exhausted, just standing kills me(maybe a little over exageration). So hopefully with a few lighter running days before Wednesdays hard run will be enough time to recover.

It is confirmed right now, the first triathlon is only three weeks away. I am heading down to Lubbock Texas to participate in the Twenty-Twelve Talent Identification sprint distance race. It is a cool concept, anyone from the ages of 16-23 are allowed to enter, and if you're 24-34 you need to be a top age grouper in the USA. There are no elites allowed, and you must finish the swim in under 16 minutes(it is going to be close). There is $4000 total prize money up for grabs, so hopefully I can dabble in that. Myself and last years National Champion Matt Vierula are the only Canadians that i know of that are going, so it should be a fun race. Because this is just a race to get all of the the winter cobwebs out, I am trying to make it as cheap a trip as possible, so i am flying in on Friday, racing Saturday afternoon, and flying out Sunday. It should be fun.

In other news, Kirsten Sweetland won the first World Cup of the year, Congrats. After being injured for most of last year, winning the first race has to get a lot of weight of the shoulders.

So until Later,

CH

5 km showdown

2009-03-24T09:54:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been one day since I posted the challenge and my Dad is already playing mind games. My Dad has already used two alias', Kara Thrace is a character on Battlestar Galactica, and the character John Locke from the show Lost is an alias of Jeremy Bentham. Nice try there Dad.

A little background on my Dad. He is runnining about 10 miles a week, and he says that the best he will probably be able to go is around 22:30.

So keep the comments going, and leave your name, and I will administrate which comments are reliable, and the one's my Dad are writing.

So until later

CH

First camp has come to a close

2009-03-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

Well, although my first training camp wasn't in the deep south of Florida or the desert of Arizona, going to Guelph was definately a good choice. Over the two weeks spent there, I could really feel the energy in all three sports come back. It is amazing the difference training as a triathlete has on you compared to training under coaches who specialize in individual sports. You end up going faster in the long run because your training is set up so that your are not trashing the same muscles over and over again, which leads to fatigue, and eventually injury. Only problem with training as a triathlete, is there are very few environments that allow you to do so.

The last month I have felt lousy in the pool, but after the first few days in Guelph, I began to get the zip back that was there early February. I was able to have some very solid workouts, and even got down to 3's and 4's on one set of hundreds. The total over the two weeks in the pool was just over 45 km. It would have been 50, but the pool was closed one day for some waterpolo thing.

With an increase in temperature over the last few weeks (it actually got into the double digits, and it wasnt negative double digits), it meant that I could brave it outside. It was nice to be able to finally take the bike off the trainer and hit the road. Now the next set is to be able to do it with out tights, jackets, and knee/arm warmers. Its hards to gage your fittness on the bike this early when all you are doing is base work, so we will see where i am in a couple of weeks when the local bike races start here in london. Total over two weeks was 6 rides/7hrs, so do the math.

Increase in temperature meant shorts on the run. Not quite warm enough to sport the bare chest, but i'll take whatever I can get. I was running very well knocking off under 3:10 for 1250 repeats, and then the next week I was doing them in 3:05's. It looks like all of the base i have done over the winter has paid off, now i just need the speed, although i did knock off a 29 second 200 at the end of a long workout. Total for the two weeks was 125km.

Firts race is in little over 2 weeks, a local 5 km. This race ranks in the top three of the year, right behind Worlds (if i make it) and PATCO. There are some very high stakes. My dad and I always do a 5km each year, I give him a handicap, and at the end whoever comes out on top wins control of the radio whenever we are in the car together, until the next challange(usually a golf match during the summer. I have held it since September, so he is getting a little ancy). As of right now I am giving him 7 minutes. To all my very few readers out there, post a comment on who you think is going to win, and leave your name, that way I know that it isnt just my dad voting for himself over and over agian in a ploy to indimidate me(its hard to be intimidated when im giving him 7 mintues), and on Good Friday (April 8) we will see who comes out on top. The last time we had out race my dad beat me bay a few seconds, so we are predicting another nailbiter.

The life of Thomas Evelyn Lokody

2009-03-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

Thomas Evelyn Lokody was born in a small town in nothern Russia called Yakutsk in 1945. Yakutsk is one of the coldest cities on the planet with temperatures ranging from -45C in the winter to 30C in the summer. At the age of 5, Thomas Evelyn Lokody was already swimming. He made a great living as a spear fishermam during the winter because his full head of hair and lumberjack beard allowed him to swim for great lenghts of time. While the other fisherman were resorted to fishing through the ice, Thomas Evelyn Lokody could swim between ice holes catching fish.

At the age of 10, Thomas Evelyn Lokody began to lose his hair. This put an end to his spear fishing career because he was no longer able to keep his body temperature high. After losing his job, he set out on a treck to find his place in life. Thomas Evelyn Lokody eventually made it to the Paccific Ocean after a year of travelling, where he decided to go for a swim. Unfortunately the current was too strong, and it dragged him out to sea. Rather than swim back, Thomas Evelyn Lokody decided to take the Hard Road and see where this journey would take him, so he began to swim out to sea.

For 2 straight years Thomas Evelyn Lokody swam. For food, he used his spear fishing experience, and for sleep, he slept on the backs of whales. He eventually made it to Graham Island B.C. where he hitched a ride on a fishing boat to mainland B.C. From there he worked as a logger for 7 years.

At the age of 20, he set out to find out what the real world was like. He eventually made his way to Vancouver, where upon asking for directions, he was mugged by a blind 10 year old boy and his dog named Skruffy. Not knowing what the real world was like, Thomas Evelyn Lokody had no idea what was going on when the boy asked him if he could borrow his wallet for a few minutes to show his friends. After waiting for a week for the boy to return, Thomas Evelyn Lokody left and eventually made his way to the railroad station where he road the rails all the way to Thunder Bay.

After spending a few years in Thunder Bay flipping pancakes at a local breakfast establishment, Thomas Evelyn Lokody decided to go for a bike ride. He made it to Barrie before his bike broke down. From there he ran to Toronto. Upon arriving in Toronto, with nothing but the cloths on his back, Thomas Evelyn Lokody worked as a rickshaw driver. That is how he met Craig Taylor. Craig`s car had broken down, and he needed to make it to Guelph to coach a run practice in just over an hour and a half, and his only hope was Thomas Evelyn Lokody and his rickshaw.

An hour into the ride, Thomas Evelyn Lokody was ahead of shedule, he had been riding his bike at over 100km and hour, but that is when things started to go wrong. The massive power output that Thomas Evelyn Lokody was exerting on the old bike was too much for it, and it disinegrated. Not wanting Craig to be late, Thomas Evelyn Lokody carried Craig on his back for the last half hour of Craigs journey to the University of Guelph. They made it just in time. Craig was so grateful that he offered Tom a spot to train with his group. Tom accepted, moved to Guelph, where he would meet his future wife Erna.

That is the story of how my homestay came to be a triathlete. I will always be gateful to Thomas Evelyn Lokody for allowing me to stay in his home for two weeks while I trained with him. So with out further adieu,

Thomas Alexander Lokody

Thanks for the awsome two weeks. Here is a picture of Tom with my favourite two foods, along with me wearing a shirt his Grandmother from South Africa gave him.

So until later,
CH

First training camp of the year

2009-03-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

After training in London by myself for the last few months, I needed a break. Although my first training camp isn't in the sunny state of Florida, i do have good training partners, and that is all that really matters. Craig thought that it would be a good idea if I came to Guelph, so here I am. I am staying with Tom Lokody and his wife Erna.

The last few days of training have gone really well. It is nice to be doing triathlon specific training again. Monday was a light day, Tuesday was a a moderate day with a tough 2 workouts. I had a great swim and run that day, but it left me a little sore for the next day. Wednesday was light agian, and so was today. tommorow is a big day, and I am looking foward to getting in the trenches with some good hard work.

I satrted writing this post a few hours ago, and the reason for the amount of time it has taken to publish it is because I was inturepted by the CCES. Yes that is right, the CCES came to Tom`s house so that I could be tested. It was quite the scene when Erna answered the door, and then later when Tom arrived home to find us in the kitchen.

I will try and keep everyone updated over the next week and a bit that I am in guelph.

So until later,

CH

Just knocking off the Miles

2009-02-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

Not much has happened in the weeks since my last post. Training has had its ups, and its downs. My swimming hasnt felt right since the meet a few weeks ago. I just feel like a brick going throught the water. There is the odd set where I feel excellent, but most of the time I am just surviving. My arms have been sore for two weeks now, but that means that I am getting my endurance back, so not being able to lift you arms during workouts has its advantages.

On the bike, what can I say, It is not the most exciting thing in the world to be doing, but it has to be done. Andrew Woegerererererererererererer just picked is his need bike for the year, so we are going to hit some trainer sessions every week.

The run has steadily been improving. I started running with the London Runner Distance Club again, and over the past month i can really see an improvement. Two weeks ago was the first of two winter time trials. The conditions werent the best, but I still managed to be 20 seconds from my personal best. And since that time trial, I have felt better with each workout.

So until later,

CH

The Last week

2009-02-11T08:01:00.000-08:00

The last week has gone very well. Training has gone very well, along with racing. Last weekend I had the WOSA Regional Swim Championships here in London, just a low level meet where I have to swim a ton, even with my lack of fitness. Wow is it nice to be able to get out of your own bed and drive 10 minutes to go race. It went much better than I thought. I swam the 800, 200fr/bk, 100bk, 400fr, and although I didn`t set one personal best, I raced much better than expected. My final race to the season was the 400 free, and it couldnt have gone any better. I started slow and built into it. I executed the perfect 400, 1st 100m steady, 2nd 100m fast but easy, then 4x50 decend. I felt amazing during the race and didn`t start to hurt until the last 50. I even finished within a few seconds of my personal best, and with the amount of training I have been doing this year compared to last year in the pool, I was surprised to see such a good result. You can find the results at the London Aquatic Club website.

I am looking outside my window right now to see pouring rain. The weather has been very odd this year. I can`t remember the last time we got so much snow, and had so many days at -10 or colder. But the last few days have been above freezing and today it is supposed to go up to +11. Yesturday I went for a run in pants and a long sleve shirt, and I was over heating. I almost should have worn shorts, in February.

So until later,

CH

What am I going to do with my free time

2009-01-29T10:14:00.000-08:00

I am officially done high school. I wrote my last high school exam Wednesday, and although I was happy to be done, it was wierd to think that after spending the last four and a half years of my life here, I will never be attending class in this school again. So with high school done with, in seven months i get to look foward to spending 4 more years of my life at another school, hurray(just a little sarcasm).

Training has slipped the last few days so that I could concentate on my exams, but now that I am done and have more time to devote to training I will get back on the wagon. Next week I have a swim meet, I havent really swam in the last week from being sick to exams so we will see how it goes. I have been running about 50km the last few weeks, most of it outside in -10 degree weather. I dont know about everyone else, but I have had it with winter, I cant stand to cold anymore, and the snow, oh the snow. We have so much that I am running out of places to put it after shovelling my driveway. The stacks have to be four feet high.

So until later,

CH

Getin'er done

2009-01-23T15:16:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I drove down to UofT to race at Senior Provincials. With a month and a half of swim training under my belt, I didn`t expect much. I raced the 1500, probably not the best race to do after very little training. My plan was to build throughout the race, but it never works that way. I took the first 400 slow, then descended the next 400. I probably took the second 4 way too fast. At the 900, my lack of swimming kicked in and my stroke grew to a halt. I finished, barely, but almost a minute off my best time. At this point last year, i went 30 seconds faster swimming a a long course 1500 at this meet, but then again, i didnt start swimming in late november last year.

That was the Saturday, on the Monday I got the flu, it was pretty ugly. Even after 5 days, I still feel the effects of it. I am running low on energy in long workouts.

Yesturday was my last official day of high school. I have exams next week, then the end of the Victory (I guess you can call it that) Lap. I am looking foward to finally finishing of high school and beginning a new chapter in my life.

So until Later,
CH

No Running Nike Commercial

2009-01-12T18:38:00.003-08:00

I'm Alive

2009-01-12T18:38:00.001-08:00

Another post, another year. Hopefully this year I will more consistant, but it is the ugly part of the year where you slug through the miles in the pool, on the trainer, and on snow covered roads, so there really isnt anything exciting to talk about.

The other day my high school cross coach showed me this funny video, so i thought i would share it with everyone.

Remember

2008-11-11T19:16:00.000-08:00

To all those who gave their lives for our Country, we will always remember.

2008-11-09T12:08:00.000-08:00

In the last few months i have been running faster than ever before. Unfortunately a month ago I severly hurt my back in a cross country race and it has never recovered. After a convincing win at our regional championships i was convinced that i would be at 100 percent at ofsaa. Unfortunately I was mistaken and about 1km into the race my back completely seized up.

Leading up to ofsaa I was in high spirits as I had a chance at medaling, as well as our team. We travelled down to Sarnia the day before to do a walk through to familarize ourselves with what would be most of our last cross country race as high school students. Everything went well and we headed back to our hotel to get some rest. We had a little nascar tournament and then packed it in for the night.

The next morning I did my pre-race ritual that included pancakes, shaving down and I was ready to rock. The day started out well with our midget boy placing in the top 60, and Kirsten placing in the top 50. Then it was time for the big boys. I did my warm up and everything felt great. After stretching I made my way down to the start line to do my strides.

The race started and everything was going to plan. I got into the top 10 and stayed there. Moe came by me at about the 500m mark and kept the pace high. I felt as though I was sprinting for the first km. Moe and the three our four that tried to go with him must have gone through that first km in about 2:45 with me trailing by about 5 seconds. About 100m after that point my back seized while climbing a small hill and it did not release. From that point on I was in survival mode. I ended up finishing 29, but more importantly our team was third, 10 points up of fourth. So although i didnt perform to my expectations, our team did exceptional in such a strong field.

After the race i could barely move. My back was in so much pain. I was walking around like Frankenstein and i am sure that it would have been qiute the site watching me walk around. This isnt even the most amount of pain that my back caused me, the day after I could barely get out of bed. It took a few more days before I had my mobility back, and now a week later, my back is still sore.

Some interesting news, Last tuesday I was watching T.V. when the doorbell rang. I answered it and they asked me if i was Connor Hammond. I said ya, they they told me that they were from the CCES and they were here to drug test me. I was taken back because I never thought that they would come test me, but I guess that means that they are serious about their testing.

So until later,

CH

Cross Country

2008-10-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

Well, another post another month. With the cross country winding to a close, I thought that I would recap the running season so far.

After the two week break after Nats I started to get back into the rythem very easy by winning the first race. I took a few races off so I didnt feel over raced this year and it has worked out. I had a significant setback a pre-ofsaa where my soas tightend up causing my back, quad and calf to seize up so I had to drop out. The next week was on and off depending on the terrain. I could run on the flats fine, but as soon a a significantly steep hill came i almost had to slow to a crawl in order to keep my back from seizing.

The next week went by very fast, and in that week I probably took 2-4 days off in order for my back to recoperate. The Thursday after pre-ofsaa was TVRAA and I went in trying to put in a solid 7km race effort. I really pushed the pace but after about 4 km I had to easy up in order to keep my back in tack. Some people would have been very frustrated with this, but I saw this as an improvement from the last week and this kept my hopes up for WOSSA a week later. What got my spirits up even more the the astonishing 18 points that our team tallied at conference.

After a solid week of training, I had established in my mind that I was back in action and ready to let it rip at WOSSA. With high hopes as an individual and as a team, I/we did not disappoint. We placed 1/3/7/11 totaling 22 points. I made my break at 3 km on an extremely hilly course and won by 30 seconds. Our team did amazing with all of us having stellar races. I know that not many people are picking us to medal at OFSAA, but watch out Ontario, after the smoke of OFSAA clears, Chris Balestrini, Mike Crosby, Zach Cahill, Justin Laing Troy Biddle and myself will be standing on the podium at the end of the race.

So with OFSAA a few days away, I am just letting the OFSAA gods take care of things. There is nothing that I can do from now on in that will make me any fitter. I can only make sure that I am getting enough rest, stretching, and eating right to ensure that I am fully prepared to give 100%.

So until later,

CH

More photos from the summer

2008-09-19T11:30:00.001-07:00

Before Taylor's mullet
After
Kelowna race site
Mark pre race
Hill elite have to climb before we got through with it

I still have more photos that i will post,

So until later

2008-09-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

Just out for a ride in Hamilton

Slim being slim

Ladies and geltleman, jason wilson, andrew yorke and karsten madsen

Andrew waxing his legs

If only Taylor had kept this haircut for more than a day

I will post more pictures tommorow

So until later,

Update

2008-09-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

Well I guess that this is long overdue, long overdue. A lot of people have been telling me to update my blog, so I finally will. So where did I leave off, oh ya over 2 months ago. Lets start from the beginning, I will try and give as much detail as possible, but some things area a little hazy as they were so long ago. this is going to be a long one so if you have to go to the bathroom, go now.

Late July I did the Burlington 5km. It went alright, I had an 6 second personal best and the first road race win of the year.

Next was the PEI junior series race. We decided to drive out, what a mistake. This was the ride of death. Never again, longest drive ever. Before I decided to drive there I didnt relize that it was the same distance to PEI as it is to Florida. So Next time i'm deinately flying. Ok back to the race. I felt a little tired going in because we had been logging some big miles. The Summerside race committee put on a top notch race. They built a pontoon start and a ramp from the pontoon to the peir that shifted with the tide. So race day came and I was ready to let loose. I did a little warm up in each disipline. I was ranked pretty low going in so I did't know what kind of a starting position I was going to get, but as luck would have it, I ended up getting a spot between a couple of weaker swimmers on the left side. So the gun went off and had no trouble getting clear water. I was first to the first bouy a couple hundred metres out, and led the rest of the swim. Six or seven of us got out of the water together, but in the first few km's it split with Sharpe, Philips, Thomas and me in the lead pack and the other chasing. We worked together really well and kept our 45 second gap. The run came and i felt awful, Jeff passed me in the first 500m and kept pulling away. I stayed in second until 2 km to go where Matt passes me, and with a few hundred to go Ian passed me. This race didnt go as i planned, but it showed me that we can stay away on the bike in North America.

So back to Hamilton after a 18 hour drive. Im definately flying next time. Everything went well leading into nationals. So I stayed in hamilton for a week before heading home for for 2 days.

Ok now Kelowna. I left on the Thursday from London and had a pretty sweet flight the whole way out. I sat in the front row with a blind lady and her seeing eye dog so I had lots of space. I arrived in Kelowna and went to get my bagage and what do I see, the whole Hamilton gang waiting to get there bags. So we go to our hotel and made a quick bike down to the beach. I thought it was a nice beach, but we found a better one, more to come on that later. I felt very good going into the race and the training that I had done since december was going to prove it. Race day came and it was going to be a hot one. I was ranked number 1 so I got the best swim spot. The gun went off and I just went as hard as I could for the first 200 metres. I was all by myself and I couldnt feel anyone behind me so I just kept a nice steady pace for the next 2oom before Cole, Matt and someone else came by me and I hopped on the back of that train. The 4 of us exited the water together with Aaron a few seconds back. On the bike Aaron caught us and the four of us worked well to stay away. With one lap to go we had 35 seconds on the chase pack, but in the last lap they pulled back 10 seconds on us. We started the run and I went to the front, but it was not to be. I had gotten pretty dehydrated and didnt notice it until the run, and there was no way to recover from it in 5 km. The run just kept getting uglier and uglier. I don't know how i got across the line but it could not have come soon enough. My head hurt and i was starting to get pretty dizzy. After the race i had a searing headache for a couple hours, but nothing that a trip to the beach couldn't fix(along with a few aspirin). Now this is the beach i was talking about. One of the nicest i have ever been to.

The next day was the elites. Although not everyone had the race they wanted too, they never gave up and everyone finished, despite one person having an infected vertebrea, another with a concussion, and another with a broken elbow.

After this i stayed in Kelowna for a few days before taking the greyhound to Penticton (I did arrive alive with my head still attached to my body) to watch the ironman. I worked at the Ironman for the week, and it remember why i hated working there. Race day consisted of a 5am-1pm shift, then 10pm-5 am. Although work sucked, Penticton was a pretty nice town. So after being away from home since late June, i was finally home for good.

Right now I am in just starting the high school cross season (thats right, im one of those guys who for some reason comes back for a fifth year, my advice, DO NOT COME BACK, even if it means going to the University of Yellowknife or something). I am just getting over a pretty bad sickness so today was the first day back since monday, and it was pretty ugly. Thats basically it for now, ill post some photos later.

So until later, but hopefully not too long.

CH

What doesn't kill me makes me stronger

2008-07-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

Since my last post not much else has happened. I finally got back in the pool, and man was it ugly. We did a time trial yesturday for those who need a QFG standard and it was horrible. I was 12 second slower in the the time trial than I did in practice at the end of a hard 400 set 2 weeks ago. Then today was our usual Gullivers lake brick. I had nothing in the swim, my arms were dead, but I still managed to lead 2 of the three from the gun. Oh well, it will take me a few days to start to feel the water agian.

My biking has been the worst. Ever since since I got off the trainer on Saturday there just hasn't been any power in my legs. They are extremely sore right now and I have no explanation as to why. I guees what doesn't kill me makes me stronger.

My running is still there, on Monday we did 5x1km on a grass loop. I was knocking off sub three km's like they were nothing. My legs died a little on the last one but once again, what doesn't kill me makes me stronger. Tommorow i will be doing the Burlington 5km, so i will be able to judge my fitness from that.

So until later,

CH

Gatineau race report and training

2008-07-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

So I am finally getting around to writing a race report from the Gatineau Provincials last weekend. My fellow junior Mark Bechtel and I drove up the night before and did the course. I felt really good leading into the race, even after a killer few weeks of training.

I did my usual warm up, fired up the pistons and the engine was ready to go. They changed the swim so that it would be more fare since there were over 60 men starting the race. I started on the far right, and all the other good swimers seemed to flock over to my direction. I knew that I was going to have a good swim by the way I have been crushing it in every swim practice.

The gun went off and I imediately went to the front. I didn't take it out as hard as i could have, but i stil went out pretty hard. After the first couple hundred metres i moved into a clear lead after passing Mark Bechtel and led for the entire swim. After rounding the last bouy I noticed that I had gapped everyone so I just kept a nice steady effort in. Once I got out there was still a gap. Into T1 I went, but I couldnt find my bike. There were so many bike so close together that I couldn't find my bike. I still made the lead pack of 4 after chasing for a bit. Once the four came together we were like a well oiled machine. It wasnt hard staying in the pack, and I probably could have pushed a little harder to ensure that we stayed away, but I wasnt sure how my legs were going to feel going onto the run so I left that reserve there in case I needed it.

At the end of the second a lap 2 guys caught us, I thought that they were just over anxious guys sprinting off the front of the chase pack, but in fact they were from the third pack. I made the mistake of waiting for the chase pack since they were only a few seconds behind us, bad mistake. I chased for 1 lap, but there werent very many strong cyclists in our pack and they weren't working well. We lost time on the third lap. About 200 metres into the last lap someone took out my front wheel and had nowhere to go but down. I went down and when I got up i was jsut mangled with road rash. I tried to mount my bike but it was far from rideable, and the cuts on my body weren't co operating.

I just dont understand it. There were so many crashes in Gatineau, it wasnt even a technical course. I guess thats what you get when you combine elites, u23's and juniors, carnage.

That crash has set my training back a week, i wasnt able to raise my arm for a few days so that has kept me out of the water for a week, and i have a huge gash on my hand which has me on the trainer.

I have learned from my mistakes and i am looking foward to making up for my mistakes in PEI. Now i am not waiting and i'll be back in full force.

Tour picks

2008-07-05T15:26:00.000-07:00

Here are my picks for the Tour de France. I have avoided the news all day so i have no idea what happened today. So here they are.

Top 3 1. Alejandro Valverde, Spain, Caisse d'Epargne
2. Cadel Evans, AUS, Lotto
3. Carlos Sastra, Spain, CSC

Green- Robby MCewen

Mountain- Juan Mauricio Soler, Colombia, Barloworld

Training has been going really well, and i am looking forward to ripping it up in Gatineau next weekend.

So until later,

CH

In the Hammer

2008-07-04T05:07:00.000-07:00

So I arrived in Hamilton last week and have had nothing but good workouts. I am rooming with Andrew Yorke, Tyler Bredshneider, Andrew Woegerer, and the man from the island, Jason Wilson.

The training has been going amazing, in the pool im going times that i would have done in January when I was pure swimming. I still feel good on the bike, and have had almost no trouble doing hard workouts. After my last 3000 a week ago, it solidified in my mind that i am in amazing running shape, and the last few workouts are concrete evidence that I am. I am running 3 minute km's on the grass like they are nothing.

My next race is a week from now in Gatineau Quebec. This race doubles as a junior series race, and our provincial championships. It should be very competitive with both the British Columbia and Quebers showing up. After the last week I am feelin confident that i will have a good race, and hopefully my swim is good enought to only be able to break away ffrom the pack.

So until later,

CH

Blog Etiquette

2008-06-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

This blog started out just as a way so that people could check on how my progression was going away from home, but there is someone out there who has taken their comments a little too far. Although this message only applies to one person out there, I would like all of my very few readers to understand that this type of behaviour can not be tollerated. Whether it be on my blog, or on anyone else's blog, rude inappropriate comments are not appreciated.

On another note, I have done two races the past week. Sunday was the Guelph Lake Olympic, it went fairly well for my second olympic. I was first out of the water, with Shaggy just on my feet. I got on the bike and quickly took control. I led until 10km where Dave Sharret passed me, then at 20km Andrew Yorke passed me. I rode the rest solo, then the run came. Im not used to running after a bike like that so i struggled. I still managed to stay in third, now only if they had kept the prize money.

Then last night I did a 3000m on the track. I was really motivated to do well, then when I got to the track i lost all motivation. During the warm up i started to feel pretty good and that motivation came back. The gun went off and i immediately got behind my pace maker. Nathan couldn't have ran a better race. He did exactly what he said he could, getting me through 2 km in 5:48, then it was up to me, I easily bridged the gap to the leaders, and with 400m to go i started to make my move. I know that i don't have a kick, and that really showed last night as the winner closed 4 seconds faster than I. I finished with a 10 second PB on absolutely no taper. And thanks to Derek, whose motivational comment gave me a little laugh when i was running.

So until later,

CH

Finally Home

2008-06-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of commotion post worlds and things have been a little hectic, but the main reason i have not done a race report yet is that i have gotten lazy. So worlds did not go as i had hoped. I was probably in the best shape of my life going into the race and i had the potential to get a top 10 result if everything went to plan, but that never happens.

I was surprisingly calm going into race morning, I woke up, shaved down, ate and made my final race preparations. We drove down to the race site and watched the end of the Junior Womens race. It looked like it didn't go to bad, it wasnt as good for the canadians as last year, but they still put in some solid results.

My warm up went on uneventful. I felt alright during the run, and pretty good in the swim. I would have liked to do a longer swim warmup, but the water temp was pretty cold and i didnt want to stay in there for a long time. So i was number 48 going in, so i was right in the thick of things. The way the swim was set up was a huge atvantage for the lower ranked athletes because to first bouy was on the far right, and everyone off to the left had to swim all the way over. I also noticed that the swim looked incredible long, which could play out to my favour if i had a good swim.

It was now time to go onto the start line, and i was much less nervous than i was last year. I know that i have a really good beach start due to my long legs and good start speed. The gun went off and i ran in. I didnt have as good as a start as i would have liked, but after the first minute i was swimming clear of the field around me. I ot to the first bouy where i felt like i was in a good position, but in the act of swimming my way to the right, i was met be a pack, and it was an all out brawl around the bouys. I remember swimming beside number two, but somewhere along the line of swimming back in i went off course and lost their feet. As soon as i started to head back in, i headed straight for home, without realizing that there was another bouy. I ended up doing an almost 90 degree turn to make to bouy, which caused me to be father back out of the water. So i missed lead pack by 15 seconds.

I tried to bridge up on the bike, but the two guys with me did absolutely nothing to help. I rode the first 2.5 km pulling them before the chase pack caught me and the two wheel suckers. The bike was uneventfull, we lost a lot of time on the leaders during the first lap, but not much after that. I did get incredible cold during the bike. My hands got so cold that i could even shift gears. I could shift up easy becasue i could use most of my fingers, but when i wanted to shift down, I had to use my thumb, even though it had no feeling.

T2 came with bad results. I couldn't ge my helmet off for the longest time. Luckely my strap streched in the rain so I was able to slip it over my chin. I started to run but had absolutely no bounce in my legs, i couldnt even feel my legs. I was so . I was so cold i was shaking for the entire run. No matter how hard i tried to pck the pace up, I just couldn't. My body was so cold that I just wanted the race to be over a quick as possible so I cold get warm. I had some stomach problem again, so I will have to find the source of the problem before my next race.

Once the race ended i went straight into the medical tent there I got all of my went cloths off and had 5 blankets wrapped around me. They gave me some warm watered down gatorade, but I was shaking so much that they had to feed it to me. i couldn't even dress myself. I had to get someone else to do it for me becaus ei was so cold.

This Worlds was a experience that I will not forget. I have learned from my mistakes, and now I know that I cant just man through it, but I have to take to precautions of protecting myself with warm clothing so that my body just doesn't shut down.

Next year worlds are in Australia, so the two aspects that have impeded my performance at the last two worlds will not be there, a wetsuit, and cold weather.

So until later,

CH

In Vancouver

2008-06-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I have finally arrived in Vancouver. The weather isn't as nice as I would have liked it to be but what the hell. The colder it is here, the more the hot countries will suffer from the cold

We left Victoria at 10 am. Paul and I did an easy swim at Commonwealth then we loaded all my stuff for the ride to Victoria. We took the ferry across. It was pretty relaxing with the buffet and not having to be all cramped on an airplane. We are staying at the university in a suite. It isn't bad, each suite has 6 rooms, a lounge and a kitchen. I am the lucky one because my room is the only one with a double bed, the rest have singles. You can tell that they are from the 70's because of all the concrete everywhere. The nice thing about staying here is that the pool is close, it has a kitchen and it also has a great view.

So my race is Thursday at 9 am. I am starting to get a little nervous leading up to it. I guess that that is a good thing because when I am not nervous I usually dont have a good race. I feel really fit right now, my swimming has never been quicker in triathlon season, my biking is there and my running speed has increased since last year. So what this all means is look out for me during the race because i will be moving.

Yesturday I recieved an email from Shaw TV asking me to do some media interviews before and after my race, and during my race they are going to be following my progress and talking to my coach len Gushe about what is going on. So now that I am doing this, I better not lose my suit or it will be on TV. More incentive not to do that again. This is going to be a great oportunity to promote the junior aspect of the sport, and I am glad that they are not just focusing on the elites.

Again i will post the link to the live broadcasting for our race here so this way my very few readers can follow my progress towards a great result.

So until later,

CH

One week to go

2008-05-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

Since my last post not much has happened. The workouts have steadily been getting better and more consistant. The soreness that has been there since I got here is going away now that the taper for worlds has started. I am glad that the taper has started for two reasons, it means that worlds is getting closer, and after 3 weeks of hard training, it takes a toll on your body that you need to recover from.

Last weekend I participated in the Shawnigan Lake sprint triathlon. It was a very nice course. It reminded me of the Muskokas with the cottages, rolling terrain and the beautiful lakes. The Friday before the race we participated in the VIP reception at the local resort, and wow, what a veiw it had. The resort was situated on top of a small mountain that overlooked a lake and had mountains in the background. I wish that i brought my cmaera to take a picture.

Our race was a 500m swim in a relitively warm lake, 22km bike on roling hills and 5 km run on a gravel trail with the first km being uphill. I had a pretty good day. I came out of the water 3rd, right behind Paul. It wasnt my best swim, but it wasn't the worst. I got onto the bike and it didnt feel good. Matt Sharpe and I rode together for probably the first 10 km before some other BC boys caught us, and then we rode the rest of the ride together. When the run started it felt like old times again. My legs were there unlike in Mazatlan so i could push the first km. After the first km of uphill i settled into a rythm. I didn't feel amazing, although it was a tough run on false flats on a gravel trail, so it isn't supposed to feel good. I did have the second fastest run of the day, 25 seconds behind Paul. Overall i finished 1:27 back of Paul and second overall. This race taught me that i have the running legs to be there, and with a flat course on a paved road i will have a ripper of a run once i am tapered.

Here are some pictures from the race.

For those who want to watch the world Championships in Vancouver next weekend, here is the link Triathlon. My race is Thursday June 5 at 9am Vancouver time.

So until later,

Another great Workout

2008-05-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

So yesturday didnt start out so well. I had a terrible run. We did mile repeats and I started out good but I just tightened up and couldn't keep the pace that I wanted to.

I did have a killer swim workout that day though. We did 3x800 1 on 11, 1 on 10:40. the first 2 were pull and the last one was swim. I dont know what it is but i can do pull short course so much better than long course. I was 10:20, and 9:55 for the pull, then I busted out a 9:15 for the swim. I was swimming beside Dano who put about 5-10 seconds on me by the 200 and held it till the last 200 where I started to pull him back.

Today we did an open water swim becasue all of the pools are closed due to the long weekend. My arms were pretty sore, and it took me a while to warm up in the wetsuit.

So this weekend many things happened. AP finished 7th at the Ixtapa Continental Cup, but more than 2 mintues out of the lead. My Coach len Gushe broke the Masters world record in the 400m IM this weekend clocking an impressive 4:48. On a negitive note, our Canadian Hockey team lost to our Russian nemesis. I was watching the game until part way through the second period when they were up 4-2, then I went out for breakfast with Paul and his future wife Lindsay, and when I got back they were presenting medals to the Canadians, but the wrong kind of medals, silver. I couldn't believe it. I missed their comeback, and overtime. Unbelievable.

So the countdown has started. Worlds is creeping ever closer. For all those who want to watch, my race is Thursday June the 5 at 9am Vancouver time, so 12pm london time on Triathlon.org. I am very excited to make up for last year, and I am extremely fit in all three aspects, especially the swim and run so Iam expecting big things.

So until later,

CH

Best Workout So Far

2008-05-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

So this morning i felt pretty good in the pool so i decided to move up in line. It was definately a good choice. As soon as warm up started i knew it was going to be a good day.

With the set being 50x50 on 45, 4 strong, 1 fast. I started out a little slow, going 37's for the strong and 34 for the fast, but about 15 in i started going 34-35 for the strong and 32 for the fast. I felt good for the entire set. Next was the 500 fast. I started second, racing Simon. It was probably the best i have every felt in the pool since I left london. I went 5:42, which is probably the fastest 500 i have ever done, partly because i never do 500's, mostly 400's. I dont know my splitting, but Simon was close to me for the first 200, but i just kept going strong and finished quite a way ahead of him.

Just want to wish Simon a happy birthday(maybe that why i beat him) and good luck to Andrew Yorke and AP Baillargeon Smith at the Ixtapa Continental cup as they are both fighting for a worlds spot (i think).

So until later,

CH

Getting the Feeling back

2008-05-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

So I know that it has been a long time since my last post, and lots of things have happened since. There have been good days and bad days, and average days. One of the better days came when I was recently named to the Junior team to compete at the Vancouver World Championships.

Over the last week or so, I have started to feel much better in the water. My body position has been gradually rising (except for the odd bad day), and although my arms may be killing me,usually after the first activation set i have warmed up and let'er rip for the rest of the workout. I am still not in the same swim shape as i was in January, but i can already see improvements since I left Florida. The other day we did 80 50's sc. 3 on 40, 1 on 50. 20 of them were announced, then Joel liked the fact that nobody was talking so he upped it 40, then again he liked what he was seeing, so it became 80. I held 33's for the first 20, then i picked it up to 31's for the next 20. I backed of for the next 20 and held 33's. On the last 20 i started to feel it, and the last 2 rounds i was fading. It is workouts like this that lead me to believe that I can be top 10 out of the water at Worlds.

The bike is still going alright. I finally felt alright on my bike the other day during a brick workout. I felt good on the hills, but I still didn`t feel 100%. I never got dropped that day, but i miised more pulls than i would have liked to. The reason why i might not be feeling it on the bike might be because i am always sore. I had another good forkout last sunday when we did team pursuits on a 9 km . it started out in 3 groups of three. Dano, Kirsten and I would leave 20 seconds ahead front of the next group of Andrew, Paul and Colin, who left 20 seconds ahead of Simon, Kyle and Jordan. The first round it all came together with a couple km to go. On the second round, Colin and Paul stayed away after dropping Andrew, and our group stayed away from Simon`s until the very end. The last two rounds Adrew came in our group so it was a group of 4 and a group of five. They left a minute back from us and we held them off for the lap. On the 4th interval they left 50 back. They timed it like the Tour de France with Paul sprinting past our group with metres to spare.

The running has gone so-so also. I am running well on my own, but off the bike i just can`t seem to keep the pace on. I did a treadmill workout the other day. 2mins on, 2 mins off at 12 mph 10 times, and last week i was doing 3 times 2km on a hilly course in 6:29, 6:20, ans 6:22. Then yesturday we did a 3km run after a hard bike and i was so sore. I went out hard, then i tightened up hard and finished in 10:20, almost a minute slower than I would have liked to be.

I just want to wish Andrew Yorke, and AP good luck this weekend as they compete at the Ixtapa Continental Cup.

So until later,

CH

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

2008-05-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

So I woke up this morning to probably the greatest smell in the world. Paul was cooking pancakes for himself this morning, and it was probably the only reason i got out of bed this morning for swim practice.

So now the good. This morning's swim practice was the first one since i got here that i could actually feel the water. We did 800 pull (or in my case swim), 8x100 on 1:30, then 400, 300, and 200 in the same format with 200m easy in btw. I was holding 1:10, for the 8. 1:09's for the 4, 8's for the 3 and 7's for the 2. I kind of faded towards the end, i raced Simon on the last two, and i tried to take him but i couldnt. He may be older (just a little bit) but he can still move.

The bad. We did a hard 2km run on a dirt road off the bike (to follow) and it went alright. It was a 2km, 1km out and 1 km back. It was all uphill for the first 1km and all downhill for the second km. I did the run in my bike shorts, and it didnt go so well. i was 3:24 on the way out and 3:05 on the way back. I don't know what it was the shammy, or the hard treadmill yesturday(probably a combo of both), but i never warmed up until partway through the second km.

The ugly. We did a bike run work out by prospect lake, and the bike was not what i had hoped. It only took a couple of km's before an attack was put in on one of the hills, and i just couldn't stay with them. the pack split into three groups, me being in the last group. i waited for kirsten to have someone to ride with, and i basically rode the entire thing at the front. Although the bike didnt go as i had planned, it could have been worse. On the second lap, kirsten and I passed Jordan Rapp, and he looked like he was having a really tough time. so although my ride was ugly, it could have been worse.

So here are some photos from Victoria.

So until later,

From East coast to West Coast

2008-05-03T11:36:00.001-07:00

After arriving home for the weekend, I used the entire weekend to visit my friends, do some training with my local clubs the London Aquctic Club, and the London Runner Distance Club, and do all of my laundry just to pack it up again a few days later. I flew out of the massive London Internatonal Airport (all 2 gates, but it does have a Timmies) Monday morning and arrived in Victoria at 2 to a waiting Joel Filliol. I am currently living with Colin Jenkins, but i move into my upscale downtown apartment with Paul Tichlear this afternoon( i will post some pictures of it when i have some, it really nice). The training has been going well,

Sunday- hard 16 km tempo with the LRDC. We started out slow but by 10km we started to pick the pace up as one by one people began to fall off until there were only 2 of the origional 8 who started and one who jumped in at 10km. in the end we held 3:40's.

Monday- First day in Vic, just did and easy 1hr explore bike ride and a 50 minute run. Had dinner with Colin Kirsten and Joel to go over whats happening.

Tuesday- Swam in the morning, couldnt have gone any worse. They do a lot of pull here, and a 1500 tt on my first day was a good welcome present. Everybody was flying by me, and by the end of it my shoulders were shot for the rest of the workout. Ran in the afternoon with Simon. Did a fartlek, my legs were still incredibly sore from sunday so i wasnt going too fast. then did an easy 1hr explore ride to flush everything out.

Wednesday- Probably the worst day of the week for me so far. As i said, they do a lot of pull here. 800 pull, then 8x100 on 130, then 400 pull, 4x100 on 125, 300 pull, ect. I felt good on the 8x100 holding 110, and 111's, but then blew to pieces for the rest of the workout. Did hills on the bike and i could not have been more sore heading into it. I wouldnt even say that i blew up because i started out that bad, but it did get worse. By the end of the workout, it took all of my energy to just keep the wheels going on the slightest incline.

thursday- Just an easy day, run drills in the morning, 3km easy in the pool and an easy 1hr explore bike. On the bike i did find the place where i stayed 5 years ago when my dad, brother and I came our west for a trip. I will say that the place looks a lot nicer now from what i remember.

Friday- I finally started to feel it in the water. 15x 300, with the pace times descending every 5. i felt pretty ba on the middle 5, then we took a break before the last 5. I went out fast holding 1:13's then it gradually went up until i was holding miserable 1:17's before i let it lose on the last 150 of the last 300. transition, and a slow one at that (even slower than Hamburg) and onto the bikes for some short intervals.

So until later.

CH

Mazatlan Race Report

2008-04-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

So i am finally back home in London. We left Value Village at 4 in the morning and drove straight through. I arrived home at 2 am after what felt like forever. Got home, just through everything in my front hall, had a little talk with my dad, and then had the best sleep of my life in my own bed.

So now the race report from the Mazatlan Pan American Champs.

I woke up at 4 am for my race at 6:30. Woke up, hopped in the shower and did a poor job at shaving down. Ate three peanut butter and honey sandwiches, relaxed for a bit, and by then it was 5:30 and time to go down to the race site. I checked in, went to the bike rack and guess what, my bike doesnt fit on the rack because my bike is too big to swing under the rack so i have to rack it on the back of my seat. I did an easy 10 min run,, same on the bike. i went to the water for my warm up, and it was still dark. I entered water, got out past the breakers, and only swam about 300m before i headed back in because i couldn't see anything. so i headed back in and by that time it was 10 minutes before race time.

So we are sitting on the beach, waiting for them to set up the swim bouys, quite amusing actually. They were getting them out there in seadues, one guy took off trying to get past the breakers. Just when you thought he was either going to wipe mout or make it through he got though, but the rope snapped sending the bouy back to shore. They finally got 2 of the 5 bouys out there at 7:00, so we started anyway.

I had a pretty good start considering my starting number. i was 36 out of 64, so i was right in the middle. The guys on the right had a huge advantage becuase the 1st bouy was off to the right. The horn went and i started well. A few good dolphin dives under the waves and i was through. I got to the 1st bouy in about 10th. i swung to the outside and just let it rip. i moved my way all the way into second, where i stayed for the maajority of the swim. With about 100m or so to go we hit the breakers again. I was just concentrating on swimming, then all of a sudden a way fell on me and sucked me under. I found myself fighting to get back to the surface. i finally did, and not a moment to soon. i ended up coming out of the water 20 seconds behind the leaders, so it looked like i was more effected by the waves than others.

The bike came and it was brutal, nobody was working. Greg Billington crashed right beside me and almost took me out too. The crash caused us to lose half of our pack. Willy took off, and i am pissed that i didnt go with him. I was one of the very few people that were working. two packs ended up coming together. Willy ended up putting 1 minute on us. i got off the bike cleanly and started the run.

I felt so bad right from the start. I was running a little behing Hogan, and then started to pick it up to see if i could drop them. At about 3 km into the run i started to experience stomach problems. I started to dry heave from all of the salt water i swallowed during the swim. For 1km i was basically slowed to a trot. with 1km to go i had to really dig deep because some other canadians were gaining on me. I fought through the last km to finish in 11, and second canadian.

Overall the race was not a complete disaster. I finished 11, second of 4 canaidians in the top 15, so i should be going to worlds. I learned that I have the swim fitness to be up there at worlds and if i had of had a good run i could have medaled despite my lack of speed work at this time. the next time you hear from me i will be in Victoria British Columbia training with the Canadian national team until after Worlds. I also want to wish my friend Andrew Yorke good luck for his 10km track race this weekend.

CH

On my way Home

2008-04-21T08:41:00.001-07:00

So I am sitting in the Mexico City airport right now with nothing to do, so I figured that I would give a brief race report to everyone on how I did this weekend in Mazatlan. The race did not pan out as I wanted to. I finished 11, second of the four Canadians in the top 15, so I should still get my World's spot. I had a great swim until the last 100m were I, plus everyone else got hammered by the waves, and my run was sub par due to some dry heaving due to the amount of salt water that was swallowed in the swim. Although I didnt have the greatest race, I still made the Worlds criteria. When I get back to Clermont I will give a more detailed race report because the energy just isnt there after 4 hours of sleep thanks to some peer pressure by the BC boys.

CH

Safe and Sound in Mexico

2008-04-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

So i arrived in Mazatlan safe and sound, and it isn't very exciting here. After all the bad things that have happened to me over the past two weeks, i am due for something stellar. I got an ear infection, but the doctor didn't diagnos it properly, so i have been on antibiotics for over a week with no effect. I then found out that my bike fork was broken 5 days before i flew here, so i had been riding on a broken fork for god knows how long. I ordered my new 3T Funda Pro fork and got it the day before i left. Drove to Orlando and got it, then came back to find out that my Uncle had taken my bike box home with him(AHHHHH, this is not happening the day before i leave), so i had to borrow another persone bike box. So after all this happening to me you would expect the airline to lose my luggage, or my frame arrive cracked, but it didnt happen, so thank god.

For all those who have never been to Mexico or think that they can judge Mexico by seeing Cancun, it is a whole different world where i am. It is so dirty here, whether is be the ocean, streets, and even the people, all dirty. There are two things that have risen my spirits are how wavy the water is. I love the surf for two reasons, it separates the men from the boys, and it plays into my strenght as a good swimmer. The other thing is the heat. Because i have been training in Clermont Florida for the past 2 months, i have subjected myself to the heat, while most other people haven't.

I have not looked at the course (except for the swim), but it looks as though it is going to be pancake flat (AHHHHHH). The roads are in pretty bad condition, and when i went out for a ride today on my new fork i wasnt too excited about biking on the roads with all the crap that was on them.

The race meeting is tonight, so i will get to see my competition and eye them down with my new aero haircut, a mohawk courtesy of Sean Bechtel, who hopefully doesn't drop the triathlon business to go to barber school. i am feeling really fit, and i am expecting big things this race.

I just want to thank everybody who has helped me get here and hopefully to worlds, my coach Len Gushe(who set a wrold record in the 400Im in a time of 4:48 the other day) C3 for allowing me to train with them, Sean Bechtel, Nat Faulkner for riding me into the ground and putting up with me in their house for a week, my parents for supporting me no matter what happens, Epic Cycles in Clermont for heping me with all my bike problems, Simon Dearing for driving me to the airport at 6am, and hopefully my new training partner Andrew Yorke come this september for keeping me motivated. This race is for you guys.

CH

Getting back to blogging

2008-03-27T15:21:00.000-07:00

So after a few weeks of just being lazy when it came to updating my blog, i am getting back into the swing of things. During march break i competed at the Escape from Florida triathlon, then attended C3's camp, and i am now logging good workouts.

The Escape from Florida triathlon went alright for me. I had a good swim, not stellar, but good, got owned on the bike, considering the wind and the fact that i was on a road bike it went alright. Then the run came, i started onto the sandy beach and just bid my time until the dirt road came where i took off. I ran extremely strong, and considering that fact that i did it all by myself, and the you only ran on pavement for almost 1km of the 5km run. I ended up 9th elite, and having the second fastest run.

After the triathlon, C3's camp began. It lasted a week, and i put in a lot of miles. Over that week i ran 90 km, basically all easy mileage, probably 500km of biking, and a lot of swimming (most open water. All in all it was a fun week and it was nice to see all of my buddies again.

Now that C3's camp is done, i am training all by myself again, but it is going well.i have put in some really solid swims, bikes and runs since. the other day i did 15x100lc on 1:20 averaging 1:12's. So i have good swimming fitness right now, so the goal of leading out patco is still there. Unilt next time, which my goal is not to make it another month until my next post.

exiting the water, 3rd out of the water

1st loop of the bike

just out for a stroll on the beach

done the first triathlon of the year

Some solid workouts

2008-03-05T15:03:00.000-08:00

So now that Len is gone, I have no way to get groceries. So I stalked up before he left, and I think that I timed the amount of food just right so that i will have enough food to get me to Barrie's camp which starts on friday.

Tuesday
I am usually not a very good long course swimmer, but the last few days have been getting better. I have been doing some sprint sets for the last few days working on my speed and body position. For some reason they had the pool at long course on Tuesday, but i did the set of 48x25m on 30s fast. I actually felt pretty good during this set. there was no way to tell what i was going for it because i was stoppin in the middle of the pool, so i can only estimate. After the swim, i ran down to the track, stretched, and did a 15km tempo back to the house. i did 4 km on the track, and then the real pain began as the hills were the next thing to come. i ended up doing it in 50:35, whiich i think is amazing for me right now.

Wednesday
I woke up this morning, and my arms were exhausted. to make matters worse, my swim was longcourse. No problem, i was doing som tethered swimming. after a 15 min warm up, i but on the belt and attached the surgical tubing to the staring blocks and began my set of 30 on, 30 off 15 times. After about 5 i was getting exhausting, but i stayed in the same spot for most of them. i took a mintue break from the last repeat, and then did an all out 50. i dont consider myself a sprinter, but for 35 metres a felt amazing, the last 15 was something else. i could feel my exhausted legs and arms start to fade. i still went low 28, which isnt bad considering how much i have done this week. After the swim i went out for a ride. I rode to sugarloaf and did 6 repeats. it didnt go as i planned. my legs were so exhausted that i was nowhere near where i wanted to be. oh well.

I regestered for the escape from forida triathlon taking place this Sunday, so we will see where my fitness is right now.

Now I remember why I hate days off

2008-03-03T16:44:00.000-08:00

So i spent my day off at my grandparents house. Got a nice free, good meal, watched some satellite tv, considering where i am now only has 12 channels. So after spending the day there. i arrived home tyo find everything still in order. Now that Len is gone, i have no ride to the pool, so i hitched a ride with Blake Becker, a ironman pro on the Timex team. my set was 20x100LC, 10 descending on 1:40, a minute break and then 10 on 1:40 best average. After taking the day off before, i just couldn't find my groove. The times i was holding were miserable compared to what i am capable of. There is something about long course swimming that limits my potential. I just cant get my body to that hydro plaining position. The one good thing i can say about getting back to training is that i had an excellent bike today doing 2X 11.7km TT pn rolling hills.

Finally starting to feel good

2008-02-28T17:48:00.000-08:00

After about a week of swimming, i am finally getting back into the groove. I did a 1500y time trial yesturday with len gushe. It was not amazing, but i went 16:00. Len beat me by 10 seconds, it was not that i died (i actually even splitted my 750's) but he picked it up. then today i did 400lcm 200 pull, 200 kick, and on the lsat one i went pretty quick. My running mileage is getting better. I did a 13 km tempo run on a hilly route, and averaged 3:30's, then 2 days later i did the orange road in 1:02. My biking is getting better now that i can ride outside. I guess that we willl find out how my training is coming next saturady when i do the local triathlon.

Getting back into the groove

2008-02-25T11:02:00.000-08:00

Well it has been a week since i arrived in Florida and I love it here. The training is great with a great outdoor pool, although it is a little warm. The biking is fantastic with hills to one side and flats to the other, but with some hillbillies (whose stature in society is rated by how many wrecked cars on their lawn) being a**holes make it dangerous, but also amusing at times, and the running is great. The last few days have been ugly in the pool. I had a hard in the set 9 x 400 on 5:30 LC decendng. i started out on 5:20 and went down to 4:52. it wasnt the best set i have done, but i haven't swam in a week. today was much better with 40 x 50y on 35, i averaged 30, so i was moving. As for biking, did 6 x sugarlaof, fun fun fun. it went alright. I am not the strongest on the bike right now, but i was only 10 seconds slower than my personal best on the hill, so i am in not bad shape. My running is coming along, did 3 miles on the track decending 1-3 on 6:30 the other day. started out 5:20, then 5:08, then 4:48 in pissing rain. i could barely see 50m in front of me. So that is an update on my training so far.

Living the Professional Life

2008-02-20T14:13:00.001-08:00

So i have arrived in Florida safe and sound. I am currently staying at my grandparents right now at golfers heaven. It doesn't interest me, but it is relaxing. So when i arrived at their house, i relized that i had forgot a few things, so today i got them from the local bike shop. I also picked up a pair of compression socks, they're pretty sweet. I am sure all of the old golfers think that i and mentally ill or something for wearing them, but then again, old people like to wear their high black socks, so we will never know. I start doing the serious training on Friday becasue that is when i wiull meet up with len at the pool, so until then i am just doing some light long training sessions, just putting in the km's. I finally got my new pair of Oakleys, and they look sweet.

2008-02-17T09:23:00.000-08:00

I finally started my online courses last Thursday. It will take a while to get used too, but as long as i stay motivated to doing it, I should be fine. I bought a laptop, so i will be able keep up the blogging and school down in florida

So I finally started swimming again last week, and it was ugly. After basically taking 3 weeks off because of Brazil, exams, and my shoulder and being exremely sick, it made for a very tough week back. With the first distance set coming Wedn.esday morning, it caused me to be extremely sore for the rest of the week. The times that i was holding in the pool were not even worthy of a 13 year old girl. Usually I can tell right when the set starts if it is going to be good based on how well by body rises out of the water when i am going fast, but the past few days i have felt like a brick going throught the water. In a set that we do almost every other week (400's best average on 6), i was over 20 seconds slower per 4 hundred. hopefully i get my fitness back the first week in florida, which i leave for on tuesday.

No Excuses

2008-02-13T10:04:00.001-08:00

The next time i don't want to go for a run because it is too cold, or when i don't have the motivation to give 110% too a workout, i will think of this commercial

I Guess Kids look Up to Me

2008-02-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

Well, the 4.6km time trial was a little ugly. We got about 3 inches of snow last night, combined with the rain the day before, it made for slow and slippery conditions. I was running by myself right from the get go, and i could feel my hamstrings and calves getting tighter as the run went on. I finished exactly one minute from my best time done last April, so considering the conditions, i will take it.

So I went to the local YMCA to talk to the kids triathlon group. It went well, I think that i satisfied their curiosity with all of my experiences(all 3 of them) and how much i train. They seemed pretty interested to hear about my goals. I then talked to them about how loving the sport and having a free attitude should come above anything else. I think that i met all of their needs. It feels good to have helped these kids on their way to hopefully becoming succesful triathletes. I even had one little kid and his dad approach me after my speech to talk to me about the best approach to getting into the sport. 10 days until florida.

Update

2008-02-07T18:37:00.000-08:00

Watching the show Lost right now, getting pretty exciting, i will have to do this during commercials. My shoulder is getting a little better. i am taking a week off from swimming to let my shoulder recover. I think that i may have pulled something when i got mangled in a wave during a body surfing session in Brazil. I leave for Florida on the 18 of February, so i am getting pretty excited to get away from all the snow. We just got about a foot, and i had to shovel the driveway and i can't wait to get away from it. I went to a local public school on Wednesday to talk about triathlon and it was my first time doing this. they seemed pretty interested to hear about my trips and my goals of becoming a future olympian. I am doing another talk to the local kids triathlon group, so we will see how that goes.

Long but Fun Weekend

2008-02-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

Well, this is my first blog and i am still figuring things out, so bear with me. This weekend was very busy, i went to McMaster for their recruitment week and got to meet most of the xc/track team. Good times. Then i had a swim meet the next day and i paid for the night before, and my shoulder hurt from getting mangled while body surfing in Brazil.. I didn't get to my goal time in the 400, but i still took over a second, so i finished with 4:14. Went for a 50 minute run today and felt pretty good.