Update

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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,

CH

Another great Workout

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