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

Best Workout So Far

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

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

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,

CH

From East coast to West Coast

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

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