"Happy Halloween"

I hope y'all have lots of luck trick and treating and end up with tons of candy.  But remember kids, that safety comes first.  Make sure you remove all of the razor blades, and for gods sake don't take anything that may have been within 3 kilometres of a peanut on it's way to your treat bag.

Of course just as important is your physical safety when you're out there on the streets.  I know you want to look very cool in your costume, but you need to be seen as well.  Please ensure that you wear something bright so that the drivers can readily recognize you for the little ghosts and goblins you are.

And of course if I think this is good advice I need to lead by example.  That was a major deciding factor when I picked my costume.  I'm pretty sure I won't get hit by a car, or if I do I will at least know that it was done on purpose.

Okay.  So it's not my Halloween costume but it is a costume.  It's my race costume and I'm gonna wear it on Sunday.

It all started with the shirt which was offered to me by the local running store when I decided to be part of their bus trip to the race.  The colour was so cool it inspired me to put together the rest of the outfit.  I'm not quite happy with the mittens yet, or the socks for that matter, but I still have a few days to keep my eyes open.  I am hoping for hot pink for either, or both.

And if you think this is all a very silly thing to spend any money or effort on let me explain.  It's about having fun....pure unadulterated fun!  I have found an interesting correlation between the amount of fun I have at any given race, and the results of that race. And while I know it's still gonna hurt, ones attitude seems to make it hurt a bit less.  I could be just the chicken and the egg thing, I don't know, but it doesn't really matter does it?  Having fun is fun...period!

After I put the whole thing on I went out for a  little jog to test it out.  On the way back I ran the last km in 3:41.  While it was a bit wind aided it still felt real good.  I don't think I've run a kilometer that fast in several years.  And in the interest of more fun I did a little math.  The current marathon world record is 2:03:38.  Divide that by the race distance of 42.2 kms and you get a pace of just over 2:55/km!!!!!!!!

And here for your viewing pleasure are the real ghouls. 

Grest job Mom!

(swim drills, run 3kms)

"Fitness needs to be perceived as fun and games or we subconsciously avoid it."---Alan Thicke

Love

Peter

"Lazy Day"

I only set 2 tasks for myself today and I even failed at one of those.  But what the hell!  I am allowed to be lazy today, and all week for that matter.  I'm kinda treating myself gently with the idea that it's full speed ahead after this race is over.  Then I will go back to the weight room regularly, and also start a serious bike program.  I have also been pretty generous with myself at the dinner table and that needs to take a turn for the better as well.

I did sign up for my next race today, that being the Around The Bay 30K next march.  I have a score to settle with that event.  You may recall that I had the worst race of my life there this past spring, and that I blamed it on my hyperbaric treatments.

So continuing with my lazy theme that's it for today.  Peace my children!

(swim drills, 30 min computrainer)

"There are no lazy veteran lion hunters."---Norman Ralph Augustine

Love
Peter

"I Ran a Four-Forty"

When I was a kid this meant running 440 yards around a track.  They also had the 110, the 220, and the 880, all of them of course derived from the mile distance of 1760 yards.  Then sometime in my early  high school years we figured out that the rest of the world was counting in metric and these distances all disappeared from track and field.   Except for, interestingly enough, the distance that started it all, the mile.  To this day there are still "miles" being run in competition.

....as an aside the problem with the metric system was that it took all of about 10 minutes to learn.  For about 5 or 6 years the math teachers had nothing to do...

The other distances have all been replaced by the close equivalent of 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres.  For some strange reason they then decided on 1500 metres instead of 1600.  They must have thought it sounded better.

Anyway I ran my version of the four-forty today.  Four degrees Celsius, and forty km/hr winds.  Note please  that my 440 is completely metric.  I went 15 kms in these conditions.  By the way, you can divide that by 1.60934 to get 9.32 miles....if you care?

It was my final tune-up workout for my marathon on Sunday.  I actually felt quite good since I've rested  for the last couple of days.  I got faster with each passing kilometer.  It's the way I expect to feel on Sunday for at least 15 kms but after that I have no idea what may happen.  Time will tell.

I only hope the conditions are a little better come Sunday.  Today the temperature was perfect and even the bit of rain I faced was no problem, but wind just sucks!  Anyway you cut it, wind sucks.

But you know what?  It's all a state of mind.  While at this time of year we start to whine about the rain, the cold, and the wind, our favorite lament usually revolves around the shortening days.  But how about this?  Old John will be proud of me for telling you that the days start getting longer in just over 7 weeks!!  Hard to believe eh?

(run 15 kms, 1:11:06)

May you live all the days of your life."---Jonathan Swift

Love 

Peter

"Fun Run Day"

I had an extra responsibility this morning other wise I would have stayed in bed.  After all it was my idea to sign the kids up for the 2K Halloween fun run in London.

After it was all over I knew why I had gotten up.  The feeling was a little different than the way I feel when I complete my own events, but no less gratifying.  To hear them both chattering away while at the same time trying to stuff their after race donuts in their mouths was a special feeling. 

I think and hope that things like this will influence them on the way to a long term, healthy lifestyle. 

I managed to keep up with Kylie, but Colby smoked the both of us.  He finished in 11:07 while Ky did her 2k in 12:53.

I was the only one who dressed up.

Photographer extraordinaire came long to cheer and to capture a few moments.

Colb told me that I should have gone as the roadrunner!  Says I would have been faster!

(2 km fun run)

"Beep, Beep, Your Ass"---Wile E. Coyote

Love

Peter

"Perspective"

In it's simplest definition the word perspective means "point of view" or the position from which something is viewed.  This is a powerful consideration when we are communicating with other people, and especially critical when there is significant differences in the life experiences of those involved in the communication.  When we use words to describe something we are always doing so based on our own personal perspective.  And what we see from where we sit, can be so radically different that if we don't first rationalize these differences it can make our conversations at best extremely frustrating, and at worst practically without value.

When I think of differences in life experiences and the communication challenges that come with these differences I believe there is no more universal example than that of the typical parent/child situation. Generally the age difference between these 2 groups is 20 years or more, and in today's fast paced, ever changing world that difference may as well be light years.  I think that as a parent one must recognize that he/she needs to be the one to try to rationalize this problem since we as the parent has had the benefit of greater experience.  Often we take the stance that our kids should just acknowledge our greater experience and learn from what we tell them.  But think about it?  They have had a chance at only one perspective, that of child, where as we have presumably seen it from both sides.  It is our job I believe to try to put ourselves in their seat, to see things from their perspective.  And furthermore I suggest that until one is able to do this, one will never know how to frame our questions or offer advice such that it actually benefits them.

And as committed as I am to this bit of wisdom I must also admit that it has come to me too late in life for it to be of any value.  I only just learned it from my grandchildren.

The other thing that I have learned from my grandchildren is that a picture is worth a thousand words, and so I will paint you a picture to help explain perspective.  Or rather than a picture, a sculpture, and rather than do it for you, I challenge you to do it yourself.

 Go to the cupboard and find a potato and then grab a knife from the drawer.  Now sit down and carve that potato such that you could pass it through 3 separate holes, one of each which are round, square and triangular.  The catch is that the potato must fill each of the holes completely as it passes through.  This is not as hard as it sounds.  Once you have that potato carved hold out in front of you with one of its 3 distinct faces pointed towards you.  Now imagine that you don't know the overall shape of the potato.  What do you see?  What if you left the potato exactly where it is and moved around to another face, or should I say another perspective?  What do you see?

I believe that differences in perspective on an intellectual or emotional level, are  no less dramatic than the physical one described by the potato sculpture.  When our children are seeing a circle and we know damn well it's a square, is it any wonder that we don't understand what the hell they are talking about?   We need to move around the potato to have a look from their side.....and then we can ground them for the rest of their lives!!!!

(no workout)

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth."---Marcus Aurelius

Love

Peter

"Memories"

I read somewhere that the human body needs to repeat a task or movement 10,000 times before it becomes natural and automatic.  Ten thousand times before  it becomes firmly imprinted in your muscle memory, and presumably in those neural pathways that tell the muscles how and when to perform.  That seems to make sense to me and I'm trying to apply it to my swimming.  And if 10,000 times sounds like a lot it's not really when you put it in perspective.  For example, in my upcoming marathon I will take close to 20,000 steps....with each leg!

And since that's a brute force way of working on something it will probably work for me.  I think there are however a few complications which may mean even more repetitions in my case.  The most obvious one for me is of course my age.  Coupled with the fact that it's simply harder to learn new things as one grows older, there is the fact that I have to un-learn the things I have been doing in the water for almost 20 years now....none of them good!

But I think the real challenge to a newly learned physical skill comes when one tries to add another movement into the mix at the same time. To go back to the swimming analogy it would be like finally learning a good kicking pattern and then trying to maintain it while you add arm  movements, breathing etc.

This is how it feels to me right now.  I can do my kick drills at the end of the pool and then when I push off the end I can maintain it for half a length even while starting to stroke with my arms.  Until I take my very first breath that is, when it immediately falls apart.

But I believe it can be done and I intend on continuing this stubborness until I can do it without thinking.  I'm pretty sure that when it comes to physical skills, (especially ones that don't come naturally), there is no shortcut.  You're best chance at gaining a memory of those skills is through endless repetition.

I think the same thing is not necessarily true for memories of the mind.  I was taught that our brain can gain a new skill or gain a new memory in 2 different ways.  The first, as in the physical skill, is of course repeated experience.  An example of that may be learning your multiplication tables.  The nuns made me say them  enough times that I'll remember them ""for the rest of my life.""

The other way to imprint a memory on the human brain, that does not work for physical skills, is through a significant emotional experience.  We've all had them, and I wish to tell you about one of mine to illustrate my point.

It happened some time in November of 2007.  I was the middle of the night and I was laying in a hospital bed in London Ontario.  It was about 2 days after barely surviving a near death experience and I was still very drugged and barely interested in life.  I had absolutely no confidence in the future or in my place in it.  I would drift in and out of consciousness, each time briefly wondering where the hell I was and what was going on.  Each time it would take some moments before I would regather my senses and try to go back to sleep.  On one of these awakenings I was surprised to see my little sister Teresa sitting across from my bed.  I can still see the picture clearly in my mind.  She was sitting in a chair with her legs crossed, reading a book.  She looked up when she heard me stir.  I can even remember the look of concern she had on her face.  Without going into too much detail suffice it to say that I was surprised to see her there.  It was one of the most significant emotional events of my life.  In the millisecond that it took for my brain to process the scene I knew that I could go back to sleep.  My little sister loved me, she was watching over me, and I was safe!  That moment was, and is, so deeply ingrained in my memory that I'll remember it  ""for the rest of my life"".

Now if only Teresa could teach me how to swim.....

(swim drills, run 7 kms)

"Memory is a child walking along a seashore.  You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things."---Pierce Harris

Love
Peter

"The Perfect Day!"

A good day is one that starts and ends with food.  Particularly if it is food you can enjoy without it contributing  too heavily to your demise.

Starting with breakfast.

Fresh waffle...260 calories.

1 tbsp syrup....60 calories

300 grams strawberries...100 calories.

Enjoying it at the kitchen table with my grandson.....

priceless and calorie free!!

Then swimming followed by a nice 37 kms on my bike in gorgeous weather.  It could well be the last of the year...outside at least.

The day was also special because 23 years ago today we celebrated the birth of our youngest child.

Happy birthday Adrian.  He's grown into a kind, intelligent, man and I'm very proud of him.

And then to close out the day.

Yogurt with strawberries, blueberries and bananas prepared exclusively for me by the hands of an angel....who knows or cares how many calories?

Enjoying it at the kitchen table with that same angel....

Priceless and calorie free.

(swim drills, 37 km ride)

"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."---John Wooden

Love

Peter

"We're Going For Fifty!"

She has built up a certain tolerance over the last 25 years which is gonna help her cope for the next 25!

For all the times throughout those 25 years that I have gotten angry at this woman I call my wife, I am heartily sorry.   What was I thinking?  I promise to do better over the next 25!

We had a perfectly lovely afternoon at her favorite store, followed by the mall, and then the Mandarin for dinner.  I won't tell you how we capped off the day.  :)

I got her a waffle maker for our 25th simply because Colby and I wanted one.  She appreciated that as much as if I had really gotten her something.

And as a gift to myself I got in a 30 km run.  And if you wonder how that could be considered a gift, please remember that I was supposed to go 36!!

Happy anniversary my "precious".

(run 30 kms)

"So bright... so beautiful... ah, Precious."---Gollum

"We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it."---John Lennon

Love

Peter

"Slow But Steady Wins the Race"

I think that's good advice for Ironman and for life.  Unfortunately for me, I don't take advice.  I tend to live in spurts.  This past weekend for instance.  I should have taken a day or two longer to do what I did, cause now I'm paying for my impatience.  I have pretty well been on the shelf since I got back.  Not just am I tired, but for some reason my lower back is killing me.  The culprit I suspect is a Sunday morning ride in the rain, followed by 11 hours in the car.

Anyway....just this evening I am starting to feel a bit more energetic and hopefully my back is 'back' by tomorrow.  I'm supposed to run the 36 kms that I did not run in Mont Tremblant.

And special birthday wishes today for two of the oldest people I know....my oldest son Peter (34), and my oldest sister Cory (34 and then some).  I happen to know they had a chance to briefly visit together today, which pleases me to no end!

"You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry, don't worry."---Walter Hagen

(faked it at the pool)

Love

Peter

"Mont Tremblant"

The first thing I noticed about this place is that a lot of people speak French there!  I'm not sure what's up with that but no problem.  It was kind of interesting watching peoples faces get all confused when I tried to use my high school French.  Especially since it always seemed to come out more Spanish than French!

Anyway.  The whole idea of the whirlwind visit was to get a quick sense of the course as well as the community, and that we accomplished.

The course is as interesting as I was promised by various bloggers and even by a few friends who did the half there this past summer.

The swim looks pretty well trouble free other than the start is a bit narrower than I would like.  The lake is probably a bit chilly as well (we never tested it), but I'm pretty sure it will be quite calm as it seems well protected by the hills. And thankfully it is a big enough lake that it is a one loop swim.  I hate getting out of the water and then back in again.  One little irritant actually comes just after the swim as it is about 500 meters from the swim exit to the transition area.  It's never any fun to run in your bare feet and wearing a wetsuit, immediately after having swam 4 kms!!  Oh well....as they say "c'est la vie"!!

I think the transition area itself should be fine.  We'll see what it looks like once it's full of tents and such but it's a fairly large open parking lot and should be good.

And that's when the fun really begins.  The bike course is basically 3 out and back sections that you repeat twice.  That's kinda cool from a spectator perspective since you pass the transition area on 3 separate occasions.  And despite the fact that 'out and backs' mean a lot of turn-arounds the course is spectacular.  There are very few flat spots, but the pavements is exceptional and includes about 70 kms on highway 117 which is a major 4 lane divided freeway.  They actually close one side of the road completely so it's bikes only going both ways!  Woohoo!  And then of course there is the section that John and I rode which is absolutely hilarious.  There is not one flat spot or one straight spot on the entire 20 kms, and you do this section twice.  The first time at least will be exhilarating.

Anyway, back to the transition and out for the run which I already told you a little about.  Five kms out to the trails, then 11 kms there before back to the transition where you turn around and  do it all over again.  Again this lends itself well to friends and family who wish to see there loved ones in intense pain and near death.

The fiinsh itself should be really cool as the race ends right in the heart of the Tremblant resort village.  Very fancy!

So that's in on the course.  I also scoped out an accommodations plan knowing that the closest RV park is 10 kms from the start.  The idea was to stay art that park and then move to a hotel the day previous to the race.  The hotel we stayed at was perfectly situated so I decided that was gonna be my spot and proceeded to make a reservation...........not so fast buddy....sold out!!!  As is every other hotel in close proximity.  Yup!  Ten months before the event there is not a hotel room to be found.  Shit!

Plan B....I like it better anyway.  We  discovered a parking lot about 2 kms away that will allow us to park the RV overnite.  That's just a nice little walk on race morning and suits me just fine.  And a whole lot cheaper than the hotel!

So "ENCORE" I say!  Let er rip!

(walk jog 7 kms)

"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much."---Jim Rohn

Love
Peter

"Cold, Wet and Happy"

That's how I felt after our bike ride this morning.

Now 850 kms and 11 hours later I'm home....warm, dry and happy!

It was a whirlwind 3 day trip but very gratifying.

More tomorrow.

(ride 22 kms in the rain)

"I'm so happy because today I found my friends - they're in my head."---Kurt Cobain

Love

Peter

"Incroyable!"

Checked out most of the course today.  Quite amazing really.  Half of the run takes place on the "Petit Train du Nord", a 200 km linear park that used to be a railway line.  The other half is on gentle rolling hills through the town.

The major portion of the bike course is on brand new pavement and while there are some hills they don't scare me.  There is also an exciting little section (25 kms twice) of crazy ups and downs and sharp curves, that is gonna test my riding skill.   But it's the exact type of riding that my bike was built for.   We'll find out tomorrow when we'll ride that 25 k.

Today we ran on the old rail bed.  I did 20 kms (tired from the drive)  and Old John went further than he ever has at 11 kms!!! Of course he rested all the way here in the car...

Over all, a damn fine day!

(run 20 kms)

"I can't believe how good I feel"---Old John Rooyakkers

Love
Peter

"Didn't Know This Existed"

On our way to Mont Tremblant we were following the cars navigation system only to come to a dead end at the Ottawa river!!  We were just starting to joke about the stupid GPS when it announced that we had arrived at the ferry landing!!!

And yes I knew that ferries existed but not one like this one, and not in Canada.  A nine car ferry!!  Teresa....you never told me!

And I brought my partner with me! 

Yup!  Old John came along for the ride.  And I mean that literally.  Not once in the 8 hours did he offer to drive!

We're here for  the weekend to check out the town.  Oh and to do a little running and riding.  Should be fun.  That's why we're here. 

"It's the game of life. Do I win or do I lose? One day they're gonna shut the game down. I gotta have as much fun and go around the board as many times as I can before it's my turn to leave."---Tupac Shakur

Love

Peter

"Pat Your Head and Rub Your Tummy"

Can you do that?  I can pat with my right hand and rub with my left, but not the other way around.  If I really focus I can do it for about 5 seconds before it starts to break down, and then I find myself patting my head in circles.

And that is exactly the way I feel in the pool.  I hang off the edge at the deep end and do my kicking drills with no problem.  After all how much can there be to swinging your legs back and forth?

Then I head down the length of the pool and almost as soon as my arms go into motion the whole leg things falls apart.  With a bit of focus I can actually keep it going for 10 seconds or so, but only until I add breathing as well.  Then both legs set off on their individual mission, flopping and twitching and bending at the wrong spots!!

It's gonna be a long journey.  I have to ingrain one thing at a time so that when I add the next part that the original element continues on it's own.

I'm gonna do it if it kills me!!

Right now I gotta go pack!

(swim drills, 40 mins computrainer)

"Trust that little voice in your head that says 'Wouldn't it be interesting if...'; And then do it."---Duane Michals

Love

Peter

"Say it Isn't So Lance!"

I wish to explain a certain practice that hypothetically takes place in the automotive industry.

Whenever a car manufacturer roles out a new car model, or an updated version of a current model they typically spend hundreds of millions of dollars building dedicated tooling to produce the new vehicle.  Much of this money is given to parts suppliers.  The car companies however typically retain ownership of the tooling because they don't want to be at the mercy of any given supplier.  In any eventuality they want to be able to move the tooling wherever they want, perhaps to a different supplier, or occasionally back into their own factories.  That being said they expect that the supplier be responsible for the actual manufacturing and maintenance of the tools and when they give them the money to do so they expect it to be a direct pass through.  In other words the supplier is only allowed to bill the car company the exact amount of money they actually spent to have the tools built.  In other words...no mark-up!

And of course they come and check up on you in the form of what's called a tooling audit.  They show up at your door and expect to see all of your financial records related to the cost of building the tools.  If you don't have appropriate documentation you can expect to give them money back.

And that's the way it's supposed to work.

Here's how it really works.

Once the supplier has secured the work from the car company they then go to a tooling manufacturer who they know quite well and make a side deal.  They agree on the actual pricing of the tooling, and then they agree on the actual amount of the invoice that will accompany that tooling.   The latter is inevitably higher than the first.   And since the invoice from the tooling manufacturer supports the suppliers case when the tooling audit takes place it's a big win for the supplier.

But wait you may say!  The books won't balance!  Oh, but actually they do.  They balance because the supplier actually pays the invoice amount to the tooling manufacturer even though they agreed privately that the price should be less.  In actual fact as part of the audit, the car company will want to see the cheque that was written.

But wait you say!  Now the tooling manufacturer ends up with the extra money!

Oh.... but only temporarily.  That's where the real creativity takes place and I won't bother to get into that since the whole thing is only hypothetical anyway.....and highly illegal!

The rationale behind this imaginary cheating is twofold.

1)  You have to do it to be competitive!
2)  Everybody does it!

Sound familiar?

While I was never a big fan of Lance Armstrong the person, I was a big fan of the athlete.  I believe that he is the best cyclist the world has ever seen, and aside of course from his genetics, I believe his success came about primarily because he invested more time, money and effort than anyone else.

And while I have absolutely no sympathy for the man or the athlete now, I can totally understand what happened to him.  He didn't invent most of these ways of cheating and he certainly did not bring the problem to cycling.  His biggest problem has been his unparralled success which ultimately required him to continue to live the lie right up to the very end.  Can you imagine the stress he must have lived with day in and day out?  Almost....I say almost...I can feel a bit sorry for him.

Today I made my first ever donation to a terrific charity, the Livestrong Foundation.

(swim drills, run hills)

“Everybody wants to know what I am on. What am I on? I am on my bike busting my ass six hours a day; What are YOU on?”---Lance Armstrong

“The riskiest thing you can do is get greedy.” ---Lance Armstrong

Love
Peter

"Busy, Busy"

And tomorrow I get busier yet. Tomorrow the war begins!  All mice must die!  I hate killing gods creatures but not as much as I hate the destruction some of them can generate.  Two very large holes in my pool cover, as well as several small ones.  I spent half my day doing a mediocre patch job.  And then the other half not quite getting the pool winterized.  More tomorrow.

(swim drills, computrainer 45 mins)

"Get busy living, or get busy dying."---Stephen King


Love
Peter

"Cautiously Optimistic"

I'm feeling pretty good about my current strategy.  Slowing down a little and thinking things out seems to be right thing.

I think I finally have a resource to help me with my swimming, and now I just need to patiently work through the drills.  I'm not sure if I told you but it's a book and website called Swimsmooth.  Check it out!  For the first time ever I feel like I understand my limiters a lot better and that of course is where one must start.   You can buy their book from Amazon in hard copy or electronically.

 Same goes for the bike.  The bit of time I have spent with the technical aspects of the trainer has quickly shown me where I'm lacking.  It is blatantly obvious that I need to increase my cadence and improve my overall mechanics.  All  I normally ever do when I ride my bike, is ride my bike!  I need to start incorporating specific drills that teach me "how" to ride my bike!

So like I said...cautiously optimistic...and at times even cautiously excited.

(swim drills,  upper body weights, run 7.3kms)


"Body does what mind prefers."---Lenny Krayzelburg

Love
Peter

"Beauty And The Beast"

Thank goodness for grandchildren and digital photography.  It makes it much easier to post a blog.

I'm a bit sore from yesterday so I just rode inside for 20 minutes.  I continue to learn more about the computrainer that I think is gonna help me.  There's all kinds of Internet advice about how best to use it but I couldn't figure out why I couldn't seem to find the screen that most people used.  After some looking back at the documentation it turns out that there was a piece of software that I had not installed. I'm also considering something they call the PIG. They have a 20 week training program that a "Performance Improvement Guarantee" of 10 percent!  It's kinda complicated so I need to think about it.  A 10 percent improvement sounds pretty good tempting though!

(easy computrainer ride)

"Improvement begins with I."---Arnold H Glasow

Love

Peter

"Just Take Your Medicine"

Most medicine either tastes bad, and/or has ugly side effects.  And the only kind that ever makes you feel good, also usually happens to be addictive.

And it's for these reasons that people often avoid taking it.  It takes a certain amount of discipline to take what you know you need in the long run, but which makes you feel crappy in the short term.

Sometimes my workouts feel like medicine, especially long runs.  But I do em anyway, cause I know I need them in the long run (no pun intended).  My workouts are my defense against illness.  Physical illness of course, but even more importantly, emotional illness.

The difficulty with long term illness is that it's usually not in your face today, and as such it is hard to remain motivated to take your medicine regularly.

My motivation is the races I sign up for.  I can positively assure you that if I had not signed up for the marathon in 3 weeks, that I would not have taken my medicine today.

And today's medicine came in the from of 35 kilometres in the rain, with the temperature hovering around 10 degrees Celsius.

And while I am feeling some of the short term physical side effects right now, I am also feeling pretty good from the neck up.

It was a re-affirming workout as I completed my 35k in 2:58 for an overall pace of 5:05/km.  I'm extremely happy with that, but even happier with the way I felt.  A little soreness over the last 10k but the end was never in doubt.  With a good enough reason I could have ran a marathon today.

Of course conditions were ideal!  Yup!  You can't really ask for better.  Once you get past the first 10 minutes, the cool rain is about perfect.  I only lost a couple of pounds, and I was peeing shortly after I got home.

And further to my medicine analogy I remember being warned by the head shrinker some 3 years ago that I would regret coming off the anti-depressants.  She was wrong!  While those drugs were important to me at one point, the side effects were much worse than running 35 kms, and the long term effectiveness much less satisfactory.

And I know that it's not the solution for everyone but I am convinced that in many cases a strong prescription of exercise, perhaps in tandem with drugs, can be a very effective strategy for those suffering from mild to moderate mental health issues. Not once did my doctor encourage it!

You know of course what the problem with that is?  Many of the drugs make people feel listless and lethargic, which is not very conducive to getting ones ass off the coach.  Believe me I know.

And I'm not touting myself as some kind of hero that had the courage to quit drugs and take up running.  It  just so happens that the necessary support structure was present in my life.  That combined with previous positive experience.  I dared to challenge the doctors advice because of those elements.  For that I remain grateful.

Oh and I can't wait for next weeks long run!  It is gonna be very special but I will keep it under wraps for now.

(run 35 kms, 2:58)

"Formerly, when religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for medicine; now, when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake medicine for magic."---Thomas Szasz

Love

Peter

"In The News"

1)  The new home of Ironman Canada is Whistler BC!  It seems that traditional winter resort towns have become the choice de jour for Ironman races.  Probably because the communities themselves are so supportive.  Tourism is after all their main business, and their summers are just begging for people.  Needless to say I am very glad that I signed up for Mont Tremblant when I did.

2) My Grandson placed 18th overall in the NTN trivia game at our local restaurant.  If you're not aware of this game it is an online thing played all across North America.  Yes, at 19419 points, he had the 18th highest score across the continent!!  He also had the highest score posted in our restaurant since July!!

(computrainer 60 mins, swim drills)

"It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper."---Jerry Seinfeld

Love

Peter

"Have You Got A Brain In Your Head?

More than 50 years later I still hate her.  I get agitated whenever she comes to mind.  I want to swear and call her names.  I want to use the "c" word on her, and punch her right in the fucking face!!   In  my mind I'm doing that right now! The humiliation that one person heaped on me over a period of years is beyond description, at least in my limited vocabulary.

One of my favorite memories of her was in grade one when for some reason Sister Michaela was provoked to ask me if I had any brains in my head.  I can still see the moment!  I can still "feel" the moment! She was sitting at her desk in front of our garde one and two class, and I was approximately 3 or 4 seats from the front, in the 2nd or maybe 3rd row from the left.

For some reason I heard her wrong and thought she said "drains" not brains.  It is quite possible that having been raised in an immigrant family I didn't even know the word brains?  Being from the country I sure knew what drains were though, and I knew damn well that I didn't have any in my head.  So of course I told her so.  And did she ever think that was funny!!  Could you imagine a teacher even talking to a 6 year old kid like that, and then laughing at the stupid immigrant kid from the country when he proved himself an idiot?  And all of this took place in front of 30 other kids, most of them 3rd or 4th generation canadians, and most of them from town. Yes.  I still hate her!  Black was the right color for her.  And if my hatred seems a little over the top, let me assure you that I have even worse memories than this one.

Phew!  Deep breath!  Relax!

Please accept my apologies for that diatribe but I had to get it out.
What the hell triggered that you must be thinking?

Simple.

My original idea for today's post was to talk about using my brain a little more in my training instead of my usual mindless grinding.  Sure enough, as soon as I considered the brain in my head, the ugly flashback occurred.

Anyway.....my previous Ironman endeavours have been primarily about training my body but not always hand in hand with my brain.  I need to get more free speed by fixing my swim stroke, and my cycling technique, and in general just adding a little more science to my training.  It means trying to do a little more research and to do a better analysis.  Thankfully I survived the years of torment from the devils whore.  Although my psyche was, and apparently still is affected by her "teaching", my brain came out of it more or less intact.

So I am determined to learn more about good training techniques over the coming months and apply my new knowledge.  I truly believe that there is great opportunity.

So I have decided that for the next 24 days (til my marathon) I will fore go leg weights, and focus on my  running, as well as my bike and swim technique.  Stay tuned.

Oh and big Ironman Canada news today....but that's tomorrows post.

(swim drills, run 10 kms)

...and here's some good advice for me...

"Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him."---Martin Luther King Jr

Love

Peter

"Power Outage"

No really.  The power went out.  The joys of rural living.  It's also my excuse for today's post.

(computrainer 60 minutes)

..... and wadda ya think of this one?...

"Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes."---Eleanor Roosevelt

Love

Peter

"I'd Rather Be Gardening"

I just can't find the get up and go.  After a brief morning swim I spent most of the day pruning shrubs, and pulling weeds.  I'm pretty okay with that, although I'm sure my fitness is slipping.  To compound that I'm not eating very well and the bathroom scales are complaining about that.  I'm not quite so okay with that, but I will try to be gentle with myself.

I think it's important that I am tolerant because it's definitely a mental problem, and as such beating myself up is not going to help.  Besides, the flower beds are enjoying the attention.

(swim 30 mins, computrainer 30 mins)

"Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace."---Mary Sarton

Love

Peter

"Happy Thanksgiving"

On this my 56th thanksgiving day I am indeed thankful.

Thankful that....

Although my old bones may ache every day, they rarely all ache at the same time.

Although my mind may be cluttered at times, I still have many days of clarity.

Although I may be unemployed, I still have lots of work to do.

Although my siblings may all be idiots, none of them are effin idiots.

Although my children may all piss me off, they rarely all piss me off at once.

Although my wife may be a bitch, at least she's a smart bitch.

Although for some reason on this particular day, all those wonderful things are trumped by the best surprise gift I have ever received in my 56 years.  Maybe because we had such an excellent adventure today.

A day of...
chasing seagulls

of rocks you can write with

of a burger and fries at the cavern view cafe

and of windmills

He has decided to become a "windmill engineer".  It must be in his genes.  He already has an idea of how to keep them spinning without any wind.  I think he was also motivated by the idea of getting inside one of these and climbing the 80 metres (holy cow!) to the top.  The blades themselves are 77 metres in diameter and spin a maximum of 20 times per minute.  I did the math and the tip of the blade travels at almost 3oo kms/hr!!!  Standing underneath it and watching it come down at you is quite unnerving.

(run 7.3kms)

"Grampa, I had an awesome day"---Colby Andrew Rooyakkers

Love
Peter

"Tons of Potential"

So I'm sure I told you that I was gonna try to use my computrainer to it's full potential rather than just use it for winter riding.  The manufacturer of the machine claims that if you use it to train yourself to ride better, than you can expect speed gains of 10%.

So with this new resolve I have it all set up and am gradually learning how to use it.  Cycling technique is all about pedalling efficiently.  That means bringing as many muscle groups into play as possible, and training them to fire at the right time and in the right order.

Knowing all of this I hopped on today, expecting that if I watched the monitor and did what it told me, that pedalling would seem so much easier.  Wrong!  It's much harder!  Which of course makes perfect sense.  You have to train the new muscles to participate in your plan to be more efficient, and they don't initially want to co-operate.  I guess that's why they call training eh?

Anyway, here's an idea of how it works.

This is a screen shot while I'm actually riding, without any attempt to modify my technique.  It is only one of many potential ways to set it up.  You can see more data, or less data.  You can ride alone, against another rider, or even against your own previous ride.  The relevant information on this screen is primarily in the graphic in the right hand side of the screen.  The figure 8 represents my pedalling efficiency. It should not look like a figure eight! The purple numbers immediately under the graph reflect the same information for left leg, right leg and combined.  A decent number is apparently at least 70!! The white numbers immediately underneath those indicate relative power, right leg to left.  You can see that I favor my left by about 8 percent.  The red numbers above the graph tell me that I am applying most of my power at 115 and 112 degrees of the stroke, which is way too late. It should be close to 90 where you have the most leverage.  If you look closely you can also see a red bar across the graph which represents the red numbers.   The output of all of this is the blue number under watts near the centre bottom of the screen.  (I'm the blue line...the white line is the computer). That is quite a high number for me and I can't keep it up for long. Note also 2 columns over that my pedal rpm is at 75.  That's too low.

So now see below for the same screen when I geared down and focused on pedalling in circles.

The idea is to try to turn the figure 8 into a circle.  That would represent 100% efficiency.  As you can see I improved by almost 15%.  The red numbers dropped considerably but my strong left leg tendency remained the same. And if you look at the rpm, you can see I am pedalling much faster with "holy shit"  a 50 watt increase in power!!  If you are really sharp you will notice however that I am actually riding slower!!  And if you are even sharper you will see that that is simply because I am now going slightly uphill.  Look at the grade way over on the right side.  Plus 1.0 compared to minus 1.0.  

Anyway you can see how very far I have to go and I am so happy about it.  There is just "tons of potential"!  I hope I explained it reasonably well.  I'll keep you posted as I go one.

(computrainer 70 minutes)

"Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential."---Winston Churchill

....and this one because it's so beautiful in it's simplicity.   I wish I could do it all the time... 

"Value people on their potential, not on their history."---Bo Bennett

Love

Peter

"Chilly Willy"

I thought this was a cool name for a winter race. I seen it on a shirt the other day.  While we're not quite at chilly willy weather yet, today was a gentle reminder that it's coming.  You have to have an entirely different running mindset when the cold and wind start sneaking in.  You just have to accept that the first 10 minutes or so is gonna be uncomfortable, and get out the door and get started.  No lolly-gagging down the driveway.  After you get going it really is quite amazing how the body adapts.

It never really hit me how significant that adaptation is until I was out later getting groceries.  I had a jacket, over a sweater, over a t-shirt, and I was freezing.  During my run at a slightly lower temperature I wore a long sleeved t-shirt, and shorts....mind you gloves as well.

I felt pretty decent, finally shaking the last of the trail race stiffness.  Although I was kinda slow I was in total control for the entire 30 kms.

And that's it!  Here's your smile of the day from the local grocery store.

Is that in case you can't do the math?  It think it would be funny if it said 500/$400.00 or $.80 ea.

Now I gotta tell ya.  I know that's a really good price, and we like green beans, so I bought ten cans.  Not nine!  Not eleven!  Somehow I still feel like they got me  :)

(run 30 kms 2:41:05)

"You've got bad eating habits if you use a grocery cart in 7-Eleven."---Dennnis Miller

Love

Peter

"Home Alone"

My sweetheart is off visiting her family, and my children and grandchildren are all off living their lives.  To take advantage of it I'm gonna get a bed time snack, and curl up with a good book.  Oh wait!  That's what I do every night!!

I managed to get my winter bike set up on the trainer today and have gotten it all tweaked to match my good bike as far as position goes.  Today was my first brief indoor ride.   Based on the weather forecast I can see a lot more of them in the near future. 

The rest of the day was occupied trying to find flooring to replace the crap we put down before.  No luck yet finding the right solution.

Long run tomorrow.  I am no where near ready to run a marathon in 4 weeks!!

(brief computrainer ride)

...and I thought this was a good one...

"You cannot be lonely if you like the person you're alone with."---Wayne Dyer

Love

Peter

"Now This Could Be A Problem!"

Perhaps you recall the circumstances that resulted in my decision to enter the Ironman in Quebec.  The original plan was to wait to see if Ironman Canada was coming to Ontario, and if so, enter it for 2013.  If not, then the fallback would be Mont Tremblant.  I got sacred away from that plan by two things.  First off, everyone I talked to told me I was crazy to think they would put another race in Eastern Canada, and secondly I was afraid that Mont Tremblant would sell out, and I would be left without a race.

Well I think I did the smart thing because indeed the Quebec race has been sold out for some time now, and there was no further word on Ironman Canada.  But guess what?  Huntsville has been named one of the final three candidates to host the race, along with the communities of Whistler, and Kelowna, both of course in British Columbia. 

I don't believe for a second that Kelowna is a serious contender.  I believe it is just political and corporate posturing to frighten the people of Penticton, and  the new race group there.

As to Whistler, all you have to do is look at a map to see that they are very limited in road selection, and as such I don't think it's gonna happen there either.

And can you guess what the the fear of staging the event in Muskoka (Huntsville) might be?  They are afraid that it would be too tough!!  Yup!  No flat spots anywhere and it seems that tends to discourage potential Iron men and women from signing up.  They claim however to have some good alternative options and are trying to sell their route to the WTC.  

Anyway.  How could this be a problem you might wonder.  Well I am convinced that Huntsville will be the ultimate destination for Ironman Canada for 2013, and as is usual, for at least 3 years after that.  

So here I will sit next fall knowing that Ironman Cannada 2014 will take  place only hours from my home, just waiting for me to send them my money.  That could be a problem!!!

But wait!  I have a solution.  I have tried for years now to get my wife into triathlon and particularly since 2009, have tried to talk her into doing an Ironman.  Good idea eh?

I'm gonna tell her that either she signs up for 2014 or I will!  That should scare her eh??

(run 7.3 kms, 20 km tandem ride with Colb)

"Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced."---Soren Kieregaard

Love

Peter

"Ride It Out"

Feelin a little better today.  Despite my recent low mood I still have confidence that my lifestyle is the right one for me.  Perhaps the odd bad day is just a message to tell me I need to tweak it a bit more in order to gain the consistency I want.  I'll keep working on it.

I had a good day on the home improvement front.  After an entire month of phone calls and e-mails I finally got a resolution on the crappy flooring I bought from Home Depot.  And not because Home Depot did a freakin thing.  I was on my own with the manufacturer.  But in the end I feel good.  They tried to bureaucratize me to death but I'm in too good a shape.  Tomorrow I get my 2 grand back!!

I am a bit chagrined about one new, little issue however.  Apparently there is an unknown commentor to this blog, who lives less than 10 kms form Pinehurst Conservation area, and who's birthday was this past weekend.  Chagrined because I have no idea who it is, and as such was unable to send them the new Porsche I had purchased for their birthday.  Damn!  Sorry Teresa  :)

And Old John, you sound more like my father every day.  Like yours, every bit of advice he ever gave me was from the heart, and always with my welfare and that of my world in mind.  Also like yours, most of it was useless.  :)  Just kidding.  Well not completely kidding.  The one about doing chores for my kids made me laugh.  I'm pretty sure that's already one of my biggest problems.  Visiting relatives sounds appealing however.  I'm gonna think about that one.

(ride 42 kms)

"No one wants advice - only corroboration."---John Steinbeck

Love

Peter

"Am I Allowed?"

The problem with constantly boasting of living a physically and emotionally, healthy life style, is the pressure to maintain a face of well being to support it.  After all, if what I do is supposed to be so good for you, it shouldn't allow for any doubts.

The problem is compounded when you also commit to sharing your thoughts daily in a very public way.

What do I do or say when I feel like crap?

Pretend?

Or admit it?

I have no problem admitting when my body is bruised and battered, and in actual fact I am usually proud of the fact.  Proud because it is easily justified by the hurt I put it through.

My soul however has no such excuse.  If I look around at my circumstances I can't find sufficient reason to feel depressed.

And that is why I question?

Am I allowed?

Part of me wants to "smarten up....get with the program....stop feeling sorry for myself"...etc.

And part of me wants to say..."I feel down....I just want to rest...leave me alone"...etc

Am I allowed?

Part of me says, "of course, you deserve a break"

And part of me says, "don't ever let your guard down!"

So I don't know.  What I do know is that, allowed or not, I have struggled for the last few days.  Waking up with the dreaded dark feeling for no reason I can identify.

In the short term I have decided to change a few things.  I will work out only at home and avoid the pool, the weight room and yoga class.  Maybe I'm just trying too hard?

(run 7.3 kms)

"When mental energy is allowed to follow the line of least resistance and to fall into easy channels, it is called weakness."---James Allen

Love

Peter

"My Grandson"

Another year older.....him not me!  Sorry about the picture quality.

This one's a little better.

But not near as good as the ones he took, that he wanted me to share with you.  

(ride 30 kms)

"There are fathers who do not love their children; there is no grandfather who does not adore his grandson."---Victor Hugo

Love

Peter