Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Vegas

Congrats to Elaine who complete the Las Vegas Marathon on Sunday. This race was a chance to celebrate Sherri and Steve getting married and also a step in her IM training. The day was fun filled and once again windy. Elaine was on pace to break her target time and then some cramping occured near the end. Through strong determination, Elaine pushed until the finish and crossed the line at 3:38. What a great run and effort!!!

Great job Elaine and congrats to the happy couple

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Vegas!

Good luck to everyone that is racing in Vegas this weekend!

A special good luck goes out to Steve and Sherri who will run the race and then get married. What a great day that will be.

Have Fun!

Monday, November 13, 2006

Running and Racing

2 weeks ago we had the Banff winterstart. Maddie took part and had a great run. This year she decided not to load up with Halloween candy first. Her decision was a good one as she won her age group. Nice job Maddie!!

Corey decided to run in the Bankers Hall fun run (10km). He was feeling a bit under the weather and pushed hard to finish strong. He was glad the end was near as 2nd place was fast approaching. Great finish on a tough day Corey!

Lyndsey, Shane, Tim, Alistair, Janice and Isabelle all choose to tackle the Jingle Bell 10km. This is a favorite of mine. I love to hear all the bells during the run. The weather was perfect! Shane had a great run and was very happy with his performance considering the time of year. Alistair and Janice both ran side by side and enjoyed the day with a solid start to 10km running. Isabelle toed the lined but had to withdraw at the 5km mark due to her cold. She was determined to try the event but her illness made her stop. Look out for the next one!
Lyndsey had her sister to run with today for the 1st 5km and then she was solo. She ran solo all the way to capture 1st for the ladies.

Great runs from everyone!!!! Keep up the training and be glad that we live in Calgary (most of us) and not Edmonton. BRrrrrrrr! I just got back, and happy to be home.....:) Sorry Greg!

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Happy Halloween!!!

Enjoy the Halloween evening tonight! Watch out for all the Trick or Treaters running all around the streets.

This is a great time of year as I love Chocolate. Mmmmm!

I look forward to the Jingle Bell race this weekend and I hope that the snow and cooler temps will hold off for the run. The relay at confederation park was perfect conditions and a lot of fun. Cross your fingers for another perfect day on Sunday.

Good luck at the race and put a limit on your candy appetite (if possible) :)

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Harvest Half results

Congrats to everyone who raced in the Harvest Half on Saturday. Perfect day to race and wonderful day to remember a friend.

Elaine enjoyed the whole day and carried thoughts of Tracey with her as she crossed the line in 1:40.

Corey had a goal to break 1:30 and he did! 1:29. Wonderful result Corey. I know you have been looking forward to going sub 1:30 for a while.

Great running Elaine and Corey!

If anyone has any photos of this race or other races that they would like to share please email me.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Rocky Mountain High

Congrats to Elaine who had a great run this past weekend in Canmore. She took place in the 5th race in the 5 peaks trail running series. The distance was 10km and Elaine placed 1st in her age group with a smoking 39:52, good for 5th overall female. Fantastic job Elaine, I know how much you love those kind of events!



This weekend is the Harvest Half marathon. Proceeds go t0 Brain Cancer research and is in memory of Tracy Flagg. Tracy was Laura Conoly's sister and died of cancer last year. This will be a great day to celebrate her memory.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Great White signup

Remember that the signup for Great White North Tri is tomorrow. This race always fills up fast....

http://www.gwntriathlon.com/

Good luck to those running in the corporate challenge 10km and Rose at the Los Angeles Tri.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

NEW BIKE CLASS

I will be offering a new bike class from the new Tri store on Memorial Drive "Tri-it". The class will be on Saturday mornings (9am) starting Oct 7. We will ride for ~60 min on a computrainer (your own bike) followed by a run 45min+.

This class should fill fast. Rose has 10 computrainers to use. Wow.

Please let me know ASAP to reserve your spot or to get more info.

Hard to believe we will be riding indoors again...:)

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

swim start in Lausanne

Lausanne

Shane, completed his 1st world championships last Saturday. He has had a great year of training and was keen to race in Europe. The swim was very rough with lots of bodies and legs fighting for open water. Shane put his head down and swam hard. As he was swimming he lost his watch at the bottom of lake Geneva. The "gods were telling me I did not need to know my splits"

On the way out it felt slow but coming back, Shane put it into overdrive and ended up passing near 30 people during the 2nd half and finished with a solid 22:46.

T1 was very long: it took Shane 7:50. Wow, that really does sound like the longest transition.

Once on the Bike Shane enjoyed the hills. Going up was not as bad as expected and going down was a lot of fun as he was flying! Max speed ~67km/hr. Bike time 1:18 was great, considering the course.

Once on the run, Shane started to feel sick and this got worse as the race progressed. Cheers for Canada and cheers from his Dad helped Shane dig deep and continue to push hard toward the finish. His finish time was 2:44 and he was very happy / proud to have raced at the world Championships. Congratulations Shane and we can't wait to see you when you return to Canada.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Richard all smiles as he enjoys his 1st IM

Gord with 1 mile to the Finish

Maureen on the run

Greg on the run

Bikers at Ironman

Good Wishes

Anyone need a pump? (Transition)

Buoys at IMC

Good Luck

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Ironman Canada

IronMan Canada took place on Sunday. What an amazing day. The lake was calm, no clouds and perfect temperature for the start. I was lucky to find Darryl, Lyndsey and Tammy to share the start. The racers were off. Some swam hard while others took their time to walk into the lake and find their own piece of water. An ironman start is one of the greatest sights to observe. I had a moment where I wished I was also swimming. And then that moment passed. :)

We moved to Main St to watch the cyclists start their 180 km journey. The crowds lined the street and the energy from the crowd was wonderful. It looked like a scene from the Tour de France. What a great sendoff for all the cyclists. After cheering for a while we then slowly made our way to breakfast at the Hotel where we joined Janet. We laughed that we were enjoying a delicious meal while the athletes were consuming gatorade and Gels. Mmmm!

After this I moved to the bike course and made my way close to the special needs and I cheered each cyclist as the rode by. They had a tail wind and were flying. It was great to watch. Once again I had a moment where I wished I was riding, and then it passed. After cheering everyone on I then made my way back to town and cheered at the 4 mile mark on the run. First to run by was Gord, I missed Maureen. He was struggling after a solid ride and was hoping to get his running legs back. Next up was my brother Greg and he looked very happy to be running in Ironman. His plan was to run as much as he could. Next up was Richard and he gave me a great photo op. He also looked great and very happy to be on the course. My digital camera is too slow and I did not get many great shots at this race. Sorry!

In the end, Maureen finished with a time of 12:25. She had a great swim 1:01, solid bike 6:01 and a disappointing run due to sore calves at 5:10. Overall Maureen was very pleased with her day and was proud to be an IronMan.

Gord also had a great swim of 1:03 and another solid ride at 6:07. His run was a bit off pace at 5:32 giving him a total time of 12:56. I have yet to talk to him about his race but I am sure that he is happy to have crossed that finish line. Gord also raised money for prostate cancer in his Ironman effort.

Greg had a steady swim of 1:21 a fast bike at 6:39 and a marathon with very little walking 5:14. His total time was 13:26. He was very happy as he crossed the finish line and looked a bit too good. That must be my brother trying to show me up eh!

Richard had a great swim at 1:31. He was pleased to follow feet throughout the swim. He had a very good bike 6:49 and then a steady marathon of 6:03 to bring him home in 14:39. He was proud to call himself an Ironman.

I was very proud to watch everyone race and I wished I could have run each of you to the finish line. Your hard work paid off and you are all Ironmen / Ironwomen. Watching the race from the sidelines makes me appreciate all the effort each person puts out to complete the day. Congrats again and enjoy the off season!

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Kelowna's Apple Triathlon

Today was the Apple triathlon in Kelowna. This was the last race for many athletes this season. It is such a good race. Sandy had her best ever triathlon today. Strong Swim, pushed on the bike and ran a 10km PR. She is sad that there are no more races to sign up for this summer. Frank was also in Kelowna. He had a good day as well but felt he could have pushed the pace a bit. He is training for a big race in Australia in the late Fall. Darryl was also racing today. This was his key race of the year. He nailed it. Solid in all 3 events, he ended up placing 2nd in his age group and 12 overall. Well done!
Lyndsey was also racing. This was Lyndsey's last race of the summer. How did she do? 1st in her age group and 3rd overall. What a great way to end the season. Darryl and Lyndsey used this race to qualify for the Worlds in Germany next summer. Congrats to all the racers today and next week is Ironman.

A special good luck to Greg, Gord, Maureen and Richard at their 1st ever IM.

You guys all Rock!

New Training Partner

Today I ran with my new training partner. He is smoking Fast! I had to ask him to slow down as I could not keep up. He is also much younger than I am. That is my excuse and he also has 4 legs. Yes, my partner is a golden retriever named Pooch. I ran with him for the 1st time for 35min. He is now fast asleep. I, on the other hand am re-energized. I am looking forward to getting back into running with Pooch. After watching all the triathlons this year I could not help be inspired by everyone. You all did wonderful. My new goal is to sign up for Great White North and race it. I am very exciting about this and I can not wait to go to Ironman and cheer everyone this weekend.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Bragg Creek (Coffee and treats)


Today was the last bike class of the summer. We took it very easy and rode to Bragg Creek for coffee and some treats. I was looking foward to my nanimo bar all week. MMmmm!

The weather was perfect. Sunny and very little wind. What a great way to end.

Thanks for coming out to the bike class this year. The new location was great!

Watch for Richard, Maureen, Greg and Gord racing IM next week. Shane will have to wait for another week before his Lausanne race! Very exciting!

Thanks for the photo Janna!

Monday, August 14, 2006

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Rose

Corey

Rose & Elaine

Lyndsey, Rose, Maddie

Shane in T1

Shane at Chaparral

Lake Chaparral Triathlon

Today was Lake Chaparral sprint and Olympic distance triathlon. Trevor and Co. put on another great event despite having to deal with many construction issues. Great job guys!
The weather was once again perfect. Shane had a great swim and came out of the water in 5th place. He has worked very hard on his swim this year and it showed today. The rest of the race was a training day for his big event "Lausanne" in a few weeks, and he was pleased with his day.

Corey was also in the mens olympic distance event and he swam a little extra in the lake (just for extra practice :) ), had a strong bike and comfortable run. This was his last race of the year and he was a bit disappointed with his overall race. Corey has had a great summer of racing and now can start to enjoy some downtime.

Maddie's mom Rose, Elaine and Lyndsey were all racing in the Sprint event. No one complained about the race being a bit short (due to construction). Lyndsey was the 2nd athlete out of the lake and 1st female. She had a solid bike & run and held her position to finish 2nd overall. Great job Lyndsey. Lyndsey's last race will be the Apple next weekend.
Elaine was ~5-7th out of the lake and looked very good. I missed her on the bike (too fast) and she looked great on the run. This was Elaine's last race of the year to finish off a stellar race season. Great job Elaine, we can't wait until next year to watch you race again.
Rose was in fine form today and finished very strong despite claiming not being well trained. It was nice to watch you race today Rose!

There were many athletes taking part in their 1st triathlon as evident in many sprint athletes not wearing wetsuits. It was great to see so many new athletes starting to tri. They are tougher than me though. I need my wetsuit. Brrr.

Next week = Kelowna Apple

Maddie at Chaparral Kids of Steel (2nd)

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Kids of Steel Lake Chaparral

Today was the KOS at Lake Chaparral. Early morning rain and some clouds made for a cool prep before the race. The rain went away just in time for the kids to start. Perfect. Maddie was racing in the 13 age category. She had a good swim, steady ride and a smoking run to finish 2nd in her Age group! Way to go Maddie!!!! You ROCK!

Thursday, August 10, 2006

The Finish line

Corrine on the run

Murray on the run

The Swim start at Heritage

Adam at the Start

Sandy at the Start

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Bryce at the Start of Heritage Pointe

Heritage Pointe Tri

Sunday was Heritage Pointe olympic and sprint triathlon. It was a great day to race, sunny sky and very little wind. The organizers had a good turnout and everyone seemed very excited to go.

Sandy was taking on her first ever Olympic distance event, and she had a lot of fun. Sandy had a strong run and was pleasantly surprised that she could push hard at the end even though her legs were gone!

Bryce was taking on his first triathlon in a few years. He did very well considering how busy he has been as of late. He is the proud Papa of Sophie who was born mid July. Great Race Bryce and congrats on the birth of your new baby daughter!

This was a fun race to watch as there were many friends racing. Congrats to all!

See you at Chaparral!

Thursday, August 03, 2006

My Mars Memorial Run

This month the planet Mars will be very close to Earth. This is something that is not expected to happen for another 60,000 years. I thought I had missed it last week.

Tonight I went out for my 1st run in about 3 weeks. As I started running I noticed this very bright half red moon. This was obviously Mars. I was very excited to see this as I really enjoy planetary stuff like this. As I was running I kept my eye on the planet. What a great experience. Then I thought about the 2 athletes from Calgary that have recently died while biking and swimming. Jason Lapierre and Hector Millano. Although I have never met either, many fellow athletes did and were grieving this week. Tomorrow is a memorial ride for Jason and although I am unable to make it I decided to have my own solo memorial run for both while running with Mars. I thought of both as I did my 2 loops and was amazed at how quickly the planet disappeared behind the clouds. One moment it was bigger than life and then the next it was gone!

This happened 2 times during my run and it reminded me of how fast and unexpected our lives can change. It was a very nice run and helped me appreciate my own.

Train safe and see if you can run with Mars this month.....

Invermere Heart of the Rockies Tri

This year the organizers of The Windemere Loop tri, changed the course to an olympic distance event. This was perfect timing for Darryl to test his training for the Apple. He had a strong Swim/Bike and Run and gave himself a great Birthday gift by placing 1st overall. Congrats on winning your 1st Triathlon! I am sure there will be more in your future.

The Apple is fast approaching!

Sylvan Lake Half IronMan

Sylvan lake was a very hot day! The racers were forced to deal with 30 degree heat and a very challenging bike and run course. Elaine pushed hard and managed to place 1st in her Age group with a time of 5:28. Sandy was part of a female relay team and she was very happy in placing 2nd in the female team category. Greg was using this race as a training day for Ironman Canada in late August. He was pleased with his 6:01 and he also commented on the difficulty of the ride and run. The countdown is on for IMC.

Congrats to everyone for completing such a tough course in difficult conditions.

Stanley Park Super Sprint

A big congratulations on a very solid race by Maddie at the Stanley Park Super sprint. She raced fast to 2nd in her age group and 7th overall. Fantastic job! Watch for her at Chaparral in less than 2 weeks.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Osoyoos Half

Tim was racing the Desert half on the weekend. He had a very good swim. During the bike he noticed that his seat kept lowering and lowering. Not good. Luckily he had some duct tape and was able to somewhat keep the seat from getting too low. This prooved to be very challenging and his run was a true test of his mental ability. Tim's strong determination helped him cross the finish line. Well done Tim on a very frustrating day!

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Edmonton Tri

Edmonton was host to another big weekend of racing. ITU / Jr's and age group. This is always a very exciting weekend. Corey challenged the course for the 1st time. He had a good swim in 27:24 and a strong bike at 1:11. He needed to push through the heat during the run and was a bit disappointed with his 46 10km. This result placed in 6th in his Age group. Great effort Corey on a very tough course.

Stampede 10km

Sunday was a another great day to race. Maddie was racing her 1st 10km run since her european vacation. She was very excited to run and her time showed. 50:11. Official results show her as 2nd for women 19 and under. Very impressive as she is well under 19. Great race Maddie! Watch for her this weeekend at Stanley Park super sprint.

Okotoks swim

Todd in Okotoks

Okotoks

This weekend was another busy weekend for triathletes and runners. On Saturday we had a small sprint Tri at Okotoks. The weather was perfect. Sandy was 1st up as the women started before the men. She looked strong from start to finish and ended coming in 2nd out of the lake. Great Swim Sandy! The rest of the race went well for Sandy as well and she was thrilled to have completed her 2nd ever triathlon.

The men started 15 or so minutes after the ladies and Alistair and myself were in the mix. I thought the 500m distance was perfect. Short and sweet and ended coming out in 3rd. Alistair was 6th. Great swim for his 1st ever tri and open water event. I pushed strong on the bike and shortly became the race leader. Near the end of the ride I could see guys very close to me but I stilled pushed. Once the run started I could really feel my fitness and I did not have anything left in my legs. I held the lead for 2 km and then got passed by 2 strong men. I could not even come close to them today. I ended placing 3rd overall and was very happy. Alistair had a very strong bike as he never seemed that far from me. He then had a steady run and was able to complete his 1st Triathlon. Great job Sandy and Alistair.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Great White North

The great white north was on sunday and the weather was fantastic. Warm and not much wind. This provided great opportunities for fast racing.

Elaine lead the charge and finished in a very strong 5:07. Gord looked very good and finished in 5:12. Greg had a PR with a time of 5:40 and also grabbed an Ironman Canada Spot. Now the fun begins, eh Greg!

Great job to all the racers on Sunday. It was very hot watching! :)

Nationals Results

Nationals have come and gone and I am waiting for race reports.

Lyndsey had a great time of 2:15 and placing 1st for her age group. Nice job Lyndsey!

Shane also had a good result and broke 2:30. He placed 12th which ensured him a spot to Switzerland! He will be travelling to Europe to race at the end of the summer. Very exciting

Congrats to both!

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Great White and Nationals

Two big races this weekend. Great white North in Stoney Plain and the Nationals in Brampton. Best of lusk to all athletes hoping to qualify for Ironman Canada and the World championship in Switzerland.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Done

Tim on the run

Hello from Elaine

Sprint athletes getting ready

Tim starting the bike

Darryl starting the bike

Monday, June 26, 2006

Tim out of the lake

Darryl off like a rocket!


3....2....1....GO!

The start of Arbour olympic women

Arbour Lake Triathlon

Arbour Lake tri was on sunday (june 25) the weather was fantastic and Trevor put on another Great event. It is amazing how calm he appears during the whole race.

Darryl and Tim started the 2nd wave (over 39 men) together and had a great swim. They finished 1 and 2. It was great to see both have such a strong swim.

Darryl ended winning his Age group, 7th overall and Tim was 3rd in his AG and 35 overall. Great job guys! Note that Tim used this race as a prep for his 1/2 ironman in Osoyoos (2 weeks)

In the womens sprint event, Elaine also won her age group as well as 1st woman overall. Great job Elaine! This was Elaine's 1st race of the year and will be racing at the Great White North 1/2 next weekend.

It was fun watching everyone race this weekend. Keep up the great work!

Michelle at the finish line


Michelle very happy to see the finish line.

Tanis Cruising towards her 2nd lap


Here is Tanis starting her last lap at the Chinook Half

Richard Flying


Richard flying in Fish Creek at the Chinook Half

Jen finished


Jen happy to be done!