Notes on Adding Kindness & Health to the Daily Grind

Cross posting....Caesar Salad and Artichoke Puree

2012-02-07T19:19:00.001-08:00

I wrote a post for Wendy and her wonderful corner of the internet called Give Love Create Happiness.

It's now posted on two sites. Check it out at either link:
http://www.givelovecreatehappiness.com/1/post/2012/02/new-caesar-salad-artichoke-pure-with-pasta.html

http://www.modernmom.com/blogs/wendy-irene/new-caesar-salad-artichoke-puree-with-pasta

Internet linky links..

Ginger Madness

2012-01-29T07:40:00.000-08:00

Warning! This candied Ginger is very potent and will knock your socks off if you aren't used to it.

Since the weekend was shaping up to be a wet, cool, and grey, I decided it was time to replenish a favorite Ginger treat in the house.

To start I bought some organic Ginger and Sugar:

I immediately went to work on the hardest part of the process, peeling and slicing the Ginger. This part seems to take forever, but if you love Ginger as much as we do the end product is worth it.

After you have sliced the Ginger, place it in a pot with enough water to cover and add the Sugar to the Ginger and water. The amount of Sugar that I put in is an equal weight of Sugar and Ginger (measured after slicing and peeling). Then bring the pot to a boil and let it simmer for 30 - 40 minutes.

Once the Ginger is cooked, transfer the Ginger to a wire rack to allow it to dry. You can sprinkle some Sugar on top while it dries.

Keep the Sugar water syrup, this is the bonus prize of the process. Keep the syrup in the fridge in an airtight container.

When you want a truly great tasting Ginger Ale, try a splash of the Ginger Syrup and some Sparkling Water. This Ginger Ale rocks! After all, the ingredients are just Ginger, Sugar, and water.

Getting back to the Ginger slices, we place them on the dehydrator for 3-4 hours once they are dry enough to handle.

The end product is a candied Ginger that will last a very long time. Each piece is 100x more flavorful than the store bought bulk candied Ginger. This recipe isn't as soft and sugary as the store bought stuff but is made with simple ingredients and not highly processed.

All the Ginger slices last about 1 1/2 months in our house, the Ginger syrup lasts about 3 - 4 days before it is gone.

Ginger has been used for years as a digestive aid, and to reduce inflammation in the body. Since we started eating Ginger the biggest thing that we have noticed is we are getting a deeper, better sleep.

Do you like Ginger as much as we do? If you don't have a dehydrator, try placing the Ginger in the oven at a very low temperature and check on it frequently.

Don't be that Awkward Runner

2012-01-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

This is a good one.

Why Organic?

2012-01-10T21:24:00.001-08:00

Lily the Wonder Dog

2011-12-31T09:04:00.000-08:00

Ellie Posing

2011-12-18T20:29:00.000-08:00

Trying to get Ellie to pose in front of the Christmas tree with her new sweater.

Is that a camera in your hands?

Are we going to go for that walk?

Salt & Vinegar Kale Chips

2011-12-18T11:18:00.000-08:00

It's Sunday morning and I thought I'd share my weekly routine of making Kale chips for the week. I am making a Salt & Vinegar version this week, it's super simple and way healthier than store bought chips. There are no ingredients that I cannot pronounce and everything is a natural product. This was one of the first items I made when thinking about eating more plants since it seemed like a good way to incorporate Kale in our diets. Since the first taste, I've likely made these chips 2-3 times a month. They are so good.

The ingredients are:
- 1 head of Kale (any variety will do, though curly is best)
- 1/2 cup of soaked (2hrs) Cashews or Sunflower seeds (no need to soak the Sunflower seeds)
- 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- a little bit of water to liquefy the mixture paste

You will also need a food processor and a food dehydrator. You can bypass the dehydrator and use your oven, but you will have to frequently check to make sure you aren't cooking your chips.

Step 1: tear your Kale into chips and rinse them in the salad spinner

Step 2: Assemble the remaining ingredients

Step 3: Process the Cashews and blend in the remaining ingredients

Step 4: Get messy and spread the Cashew mixture over the Kale and thoroughly coat all the Kale chips

Step 5: Dehydrate and wait 6 - 8 hours (the hardest part)

Step 6: Eat lots!

Thrive

2011-12-11T10:51:00.001-08:00

For a few years now, we have been purchasing a product from Vega: Whole Health Food Optimizer (WHFO), formulated by a fromer Ironman Pro Triathlete and uber vegan athlete Brendan Brazier.

We both noticed that we feel great throughout the day when WHFO is used for breakfast smoothies, or post workout drinks. It did take a little getting used to since it is a all-vegan sourced smoothie and it has light cleansing properties from all the greens in the mix. It really wasn't until I stopped taking it that I noticed I started to feel like my body wasn't recovering from workouts the same and I was starting to eat more throughout the day. Needless to say we started using the product again, only this time the Vega brand has added more products to the shelves such as:

- Shake N Go (easy to mix protein drink)

- Vega Sport (multiple options for before, during and post workouts) (Thanks Daphne for getting us onto this one)

There are also several other products from Vega and their parent company Sequel Naturals that we have used.

In July we decided to purchase Brendan's Books; Thrive Diet and Whole Foods to Thrive. These books combined with a fellow blogger (an in-law) who had recently experimented with a Vegan diet was the tipping point for us to change our diet.

It was a little challenging at first to go from eating meat at least once a day to consuming no meat, eggs, dairy, cheese, yogurt. However, we had thoroughly researched this diet and allowed ourselves a gradual transition to eliminate these foods from our household. A couple of weeks into the diet and it became easier, and a month later it was much easier to find these new foods in the supermarket. Our supermarket purchases moved away from the meat, dairy and eggs and towards more vegetables, dark leafy greens (kale and chard), fruits, grains, sprouts, beans, and some odd sounding foods (nutritional yeast).

We both have our challenges with eating this way and so far my biggest hurdle to overcome is my love of Hawkins Cheezies (which are now on the banned list). Tammy had a tougher time with the transition and is now nearly vegan (once or twice a week she will prepare something with cheese or meat) but works to remain conscious of her food sources.

We are now 6 months in and we both feel stronger, lighter, sleep better and feel more connected with nature than before. Since we don't eat at fast food locations, eating out is also relatively easy. From the beginning we agreed that if we are invited over to someones home for dinner we don't expect anyone to cater to our diet needs and will eat what was prepared for us. So far, this is working pretty good.

The R word

2011-12-05T06:37:00.001-08:00

Redesign! It's coming.

Ellie Pictures

2011-10-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

Our friend Jodi, who is a fabulous photographer, took these pictures of Ellie a while ago. Just thought we'd share them.

Victoria Half Marathon

2011-10-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

Tammy raced the Victoria Half Marathon yesterday morning. I was signed up, but wasn't able to race due to an injury. So instead I took the opportunity to take some pictures of the day.

The leaders of the Half

Starting to get congested

This woman dropped her shirt and ran back for it. I didn't think she would make it without causing an accident.

Lots of runners....5,000+

I spotted Tammy in Beacon Hill Park

Tammy not loving a hill

Walking through some ducks

Peacock

View from the Beacon Hill Park flag, runners and walkers

Mens Marathon leader and overall winner

Love birds

Not bad pictures for a cell phone on sports mode.

Tammy ended up beating her personal best by 6 minutes (1:39:xx or 1:40:xx depending on Gun time or Chip time). If I was running I think Tammy would have beat me by 10 minutes. So proud of her.

Happy Thanksgiving Day today!

Fall Day Walk

2011-10-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

This morning I took Ellie out for brisk walk in a nearby park. Fall is in the air.

OK Go and The Muppets - Muppet Show Theme Song

2011-08-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

A Little Tribute to all our pals racing Ironman Canada this weekend..........

The Chad

2011-08-19T06:20:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share the perks of working at the facilities building during the summer months when our painters are working on repainting the parking stall lines.

The most awesome parking spot in the School District!

Medieval Helpdesk

2011-07-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

Canucks vs Sharks

2011-05-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Awesome experience to be there for a series winning playoff game. Game tied up with 14 seconds remaining and then a double overtime goal for the win! I would have taken some pictures of downtown Vancouver after the game, but my phone/camera battery died halfway through the game. It was surreal walking around the town. I can still hear the car horns blasting.

Next up... the Stanley Cup!!

Haleakala Summit Ride

2011-04-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

Lobster boy and Cervelo Girl Tackle West Maui

2011-04-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

I should point out the title of the post indicates my nickname for the trip. Yesterday we spent 2 1/2 hours at Polo Beach in South Maui. It is a beautiful shallow, sandy beach with very clear water. Not great for snorkeling but it was fantastic for doing some body surfing. Tammy knows very well that I am a water baby and when I see water I am in it until I get called that it is time to go (I don't think I'll ever grow up).

I spent 2 hours and 25 minutes in the water with what I thought was a waterproof sunscreen. Turns out the sunscreen wore off fast with all the surf and playing in the waves. I now have a very red back and triceps. Hence the name "Lobster boy".

After all the playing in the waves we made a choice to get up early and ride around West Maui. We heard that it is very beautiful and low in traffic (in certain area's). We mapped it out and saw that it was 110km from the front of our door in Kihei. Kinda a big ride, but we were confident that we were capable. We started early to avoid the heat of the day. The ride through to Lahaina was fast and flat, the ride started to go up shortly after Napili. The road narrowed and became 18% for what felt like a lifetime (really only a minute). The ride was crazy awesome, with us cycling on what seemed to be a semi-paved goat trail barely wide enough for a car. We were extremely low on fluids then suddenly the city of Wailuku appears and we stopped for some much deserved Dr.Pepper and water. Finally with the trade winds at our back we ripped down towards Ma'alaea only to make a wrong turn on a state highway. We quickly realized our (my) blunder and U-turned back to Kihei.

Now after a shower and some pool time I feel better, but that was a shattering ride. Tonight we might devour enough food for a family of six.

Maui

2011-04-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

Ryder Hesjedal :: Haleakala Record from Media One Multimedia on Vimeo.

A little inspiration for our upcoming ride....

Advance Voting - 12 minutes

2011-04-22T19:43:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to say who I voted for, but I just wanted to say that I left the house to hit the advance voting polls at 6:50pm tonight. I returned home at 7:02pm. I had to drive for 4 minutes, walk to the empty voting area, show ID and voting card, then vote, and drive home. The whole ordeal only took 12 minutes! It sure beats voting on the final election day.

Nigerian Email Scam

2011-04-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

Bird Update

2011-04-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

Towlee Bird is still trying to break the window.....

April Showers

2011-04-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

Looking out the window at work today I didn't think that I would be cycling outside tonight. The weather was not inviting at all. Heavy rains and cold temperatures make for a miserable experience on a bike ride. However, once I got home after work, the sun was partially out and the roads gave the impression that they were dry. So I prepped the road bike, and left to meet the group at the designated meet up spot.

On the way there the wind was gusty, and the skies were spitting at me lightly. The group workout was 6 x hill repeats with an increasing intensity from 1-3 and holding a strong intensity for 4, 5, and 6. I did the best I could but the rain was coming down harder and the temperature was dropping. My engine started sputtering on #4. This was turning out to be a character builder ride for everyone. As soon as the group was done, I sprinted for home, hoping to beat some of the cold out of my legs. My thumbs and fingers decided they weren't happy with the cold wet weather and decided to inform me via the pain channel. Wow did they ever hurt from the cold! Braking and shifting gears with cold wet hands becomes increasingly difficult.

Once home, I jumped into the shower ASAP. I was so cold that I couldn't tell if the water was hot or cold.

That was one cold ride! Still happy I did it!

Play Date

2011-04-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

Ellie had a special play date Saturday evening on her walk. Her boyfriend, Rocko, was able to come out and join us.

Ellie typically doesn't care much for other dogs that we come across, usually just wants a quick sniff and then walks away. However, the day that she came across Rocko it was a different story. She just want's him to pay attention to her, she will run circles around him, swat at his face, and other doggie related stuff. Rocko on the other hand, pretends to not be interested and this only urges Ellie to be more persistent with her behaviour. It is absolutely comical to watch as Ellie runs a circle around him, then runs up to his face only to swat it and then run another circle.

Bird is the Word

2011-04-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

For the past 1 1/2 weeks we have had a Towhee bird trying to break our dining room window. It is relentless at throwing itself against the window. It seems to start around 6:30am and will continue for 10 minutes, then a small break and the bird is back for another round. It will fly away when it see's one of us approach the window, but it doesn't last long. It's starting to make a mess of the window. We took down the screen since it was using that to hold onto to tap the window, now it's just flying it's beak and chest into the window. Ellie has learned to ignore the constant tapping and banging on the glass.

Here is picture I took last week before we took down the screen:

I've researched some bird forums and have found that this is normal behaviour during the spring and shouldn't last longer than 2 weeks. It's either trying to defend it's territory from it's reflection or it's trying to mate with it. Either way, I'm not opening the window.

Closing the blinds only forces it to move onto the next window.

Random Picture

2011-03-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

This strawberry looks tasty!

Sweet Doggie Dreams........

2011-03-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

Riverdale Trailer....

2011-02-28T05:51:00.000-08:00

Not an actual movie, but a low budget trailer put together in Vancouver with $3,500 and a call for volunteers from craigslist. I wouldn't mind seeing this if it eventually became a movie.

I knew it!

2011-02-27T09:36:00.001-08:00

Snow Day!

2011-02-24T20:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a SNOW DAY in Victoria. Our little girl had a fantastic walk through the freshly fallen snow and I snapped a few pictures post walk.

This is Ellie trying to show her French Poodle side:

She required a bath to remove the snow from her legs.

This driveway is challenging to remove snow from since it is steep and once there is ice on it, it's game over.

The bathroom scale circle....

2011-02-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

Short story is our bathroom scale has been deceiving us and we thought it was the batteries (digital scale). We have replaced the batteries only to have it tell me that I gained 15 lbs since I last weighed myself. I walk away and I come back 2 minutes later after unloading the used batteries and I now have lost 5 lbs. These are not automotive batteries that I put down. So today Tammy went out and bought a new bathroom scale, one without batteries. I have now dropped down 7-8lbs from the old scale. I've now got 8lbs that I can gain back before we buy a new scale!

May The Force Be With You..........

2011-02-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it yesterday & Tammy's favourite...................................

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0&feature=player_embedded

Whistler Mountain

2010-12-30T15:44:00.000-08:00

Today's Pictures of the day (Whistler Peak):

Took the Peak to Peak Gondola ride from Blackcomb to Whistler (and back) today:

Whistler was very busy near the top:

Blackcomb Mountain

2010-12-29T17:45:00.000-08:00

Today's view:

Morning Routine

2010-12-26T09:05:00.000-08:00

We now have our own Coffee bar. Complete with:
- Saeco Talea Ring II Super Automatic Espresso Machine
- Capresso Coffee TeamTS Drip Coffee Machine
- Bodum French Press
- Ethical Beans Coffee Beans

We are buzzing here.

The Best Part of Finishing Silverman..........

2010-11-11T23:05:00.000-08:00

Is guilt free chocolate!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAD!

The Day After.........

2010-11-08T11:26:00.000-08:00

Chad: 13th in age group Tammy: 2nd in age group

Mike R. was also 2nd in his age group for the 70.3

half distance race.

A huge thank you to Brewer and Mike R. for spending the rest of the day cheering us on after completing their own grueling and fabulous 70.3 races. (Doing HPR proud on the day along with Butters!). Thanks also to our friends, family and HPR team-mates for all of the e-mails and messages of support! Chad says he now looks forward to eating lots of bacon!

Here is a little article about the race from today:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/nov/07/first-las-vegas-trip-german-wins-henderson-triathl/

Chad and Tammy

Nov. 6: Silverman Eve

2010-11-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

More pics from today: Swim Start & Swim Course - Half Iron turns around at the first set of yellow buoys (see if you can see them)

Transition One is l-o-n-g. Check out the hill you climb with your bike to get out of T1.

2010-11-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

Fri Nov 5th

Some pics from today. We met up with Mike R., Brewer, Butters and started with a swim at the Henderson pool:

Then Coach Brewer (HPR Ohio) took us all out for breakfast at "The Cracked Egg" - Thanks again Brewer!

Then back to the Expo to Register:

Check out the swag:

Thurs Nov. 4th

Today we/I assembled the bikes and took them out for a quick spin with Mike R. Afterwards we snapped a few pics from the parking lot. Then Tam and I played in the hotel's busy pool (I think that I saw 1 other person walk past).

Silverman 2010 Athlete Tracking

2010-11-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

Silverman 2010 Athlete Tracking

Chad's race number 73

Tammy's race numer 143

Can't stop watching this

2010-10-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

Introducing an Ironman Champion and the latest Human Powered Racing Coach...

Jasper Blake

Training weekend in Vegas

2010-10-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we headed down to Las Vegas to scope out the Silverman course that we will be racing in 3 weeks time. This was Tammy's first actual ride and run on the course. I had remembered most of it from the race last year, however, I had blocked a few nasty hills from my memory.

Powerlines and hills! It's Las Vegas baby!

Test - Silverman 2010 Bike Route

2010-10-02T22:54:00.000-07:00

Today's List

2010-09-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

Real Water Bed Video

2010-08-26T20:48:00.001-07:00

I can't stop laughing!

Smelly Dog

2010-08-23T21:32:00.000-07:00

When Ellie is happy and she wants to show it, she rolls in the grass. When we walk Ellie at the beach and she's happy she usually rolls in the sand and plays with other dogs. Today she walked onto the beach during low tide, and to show how happy she is, she decided to roll in the first green item she could find. Our dog now smells like rotting seaweed and is lime green in spots. Of course she is happy, just crazy stinky. It's bath time tomorrow after work!

Ted Talks: Lewis Pugh's Swim Beneath Mt. Everest

2010-08-22T15:53:00.001-07:00

Plastic Bag Documentary

2010-08-18T21:26:00.000-07:00

??

2010-08-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

Hello??? This is the blog. I need an update! Stop that silly training and start typing.

Operation Repo

2010-07-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

This is my new guilty pleasure.

Operation Repo

Hurricane Ridge - Virtual Climb

2010-07-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

Canada Day marks the Hurricane Ridge Hill Climb, where all the victoria area cyclists travel to the states and rides uphill for ~2-3 hours. This year it is cancelled due to rain/snow/cold. So I thought I'd relive last years ride virtually.

You need Google Earth plugin installed to view

Nerd away!

Junk in the Trunk

2010-06-27T07:59:00.001-07:00

Workouts for the week are taking a backseat to packing boxes. Yes we are preparing for yet another move. During this time we find ourselves re-examining the reason for holding onto a lot of our stuff/junk. We are somewhat ruthless in determining what to sell on usedvictoria.com, donate to the local Sally Ann and Women in Need (WIN), or just items to discard immediately. We have been at this for about a month now and with our move date getting closer our frantic sell/donate/packing has stepped up a few notches. I can't believe how much stuff we think we need to live. Most times there is an item that we didn't realize we still had, or it's not been used in a couple of years. Those items are first to go. Next to go are the items we need to get rid of so we are forced to actually update with newer or items that better suit our next residence. And no matter how ruthless we are, we are stumped sometimes to figure out what to do with that collection of hockey cards from grades 4-6 that we worked so hard to collect then. The only time we look at it is when we move. Now it's deemed to be worthless, and still we can't seem to bring ourselves get rid of it. Mabye the next move?

Ellie thought it would be fun to get packed up with our bedding

Triathlete Life

2010-06-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

An example of the craziness of being triathetes. Tam is racing tomorrow and she casually asked that I set the coffee to start at 3:15am for tomorrow. I complied with her request.

It's almost 8pm, I'm late getting to bed!

Pictures from the last few weeks

2010-06-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

Blog was down

2010-06-10T06:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry to the 3 regular readers of this blog. Google disabled this blog for a couple of days and I was locked out of all my accounts associated with this blog (including gmail). It's back now and I believe the problem was a spamer was able to send some viagra drug emails from my gmail account to a bunch of people on my email contact list. Google detected the suspicious acitivity and shut down my account to stop the spammers. I have some returned emails regarding this spam, but I have no idea how many people actually received this spam from me. If you got spam emails from me, I'm sorry. If you didn't get spam from me, but actually wanted to learn how you can get viagra at half price and delivered to your door, I'm sorry about that too.

Can we Kick the Fossil Fuel habit?

2010-06-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

What do you think?

Cyclists’ passions running high - The Globe and Mail

2010-06-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

Cyclists’ passions running high - The Globe and Mail

Though I'm not an everyday or anyday cycling commuter I ike the article.

New Post

2010-06-01T05:53:00.001-07:00

It's been a month and I haven't posted anything. This seems like the perfect time for some updates.

I've been sick for the past 10 days and am finally on the mend with only a lingering cough that prevents me from taking part in any form of exercise. Walking the dog makes me start to cough.

No training + being sick = me gaining 5lbs in 10 days (I tend to eat when I stay near the kitchen).

It's been a few months of living in this location, so to make things interesting we are moving at the end of June. So we have been busy going through a collection of storage boxes and selling off anything we don't use and don't want to move again.

I got the Aprillia SR50 scooter running after being stored for the winter. I took it out for a quick run to the sushi place yesterday and the battery reminded me that it needs a good charge before I think it's ready for these short trips. I ended up walking the scooter with the sushi takeout dinner back home (took ~5 minutes). Once I plugged in the battery tender (charger), it started up immediately.

There are more updates, but I have to go and get my bike out for "bike to work week". This will be my first form of any exercise since getting sick.

My Commute

2010-04-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

This was my commute today.

Since this would be my first trip in Vancouver since the Olympics I was excited to check out the "eternal" flame. However, I arrived this morning and found this:

No flame!
There was a sign stating... improvements...blah blah... relight on July 1st....

Still it was a pretty cool commute today!

* EDIT* New Coffee Maker .... Capresso CoffeeTEAM TS

2010-04-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

It's been ordered. I hope it arrives soon. Instant coffee is not cutting it.

We searched everywhere, and found nothing in the stores that we were happy with. We ended up reading countless number of coffee review websites and have found a coffee maker that didn't have any cons, and was highly recommended by every website we could find. It's a Capresso CoffeeTeam TS.

Now we wait.....

Yes, this is different than the previous one. But it was a discontinued model with zero left in stock...

We broke down last night and got ourselves a Bodum Coffee Press to fill the time gap until the coffee maker arrives. It takes a little time to make a cup of coffee, but it is so much better than that instant coffee. We made a few pots of coffee throughout the day.

The Hunt Continues....

2010-04-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

Starbuck Aroma Grande Coffe Maker
December 2004 - April 24, 2010

After a full 2 days of searching we are still unable to find a suitable replacement for our beloved coffee machine. We were tempted by a Saeco esspresso maker. But she seemed a little too expensive.

We are looking for these qualities in our coffee maker:

12 cup capacity (we love coffee)
thermal carafe (no more burnt coffee)
removable water reservoir (for easy fill-ups at the tap)
programmable clock (coffee is ready before we wake up)

Electronics

2010-04-25T07:10:00.000-07:00

Within a week our microwave door won't open, our bedroom TV isn't working right, and most recently our coffee maker died. The most devastating electronic device to quit was by far the coffee maker! We have had that coffee maker for 6 years. We ordered replacement parts for it 3 years ago (new carafe, lid, and water reservoir). It appears that the water pump stopped working and I can't order new parts, or even take it apart without destroying the body of the coffee machine. We will miss you coffee machine... Until we find a replacement we are stuck trying to enjoy instant coffee. It's truly not the same.

Any recommendations out there for coffee machines?

Tammy's Race Report from IM OZ

2010-04-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

Just a brief re-cap from race day:

Official Race Result: 25th W40-44
Swim: 1:12 - 25th
Bike: 6:57 - 24th
Run: 5:14 - 25th

Was very happy with the swim because hadn't been able to swim a 1:12 since 2003 and worked hard in the pool this year. But having said that, the swim itself was extremely rough and aggressive. Unfortunately got caught up against one of the buoys coming around the first lap that was fixed on top of a concrete pillar of some kind. Tried to claw my way out but in the process got very cut up on my hands and feet due to what I assume were barnacles of some kind on the surface. I now have a large scar down the back of my right leg (which I have been showing to everyone) and now like to think of it as my official Ironman tattoo! Thankfully I was eventually lifted up and pushed forward by a very large and strong looking Australian woman to whom I am very grateful. (I have since posted a note to the race officials suggesting an inflatable ring around the concrete for next year).

Bike started out okay and after the first lap I was on pace for six hours. The ocean scenery and landscape were just breathtaking - it is a beautiful course. Unfortunately my 30 km per hour pace became 23 km per hour as the winds, heat and humidity increased and by the last lap I was begging for mercy, slogging it out at 14 km per hour into the head wind. I found the bike course to be extremely hard and very hilly. The good thing was that at least it was hard for everyone (except evidently for our team-mate Greg who had a great day out there!) By the time the run came around I was basically just in survival mode and sort of did a run walk until it cooled down enough to be able to actually run. The run course was also very challenging with a large hill that you had to run up and down three times. There was quite alot of hoopla on the course as Tony Abbott, (leader of the opposition in Australia) was doing the race. This was a very big deal in Australia and there were alot of media on the course following his day (he was about 30 minutes behind me and generated a huge crowd).

I have to admit that the support and enthusiasm from the town rivaled Penticton and the crowd support on the day was amazing. They made everyone feel like rock stars and you could always hear the crowd - even on the out-and-back section. The race has now been sold to the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) and next year it will be held in May so it will not be as hot or humid and apparently they are changing the course as well. However, they are also going to have a 70.3 race on the same day so I'm not sure how that will all pan out. To date this was the hardest Ironman that I have completed so far and hopefully good training for "Silverman" in November.

Oh ya, forgot to mention that Chad and I got to meet Greg and Laura Bennet at the airport on our way home from Sydney which was pretty cool!

War Wounds

Home

2010-04-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

We have now arrived home. We left Sydney 2:45pm on April 13th and landed in Victoria at 5:30pm on April 13th. There were a few snags on the trip home (my luggage was pulled when I was wait-listed for an upgraded seat in San Fransisco and we missed our Vancouver-Victoria flight by 1 minute due due my luggage not arriving), but we are happy to be home. I'm hopefully that my luggage and bike arrive today.

Photo's

2010-04-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

Internet is spotty for us while we travel. I will post an update about our race, but for now enjoy this slideshow of our photo's.

Time Zone Difference

2010-03-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

Many have asked what time will it be here when we are racing in Australia next weekend.

The race starts at 6:45am on March 28th (Sunday), Australian Eastern Time. That means for everyone in BC we will be starting at 12:45pm (Pacific Standard Time), March 27th (Saturday).

Statistically I have completed my best Ironman races around 11 hours, so if you log onto www.ironmanlive.com at ~11:45pm on Saturday night I should be near the finish. No guarantees though.

For those triathletes that go to bed early on a Saturday night, I will try to finish as fast as possible so you can watch the race online and still get in your required sleep. Otherwise you will have to log on in the morning to see the results. I will also post the results of the future lotto numbers so everyone following this blog can get rich. It would be greatly appreciated if you would share your lotto winnings with me.

I'm not 100% sure what the coverage of the race will be like on race day, but I won't need to find out since I'll be preoccupied trying to stay ahead of Tammy.

Ironman Australia Web Site: http://www.ironmanoz.com/ironmanoz/index.htm

Possible link to Race day coverage: http://ironman.com/events/ironman/australia/?show=coverage

IM Australia Bike Course - 3D view

2010-03-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

Seriously! This stuff is awesome!

This is one-way of the bike course (30km). It is a 3X out-and-back ride to make 180km (30kmX2=60km, 60kmX3=180km). We will be seeing a lot of this ride soon.

HPR Tucson Memories

2010-03-16T20:27:00.001-07:00

Mt Lemmon Ride

2010-03-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

3D view of the ride up Mt Lemmon.

Technology rocks!

HPR Tucson Camp Rides

2010-03-09T06:35:00.000-08:00

A collection of rides done while at the HPR Tucson camp.

Colossal Cave Ride (one way)

Mt Lemmon Hill Repeats

Airport Graveyard

Long Ride

Recovery Ride

Mt Lemmon Ride

O Canada

2010-02-15T19:21:00.001-08:00

Vancouver 2010 Games Begin

2010-02-13T06:03:00.000-08:00

Long Run

2010-02-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

Usually I complete a long run on Sunday, and this Sunday called for a 2hr run. I woke up Sunday morning and looked outside at all the rain and mist and called it off for the day. I thought if it looks better at 2-3pm, I could still run today. Then Tammy and I spent the day cleaning and organizing the house. Ellie got herself a long overdue bath. When we both train for an IronMan distance race, these simple household tasks don't happen with regular frequency. At 3pm the sun came out, but I wasn't in the right mindset to do a 2hr run. We both decided that we would complete our long run on Monday.

Completing the long run on Monday means that I have to run after work. I prepared my running gear and set it out to take to work (I work right beside a fantastic trail, The Galloping Goose). First I swam with Masters in the morning (3km, 1:15). Then off to work. After work I quickly changed, moved my car passed the locked gate, and set off on my run. With my MP3 player in my ears the run felt quick and smooth. Time passed by quickly. After 45mins it was noticeably darker than when I started.

I turned around at the hour, and had to turn on my headlamp for the entire trip home. Where I was running there are very few houses, or lights. I started thinking about bears and cougars and my pace quickened. With about 40 minutes remaining it was very surreal running in a dark fog along a former railway. My headlamp showed me where the trail was and kept me from running into the trees that lined the trail. The fog that drifted in prevented me from seeing more than 10 feet in front of me so I slowed my pace slightly to allow for quick changes in my path. I finished my run in 2:00:36 and loved every second of it.

I could do without the worry of bears and cougars in the dark though.

Overdue post

2010-02-06T21:45:00.001-08:00

I'm not meaning to ignore this blog.
It's just that little countdown timer over here ---------->>>>
It keeps informing me how many days I have left before I need to be 100% ready to race.

It was a fantastic day here today. +10 and sunny.

Today we rode 4 1/2 hours with some serious hill climbing/sprints (110km total distance), followed it up with a painfully slow 25 min run. I was feeling the effects of the hill climbing. Then had a couple of quick PB&J sandwiches. Showered, and off to massage. After massage, we swam in a very cold pool for another hour before we were both cramped up and I wasn't able to keep my head above the water.

This was a tough day. I'm tired and I want to go to sleep.

75 days!

2010-01-11T20:08:00.000-08:00

Time to stop eating cotton candy for dinner. There are only 75 days till IM Oz.

The Downward Spiral - Sufferfest Video's

2010-01-08T06:34:00.000-08:00

Now this is a spinning video that gets me motivated to actually suffer on the bike!

The 10 min version:

Ellie's Hideout

2009-12-23T12:46:00.001-08:00

Our Dog has found her new favorite hideout. She hides out under our Christmas tree and waits for the presents to be placed nearby before she launches her attack.

Climategate video

2009-12-17T09:19:00.001-08:00

Next race...IM Oz

2009-11-30T19:37:00.000-08:00

Same distance as Silverman, just not as many hills and lots of people on the course...

22 Minutes Clip

2009-11-26T05:45:00.000-08:00

Funny Stuff!

Final days in Vegas

2009-11-13T13:39:00.000-08:00

After a few days of walking the Las Vegas strip and some outlet mall shopping we are enjoying some sun and pool time at our hotel. It's a refreshing change from the craziness of Las Vegas. Plus it is getting us away from all the second hand smoke that seems to hang around all of the city.

Last night we went to see Cirque du Soleil's "O". It was amazing! The performers jump, dance, preform acrobat maneuvers, all over an ever changing body of water. It was very awesome. We had seats that were close enough that we could've been splashed by some of the performers. The only thing that puzzles me is I can't seem to figure out the storyline.

2009 Silverman Post Race Report

2009-11-10T08:05:00.000-08:00

The morning of Silverman is much less stressful than that of an Ironman race. There are only ~250 people total racing the full distance (including relays), versus the 2,500 racers in an Ironman. This meant that there were no lines for body marking and timing chips. There were quite a few athletes racing the half distance at 8:30 am so I think it was a little busier for them. Race morning weather was fantastic, partly clear skies, and a high of ~25 degrees Celsius for the day.

I lined up at the front of the swim, and waited for the official race start. As soon as we were off I stayed glued to a relay swimmers feet for the first 1000m of the swim, and then we hitched onto a group of 5 others to form a great swim pack. I stayed near the back of the swim pack to save energy for the rest of the race. Whenever I looked back I couldn't spot a single swimmer so I knew that if I lost this pack I wouldn't have any other swimmers to join in with. We came out the swim at around 57 minutes for the 2.4 mile course. This was the end of the flat portion of the day.

After the swim I ran passed all the wetsuit strippers (they were all busy with the pack that I came in with). I ripped off my suit quickly and ran through the uphill change tent. On my way out of the change tent I noticed that most of the folks from my swim pack were only just entering the tent. I like having quick transitions.

The first few km's of the bike are relatively easy. And my plan was to ride as conservatively as possible for the next 112 miles. It's around mile 11 where the bike course starts to get difficult. Around 20 miles into the bike course I was blasting down a hill at 45-50km/hr when suddenly it felt like I had a rear tire flat. This feeling lasted about 2 seconds before I knew it was a lot worse than a rear tire flat. Then there was a noise and a lack of control in the rear of the bike. Not a fun feeling on the bike! I was trying to brake as fast as possible and not slide out of control. I was approaching the side of the road fast! Somehow, I managed to stay upright and balanced on my front wheel during my slowdown. I jumped off my bike and looked back at my rear wheel to find that my rear wheel was only being held onto my bike via my bike chain! Yep, I guess I hadn't tightened my rear wheel quick release skewer enough and it slid out of my rear entry dropouts. I re-tightened the quick release and jammed it back into the bike and started on my way again. I never want to go through that again. I rode the rest of the bike wondering if that would happen again. This bike course took me about 90 min's longer than any other Ironman bike course. It is relentless with endless hills and false flats. I actually rode the steep hills well, it was the entire 3% grade over the course that absolutely destroyed my cycling legs. I felt defeated and destroyed out there. And I still had 75 miles left when I first felt this way. There were many moments that I mentally told myself that I would be walking the marathon and today was not my day.

After a long 7 1/4 hours on the bike I finally arrived at the second transition (T2). Coming into T2 I was cycling very slow, but I still moved through transition fairly quickly for fear of losing momentum. As I exited the T2 tent, Tammy told me that everyone ahead of me looked very stiff and if I found my rhythm I could make up a lot of spots. This little talk was all that my mind needed, and I started to tick along at ~9:10 min/mile pace. I found my first run victim at the first mile, then at mile 2. I picked off about 11 people and 1 relay on the first 13 mile lap. I ran through 13.1 miles in 1:59 and had a fleeting thought about breaking 4hours in this run. As an aside there is only about 400 meters of flat road for the entire run! This thought lasted for the next 1/2 mile. Between miles 14 and 18 I did a lot of walking, during which I was passed by about 4 people that were running. Finally, I was able to find my running rhythm again and started to gain back my placings, plus many more from many of the Silverman course victims. I crossed the line in 12:38:25 with a 4:16:xx marathon time. This was good enough for 48th overall and 6th in my age group (M30-34).

Tammy met me at the finish line where we collected all my race stuff and quickly left the scene with a stop at Sonic burger for some fast food.

Looking back, this race is definitely the hardest and most grueling race I've ever completed. I was certainly happy to cross that finish line and get my medal. This bike course completely ripped my legs off, but somehow I managed a decent run (compared to the many walkers who out-biked me). Knowing this, I am motivated to come back again next year and improve my overall/age-group placing. I am also going to make sure that my rear wheel is secure in my bike frame!

The organization of the race was far beyond what I expected and is comparable to an M-dot race. In fact, Tammy was so impressed with this race that she has decided to enter this race next year. So next year it will be both of us racing Silverman. Anyone else wish to join us?

Since the race we have been walking the Vegas Strip, doing some outlet shopping, and I even entered the 50m pool for a bit of a dog paddle/drowning session.

6th M30-34

2009-11-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

2nd fastest swim (57:44)
fastest 1st transition (1:52)
12th fastest bike (7:19:55)
fastest 2nd transition (2:35)
3rd fastest run (4:16:21)
Total Time: 12:38:25

Silverman Race Day Slideshow

2009-11-08T22:16:00.000-08:00

Silverman Racing Highlights

2009-11-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

Unofficial/Approximate Splits for Chad (Results still not posted)

Chad's Swim Time this morning: 57:xx min

Bike Time from Grueling Course: 7:20 (yes, 7 hrs and 20 minutes)

Run Course (Hills): 4:16

Total Time: 12:38

Chad is in great spirits and is extremely happy to be done, but says that "Silverman" is the hardest race he has ever experienced. He says he felt smashed 20 miles into the bike course (and apparently the only flat part of the whole race course was the swim. Yes, the transitions are even on hills) No idea as to age group or overall placing yet. Polished silver medal is extremely cool. Awards are tomorrow at breakfast 9:00 am.

More pictures and race report to follow from Chad tomorrow - for now he is about to have a cold one and re-hash this epic day!!!! Cheers, Tammy

Vegas - Day 4 - Silverman Expo

2009-11-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

Today was a very quiet day. Went to the mandatory athlete meeting and afterwards got Dave Scott's autograph. For the non-triathletes reading the blog, he's a big deal in triathlete world.

Tomorrow I plan on living in a world of hurt....
I'm not sure if the race website will be updating throughout the day, but final results should be published on it. www.silvermannv.com

Silverman Swim & Bike Course Preview

2009-11-06T20:02:00.000-08:00

This looks like a tough Swim and Bike course!

The background scenery changes every 15 km's on the bike course.

Vegas - Day 2

2009-11-05T18:54:00.000-08:00

Here we are, ready to start the morning in Vegas. First we started to explore the rest of the Lake Las Vegas Resort.

We noticed this warning, stating that the maximum number of swimmers allowed in the lake is 75. Then we discovered that the sign is for this pond:

This is tiny! If you had 75 people in this water, there wouldn't be any place to actually swim.

So we decided to drive to the Henderson Multigenerational center and swim in the competition pool. It was definitely worth the $2 admission. A 50 metre, outdoor, saline pool!

After a few laps of the pool it was time for a quick lunch, then back to the Henderson Multigenerational Center to register for Silverman.

I was in and out in less than 5 minutes. No line-ups, no problems, no stress.

Coming out the registration I was handed a backpack loaded with free swag! This is an awesome race!

Swag contents:

Backpack

Baseball cap

Running visor

water bottle

collapsible water bottle

Hammer gel and bar

$10 card for Infinitnutrition.com

Silverman playing cards (This is Vegas after all)

Plus others...

Then some shopping at the Whole Foods Market before coming back to the resort and getting ready for a quick bike ride.

This was a great day...

Vegas - Day 1

2009-11-05T06:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures that we took from the resort area we are staying at on Lake Las Vegas!

Vegas trip (race included)

2009-11-04T05:46:00.001-08:00

When most folks have entered their "offseason" (i.e. ice-cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner) I had this crazy idea to sign up for Silverman, a full Ironman distance race outside of Vegas. This race is not an official Ironman race, however it is the exact same distance. It's still a 2.4 mile (3.8km) swim, 112 mile (180 km) bike, and a 26.2 mile (48.2 km) run. Why I choose this race versus another Ironman right now is to get away from racing with 2,500 people and the IRONMAN hype. There are only 204 individual racers in the full distance race entered, and only 31 men in my age group.

Today we are flying down to Vegas, race day isn't until Sunday (November 8th). I woke up this morning with a combination of nerves and excitement. Yes, I am nervous about the race, but I'm also excited to have some time in Vegas to see a few shows. We are staying in Vegas a week after the race, and the current plan is to do some outlet mall shopping, catch a few Vegas shows and aquarium tours. In 2007, Tam and I did spend a couple of days in Vegas, during our epic drive from Florida to Victoria, BC. The time that we spent in Vegas then wasn't relaxing enough to truely enjoy Vegas, we were working out the details of purchasing our Victoria home from the hotel business centre for 90% of our stay there. So it is nice that we will have another shot at Vegas.

I have had great luck with the weather throughout all of September and most of October and managed to train fairly hard despite wanting to flop on the couch and eat everything I see (remember the ice-cream comment). Okay I did discover chocolate flavoured beer, and have eaten a large number of small halloween candy bars. I have done the hard training and now it's time to put it all together in Sunday's race. This race is branded as North America's toughest race. With ~12,000 vertical feet on the bike course (IM Canada is close to ~6,000 vertical feet) and another 1,800 vertical feet to climb throughout the run, this is not a "flat and fast" course! This course will be a real challenge just to finish.

Watch this blog for pictures and updates throughout our trip.

Best Beer Ever!

2009-10-25T06:32:00.001-07:00

I can see this beer leading to two addictions:
Alcoholism & Chocoholic
Thank goodness I only had one bottle in the house last night!

This is seriously great beer, Phillips Longboat Chocolate Porter

Hockey Night in Canada

2009-10-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

Last night a co-worker and I traveled over to Vancouver to catch the Vancouver Canucks play the Minnesota Wild. We were both really excited about the game since we would be watching the game from BC Hydro's box seats.

The view was amazing! The food & drinks were plenty. There were a total of 14 of us in the booth, and there was plenty of room to stretch out, relax and quickly grab more food or drinks whenever we wanted.

I don't believe I can go back to watching a game from the regular seats.

Canucks won 2-1 over the Wild. It was an awesome experience!

Silverman

2009-10-03T20:57:00.001-07:00

I'm now officially signed up for Silverman 2009.

Race date is Nov 08/2009 (35 days away from now).

see this link for the race details.

The best part of riding uphill

2009-09-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

These photo's were taken yesterday at the top of Goldstrem Ridge Estates. Kinda makes all the 10-18% grades worth riding.

This is the road that I climbed. It drops down at 15-18%.

Mt. Finlayson is the first peak in this photo.

Saanich in the background

Empty lots up here sell for $499,000. Great view, but you know winter is going to be hard up here.

This is the route that I took to get to Goldstream Ridge Estates. It's the same route as the previous elevation profile from a week ago (I call this route "Rubber Legs"). I wanted to test myself on a tough route to see how my climbing legs can recover from lasts weeks effort. I finished the 2nd ride faster (5 mins) and I was able to stay standing once I got home. A definite improvement over the first time. I was still fairly shattered later in the day and was asleep by 9pm.

Today's run was 2 hours and included the Oak Bay waterfront, 10 mile point, Arbutus Road, partial UVIC's Ring Road, Mt. Tolmie, and finally Richmond & Foul Bay Roads. I followed this up with a solid 1 hr nap. Now it's time to take the dog to the park, or another nap...

Totally destroyed

2009-09-19T22:23:00.000-07:00

Today's ride left me completely exhausted.

This is one of many 5hr + rides that I am using to prepare myself for the grulling Silverman bike course. Today's total distance was 120km (5hrs) with just over 2000m elevation gain, with some crazy 15-20% grades. Silverman's bike course is 180km long, with 3000m elevation gain, some grades up to 11%. This ride hurt.

Whoever once told me that the South Island is flat was very, very, very wrong.

Any guesses as to which roads I climbed?

Here is the actual Silverman bike course profile:
And here is the bike profile from my ride (in Imperial units) for comparison:
This race is going to hurt!

Massage

2009-08-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

I regularly have a deep tissue "sports" massage every 2 weeks, but am starting to hit the massage table weekly since I've recently ramped up my training intensity (for SilverMan). As I laid on the table yesterday, I heard Simon (my Masseuse) say,"Wow it's been quite a while since I've seen muscles this tight, I think I was 4!" And believe me, that session was tough. I went in complaining of a tight calf and came out realizing that I have rocks in my hamstrings and my quadriceps are gelled into 1 knotted muscle instead of 4 (quad). I think I blacked out from the pain since the session seemed to go by so fast. Luckily for me, Simon knows just how hard to work the muscles that I never seem to bruise, though at the time I am sure that I am. After that session I had felt like a steamroller had gone to town on my legs. It was all worth it since I had a great run today with zero pain from my calf.

Sidney Velo 18km TT - August 2

2009-08-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

Back a few training days ago, Monique, Pam & I decided to test our time trial cycling speed at a small local race. The race is held every Tuesday night (in the summer) and costs $2 to enter. It is a Time Trial start, meaning that one person leaves the starting area every minute. You then ride as fast as you can around a 9km course for 2 laps (18km total distance). I went out thinking that by some outside chance I might be able to ride a 28:30, that would be over a minute faster than my time nearly 3 months before. My actual finish time at the line was 28:28. I wish I was wearing a Heart Rate monitor just to prove how long I can ride at 200 beats per minute.

Pam starting her TT:

Monique about to rock it:I'm not sure what is going on behind me (the starter looks more tense than I do):

Trying not to fall over from a standing start:

I was determined not to let this dude catch me, but he almost did (some of these guys are FAST!):
Trying to breathe:
Yep my heart rate is very high:
Pam is suffering through it, or checking to make sure her rear wheel isn't flat:
Monique is all smiles (she lives for the pain of racing):
The winner of the race:
I'm convinced that this person is a robot (there are wires from their head to the bike):

New Cup

2009-08-13T18:26:00.000-07:00

Silverman Video

2009-08-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

Silverman Trailer from Momentum Advertising/Production on Vimeo.

I plan on racing Silverman this year. 12 weeks and counting.

Ellie Playing with her Treat

2009-08-03T15:11:00.000-07:00

Life of a dog... Ellie loves her treats so much that she just won't eat them.