Time To Step It up in JB's absence

Over the weekend athletes & friends of Jon's wished him the best as he embarks on his Olympic journey. He heads off to Maui for a 3 week training program & will continue his training at the NTC in Victoria.

Jon & I met about 3-4 years ago when I needed some swim guidance. I contacted him & he suggested I come out for a few sessions to work on my swim technique. From that point we developed a training/coaching/mentorship relationship that has become a strong & valuable friendship.

We also took an a very challenging goal of riding our bikes from Penticton To San Diego with a month deadline to complete. This is the type of trip you remember for the rest of your life. A trip that pushed us to the limits physically & mentally but ultimately this has led to a better understanding of eachother & in turn a stronger compatibility as friends & athletes.

I wish him the best in his endeavors to compete with the best triathletes in the world.

In his absence I strive to pick up my level of motivation & intensity that the Birdman brought to every coaching session & training ride.

Onwards & upwards trying to stay injury & illness free as race season slowly approaches!

xmas is upon us

found an interesting quote today that holds some value when your aspirations take a temporary tail spin.

"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." Dale Carnegie

Power test went very well the other day achieved a PB & am excited to see what additional fitness can be generated between now & race season.

enjoy the holidays!

Riders Making It Happen In Canada!

Training away laying those base miles consistently. Got a power test on Monday with the Birdman so it will good to see where I'm at.

I'm pumped to announce joining Calgary Cycle's Top Gear roster for 2011! The team has great leadership & has recently announced some substantial roster additions like Chris Mcneil & Mark Mcdonald formerly with H&R Block cycling now with Top Gear. The direction of the team is clear & I intend on applying all my efforts on following that direction.

Congratulations to Lachlan Holmes for making the 2011 H&R Block elite cycling team. I trained with this guy & he is super strong on pulling away on hills. A humble rider & I wish him the best.

Another congrats goes out to Jamie Sparling getting a pro contract with Team Raleigh for 2011. This guy is gonna do some great things for Canada in the near future.

Consistency

Off season consistency is something I have struggled with in the past.

Besides being sick this past week I have been able to get 2-4 rides per week in which is what I'm aiming for rolling into the off season.

When the white powder starts falling down on Alberta it will be the focus to keep the mileage up in the winter months so that I can continue with progressing towards a strong base build for 2011

Cross Season & Off Season Plans

Been an interesting past 4 weeks as training has been minimal at best due to the hematoma that hasn't yet completely diminished.

I also happened to cut open my hand the other day with a window scraper which required 4 stitches which meant no cross bike riding for a week unless I wanted the wound to re-open.

I am excited to get on the cross bike for mid week mayhem & potentially race a few ABA races before cross season is over. I don't know how competitive I can be in the Sport category (where I will start) with pretty much a 4 week injury hiatus but I will try to work back into it.

This off season will be a mixture of Base Training with Coach/Triathlete Jon Bird's ETS Cycling class at the talisman centre 3 days a week where the primary focus will be building fitness & lowering the heart rate over the off season.


I have some lofty goals in 2011 & I want to note them now.

1) Become Eligible for Cat 3 racing early season
2) Win a race (Time Trial, Crit or Road Race)
3)3 Top 5 finishes

4) The loftiest of them all is attempting to acquire enough ABA points to become eligible for Cat 1/2 before the end of the 2011 season.

A lot of hard work ahead.

BIRDMAN!

Congrats to Jon Bird with an 8th overall at nationals posting him the 5th Canadian only 3 minutes behind the likes of Simon Whitfield & Kyle Jones!

Proud of ya Birdman hope this puts you near the top of the list to make the national team in 2011!

Caught In My Own Carnage

Saturday was the Speed Theory Jason Lapierre Memorial cycling criterium hosted in downtown Calgary.

The Criterium was a good tempo in Cat 4 & I stayed near the front in top 8 for the entire race waiting for the last lap. Burnt a few matches trying to get a break with Samuel With Juventus but we got caught so I needed the 3rd match to be burnt on the final sprint. Final lap came & I was getting aggressive for positioning on the first corner. In 4th place trying to prevent any rider from blocking me out of the draft I took the corner on an agressive line & clipped my pedal & the rest is history. Apparently I flew in the air, the bike flew in the air & the adrenaline got me off the race course instantly. I just kept thinking that i was in perfect positioning & a bit of shock prevented me from realizing I just crashed hard.

Went to the hospital last night for Xrays & assessment of the cantaloupe sized swelling on my left hip. Popped blood vessel (hematoma) caused the swelling & doc says ice, ice , ice!!! Hopefully it will go down soon enough so I can get on the bike in time for Cross Season!.

Here are a few pics of the Crit & the aftermath of bruising/swelling.

Congrats to Mike Hoang for winning the Cat5 Crit in honourable fashion on a lone breakaway!