Derek Westra-Luney

Validation!

2011-06-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

Never doubt the power of the Prev again!

"I just couldn’t claim it. The title of this blog was supposed to be, “Ode to the Mini-Van,” but I couldn’t do it. I haired out.

There’s just too much stigma attached to the mini-van. Too much soccer mom baggage. Too much suburban conformist paranoia. Too much time-travel-fear that the 18-year old me would hunt down the forty-year old me, Terminator-style, if he found out I was driving one.

So that’s why I call mine a man van—to avoid all that.

But if you want the truth, here it is: Mini-vans are actually the most functional urban surf vehicles on the road.

And now that it’s out there, here’s what I would say to that zit-faced, 18-year old time traveler if he finds me: There’s not a more functional, comfortable, or efficient up-and-down-the-coast surf vehicle that can touch it.

The only autos that come close are full-size cargo vans, but those things get jack squat for gas mileage and, well, full-size vans are kind of creepy.

No, the mini-van is it. The proverbial shizzle: You can stack ten boards in it and sleep in it at the same time. You can hang dry a full suit from the lifted hatchback. You can slide open a side door and be in surf check/bucket seat /George Hamilton nirvana.

With a sleeping bag and some Bartles and Jaymes, you can boink in it.

Hell, with the right Tupperware and some newspaper, you can perch logs in it.

I know, I know. This is pretty shocking. This whole thing is making your head spin. Really throwing off your whole forest green Tacoma-centered universe.

But you better get use to it, because surfing mini-vans are here to stay. They’re all over Japan and coming to a surf town near you. In fact, they’re already here. A bunch of notable surfers already drive them but won’t go on the record to discuss it.

But eventually I did find one brave soul to claim the mini-van. One authoritative source.

Yes, the Brawny Towel Man himself: Grant Washburn.

Grant is the perfect patient zero. The perfect surfer to drive mini-vans out of the closet. As a six foot five Mavericks regular with a healthy appetite, Grant is taller than you, surfs bigger waves than you, and craps bigger than you. In fact, his actual craps are bigger than Victor Ribas.

So let’s hear what Grant has to say:

So you drive a mini-van, Grant. What do you own?

“I am a previous owner of two VW Vanagons, and converted to a Toyota Sienna for better mileage and airbags.”

What got you started on mini-vans?

“There was a singular, defining moment that led me to become a van convert. It was after a particularly cold evening session at Mavericks, back in the early 90s. Like many of life’s turning points, this “light bulb” epiphany shines like a beacon, a clear snapshot, rising from decades of foggy memories. A cruel wind grew during a slate gray afternoon, and the elements had stiffened my limbs and eroded my judgment. The fun had blown away, my energy was gone, and I bobbed for an eternity fantasizing about wool socks and a warm beer. I don’t recall anything more from that session, until I staggered into the lot and dropped my board in the dirt.

“It started to rain. I groped for my keys with a hand locked by hypothermic rigor mortis (an unusual sensation in Northern California, but all too familiar for surfers from New England). Three other vehicles remained. Each contained a cold-water warrior. Evan Slater’s Previa was closest, a permanent fixture in those days, providing a mobile bedroom/garage for the rabid Todos traveler. I noticed his windows were steamed up, as if he was taking a hot shower. Beyond were Doc Renneker’s metallic-blue Aerostar, and John “Three Piece” Raymond’s Dodge Caravan. My mind was tormented by the task of peeling off my 5-mil. My vehicle at the time was a two-door slot car, with eyebolts driven through the roof so I wouldn’t lose my 10’8”. It offered no shelter. Attempting to use Evan’s sauna as a windbreak, I clenched my teeth and unzipped. Naked to the elements, I bared my torso and groveled to pull the first foot free. The frigid, 20th Century rubber was as inflexible as my cramping muscles. I thrashed against the injustice, not caring if my $350 suit was ripped apart. I was beyond miserable, with any recollection of the day’s classic rides or shred of enjoyable experience forever banished by my suffering. It was then that a gust tore through the darkness, snatched my towel and sent it tumbling into a puddle. Thus the hideous memory was etched into my gray matter for all eternity.

“No doubt I had admired the versatility and spaciousness of the little vans for some time, but after that day I jealously coveted them. I was never huge on vehicular vanity (I had driven a station wagon in college, and beyond the rusted eyebolt roof-rack, this car was a wreck), but I liked to drive something with agility. After this session, I didn’t care if I had to pedal a covered wagon.”

What is the largest amount of surfboards that you have had in your vehicle? And how long is the longest one?

“I can get a stack of 10-footers in there and still have room for passengers. I usually leave 2 or 3 in it all season—it’s a rolling quiver.”

Would you like to use this opportunity to narc on other surfers who drive mini-vans, and if so, who?

“More than half of the Mavericks regulars drive them, so we should just mock guys like Christy Davis who use bike chains and padlocks to keep their precious boards in their little pick-ups.”

Would you patronize a business that advertises mini-van to Man Van conversions?

“Whoa now! Are you talking about desecrating a Sienna? Is nothing sacred?”

Do you think that mini-van manufacturers are missing an opportunity by not marketing their product to surfers?

“I suspect they know who will buy what, and why, and that the guys looking for a solid surf rig will find it. Why waste ad dollars?”

What is your overall feeling toward mini-vans, and your mini-van in particular?

“I am a passionate devotee. These are great rigs, and work as an invisibility cloak around town.”

So there you have it: One of the most respected big wave riders in the world just let the entire surf world know that it’s OK to drive a mini-van.

Let the boinking begin."

Copied from http://www.surfermag.com/blogs/rob-gilley/

3 Round Brawl

2011-06-03T11:36:00.001-07:00

Round 1: NLS Recertification. DING. To bed at 8:30 p.m. the night before, up for the 7 a.m. ferry to go ol' Van. 10-2 Pre-cert, 2-6 recert at the Jewish Community Center near Oakridge, back home on the 7 p.m. ferry. Recertified and roaring to go!

Round 2: Lifesaving Sport Nationals. DING. I arrived in Vancouver on Wednesday evening and headed straight out to Surrey for some warm-up time with the equipment before the competition started on Thursday. Team BC only planned to compete in the sport part of the meet and not the technical (first aid simulations etc.) part. So after carrying, clipping, and towing a few Manikins around the pool, we packed up and headed back to Kits. Profound thanks to Tia (the coach) for allowing me to crash on her floor!

The competition started EARLY on Thursday with 7 a.m. warm-ups. Since Tia had to attend a coaches and captains meeting at 6:30 a.m., we had to leave Kits at 5:30! BLECH. Oh well, at least I had 2 gluten free muffins from a little cafe in Kits! YUM. Regardless, the first day was ridiculously busy. I won't go into huge details since it's not entirely interesting, but Team BC had a very impressive showing, but came up a little short on Team Alberta! We had lunch at a pub near the pool and Dan "Monster" Minster decided to try the "Challenge Burger." Here's a little picture to get a taste for what he went through... Or tried to at least.

On Day 2 of the meet, warm-ups were at the same time so we had another early morning! Everyone was pretty exhausted from the day previous since all of us made tons of finals, but we were super pumped to be there racing! Some of the tougher events were on Friday including none other than the 100m rescue medley. Basically, you swim 50m, do 17.5m underwater, pick up a manikin and carry it the remaining 32.5 meters. It's bloody tough and everyone's least favourite event. Unfortunately I was DQed since I'd been having problems adapting to the new manikins they were using, which were a little thicker on the base of the skull/top of the neck. I just couldn't get a good grip no matter how hard I tried.

Regardless, we ended the evening on a great note with the medley relay (we had a great race with Alberta and came out on top) and then I headed back to Victoria on the 9 p.m. ferry. SO much ferry time this past week!

Round 3: Shawnigan Lake Triathlon. DING DING. Ok, so this was preceded by an event that I don't really feel like going into detail over (Saturday night was FUN!) and I headed to Shawnigan lake after 2.5 hours of sleep, and with my head/stomach in a dark place. These feelings were fairly quickly replaced with excitement for the race! Stupidly, I forgot my bottle of sports drink at home, so I relied upon GU and water for the morning. I managed to see the swim starts for both the Half-Ironman and Olympic distance race and just hung out with Shawna and Tyler, and my relay partner Jairus and his girlfriend Iris. It was an absolutely STUNNING morning and everyone was in high spirits!

  1   1/7  R   1/7  Relay   447  Derbear & Jairbear             Victoria        BC     1 1:03:42     1  5:40  1:08    3  1:30    1  7:10     1 0:37:11 35.5    1   44:20    1  0:46    1   45:06    1 0:18:37  3:44   1 1:03:42

There are the results of Jairus and I's relay, which went fabulously! On the swim I managed to avoid the feet grabbers at the start and get a clear lead before the first buoy. I felt super strong and managed to have about a 40m lead coming into T1. I was pretty happy with that! I wasn't happy that I couldn't get my bloody helmet on! I ALWAYS have trouble with the straps.... So before the next time I race, I'll sit in my room and practice doing up my helmet strap 50,000 times. Yes, I may look like a fool, but you won't be laughing when I get my helmet clipped up the FIRST TIME. OH YES.

Regardless, the bike was something else. I rode as hard as I possibly could resulting in 3x vomit on the bike. Never did I slow down to do this, so I imagine if anyone had witnessed it, it would have been pretty damn impressive. Or gross. I came into T2 and sent Jairbear off onto the run. He ran really well, but we couldn't catch the one guy who caught me on the bike. So 2nd overall was our final result and we were both super happy!

Us boys were pooped!

As for everyone else... WOW. What a day! Here's a brief rundown:

Adam O'Meara: Overall win for the Half-Ironman

Leif Baradoy: 3rd Overall in the Half-Ironman in his first crack at the distance!!

Emma Lujan: 1st Woman in the Olympic distance race (her first win!!!)

Alex Haggis: 8th Woman in the Olympic distance race

Tyler Duncan: 5th Overall in the Sprint distance

Henry Brabander: 3rd in his AG in the Half-Iron

John Weaver: 2nd in his AG in the Half-Iron

I'm thinking that all of those stellar results made Noa super proud! I couldn't be happier for everybody!! I wish I was around the rest of the summer to see how everyone makes out in the rest of their seasons, but alas, creeping online results will be as good as it gets.

My next blog post will most definitely be from Tofino. It's going to be a really fun few months :) It seems like everyone I know will be coming up to Tofino to visit me at some point in the summer, and I can't wait!

Music to my ears..

2011-05-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

And hopefully not drivel to yours!

A great band from Australia. A coastal feel to the music, with some reggae and they also love to use brass in most of their songs. Super unique!

In my opinion, the most underrated song by Arcade Fire.

My current favourite song. It was featured in the Innersection surf video in Mike Losness' section.

This is a pretty funny story. My friend Steph was over at my place and we were doing a HUGE music exchange when she told me about this guy Mike Edel. He's from Victoria and an AMAZING musician. He's also one of her good friends. Obviously I stole all of the songs that she had of his, and I've been pumped ever since! I sent her a text message telling her to give him the biggest high five of all time and about 30 minutes later I get a message from an unknown # saying:

"Mike Edel here, thanks for the biggest high 5 ever!!!"

I was pumped! Anyways, ENJOY!

They call this a job?

2011-05-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

The job in Tofino is official! I was pretty sure it was going to turn out that way, but I needed to come up here to have a formal interview with the Surf Club manager and the General Manager of the hotel. Both Jamie (surf club manager) and Perry (general manager) are genuinely nice guys, and extremely laid back considering their responsibilities. Check out the website of the hotel for a better idea of the quality. If you read through even 10 of the reviews posted on tripadvisor.com you'll get an idea of how reputable this particular resort is.

Ohhh man. So beautiful. So bloody excited.

My job in the summer will be surf instructing, if you didn't already guess. There will be 3 senior instructors including myself, and a bunch of other on-call instructors. The on-call guys/gals usually have other jobs at the resort as well. As for my role at the resort, I'll have the option of teaching up to 3 lessons a day, each at 2.5 hours in length. That said, Jamie has given me the option for extra work on the side. It could really be anything from housekeeping, laundry to bartending. Nothing is set in stone at this point, but at least I have options if I decide to work more.

The "Great Room". 270 degree view of Cox Bay. Doesn't that just suck.

The staff accommodation at the resort is actually pretty gangbusters. It reminds me a lot of residence at Vanier at UBC and there's a huge common room with foosball, couches, and a huge kitchen! Bam! I also met a few of the guys I'll be working with in the summer and they all seem super chill. I honestly couldn't be more excited about this opportunity and I'm sure I'll be busy. Not to mention I'm living on Cox Bay which is an amazing spot... Tons of surfing in my future! The only drawback is that I won't be able to move up here until June 15th. That gives me lots of time to fill, so I'm trying to volunteer at one of the Victoria hospitals still. If anyone has any information, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, I'll be competing at Lifesaving Nationals, going to my first Bachelor party for my friend Alec, and hopefully surfing a LOT.

Terrible picture of the surf club building.. Really should have taken my own!

Training wise, I'm definitely back to running :) I'm up to 40 minutes now and it's starting to feel way more natural. I've also been back swimming a bit and have just started some light cycling. The leg feels great! No pain whatsoever. Noa and I are still being cautious about ramping up mileage or intensity, and I'm still running on very soft surfaces, but I'm seeing definite progression. Now I just need to find some sick trails here in Tofino!

Take 'er easy and keep it real!
Der

What? Running?

2011-04-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

What is this? Opposite land?

I have a stress fracture. Usually stress fractures are caused by running. After 2 weeks of running, I can assure you it wasn't the cause. Throughout last summer I never tried not cycling and as it turns out, cycling may have had something to do with the fracture.

No more speculation on what the cause was. What I know is that I missed running A LOT, and that being able to run 4 times a week has been amazing. 33 minutes this morning with Noa's crew (on the chip trail/grass at Beacon).

That's not the only good news. Looks like I may be working as a surf instructor in Tofino for the summer! More details to come!

Livin' a totally different life

2011-04-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile since my last blog post, but that's because literally everything has changed with regards to my daily routine/goals for the year/job situation.

Oh man! Where to start... Well, if some of you didn't know, I ended up flying to New Zealand on March 3rd on literally 2 days notice, and it was definitely one of the best vacations I've ever had! I would go into more detail, but Ally has an entire blog dedicated to travelling around NZL and she has gone into some pretty heavy detail regarding the South Island trip that we did only 2 days after I arrived. You can read her blog here.

The big news of this post, however, is the announcement that I'm pulling out from the 2011 season of triathlon. After 8 months of attempted rest for my left leg, minimal training on the bike and none on the run, my leg has not healed. Not even a little bit. According to my sports doctor, there was no difference between the CT scan done in September and the latest. I'd say it was a difficult decision to make but it never felt like it was up to me. I feel like I've done everything that I should have in order for the injury to heal in a timely fashion, yet all the doctors I've seen are confused as to how it's possible that it hasn't healed at all.

That was one of the hardest conversations I've had to have with Noa, and she was very understanding. It's pretty hard to beat her as a coach! :)

Now, the plans for the next little while. I've also decided that I want to leave Victoria for a short time and head up island to Tofino. I'm still looking for a job, but surprisingly new postings keep popping up. Seems like there are more jobs there than in Victoria! I've been looking at hotels, surf instructing (ummm.. Dream job?) etc. and I'm still hot on the hunt. Basically, I'm looking to put myself WAY out of my comfort zone and move to a place where I know no one, don't really have an established place to live (some of the hotel jobs offer staff accommodation), and probably end up doing a job in a field that I've never had experience in. I'm super excited, but disappointed that triathlon won't be a significant part of my life for the next few months.

Some other little goals I've made for myself in the next few months:

-Surf like a madman, so I could potentially compete in the Rip Curl Stew in June (I've kinda been training for a while now... Focusing on improving every aspect of my surfing)

-Try to save as much money as possible while in Tofino so I can have a reservoir for travel + other activities

-Keep as fit as possible. I've started running a little bit, and it's going well. It seems as if cycling and possibly swimming are the only things that can affect the injury site. It's beyond odd and I can't explain it, but impact doesn't seem to affect it.

I'll post more since the prospect of being in a new city is more exciting than writing my usual posts about training, then not training etc. :)

Hopefully I'll be in Tofino when I write my next post!

PS: I'm selling my 2008 Cervelo P2C if anyone is interested! Here are some stats:

Size: 56 cm

Gruppo: DA Rear Deraileur, Ultegra Front Deraileur, Cervelo brakes, FSA Gossamer 175mm crank 53/39, 12-25 cassette

Wheels: Easton Vista

Bars: Oval project aluminum aerobars/extensions, DA Bar end shifters

Fork: 3T Funda

You can reach me at d.westra.luney@gmail.com

Thanks!

Trapped!

2011-02-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

I'm a little stranded on the mountain at this time due to the pretty significant snow fall we've had in the past few days. Ontario people need not comment as FOR US WEST COASTERS this is quite a bit of snow!

I've been doing trainer rides, cleaning up around the house and even painted a closet during my imprisonment, but had yet to go out and take peeectures! It was pretty cloudy until this evening so I decided to take advantage of the sunlight.

Ahhhh... If only the snow didn't trap me everytime it visits....

That's what you get for trying to burrow in the snow!

Man. Are we ever lucky to live here.

More substantial post on the way... Maybe?

Throwback and almost broke my back?

2011-02-06T16:01:00.000-08:00

I miss (most of) my sport and hobbies. Stupid stress fracture can burn in a fiery pit in the darkest part of Hell.

And just for fun, this is why I don't skim rails anymore..

Enjoyez-vous

Long time in the making...

2011-02-04T17:31:00.001-08:00

So it's been awhile. I've switched back to my blogger account due to some frustratingly complex features of wordpress (I suck at blogging, no need to read anymore into it :) ). I also just found out how to put a picture as the background... So coolio!

Regardless, I've been putting this blog post off for a good reason. 1) I've been very busy! 2) It's disappointing to write what's following this paragraph...

As you can probably tell, there has been very little progress on the stress fracture front. No one has been able to give me answers, and every (well it seems like every) theory has been presented to me. The fracture is in such a weird spot that even a radiologist specializing in muscleo-skeletal is unable to give me a definite answer.

Theories:

1) Growth spurt: Possible at 24, but unlikely

2) Leg length discrepancy: Not sure if it's anatomical or based on asymmetrical tightness in my lower back etc., but need to see a specialist for this

3) Parathyroid: calcium deficiency? I've been taking my Usana vitamins daily as well as 2000 iu extra of Vit. D a day... Not so sure about this one.

That's where we're at right now. A little underwhelming to be honest. I'm not entirely convinced it was caused by running though... Just that running aggravates it. I've been doing Yoga quite a bit lately (I'll leave out what type of Yoga in fear of a violent uprising against me...) and again, no pain. Even in postures such as Triangle where you're putting quite a bit of weight on one leg at a time... NOTHING.

Ok, enough about the leg! So after a Christmas holiday filled with surfing in Tofino/Sombrio, Ally and I jetted off to Florida! Here are some pictures!

Braving the cold waters of the Gulf! Not actually that cold though...

That's one big cannon (TWSS)

You can't see me, but I'm there hanging on the dorsal fin... *Cough

Photo credit: Ally Stocks

Happy in the sun!!!! We probably blinded people there with our whiteness...

Mangroves.. All I said when I saw them was "Wow, this reminds me of Aus"

As you can tell, the weather was pretty great, albeit not super warm (hovered around 18-20 most of the time!). When we got back from Florida, we had one day at home thanks to some lovely flight delays and an overnight in Seattle, before we headed off to Tofino to meet Zanny and her boyfriend Bayden (UBC peeps!). We were so busy the 4 days we were there we barely took any pictures, but needless to say we had an awesome time!

Get back from Tofino, Ally goes to Ontario for the weekend. Carbon footprint = 7 trillion times the size of Ally's normal. Not to mention her flights/our flights were almost always half empty. That makes me incredibly angry. It seems convenience is clearly valued more than the longevity of the planet we live on. Would you complain if they reduced the number of flights and filled the planes instead? I wouldn't.

As many of you know, Ally just left to New Zealand. While it's sad to be apart, I'm so incredibly jealous of her adventures... Which is why I'm heading there in April!!! YEAAAAAA!

Regardless, I'm keeping busy swimming, doing yoga, surfing, and now a little riding on the trainer :)

I'll post more often...

I PROMISE!

I leave you with this great mellow song from my favorite band, "Current Swell"

The new blog experiment!

2010-07-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

So since everyone else seems to be jumping on the WordPress bandwagon, I figured I might as well give it a shot!

I’m actually loving the formatting of it, and eventually I can even turn it in to a full blown website! HOLLA!

Anyways, it’s a simpler and cleaner format, but I MUCH prefer it!

http://derekwl.wordpress.com/

See you there!

Andrew McCartney: The Euro Cyclist

2010-07-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

With significant discussion as of late regarding 'Euroness' while cycling, I felt it necessary to outline the many ways that Mr. Andrew McCartney follows the divine rule of the "Euro Cyclist." He's been getting ragged on for being so Euro, so let me be the first to offer a form of praise:

(Source: OREC: The Official Rules of the Euro Cyclist)

3. The Euro Cyclist shall NEVER, under any circumstances, wear plain black spandex bibs (shorts, regardless of colour are BANNED) or ANY team kit
containing non-prominent logos. Shorts will extend approximately 2/3rds of the way down the upper leg and will contain a compression band at the bottom (distinct in colour). In NO CONDITION shall they extend any further!

4. Legs shall be SHAVED year-round. ABSOLUTELY NO EXCEPTIONS. Certain hair removal creams are endorsed only on a case-by-case basis. One shall never show up to a race (be it large or small) with ANY amount of stubble visible on one’s legs.

5. A prominent line where one’s kit ends and where one’s deep tan begins is essential to one's image. Artificial tanning is BANNED. The tan shall reflect the level of training commitment.

(He's got some catching up to do on that one :) )

7. Cycling shoes shall contain at least 80% white!

9. One’s bike frame shall contain between two (2) and four (4) colours IN ADDITION TO WHITE. All colours are acceptable as long as they combine tastefully and elegantly. In addition, wheel selection must also match frame and fork.

12. Ridiculously stylish eyewear (see endorsed products list) is to be worn AT ALL TIMES without exception. Glasses are to be worn over helmet straps at all times.

21. Facial hair shall be restricted to (at a maximum) a goatee, and even this is discouraged. Moustaches, beards, and any combination thereof are EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED in all instances. Stubble is, however, advisable in virtually ALL euro-situations. It is important to note that this DOES NOT apply to the legs.

24. One shall NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, associate with triathletes. This cannot be overemphasized! It is FORBIDDEN to have any number inked onto one’s body before a race.

(As you all know, he breaks this rule ALL the time, but you wouldn't know it when he's out cycling!)

34. Espresso is a NECESSITY and as such it must be consumed normale or ristretto on a patio (preferably in Italy) in full kit; All other coffee shall be brewed strong and taken BLACK.

46. When asked "how are you?" while riding one must proceed with one of the following...
i. Complain about coming off a sickness
ii. Explain that one is peaking for bigger races later in the season
iii. Mention that this is a "recovery ride"
iv. Explain that one is at the tail end of one’s daily six (6) hour training ride

I hope you all found this accurate, and informative. And GOOD LUCK to A-Mac and Austin in San Franciso!

TOO much time to think...

2010-07-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

I'm sure this happens to everyone once in awhile, but it seems like EVERYONE in my life except me, has a life. Lately I've felt like I'm losing touch with some of those people closest to me, and it's resulted in many a night alone watching movies in the evening.

Now, I won't make this a public pity party, but I'm sure this is partly due to the progress, or lack thereof, with my left leg. It has come up multiple times in the past few years, even while swimming. IT Band, Hamstring, Calf, Soleus etc. etc. etc. The list goes on. One I did forget until very recently was my partially torn Achilles when I was 12. I'm sure Linda (my physio at Brentwood Physiotherapy) will LOVE me when I tell her this... After forgetting to tell her for nearly 10 appointments.

Originally the pain was focused on the lower medial side of my knee cap and was identified as my Sartorius and some-other muscle (can't remember the name!). It was due to very inflexible hamstrings, and after LOTS of stretching and TONS of Yoga, I was back at it. 2 runs into my fresh start, my calf/ENTIRE lower left leg seized up. It felt like a combination of a calf strain, shin splint, and soleus tear all in one. To top it off, my foot was so restricted from movement, I could barely point the toes on my left foot! BAD.

That was 2 weeks ago. I've tried running twice since. Once a week ago today (Monday) and once yesterday. Last Monday's run lasted 2 minutes, Sunday's 15, with the same results. I thought I could blame my shoes (new Lunar Elites) but as it turns out it didn't matter what shoes I tried. I went to see Rob Hasegawa at Cedar Hill Sports Therapy Clinic and he found that my foot was VERY tight and locked up, so a few adjustments later some of my pain was gone! Yay!

Not all of it though. I'm still struggling with my Peroneus and my calf. I dont know if it's tightness or what, but I'm seeing Linda tomorrow.

Anyways, I'm fairly certain that this is a contributing factor to feeling a little down because of the ambitious goals I had for this season. I'm very disappointed that this had to happen, but so far everything has been caught at the intial stages, so permanent damage shouldn't exist. SHOULDN'T! *knock on wood*

I'm getting pretty sick of my left leg though... Anyways back on topic.

Ally and I have been doing long distance all summer. She began what is formally "Summer Camp" at RKY and we aren't able to talk as much as during "Spring Camp." RKY is basically her favourite place on earth, so I couldn't be more happy about how much fun she's having... But I miss her! I guess it's even harder because of the emotional roller coaster that my leg is putting me through, not to mention finalizing my acquisition of an International Competition Card, looking for a new wetsuit (more on that later ;) ), etc.

Ok, rant/whine over. More physio, more chiro, more determination!

Rawr!

This is where I'd be a total Tri-Geek and...

2010-07-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

This is where I'd put a YouTube clip of some inspirational song (e.g. "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor)

This is where I'd evaluate my fitness in a narcissistic fashion

This is where I'd sandbag just in case the race doesn't go well

This is where I'd voice some idle threat to get my competition riled up

But instead..

I think I'll let performances speak for themselves.

C'mon and let me race!!!

Frothing..

2010-06-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

.. TO RACE. Yesterday drove me CRAZY because I just wanted to be in the mess of things. Sprint, Half, Relay WHATEVER. ANYTHING.

Today is one of "those" days..

Warm up: feelin' strong!

Main set: feelin' wrong..

Cool down: stupid grin on my face from knowing it was one of the worst swims I've had in awhile.

Of course I wasn't super happy about my performance during the main set, but I got it done in spite of heavy arms and low spirits.

Sometimes you just gotta let go.

Congratulations to Adam O'Meara for his convincing win at the New Balance Half-Ironman yesterday. Also congrats to Mike for putting forward a tough challenge for Mike and laying down a solid time for 2nd! Also worthy of mention is Tyler/Mike's relay team (2nd men's team), and the solid performances of the rest of the PT crew! Couldn't be happier to be a part of this team!!!

Everyone looks GREAT and I look like some gooned creeper off to the side. Perfect.

Slight change in plans... Kinda!

2010-06-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy past few weeks!

First, Shawnigan didn't happen. Let's just leave it at that. My hamstring inflexibility severely hampered my ability to run.. until NOW.. but more on that later.

Second, I had an AMAZING time in Kingston with Ally for the few days I was able to get out there for (and that she was able to get off work from camp!). Kingston is a BEAUTIFUL city, and I was blown away! It reminds me a lot of Victoria, except that the general architecture in Kingston is STUNNING. We squeezed a LOT of things into my short 4 day visit, and I'm glad I got to see where Ally spends her summer (both RKY and Kingston)! Next time I'm out there is July 28th and I couldn't be more excited!

Now on to the rest of my life in general. Work at the pool is work. Nothing exciting. Thankfully no excitement at all in the form of first aids or rescues.

Training is where it's at though. Since the week after Shawnigan I haven't run on land due to this hamstring issue. What's happening, in a nutshell, is that my hamstrings are so tight in my left leg that it's causing acute pain on the medial side of my knee. I described this more in my post previous to Shawnigan. Anyways, after some physio, lots of yoga, and some isolating exercises, I am READY to run again! My first run back was today and while it was only 30' easy, MAN did it feel good. Watching NCAAs, Hy-Vee, "Without Limits" has made me miss running like CRAZY! But now I'm back and it's ON like Donkey Kong!!!!

Swimming is rockin' along. Cycling is a VERY close second to my favourite sport of running. I couldn't be happier.. ESPECIALLY now that I can run again.

In the meantime, enjoy this string of Old Spice commercials that I think are ridiculous AND ridiculously HILARIOUS!!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

PAYCE

PS: Congrats to everyone that's been racing.

Adam, Leif, Nick and Tyler at Shawnigan. Very solid performances all around!!!

And last but not least Kamal and Leif in WASA.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend at New Balance as well :)

NCAAs baby!

2010-06-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

Wow.

Can't wait for the rest!!!!

Cycling adventures in Metchosin and beyond!

2010-06-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

This is where the bad triathletes go....

It's a good thing this wasn't a video clip, or you'd see my MASSIVE biceps rip through those pretty arm warmers

To find a certain animal we go!

Found some horsies... BUT it's the wrong animal

COWS COWS MY COWS

SCHOOLBUS SCHOOLBUS DRIVE ALL YOUR COWS TO MEEEEEEEE

The end... A beautiful bike and a beautiful Prev!

As a side note, the new bike is AMAZING. I've never been this comfortable on a bike before. Thanks again Rider's for the bike AND the awesome kit!

Training + the Times + Taper + Tunes = Totally tubular!

2010-05-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, WAY too many Ts.

REGARDLESS, time for the first training update in some time! As the cookie cutter updates go, I'll break it down individually by sport.

SCHWIMMEN:

Ok, while I would LOVE to write this all in German, I won't for the sake of your eyes and to avoid excessive use of www.freetranslation.com. Regardless, swimming has been going fantastic!! I've been getting lots of stroke help and it's making a huge difference in how my stroke unfolds. I'm swimming at a more even pace with a smoother and longer stroke. Body roll has also been a big focus and I think I'm finally kicking the S-pull habit I've had since I was taught it (back when S-pull was still the standard.. sigh.. ). There have been tons of hard workouts lately and while some of the times may not be what I want, my feel in the water is definitely there. I can't wait to see what I can pull out at Shawnigan this weekend.

ZE BIKE:

Lots of updates with regards to cycling. I've been putting in very consistent hours on the bike the last few months and I'm starting to see it pay off in spades. I've had 3.5 hour rides the past 2 weekends, and managed to squeek in 110-112km in that time. That gives me an average speed that rivals some of my past race times. Stoked!! ... Actually it's a little sad that my past race times were that slow, but whatevs.. IMPROVEMENT!

Something odd though.. It seems that in the last 2ish weeks my right pedal broke off on my bike and I failed to notice it. This resulted in EXCESSIVE float on my right foot, while my left leg did the majority of the work. Noa noticed this at the last Wednesday group ride and both her and I suspect it may have led to a minor injury that I will discuss later in the post. Excitedly, I bought a new Shimano 105 pedal system which is the first set of pedals other than the Time RXS pedals that broke! They have a totally different feel and I don't think I'll ever go back.

But to sum up, I'm pumped on my cycling progress!!! Thanks Noa :)

LAUFEN LAUFEN LAUFEN:

Run Run Run!!! That's what I've been doing! LOTS of running and I've loved every second of it.. Ok well maybe not EVERY second. There have definitely been times where I felt like I wanted to die/kill someone. It's been confirmed that running is definitely my favourite of the 3 sports, so I couldn't be happier with how much I've been running!

Since this is my first season actually training seriously/with a coach I had no idea how I would progress in running. I feel like I've come an extremely long way since last year. I love running. Lately, I've been loving working hard. Now, with all this hard work though, I'm worried about..

INJURY:

In the past 2 weeks I've had some amazing training sessions that I couldn't be happier about, but it seems that a minor nagging injury has come with it. We aren't sure what has caused it, but Noa and I both think we can attribute part of it to my broken pedal. The problem has been with my left leg (which has ALWAYS been my problem leg). Basically, it started out as sharp pain below the medial side of my kneecap, and has since been tightness in the entirety of my hamstring muscles/calf muscles. It took awhile to figure things out, but from some experiments I've done it seems that it's all stemming from extremely tight hamstrings.

For example.. I'll sit down for 5 minutes at my computer then stand up. BAM. Pain all down the back of my leg/knee. Ouch. If I stretch out my hamstring for a minimum of 30 seconds, all pain disappears. If I don't stretch it right away, the pain is pretty terrible, and I limp around like an old OLD man. The kicker is, I have to do this stretch routine EVERY time I stand up from a sitting or prone position. Arghh. The pain is not present when I run at all so I don't think running has contributed to it. It also hasn't affected the speed at which I can run, since I've been nailing all of my goal/race pace workouts. It's just a little frustrating to go nearly 8 months without injury then with less than a week before the season opening race, my leg gives out. Let's hope this doesn't continue. It's gotten better, but it's still not 100%.

MUSIQUE:

One of my new favourite classic rock songs. Can't seem to get enough of it. When combined with anything from the band Ratt, I'm super pumped for ANYTHING.

So with Shawnigan 4 days out, I feel fast, strong, and a little achey.

ZE TIMES:

I saved the best for last... It's like a post-race reward but in a week from now, I'll be flying out to KINGSTON TO VISIT ALLY! I booked the flights a week and a half ago, and I've been ridiculously excited ever since! Long distance isn't easy, but we've managed EXTREMELY well so far, in spite of her very busy schedule at RKY. It's unbelievably exciting that I'm going to get to see her not just once, but twice this summer! Yeehaw!

Another exciting piece of news... I have a new addition to my bike family!! Rider's has provided me with one of their demo bikes to train/race on (unless someone wants to take it out for a test ride). It's a Trek Madone 5.2 and I CAN'T WAIT TO RIDE IT! I won't be able to ride the bike until after Shawnigan, but I'm super excited!

Zat is all for nowwwwwwwwwww!

World Cup 2010

2010-05-23T08:06:00.001-07:00

GO HOLLAND!

Super excited to watch my favourite team play in some interesting match-ups in Group E. They're seeded with Denmark, Japan and Cameroon. Should be interesting to say the least. My favourite played, Ruud van Nistelrooy retired in 2008, so hopefully they have some fresh talent that can take over as one of the best strikers in the game!

Things would have turned out differently if...

2010-05-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

THEY'D HAD A SASSY GAY FRIEND...

Thanks to Ally for showing me this one...

And the tension builds..

2010-05-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

This week I find out if I'll be racing as an elite this year.

Thinking happy thoughts... Thinking happy thoughts...

Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping in...

2010-05-11T15:17:00.000-07:00

... Or not.

After a nearly sleepless night on Friday, and a mediocre sleep on Saturday I'd love to actually sleep in a little. It's been an incredibly draining week, but I wouldn't have changed a thing... (Well maybe my time at the Sun Run, but we'll get to that..)

So this past week was going to be a crazy one. No matter what. Due to the lengthiness of the trip, I'll cut it down to point form.

Saturday May 1:

-First ferry to Vancouver after 3 hours sleep

-Help Ally's roommate Mariah move to her new residence

-Prev's battery dies, we get a jump from a BCAA guy

-New battery bought and installed.. Turns out to be the wrong battery. Blows 100 amp

fuse. BCAA called again, and a temporary fix is implemented

-Out to dinner at Thai House.. YUM!

-The Prev survives the ride back to UBC.. Phew.

Sunday May 2:

-Sleep in.. YES. Long run while Ally gets her stuff ready.

-Car gets taken into Canadian Tire to get the fuse replaced etc. $125 later...

-We move Ally out of residence super late due to Canadian Tire being ridiculously busy.. She narrowly evades a $35 late check-out fee from UBC Housing

-Head to Squamish. Exhausted.

-Meet up with Ally's bro John in Squamish and have a chill night with him and his roomies!

Monday May 3:

-Awake relatively early. Ally, John and I do a little hike near the Chief. The trail reminded me

of the Grouse Grind a lot, and was probably roughly the same distance.

-Drive to Vancouver with John's stuff and drop him at the airport

-Head to Harrison Hot Springs for Matt's bday!!

-Drinking ensues, as does hilarity.

Tuesday May 4:

-Sleep in.. YES.

-Check out of the hotel, and head for Victoria.. We narrowly miss the 3:00.

-Back in Vic, Ally and I try to find a place to swim. Seems impossible to swim ANYWHERE at 7:30ish on a Tuesday evening. Argh.

Wednesday May 5:

-Up somewhat early, head to Tofino!

-Get there at around 1:30 and we grab lunch, check in at the hotel, get Ally some properly fitting booties, and we're off for a SURF!

-Ally is a rockstar. She gets bored by the end of the session. Wants bigger and faster waves. Derek is super impressed.

-Meet up with Jessica Aspinall who gives us a GREAT deal on a room... YES FOR THE HOT TUB SWEET (I know it should be suite but it was THAT good).

-Out to a random guy's birthday party near the Weigh West.. Definitely a HUGE mix of people!

Thursday May 6:

-Up a little later than intended....

-First surf session of the morning! Turned out to be a little short since we had to rush back to the hotel to check out.

-Checked out, headed back for a little surf in CRAPPY waves.

-Hung out for a little bit, got a SUPER discounted and AMAZING lunch

-The LONG drive back to Victoria.... And a LOT of "Cows cows my cows"..

Friday May 7

-Derbear goes out for a long ride while Ally packs everything up... :(

-Head out to dinner with buddy Justin and his date Meghan.. then to the new Nightmare on Elm Street... Not the most amazing movie but could have been worse!! Lots of jumpiness all around

And that's the week leading up to the night before Ally headed back to Ontario.

The Sun Run was not in tune with the rest of this amazing week. When all is said and done, I

didn't have a good race. I felt like the effort was there, but the legs just didn't have it. Blame it on lack of preparation due to the bonkers week, but there is absolutely no way I would have changed a SECOND of it!!!

Music I'd been meaning to post, but brain has been AWOL

2010-04-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard these guys on the Zone (91.3 fm in Victoria), you're seriously missing out. Check out "Little Lion Man" as well. Very east coast feel, but they're from the mother country :)

To me, this song by Dallas Green of City and Colour is very similar to the sound of the Mumford and Sons song above. Love it!

There once was a 10k named TC...

2010-04-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

That decided it would be super busy.

People lined up at the start.

Many decided to fart.

And the whole race was set to go.

The PT crew was ready to rip.

Not a single corner would they skip.

Derbear thought he'd go out fast

But little did he know...

That his speed just couldn't last

At kilometer 8 and 9 and a half

He walked around like an injured Calf.

Clutching the right side of his back.

In spite of these little digressions

He made some significant progressions

As did the rest of his team!

Now DerBear's PB is 34:38

But he knows it's his fate

TO KILL IT AT THE SUN RUN IN TWO WEEEEEEEEEEEEEKS.

Ok, pretty much the worst poem ever but you get the idea :)

OK, so I should be in this picture SOMEWHERE, but I seem to have disappeared!!

Power Rangers Season 1...

2010-04-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

... Makes life significantly more awesome.

It's been a GREAT week here in Victoria. Training has been pretty tough and I'm hurting a little going into the weekend, but I'm confident I can put in a solid time at the TC10k.

Before the workout started....

All of us looking relatively alive.. With Adam being a stud as usual

Boys, we worked hard. A little downtime before cool down!

In other news I did my 1500 LC time trial and went 18:04. Not the most amazing time but I'm glad I got it out of the way. Anything under 18:30 was the goal, so I'm pumped I nailed it by 26 seconds. I also did this at the end of my biggest 3 weeks of training since I've started triathlon so I'm confident I could drop more time off had I been a little less fatigued.

In the most important news of all, it's only 2 weeks until Ally heads back to Ontario to go work at RKY Camp for the summer. We've done long distance for over 5 months now, with me going to Vancouver, and her coming here to Victoria. It doesn't make the prospect of months without each other any easier, but I'm incredibly confident that everything will be great in spite of the distance. It's pretty easy to be this confident when you feel this way about someone.

Block Party 2010... A slight digression from my otherwise athletics based lifestyle :)

And in OTHER OTHER news.. My iMac hard drive crashed last week and it's been wiped and mac osx has been reinstalled. Unfortunately, I lost over 5 years worth of pictures, documents, music, movies etc. It's extremely disappointing, but at least I have hard-drive space again :)

PS:

34:xx or bust.

Kelly Slater wins at Bells...

2010-04-13T10:18:00.001-07:00

Kelly Slater, my sports hero, wins at Bells Beach Australia on a broken foot!

MAN.

"And every day, good or bad, there is this magic time"

2010-04-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

This may be about Surfing as a dangerous escape rather than my life and involvement in triathlon, but I love the idea.

"There is nothing mystical about this. There is a need in all of us for controlled danger; that is, a need for an activity that puts us however briefly on the edge of life. Civilization is breeding it out of us, or breeding it down on us, this go-to-hell trait. Gradually, the day-to-day people, the hackers, are taking over. There are, as you read this, uncounted millions of people who now go through life without any sort of real, vibrant kick. The legions of the unjazzed."

I enter this sport knowing full well I could get very hurt on a training ride, or even in a controlled environment as a race, but I WANT it. Seeing pros like Jordan Rapp falling victim to one of the risks of the sport makes it seem so much more real. But yet I refuse to join the "legions of the unjazzed".

Dread the training no more...

2010-04-04T22:50:00.001-07:00

It's tough to look back at swimming sometimes.

So many happy memories... Team travel to meets, the ridiculousness of meet warm-ups, spending all my time with the same awesome people, the relationships I've formed that will last forever... The list could go on and on.

That said, I wonder if I would have continued with it for so long had it not been for the above reasons? I think about swimming A LOT. A lot more than I should. Absolutely.

Why? Because not only do I think about the aforementioned highs, but also of the horrible, horrible lows. I was unruly, argumentative, uncooperative... a major pain in the ass. With very few exceptions, I've been in yelling matches with all of my swim coaches. I would work hard, but the second criticism was handed my way I blew up. Blame the adrenaline of the workout, fatigue, lack of nutrition, WHATEVER.. I did it anyways. That's what matters.

I also think of the times where I would drive to the pool, and either contemplate or succeed in a scheme to miss workout. For example, hiding in the upstairs lobby bathrooms of the Commonwealth pool and parking my car in a semi-hidden area. I would make any excuse I could get my hands on to skip practice. I can remember several instances where I would lock my door and not even allow my parents to come pull me from my bed at 4:45 a.m. (this was before I had my own car + my N).

It's funny, once the responsibility shifted my direction (i.e. I got a car and my license), I missed more workouts. Surprise? Not really.

This is where the most interesting part comes in. Did I want to succeed in that sport? Did I have the drive needed to push myself to my true potential as an athlete? The answer to both is a resounding NO. I got excited when I would have a breakthrough in workout, but I would still dread going to the next workout. DREAD. As I've wrote about before, I also couldn't transfer that success in training over to ANY races (with very few exceptions). What was I training for then?

Now, it's completely different. I'm loving training. LOVING it. Even on those workouts where I'm feeling like crying, tearing my hair out, projectile vomiting etc., I still finish and I don't dread the next workout. Quite the transformation I'd say.

Swimming was a different story though. I still dreaded it to a certain extent. At the beginning of my being coached by Noa she would make jokes about making me swim 5x per week, and I would cringe. Since about 2 weeks ago though, I feel like I have my stride back and I look forward to every workout.

Oh, and good timing too! 1500m TT next Friday so I can make the World Cup swim standard. If you're wondering why I'm doing this, well, you can ask me personally.

Loving the pain on Mt. Lemmon during the February Tucson Training Camp

On yet another note, I would just like to say how much of a privilege it is to have such an amazing group of guys to train with. I am so excited for this season for ALL OF US, because we have all worked SO hard and pushed eachother to new levels in training. Our group dynamic keeps getting better and better, and training with these friends is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do. Even on the aforementioned throwing up/crying workouts.

Ok, no more giant delays between blog posts.
No excuses :)
Derek

Genius mixes that allow me to LIVE

2010-03-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

Alternative mix:
1) Base Song: "The Royal We" by Silversun Pickups

2) "Gold Guns Girls" by Metric
3) "Countdown" by Phoenix
4) "Ricochet" by Shiny Toy Guns
5) "Signs" by Bloc Party
6) "Percussion Gun" by White Rabbits
7) "Hell" by Tegan and Sara
8) "Checkered Floor" by Silversun Pickups
9) "Stand inside your love" by Smashing Pumpkins
10) "Chemistry of a car crash" by Shiny Toy Guns
11) "Exogenesis Symphony Part 3" by Muse
12) "Help I'm alive" by Metric
13) "Sometime around midnight" by Airborne Toxic Event
14) "Evil" by Interpol
15) "There's no secrets this year" by Silversun Pickups
16) "11th Dimension" by Julian Casablancas
17) "Rome" by Phoenix
18) "Gimme sympathy" by Metric
19) "Ghost town" by Shiny Toy Guns
20) "Everlasting" by Smashing Pumpkins
21) "Luno" by Bloc Party
22) "Sea Legs" by The Shins
23) "Typical" by Mutemath
24) "4th Dimensional Transition" by MGMT
25) "Rusted wheel" by Silversun Pickups

'Genius' is a pretty great idea. It's also pretty awesome that it can now compile a playlist on your iPod touch (and maybe more models?) without a connection to the internet. Absolutely key for long trips.

I'm nearing the end of a much needed recovery week which has really recharged my batteries. Last week I had close to what I'd call a mental breakdown at our hard run at the Bog on Thursday. The plan was to do 5-6 reps of an approximately 8 minute route at 10k pace, but after 3 I basically collapsed. I had troubles breathing and for the first time since I've started running, I didn't want to run at all. I just wanted to lie on the ground and DIE. All of that said, I'm well into my recovery week and I'm pretty ready to go for the next few hard weeks. Swimming has been a huge change in intensity and I'm super pumped. Thanks go to Phil for allowing me to swim with his guys!

It's a shorty, but basically all is well.

As an aside, it's incredibly irrelevant to bring up past events when they have zero bearing on one's future. Something I need to learn to do I guess.

Back to it, Bazan, and Black Holes

2010-03-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

Back to bid'ness.

It's been a ridiculously eventful week and a bit since the PT Team got back from Tucson. A point form list will suffice:

Stayed in a crappy hotel in Phoenix on the last day of the Olympics. It also happened to be in an extremely sketchy part of town. The local NBC station there (on the very limited cable in the room..) did not air the Closing Ceremonies.
LOTS of work on the sponsor front. Writing letters and compiling results has never been more exciting!!
Swimming better than I have all year.
Fatigue set in from the camp, but without injury or lapse in motivation. Incredibly excited for what's to come this summer
Short but amazing weekend with Ally
NICE WEATHERRRRRRRR... until now that is.

Now to the Bazan Bay 5k. So this race has stuck out on my race calendar for a few reasons. 1) It's the first flat-out 5k that I've ever done, 2) I came into the race on the most tired legs I've EVER had, 3) It's a very early indicator of how I can perform without speed-work in my running training.

All of that said, I didn't feel a ton of pressure going into the race. I felt relaxed and ready to push my body extremely hard for 16-17 minutes. I knew how much training I'd done in the 2 weeks prior, and also knew that it would be as much of a mental game as a physical one. So in essence, because I was relaxed I knew that mentally I was prepared. I put the faith in my legs even though they were hurting.

The race itself was quite uneventful. I took a different approach than the Pioneer 8k (went out in 2:50 for the first km, 4:55 for the mile) and decided to be a little more conservative the first 2 km. I wanted to see a stronger back half than I had in my last few running races. Unfortunately, I didn't see the desired result with regards to splitting, as you can tell:
Km 1: 3:07
2: 3:12
3: 3:18
4: 3:32 (OUCH!!!!)
5: 3:21

Planning-wise it was not my best race, but I can't complain about the results. 16:36 on tired legs is a marked improvement... Ok well I don't really have a base-line on which to improve but I'm PUMPED. In the last kilometer I puked in my mouth a disgusting 3 times, each time swallowing it. Fortunately I was able let loose a little after the finish in an empty field. Also, I out-kicked this guy who passed me about 500 meters from the finish, marking my first real sprint victory to the finish. Ok, it's not like our pace was THAT blazing fast, but I'm still stoked that I had my first sprint finish.

In other news, lately I've been reading Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time." Yes, I know millions of people have read it and probably written blog posts just like this about it, but it's BEYOND fascinating. Hawking himself is hilarious. He pokes fun at himself, at the overall study of physics, makes clever analogies, and reuses examples to utter hilarity

E.g. he writes about this one astronaut falling into a black hole multiple times, but as his explanations of black holes gets more complex, as does the fate of the astronaut.. "imagine a lonely astronaut falling into a black hole, he wouldn't get far beyond the event horizon before being ripped apart" --> (later in the book) "remember the poor astronaut? Since black holes emit radiation, all matter that falls beyond the event horizon is returned to the universe as radiation. So not only did our poor astronaut venture into a black hole, experience the collapse of a star, and be ripped apart by the gravitational forces beyond the event horizon, but he was returned to the Universe in a less-than-ideal form." Ok, so I'm a SUPER huge dork for thinking that's funny, but who else could make astro-physics this interesting?

I just wish I had the education to allow me to have a more acute understanding of the mathematical principles that he employed to map the universe as he sees it (I'm not saying he's 100% correct in all his theories, but wouldn't it be amazing to see the universe he does?). But then I remember calculus.. intro calculus.. and how little I enjoyed it... Maybe quantum mechanics would be more fun?

Or maybe I should just stick where I'm comfortable.. History and political science. Yup, I think I'll do that...

Also, a cool little event... I'm heading to Vancouver this afternoon and will be meeting up with the lovely Ally. Upon my arrival, we're heading to a "Hungry4Change" charity dinner to support Oxfam UBC. The focus of the dinner is on Global Food Security, so I'm excited to see what's coming! I'm also beyond excited to be heading to Vancouver too :) Wooooooo!!

Until next timeeeee!
Derbearrrr

P.S.: A sweet new band featuring the lead singer of the Shins with their first single, "The High Road"

Tucson... An interesting place to be.

2010-03-01T05:36:00.000-08:00

I wish I could write a long-winded post about Tucson and the people there, but it can be fairly easily summed up:

-Some people are VERY friendly
-Some people are VERY unfriendly
-Most people who drive cars, shouldn't be allowed to
-Many drivers HATE cyclists (or they just give off that impression because of the above point)
-The architecture doesn't vary... Unless you live on a hill
-NO drainage for water on the roads = 1 lane of lakes on EVERY road
-It's really too bad there's an accent over the "n" in "La Cañada"

Now, for the super exciting part, the Camp and the training itself. As it is said "a picture is worth a thousand words," so you can tell that all of us on the PT Team had a GREAT time. We stayed in this one level house (in a gated community, like most places in the Oro Valley) which had EVERYTHING we could have needed (minus actual beds and a big screen, but for less then $1000 for the week for all of us, we can't really complain).

Stopped by construction.. What do you do? YOU TAKE AWESOME PICTURES

Leg size + ugly face comp = 2 points for Derbear.. Too bad Kamal killed me on Lemmon :)

Training. Wow. That's all that I can say about that. Throughout the camp, I only missed one workout, a 30 minute recovery run on one of the first days I was there. I don't know if some of my early difficulties at the camp were due to elevation, sickness, or just the radical difference in climate, but basically I had severe asthmatic symptoms, and a very high heart rate during not-so-hard efforts. One swimming workout stood out where my heart rate was (and NO I'm not exaggerating) 198. I counted 33 beats in 10 seconds. 33 x 6 = 198. And from what I remember the effort was not supposed to be over that of a steady state set. Noa and I both were a little concerned, so I ended up skipping the recovery run after that swim. By Wednesday everything was good though, starting with a very difficult hill repetition running workout.

Things just went uphill from there... Literally. The Mt. Lemmon climb on Thursday was UNREAL. By far the most difficult cycling effort I've put in. We did a full 27 miles to the "Ski Valley" and by the end I was just begging for it all to be over. I also messed up about 2 miles from the finish, and descended about 1 mile into Summerhaven, which is were there is apparently a famous pie and cookie shop. Mmmmm. Maybe not a huge mistake.. But regardless, the ski valley was the final destination, so this resulted in a little detour that probably cost me around 10 minutes. My final time was 2:20 (after minusing the time from my little navigational error), so there is still lots of room for improvement. And believe me when I say that I will improve.

Cycling was by far the most challenging part of this camp for me. As many of you know, it is not my strength. I was pushed far beyond what I thought possible for me, so I am incredibly satisfied with the work I put in. Running and swimming were also extremely challenging. With hours exceeding my biggest week EVER by 10 hours, I was pushing myself SO hard to complete every workout to it's intended purpose. Tons and tons of hard running. As an example, after we got back from Lemmon, we were sent off on an hour long hard run.. The intervals themselves were not long, but MAN did it hurt. Ask Kamal or Adam or Matt.

Our beautiful 25 yard pool... Too bad we could only get 2 lanes out of the 7,000 empty ones..

Outrageousness... CHECK

Couldn't even tell you...

Last ride, pre-feast. I think my face describes well how the last ride felt....

Regardless, EVERYONE performed extremely well under the pressure of very high volumes in all 3 sports. Poor Tyler was near 30 hours of riding for the week since he has a stress fracture which sidelined him from running. He was also our King of the Moutains on Lemmon, rattling off 27 miles in an astounding 1:56. What a BALLER. Kamal pounded through every workout, killing the pace in the runs and rides, and smashing the swims. It was a struggle to even stay within eyesight of him on some of the runs and rides!!!!! Adam was on fire as well, looking in great form for the early season which I'm sure will be a VERY busy one for him. Finally, Matt and Amber from Kingston joined us for the camp, and Matt also put in one of the biggest weeks of his life, also quoting that "Mt. Lemmon [and the ride to it] was harder then the IMC ride." So congrats to him on excellent effort throughout the week as well!!!!

And finally, thanks to Noa for putting everything together! Although there were times were mentally I just wanted to quit and throw my bike in a ditch (literally), she talked me through everything and I come out of this camp SO PUMPED for race season. Over 32 hours of training is NUTSO for me, but I'm uninjured, and absolutely inspired to get back to training.. starting today with a swim :)

When all is said and done, I had an amazing trip. All you guys at PT are absolutely fantastic and it was incredible getting to know you guys better. I'm pumped for our team relationship to keep getting better and better. Let's tear up our races this summer :)

See you later, ACRIGATORS
Derbearrrr
PS: BUBBLESSSSSSS! Thanks to a certain very special someone, for an AMAZING care package :) :) :)

Bubbles to finish off a 2 hr. desert foothills run!

The MOST welcome recovery week of ALL time...

2010-02-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

And there ends three weeks of the heaviest triathlon training Derbear has ever taken part in.

Ow.

Monday/Tuesday this week (my recovery week) were some of the WORST swims I've ever had, and very indicative of how hard I've worked the past little while.

With Tucson two days out, I couldn't be more excited to bring the hurt. Training with some of the coolest and best people I know will surely bring all of us to a new level.

What more could I ask for?

This song is a fairly good indication of how I felt at the beginning of this week...

And this CLASSIC song by REO Speedwagon is how I'm feeling now.

Next post will be from Tucson, and most likely will consist of me raving about DELICIOUS Mexican food.
PUMPED!

"I've become a wintry tomato"

2010-02-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

This has been a running joke for a while, but I think it accurately describes how I'm feeling..

(The chorus sounds like the title of this blog post...)

Basically, I'm a human vegetable right now.
Training has been TOUGH. I'm not going to drop numbers or key workouts or anything, but lately weekly volume has been DOUBLE what I did during some of my bigger weeks in the summer of 2009.

The shock hasn't been the swimming hours, which is also more then usual for me, but DEFINITELY the running. I ran on Sunday on SUPER tired legs and it was a killer. Mentally I'm getting better at staying on top of my form and resisting the urge to cut the pace when it gets REALLY uncomfortable. Physically I'm hurting. This is the final week of a 3 week build, so I'm really going to focus on preparing myself for this week's workouts, making sure each one is purposeful and done to the best of my ability.

As a side note, I leave to Tucson in 11 days!!! My first triathlon training camp! SO PUMPED. Coming off a recovery week next week will surely have me prepared for whatever hell Noa is going to throw at us :) Can't really say I'm too upset about going to somewhere HOT. Especially after seeing all the NTC guys come back tanned from Maui... LUCKY

A short video for your viewing entertainment as well..

It still surprises me how many people haven't seen this.... ENJOY!!!!!

Ohhhh! And some GREAT songs!

2010-02-02T21:55:00.000-08:00

Enjoyez-vous!

Professionalism in slightly obscure sports

2010-02-01T22:29:00.001-08:00

While I am not really anywhere near the caliber of what one would call a "Professional", I've been slightly overexposed to the idea lately, through finishing "Racing the Sunset" by Scott Tinley, as well as reading a very interesting article on professionalism in Surfing. While the two sports are very different (i.e. surfing is judged, not necessarily fitness based etc.), the one very glaring similarity is their view as a fringe sport.

While this is very dependent on the region of the world you are living in, for the most part surfing and triathlon won't be on the evening news. Obviously if a Canadian triathlete podiums at a World Cup event or wins a local race, there will be exposure in the Canadian media. On the other hand, Tofino local Peter Devries recently won a WQS (World Qualifying Series) 6-Star event held in Tofino, and there was very little coverage in local, and especially national media. This was a HUGE breakthrough for Canadian surfing. The easiest comparison would be a Jamaican Bobsled team, to a lesser extent. How many people think Canada when they think surfing? This kind of event changed the perceptions of people around the world, yet it was largely ignored. Regardless, that's not the point of this post..

From my amateur point of view, it's difficult to label someone as a Professional or amateur. Here in BC (in triathlon) you are considered an "elite" if you are racing as one in BC. You apply separately to Triathlon BC and your application goes to committee review to decide eligibility. There is nothing in the application about number of sponsors the applicant has, whether they make income from these sponsors etc., so I would consider this different from the moniker of "Pro." Now, that said, it seems that it's very sponsor based. From what I've heard and seen, if you receive an income from one of your sponsors, that makes you a professional. That seems logical, but do race results have anything to do with it? The whole thing kind of confuses me...

I've never really considered pursuing the "pro" route in surfing, so I'm not exactly sure how that works, but my perception is that having a title sponsor, such as Rip Curl, or a local board shop, will earn one the moniker of "Pro". Since there are so few contests up here on the island, and still few just south of the border in WA, and OR, contest results do not decide whether one is pro or amateur.

Now that we have somewhat of an idea what defines "Pro" in both sports, let's look at both sources. Scott Tinley's book is super interesting. It really makes one reflect on the life ahead should one choose to become a career-athlete. He grew up as a lifeguard/surfer, something I'm very close to, and found love in triathlon. The emphasis of his book isn't on his life when he loved triathlon, but the day he realized that his "professional" career was over, and he had to look ahead to the rest of his life. He did not retire at a very young age for a triathlete, but still had many years ahead of him outside the world of triathlon. To be perfectly honest, reading this book scared me a little. His experiences made me realize that I need to be able to bounce out of sport should I get injured (majorly?), or simply lose the passion for the sport. I've done my Bachelors Degree with hopes of eventually becoming a high school teacher in the Humanities. I still need to go back to school to finish my teacher's degree, but it's only 12-16 months (depending on the school I choose). Basically, I'm trying to follow Scott's advice and have a pre-determined plan, because who really knows how far I can go in triathlon?

Now, this newest edition of Surfing Magazine discusses different issues with professionalism, mainly regarding "taking the fun out of surfing" and also the phenomenon of young kids making 6-figures from sponsorships. The article isn't the best one I've read in Surfing, but it brings up a few really good points. Namely:
a) Many people who are professional athletes are still unhappy, and their sport is merely their job
b) Kids as young as nine being sponsored and getting 6-figure salaries. Burn-out being a common occurence.

I LOVE the title of the article as well. People tend to idolize professional athletes with the perception that their job is "easy". In this case, people view surfing as the best job one could have, yet Bruce Irons (one of my favourite surfers) left the ASP World Tour because he wasn't enjoying the constant traveling and stress of being on tour. He felt 'forced' to surf, when instead he felt like he should be able to have fun and have a little more free reign over what he did. Luckily, in Pro-surfing there is a sub-category called 'free-surfing' which means surfing for magazine shoots, sponsor pictures etc. in exotic breaks. Back to the original point.. I think it's a very valid concern for people looking to pursue a career as an athlete. From what I've heard, the ITU grind is very difficult in-season, with the city jumping, little time at home, and exhaustion of general traveling.

But if I can make it there, I'm ready for all of it. I WANT it.

Ohmanohmanohman!!!

2010-01-27T13:29:00.000-08:00

Discovered a SICK song that I used to be in love with, but could never find due to the lack of iTunes music store.. So basically in the stone-age.

Also of note, the first kickflip ever landed on a surfboard. He didn't ride it out, but it's INCREDIBLE. Man, I can barely do half a kickflip on a SKATEBOARD.. Half the time.

For some reason, I have a desire to write about sweet and crazy things that have happened this January, which turned out to go by SO fast.

The Crazy...

-Man who escapes from the psych ward at Royal Jubilee Hospital breaks into Oak Bay Pool, gets nekkid, and attempts to run up the Waterslide tower. After a slight interruption in his plans by the lifeguards, he runs out of the building being chased by one of my bosses, and 2 maintenance guys.

-Training. Ouch.

-Blinders and Gecko Shorts

The Sweet...

-Training. YAY!

-Surfing. The LEGITIMATE wave of my life. Dawn patrol on New Years Day.

-Spending tons of times with Albert.

-Koala-ing.

-Not being sick or injured. Rules.

-Learning how to "Techtonik" dance (see video below)
(embedding disabled...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqYhuwu614Y

-SUNNY DAYS. CMON.. It's like it's already spring here in Vic!!!

-Blinders and Gecko Shorts (see above photo)

Regardless, January has been a GREAT month. February is looking to be equally/more awesome considering I get to spend more time with L'Al-bear AND I get to go to Tucson Arizona on Feb. 20th for a training camp with Noa and the PT Team!!! Ballin'!!!!

The Wave of my Life

2010-01-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

Debating

The wave looked impossible

Going Anyway

Paddle... Paddle

Fastest Pop-up I've done

The Peak breaking next to my ear

The Drop... 5 ft. of air to the bottom

The Lip overhead

Go Left

Grab the toeside rail.. Hard.. Pull from the whitewash

Bottom Turn.. Look over my left shoulder, top turn

Sending Spray above the lip. Crashing down with the white water.

Ride the wave in, over rocks, over sand... Nothing matters..

But the feeling

Wake up.

Inspiration. Competition. Training.

2010-01-20T16:04:00.000-08:00

So, many of you who know me, know that my biggest fear is the Shark. Great white especially. I've had way too many nightmares where the man in the grey suit comes for a visit. These dreams wouldn't end with me being eaten however. Instead it would be my entire family, while I watched from the top deck of a small sailboat, a dinghy if you will. Not so fun.

Scanning surfing websites as I usually do, I came across the story of Bethany Hamilton. Some of you may have heard of her, but in case you haven't, here is a short interview clip.

I know, I know. Super cliche blog post. BUT, this stands out for me. Imagine being 13, and doing the one thing in the world that you love, when one of the most improbable situations imaginable knocks at your doorstep, or on your surfboard. Not only does she still surf after the fact, but she still wants to become a professional surfer. That means significant water time in some of the sharkiest beaches in the world (South Africa's J-Bay, NorCal, Australia's south/west coast etc.).

Anyways, just thought I would pass on the story. To me it's one of the most inspirational stories I've ever heard.

Now, something that I've talked about quite a bit lately, is my competitiveness. Until I got to about Grade 12 of high school, I hadn't stopped and assessed how competitive I really am. (Aside: be ready for one of the most introspective blog posts of ALL TIME).

As a swimmer, my Dad would always tell me that I was never very competitive. I would train extremely well, for example I remember one occasion, at the end of a training camp in Santa Clara, California that I broke 1:00 for a 100 free LCM from a push. This was a big step for me in the right direction, yet my competition results were never so strong.
How many times did I break 16:00 for 1500? 0.
How often did my training times reflect my ability to do such a thing? Usually at least 2-3 times a week.
Even at the end of my swimming career I was thinking that maybe I just didn't have the fire, or passion to succeed. Maybe swimming wasn't the right sport for me, I thought. Maybe I was right.

Since I quit swimming, took some time off, and started training for triathlon, I haven't really examined my competitiveness until now. Until my girlfriend Ally recent commented on how I don't seem like a competitive person, I started thinking about how I am in training as opposed to racing. For example, at swimming last week I raced beside a guy who was wearing fins at the end of a set of 15x200s, and he was beating me by a hair in each 200. Not only was I getting annoyed at this, I was swearing in my head. AT him. Did I get enough sleep that night? Did I eat enough before workout? Was it the beginning of a super big week of training? Who knows. I know that in the water, I will look at who's around me in warm-up and constantly compare my effort-level to theirs, relative to their speed. If I feel like someone is going faster at a lower effort then I am, then I will try to clean up my stroke for that interval. I know that I can't be super friendly in the middle of a CRAZY hard swim set.

Running is a similar story. I don't get as fired up, but I sure as hell don't like being beaten. Even in steady intervals at Thursday's run practice, I was constantly watching Leif/Nick/Tyler/Kamal to see who makes a move, and to make sure that I saved some energy to respond later in the interval. Is this competitiveness? Or this some sort of obsessive superiority complex? I never considered myself ego-driven, but this sort of attitude seems to push me to thinking it is about pride.

Now, racing is a completely different story. I never took triathlon as seriously as I am now. The last 2 seasons for me revolved around half-assed training with little to no attention to the detail of each workout I completed. I'm sure many athletes partake in this sort of training. Competition was the fruit of this half-assed labour though. I would get to a race, and have fun. I would laugh, joke, and chat it up at the start line, with little regard for my focus. For example, let's take the Sooke Half-Iron. I started the swim strong at the front with Kelly Guest and Adam O'Meara, not really taking too much opportunity to lead in the first loop of two. On the second loop I lead for maybe 200m before falling back into the draft of Kelly, even though I knew that I could easily pull ahead (no offense!!!). I was comfortable in the draft, and knew I would save energy that would be useful on the bike. But is that really what I was thinking?

From the start of my triathlon career, I've never looked at the swim as important. I've had so many people around me tell me that "the swim is the shortest time-wise, worry about your cycling and running." I took this advice very seriously. I have never really RACED the swim of a triathlon. NEVER. I've never come out of the water lightheaded while running to T1. What about the other parts of a triathlon? Well on the bike, I couldn't care less if someone passes me. For the most part, I NEVER care about someone passing me. Even on the swim. I remember a few years back getting passed at the Kelowna Apple Tri by an old swim coach from Hyack in New West. I didn't even care. I didn't give chase, or even say "Oh man, gotta keep the pace a little higher." It's like apathy sets in the second I'm put in a situation where the pressure is mounting.

Now, I KNOW that I can change this. The Pioneer 8km, while not the fastest time, was one of the first races I ever RACED. I didn't hold back at the beginning. I did my first kilometer in 2:58. I did my first 5k in 16:35. Considering an overall time of 27:30, 16:35 does not seem like the pace for someone who is holding back. Maybe I've finally said "Eff this, I'm going for it" to my subconscious and I'm going to able to race more then I've ever done before. Maybe I've grown up since I started triathlon. I know I want to make this a career. I'm willing to live frugally and train damn hard to make sure I can do it. The Pioneer 8km may not have been the most important race of the year for me, but it helped me to reexamine the way I perform in pressure-filled situations.

I know this was EXTREMELY long winded, but for my mental health, and for the good of my newly found passion for triathlon, I needed to get this out SOMEWHERE.

Hopefully there will be some photos from the 8k up soon, so everyone can see my extremely sexy gecko shorts.
BALLIN'

The Sparse Race Report (Pioneer 8km)

2010-01-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

In lieu of an actual race report, I decided to do something kinda fun. I will describe each km of the race in 5 words. 5 words ONLY. No more no less. As part of the game, it MUST be a coherent sentence, and I can't re-use adjectives.

Here we go:

Warm-up: Great training partners make fun
Ok, that one wasn't so creative, but the actual race ones will be gooooooooooooood.

Km 1: The overzealous will soon fall

Km 2: Wolves definitely run in packs

Km 3: Small hills make hamstrings scream

Km 4: 'Gecko' shorts are too small

Km 5: Thrash and dash, not recommended

Km 6: Spitting is an essential skill

Km 7: Grunting isn't only in tennis

Km 8: I should take up Golf

27:30
28th/674
6/20 M20-24

Mad props to all finishers, but especially those from PT Performance Training. You guys are amazing.
Keep the stoke,
Derbear

When is YOUR surfday?

2009-12-08T18:51:00.000-08:00

Main Entry: Surf-day
Function: Awesome
Date: November 18th, 2009

1 a: The day that Derek goes surfing every week to reach his little version of Nirvana. b: Stoke

Now, you're probably thinking "But Derek! You train and work quite a bit! How do you manage to find the time and energy to do something like surfing? AND where can you even surf that much near here?"

Well, the second part of the question will go unanswered (Tee heeeeee), but let me just say, that I plan on making time to do this weekly (on Wednesdays) for the foreseeable future. I've found it to be the ultimate outlet for everything that is
a) Stressing me out
b) Hurting (I must have SUPER-endorphins or something)
c) Just needing to be alone

I've always looked at surfing as a recreational activity that transcends the art/sport boundary, but only recently found the spiritual side of it. It's actually quite the revelation. Recently there has been a lot on my mind, and I've found it hard to find the time to empty my thoughts and actually think about myself, and how I'm REALLY doing. I'm ridiculously happy, and that's all there is to it. And where did I have this "eureka" moment?

Straddling on my 6' fish, in-between sets, on one of the rainiest days of the year.

So the question I pose to everyone (or any of the 2 people that read this :)) is whether you have a proverbial "Surfday"? Not necessarily a day (I dont surf all day, usually around 4 hours early in the a.m.), but even just an hour? I definitely feel like it's something that's been missing from my life for ages. I get to empty everything out of my head, and just think about my connection with my board, with the ocean, with anything I decide.

It might not be a "Surf-day" for you, but finding that time is absolutely imperative.
Triathlon related post on the horizon :)
Derbear

Ouch

2009-11-23T16:07:00.000-08:00

Down and out for the count.

This is based on gluttony, and not sickness, but I feel like it is representing how I feel well.

Luckily, there is a webcast of the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa for the Vans Triple Crown, so it's friggen sweet to watch my favourite surfers tear it up while lying in a lazy boy, coughing my lungs out!

YEEHAW

They're crowning the Van's Triple Crown today, so it's a big day. These are just the Day 2 highlights.

Surfing gets me more stoked then watching any other sport. For some reason, it gets me more motivated to train (for ANYTHING, including triathlon), then watching that sport-specific footage.

So odd.

Back in the game

2009-11-17T15:47:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a RIDICULOUSLY long time since my last blog post, and SO much has happened since then!

Where to start... I'm officially addicted to How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM). Officially. I've gotten through 4 seasons in about 3 weeks. I'm pretty absolutely stoked on the show, and it's pretty much the funniest thing of all time. Here are 2 GREAT clips that make the show pretty priceless.

In other news, I am no longer single. Bahahahahhahah! More information will be revealed over time... She lives in Vancouver, so we're doing long distance, but it's going very well, and we will both manage to do this for sure, since our chemistry is undeniable. I'm ridiculously excited about it, but we're keeping it fairly low key.

I actually got back on Sunday from Vancouver, and a very sick weekend! Friday we headed to Tight and Bright at the Pit, and everyone was suited up in STYLLEEEEEEE. In general it was a pretty bitchin' time, and I met up with Vince, Lauren and Ally and headed to the Pit. Didn't drink too much, but apparently my tolerance has absolutely bottomed out. It was definitely fun. Here are some AMAZING pictures.

Derbear, Vince, Lauren Spazadore, Ros!!!

Have you ever seen 3 people this cool in one picture?
I thought not.

Now, on to the serious stuff! Training has been going REALLY well. I've been putting in bigger weeks then I ever have before, and I think today was a bit of a breaking point for me! I REALLY hope I'm not getting sick, but I've been training really well, and racing half decently up until this point. Anyways, back to training. Noa has been amazing with everything. I've been trying to make all of the team workouts, but it's a little tough scheduling everything every week, but it's definitely getting better. I'm super stoked with how my running is feeling especially... Which leads perfectly into my next part!
The New Balance Fall Classic!

So race morning hits! I get out of bed and have a breakfast of Raisin Bran + Powerbar (Cookies and Cream flavored.... Yea, they were expired ones from the running room :)). Delicious! Anyways, so I head to meet up with Matt Reeve at the Tri club office, and we go for our warm up. I felt pretty good in warm up, but I definitely had the last few hard weeks sitting in my legs.

So, we get to the race start about 4 minutes prior to the start, and position ourselves, while trying not to freeze from the rain + wind! What a MISERABLE morning. The wind had really picked up and everyone was pretty well suited up for the race. So the gun goes off and WE'RE OFF!

The plan was to ease into a good pace, and make kms 3-6 my strongest of the race. Right off the start I felt like I should easily be able to do it. I took it pretty easy right up until the 3rd km, where I then started building my pace continuously. I was running sub 3:30 kms from 3-5 for sure, but then I stopped seeing km markers, and couldn't really keep track of my pace. I definitely felt like the top end of my speed was completely absent, ala ZERO speedwork. Regardless, I got to km 8 at about 28:30, which is over 1:20 faster then the 8km I did at the RVM last year. Progress is goooooooood :)

I crossed the finish line at 36:16, technically a personal best by over a minute. I wasn't actually that pleased though, since I think my fitness has me able to run at least 35:30. I may have taken it a little too easy in the opening 3km of the race, and it's too bad, since I really felt like I could have been quite a bit faster. I'm not disappointed with my performance which put me in at 7th overall, but I feel like I should have been faster. Oh well! Something to shoot for next time. I want to be sub 35 by the spring... Can it happen?
Oh yes.

I'll try and update more regularly, but no guaranteeeees since I happen to be super busy at the momentttttttttt!
Ewwww, let's hope I dont feel like death the next time I write a post either....
Blech.

Trust

2009-10-14T13:56:00.001-07:00

Trust.

It's as important as the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink. If you can't trust anyone, then you are lost.

I spent the last month of my life putting trust in something, and someone that turned out to disappoint in the truest sense of the word. Sometimes you go beyond trust, and believe with every fiber of yourself, that someone will NEVER be like anyone else, will never hurt you the way others have. Not only was I let down, but how long will it take before I'm able to trust anyone to that extent again?

I also put my trust in my friends, my new coach, my training partners, and my family, and for this I was rewarded. I saw the fruit that trust can bear, and I believe that the trust I put in them went unthanked. Thank you so much for helping me through the roughest time in my entire life. I assure you that your advice, "listening ears", and overall kindness I was shown did not go unnoticed. On the contrary, I have never felt more cared for in my entire life. Everyone has been so supportive, even when I've been but a shell of my normal self for over a month. If I've snapped at you, been unkind to you, or if I never stopped to listen to anyone when they needed help, I am so sorry.

Now, it's time to move on with the next chapter of my life, and I'm so excited for what's to come. I have the most amazing friends and supportive people around me, that there isn't a way to avoid a bright and positive future.

Thanks everyone,
Derek

3 Days...

2009-09-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

Everyone's gonna get ninja'd!

Intramuscular Stimulation

2009-09-02T17:03:00.000-07:00

Ouch...
Just had my quads/hamstrings/ITB released via this treatment. It involves a type of acupuncture that directly penetrates the muscle tissue, tightening it up, thereby allowing it to release upon the removal of the needle.
Since I'm a jittery and high strung little mofo, I couldn't keep still while the needles were in my leg, and it was pretty painful for the 25 minutes I had the needles in for!

There you have it folks.
And let me emphasize...
Ouch

Ironman Canada, and 2 weeks until Sooke!

2009-09-01T17:20:00.000-07:00

Yeehaw!

Back home from beautiful Penticton (minus the smoke of course!). It was a great weekend, and although there was very little training, I managed to squeeze 14 hours worth within Monday-Thursday before I headed to the Okanagan.

Carolyn and I headed up on Friday morning after I caught the 7 a.m ferry! It was a LOOOOONG day of driving to say the least. I was dead by the time we made it into town and definitely ended up falling asleep on the Okanagan beach in Penticton! We did a lot of walking on Friday and ended up going to the Hooded Merganser, which was reasonably priced, and the food was really good!

Our Beautiful campsite! YAY!

Carolyn's lovely mug while at the Hooded Merganser

On Saturday it was more bumming around town, and we really enjoyed it! Tons of time on the beach and managed to meet up with Keir in the evening to have a bbq at his place which was sickkkkkkkk!

Derek, God of all that is Barbeque

Now Sunday....

Sunday was AMAZING! From the swim start to the Pro-Finish, it was super exciting! I LOVED cheering people on, and found it super inspiring how motivated people were! We started the day at the swim start, and actually managed to get a pretty good spot to watch the start! It was great to watch the first people come in and after that we headed to the car to make our way to Yellow Lake in order to watch people climb at the 160km mark! Unfortunately, there was a fatality in the swim (best wishes to the family :(). Me and Carolyn saw him getting CPR near the SS Sicamous, as well as being defibbed twice. It was really sad to say the least, and I feel absolutely horrible for his family.

Ankle strengthening at 5 a.m.!

The swim start! 2607 people! YIKES!

Anyways, we headed to Yellow Lake and set up our little area in the middle of the hill. The first pro that came by was Andi Boecherer with about a 6 minute lead on the next 2 pros, Jordan Rapp and someone else. It was an AMAZING spot to cheer for the athletes coming up the hill, and I really hope that it helped them push it! I will post pictures as soon as I can!

We stayed until about 12:30 at Yellow Lake since we knew how hard it would be to get back to Penticton since we had to cross the bike course multiple times.

The set up at Yellow Lake!

Epically fun place to cheer!

It was fun cheering while driving and Carolyn enjoyed herself too! We made it to Penticton at about 2:30 since it was a VERY slow drive. This was PERFECT since we found parking and made it to the finish line before the rush hit, and managed to get AWESOME spots in the bleachers. Watching the pro finishers was pretty amazing, and it was great to cheer for everyone coming in! We managed to see from Jordan Rapp (Congrats!) to the first few amateurs, so we got to see quite a bit! Then we headed off to White Spot to grab some food (I dont know what was going on there, but HORRIBLE customer service, for the first time in a long time there). We headed back to the finish line and actually ran into Noa!

Jordan Rapp at his post-race interview! What a stud!

Teresa Macel after absolutely DOMINATING!

We watched more finishers and hung out with Noa and her boyfriend Andrew for a bit. We then drove them back to Kelowna since they would have been pooched otherwise! We got back to the campsite at around 12:30 a.m. and Carolyn had to continually flick my face in order to keep me awake. BAdddddddd!

Monday was fairly uneventful. We spent the morning at the beach, picked up Keir, then headed to Vancouver. I ended up making the 7 p.m. ferry to Victoria and got home around 9:30. Phew, long weekend! WAY too much driving.

Ok, now to the next 2 weeks. I'm getting ready for Sooke, and I'm feeling pretty good. My knee was acting up on the weekend (aka. couldn't run more then 7 minutes) and I have NO idea what caused that, but it seems to be doing better today. I'm thinking it was the TON of driving and the fact that I couldnt move my seat back far enough in order to get comfortable for my right knee (the one that was acting up!). Otherwise though, I'm fit as a fiddle, and the next two weeks will be crucial in order to get me ready for the race.

In other news...
BRING IT VINCE

This is just to prove, that Vince ain't nothin' but a quack

Ahhh.. So the end of summer approaches...

2009-08-24T08:35:00.001-07:00

So it's almost over! Summer 2009 has almost come to a close!

It's been a GREAT summer! In spite of long distance, I've managed to see Carolyn nearly every weekend. I've attended Nationals and Commonwealths for lifesaving, and I've some hardware to prove it, and I haven't ever had a summer that has been this constructive training-wise.

OH YES!

For me, the most exciting part of my summer hasn't even hit yet. Sooke. I'm so incredibly pumped for this race, and my prep has been going really well so far. I've been able to put in a solid amount of work (still self coached though!), and I'm feeling more and more ready to tackle this race every day!

As a side note, my birthday came and passed and it was a GREAT one! Carolyn got me this AMAZING Zoot triathlon bag, which will never have me bringing a garbage bag worth of things to transition with me, and also a pair of pants from LuLuLemon which have now become the only pants I will probably ever wear.

Those guys are the pants!

And this is my beautiful new bag!

As another side note, I have met with Coach Noa Deutsch (coach of Nick/Kamal) and I think she is pretty much one of the funniest, smartest and most pragmatic people/coaches I have ever met. That said, I'm very excited to say that I will be working with her and a team of guys to continue to improve! That team includes Nick/Kamal/Adam O'Meara as well I believe. It's going to be AWESOME to train with a structured team again, and it's one of the things I miss about swimming.

So until then, Carolyn and I head to IMC this Friday to bum around and camp on Okanagan lake! Yeeeeehaw! SUPER excited! I'll probably get in some shortish workouts, but the priority is spending time with the lady-friend :)!

Adios muchachos!
TRAIN HARD!
Derbear

2 Days later...

2009-08-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

OUCH!

And my neck is still bloody sore! Mike Neill invited me out to a ride this morning with him/Ben Cotter/Jasper/Steve and I REALLY wanted to go, but just couldn't rotate my head this morning. My back is also pretty stiff. NOT cool.... I'm really not enjoying this pain thing, and it's not even the pain that's bugging me, it's the fact I can't train. I missed a swim yesterday, the ride with Mike et. al today... When will it end!!!!

On the bright side, I've caught up on movies quite a bit, (watched Watchmen, Count of Monte Cristo, and the Omen IV (BLAH!) yesterday) and it's been nice to relax a little. That said, I'm a little bored, so I've taken to reading a sports nutrition book from the 1970s (can't even find it on the inter-webzzzz), and to be honest, not a whole ton has changed in opinions on sports nutrition. They dont even recommend carbo-loading in this book (i.e. "A carbohydrate focused diet pushes out other important nutrients that are vital to athletic performance"). Nutrition always interested me a great deal. I had about $80 in amazon.ca gift certificate money sitting around from my uncle for my birthday a few years ago, so I ended up buying "Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes", and it's definitely interesting to compare modern research with that from the 70s/80s.

So lots of reading, movie watching, and blogging until I am 100% ready to get back to training!

Yeeeeeeeehaw!

Crash.. BAM.. Thank ya ma'am!

2009-08-10T23:21:00.001-07:00

Ouch!

I hit the pavement at 45 kph this morning on the way to work, while in TT position along Dallas road! I rolled on to my shoulder and avoided any head contact thankfully, but my left side of my body is torn up. Without further ado, I bring you the.....

...Results:
Elbow: deep cut that went through a layer of fat! Should have gotten it stitched for sure!
Hip: road rash about 6 inches down my leg, not too bad though!
Knee: large gash + scratches on the outside of my left knee!

Oweee! Gonna try and swim tomorrow morning with the group, but we'll see how it goes!

Time to also heal a littleeeee.... Thank friggen jeebus it's a rest and recovery week!

Watching TV, playing old school video games, training, (barely) working

2009-08-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

ARghhhh!

So I've been getting a little pooched at work with regards to hours (averaging about 9 hours a week at Oak Bay Pool) so I decided to apply for more jobs, since Oak Bay is seemingly WAY overstaffed! So I applied at Running Room and got hired almost immediately! YEeeehaw! My first job that ISNT lifeguarding! As much as I like it, it really is getting to me. It's a LOT of standing around, and since I havent been getting lessons, it's been really tiring!

So I start my training for Running Room on Saturday at 12! I'm pretty excited, not gonna lie!

In other news, training has been going super well! Managing to get in lots of running/cycling, and I've also gotten my form back in the water! Times are dropping quickly, and it feels like a different type of fitness, from all of the longer sets that I've been doing (800s, 600s, 400s at pace/hard) and I'm finally feeling confident with distances over 100 (i.e. I did too many intervals before and I think it was hurting my energy saving skills I needed for the swim leg). As I said, times have been dropping as well! I held 1:10s for an undisclosed distance (I'll let YOU guess) straight (no intervals) and I felt like I could have doubled it. Maddd skilzzzzzz!

So in all this time to train/mess around the house, I've gotten addicted to Mario Kart 64, and managed to win every cup minus Rainbow! Heelllllllppppppp! I've also been using Surf the Channel to watch pretty much any show/movie in existence, and I'm lovvvvving it! I could train more, but I want to build back my run/bike gradually, to avoid any risk of injury, and with Sooke 5 weeks out, I want to be in absolute top form. That said, I've put in 18-20 hour weeks the last 3 weeks, and I feel ridiculously strong, even though my legs are absolutely dead. Thank friggen goodness next week is a rest and recovery week, before the prep period starts for Sooke!

Also, I was shown some RIDICULOUSLY FUNNY youtube vids on the weekend during Carolyn's birthday by my friend Lou, ENJOY!:

Hugs and mittens and cute little kittens

Derbearrrrrrrrrrr

Training Update!

2009-07-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

Wowwwww! I need to get on this whole blogging thing! I keep doing these stupid once per month updates and really, so much happens in a month that I forget most of the things by the end!

Regardless, I left it off at the wedding last time!

And HOLY FRICK what a grand affair it wassss! Me, Carolyn, Nikki, Mom and Bill had an AWESOME time in Vermont and the wedding itself was beautiful, as you can see from the pictures.

The Rehearsal Dinner boat cruise! SUPER nice! And great food!

Again on the boat cruise! Note Carolyn's smile versus our Dinosaur faces!

I LOVE this picture! SO good!

The Bride and Groom! Congratulationssss!

A little blurry, but you get the idea!

Les Bridesmaids!

Teehee "Love stops time" ! I should write hallmark cards or something!

The wedding dance! Awwwww!

Training was GREAT while I was in Vermont and I managed to get a TON of running in, despite the heat and the go-go-go atmosphere surrounding the wedding. Once we got to New Brunswick it was a LOT more relaxed and we spent most of our time lounging around on the beach at Mom/Bill's property in Lepreau. As you can see from the pics, it's a pretty beautiful area! For running it's not spectacular, since you have to do most of the running on the highway, BUT once you get on to the roads that lead out to points, it's STUNNING!

The beachy side of the property! AWESOME!

The point where the house will be built! Has a GREAT view!

The view from our hotel! Again, I love the east coast!

I wish I took pictures of the routes I ran! Oh well! I got in some tempo workouts, ez runs and long runs to top it off! It was a GREAT week of training and a GREAT week of time with the family! It was SO good spending this much time with Carolyn especially, since we haven't really been able to spend this much time straight together since school ended!

Since I've been back from vacation, training has been very steady and trying. It's been tough with work to get in all the hours, but basically, I've been improving leaps and bounds on the bike/run. Injury free, TONS of training and a solid plan for my training for the next month will put me in a great place for Sooke I think.

Another new development is my joining with a swim group coached by Clint Lien. He's been very welcoming and even though I've only swam 2 workouts, I really like the workouts and the people that attend them! I found out today that Kamal is training here as well! AWESOME! Mike Neill introduced me to the group, and I've been speaking with him quite a bit lately! It's going to be GREAT to swim/bike/run with him and Jasper et al. throughout the rest of the summer, while they prepare for IM world champs! I'll probably be doing 2 swims a week with them, a run and a bike!

Now for the swim news... I feel like JUNK in the water! Going from 6 weeks ago where I could swim under 1:00 from a push LC, to barely being able to break 5:00 for a 400 free is pretty brutal. All the biking/running has been AWESOME, but at the same time, my swimming has kinda gone to hell! The last time I swam was at the New Balance Half, and my first swim since then was last Thursday (July 23). My muscles have definitely liquified since then (or something equally horrible!) and I've really gotta rebuild a little of that muscle.

Anyways, the focus is still my biking and running. I've got lots to do between now and Sooke and hopefully it will be profound!

Love and kittens and their mittens!

DerBear

PS:

Vermont: My Sista's wedding and Running Training Camp!!!

2009-07-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

YEEEEEEHAW!

I leave for Vermont on Thursday morning at 8, and so begins an AMAZING weekend + week with my family out east! CONGRATULATIONS TO TARYN AND TJ! The ceremony is on Saturday as you can see by the website, and it will be SUPER fantastic!

http://tarynandtj.com/

I'm SUPER excited for the trip! We begin in Burlington Vermont and stay there until Monday, whereupon we head to the east coast of good ol' Canadia, to our property in New Brunswick! While there it will be a skimboarding and touring around extravaganza with Carolyn/Nikki/Katelyn/Bill/Mom! I'm beyond stoked!

On the training side of things, I'll be running for the 9 days I am away in Vermont/NB, making this almost a running training camp, since I've just been stepping my running back up since being sick/New Balance Half! I won't be running like this though...

Hope everyone's training and everything is going well!

Derbear OUT!

Edmonton Training Camp, Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships, and New Balance Half Iron!

2009-06-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

Wowwwwwww! Bucketloads to cover.... It's been an eventful month!

So as one can see by the schedule on the sidebar -->

I've been a busy busy boy. The training camp for Commonwealths ran from June 4-11, the Commonwealths competition went from June 12-14, and the New Balance Half was on June 21.

It's also been really tough for me and Carbear, since we both miss eachother A TON. We got to talk on the phone LOTS while I was in Edmonton (resulting in a $300 phone bill.. damn you skype and lack of internet in Edmonton!). Neither of us love this long distance thing, but damnit we will push onwards!

Let's not forget Montreal the week before the training camp began, and Shawnigan Half Iron the weekend before that. It's really no wonder why I'm sick now! Regardless, here is my sub-par report on the last MONTH!

The Commonwealth Championship Training Camp: June 4-11

June 4th

Travel Day! I arrived in Edmonton at 9:55 local time and grabbed a shuttle at 10:30 to the University of Alberta residence. A ticket was set aside for me, so I took the 45 min. shuttle at no expense! Yeeehaw!
A side note, I walked in and woke my new roomie, who was definitely mostly asleep, since he asked if I had brought him a towel! Tee hizzle!

Will's Glorious Moustache

June 5th

Day one of training camp! The day consisted of about 9km of swimming over a morning and evening workout! This is what I expected for most of the training camp but it turns out there were other plans!
We got our sexy uniforms that day as well, and you will see them in peeeectures!

Our incredibly good looking team with Michael Prince of Kent

June 6th-11th

So I thought I would compact these days into one section, since it was much of the same. The week before the comp was reserved for mostly technique work, such as: Manikin Carry technique, Manikin clipping for manikin tow, transitions for relays (manikin hand-off, relay takeovers) and time trials to decide who is swimming which events.
Leading up to the competition, we weren't sure who was doing which events, since Montreal wasn't a great indication of everyone's skill due to the horrible weather conditions ( I was particularly happy about this!).
My events as decided by Don (our coach) were: Line Throw, Obstacle Relay, 50m Manikin Carry, 100m Tow with fins, Manikin Relay, Medley Relay, and SERC (Simulated Emergency Response)

Could we be any cooler? Really?

Our way of ambushing guests at the Canada reception.. The funnel effect (there were people on the other side in a similar formation)

Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships: June 12-14th

June 12th

Heats:

Line Throw: 15 Canada - D 'A' 16.78 14.07

     1) Westra-Luney, Derek           2) Kendall, Ian

Finals:

Line Throw:  1 Canada - D  'A'                       14.07      12.91   20  
     1) Westra-Luney, Derek           2) Kendall, Ian
Obstacle Relay:  2 Canada - D  'A'                     1:52.79    1:51.72   18  
     1) Westra-Luney, Derek           2) DiCosmo, Mario                     3) Kendall, Ian                  4) MacKendrick, Cameron  
My big medal day!  Canadians swept the Line throw in every category and we are the one country that does NOT send people specifically for Line Throw!  HIJAAAAAAA!
Being awesome.. No big deal.
June 13th  
50m Manikin Carry:  4 Westra-Luney, Derek       Canada - D          38.93      38.92   14
100m Tow with Fins:  8 Westra-Luney, Derek       Canada - D        1:04.29    1:08.35   10
So I had a pretty bad day on Saturday.  I was going into finals in the 50m Manikin Carry in 3rd, but ended up coming out 4th.  Absolutely not ideal.  For the manikin tow I was going in 5th, but came out 8th due to a botched clip (where you clip the rescue tube around the manikin)
I really wasn't happy with how it went, considering I had a very good shot at finals.

June 14th
Relay Day!
4x25 Manikin Relay:  DQ in finals due to a bad pass off!  :( Oh well!
4x50 Medley Relay: Splits: 26.10 (Heats), 24.9 (Finals) 3rd.
SERC: (Simulated Emergency Response Championships): 5th overall.
WIth the disqualification and the suprise 5th in SERC, this wasn't the greatest day.  We had a very good chance at winning the Medley relay, and ended up coming in 3rd, which was very disappointing.  Oh well, an AMAZING experience.

The Banquet and related activities, i.e. the afterparty, were pretty good, but the bar that was chosen was a big disappointment.  This establishment wasn't really meant for dancing and/or MASSIVE amounts of people.  So we tried to venture out and look for other places, BUT everyone was SUPER drunk already!  I was completely sober since I had the New Balance Half-Iron next weekend, and I'm really glad I was!
Most people went back to the Rez really early and I ended up staying out relatively late with a bunch o' peeps!  I only got about 2 hours sleep before my morning flight back to Victoria, so that was a little bit shocking!

As you can see from the pictures, it was an amazing experience and I wouldn't have gone anywhere elseeeee!

Now on to the next week....

The Week leading up to, and including the NEW BALANCE HALF IRONMAN

The week leading up to the race was a pretty huge roller coaster.  When I got in from Edmonton I went for a run, with a 4km tempo sesh in it.  Right after the run, I started getting congested and started coughing.  I guess being roommates with a guy who was sick the whole time we were in Edmonton finally caught up with me.  I was coughing out greenies, and snotting out greenies!  It was pretty disgusto!

Before the race, I took off the Wednesday and the Friday to try and calm my lungs down, but it was clear that they were not going to.

I still managed to get in some good workouts in spite of the cold.

Race Day......


So Carolyn, Vince, Choppy, Sheldon and I all awoke between 4 and 5 a.m. to eat our respective breakfasts and talk strategyyy.  Ok no strategizing, mainly just groaning that it was super early!
I ate my usual PB + J bagel and some juice (and a Boost since I love those things), and felt ready to roar!  We headed out from my place at approx. 5!
We got to the race site and it was BUMPIN but we managed to get some sweet parking spots in the grass field just off the main parking lot!  Yeeehaw!  I was particularly excited especially after the mess at Shawnigan!
I headed over to transition, got set up, talked a whole bunch to Vince, Pat, Choppy, Erich, CarCar etc.!   I love knowing tons o' peeps at these races, it kinda takes the nervousness out when you can be social!
Regardless, I headed to the long line at the men's washroom, while Vince was a sweetie and got my timing chip for me!

The Swim....  22:50  (2nd OA, 1st Individual)

Well I left it a little close going to the washroom since I got out and basically had to head straight to the swim start.  It was about a 100m swim over to the start area from Hamsterly beach, which provided me a mini-warmup!  Yay!

I got right in the front of the pack, saw and chatted with Pat and Erich and BOOM we were off to the sound of the Howitzer!  Didn't shock me as much this time thankfully!

From the very start I saw Scotty Dagnall pull away on the opposite side from me, so much so that I had NO chance of getting on his feet, so I swam my own race.  For the first 600m I had a pack drafting off of me (led by my man Pat Waters), until I got fed up and booked it around a buoy, effectively losing them.

I wasn't feeling too badly in the water, but I noticed I had to breathe a LOT more then usual, and that breaths were shallow.  But I didn't start the race to not finish it, so eff it.  I continued to pull away from the chase pack, and I think I actually managed to make up some time on Scott while I was at it.  I guess the training camp for Commonwealths had my swim in top shape, even though we did almost solely anaerobic efforts.

About 200m from the beach I checked my watch and saw 19ish minutes and thought, WHAT THE HELL?  This seems a little TOO fast since I didnt feel super dead or anything from the effort, and yet I was going to be in the 22 minute range.  Hmmmm....  Methinks the course was a lil' short!

Came out of the water and heard Steve King say I was the first individual, and that I had broken the course record!  Cool!  I feel like I cheated since the course was short, but I'm still pretty stoked on it!

Everyone had an awesome swim though, especially Vince!  Props to you!  And to Pat of course for making it through the swim in spite of a NASTY stomach sickness :(  And of course to Erich for even having the balls to start :)

T1....  1:30 

Haha Well... My T1s are always SLOWWWWWWW.  I need to fix that somehow!  And I will... I will... And the world will tremble!

The Bike....  2:39.01  (70th OA)  32.83 km/h  Avg.
So I booked it out of transition, desperately trying to hold on to my first place, but that lasted about 1km, where I was caught by Jasper Blake and co.  He actually said "good job" to me as he went by, and I was definitely stoked to hear that from someone of his caliber!

The first 15km were pretty uneventful.. EXCEPT I was DYING on the hills.  Seriously couldn't keep my breathing under control whatsoever, and the cardiovascular workload was accelerating my mucous output by about 500%.  So with coughing + spitting + wheezing, I was kinda struggling.  Vince passed me at about the 25 km mark, and I wasn't doin so hot at that point.  He was having a GREAT ride though, in spite of using a bike he had ridden ONCE before (and that was for what.. 40 minutes?).  What a monster!

The only word that can describe the bike leg of this race was STRUGGLE.  I couldn't believe how weak I felt compared to Shawnigan (34.8km/h avg. vs. 32.8km/h avg).  I was being MASSACRED, i.e. passed every minute at least.  The first lap was OK, and I managed not to succumb, but on the second lap I was counting EVERY km and just praying for the run to come sooner!

It was at about the 72km mark were I was in the worst shape.  My body was ACHING like never before and my lungs were not having it.  I honestly thought I was close to over my cold, and that my lungs would be better, but I guess I didn't practice race intensity at all in the week leading up to the race.  That was a big mistake.

I finished the bike and promptly had a MASSIVE coughing fit that pretty much lasted for all of T2.  It was incredible.

T2....  1:22

The Mucous coughing fit transition.  That was what it was.  I pulled my shoes on, threw my hat on and headed out for one of the most painful runs of my entire life.

The Run....  1:31.28  (54th OA)  4:35 /km Avg.

The start of the run began with Choppy patting me on the back out of transition saying "Take it easy man".  Unfortunately, I'm a stubborn bastard, and didn't listen to him at all until the second lap.  I dont actually remember alot of the first lap except that I managed to hold a fairly steady pace and NOT walk at all  (1st Lap split: 43:15).  The real story was in the second loop though.

I began the second loop pretty much hating my life.  I was having problems breathing and couldn't take anything close to a deep breath without coughing a lung out.  I stopped at the first aid station about 100m into the second lap, and decided then I was going to walk every aid station.  The aid stations were about every 2km, so 0.1 km/2.5 km/4.5/6.5/8.5km.

I held true to my goal and walked every aid station.  At the 15km mark, my right hamstring and left quad seized up at the same time, leaving me in a half-crumpled standing position.  I probably looked like Gollum.  I kneaded both the muscles and managed to get on my way again after only a minute! Woooo!  At km 17 though, things REALLY fell apart.  I walked the aid station at 16.5km and kept walking.. and walking.. and walking, leading to a race worst 6:35km.  Woweeee.

Even though I was close to the finish, I still walked the 18.5km aid station and took my time, and managed to pull a 4:08 on my last km!  That was kinda sweet!  But it may have also greatly contributed to my prolonged medical tent visit!

After the race...  Starring:  Ventolin, Cookies, and Derbear the Space Cadet

As soon as I crossed the finish line, the first thing anyone said to me was "Are you ok? Can you breathe?".  I guess I didn't look so hot.  I was escorted to the medical tent, where a very friendly set of Docs looked me over, and told me I was a stubborn idiot for racing.  Fair enough, I probably deserved that.  I had my first breaths of Ventolin over the 30 min. period where I spent probably 26 minutes staring at the grass, completely zoned out.

It felt as if someone had stabbed me in the chest, piercing both lungs simultaneously.  Yuck!  I was also wheezing like crazy and could barely talk.  Damnit I'm an idiot.  In retrospect, the post-race fiasco alone probably signalled I shouldn't have raced.

After some cookies and another "hit" of Ventolin, I ventured out from the death tent and headed home with CarCar.

I just want to say GREAT JOB to everyone who did the Half and Sprint, notably:
Vince:  4:27.22, Awesome race, even though it was on a brand spankin' new, unridden bike!
Erich:  A half-iron on 10 days training, and still managed a 5:07.04
Sheldon:  4:35.43, Great job!
Andrew Wight:  4:58.57, First half under 5 hours!  SICK!
Choppy:  1:09, rounding out the top 10!
Pat: Great swim!  Hope you're feeling better after throwing up your entire digestive system!!

Great job to everyone!!!!!!

So I've spent the last week writing this blog post, and recovering from being sick.  I did NOTHING until Friday, where I took my NEW road bike out for a ride to work (44km round trip).  I spent the weekend with Dad sailing in Campbell River, which was amazing as usual and now I'm back to the working grind at the pool in Oak Bay!  Yeeeeeeeehaw!
Sorry for the low res pic.  I assure you it rides well... just like your Mommmmmm!  ZING!

Until next time!
Le Derbear

Montreal: CLERCs and CPLC

2009-06-03T19:17:00.000-07:00

So another weekend of racing is done! This past weekend was the Canadian Lifesaving Championships hosted by Montreal in the Olympic Games Pool and the outdoor pool at Jean Drapeau park!

Thursday/Friday was characterized by the first aid (Canadian Lifesaving Emergency Response Championships or CLERC) at the Olympic Games pool. It was a super busy 2 days, since there was also a water polo tournament and synchro competition going on! The events were First Aid, Simulated Water Sims, and PAA (Priority Action Approach). This wasn't the main reason for my going to Montreal, but I did compete, and our team didn't do well, as we were by far the most inexperienced team at the meet (only me and one other teammate had done the events before, and that was only once!!!).

Saturday and Sunday is where the meat of the weekend was found! Here are my results:

200m Obstacle:

Heats: 8. Westra-Luney Derek Vancouver Lifeguard Association 2:22.89 Open

Finals: 7. Westra-Luney Derek Vancouver Lifeguard Association 2:20.92 Open

Line Throw:

Heats: 12. Westra-Luney Derek Vancouver Lifeguard Association 16.47 Open

Finals: 11. Westra-Luney Derek Vancouver Lifeguard Association 31.41 Open

4x50 Obstacle Relay:

Finals: Vancouver Lifeguard Association 1 Vancouver Lifeguard Association 2:02.07 Westra-Luney Derek 22 28.51

200m Ironguard:

Heats: 10. Westra-Luney Derek Vancouver Lifeguard Association 3:07.43 Open

Finals: 12. Westra-Luney Derek Vancouver Lifeguard Association 3:25.85 Open

50m Carry

Heats: 11. Westra-Luney Derek Vancouver Lifeguard Association 44.66 Open

Finals:

100m Tow w/ Fins:

Heats: 12. Westra-Luney Derek Vancouver Lifeguard Association 1:10.27 Open

Finals: 12. Westra-Luney Derek Vancouver Lifeguard Association 1:14.75 Open

100m Medley:

Heats: DQ (Manikin mouth/nose in the water)

4x25 Manikin Relay:

Finals: Vancouver Lifeguard Association 1 Vancouver Lifeguard Association 2:11.63 Westra-Luney Derek 22 1:08.29

4x50 Medley Relay:

Finals: Vancouver Lifeguard Association 1 Vancouver Lifeguard Association 1:53.17 Westra-Luney Derek 22 43.01

100m Carry:

Heats: 16. Westra-Luney Derek Vancouver Lifeguard Association 1:15.68 Open

Finals: 12. Westra-Luney Derek Vancouver Lifeguard Association 1:21.32 Open

Not a single one of these times is even close to any of my best times. It was actually one of the most demoralizing weekends of my racing career (in ANYTHING, including swimming/triathlon). From the very start of the meet, I didn't feel remotely ready to race, or even really motivated to. This hasn't been a problem with me since I was about 12 years old, where I just COULD NOT race for the life of me. The weather was horrible, I wasn't feeling 100%, and I let everything around me get to me. I let everything into my head, affecting the way I felt, and inevitably the way I swam. By the end of the weekend, all races were a matter of completion.

By far the worst part was the last event, 200m super lifesaver. The weather had improved slightly before the last event, and I actually had some energy left. When I dove in the water, I felt like I could have raced it, and possibly gone faster then my preliminary time from Saturday. Instead, I let people pass me, completely apathetic. This scared the hell out of me, and I got out of the pool, and sulked quietly to the warm down pool, ignoring all of the "good swim" and "good job" comments on the way. It's the first time in 10 years that I didnt want to race, and didn't even care if I came dead last (well for no discernible reason). It's a mindset I was genuinely worried would follow me to the training camp/Commonwealths.

I got back to Victoria on Monday morning and took the day off, to relax, watch some movies and be a vegetable, and I think it worked. I got re-fit on my bike Tuesday morning, and I biked to swim practice in the afternoon, feeling like a million dollars. Practice went well, and I was able to pull a few 28s long course (from a push) in a set of best average 50s. I biked home from there, even taking the long route to a total of 50km and I still felt great. I think whatever this mental blip was, it passed. I finally feel like I'm ready to race again, and that I can dominate this training camp.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Cool diving shot!

Relay Bronze Medal

The best team eva!

COLDDDDDDDD

CH-OWEL! (Change + towel = love)

The weather for most of the weekend! Too bad you can't see the wind since it was about 30-50km/h the WHOLE weekend

Line throw practiceeeeeee!

That's all for now folks! I leave to training camp + Commonwealths tomorrow and I'll be back on June 15th! I'll probably post an update on the training camp while I'm there!

Hope all is well in everyones worldddddd

Derbear :)

Shawnigan Lake Half-Iron race report

2009-05-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

So, without further ado, here is my race report! I love the beginnertriathlete.com race report template, so I just copy and pasted from there:

Congratulations to everyone who raced this weekend, namely Vince, Facundo, Choppy, and Jody! Yeehaw! And a special thanks to my one-woman support crew Carbear!

Here it is, in all it's glory!

Ooo forgot to include my times for each leg:

Swim: 25:07

T1: 2:09

Bike: 2:32.45

T2: 1:57

Run: 1:39.48

Pre-race routine:

So me and Carolyn and the whole crew (Choppy, Jody and Vince) woke up at the delightful hour of 4 a.m. and ate our delicious and traditional breakfasts (Mine was PB/Jam + Whole wheat bread and Hot oatmeal). We ended up leaving the house at about 5:10 a.m. and it only took about 30 minutes to get to the race site.

Me and Carolyn had a little bit of a panic attack since we couldnt find the Shawnigan Community Center, but eventually found it, parked the car, grabbed all the gear and caught the 6 a.m. ferry to the race site!

At the race site, we found my bike in transition, set down all my gear, and I pumped up my tires and got my little spot ready! Hit the bathroom twice and got in the water about 5 minutes prior to the start!

Event warmup:

Nadda! This just proves yet again that I dont really need to warm up!

Swim

Comments:

I started right at the front, after being scared $hitless by the cannon shot that they had FAILED to countdown to. It was a bit of a rough start and I got elbowed and kicked a few times. After about 300m I got away and bridged a gap between myself and the mob. There were two guys out front that I never caught but used to sight.

The sun was in everyone's face in the way out towards the first two buoys and on the way back it was super easy to sight the buoys. In spite of this, me and the two lead guys went for the wrong buoy on the way back, only to be headed off by the canoe which cost us about 30 second apiece I would say.

The rest of the swim was uneventful but I ended up coming out first in individual, since the two guys that beat me were relay-ers!

What would you do differently?:

Not follow people, and instead sight the buoys myself!

Comments:

I added a layer of tape to my heel for my blister, and threw on my cycling shoes!

What would you do differently?:

NOT put my waterbottles in my rear cages while racked, obviously the bike wouldnt fit underneath the rack with the bottles in!

Bike

Comments:

After my slow transition, I was pumped to finally get out on the bike!

I was feeling super good right from the get-go! Me, this female pro, and other guy left transition together and held together for the first lap. I got tired of having to stay out of the girl's draft zone so I passed her near the end of the 22km loop, and the guy stayed with me.

About 2/3 of the way through the 2nd lap I lost my chain on a climb and lost the guy I had been with for the first lap. I pulled over and fixed it and it only took a few seconds. As a side note, I lost 4 water bottles in total in the whole race due to my rear bottle cages. ARghhhhhhhhh. Still managed excellent hydration + nutrition and never even felt thirsty!

Anyways the 3rd lap came and went, but I lost my chain again sometime in the lap. In total I was passed by 5 people on the bike(not counting those who passed me while I was in transition), and could not be MORE happy with my efforts. Even though my bike was great in the race, it succumbed to the common P2/P3C problem of the slipping saddle. My nose was angled down at my top tube by the beginning of the 3rd lap. It was RIDICULOUS. Thankfully the bolts were still pretty tight, so I forced the saddle angle back up.

Anyways, I am SO happy about my bike and can't believe I managed to hold almost 35km/h over an 88km course!

What would you do differently?:

NOTHING...
Except maybe look into fixing this seat problem!

Comments:

Not a bad transition...
Except I was about to leave t2 and i had forgotten my race number! Garrrrr my brain is dummbbbbbbbb!

What would you do differently?:

Not forget my race number!

Run

Comments:

So my plan from day 1 for this run was to cruise at a comfortable pace in order to allow my legs to be fully recovered for Montreal(Lifesaving nationals) and Commonwealths the week after. The day definitely went according to plan.

Basically Vince and I left T2 at the exact same time and he pulled ahead right away. I definitely held back a ton on this run and felt very comfortable with my pace. I was able to talk normally without wheezing or anything, and had no problem staying smooth and upbeat! Vince stayed within sight for the whole run, minus the last 2 km where he attacked and I was super stoked. I knew he was gunning for Nick and he got him at the end so i was happy to see he had the pep and his stomach wasn't holding him back from a good kick at the end!

I held my pace really comfortably and couldn't be happier with how it went. I felt like I could have done it twice at the end! It took a lot more will power then I thought it would to stop my racing instincts. Especially at the end, when there were 4 guys that were in reach in the last km.

What would you do differently?:

Nothing! Executed my plan perfectly!

Post race

Warm down:

Bananas, socializing, sitting around with Carolyn, bagels with peanut butter! Mmmmmmmm....

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nationals + Commonwealths over the next 2 weeks!

5 Days and Counting.....

2009-05-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

It's....

Almost....

Here....

But for now.. IT'S TAPER WEEK... well for the bike and run. Gotta still train all out in the schwimming!

Getting a tune up on the bike Wednesday/Thursday while I'm at my grad ceremony in Van! As a side note, apparently my bike has the whole slipping saddle problem that many P2C tend to have, and I have lost my correct saddle angle that I've used for training all this time. FML. Now it's time to play around on the trainer to find my correct position. I've been using my computer to take some pictures of my position, but for some reason I can't get them to upload right now. I'll put them up later.

Hollllllllllllllla!

An update nearly a month later!

2009-05-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

So as Vince has so kindly reminded me, it has been nearly a month since my last update! If anyone has tried to view my training log at www.beginnertriathlete.com, they would realize that it is private and not able to be seen. I have contacted a site admin about this problem, but apparently it's something wrong on my end. BUT it doesn't really matter since I have been doing all of my logging on paper as of May 1st.

Basically, training has been going SUPER well and I have really made some strides. I've been swimming 5-6 workouts a week since I've been back in Victoria, and each has been at least 5.5 km, with a maximum length of 7.3. I'm starting to see my old speed come back. The other day we did a set of 4x (8x50 Best average, and something else) and I held under :30 long course meters for EVERY 50. I havent swam like that since grade 12 for sure. It's super encouraging to say the least, since Commonwealths is coming up.

I've also been putting in about 7 hours a week on the bike, and with the climb up my mountain at the end of every ride, I'm getting to the point of being able to take any hill without even running out of breath (and I never allow myself to lollygag up them). I've stuck consistently to my running schedule, and average about 3 hours (about 40km) for the week, managing to do my super painful track + tempo workouts and fit in my long runs.

As for work, I just finished my shadow guarding at Oak Bay rec, and will have my first shift coming up in a few days! The staff seems SUPER chill and I havent met a single person I could EVER see myself not getting along with. It's super bitchin! I'm really stoked on this summer.

In other news, I booked a flight to Montreal for May 27 in order for me to able to attend Lifesaving Sport Nationals! It'll be a great way to test my fitness for Commonwealths and I think I will be able to KILL my times from last year.

Shawnigan is also coming up next weekend. I was nervous a few days ago about it, but then I realized how much work I've put in and how the fitness I have now is lightyears ahead of where I've ever been.... well with regards to Triathlon at least. That, and the fact I have to restrain myself from "racing" since I can't really go compete at Nationals with sore muscles, or being completely fatigued.

My goals for the race are:

1) To have a super strong swim: I'm looking for a time around 25:00, possibly under. I'm willing to put up a race for this one, maybe even a swim win?

2) Push the bike a little more then I usually do, since I haven't really ever done this, BUT not to the point of non-runnable legs

3) Cruise the run, keep my racing instinct from taking over my mind. The run will be the most devastating on my body for the days to come if I choose to push it, so this goal is KEY to my ability to compete at Nationals the weekend after.

After Shawnigan is over, it's over to Montreal from May 27 - June 1st for Nationals, then on June 4 I head out to Edmonton for a weeklong training camp before Commonwealths start, the actual meet being June 12-14, and heading home on the 15th. The next weekend after that is the New Balance Half and even though I will be fatigued from the weeks prior, I plan on racing this one for sure.

My race schedule for the summer is shaping up like this: (Tentative)

Shawnigan Lake Half-Ironman: May 24

Lifesaving Sport Nationals: May 27-June 1

Lifesaving Sport Commonwealth Championships: June 4-15

New Balance Half-Ironman: June 21

Squamish Olympic Triathlon: July 5

(Looking for a good race to do in August, pretty open to any distance)

Sooke Half-Ironman: September 13

Royal Victoria Marathon (based on how running pans out this summer; Full or Half distance): October 11

I'm still looking for a race in August, so if anyone has any ideas, they would be greatly appreciated! I think the only weekend I can't do is the first, since it's Carolyn's birthday weekend and it's her weekend not mine!

Later skaters! I'll try and update much more often, since I've been a little lazy!

PS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp9Gm-aRe5A

A little treat for the eyes and ears!

This past week and Sun Run race report!

2009-04-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

Let me just start this off by giving MAD props to everyone at the UBC Tri club for an AWESOME performance today! Everyone did REALLY well, and I'm stoked to be associated with such fasties! Also, Pat managed to push his father hard enough to go under 1 hr! Congrats!

Regardless, this week has been awesome! So much has been accomplished... My last paper, and my biggest one of my undergrad, one exam, and a GREAT training week. I got about 15 hours of training in this week, but quite a bit of it was higher intensity then it has been lately, so that might explain why I'm a little fatigued. I felt tired this weekend, probably due to my first stab at Cypress with Liam on Thursday, and the 3 workouts on Friday (Bike, Run, Swim), but I did the best I could do at the Sun Run this morning.

Without further ado, here is my race report:

Pre-race routine:

Ran into my friend Pat on the bus with his parents on the way out to the run! Me and Carolyn hung out until about 20 minutes before the run when she left to her group (she had to take a month of running due to the severity of her shin splints, so she was walking from the start back to UBC, making sure to stay off pavement!).

Event warmup:

Knees up, bum kicks, 3 x 100m strides

The actual race:

So as per usual, I started getting ready for the race TOO LATE. I left UBC with Carolyn at 7:25 and got there just after 8. I had LOTS of time to stand around and hang out with Carolyn, but didnt think I needed to check my gear early. BOY WAS I WRONG.

I get in the lineup for gear check at 8:30, and proceed to spend the next 23ish minutes standing in line with all my clothes in hand(minus my running shirt + shorts, get your mind outta the gutter :)) . Finally got my gear checked and ATTEMPTED to get on Georgia street. So much for that, I was stuck at one of the "on-ramps" to Georgia and couldnt even get on to the main strip before the start.

When I got to the start line, it was BRUTAL. I swear I started farther back then last year. Regardless, the first 4 km were like a fartlek workout; constantly changing pace, sprinting, SLOW, sprinting, SLOW. It really pissed me offffffff, but it's my fault. I spent that first 4 km swearing to myself increasingly louder, until it was clear that anyone within a 100m radius could hear me drop f-bombs. My first km was 3:48, my second slowest km :(

From about 4km on, I really pushed the pace and was never passed until the end.
Here are my splits from the race:

3:49
3:30
3:38
3:45
3:51
3:44
7:35 * For 2 kms, I missed the 7km mark as usual
3:44
3:32

I spent a lot of energy at the beginning of the run weaving through people, which, yet again, will teach me to avoid using gear check. I did feel pretty good for most of the run, but I know I definitely pushed my legs this past week. Overal, I'm not super happy with the result, but at least my timing chip stayed on :D I'm not sure if it's in the cards for me to do this race again, but we'll see since I'll actually be seeded next time.

So as you probably read, it wasnt my best race ever, but I can't be unhappy with that time! It's a new PB and I managed to weed through crowds to get it! Yeeeehaw!

I better stay on my toes though, this coming week is shaping up to be a tough one. 2 exams, and an attempted 15hrs+ at training! Wooooeee!

Congrats to everyone who did the run this year!

Essays, Exams, and Training

2009-04-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

Well the title pretty much sums my life up this week.

Carolyn and I had an AWESOME weekend at her parents place back in Surrey, with an Easter Egg Hunt and all! I even had time to train (rode with Liam on Saturday, ran in the POURING rain on Sunday) and still eat copious amounts of food and hang with Carolyn's fam!

Training is still going REALLY well, and I LOVE the fact I have a supervisor key for the pool so I can swim ANYTIME I want.. literally. Last night, the pool closed at 5 p.m. due to Easter Monday, so I decided to swim 3600 at 9 p.m. It was BITCHIN. It was quiet, dark and eerie, but I had an AWESOME workout!

I posted this weeks workout schedule on the right sidebar -->
It should be a good week, minus Friday where my GIANT paper is due, as well as having an exam. I'm glad I'm able to balance out training with Carolyn/school so well, since training would be the first thing to go if I'm stuck for time.

Hope everyone is doing well with their training!
WAHOOZZLE

PS: Lance Armstrong updates his status on facebook more then a 13 year old girl!

March Totals and a preview of April

2009-04-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

So March was a pretty decent month, even with the week off due to Storm the wall.. well week of racing short distances!

Not too bad at all!

April is going to be a GOOD month. I can feel it already, I'm itching to ride at every available opportunity and swimming will be really ramping up. I'm still building the run, but definitely improving at every juncture. Speed work is becoming increasingly more important in my training for the run, and I'm feeling pretty strong!

CAN'T WAIT FOR MAY 24!!! Even though I cant really push the pace, I am SO excited to bust through my first HIM!

March:

Bike: 17h 45m - 71.07km (Most of it done on the trainer)

Run: 10h 22m 53s - 47.11 km

Swim: 17h 48m 45s - 49.5 km

Yoga: 5h 00m

Official Conversion to Triathlon

2009-03-24T23:06:00.000-07:00

Since my focus of late, and probably into the forseeable future, is Triathlon, I am going to change the layout of this blog to reflect that. Now, that said, I will still be posting all of my skimboard and surf adventures here, but mainly this will be for recaps of training, races and all other things triathlon related!

Holla!

I've put my March totals so far on the right sidebar. I'm a little low on the cycling and swimming this month, but my running is looking MUCH better.

Glad to finally see some progress there.
On Thursday Liam and I are going to bike to H-shoe bay and then drop by TAS to pick up some new suits for Storm the Wall :D There's my long ride for the week! CANT WAIT!
SICKKKKKKK!

As a side note, Paul (my partner for Survive the Storm as well as teammate for Storm the Wall) absolutely destroyed the competition in Survive the Storm Day 1: The photo scavenger hunt. We finished nearly 30 mins. before the next team to cement our spot in the Semi-finals. That happens next Tuesday (March 31), and will HOPEFULLY not coincide with our Men's team Heats!!!

SO EXCITED TO STORM!

Training Log

2009-03-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't been skimming much lately, and dont really plan on it since Triathlon is my number one priority, you can view my Training log that I post at:

http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/index-weekly.asp?memberid=57011&year=&month=&day=

All my workouts and such are posted here, so if you're ever curious.. there you go! Race reports and such will probably be moved to this blog though, since i definitely like the ability to post pics here.

Derbearrrrrr

The Weekend of Vic boyzzzzz

2009-02-16T16:58:00.000-08:00

So it has been a super busy few weeks, and haven't had much time to write in the blog!

I've been skimming tons, amongst Tri training, but more specifically swimming in order to prepare for COMMONWEALTH LIFESAVING CHAMPIONSHIPS!!! I found out last week I was assigned to the national team, so I'm super stoked for that.

But here are some pics from the last while!
I'll update next week most likely!

Skim + Drinking + Pit Night!

2009-01-22T13:22:00.000-08:00

So me and my friend Paul decided it would be a SWEET idea to head to Wreck beach to skimboard at 3 p.m., and skimboard while drinking both Jose Cuervo, and Heiniken.

Boy were we right!

So we get down to the beach, and get some odd looks due to our wetsuits, and probably the booze as well! We are STOKED to say the least.

We are suiting up and I realize Paul has no friggen boots or gloves, so basically he is freezing the entire time. Doesn't make for great skimming unfortunately!

We took turns taking pics/vids and we got a bunch of good footy. Here it is. I landed a new trick! A 180 Ollie with a backside grab, looks pretty stylin' if I manage to pull it off! I also got a 360 shuv on film for the first time, so I'm pretty stoked on that too!

Here are some pics from the day as well! All in all a great afternoon/evening! I've included some pics from the Pit as well!

Till next time!

Wreck Skimmming... In the Fog!

2009-01-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

Kinda had a day of nothing, so me and Trever decided to make the afternoon one of skimboarding!

The tide was on it's way out from about Noon onwards, and so the tide was NEVER an issue since we started skimming at 2. We stayed until about 4:30.

At the beach there was a little channel that led right out to the waves, so we used it in order to hit some waves and do some aerials. We started off just messing around with Ollies and some random stuff, then moved to some flatland-ish spots to do some shuvs, 3-shuvs, spins, body varials, (horrible) big spins, etc.

It was super awesome, but the fog was INSANE, even at sea-level. At the end of our day, we decided to do one super-solid pop-shuv, and a clean 3-shuv. Basically we were SO tired from skimming for 2 hours non-stop, that we took a LONG time to start landing them. Finally, after about 15 minutes, we had both done them. After that we headed out and that was that!

Basically a beautiful day, and great skimming conditions! Wahooooooooo!

Sunny afternoon skimming!

2009-01-14T16:17:00.000-08:00

Down at Wreck Beach at around 2:30, beautiful day, my flatland board, some carveable waves, what more could a guy ask for! Minus the cold wind!

Felt pretty strong today, so I went hard, pulled two solid 3-shuvs, some 180 shuvs and some ollie 180s. Then I decided to do some ollie nosegrabs. I did 7 in total, landed 5 of them cleanly, those 5 with super clean grabs as well. Just what I wanted. I attempted some indy grabs but I only did 1, and it was sort of a sketch landing. Oh well! Lots of time to practice!

Did yoga again this morning, and it was superb! I'm loving the class, and I'm glad I know someone in it!

I'll post pics of the beach sometime this evening

Yoga, Swimmin' and Skimmin'

2009-01-12T17:05:00.000-08:00

I'm amping up the swim training, and that's the only reason I have swimming in the title.

This blog is about skimboarding and other related boardsports.. BUT... i'm making an exception for Yoga, since it feels connected to surfing and skimming.

Had Vinyasa Flow Yoga at the student rec center here at UBC, and it was AWESOME. The instructor was super good and helpful, even though I haven't done a ton of yoga. It was tough and I was sweating a little at the end, but I felt really calm and satisfied at the same time. Makes me understand why Taylor Knox does so much of it.

Skimming was GREAT. It was a foggy day here in Vancouver, as you will see by the pics I took. I couldn't convince my buddy to come down with me, so there's no action shots unfortunately. Regardless, I did some messing around, aka. carves, a few ollies, some ollie 180s, then I got down to practicing my shuvs. I haven't focused on shuvs for AGES, so I think now is a good as time as any to get them down.

I did 10x180 shuvs in the flattest area I could, so I could only get a little pop/air. I was 10/10. Then I switched to 360 shuvs. The tide was coming up so I was slowly losing my flat area, thus making it harder to find a good spot to start the trick. I missed the first 2/5, then got the last three, for a total of 3/5. I'm pretty stoked on that. I also realized I dont bend my knees enough, but that's all changing!

A sick day of skimming, swimming, and yoga to say the least... Now if class could just disappear too!

Commonwealth Trials, Skimming, Skateboarding

2009-01-10T23:44:00.000-08:00

So it's been a busy past few days!

On Thursday I applied for a job at Pacific Boarder. NO idea if I will get it, but I hope my skim and surf experience will help in my favour!

Regardless, Thursday I went skimming down at Wreck and it was about 3.5ft, which is GREAT at Wreck. There were little waves, so I could practice a little carving and speed gaining movements. After that, I practiced doing 180s both front and backside without hands, so I can really improve my ollie 180s! It was great doing them repetitively and by the end I really felt comfortable going both directions. Backside is my most comfortable, so I spent more time on frontside and definitely have a lot more confidence. Now to throw in the ollie! I was also landing SUPER solid 3-shuvs and Indy grabs.

On Friday I went for a bike ride, about 90 mins. out to Richmond in the FREEZING cold! A bit of a mistake, but it was pretty fun! I've decided to only list my time spent in Surfing/Snowboarding/Skimming/Skateboarding on this blog, since I have my own training log for triathlon, and it's tough keeping both!

Saturday, today, I had Commonwealth trials for competitive lifesaving and had a pretty good day. 2 Silvers, and a 4th. Not too bad. I think my times were competitive enough to qualify me for the Commonwealth lifesaving sport games too! Holla! Hopefully that pans out. Looks like the swimming training will be my priority before Nationals in May, or Commonwealths in June.

Tomorrow I'd love to skim, but I dont think I'll have time since I really want to spend the day with my gf!

That's all for now. I'm going to become a picture freak before my next post so there will be tons of photo evidence of EVERYTHING!

PS: I've been skateboarding a ton, and I really feel like it will improve my skim and surfboard handling skills!

China Beach/Sombrio Surf Day!!

2009-01-05T16:17:00.001-08:00

So after a late night of Guitar Hero with Matty, watching him DESTROY the expert difficulty (up until the boss battle with Slash), I woke up and headed out in my mamma's Civic to Jordan River! It was low tide at around 10:30 a.m., and I was worried about the quality of surf at JR, and I was definitely right. Waves were tiny and I was a little worried.

I headed the extra 20kms out to Sombrio beach and it was hoppin'. "Chickens" was empty, "1sts"had 2 people, "2nds' had 3, and "waterfall" was empty. The tide was still pretty low, but on it's way up so wave quality was quickly improving. Forecast was for onshore winds, but it was milder then expected for sure. Sets were clean, 4ish waves per set, and quite regularly timed! Got about 2 dozen rides at 1sts, none really longer then 5 seconds unfortunately. Had a great time though. I left after the crowds started arriving... gotta love those people who sleep in.

I headed down to my favorite beachbreak (China) and surfed there with another guy for about an hour, and caught about a dozen waves, again nothing longer then about 5 seconds. Most of the waves closed out pretty quick, and had no discernable peaks. Tried to pull my first off the lip maneuver but it didnt work out and I ended up nose diving and bailing pretty hard!

All in all a great day! On the way out, "The Point" looked super solid on it's trademark right, but I was just too exhausted and undernourished to head out again. I saw a few longboarders heading out though.

I had to ride my 6'5/ 18 1/5 / 2 1/4 Shortboard, since my small wave board is in Campbell River at my dad's. Did pretty well in the shoulder high waves considering it's suited to much bigger waves (overhead).

Meeting up with RuRuRemon tonight hopefully, maybe heading out to the bars? Who knows! Back to UBC tomorrow (after another surf sesh :D)!

Triathlon, Skimboarding and Surfing... All in one!

2008-12-25T18:02:00.000-08:00

Gonna try out the blog thing!

A way to keep my stupidly crazy life organized, and a way to allow others to watch my insane life unfold in a frenzy of Triathlon, Skimboarding and Surfing tidbits. My 3 sports loves....

Going to try and do better at Fantasy Surfer this year too :P

Edit: I threw on some gadgets so I could add a little more permanent info such as my training log! I plan on adding a "Trick List" for skimboarding, surfing, and snowboarding so I can mark my progress down!