Inspirational Quote of the Week
"We all have the potential to participate in any sport we choose, as long as we have the desire and develop the appropriate skills. Size or body type does not have to be a determining factor. While the average basketball player is not so average in height, we occasionally see outstanding players who are quite regular in size. Just as the typical long-distance runner is very slight, there have been quite successful runners who don’t fit this prototype.

It’s all about spirit and desire. It’s about the power of the underdog. When we set our hearts and minds on something, chances are our bodies will cooperate. We are truly our own best motivators."

Kara Leverte Farley and Sheila M. Curry, authors of Get Motivated!

Click for pictures

I was up in Oliver last weekend for TriBC Provincial Championships and Race #5 in the TriBC Race Series.

Here is a break down of the race
Swim - 750 metres - along the shore of Tucelnuit Lake
Bike - 20 kilometres - challenging out and back course
through the city of Oliver and beyond
Run - 5 kilometres - flat 2.5k out and back loop.

"For me, the hardest part about racing is how it extends to my a social life. I'm friends with a lot of my competitors, in fatherly way. It gets pretty awkward when their wives and girlfriends are always flirting with me."
-Skeletor-

Sasamat Lake Swim 6:30AM
First of all, being able to see is no guarantee you'll stay on course...I learned this early this morning when I zigzagged back and forth probably an extra 200m trying to swim to my target. I met the "women in robes," Traci and Char at the floating bridge, a 200 metre floating walkway with 2 swimming and fishing decks. The initial plunge was a little chilly however as water slowly seeped into my wetsuit I warmed up. We swam from the South end of the lake to White Pine Beach and back. Being early June, the water was already pretty warm, I can imagine how nice it would be in July and August.

The Best Garage Sale Find Ever!

"In the world of garage sales, one person's trash is often another person's treasure."

I found this funky 8'4" retro surfboard off of Dunbar Street in Vancouver, in a pretty up scale neighbourhood for only 20 bucks! Only one place I need to do some fibreglass patching and it is ready to hit the surf. It is in awesome shape. I image it has been sitting in some guy’s basement for the past decade. All I need now are some waves now! Guess it will sit in my basement now until I have some time to head to Vancouver Island.

Triathlon Team X Killer Kelowna Training Camp

In the midst of a flurry of luggage, bikes and backpacks, the main group of Victoria's triathlon Team X left Kelowna, British Columbia on Saturday after wrapping up a 5 day training camp. While some of the athletes returned home and others remained in Kelowna to finish out the week of training, most of the athletes are now are focusing on Race #4 in Triathlon Provincial Race Series, Panorama Classic Triathlon on June 5th in Victoria.

Following on the success of the North Shore Triathlon on May 23rd, the camp started with a full training schedule after one days of active recovery. Head coach of Triathlon Team X Steve Chater set up key workouts; that were not only a physical challenge but a nutritional challenge trying to develop different hydration strategies to balance electrolytes in response to the hot training conditions.

Training highlights included a 2 x 140km cycling workouts; Tuesday riding along Westside road to Vernon and then back along the highway to Kelowna and Thursday in a reverse direction paralleling Highway 97A to Vernon and back on Westside road to Okanogan Lake Resort. Recovery runs were met with less eagerness around the resorts golf course and surrounding areas followed long rides. Okanogan Lake Resort was the site of the great swim sessions in the frigid waters of Lake Okanogan. To conclude the excitement the athlete's were treated with an exhilarating glimpse of my legendary butt swimming at their last open water swim session.

The defining workout for myself was Wednesday's 90km+ ride to Crystal Mountain; 30 km west of Kelowna, with a 10km ascend to the base elevation of 1200m (3936ft).

Thursday night concluded with a relaxing BBQ at the resort. The BBQ was a reflection point of the hard but enjoyable week behind us with an excess of 350km already in the saddle the party was cut short by exhaustion and most the athlete's were heading off to bed before 10pm.

After packing up all of their gear from the resort Friday morning and off to settle in at Charlene's parents house on the opposite side of the lake, the mornings workout started with an hour run in Kelowna's City Park broken up with 2 x 10 minute tempo runs. A procession of cars left City Park in a hurry to proceeded to Westbank were we started our short ride to Peachland elementary school for a triathlon show and tell to practice our public relations skills and to promote the sport and bike safety. The athletes rose to the occasion and delivered an excellent presentation for the school. With temperatures in excess of 30 degrees celsius and rapidly rising humidity, the remainder of the afternoon was spent riding back to Westbank, which I did with a flat tire for six kilometres, sitting in a traffic jam for an hour and skipping out on the remainder of the our afternoon's workout to drink some beer.

Throughout the entire camp, the athletes met each new challenge with a healthy mix of cooperation and enthusiasm. Development and age group athletes benefited from the mentorship of senior elite athletes, and the atmosphere of teamwork served to push everyone to new levels during key workouts.

For many of the athletes, the conclusion of the Kelowna training camp marks the beginning of their back-to-back weekend race schedule spanning till the end of August. I would like to thank Charlene and Team X for inviting me on the training camp and congratulate all athletes on their dedication and strong work ethic during the camp, and wish everyone a successful race season.

Tales from the the camp -Day 2-
Former Canadian National Triathlon Team Member, Master Jeti said it best. "When we approach Fintry I'll be putting a very small bowl in my jersey pocket. It's very simple. When my apprentice starts to dish out the pain, you don't want to be taking a big helping"

Tales from the training camp -Day 1-
When Master Jeti bridged up to me in the decisive break and I saw the pain etched onto his face, I felt torn. In one sense, I was proud of his effort and determination, and yet I knew that my awesome power and speed would only hurt him more. This is the paradox of competition and one of the truly sad elements of triathlon racing...sometimes you are going to hurt even those you love.

Triathlon Team X Killer Kelowna Training Camp

You probably know by now I am a triathlete and spend most my free time and energy training. I average about 16-18 hours of training per week, managing to cycle well in excess of 300km per week. If you are anything like me you probably don't know much about triathlons(or at least I didn't before I started competing)...so here are some facts on the multisport.

All next week I will be training in Kelowna and surrounding areas with some Team X athletes from Victoria as we prepare for the National Championships.

Schedule of Events
Monday May 24
8-12pm Race North Shore Triathlon
2 pm Depart Vancouver for Kelowna
7 pm Check into Lake Okanogan Resort
8-9pm Team Meeting Topics covered include:
1. Camp Over-view 2. Nutrition strategies
3. Routes 4. Bike inspection sign up

Tuesday May 25
9-11 am Bike inspection and Maintenance clinic By Trav
11-12 am Ride Prep
12-5pm Long ride (Resort-Vernon-Kelowna-Resort) 140 km easy ride
5-5:30 pm 30 min easy run off the bike
5:30-5:45pm Swim Prep
5:45-6:15pm recovery swim
6:15-6:30pm HOT TUB!!

Wednesday May 26
Depart Resort 8 am SHARP!! (To avoid construction delays)
8-12 am Crystal mountain Ride 10 km climb (90km total ride)
12-1:30pm Lunch
2-3 pm Transition Practice
3:15-4pm Long run
4-4:30 Swim (starts, dives, run-outs)
4:30-5pm HOT TUB!

Thursday May 27
8am Long Ride (Reverse of Tuesday's route)
30 Min run off bike
30 min Recovery Swim
Relaxing evening (BBQ at Resort)

Friday May 28
8 am check-out of resort and drive to Kelowna
9-10 am Nationals bike loop
10-11 am 60 min tempo run on Nationals run course
11:30 Depart Kelowna and ride to Peachland
1:30 arrive Peachland , show and tell at Peachland elementary school
2:15 Depart Peachland ride back to Kelowna

Saturday May 29
Pack and Depart Kelowna
Optional Car/Bike leap frog traveling south on HW 97

The International Olympic committee presented a global promotional campaign "Celebrate Humanity" for the 2000,2002 and 2004 Olympic Games.
Here is a sample of the television commercials from the campaign.

Giant
To be a giant
This has forever been our passion
This desire to be a giant
Not to stand on ones shoulders or have one for a friend
Though these may be fortunate things
But to be one
Giants step over barriers that seem never ending
They concur mountains that seem insurmountable
Giants rise above fear
Triumph over pain
Push them selves and inspire others
To be a giant
To do giant things
To take giant steps and move the world forward


Adversary
You are my adversary but not my enemy
For your resistance gives me strength
Your will gives me courage
Your spirit ennobles me
And though I aim to defeat you
Should I succeed
I will no humiliate you
Instead I will honour you
For without you I am a lesser man

Smile
When you smile, I smile that's the deal
I will not walk pass you and not look at you in the eye and not acknowledge you
Instead we will pass each other and say hello
Not with our words because they are no the same
But with our faces
I meet you when I see there is good in your eyes
There is passion in your heart
And there is a friendly hello in your smile
And the first time we can relate and appreciate each other
That is all it takes
That is were it starts
Because I know you will smile
And I will smile
And all the rest is easy