The Krypt.

This year marked my first foray into road cycling, for no other reason than decaying joints and a whim.

Mostly the decaying joints whim.

I bought myself a new bike…a pretty little butterfly-light  Argon 18 Krypton (duly named the “Krypt” because I’m sure I’m going to die on it), some snazzy new clothes (helloooo, shopping opportunity!) and then looked around for a reason to actually get on it and train.

Enter the Whistler Gran Fondo.  122k (approx 75 miles) of mountainous riding from Vancouver to Whistler.

Yup, that’s a fun little goal for a beginner.

Well, hold on, my nickname may be Crazy Legs, but I’m  not that crazy.  I talked my friend Kim into signing up (because misery loves company and evidently, so does torture) to do the Medio distance which is only half.  Easy peasy.

Me out for my first ride...yes, I eventually got off the sidewalk and onto the road.

(Note to self, next time, pick the easy half, not the blimey mountainous half).

A bit of a running die-hard, I quickly found that I really, really like this riding thing. This was unexpected, but road cycling is not called “the new golf” for nothing…. I found it easy on the body (compared to running), fast (compared to running) and you cover wayyyy more ground (compared to running).

I still kept up my 3 runs per week but added in a few rides as well.  Contrary to dire expectation, my body did not fall apart.  Riding seems to complement running (yes, I’m a slow learner) and I didn’t feel nearly as worn out or tired as I thought I would.

The day of the Whistler Gran Fondo was stunning and hot, even by Vancouver’s wetcoast standards.  The race itself was extremely well organized (huge props!) and given it’s “new golf” designation as a sport, it was quite genteel as well. (Glass of wine at the aid station…yeah, baby.  Now we’re talking!)

Kim, right, and I share a glass of red wine. And all is right in the world.

With thousands of riders along with us for this sold-out little jaunt, Kim and I did get separated a time or two but found each other at the aid stations. There were plenty of people to talk to, jaw dropping scenery on the Sea to Sky Highway and a ton of food and fuel to keep us going.

I won! I won! Just like the 6,999 other riders!

Reaching the village of Whistler and crossing the finish line in my first road cycling event….priceless!  I may not win any medals but I sure had fun.  (Wait…we all get medals. Sweet!)

Brave road warriors that we are, Kim and I are already signed up for next year.  Since we did the hard half the first time, we figure the whole distance should be a piece of cake.

Right?

Well…doubtless it will burn off a piece of cake or two, anyway. And that will make all the effort worth it.

That and the glasses of wine.

Last week I started the P90X program (upcoming post).  I also did the Grouse Grind, tried kayaking (post upcoming Sunday) and continued to run.  All in the summer heat.

Turns out (no surprise, right?), it was too much for my body.  This I found out on a hot, muggy run. In retrospect, I could have just sat on the deck with a Corona and thought about it, but some of us learn the hard way.

The run wasn’t hard, but the day was a boiler.  I had just finished a hill that I’ve run many, many times before with no problem. It isn’t that steep and it isn’t that long.  But this time I got to the top and had that yucky feeling I’ve only experienced once before on a run – at the end of race, that time – that yucky feeling that everything in my stomach was screaming to heave back out.

At first I didn’t take the feeling seriously so I fought it for a minute before I realized that I was actually going to throw up.  I hastily looked around and ran behind a tree.

And….well, I’ll leave the details to your imagination.

Later that day, with my Corona in hand, I Googled the whole messy situation and found out that vomiting on a run isn’t anything new.  As a matter of fact, some trainers – as well as unqualified hacks – actually encourage runners to work that hard.  (Is it just me, or is that insane?)

And I found out that regular people like me are actually wondering if they should train to puke.

I did find one race where I guess vomiting is pretty much a given (not a race I’d volunteer for clean up duties):

Tell us, have you ever thrown up after a run or workout?

Spill! (sorry)

So excited!!!  I’m still training for the Canuck Place Adventure Challenge, (5k kayak, 20k mountain bike, 5k trail run) and while I was hanging with the family at the lake I took some much needed me-time and hopped in the canoe for a little paddle practice.  It’s not kayaking, but at least I’m still getting an upper body workout, right?

BlackJack – my impetuous toy fox terrier – decided he wanted to accompany me…

Yup, he wanted to be there. At least until he realized that "there" meant surrounded by water.

….until – too late we’d pushed off – he remembered he was afraid of water.

But BlackJack’s a brave little guy and he soon found his lake legs.  We had a great paddle!

Me (and BlackJack) in the Green Monster at Shuswap Lake.

The langorous hills of the Shuswap area were great to practice 25k mountain bike rides on and the occasional dump truck zooming past me on the road really made for some exciting peddling!

However, with the little bit of training I did at the lake, I also did way too much of this:

Yup, lazing around on the boat - again. In between cocktails on the beach. Lots of arm workouts, there.

Now, finally back home again from the lake (I can’t believe summer has gone by this quickly) the girls and I on the Fitness Town team got together this morning for a photo opp for a local newspaper:

Pimping ourselves in the local newspaper, for a great cause: the terminally ill kids who visit Canuck Place Children's Hospice, pictured in the background.

Three more weeks until race day!  And I still have some significant fundraising to do.  Yikes!

If you care to support us in our race – and more importantly, support the kids – please click here to donate. If we all give up our coffee money for a day or two and put a smile on a sick kid’s face, we can warm our souls with something more than just coffee.

Fitness Town Freakettes team captain, Esther, sits in front of Deep Cove, where the Innovative Fitness Canuck Place Adventure Challenge will start and finish.

So uber volunteer and all around awesome chick Esther convinced me to tackle a super-worthy event benefiting sick kids and their families that visit Canuck Place.  Canuck Place Children’s Hospice provides specialized pediatric palliative care for children living with a life-threatening illness and support for their families throughout British Columbia.  I can’t think of a cause that is more worthy to support.

The event is called the Innovative Fitness Canuck Place Adventure Challenge and it consists of a 4k kayak race, a 20k mountain bike leg and finally a 5k mountain trail run.

Last year's Adventure Challenge participants. Watch out, 'cause this year's team is going to kick some @ss!

I bumped into Esther after she did the race last year for the first time, and she sounded so pumped about the whole experience – from the emotion of seeing the kids, supporting the cause, meeting the families and kicking butt at the race – that I quickly begged agreed to be part of Dai Manual‘s Fitness Town- sponsored team she was putting together.

Am I going to be raising money for this super-worthy event?  YOU BET! Please click here for more info or to donate.

Last week marked my first on-course training for the race.  Esther and I drove to Deep Cove to hike the trail section.  It was a GORGEOUS day and we had a lot of fun (deodorant and makeup – who knew they were a topic of so many giggles, LOL?)

Here are the pics:

We started our hike at beautiful and rugged Deep Cove, taking the Baden Powell trail.

Even with the day being hot and sunny, the trail was cool and wet – with a lot of rock it made for a slippery and muddy journey.  All the more fun!

Esther celebrates at the turn around point.  If you look carefully, you can see deep cove in the background. Sorry I didn’t get close enough to the edge of the cliff to take a better pic.  But trust me, it’s gorgeous!

Yup, that’s me.  Let’s just say our photography skills are a work in progress!

We’ll be doing team training and as well, some larger group training that the race organizers put together.  I’ll keep you updated, it’s going to be a great challenge!

If you care to support us in our race – and more importantly, support the kids – please click here to donate. Any amount welcome and MOST appreciated!

Sunday was a sunny, beautiful day. It broke a long standing tradition of rain & horrible weather for the UBC Triathlon Duathlon. I participated in the Duathlon which was: 5km run, 20km bike, 5km run.

This was the first race that I’ve done that had a road bike racing component and I found myself absolutely loving it. The speed (often between 45-55km/hr), the course and the competitors made for a fantastic ride.

My race goal was to be in the top 50% of competitors and was overjoyed today to find out that I ranked 6 out of 52!

The finish line of the race was shared among all the competitors for all the races that were held on Sunday. As I approached it I saw another runner about 25m ahead of me. Not knowing if he was in my race or not, I sprinted as hard as I could. I was so close to passing him… Maybe I just can… I was putting so much effort in… My concentration was broken, just for a moment, as I sprinted down the finisher’s chute and heard the race announcer say, “And here comes 238 running as fast as sh*t!” Gotta love that introduction.

As I passed the other runner, just a couple of strides from the finish line, I glanced over at his race bib and darn it, he wasn’t even in my race! All that effort for nothing!

Or so I thought… This picture… With his reaction to me passing him.. Makes it all worthwhile:

Looks may not be able to kill but angry competitors certainly can!

This race was my last one in a tight series of four different races in four months.

Next Race: Olympic Length Triathlon (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) on Saturday, August 7 in Emmett, Idaho. Come on down & I’ll buy you as many potatoes as you can eat!

-Mike