I created some unnecessary expectations for myself (expectation leads to anxiety which leads to sleeplessness to quasi-panic attacks—my mind is a wonderful thing) going into this race, which contributed to me running far more poorly than I hoped to. UPDATE: Turns out I am/was also physically sick (fever/flu), so this wasn’t just psychosomatic.

I feel that my training has been going well, especially since I’ve seen faster times in training than I saw at today’s race. But enough coulda/shoulda/woulda . . .

Today’s Bazan Bay 5k was a great race that resulted in many people from the local elite community laying down some awesome times. I love the sense of camaraderie surrounding these well-organized races and I see many familiar faces when I show up to events like this. I’m lucky to live on this island.

To end, every race is also a learning opportunity. I have a number of take aways and learnings from this race and I look forward to my next go. The triathlon season is around the corner, so I need to work on reattaining the pre-race calmness I had developed by the end of last season. In regards to knocking out a 5k time that I’m proud of, I might hop over to Vancouver for the Dave Reed Spring Classic 5km at the end of the month, depending on how crazy school gets.

Full results for the race are here.

Thanks for reading! Thanks also to Noa and Kamal for cheering me on (and up), as well as to my teammates Derek and Nick for laying down strong times.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This video was too awesome not to post. Plus, the band is awesome too. By the by, the technical name for what is going on in this video is a Rube Goldberg machine.

First off, they come my size (men’s 13), which is uncommon. Next, they actually grip and hold my foot (they aren’t sloppy), so they are comfortable to walk in. I often wear them when recovering after runs. Plus, they look good. If you’re looking for a quality pair of sandals, be sure to try on a pair of Sole’s.

I could go on, but suffice it to say that Sole makes great products and they are an awesome sponsor. I am fortunate to have their support (pun intended).

These same sandals were reviewed by The New York Times last year (link here) and deemed “the most supportive sandal in the test.”

Oh yeah . . . Here’s a little random joy for you. I just started listening to of Montreal again. Why did I ever stop? If you can ever catch them live, do so. They are a wild bunch and they put on a great show.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also, here’s a video from Sled Island 2008, where I saw José González. I remember the utter magic of experiencing this song mere feet from stage. I was beside one of my best friends and felt so lifted. Even this video recalls those emotions. Enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

School is picking up (thesis proposal, end of terms papers, presentations, etc.), so I have to focus these next couple months to make sure that I stay on top of things. I’m excited about where my life is at, but the time in Mexico made me very aware of just how busy I keep.

I want to highlight this video by Paul Kent—a professional longboarder—who I know through my brother Ross (also a longboarder). Paul recently skated across Peru and Bolivia and this video captures some of the wildness of his trip. He’s about to skate across Morocco as part of Long Treks on Skate Decks. Longboarding is a developing sport that I am a big supporter of. Paul is a serious endurance athlete who will challenge the way you think about longboarding. Enjoy the video and check out his site.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Suffice it to say that Laura is my biggest supporter. I do what I can to keep it that way.

I spent some of today watching the Superbowl with Nick, Kamal, Tyler, and Jairus. As we spoke about ways to continue developing as athletes, the topic of relationships came up. I heard a few horror stories of athletes whose partners pressured them to diminish their training or quit sport altogether. Ouch! Nevertheless, I wonder if athletes create problems for themselves when they become monomaniacal about their time and training.

Conflicts between my partnership to Laura and succeeding at the sport I love occur very infrequently, but when they inevitably do, I am faced with an opportunity to choose the person that I want to be. There are times when being in a relationship means that I choose to put training second.

Skipping training can make me feel guilty and grumpy, and I don’t like that. However, when I let my selfishness go and put my relationship first, it is always the better choice. I keep my priorities straight so that Laura knows she isn’t competing for my time and attention against a mistress named Triathlon.

By making sure I support my biggest supporter, there is a huge payoff: I’m free to train a ridiculous amount of hours each week with wholehearted support from my spouse. Give up an hour every once-and-awhile to have full support throughout the year. (Of course, relationships aren’t about equations, but if they were, this is a good one.)

To close, I wonder how many athletes think that success means sacrificing everything for sport, including relationships? I mean, the Olympics are coming up next week and part of the view popular view of these athletes (who represent nation-states) includes notions of the complete dedication of the athlete to pursue success at almost any cost (except cheating).

This idea of the single-mindedness of the athlete runs up against another odd assumption we have of Olympians, namely, that they are moral figures who embody their nations values. I mean, to a large degree, people think of Olympic athletes as not just physically superior but also morally advanced. Something about the Olympics conjures up ideas of super-humans, like Hercules or the Nephilim.

Thoughts?

Noa, my coach, scheduled me for a short, light run today (I swam this morning), so I headed to Mt. Doug and pretty much followed the dog’s lead. I had a tremendous amount of fun going off some of the more main trails and getting lost with Luthor. I took the camera along for this run to share some photos.

I love getting muddy and running around the park. This sort of thing compliments the mental activity that grad school requires. I get a great deal of joy from this element of my triathlon training, so I count myself lucky (again) to be here in Victoria.

See more photos of this run here.

Before the race, I felt that I should attempt to run an average of at least 3:30min/km, faster than I’ve ever run in a race (other than this supersprint tri). I managed to beat that goal. You can find results here, but the synopsis is that I ran 8km in 27:36 and placed thirtieth overall. This is the fastest pace I’ve ever sustained over a +5km distance, so I’m pleased by my achievement. While I still have a good way to go, this result encourages me to keep training to strive for even quicker times (which would meet a couple of my 2010 goals).

Not to say that this was an easy race. I sweated more than I have in months! I took a few risks and suffered through the race because of them. I went out fast with the lead runners and ran the first kilometer in under three minutes. Around the 2.5km mark, a large gap formed between the group I was running with and the next pack up. It seemed no one in the group wanted to bridge the gap (perhaps they were saving their energy for later). Anyway, for better or worse, I picked up my pace and caught the next group. The assuredly cost me some energy, but the experiment was worth it.

The Prairie Inn 8km race was well organized and a great deal of fun. I recommend this race to anyone looking for a fun road race that is well-attended by some of BC’s best athletes. This event was attended by some of the top triathletes and runners in Canada. Moreover, it was a gorgeous day to run. It was about 6C and misty. Perfect.

I learned a few things at the race:

1. Draft when possible. There were a few sections that I was out totally alone and I could feel the breeze pushing against me. I had to work just a little harder on the run; I could feel a significant difference from running with a pack of people. I think I could have been more strategic with sticking with a group of runners.
2. Pay attention to form. I need to work on being more mindful of my form and cadence when I race. Lack of mindfulness of my body results in less efficient racing and slower speeds. There were a number of times when I had to refocus on form.
3. Sprint at the end. I think I could have pushed harder the last 200m. Admittedly, hindsight always has me imagining that I’m super human and able to push harder than I did. Nevertheless, I slowed the last leg of the race and I could have made a few more seconds up if I had kept pushing.

Many thanks to PT Performance Training for helping me get to this speed and to Sole for equipping me with some custom footbeds for my Zoot race shoes.

I’m looking forward to the next race on January 24th: 10km at Cobble Hill.

I did injure myself at this race. I decided to follow someone through an icy puddle instead of going around the obstacle. I saw the guy infront of me go down, but I was already committed to the puddle. Despite being cautious, I managed a pretty serious fall (lots of blood and some new scars!). Another runner kindly helped me up and the adrenaline gave me enough of a kick to catch up with the pack I was with before the fall.

This race took place right toward the end of semester, so I’m not sure if it was the best use of my time. Again, I really enjoyed myself. Better planning around my workload would make events like this easier to accomodate. At this race, I managed to run 10 miles in 1:09:32 and place third overall. The top two guys were over three minutes faster than me, so I’ve got a long way to go before being able to run with the lead pack.

The current issue (Autumn 2009) of Canadian Literature: A Quarterly of Criticism and Review features an academic article by Suzanne Zelazo entitled:
Sport as Living Language: bpNichol and the Bodily Poetics of the Elite Triathlete.

The abstract follows:

This article traces the emergence of a link between the embodied aesthetics of sport and avant garde poetry. By teasing out the specifics and nuances of the sport of triathlon, its tripartite nature is offered as a paradigm for a new biopoetical triumvirate of performance: that of sport, gender, and poetics. Through inscribing the permutations of identity construction as perpetual becoming, both sport and art create opportunities for experimenting with new ways of being and experiencing the world. By developing a critical understanding of sensation and perception, this paper broadens hegemonic notions of conception and abstraction, creating an apposite lens for expanding the field of performance theory.

I’ll let you know my thoughts on the article once I get my hands on it.

COMING SOON: Post on the Mt. Stewart 10 Mile XC race. Mud, blood, and good times!

Recently, Adam Campbell posted this video on his blog. I wanted to share it here, simply because I found this trailer about Marco Olmo so inspiring. Marco Olmo is a world-champion long distance runner in his early 60s. He won Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc twice. I don’t mean he’s an age-group champion, he was the world champion for two-years in a row, outracing men half his age. When he did not podium in 2008, he didn’t make excuses about his age.

This video reminds me why I push myself to excel. Excuses are choices. My choice is made and I won’t revisit it. Time to get back into things.

Click here to view the embedded video.