Underpants

I guess the point of a blog is to keep it updated on a regular basis. I should get an award for the worst blog of the year based on that.

Life has been hectic but in that good way where you sometimes forget to put your underpants on under your real pants and eventually have a nasty encouter with your zipper.

I will do a better job of bloggin in the the next couple of months. Next up is the world long course championships in Australia. I decided to pass on Hawaii this year, soak it in a bit and have a crack at World long course.

Perhaps I will keep more of a training blog in the next couple of months to see what the response is and maybe that is something that is interesting.

In a nutshell, I took two weeks off after the race and have spent the last 2.5 weeks building back up to regular hours. I feel very good, i think i went in with more fitness which makes the coming out of an ironman easier. I feel fit again and have some fatigue from the past two weeks. This week is a bit lighter but the next two are going to be bigger.....so should be interesting.

Victoria rules on a sunny day......the mountains, the ocean, the view.......i would rather have that view than a kick in the groin.

This picture is of Doc Mazurin....he is the greatest healer ever....if you are in Penticton go and see him and he will make you laugh.

Good day to you all.
j

Keep on Keepin on

And so that was that, it's been two weeks and back in the saddle, lookin for a little affection!

The merry world continues to revolve and my first long ride after a couple easy weeks felt like a roller coaster. I love roller coasters, especially ones where you do loops. I still feel fit but definitely not primed and my 4.5 hour ride ended with a wee nap on the couch with my increasingly large cat who has worked out that life is enjoyed most on the warmest spot on the couch after a tasty bit of salmon......i love our cats....they have big hearts and equally big belly's.

I definitely feel fitter this time around, I think i went into the race stronger so the usual routine of completely smashing myself on the run was replaced with a more controlled effort which is easier to recover from. So we march on to the next event.....ITU worlds or another late season Ironman and try to get that 2007 hawaii spot. I am motivated to train right now but 2 weeks after a big race can be a danger zone.....still on a high, very fit and rested but perhaps still with some deep fatigue.....so we are being smart for a week or so more.

and that is all i have to say about that.....my legs are heavy and i am rather sleepy and in need of a tasty piece of chocolate or something along those lines.

Ironman Canada 2006...yahoooo

The past week has been crazy but I have loved every minute of it. Last weekend it finally all came together and I won my first Ironman title at Ironman Canada. I have only now just had a chance to sit down and sort through everything and get a blog post up which is hopefully a good place to do some kind of a race report and throw up some photos although a week after the fact.

Last Sunday was such a great experience and I am truly grateful to everyone who has been such a massive part of it. Family, friends, training partners, coaches, sponsors....there is a long list so here is to all of you, I have had several toasts to all of you over the past week.

I am not much of a "race report" kind of guy but in a nutshell, it was just a great day which is usually how you remember it if you win. Like all Ironman races there were ups and downs but i generally felt pretty level throughout the day which helped. The work was hard heading into this one but it was consistent and with some fresh ideas from Andrew, we could tell it was working right away.

Swim was as swims usually are in Ironman, an opportunity to have several final pee's before the day really starts. I felt good, the pace was not overwhelming and I was happy we were only a couple minutes down by the end.

The bike is what made the big difference this year. I put everything else on the backburner in the last 10 weeks and hammered away. So my first shout out goes to Andrew for helping kick my butt to a new level on the bike and not lose the running or swimming. He said that he thinks i am cool to go it on my own now but i told him to take that comment and stick it where the sun don't shine....it's more fun with more people!! So thanks Andrew, you're an incredible source of knowledge and nutterness and just a dude with a big heart and a great sense of humor wrapped into one! Thank goodness you just married Michelle!!

Bike felt good most of the way, we did alot of HR training so I basically settled in at a HR we knew i could handle for 5 hours and trusted that would bring me around back to the transisition in a good time. The most significant thing was that i came in with only a 5minute deficit instead of my usual 20 minute deficit....so for the first time i had a real chance.

So the run started out a little quick as usual but not as fast as some other years.....run slow run slow run slow..atleast for the first mile or two so i don't have to spend the next 24 miles recovering. You can usually tell right away how the run will feel when you start and this felt like a good day....legs still felt like they were good to go. One mile at a time is usually the strategy...nothing worse than thinking too far ahead in a 9 hour race....it can become an overwhelming prospect. So, one mile at a time it was and i managed to move into the lead at mile 10. Went through the half in 1:23 and the second in 1:24 so was very happy with that. It sure felt like my legs were crumbling away but i guess i wasn't slowing down too bad thankfully. Lack of experience in that position probably made me the biggest pain in the butt to all the spotters...."have i got a gap?" "is anyone gaining on me?" "do i look fat in these pants?".........."no jasper, you are doing fine!" but i couldn't relax until the last few hundred meters....in a race that long if the wheels fall off you can go backwards in a huge hurry.

The last few miles was slightly surreal.....everything i ever imagined winning a big race would feel like...it felt great. I won't get too gushy about it because at the heart of it all it is still a silly world and there are more important things but it was a real great feeling. I won't forget it....it felt awsome! The people in the last couple miles go crazy and the noise was very loud and that felt good...i won't lie....it felt good.

My Mom, my bro, Jude, Kristina, Penny.....everyone who was there it was so great that they could be there...i could have won Malaysia as my first one with everyone on the internet or never won one at all so i feel exceptionally fortunate to have had that experience.

I am at an age and stage in my life to understand that you never know what might happen and that you never have another first one so I soaked every bit of it up and took nothing for granted. We live in a crazy world and anyone who does what they are passionate about is lucky.....i am lucky....and grateful....simple as that!

So now, my anxiousness that perhaps it was all just one of those bad "triathlon dreams" has passed and I have had my fun little bit of fame for a day or two and I am back in Vic via New Mexico for Andrew's awsome wedding.....but that is a hilarious tale for another day!

Until next time, keep fit and have fun!