Ok, Yesterday was a right off. Ended up going to Batman Begins with my ironman buddy. He said that after I whip Jose's ass on the course, that I should take his woman as my prize. Hmmmmm... Come here auntie heidi....

Hit the gym today, did 30 minutes on the bike 138HR. Weights and a quick swim. Got to wake up early tommorow. 1 Hour clinic in the pool. from 7-8. Must learn quicker to make Leon cry like a baby.

Still waiting for Leon to comment on this blog. Jose admits that it's fairly accurate. At least he knows he's a senile old fart.

Must remember to be careful on the bike
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/27/AR2005062701517.html

Todays workout

23 km trail ride. Cedarvale Ravine, Beltline, 2 loops of Mt. Pleasant Cemetary. Went around a small no traffic triangle in the cemetary to work on my turning. Working on balance and getting my weight off the handle bars. Long way to go. Lots of traffic today even with the heat, so I didn't get a good workout. Took 1:20, but riding time was always over 20km/h, except for the inclines. Did Vesta on the way back 17km/h.

Will do a 4 mile run now.

Yesterday was a complete rest day. Took Sammy to the Zoo. Played with monkeys and in the waterpark.

My Current Ability.

Ok, I just started this blog today since I woke up WAY too early last night, but might as well complete the story to date. I've had a couple of months to buy a bike and start riding it outside. So far, I go about 20-22 km most of the time. Haven't done any long rides which I'll try to address in the next couple of weeks. My balance sucks, and I'm way too anxious on the bike to be mistaken for a 'real' triathlete but hopefully I'll get by. My typical speed on the bike has tended to range in the 19-23 km/h range, but I'm hoping that the combination of an empty road and switching my tires for thinner stock should help me complete the 20km in @52-55 minutes. Only 4-7 minutes behind what they can do, but my problem is that their time includes the transition (YIKES!). Oh, and did I mention that I can't drink & drive at the same time? So, I'll either have to stop & drink or get dehydrated.

Swimming started off even worse. I only breathe on my left. My right arm wasn't getting out of the water, and I was winded after 1 lap. Slowly improved to do the 750m in 27 min. In the last couple of weeks I found a new instructor (better late than never), and I'm overhauling my form. Still sloppy, and have lots of room to improve efficiency. Hopefully I'll be ready on race day. Just did a time trial of 360m in 11 minutes. That was still quite hard, but I'm hoping to complete in the low 20's.

Running is my saving grace. I've now completed 4 half marathons with my PB time of 2:08. Leon, the 5 minute man (is that per mile or how long he lasts in bed?) by comparison has a 5k PB in the Tri's of 38 minutes speedwalking. I should be able to gain 10 minutes on him here. Or at least have the satisfaction of making that sucker RUN!

Worse case scenario, I am confident that I'll beat Leon's old time of 1:56. More importantly, I'm confident that Leon will avoid a rematch next year when he'll know that I can take him down. I probably can't beat him yet, but I'll make it competitive, have a blast and make him look bad at the same time.

Go Blue!

Leon's embarassing past

Leon's embarassing past
1997: 171/173 1:56:33 Total 22:55 54:59 38:40 *The other 2 DNF

1998: 198/198 1:55:53 19:03 50:31 46:20

2001 171/178 1:45:58 18:57 47:51 39:11

Jose's more impressive record.
1997 1:36:47 18:28 47:59 30:22

1998 1:38:39 17:56 46:39 34:05
2001 1:46:39 20:16 48:00 38:24

Honorable mention to Luis, Jose's son
2001 1:38:58 20:27 47:13 31:19

Note: results posted as
Year, (Rank), Total Time, Swim (750m), Bike(20km), Run(5km)

What's this about?

Q: Aren't triathlon and most endurance events (running, etc...) mostly about competing against ourselves? Becoming Better, stronger, faster, like the six million dollar man without the bionics?
A: Screw that wimpy attitude. I'm doing this triathlon for one simple reason, to kick my brother Leon's skinny ass. And while I'm at it, I might as well find out if it's time to send my senile old Uncle Jose to the seniors home.

Q: Geez, you're a grumpy SOB aren't you?
A: Yes. Yes, I am. Basically, this all started after my older, skinnier, supposedly more athletic brother started ragging on me when I was training to do my 1st Half-marathon last year (October 17th, 2004). Getting back into shape after a decade of Doritos and May Wests (a quebecoise delicacy even better than poutine) I was just hoping to complete it in one piece. He was ranting that he could run it in 5 minute miles. Which of course would make him the winner. Since then, he has recanted and claimed that he said he could do 1 mile at that pace. Obviously, I still don't believe him. That combined with him saying that he could beat me in any race, at any time was starting to really piss me off...

Of course, his idea of any race at any time means that if it's convenient and I happen to catch him at the start line, then maybe he'll do it. Obviously, he wouldn't do the half marathon with me to prove what a big shot he was. I'de have to bring the race to him. The only races I know that he's ever competed in were triathlons, but he never told me what event or how well he did. So, I figured that maybe one day I could compete with him in a triathlon, but how fast would I need to be? How many years (Decades?) untill I could come close to his performance? So, I went to the source and googled his name + triathlon. Bingo, results from 3 of his triathlons. And how did dear brother do?

DFL. Dead F'n Last! Not once, but twice! Hey, I may be shorter, fatter, and better looking but I figure I could match DFL anyday. To help ensure that Leon wouldn't find an excuse to get out of this race, I enlisted my senile Uncle who had done 3 triathlons with Leon already. Figuring that if I brought him in, Leon couldn't possibly refuse. It's too bad that my Uncle, who is relatively nice, will now have to suffer the worst beating of his life. Well, at least since his older brother caught him with their maid (but, that's another story).

OK, so the race is on for July 17th. A sprint Triathlon 750m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run. To be honest, I don't expect to beat them. They are both experienced cyclists, while I haven't been on a bike since I was 12. And my swimming is even worse. Just counting on my run to keep me close at the end.