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So I have been slowly working up my training, secretly in August, and then I came out of the Triathlon closet in January to do full on training the. But this is the first of my 5 big races this season - and all those months of nerves…

I have been waking up at 5am, but not being able to fall asleep until midnight or later!
Let me sum up:

Race day 3 h sleep, a bowl of oatmeal, 2 meal replacements…. set up with 2000 other people in the dark, blast around for a bike warm up, in the dark. Short jog, watch the sunrise while Sean takes off in the Pro wave, one last long pee in TL’s wetsuit, and it’s Go-Time. (more…)

So I did it.

I won my age group and am headed to Kona. (more…)

The whole ‘life unscripted/ unplanned/ non-uneventful’ thing sounds swell on paper, but truth be told, sometimes my ‘carelessness’ (as some close to me may call it)

As I was packing to leave California it was brought to my attention that my passport was expired. It is not a requirement that you have a valid passport for entering Canada, even by plane, so, as it was a Sunday evening, I wasn’t terribly worried. Carley suggested I call Air Canada and see if this would be a problem. They told me it would, but, without other options I was hoping that… maybe they won’t notice it.

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Welcome back. So I have been working. Yes. I, work, appeared in the same month. Back in Ottawa area, a place that I really enjoy, walking the dogs.

Not arrested, but then I still have time. I did get warned for swimming in pink lake. Apparently it’s forbidden. Since when the ranger approached me, I was wearing swim trunks, flip-flops and a towel around my neck (and the ranger said… I saw you swimming for an hour) I didn’t bother to protest. Plus neither she, nor the dozens of tourists present commented on the clothing optional part. She also mentioned that the gates normally were locked at 9pm and it was now 10 after. Overall a very pleasant experience with the ranger. (more…)

OK well I have finally started getting up trip stories. I am back in Ottawa for another few weeks- walking dogs. Somehow I seem perpetually jet-lagged - so maybe it’s that or maybe just from spending 3-6h a day stopping and romping through the area swamps, bogs, bushes, and trails with only K9’s for company.

Today I got called in to walk Ruben the Wiener Dog (here after simply referred to as ‘my wiener’) and thought the whole episode hilarious.

My wiener is around 13 inches long, weighs 7 lbs, and is covered in soft brown fur. (more…)

Hello there.

Yes I am doing fine. Thanks for everyone who is wondering if I am lost somewhere, AWOL or otherwise.

If you have not heard the news is that Jan Ulrich’s DNA matched up to the DNA found in the refrigerator of a Spanish ‘doping doctor’. I don’t think that anyone really is terribly surprised at this, his Lawyers were trying to block the DNA transfer, and when they failed he retired.

Technically the entire investigation is shelved, and as one, fingered athlete argued, buying a gun, doesn’t make you guilty of murder. But come on, what did 200+ athletes involved in this toothless investigation (only 58 were cyclists) have their blood saved for? The Red Cross? (more…)

Well I managed not to break any of anything over the weekend. Which was a huge relief.

I have come to realize that I am a bicycle racing junkie. ‘I was trying to quit but these other people are making me.’ Yes the voice of reason on the other end of the telephone tells me they are your enablers, you go to them, because they encourage you to race bike.

Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.
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