OMG a day of training!!!

Today was a great day. For starters, we are now in Townsville, which isn't that special but it is where you catch the ferry to Magnetic Island, which is apparently amazing. We do that in 2 days.

A little bit of backround on today. Yesterday a South African dude at our hostel offered to drive us up to a lookout just out of town and we readily accepted, knowing these opportunities don't come often.

Castle hill is about 2.5 km out of the city centre, but it looks like it belongs in the outback. It is 300m tall, and the road is about 2.9km. What makes it cool is that it is steep and look likes a desert wasteland. As we were driving up there were tons of people apparently running to the top, even thought it looked pretty tough. I knew at once that I was going to tackle this mountain.

So this morning I headed to the pool, which I have also been wanting to do, and put the run off until dusk, when it is only around 27 degrees out.

I headed to the beautiful Tobruk memorial pool, which is steeped in history. It is where the Aus Olympic team trained until 1965 when they invented heated pools. There were over 40 world records broken there, and it was neat to do a laidback 2km straight set in the morning sun.

At dusk, I prepared to do the Castle hill. OMG!

I don't even know where to start on this climb. I know the grouse grind has a hell of a lot of more elevation gain in the same distance, but it was 27 degrees and the sun was still strong enough to kick my ass.

First 3rd.
I felt pretty good. The lungs haven't been used much in a while, but I was ok. I noticed I was the only one running up. Lots of walkers, but no runners.

Second 3rd.
Wow I am dying. There were SOME little flat sections on the first part, but it is now incredible uphill, and I am going pretty slow with a 190+ hr.

Third 3rd
OMG I am going to puke. Still noone else running. Lots of people running DOWN. O man I had t opull it together badly on this last section. Only a few more switchbacks. There was two huge ass Parrots squaking at me, sounding like death was near. BUT I MADE IT!

16.5 of the longest minutes of my life. Totaled in with the run there and back it was over 50 minutes to cover 7 km.

The decent was possibly the worst part. I decided to head down an alternative dirt path, that turned out to be all steps, except they were steps that were to long to jump in one jump, and were so deep that I landed on my toes every time. After 1000 of these my feet felt like the arches had been beaten with a 2 x 4. I was so happy to get home. I wasn't ok though ha ha. Jas was worried. When the temp is still like 27, you can't cool down. Two hours after my shower I was still sweating a rediculous amount and felt light headed. But I did it! Take that out of shape body!!!!!!!

Pictures to come, but google Castle hill in Townsville

Update

Not much to say here folks.

Currently I am at Mission Beach, a small one road town 2 hours south of Cairns. It is so hot here day and night, and the only thing to do is either skydive, or lay on the 14km of uninhabited beach. It is an amazing place. It feels like you are on a deserted tropical island. The beaches are perfect and wide, lined with palm trees. Today we noticed a lizard chillin about 5m away from us. He was about 1.5m in length and about 30 cm wide. Pretty wild.


Training is great!!!! I run like once every three days and swim in the ocean recreationally! I tried running barefoot in the sand and I am really sore! It's a great feeling. I can feel every muscle in my foot working when I run barefoot, like we are supposed to have before big ass shoes came in the market. My achillies tendon is a little sore as well, but I have heard that this is pretty normal when you aren't used to it.

If Nick reads this good luck at RVM!

Quick Update

It feels like a million year since my last post on the race. Post race I took a week completely off, and just enjoyed Australia. I have travelled up the Gold Coast, to Sydney, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, and now Cairns. It has been a lot of travelling but I have enjoyed it a lot. I have still yet to find a swimming pool in my travels, which I am not really worried about. I did my first run in a week in Noosa National Park, which is home to tons of Koalas, Roos and Snakes/Spiders. Needless to say I did a half run, half spotting wildlife!

After that 50 minute run of almost complete hills I was wiped out! It is around 35 degrees on the Sunshine Coast in midday, and very humid. Right now in Cairns (really north for all that don't know), it is 30 degrees in the shade, and the humidity is almost unbarable. My eating and drinking have definitly taken a turn for the unhealthy, but I am not too worried.

We headed to Cairns yesterday but were stuck in Brisbane because of the worst dust storm in 75 years! It was intense, like the end of the world. 12,000 tons of top soil was blown from the outback at 100+km/hr towards the coast. Every flight from Sydney was diverted to Brisbane, and then Brisbane got hit with it so it was slow going!

Now that we have reached Cairns, we plan to slow down and possibly find an apartment and settle in. That means finding the local pool and running along the beautiful water front.

Cairns is where you to go hit the Great Barrier Reef, which we hope to do in a few days. Right now we are enjoying the beautiful weather, along with the cheap hostels that have dinner and beer included in their rates. Most hostels offer a bed for 15 bucks including a meal!

World Triathlon Championships - Race Report

First of all I would like to thank everyone for all of the great support and comments (here and on FB). I wanna start by saying I had an AMAZING day. For those who already saw my result, it wasn't a fast day, but I had an awesome experience.

I'll start this race report with a quick recap of the last few weeks. I have basically been in a taper since nationals. I had an amazing race there and was hoping to keep the momentum going here in Australia. That being said, I told my coach that success in Nationals was important to me, since that is a race that I have done before, and it doesn't involve 8000 people and a 16hr time change. I figured that once I got here, anything could happen and I shouldn't worry about it too much.

This whole week has been crazy. I have been laying low like I should, but I knew something was amiss when I would do a 20 minute run or ride and be really sore after. In fact, during a run where I was supposed to do 10 minutes steady effort, I found it almost unbearable to hold a pace that wouldn't even make me sweat at home. Swimming was similar, in that I was struggling to hold 1:30 for 6 hundreds. 6! Never mind the 20 that we do at home at 1:27. Any who, you know where this post is going ha ha ha.

Race day

I get up really early. No point in trying to sleep any more. I got on the bus at 5:19, just as most of the party goers were going home from the bar. Pretty scary ha ha. Got to the site nice and early and set up transition. Followed my successful pre-race plan exactly (even the shot of espresso 1 hr before). I caught up with Richard and we walked the 1.5km to the swim start, as it was a point to point swim. The swim ended up being wetsuit legal. The water temperature would swing a couple of degrees each way every day. Today it was 20.0, two days before it was 22.0. This whole course was fast. If you were on your game today, you would smash your PB. The water was incredible buoyant. With a wetsuit and the salt water, I could literally just lay in the water and float. We were also apparently swimming with the current, but that was negligible.

In the moment before the start, I have never been so nervous. I wanted to do well for everyone supporting me here and back home.

The gun went off, and we all jumped in the water to kick and pull each other for a few hundred meters. Unfortunately, there weren't many guys that were 22-24 minute swimmers like I was, so I found myself alone pretty quick. It was a lonely swim. The other waves started 7 minutes apart, so there wasn't anybody else out there to draft. I just concentrated on swimming as hard as I could, even following the Bree Wee strategy of going hard for 20 strokes at a time ha.

I got out of the water in what must have been close to last in my heat. 25 minutes or something. I wasn't like at the Sri when I felt I had a good swim and was shocked by my time. I was pretty sure it was going to be like that. My arms were like lead. O well, off to the bike to potentially make up some time.

I must make a quick note about transition. It was HUGE! Imagine Kelowna Apple transition times three. Upon exiting the water, it was a 25m run straight up a thick sand dune (so painful!) and then a 50m run to the right of transition, a 50m run back to the left side, and a 100m run with your bike to the road. Pretty vicious. I managed to get out on the course without too many problems, but I knew my time was pretty slow.

The bike was not as well as planned either. It wasn't horrible, but I now know the feeling of my legs when they are on. You know the feeling when you are going up a small hill and you just accelerate into it, feeling so strong? Yeah that wasn't here today. In nationals, it was. Can you say DRAFTING? OMG. I was warned there was some drafting, but it was a bit ridiculous. We are talking close packs of 15-20 riders blowing by you. Not "pretty close" to each other. We are talking tucked into the person in front of them. There were 10 officials on the course, and to their credit they did pull a lot of people over for penalties.

When someone passed me and just sat in front of me, I didn't worry about it too much. The officials had more blatant offences to take care of. But I never really latched on to any packs. Not trying to preach the gospel here, because I had good friends that rode in packs. I don't blame them in the least. It was part of the day. You did what you could. If I was in contention I wouldn't be too happy seeing a group of M20-24 guys blast by me in a pack either.

There was lots of crashes. A bit of sweet justice to a pack of drafters that passed me and then ate the pavement. It was also getting hot. I started to have stomach issues on the bike. Uh-oh. I have never had issues on the bike before. I can usually eat a steak dinner on the bike and be fine. Not today. Still you couldn't help but enjoy the beautiful course that went along the ocean for 10k and looped back. The temperature was now around 25 degrees out and hot. The sun was direct.

I got off the bike and headed out for the run, still hoping to post a great time. As soon as I got out on the course, I got a really bad stomach cramp. I could barely move. I contemplated stopping for a second to double over and regroup, but screw that! The run course was lined 2 deep with people cheering "go Canada" and "go Janes" . It was an amazing moment. I had so much fun. Around 3km I decided to not worry about my time at all and enjoy the fact that I am doing a triathlon on the other side of the world! Let's just say that it was an experience I will always remember. I was hitting high fives and enjoying every minute of it. People were dropping like flies, with ambulances all around.

It sounds corny, but the entire run I contemplated my season and the successes I have had. All of the amazing workouts with amazing people, the highs and lows, the 4 top three OA results, and Nationals where I shaved almost 9 minutes off last year's time.

I finished running through the finish line in the obligatory sprint, beaming ear to ear. Jasmine could tell on the run that it wasn't my day. She saw how tired I was. Still, she was there for me right at the finish line with my mom and Lisa to congratulate me.

Looking at what happened, I don't really know or care. Maybe it was too much to ask to taper for nationals and then keep it going for worlds. Maybe I peaked a little too early in the year. All I know is that I am at peace with my result, am happy for my teammates and their amazing results, and am ready for a break from working out.

You know we went out hard last night. Although I had been up since 4am, we hit the Bundaberg rum, as well as some other Aussie beer and hit the town. It's 7:30 am the next day ( a sleep in for me), and I just had my first coffee of the day and am ready to go to the beach. More partying tonight and then time to travel this amazing country.


I know this is a long post, but I want to say some thank-you's

To my coach Dan. Thank you so much for all of the support and great advice over the year. There is no way I would have seen this improvement without you. I look forward to getting back to it in January.

To all of the other Lifesport peeps, thanks for the amazing year of training. I still think of Cooper telling me to go "faster by smoother" when I race.

To my friends and family. You have put up with a lot this year, and have supported me every step of the way. Thanks doesn't even cut it.

To Jasmine. I can't even start this without a little tear ha. Wouldn't be here without you. A boyfriend that works out for 3 hours a day isn't much fun. Can't wait for the next 3 months!


I will post pictures as the come.

Thanks for reading,

Mj

Getting close....

We are getting down to the wire folks! Training has been going well. I was reminded by my coach to try not to get sucked into doing too much. He tells me it's exactly what people do in Hawaii as well before the IM.

Yesterday was a little much. Since our hotel is located about 6km from the race site it is just easier to bike there and back than take a bus. Yesterday we had a swim at 8 am at the pool (see pics below). Swimming at 8 am here is a lot different than back home. The sun has been up for three hours already, and the temp is around 24 degrees. It is impossible to sleep past 7. It is kinda strange that the sun rises so early, but sets around 6pm. The swim felt good in our 35m pool (yeah, it was the dive pool). After that Sam, Ruichard and I biked the course to see it. Not much to see ha ha. It is flat as a pancake and right along the ocean. The only thing that could be an issue is the wind. Sans wind I can easily hit 40km/hr, but with the headwind I am going 33km/hr with a good effort.

After that hour long bike, I biked home, got my passport, and biked back to the site to register. After another hour in the sun and biking back to the hotel, I was pooped! I am definitly taking it easy the next two days.

Today I had a beautiful 45 minute run with a 10 minute hard tempo along the beach. I jumped in the ocean after (which is 20 degrees) to cool off. I just got thrashed by the surf ha ha.

Today is also the team meal, parade of nations, and opening ceremony. Should be fun!

Here are some pics of Surfer's and surrounding areas, as well as the pool area

Most Eastern point in Aus

Pool at the Race Site (Salt Water)

View from our hotel room

OK a little more time to post!

Wow the past few days have been incredible! Surfer's Paradise is pretty amazing. Pair that with 30 nations competing in a triathlon and you have heaven!

I went to my first Team Canada practice today at the pool. WOW it was so much fun. The workout was pretty basic (5 x 100, 10 x 50 MS), but the atmosphere was electric. Team Canada, NZ, Mexico, Italia, and Australia were there! The pool was an amazing 50m outdoor pool, that was salt water! Pretty crazy! I couldn't zone out and take in some water in that badboy! Of course I swam my ass off trying to hold my own with the other young guns ha ha!

The course and pool are about 6 km North of our hotel. At first I was a little sad that our hotel was that far from the course, but now I am really happy about it. We are allowed to take our bikes onto the pool deck, so it's not a big deal to bike there. And I would much rather bike six km to practice than bike 6 km to party! Our hotel is right smack in the middle of the main drag. It's like vegas here!

Biking and running have been going great. Swimming was a kick in the ass after not swimming for almost a week due to travelling. It is SO HARD not to do like 5 workouts a day here. Everyone is a triathlete, and group runs and rides are going three times a day. Today is a schduled day off, so I am going to try and stay off my feet, but good luck. I will probably mozy on down to the beach and ride the surf for hours!

This is definity the most amazing experience!

Quick post

I have 48 seconds left on my internet! Brisbane was amazing! Could definitly live there! Surfurs is even better! Did a run with Paul and Cathy from the elite squad yesterday, and rode with some NZers today!

Cleaning Sucks

This is the first time in about a week that I have had a minute to spare to write a blog post. All week Jas and I have been moving stuff out of our place and cleaning. We did the final clean yesterday, and are officially ready for Aus tomorrow! So excited! Training has been a mix of easy and fun. The fitness is there. Dan has laid out a nice taper for me, which looks like it centers around feeling nice and fast for the next 10 days.

I am definitly a lot more relaxed these days since Nationals. I feel like I proved all the hard work this year has paid off with my 8 minute PB in Kelowna, so a little of the pressure is off for Worlds. I really want to go 2:10.00 or under in Aus, but I am really there to enjoy the experience!

More posting when I get down under!

Mj

A Few More Classic Pics

Putting the boxes on the bike for the Greyhound

Amazing job

Rolling down Granville in Van

Taking the bus to the ferry

Kelowna Apple- Part 2

After the race we headed off to the hotel to shower and change, and then back to the course. I was hoping for a top 5 at this race, but it didn't happen. 6th in my age group. I made the goal of top 5 however, based on last year's results, which I would have made. This year had a strong M20 field.

I relaxed with my buddies in the beer gardens for a bit, and then it was time to head home. My buddy Steve was driving, and the rest of us started to fall into a nice relaxing sleep for the long ride home. About an hour in to the ride, Steve woke me up to tell me something is wrong with the car. I saw that a few warning lights were on, but I wasn't too worried, that is until Steve pointed out that the engine temperature gauge was in the "engine is about to explode" range.

We pulled over in the middle of nowhere and popped the hood. The engine was smoking pretty bad. One of the tubes that connects the radiator to the coolant pump had come off, spewing coolant everywhere. We knew we were going to have to get a tow. Luckily we hitched a ride with a guy heading to Merritt, as a tow truck can only take two guys. The tow into Merritt (26km away) was $200.00! Ouch. Being guys, we assumed that when we got to Merritt we could do a little repair on the blown tube and be off to Vancouver in an hour.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

Us working on the car

Steve providing the music for our troubles

Looking stoked to be in Merritt

The coolant tube was but a small symptom of a much larger problem. We slowly began to figure out that the engine blew something that created a massive oil leak. In a matter of minutes the car was running on NO oil. Like none. This created so much heat that the coolant couldn't take the pressure and blew, creating even more heat. We had to wait until the next day to get the final verdict from the mechanic in Merritt, but we were pretty sure the engine was toast.

Let me tell you, Merritt on a Sunday night is not that fun. Me and the boys made the best of it, getting some Captain Morgans and yucking it up, but we knew tomorrow was going to be a long day. To add to all of this, two of us had no battery for our cell phones, and another had somehow lost his altogether.

I got up early the next day to talk to the mechanic who informed me the car was toast. He was sure that the incredible overheating had melted the inside of the engine, causing it to warp. You could hear the starter motor turning, but there was just no compression in the pistons. AWESOME. This was my mom's car which I decided to take instead of mine so that we wouldn't break down and be stranded. Ironic.

It was hard to leave such a nice car there, but we had to get home. I couldn't stay another night in Merritt, and it would likely take a lot longer than that to figure out what to do with the car. So we ditched it and took a Greyhound bus to Vancouver.

The long walk home

I took apart my bike as best I could and had two bags on my back, my wheels in one hand, and my bike in the other. It was rough. Two minutes before leaving on the bus, the driver informs me that he won't take my bike because it's not in a box. WTF? So we asked for some old boxes out back and just started taping them around my bike. We somehow got like 4 old crappy old boxes over my bike, and just taped two half boxes around my wheels. So butch.

After 5 long hours we made it to Vancouver. Then the hard part began. We had to take public transit from downtown to the ferry. Two bags, wheels, and my bike on the skytrain and bus. OMG. I will post pictures of it I promise. I don't know how my bike made it without any mishaps. After the second bus we had a little time so I put the bike back together and put it on the bike rack outside, which was a little nicer.

We finally get to the ferry and walk on. I bring my bike upstairs because I had no lock for it and hell, I just didn't want to leave it anywhere. Of course the cheif steward has a big problem with this, but my buddies pull the "he is a big triathlete guy that just came back from national championships and his car broke down" story, so the guy lets us keep the bike upstairs.

10.5 hours after leaving Merritt, we are back in Victoria. All of the travelling has basically ruined my legs (little or no stretching plus a greyhound equals pain).

I have to laugh because I was thinking to myself "I never want to travel again," except I am leaving for Australia in like 7 days for 3 months! I'm gonna bike out to the Sidney TT tonight just to loosen up the legs.