Juan De Fuca Sprint and Victoria Trip

This past weekend I traveled to Victoria. Of course picking the may-long weekend, I realized that the busses, skytrains and ferries would be absolutely chaos- and was I ever right! From leaving my place in Coquitlam carrying a backpack, dufflebag and my bike it took me 6.5hrs to arrive in Victoria. Coach Noa picked me up from the ferry terminal and drove me into Victoria. I think that was the easiest leg of my journey! I am lucky enough to have great connections with people on the island and was able to stay at my mum's partner's brother's house in the Fernwood/OakBay area. I had the whole (amazing) house to myself, as they were in Halifax for the weekend.

On saturday I rode my bike into town, which took only 10min, and headed straight for MEC. I am now the proud owner of a garmin 11o watch. I passed the rest of the day with getting my workouts done- a small brick and recovery swim at crystal pool- the first 50m pool that I have ever been to!

Sunday morning I hitched a ride with Kim C--. an althete also coached by Noa, to the JDF sprint out in Colwood. My heat was scheduled to start at 8am.

Starting off with a pool swim was interesting. With only 3 people to a lane, things weren't crowded, but it felt like the water temp. was HOT with all of those bodies. I nailed everyone of my flip turns- but completely lost count of what lap I was on after about 5 laps. Of course, I swam an extra 50m, making my swim 800m instead of 750m because I didn't see the kickboard signalling my last length- no matter- I am super stoked with my swim time of 12:18. T1 was decent, but I need to learn how to mount my bike with my shoes already attached. The bike was a 2x out and back course. Beautiful yet challenging. The course was hilly, but that's always a nice change from the long flat stuff. Back into T2- if I thought T1 was bad, this topped it by about a million! I couldn't get my flats on properly- my orthodics kept bunching up each time I slid my bare foot in.... I tried 4x and then decided to take out the orthodics and wear the shoes as is. So about 2min wasted dicking around with my shoes... not too happy but I've got to start somewhere. The run was also hilly, but on a cedar chip trail- so soft on the feet. The first km felt good and then things fell apart. I was really lagging for the next 1.5km until the turn around.... my legs just felt dead and my IT band had this nasty knot in it that was making my leg go numb. I picked it up when I realized that the course was an out and back, not 2 loops as said on the website- and finished strong. I am taking this race as another learning experience, afterall it was only my second triathlon and I have A LOT to learn! Racing two weeks apart and with out tapering is not something that I am used to yet, but I know overtime that things will get better.

Later sunday afternoon, Emma and I headed out for a long ride around Victoria. Wow is all I can say! Victoria has such beautiful countryside and roads for riding. Not to mention that I also feel so much safer riding over there than I do in Vancouver.

My cousin Rachel and her husband Stu took me out for breakfast monday a.m. and then drove me to the ferry. Luckily the trip home was only 5.5hrs, and less stressful than the trip over.

After spending a few days in Victoria I have finally made up my mind to transfer over to UVIC and do my BSc. in Kinesiology there. I have been toying with the idea since winter break, as I have just not been happy at SFU. The metropolitan feel of the city just doesn't suit my boots- I am too much of a small town girl for the likes of suburbia and vancouver. I have been missing out on good training sessions with an actual team, and if I want to take my career in triathlon any further, I need to be training with a team. I think that the decision to go to UVIC will be a good one- and is something that I am greatly looking forward to!

I've got about two weeks until my next race at Wasa Lake. In that time I am hoping to de-knot my IT band. I guess that's what I get when I neglect to stretch and massage the area. It's not full ITBS yet- and I am hoping to prevent it from getting that far!

Happy Training and enjoy the summer (or the rain-as that seems to be the current weather all across BC!)

Race Season!

Race season has started! This past weekend I competed in my second duathlon, the Penticton Bare Bones Duathlon (5/32/5). I felt a bit nervous going into the race with no taper/down time before the event, but according to coach Noa it is a good experience to head into a race without the comfort of a taper, and I'll have to agree! It was a good learning experience to race on tired legs and a good indicator to see how my body holds up in a race situation. The first 5km went quite well and I managed to stay in 3rd position, but I didn't quite run the time I wanted. Shooting for 20:xx may have been too ambitious for tired legs. Onto the bike and almost like that I was passed by some super speedy girls! The course was challenging with some good climbs and nasty descents that were made a bit sketchy thanks to major potholes and gravel... I'm a chicken when it comes to descents on the bike! The second run felt nice and strong, only the second lap was a struggle to deal with the headwind and rain. I gained back a few spots on the last 5km and managed to finish 6th overall, and first in my AG, but there was just me :) My dad and I drove back from Penticton after the race and arrived at my new place later that night.

All settled in to the Coquitlam basement suite and slowly finding my way around the area and working the bus schedule. I had my first loading the bike onto the bus experience this week- and I can only hope that it gets easier! The bus driver had to get off and help me! A big shout out to Different Bikes Burnaby for helping me with my bike needs etc. Its great to have their amazing support!

Heineken the cat

maybe powerade should sponsor me? (stashed

under my bed for now)

Race winnings: white vino, hat and socks!