My Thank You Post

Thanks to my fast buddy Paul Oostra for running with me yesterday. Paul had my number and ran the 5k in 19 and change....not too shabby considering he has had the flu all week! I got it done in 20 mins exactly on a very icy course.
Looks like our GP Triathlon for the May long weekend is a definate go...thanks to Matt Bain for moving on this and reviving it!
Local triathlon legend Joe Radench has graciously agreed to coach and guide me through the next 21 weeks of training leading up to Ironman Canada. We are extremely lucky to have someone of Joe's caliber and experience here in GP and he is always willing to pass on his vast knowledge and to others in our tri community! Thanks Joe!!
Also a kudos goes out to Amber and Darren for opening up their doors every Sunday for us to stink and sweat up their home with our Coach Troy Sufferfests! Thanks Guys!!
Thanks to my sweety who has made sure that I can't blame my bike this year at Ironman...P3C!
There has been some crazy growth around here in the Press Run Programs...Thanks Sonya and Lori...and the GP Run Walk Club explosive growth, the solid Tri community, Grande Prairie is becoming a real powerhouse in running and triathlon and it keeps getting larger!!!
Check out this months issue of Canadian Runner Magazine for a profile or our Run/Walk Club!! Way to go everyone!!
And for all you who enjoy Muserau Lake and our Triathlon Training Camps, and anybody who enjoys this beautiful part of the province and all other Provincial Parks, please plan on attending the Open House at the Muskoseepi Park Pavillion on Tuesday April 1st at 7:00pm. We have to voice our opposition to the lobby to allow ATV's and motorized boats in all these areas! These open houses are key to the policy development for the future and we need to be heard so lets all get out and voice our concern that we do not want motorized vehicles in our Provincial Parks!!
See you then!!!

Slowtwitch 100/100 Challenge Complete!!

Well the Challenge has officially ended and I have completed my 100th run tonite! Thanks to Patrick, Sonya, Laverna and Liah for joining me for my 8k this evening! It feels like spring is in the air and the challenge has got me through a long Grande Prairie winter in great running shape for the upcoming year....now to work on my swimming and biking!! April 1st begins my 20 week training program to Ironman Canada......lets get going!!
http://training.slowtwitch.com/viewchallenge?challengeId=2&challengeType=frequency&sort=distance&sortDir=desc

Pictures from Vegas

Check out my facebook

for lots of picxtures from Vegas!! If your not my friend just ask!

AND BREAKING NEWS!!! LANCE CRASHED IN SPAIN TODAY AND BUSTED HIS COLLARBONE.......NO TOUR THIS YEAR!! THAT SUCKS!!http://www.rtve.es/mediateca/videos/20090323/armstrong-cae-abandona-castilla-leon/455839.shtml

Tomorrow is day 100 of the 100/100 Challenge.....Join me for my 100th run from the Leisure Center at 6:00pm!

Six Tunnels Half Marathon

Erin on here way to a 26:56 5k in Las Vegas......2nd in her age group and 55th overall!! Way to go honey!!

The Deal Is Done!!

This is my new ride!! Sealed the deal with Robert Jr. at Ernies today....Cervelo P3 Carbon! It simply does not get any better than this ride! No more excuses....Kona here we come!!

Wrapping up the 100/100

I AM NEVER RUNNING AGAIN AFTER THIS 100/100 IS OVER!!......Just kidding! Its got to a point where running every day is a given and not too big a deal. My body has held up just fine with absolutely no injury or issue. I am now at 97 runs and the challenge ends on Tuesday so I have a run to make up between now and then which will be no problem. Check out the results so far at http://training.slowtwitch.com/viewchallenge?challengeId=2&challengeType=frequency&sort=distance&sortDir=desc

I have managed to average over 10k per day and have 1014 km thus far. I will be running my 100th run on Tueday at 6:00pm from the Leisure Center so if anyone wants to join me.....
To wrap up the challenge....all the participants on Slowtwitch.com are holding a virtual 5k race....see the info at
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=2237431;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

The thing is to run a 5k....enter your finish time online, and compete against everyone else from around the globe....cool eh? I will be leaving from Muskoseepi Park Pavillion at 8:30 this Saturday and will run 5k of the the Fall Classic route so you all are invited to run with me!
We had a great Sunday Morning Press Run Training Group today with over 100 eager and possessed individuals committing to the 10 week program...way to go everybody!!!...it really was great to see how Lori and Sonya have sparked the running community over the past couple of years....the GP Run Walk Club keeps getting bigger as a result!
www.gprunwalk.com

LOVE - LAS Vegas!

We all saw this show here tonight it was fantastic....so if you got to sell your car, your Quads, or cash in the RRSP, come see this! You will not regret it!

Viva Las Vegas!!

Well we all landed safely here in Vegas. It sure is nice to feel some warmth after the bitter cold in GP...-30 to +20 is good for the soul. Here is a pic of us as we arrived at the airport....a bank of "one are bandits" awaits you! Its all about entertainment here for sure! All your senses are overwelmed with massive big screens everywhere that are trying to get you to their show, casino, or restraunt and it is a bit overwelming. But if you come with a plan of what you want to do then its not so bad. We plan to run the Six Tunnels Half Marathon and 5K at the Hoover Dam, see The Beatles Circ du Soliel "Love", get some sun and some shopping and a fancy meal. Were staying at Mandalay Bay Resort so it does not suck at all!!Erin and Lorna are checking off the "some shopping" now so i have a few moments to post!



We arrived to the race start at about 7am on Saturday morning for a 8am start. Lorna and I were running the Half and Erin was running the 5k. The start was about 20 miles east of Vegas close to the famous Hoover Dam. So we picked up our race kits that contained a nice souvenier travel mug and a green T Shirt....after all it is real close to St Paddy's and it was definately a theme for the event. It was a simply stunning venue overlooking Lake Mead and a spectacular morning! So great to have both Erin and Lorna here and were all quite excited to be here!! The Half Marathon course went 3 miles in one direction all uphill to a turnaround, downhill back to the start and a bit over 3 miles in the other direction to the Hoover Dam and back again. The first 6 miles was on new pavement trail but the rest was on loose dry gravel undulating trail wich was very hard to get a good footing in....kinda like good old snow! The race also passed through 6 different tunnels which added to the coolness of the event! Anyways I did not do a heck of alot of research on the route and was not expecting it to be as challenging as it was but I did feel quite strong throughout and was 1 minute and 31 seconds past my goal of 1 hour 30 minutes so i was quite happy with my time. It was 17th overall and second in my age group! Lorna ran a solid 2 hours and 7 minutes on this tough course and was also very happy with her time! Way to go honey! And Erin had an absolutely awesome 5K in 26 minutes and she finished in 55 place overall in a fiels of over 300 and took second in her age group! Way to go honey also! All in all a very special day that none of us will ever forget I sure. Erin and I both got plaques for our age group finishes and the race was well represented by canucks running from the cold and as Eddy the race director was giving out some prizes to us and other Canadians he commented about all us Canadian coming down and taking all the hardware back to a foreign country! Eddy was a great guy and is quite excited about his upcoming bike tour of PEI and Cape Breton the summer so we gave him some tips of some "must sees" on his adventure.
After some touring of the Hoover Dam we headed back into the Big City for an afternoon of relaxation and sun at the Mandalay Bay pools!

Made it to California

Hi all...i feel for all of you suffering through the cold in GP...it is quite nice here but definately not hot! Great for running however I feel a bit like I am at some resort in Mexico because the neighbourhoods outside of the dozen or so hotels around the airport here in Ontario CA are sketchy and a lot or gang painting everywhere. Getting lots of running in but the concrete is unforgiving on the legs...10k feels like 15k! Hoping to get a long trail run in tomorrow on some trails in the State Park....and I will keep a look out for rattlesnakes!
So we are all signed up for Calgary 70.3 www.ironmancalgary.com
The internet connection here is painfully slow but I will post again later today but for now I have to get to my Fleet Management Course...more about that later!