Be as Happy as....

...a kid with his first iPod...

Thanks Bapa and Mormor!!

P.S.  Mattias' Rockin' Playlist...  (Click to enlarge)

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New Bikes in the Family

I've been meaning to put up a post about my new bike for a while...

Please enjoy the Specialized Transition Expert.  In this case it is shown with my Mavic Cosmic Carbone wheels but it came with Roval Fusee Star wheels (which are pretty awesome wheels for training and are on my road bike right now.)  It would also normally have Speedplay pedals on it but I have them on my other bike at the moment as well.

The Vision Aerobars are pretty nice, comfy and fast looking...

The Vision brakes are razor thin which reminds you not to use them very often....

The whole bike is incredibly aerodynamic - I haven't seen a bike this narrow before.  When I look down at the top tube it is WAY narrower than I am used to - pretty awesome.

The rear brake is placed down by the bottom bracket - for aerodynamics...

The bottle cage between the aerobars is the cheapest, coolest, improvement in aerodynamics you can make (actually I have no idea if that is true but let's go with it....)  Get four cable ties, a bottle cage (the Specialized Rib Cage is perfect), lay the cage between the aerobars, zap, zap, zap, zap presto!  No more reaching down, no more bottle & cage down there in the wind, it is now tucked between your forearms and in front of your crotch OUT of the wind.  It is also super convenient to use from this location.

I'd like to draw your attention to the Bike Gallery sticker....  Stephen Kim down at the Bike Gallery has hooked me up hugely, he connected me with Specialized, and has been a huge supporter of me and my goals for a long time.  His shop is the perfect combination of great bikes, great knowledge and excellent personalized service.  I highly recommend you check it out...

There was also a birthday around these parts a little while back...  Viggo got his first bike!  It is a fire engine red Radio Flyer.  I expect the drivetrain to last for years - it is extremely low maintenance.

You wouldn't want to be a kitchen cabinet in our house these days...  the V-man has a ways to go with his bike handling...

But he has a few good teachers...

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North Shore Triathlon 2009

Event #1 - Kids 6-7 Relay

Mattias and his buddy Carter rocked this thing.  

SWIM:  Mattias was first out of the water - he took a few wallops on the head and got run into the side of the pool a couple of times but he distanced himself in the last 25m to emerge first out of the water.

BIKE:  Carter executed his mount and climbed up the initial hill almost all the way to the top without stopping...  very impressive for a 6 year old.  He returned having extended the lead, executed a perfect dismount and ran his bike through transition without a single issue.

RUN:  Mattias tore off to the legendary sound of Steve King's voice on the PA saying "Look at that young man climb the hill!"  A few minutes later he brought it home and even nailed my high-five over the fence as he sprinted down the finishing chute.

It was awesome!  Kevin and I were cheering like crazy and my camera sort of seized up...  I still have a few shots from others though. 

Mattias getting "rubbed out" against the wall...

Pulling even with a little backstroke...

And opening up for the finish....

Caulfeild Bombers - First Place Kids 6-7 Relay!  Carter (left) and Mattias (right).

Mattias was super stoked!

Event #2

After the excitement of Mattias' race it was time for me to try to calm down and race myself.  This proved to be a little difficult - I am used to just worrying about myself at a race and this time I was worrying about Mattias and all his stuff.  Like a complete scatterbrain I kept forgetting things - his crocs (at the pool), my goggles (in my bag), my towel (at his transition spot), pumping my tires (oh well), my timing chip (in my bag)...

SWIM:  All the farting around meant I started with a slower heat than I would normally have chosen.  By the time I fetched my goggles and got back into the pool I was with the 14 minute swimmers because the faster ones had gone off already (this swim is self-seeding).  In reality the "13-14s" are actually 15-17s.  Anyway, I laid down a super slow swim in high traffic - it's harder for me to be aggressive in a pool than in a lake - you just feel like that much more of an a$$hole when you swim on top of someone in a pool with 50 spectators 15ft away.  My swim was about 14:00 + 1 minute for hopping and putting on my leg.  

BIKE:  Four laps.  Small rollers, fast.  Lap 1 = out of sorts and feeling weak.  Laps 2, 3 and 4 felt pretty awesome.  My bike needs a few fit adjustments - the seat post needs to be cut, and a longer stem installed...  then I'll be rocking!  We didn't have time to do a proper fit for this race since I got the bike a couple of days ago.  If it didn't look so damn nice (and fast) I probably would have been smart and ridden my old bike.

RUN:  Felt really awful at the start and the end.  Middle was OK (and downhill...)  I have been doing almost no running so this isn't surprising.  I have to pick up the running or Escape from Alcatraz is going to be painful (and embarrassing).  My sole excuse (bad pun) is that I was also in fairly constant discomfort from this:

It took all of about 5 minutes of running to start forming.  I have had this blister about 4 dozen times...  It's almost a tradition.  Anyway, it's mildly annoying when your prosthesis becomes your "good leg".

RESULT:  I placed 11/31 in my AG.  I was particularly pleased with my bike which was 4/31.  Since I have been working pretty much solely on the bike this was somewhat validating.

In the end I was a couple minutes faster than last year but felt comparatively dissatisfied with my race this time around.  Don't get me wrong - I don't expect to run fast in a race without running in training but it still sucks to huff and puff, lumbering around a 5km course.

In non-me news, there was a strong Innovative Fitness contingent at the race - as usual.  Check out Kate motoring past the competition in what might be the best action photo I have ever taken:

Game face on.  Kate was hauling...

Team Innovative:  Kate Perry, Sasha Myers, Guy Demong, MJ, Ashley Perry

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Tomorrow We Race!

In this case "we" means Mattias and I....

Tomorrow is the North Shore Spring Triathlon.  Just like last year, my participation will be overshadowed by a first-timer - this time it's my own son!

This is really an absolutely perfect race for a beginner, and I may try to bring one triathlon rookie every year!

- pool swim (750m)

- flat, simple bike (20km)

- fun run on part trails, part road, couple of small hills (5km)

- great community atmosphere

This year Mattias is doing the 6-7 year-old's relay with his buddy Carter.  Mattias will swim and run, leaving the cycling to Carter.  The distances are 50m swim, 1.5 km bike, 500m run.

Today Kevin and I held a transition practice: mounts, dismounts, running with the bikes, tagging, racking bikes, putting on helmets and ripping them off etc.  If you've ever watched a kids tri - this is where the carnage takes place (and the race is won or lost.)  More important than competitiveness is that our sons do not perpetuate the myth reality that triathletes are known for disastrously poor bike handling.  We want our kids to be part of the solution not the problem!

Kevin with his students...

Carter with the day's best "flying dismount"...

Mattias dutifully dismounting PRIOR to the dismount line...

Unfortunately I have a bit more confidence in these guys than myself tomorrow.  I am breaking the "nothing new on race day" rule in a major way:

- New bike (friday)

- New water bottle position (put it between the aerobars - a few hours ago)

Hopefully nothing disastrous will happen...

Here is my new ride courtesy of Specialized and the the Bike Gallery HUGE THANK YOU to both!

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Rough Weekend - but it's a New Week!

It was a pretty rough weekend around here.  There is a gnarly wave of sickness running through this peaceful hamlet....  It had Mattias, then Aia and finally Sacha down for the count this weekend.  Viggo and I are holding strong though...  *knocking on wood*

Actually Mattias was a victim late last week and was actually fully recovered in time for the weekend and so we were training buddies on Saturday (him = Otters, me = Masters) + a Lighthouse Park trail run.

The trail run was so awesome on Saturday we decided to repeat it on Sunday with full camera support.  Mattias is a super fast trail runner - there were several times I thought to myself "I wouldn't actually be going any faster by myself."  He is a descending maniac.

I even shot a video... unfortunately, Welcome to the Jungle (Mattias' favourite song) didn't make it by the YouTube copyright police... so it's a silent film.

I am gearing up for an exciting week.  Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I will be taking part in a track cycling camp organized by CCA.  Two hours of track time per day and probably a few road rides with the fellas.  It should be pretty awesome.

I actually have that "butterflies" feeling - like the one you get before your first triathlon - I have never ridden on a track, add in a single speed track bike with no brakes and no free wheel - it could get ugly.  (Hopefully it will go better than that first open water swim start though...)

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