TIME TO GET SERIOUS!

Today makes one month since my return from Eilat and the Israman 1/2 Ironman. In that month I have basically done next to nothing in the way of training and it is starting to wear on me. This last month has been a well deserved and much needed break for my body, but it's time to get back to it. I have sarted to notice the scale readings going up a little, my sleep is not as sound, my moods are starting to swing a little and my ability to cope with stress at work is not what it's been. What does this mean? GET BACK TO TRAINING!

This past month has not seen me absent from my life...actually just the opposite. I have spent the last month trying to attend to other issues. Support Jasmine in her 1/2 marathon and the start of her 1/2 ironman training, spend more time at home tending to family issues, spend more time with The Little Brawn, deal with some 'housekeeping' issues, such as finding a new apartment, etc. This has all been going well, but I miss my running, swimming, and riding routine. But that all comes to an end tonight. I have my regular spinning class that I teach tonight and an 8 k run tomorrow morning followed by a swim of some sort. This weekend Jaz and I are taking my inlaws to the Red Sea for 4 days. I love to run in Dahab and will most likely run along the coast to the Blue Hole where we will spend the day snorkelling. In addition I have a pretty good idea we will climb Mt. Sinai (for the third time) this weekend and I was thinking I would pack her along to the top in her backpack. This should make for a nice re-introduction to things. In addition we get the next week off and jaz and I are planning to put some miles in on the bike.

I am excited and ready to get back to it!!

WHERE HAVE I BEEN YOU ASK?

Actually, I'm not really sure. Since returning from the race I have not stopped running around! School has been crazy, we took 50 kids to Dubai for a Regional Tournament, Jaz went to Jordan for a 1/2 marathon, so I was home with the Little Brawn. We have been apartment hunting. I have been busy trying to pay some attention to Jaz and Anaka which just hasn't left much time for this. In addition, our internet has not been consistently working since we returned so when I have time to post, no internet.

Anyway, the race:

Getting to Isreal was not a problem. Lots of time to get throught the border, but no hassels. Because of the time we missed the pre-race meeting which meant that we were kind of scrambling for information all night.

SWIM: The swim went great. I was relaxed throughout and put in a nice, easy 31 minutes. Came out of the water feeling good and in about 30th place.

BIKE: Here is where the fun and games began. The bike was 90km in to the wind the whole way. The first 20 km was a serious climb, with the next 70 km also being uphill, but a little less serious. Through the first 20 km I started having stomach trouble and then had some mechanical issues with the bike. At about 40 km I started to wonder if there was any sense continueing if I had to keep stopping to fix my bike and if my stomach continued to cramp. At about 45 km I was confident my bike issues were solved and gradually I started to feel better. The last half of the bike was o.k. I settled in to a nice rythm and actually started to enjoy the bike. My bike time was slow for what I expected, but in the top 1/3 because of the tough conditions.

RUN: Starting the run I just settled in to a nice rythm and enjoyed the rest of the race. It was an out and back loop, so you passed or met almost everyone once. I took it upon myself to be the friendliest guy in the race and it payed off as I felt good and enjoyed a tough run after a tough bike.

OVERALL: Final stats 6 1/2 hours which is about 1 hour slower than I am capable right now, but which was good considering the conditions. I finished 17th overall and 3rd in my age group. The winner was only just under 6 hours.

I will probably go back and do this race again as it is convenient for us in a country that doesn't hold these events, but I will avoid the Ironman race here as the course is just too tough.

Next on my schedule is an Olympic in early July back in Canada and then another 1/2 the end of July again in Canada.

Thanks for the patience, and I am back!