ANOTHER GOOD DAY OF TRAINING!

As I head in to my last days of training in Leysin I had a nice ride yesterday. Headed out of Leysin bright and early and started the day with the Col De Mosses, nice warm-up. After the downhill to Chateau D' Oex it was rollers for about 100km, a nice downhill ride in to Vevey, along lake Geneva to Aigle and then the 16km climb up the mountain to Leysin. In the end 6hours 10' and 3 bakeries later I arrived home safe and sound!

Besides the bakeries which are always the highlight of the rides here, I had a family of foxes on the road in front of me not moving which I almost hit, a 50 something year old couple rode along beside me in a BMW convertible...both topless!!, I had an old couple stop in front of me on the rode that I almost hit going about 50km/hr! So, not an uneventful ride!

I have about days of tune-up here (including a 1/2 ironman race simulation on Wed) then it is off to Geneva on Saturday and fly to Abu Dhabi on Sunday for the next chapter in our lives!

Cheers for now.
Kevin

4 1/2 Weeks

Hi folks!

It's four and a half weeks until Ironman Canada and I just thought I would let you know how I'm feeling and where I feel I'm at. Definitely feeling fitter than I ever have before. I was feeling very fit when I left Egypt 5 weeks ago, and the last month has only helped that. When I left Egypt I was working on bike fitness and my running was feeling great. Leysin has only made me stronger on the bike which in turn has helped the running. Swimming is still a bit of a question mark but I know I can get through it comfortably.

My main goal for the race is to be able to run in the neighborhood of a 3 1/2 hour marathon. This is mainly going to come down to bike fitness (which I feel o.k. with) and race execution. The key will be not going too hard on the bike. For me that means somewhere in the neighborhood of 5:40' on the bike. I know I could ride a 5:15' or so, but not sure what kind of marathon I could run after. So it means a nice comfortable bike, control the first part of the run and try and finish up strong.

I have been working with coach Vinnie for about 6 months now and he has done wonders. He is now part of Ironguides, and if you get a chance I highly recommend him! amazing guys with great insight in to the sport and his philosophy is right on par with mine.

My last question mark about the race is just the travel that goes along with it. I will fly from Switzerland to Abu Dhabi on August 3rd and will begin to taper and 'tune up' then. From Abu Dhabi, I fly to Canada on Wed night before the race. That's ten time zones only 4 days before the race. Factor in to that I am going from the cool mountain air of Leysin to the hot, humid air of the Gulf then to the unpredictable air of Penticton. I can't do anything about this so it's just a matter of taking things in stride, enjoying the race and doing what I can do!

Cheers for now.
Kevin

TRAINING IN THE MOUNTAINS!
Thus far 2008 has been a very busy and very rewarding year. The family and I are currently in the Swiss Alps until the 3rd of August. I am taking a M.ED program through Endicott College at Leysin American School. It is an excellent program that has been based out of Madrid for the past few years and this year they have started a cohort group in Leysin. Leysin is small skiing village in the mountains in the Lake Geneva area. We have been lucky enough to visit the Montreaux Jazz Festival and meet some really great people. In addition I have had a super month of training. Training in the Alps is a far cry from the desert of Egypt! I would say I am right on track in my preparation for Ironman Canada on August 24th. My plan currently is to race IMC then look at IM South Africa as a race to try and qualify for Hawaii.

Have to run
Cheers for now.
Kevin