Woody Allen says

"80% of success is showing up."

I woke up way too early for a Sunday morning run, but with activities planned, it was the only time I could get it in. It was a bit cold, a given at 7am on an almost-December morning, but nice to watch the sun come up. I've been trying to change my running stride for the last couple of weeks, and things aren't really going well. It's requiring more effort to go slower, which doesn't seem like a great result, but I think it's part learning, part muscle recruitment. I'll keep working on it until the new year, and if things aren't better by then, I may have to abandon the changes. Hopefully by that point I won't have forgotten how I used to run, and end up bogged down in some form-netherworld.

But why would anyone wake up and do a run that early? Well, I had a brunch to attend, and it was going to be about an hour's drive to get there. But, oh, it was worth it. This wasn't just any brunch, this was the Trisport Canada Awards brunch. As we entered, our tickets got checked for door prizes. My wife was shut out, but I scored a new set of goggles. Considering I'm constantly trying to find goggles that work consistently, score!

Then, brunch. And lots of it for hungry triathletes. Eggs, bacon, toast, sausages, hash browns and fruit aplenty. Not the fanciest I've ever had, but it filled the belly pretty good. After everyone was sated, there were a couple of speeches from Barrie Shepley and Kevin Mackinnon. And then it was time to give out awards, and the reason I was there.

I'm not the fastest guy in my age group. Not even close. There are at least a half-dozen folks in my AG who will beat me every time they show up. But I showed up more often, and that's why I picked up an award: second in OSS, M35-39. So let this be a lesson to everyone, doing 7 out 9 races increases your chances of picking up some season-ending hardware.

Along with a personalized plaque, we got a long-sleeve shirt and a little goody-bag including a key chain, and a choice of some Powerbar products, so I scored a case of gels as well. Now that's a great way to spend a Sunday morning: eat breakfast, get a bunch of goodies, and a little recognition. Now next time I'll get a 1st on my award.

Oh, and on Friday night I met this guy.

He was second recently too (you can see the silver). That's pretty much equivalent, isn't it? OSS=Olympics?

I guess I better get in some more miles.

Well, that could have gone better

But it could have been worse too.

1. I didn't drown. (Obvious from the fact that I'm writing this.) This will be considered a major victory on the day.
2. I started off really well, leading the lane, feeling pretty good and moving at a halfway decent clip.
3. Then, after 30-40 minutes (of a 90 minute swim), the swimming muscles kind of "quit". The had gone unused for 8 weeks, and were apparently upset by the early wake-up call. It wasn't even a revolt, it was a strike. After a brief rest, I could muster 15 good metres from my triceps. That didn't do a lot of good during a 12x50m set.
4. Ow.

So there's work to be done. But lots of time to do it.

Dreams

I had my first dream about the first day of swim club last night. I hopped in, and was instantly gliding effortlessly through the water, faster than I've ever gone before. Perfect body position, excellent roll, catching massive amounts of water with every stroke.

I have a sneaking suspicion that reality will be the exact opposite of that in ten days. :-O

Blogging update

You may have noticed a distinct lack of posts in the last couple of weeks. Part of that is due to vacation, but there's other reasons as well. It's not that I've stopped doing things, I have just stopped writing about it.

I've decided to no longer use the blog as a daily training journal. I have to imagine any readers left are as bored reading about it as I am writing it. How many different ways can I say, "Felt good/felt bad, hope to be faster next week"? I'll continue keeping my workout log offline, so that I have the resource, I just won't be filling bandwidth with my three mile recovery runs.

Now, the blog won't disappear. Not at all. Instead, I hope to have less frequent, but higher quality posts. I'll still be writing race reports. If I have a breakthrough workout, I'll make a note. I'll outline my training plans and racing schedule for next year, and if things change, I'll share that and why. I'll comment on happenings in the sport. If I get new toys, you'll hear about it. I'll detail some of my self-coaching philosophy, and the generalities of the ongoing lab experiment that is my training plan.

So hopefully when you see a new entry is posted, you'll be interested in what I have to say next, instead of thinking, "It's Wednesday, another 4 miles."