Calgary 70.3

my first finish in 14 months. Yes, 14 months of injury, sickness and dns, dnf and finaly crossing the finish line of a race!

I was pretty bag up at the end, my body was in shock as the effort was big and i put everything into this. I had a amzzing swim and up front with Kieran doe, Brian Fleshman and a few other fishy. We were 6 of us out of the water in 23minutes and i was in sock to realise later in the ride that we had over 1min lead on Jeff Symonds the pool fish and Paul ticheelar the shark.

On the bike, i did my best to put a hard ride and was doing great until km 60 where i ran low on calories, made lots of technical mistake in how i race and to be honest, i ran out of fitness........i just didnt ride as smart as i usualy was. I got drop and lost 5minutes to my peers in the last 35km as the body started to fall appart. On the run, i tried really hard to be strong mentaly and put a hard effort in it. could not get my legs back to normal but keep trucking along and avoid any falling appart until i cross the finish line.

Well, i have to say i was happy to be a finisher again. It lasted a good 2h where i was proud to make it to the finish line until i started looking at the results and realise i was 12th, 13 minutes down on the leader and was really far from the front of the race. So, yeah, not happy at all with it, but 5 months into my return to training and getting healthier, i will have to accept that it s where i m and that a few more months of training and hard work are needed to make up those 13 minutes.

thanks to everyone on the course that gived me a tumbs up and cheer for me...this include my cometitor that passed me on the bike/run and found the time to cheer my up in my fun misery! Triathlon is full of really GREAT people!

Kiwi Wisdom............

I was out on the road with Olly today to get the work done over a very simple z2 long ride. As we start the long downhill from Mt Baldy, and come into the first switch back;

Jonny; I never know how much speed i can carry when i enter those tight turns

Olly; It simple, if you crash, you know you were going too fast.....

Jonny; I see..........



Got the work done today.....

ironman CDA

This weekend, i was in beautifull Coeur d'Alene for the ironman. What i didnt tell anyone was that i was there to race, take part in it and make a big step in a long process, toe the start line of a race, a first in 13 months or me.

I was so dam happy to be on the beach and have a go at it. There was a good field of strong athlete and the perfect set up for a honest evaluation of my fitness.

The swim start was different than usual, i dont have my normal fitness and not start speed so i decided to start on the outside alone. I swam the first few minutes alone until i juge safe for me to re-enter the group that was string up a long way ahead of me. I could not tell how many swimmers were ahead but it was A LOT.

I settle into a very comfortable rythme and knew we were going very very slow. PErhaps the slowest swim i have ever done in a ironman since my age group times in 97! Onmy side was a annoying swimmer screaming at me and banging on me in a weird way but i could not focus on him, i had to stay focus on swimming relax and save my energy. Coming out of the water for the first loop, i was ready for the update and see how far down i was but to my suprise and shock, i was in the lead group of 6-7 swimmers and the annoying dude next to me was my training partner tom evans...oh boy... i knew this wasnt good.... well, good for me to be in the lead group but the pace was so slow that i knee some indesirable people would still be in contact and our lead out of the water would be next to nothing!

out of the water and on the bike, i proceed right away to pass tom and show him the view of my butt...the pace wasnt easy for me right front the start and i had to remaine very focus. At the 25miles mark, as the group was about 8 of us, my rear tire went flat. I right away screamed , ''WHEEEEEELLLLSSSSSS'' to the neutral support motorcycle but thhis BASTA##$ F#@$#% didnt stop. I was left on the side of the road to change my flat and wearing the number 13, everything went wrong, the spare went flat right away and i could not find any reason why....the tire and rim were clean..... I had to wait 20minutes on the side of the road for the neutral support from the woman pro race to get back on the saddles.

At this point, the day was over, rode back to transition and went back home to digest all this.

My fitness is clearly not back to where i need it. But i m back to be able to race and not look like a complete idiot....but i sure did look like a idiot on the side of the road.

that is it for now, time to go for a ride, i will bring 2 spare today....

i m still alive!!!!!!!!!! and well!!!

How was your day? was it a good day or a bad day....lets talk about our day!

Well, i m getting the work done and this week was my biggest week in 13 months!!!! This afternoon, i finish a triple workout day, to make it 21h of training! my biggest week in over a year! I was so happy!!!! Well, of course, i m far from been a rock star with my current fitness but it sure feels good to be outside and training like this!

The weather as been, lets be honest shitty in the okanagean.... we have one of the worst ever month of june, cold and rainy and very challenging mentally. I m very happy so far as i have come a long way in the last few months from complete inactivity and injury to a much better position now!

This coming week, a easier week for me to recovery from a monster 21h and a little trip down south for a fun weekend in CDA!

secret from the TOP pros!!!

Well, for those that still dont know, yes, i m officially Tom Evans new coach. I say new but over the years....it s really under my guidance and supervision that he as mature as a great champion and multiple time ironman win. Now, i understand joel filliol might not agree but how many hours as joel ever log in with tom on a ride...how many hills climb...how many watts...how many meters swim in the pool... Yes, it s me, i more than a coach...i would call myself a mentor for Tom in his triathlon carreer but also in is professional carreer as a dentist...yes, i even go often to the dental office to supervise.

Today was a nice couple of hours ride....the Naramatha hill circut compose of very step climbs... big watts and threshold effort. I m now sharing with you the secret of Tom for a killer bike ride at a ironman....






A short run, and a swim in Okanagean lake and that was it for today....the work is done, time to rest...tomorrow should be even more fun

time to cheer for the montreal canadian!!!

Sorry i can not blog, i m kinda busy, i m kinda busy, i m kinda busy

Ok, this as got out of controle, 4 months of no blogging. What happen?!?! M i still alive? Retired? injured?

Well, i been extremly busy this winter. My life as change and i have lots of big responsability now. I been extremely good at jungling with all of those. To start, i have a phone now, i need to pay it once a month, answer it, check messages, check voicemails etc... lots to do...

I have a brand new car, need to drive it, refuel, clean it, drive it some more...

I do have a real job outside triathlon, i run the big show at PODIUM IMPORTS ( canadian distributor or orbea, garmin, orca etc). It s a challenging challenge as i have to take all the decisions, show up to the office often(up to 5 times a week) and i have to suppervise 2 employe that arent fluent in INGLISH. Communication are often a big challenge (kiwi bird) but i m on top of things....

So,what about triathlon. Well, i m trying to keep a low profile, doing my weekly 15-20h of training and repairing my body so i can be ready to sneak in some races in early july. I m presently very busy supervising and coaching Tom Evans on his preparation for ironman Coeur d'Alene. I will also go to CDA to supervise him and make sure he dosnt make a fool of himself.

Well, that is a small update for now, i think it s time to get some more jonny tip of the weeks, training update and serious post about everything happening in beautifull penticton. I say beautifull but it s been very cold and rainy...lake are too cold to swim in and training can be challenging on some days..... summer is coming soon!

more to come!

50km skate ski race......18th overall...

Sunday was my first 50km ski race in about 12 years! I havent done those hard races in a long long time. IT was nice to get a good go at it. With a few past olympian athelte in the field, it wasnt long that i was long gone and far away from the front of the race. But a lot of fun and one more step into getting the fitness back to a elite level.

here s the video summary of the day, Me, Tom and GW!