Kirsten Sweetland

Happy Days

2012-01-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

The continuing cricket sounds on my blog can only mean one thing....happy days! I feel like after a few months, it's time to write something or resurrect the blog. Even though Twitter has taken over and blogs are "so yesterday" I'm not quite ready to let go. So I'll scrounge up some content.

The squad training under the guidance of Coach Joel has been fantastic! Lauren Campbell, Kyle Jones and myself have been putting in the work while having a great time. Lauren brings her amicable self to training daily and giggles are more than abundant. Joel will never be bored with us around! #hashtags pertaining to our training and general feeling are bountiful and immensely exaggerated. For example #overcookedricevermicellinoodles was used to describe my arms during a particularly strength based set. I told you Twitter is taking over the world!

The squad is lacking it's cultural flavour due to the absence of our wee Scot, Kerry Lang. We will reunite in Florida in February for training camp. That is of course, after we return from RACING! Yes, you read correctly... racing in January. After a doozy of a year in 2011, I am in dire need of Olympic points as well as ITU points. So I guess it's all aboard the pain train for 2 hours! I am prepared to be in a world of hurt which is fine with me because it will be the good kind of hurt.

Recovering from an injury and staying uninjured is a full time job I tell you! Rehab exercises, chiro, massage, physio, acupuncture, self massage, gym, stretching, graston, foam rolling, NormaTec MVP, ice....you name it! But I believe the primary "exercise" is in practising maturity. I am proud to say I have made numerous mature decisions that I can honestly say I would never have done in the past. Changed sessions, missed sessions, all with intention of getting the most sessions. Sounds backwards but missing one session and healing promptly is far better than pushing one and missing 12. I always knew this but now I am able to practise it. I'm still surprisingly proud after such decisions. And coach Joel concurs. I literally received a pat on the back a few weeks ago. :)

So with that strategy in mind, we are inching forward in fitness and strength. So as I said, happy days!

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday. Happy Holidays from the my family to yours! (minus Dad the photographer)

Cricket Sounds

2011-10-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

I received a nice message from a fellow Canadian athlete this week asking if my lack of blogging had to do with the fact that things aren't going well for me right now. This is a common and usually valid observation when following the blog of an athlete. Of course there are always exceptions. Like me for example! The less apparent I am online, the more content with life I seem to be. I am separating life and triathlon here. Sometimes, I admit blogging is easier when all is going well including training and racing but my lack of blogging now has more to do with the fact that this is a triathlon blog and when nothing super exciting is happening in that part of my life I don't really feel the need to update the internet world on the rest of my life! "Today I hung out with my friends and then cooked a nice dinner, it was great" ..... I'm sure you guys don't want that either!! It has been almost 2 months since I last wrote a post and quite a bit has changed so it is indeed time for an update!!

Last you heard, I found out about my stress fracture and was in the air cast. I stayed in that for nearly 7 weeks all together! After that amount of time I was happy to give the boot "the boot!" Things since then are slowly progressing. My fracture is all healed but my plantar fascia is taking it's time. I can swim and bike now and am just beginning my walk/run progression which is always exciting!

The big news is that I am now being re-coached by my longest standing coach ever, Joel Filliol. He has returned to Canada and is coaching a small, fun little group of girls. I am very excited about this. So far things are going great and the much needed direction and attention to detail is doing wonders!

Otherwise there is not much to report! Just "chopping wood and carryin water." Slow n steady, nothing crazy. I think that's going to be the name of the game for me! Ooh well I did turn 23...Eek! (Notice the removal of blog description "Thoughts and Findings of a Young Triathlete" ...? I decided that's no longer applicable, time to think of a new one)

Hopefully it won't be another 2 months before any news worthy of posting happens!

Red Bull Joyride

2011-08-01T02:34:00.000-07:00

One of many RedBull events I have to see one day

Red Bull Joyride - Official Event Video | Vital MTB

Makes me think twice about thinkin I'm cool after riding up the curb or down 2 stairs.

Heidi

2011-07-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

I have another nickname to add to my list! Staying in the Swiss mountains, wearing braids in my hair and apparently looking young...I have picked up the name Heidi from the Swiss Triathlon staff. That makes the list as follows (some not so flattering and need explanation)

Heidi

Kiki (Kiks, Kikster)

Twiggy (twiggs)

LB (little BAMF)

Cocaine

Buffet Butt

Ghetto

Nano

There's probably been more but that's all I got for now!

Anyway, Switzerland is treating me pretty well. The fresh mountain air, the bread and the chocolate are always a pleasure. The weather hasn't been such a pleasure. It's been pretty cold and wet here. Mountain weather means a LOT of laundry. Altitude and I are agreeing with each other a bit better now and I've got some good sessions under my belt. Only 1 more week left here in Davos! I'm looking forward to testing myself again in London. It's 1 year today to the opening ceremonies of the Olympics! But for now we can relax a little because it's the test event. A games will be brought next year :)

Not too much to report from training camp life. It's extremely boring. I wish I brought more english books! Camps are particularly boring in a country that doesn't speak your language! Life goes as follows, wake 6:45, eat/internets, swim, eat/internets, bike, eat/internets, sleep, run, eat/internets, NormaTec/internets, sleep....exciting!!! One thing in this is clear....waaay too much internet surfing!!!

Back home in just over a week! Looking forward to seeing my friends and family and my favourite trails, loops, restaurants and cafes, even things like having a car!

That's all for now. Will be greeting you next from London!

Baby Steps

2011-07-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I raced a WCS…well finished a WCS. 2 years actually! I've only completed 2 Olympic distance races in those 2 years as well….scary facts! But true nonetheless. I know my fitness is not where it was before Sydney but I also know it's better than what I showed out there yesterday. I raced a French Grand Prix last week and felt pretty good but this week I just felt flat and off….It is unfortunate but there are some positives.

1. I didn't crash!

2. Nothing else freaky happened

3. I had a good swim with a bad ranking

4. Held my own in a super fast and technical bike

5. Pushed through some discomfort (cramping)

6. I finished! :)

Quite weak positives I know (especially the latter) but I'll take away what I can! I did make some mistakes and learned some lessons. I am still very nervous in a pack after my crash and I was too timid to get to the front coming into T2. I had a bad T2 and started the run from the back. I also got a bit of a scolding today for my altitude timing. Coach thinks some of my flatness and cramping could have been from poor timing at altitude but you never know. Altitude seems to be a trial and error thing…

All pro's and cons aside I was just happy to be out there racing WCS again! It is the highest standard of racing and it feels great to be a part of it again! The bar has been raised in the past 2 years, I can tell you that! I know I can do better next time and I can't wait for the opportunity to improve on yesterday. A small % makes a huge impact on your placing in these things and I think yesterday was a good place to launch from. Not good by any means but also not a complete disaster. I wouldn't go as far as to say I am satisfied but it's a start I guess.

Now I'm en route back to Davos to join my Suisse family. I have to give a quick shout out to the Suisse team for their hospitality this weekend. When the Canadian team left before my race, Iwan and Dominic, the Suisse team coach and manager were there for me. They went above and beyond. They invited me to meals, gave me a race briefing and schedule of race day, carried my backpack to transition, checked over my bike, pumped my tires…you name it! To Nicola Spirig and Melanie Anaheim for letting me tag along in your preparation….thank you! And of course my race day "coach" Reto Hug. You are the best! I can't wait for the chance to pay you all back in some way.

Now it's back to the grind for me. I got work to do and I know it. Can't wait. :)

Happy Days

2011-06-23T21:39:00.000-07:00

A lack of posting doesn't allllways mean bad things I guess! I haven't been great at regular posting but that is because I have been training regularly and spending lots of time with my friends and family. My computer hardly opens these days!

I'm heading off to Europe in a few days and I am getting really excited! Racing is my favourite thing and it's why I have put in so many hours of hard work. My hard work to race ratio has been WAY out of whack the past few years. I'm really for some pay back years now :)

I will head to Davos, Switzerland to meet up with my friend and training partner, Daniela Ryf. I am tres excited about this! Also, Swiss Triathlon is kind enough to host me for the month. I am also really looking forward to this. The Swiss team is so nice and welcoming, I'm already partly honorary Swiss! ;) After adjusting to the altitude I will make a quick trip to Paris to race for my team, Chateauroux in a French Grand Prix. It's a sprint race held in downtown Paris! Running under the Eiffel tower is going to be quite the experience I think! That will hopefully be a good tune up and chance to blow out the cobwebs one week before the WCS in Hamburg. After that I will stay in Davos until London. I'm really looking forward to this little adventure, so long as I stay on my bike! It's funny how that is such a common joke now...I really don't crash very often at all...honestly!

I am now almost finished my third consecutive week of training. After nearly 8 interrupted weeks this is very good progress. Strangely, I don't feel that unfit either. Since returning to hard training I have noticed something is different. Last week I put my finger on what it is..... lactic acid! I have not produced significant amounts of lactic (enough to feel) in months! Whatever the cause, I'm not complaining!! I have completed almost all my training solo and am yet to be bored. 7.5km hard swims alone in a short course pool and not bored....there has got to be something wrong with me! I'm just really appreciating the hard work again. When it's been taken away from you for so long you have a better appreciation for being able to do it I guess. I'm having tons of fun pushing myself and comparing my splits to the weeks and even years before. One of the great things about being home is that I can use all the same loops as previous years and look up all my old splits. I got my old TT loop dialed ;)

But I will have to hold on to my excitement for another day because friday is my rest day! My next post will likely be from Europe....until then!

2011-06-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

Climbing Back Up

2011-06-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

Finding blog material has been quite difficult these days! I have had a really rough time since my crash in Sydney and I've been out of commission pretty much since. Just one thing after another. I am pleased to say though that I am now 100% healthy. It's a good chunk of time to have missed so I am easing back into things. I am very excited to have started my first real weekly program from my coach and not a doctor! ;)

I was starting to get a bit frustrated but talking to my friend and training partner, Daniela Ryf always lifts my spirits! Here's what she had to say regarding my concerns of having so much time off;

"5 weeks off isn't thaaat much. Maybe it'll be like super-compensation, you'll be recovered! It's pretty much the same as a taper for the swimmers!" haha I need Dannie around again. :)

In all seriousness though, I don't feel that unfit! I know racing is a different story and I haven't started training hard yet but so far I feel better than I thought I would.

On the bright side (which I tend to look to, sometimes too often ;) This time has given me a chance to regain some balance in my life after a solid 5 months in camp style living. I have a few more weeks at home and then I'll be off to Hamburg and London. Season resumed!

I'm really looking forward to that but now, it's time to roast some marshmallows and discuss our failed hockey game tonight. Hockey has been consuming my evenings... Definitely back in Canada!

Here's a view from the sea plane yesterday where I got to be co-pilot. Thinking about a post triathlon career here!!

Lack of Blogging...You Know What That Means!

2011-05-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows when something is wrong with an athlete by a sudden pause in blogging. There is no hiding it's just it feels like there is nothing to write about. I am not going to lie, I'm in a bit of a rough patch. I worked so hard and had a flawless winter but the past few weeks haven't really gone as planned. My concussion took a while to heal...I'm not sure if heal is even the right word here. Once it did I was super excited and motivated and after a few days of easy training I was itching to really get back into it. I've had many little bumps in the road with my body not really used to this hard training stuff. After 2 bad crashes and a few weeks of nothing my body is freaking out a bit so it feels like a bit of 2 steps forward 1 step back...or honestly 1 step forward, 2 steps back at times! I also woke up with a cold on saturday just another little road block. All minor things, but strung together equals not an ideal amount of time off hard training. I know the season is long and the enormous base I built will do me good but it's getting frustrating. Now my task is to not get overly impatient like I usually do. Wish me luck!! I'll have to put my energy into cheering for the Canucks!

Another Lesson in Patience

2011-04-25T02:05:00.000-07:00

This is a never ending lesson for me that started when I was a toddler. My parents bought a tape that sang

"Have patience,

Have patience,

Don't be in such a hurry,

When you don't have patience,

You only start to worry..."

I can still recite the entire song. We always laugh about how I would cry "I want my patience tape now!!" This is where it all began and 20 years later I'm still struggling!

After 2 hard crashes my doctors, coaches and I were impressed with my rapid healing. No cuts left, no bruises, strained ligaments getting better everyday, everything was coming good! The only problem was my intense fatigue.

Upon reflection, my head had been hurting since the day before Sydney. I do recall requesting a head only massage from our team massage therapist and thought nothing of it. With each day and each training session my headaches got worse, making me feel nauseous and dizzy. I felt really strange in Ishigaki and when forced to my knees 300m through a 400m interval on the track I realized maybe this wasn't just from the travel. Something was definitely wrong. Of course this was the one time Craig was away and in this situation (although I hate to admit this) without him I didn't know what to do. I knew I probably should not have finished but maybe I was just being soft? Luckily Daniela talked some sense into me and I stepped off the track.

I continued to struggle through swims and even a 5hr hilly ride. Again, I was lucky to have Daniela there. She pulled me along for the last hour and even stopped when we were 20mins from home because I wasn't sure I could make it without tipping over. Finally when almost unable to jog 30mins with Craig, I got to talk to him a bit about it and we have agreed to hold off training until I can see a doctor. Unfortunately it's the longest weekend EVER! Easter+Anzac equals 5 days of no business. It sounds like classic post concussion syndrome which would make sense because I hit my head pretty hard in Mooloolaba.

Whatever it is, I'm not right and training is not productive right now. It's SO FRUSTRATING! I finally had a winter completely free of all sickness and injury and now I've still found a way to be forced out of training! I slept 4hrs yesterday and 12hrs last night. Anyone who knows me knows I don't do rest very well, I'm already going crazy. All my cupboards are organized, boxes labelled AUS/EUROPE/HOME. Nails painted, hair straightened and I've got nowhere to be :) Luckily I have some great friends and have done a bit of coffee shop hopping with good company but there's only so much sitting and eating one can take!! Hopefully this rest ends soon!

Cafe Times.... we have far too many

Kane looks happy with his brekky choice

Lucky to have Dannie as my roomie/training buddy

Running with the Roos

Arigato Gozaimasu Ishigakijima!

2011-04-18T06:28:00.000-07:00

I don't really know where to start with this post! I guess I can start with thanking the people of Ishigaki for being such great hosts. I met some of the warmest, most generous people here. The town was so enthusiastic and the atmosphere was incredible. The local beer company even made a special Ishigaki Triathlon can!

The course was lined with people chanting cheers in unison with noise makers and live music. It would have been cooler if I was running well but the #1 most important thing is I stayed on my bike and I finished which has proved to be a more difficult task than it should be lately! I can't say I'm happy though. Not even close. After a rough few weeks I was just chomping at the bit to run. I've been training my run so hard and I was really excited to see where it has taken me.

After returning from Sydney on monday, I booked a flight to Ishigaki on tuesday morning. Tuesday evening I received a call from my dad that my grandfather had passed away. I was standing on thin ice and this news really affected me. Looking at it in a positive light, it takes something like this to put racing into perspective and suddenly my crashes seemed minor. My Pop was my biggest fan. I don't even want to think about how many hours were spent hunched over the computer on triathlon.org over the past few years! He was the one who taught me to pick myself up and dust myself off when I was a kid. A lesson which has proved to be most useful in my career thus far! ;) I decided I would dedicate my race to him and in wanting to win for him so bad I pushed aside my aches and pains from 2 hard crashes and was hoping for a miracle mind-over-matter type performance like in the movies. I went for an hour run the next morning, bawling the entire time, quickly packed, got on the plane and didn't really give myself any more time to think about anything.

As for the race; I was called out last due to my extremely late entry and was stuck dead in the middle of the pontoon. I know I have said this before but this one trumps all the other races and was by far the roughest swim I have ever had. After the start we didn't separate like normal and we swam in one giant horizontal line for a good while. It started with one girl pulling my shoulder, then the next girl pulled my shoulder and proceeded to basically stand on my shoulder (horizontally) and kick me backwards and another pulled on my shorts and before I knew it I was at the back. Within the first 300m I went from being 38 people deep to the far right just to get clear water. Once I got to the outside I swam up to the front pack where I was again sandwiched and clobbered for the next lap. I was angry at the lack of sportsmanship and ethics of the girls I was racing against but it proved to be good energy because my frustration made me swim really hard and get back up to the front of the main group. I understand it's going to be rough with so many girls going to the same point but intentionally grabbing and pulling people backwards when going in a straight line is just unnecessary and not fair play. Anyway, I could rant about that forever but it's going to stop any time soon (it's only getting worse!) so I guess I just need to HTFU ;)

I had a good T1 and I thought I was one of the first onto the bike. I didn't realize until we got to the first turn around that there was a lead group of 4 about 20 second up on us. After a few laps of chasing we eventually came together. I stayed at the front or 2nd wheel the ENTIRE ride because I was so nervous of being behind anyone after being taken out last week. In hindsight it wasn't the best idea because I smashed my legs a bit. Usually once the packs come together the pace slows to a crawl but not this time, the pace was on! I had a bit of a rusty start to the ride but I felt pretty good towards the end, was first into T2 and on a mission.

It only took a few meters to realize my legs were not "my legs." Sluggish and zapped of energy I was forced into a jog. I just couldn't get out of that one pace. I wasn't breathing hard or even hurting but I could not go any faster. The only pain I felt was my cramping shoulder girdle, QL, hip and hamstring. Lovely little left overs from last week. :) I never panicked and I just kept chugging along. Chuggin is really the right word for my pace, it literally was nearly the pace of our 2hr Sunday runs at home!

I have no explanation for that performance. All I can say is that is definitely not what I train for. I am looking forward to another good block of training before the next WCS in Madrid in June. First things first, I need to get my body back to normal…I'm on my way home now and ready to be back into a routine. I've had quite enough white rice and strange rubber-pastry bread! Today Ash and I got adventurous and tried so miniature dried fish. As you can see Ash was a bit more enthusiastic than I!

Jimmy and I getting stuck into some cotton candy at the post race BBQ :)

Pre-race dinner with the Swiss. The only Italian restaurant was booked so take away on the ground for us!

Only on China Airways....Teriyaki chicken "burger" with rice buns!

Nope, It's Not a Joke

2011-04-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

I almost cannot believe I am writing a post about another DNF. When I got up off the pavement yesterday I actually started to laugh in disbelief. There is no way that just happened… I'll rewind a bit and share some details of the line of events that lead me to this point.

(I'm the one on my butt 5m ahead of my bike ;)

2 weeks ago in Mooloolaba I had my first crash since 2004 and the first thing that went through my mind was "Will I be ok for Sydney?" When I saw my doctor a few days later he was amazed at my rapid recovery. "Someone really wants you to race in Sydney" were his words to be exact. Apparently someone wanted me to START in Sydney.

Looking at my Mooloolaba crash in a more positive light, the time off gave me an opportunity to recovery from a few solid months of training and coming into Sydney I was feeling fresh and snappy and ready to go. I was relaxed at the start and poised to show off my hard work. Ranked 65 out of 66 I was a bit nervous about my position on the pontoon. Luckily I had a fairly clean start and was headed straight toward the first buoy in good position. Unfortunately, as we rounded the first buoy everyone from the left side came over top of me and chaos began. I am working on holding my line and being a bit more aggressive when things start to get rough and I felt like I did a good job of avoiding the fighting without losing time and positions. But when I looked up and saw a sea of white in front of me I thought I was having a bad swim yet AGAIN. When I exited the first lap I noticed I was beside Paula and that there weren't actually that many people in front of us. I had a much better 2nd lap and made up a few positions, I was delighted to see my bud Dannie Ryf beside me because I knew if I started the bike with her I would be safe.

When I hopped on my bike I saw names like Norden, Luxford, Ryf, and Jenkins, almost all of the strongest cyclists of the sport and breathed a sigh of relief. We caught up to the leaders quite painlessly. I was so happy to finally be comfortable in the lead pack! The course was really dangerous and it was a bit chaotic to say the least. I avoided a few close calls and was making an effort to stay near the front without pulling more than my share. Coming down the hill leading into the roundabout everyone was jockeying for position. I always tried to stay on the outside so I would have somewhere to go if anything were to happen. I was avoiding the sketchier riders and was in a solid position when the rider in front of me, Helen Jenkins yelled "Woah!" and the next thing I knew she was on the ground and I had only 1/2 a second to react. With the barriers on one side and the rest of the pack on the other, I didn't really have many options. I tried to jump over her but she was still tumbling with her bike in the air and I went flying over the handle bars. I somehow ended up with a big chain ring cut on my upper/inner thigh on my left side….not sure how that happened, perhaps Helen's tumbling bike? I also had a tyre mark down the front of my face, over my nose down onto my neck with chain grease under my chin. Also unsure how that happened. I cut my elbow (again) pretty good and there was a fair amount of blood but I honestly didn't feel any pain like I did 2 weeks ago. My first reaction was to get back up and hop on my bike. I was trying to get my chain back on by switching gears but my shifter was broken. I then tried to do it with my hands but it was jammed. As all the packs went by and my chain refused to budge I finally realized it was over. At this point I began to laugh. Unbelievable. I watched as the other girls rode away and Sarah Groff and myself were taken off the course.

Anger is not an emotion I experience very often but I have to say, I don't think I've ever been so angry in my life. I have put in so much work over the years, especially this year and I just can't seem to express it. I know you make your own luck but seriously…this is getting a bit much!

I got myself cleaned up at the medical tent and my spirits lifted thanks to our physiologist, John and Kelly, a lovely Aussie junior who hung around with me. I had a great chat with my dad on the phone from the side of the road. He always has the right thing to say. I was not as injured as I was after Mooloolaba and was able to go home and shower and change in time to watch the mens race. Unfortunately for the men, rain showers were added to the already dangerous course. There were crashes left, right and centre. The crowd was loving it! As my friend Rares says "It's like Nascar without the fire!" …Glad we could provide some amusement ;) Javi Gomez was an inspiration, crashing and bridging back to the group twice and still came away with the win.

During the men's race I talked to my coach, Craig on the phone and he advised me to go for a little jog. I was feeling more motivated than ever after this crash and was really excited about this jog for some reason. As soon as the men finished I ran home to the hotel in my Birkenstocks and jeans, quickly changed into my run gear and headed out the door. I started out jogging towards the course. I noticed that I felt really really good. This made me angry thinking about how I missed out on one "those days," the kind that don't come around often. The more angry I got the harder I began to run. By this time it was pouring rain. I didn't have a watch or anything, my shorts were too big and falling down as they got heavy in the rain haha. I just started running laps of the course as the volunteers took everything down. I ran all 4 laps for the full 10k building to a near sprint. I got a little lost on the way home and jogged it in feeling much better. I needed that. Part of me was angry about how good I felt, feeling like I got robbed and getting frustrated about the fact that so much of our result can depend on other people in our sport. I felt cheated and started to think about the "why me?" type thing.

BUT when I look at the big picture there was a lot of positives. I finally got the monkey off my back in the swim, from an awful start position at that. I felt strong on the bike, I did everything right. I know where my running is at and I now know I can still get myself in the position I need to to set myself up for the podium. The first 1/3 of the race is the hardest and most important and I finally nailed it. So in that respect, I'm happy. Another positive thing to take away from this experience is my elevated level of motivation. I've never been so hungry in my life! I have done the work, everything is there…I just want to get out there and run again! And I think that will be sooner than later! I am trying to get organized to fly to Ishigaki, Japan this wednesday for the World Cup race this weekend. I'm going to run off the bike if it kills me! So fingers crossed that everything works out for that. So far my luck hasn't showed any signs of turning, I started a ride and immediately flatted and it began to rain while I changed it. I proceeded to have 2 more flats...now I think I may curl up in a ball on the couch...maybe I should buy myself a bubble. Obviously that's a joke, I'm off for acupuncture and an attempt at swimming! Hopefully with 2 arms :)

More photos coming!

Courier Mail Article

2011-03-31T23:39:00.000-07:00

Kirsten Runs Craig Down

IF bloody-minded determination translated to success, Kirsten Sweetland would already be a triathlon world champion.

Having defied science and the repeated knockbacks of one of the world’s leading triathlon coaches, the Canadian finally got her way and will have Craig Walton in her corner at the Mooloolaba ITU World Cup race on Sunday. Sweetland, 22, had been chasing Walton, the Gold Coast-based former coach of Emma Snowsill and Emma Moffatt, for more than two years only to be politely turned away at each request.

The word ‘‘no’’ does not sit well with the diminutive triathlete and she persisted until Walton caved in.

‘‘I contacted him in 2008, before Beijing (Olympics), and I’ve asked him about five times since then,’’ she said.

‘‘Then I got this message from him last year saying he was happy to take me on. Sweetland said she loves her summer

base at the Gold Coast’s Nobby Beach and plans to come back every year.

‘‘It’s tough. He’s hard on you but it’s good to train with a bit of fear,’’ she said. ‘‘I’ll go wherever he goes. If he was

coaching in Iceland I’d go there. ‘‘His general approach is exactly what I was looking for. You train hard, there’s

no fluff or gadgets.’’ That Sweetland is lining up again at

Mooloolaba, the race she won in 2009, is an impressive feat on its own.

As a teenager she was told by doctors that poor biomechanics meant she could never train at elite level.

This is why she wears a bumblebee necklace to remind her of a creature that, through sheer will and strength, can defy its aerodynamic shortfalls and fly.

Damien Stannard

Rain Rain Go Away

2011-03-29T16:03:00.001-07:00

Over the past year or so my racing has not had much "luck." Although I don't really believe in luck that much, (I think sometimes it's easier to say "bad luck" than take responsibility) if you look at my history it's hard not to think there's a biiit of misfortune involved. Flat tyres, the flu, DSQ after winning for going around a cone the wrong way when led by an official, slip on algae, bike crash...the list goes on! I call this the "Black Cloud" that has been following me. So far the score stands as

Black Cloud: 6

Kirsten: 2

I think it's time for a late game comeback. There's not much left that can go wrong! I shouldn't jinx myself though, you never know maybe the Sydney Harbour bridge will collapse next week when only I am on it ;) After all, I jinxed myself last week when Dannie and I were discussing how few crashes we have had over the years. I had it coming to me.

But all jokes aside, I am ready for some good things to start happening and I know I need to start with the right mindset. I need to get all Nike and get Just Do It. It's really simple but there is a level of intelligence and concentration that is needed to "Just do it." It's a balance between over-thinking and not using your head.

Right now I need to put all my energy into recovering! I have had some doctors visits and it turns out I got a minor concussion, bursitis in my shoulder, strained rotator cuff and bicep tendon aaand my neck as well! I guess I did hit hard. Whip lash is no joke, it hurts! Apparently I corner with some speed! No hero cake if you don't stay on the bike though.

I have had daily acupuncture which has helped a lot. I went from not being able to lift my head or arm to almost fully mobile in a day! This morning I swam 3k with 1 arm and biked on the turbo. I'll also go for a little jog later. Baby steps! It may end up being a rest that I was really needing. Hopefully I will come good just in time for Sydney!

Sorry for the lack lustre post before. I had just woken up and had a million questions regarding my DNF and I hate having those letters beside my name so I thought I would give a quick explanation before the trip home.

Mmmm Pavement!

2011-03-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

I've had many questions regarding my DNF yesterday so I thought I would send a quick update before we drive off.

I had a really rough swim and was just not having a great day. Coming into a WC smashed just doesn't fly anymore! (Not that I have ever done that before.) My legs were so sore and tired on the bike that I almost got dropped from the pack! I decided I didn't want to get dropped so I tried to catch up on the corner, the same corner that 5 girls had just gone down on in the previous lap. It was pouring rain and there was a crosswalk on the turn with slippery paint and my wheels just came right out from under me! Apparently I crashed hard. It felt like slow motion to me. I felt like I was sliding forever thinking "oooh I'm going to have a lot of cuts to get rid of before Sydney." I hit my head pretty good and broke my new RedBull helmet! :( I also hit my arm really hard and was worried about a break but it just swelled so much that it pinched a nerve so my hand was just numb from that. I consider myself lucky! In hindsight this may be a good thing because I didn't smash my legs in a 10k hard run. I have been so tired for like 6 weeks now and rest is needed to sharpen up for Sydney! SO everything should be good by then! Sorry for the quick post!

Pinch Poke You Owe Me a Coke

2011-03-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

It's getting increasingly difficult to think up titles for my updates as every week is generally the same. I thought this one sounded catchy despite having no relevance to anything.

I'm sitting at the same table at the same cafe as my last 2 posts :

Feeling the same old fog waiting for the mallowchinos to kick in. The kind of fog that I wished for all those times when I was injured and waiting to train hard. When aching muscles was something I actually longed for! I always have to remember this now that I'm tired, it's too easy to lose perspective.

With 1 week until my first World Cup I'm starting to get excited! It's only a 2.5hr drive so it doesn't really feel the same as last year when travel was included it seemed like more of a big deal. This year I feel like I'm more in a racing frame of mind than I was this time last year thanks to the little sprint races I entered throughout the winter. Like this one, Aussie sprint champs in Geelong, where else do you get the opportunity to race the reigning World Champion in Febuary??

Training last week was pretty hard! It was probably the hardest week I have ever done. Tuesday I nearly flew off the back of the treadmill when I decided my 5k TT off the bike would be run at 19.1 km/hr. I would not move the speed but every 5 minutes had to hold onto the front of the treadmill for a few seconds. That's cheating, I know but I really didn't want to change the speed because I had it in my head I was going to do 19.1. It doesn't really make sense but it did at the time! I was a bit embarrassed by the looks I got when I got off. I was a bit of a sight, still in my bike kit, flailing, sucking wind and spraying everyone within a 2m radius with sweat. Apologies to the people of First First! Yesterday we had another good session on the grass track. The classic 25x400 set. It's amazing how comfortable the pace is at the beginning and by the last 6 or so you are sprinting, giving literally everything to go the same speed! At this point Craig said "Ok now you can pick it up" ...ummm?? Carnage on the field haha. Everyone always feels so good after a session like that though. In the afternoon we did our ride on the turbos because of the rain. This was by far the hardest trainer ride I've done.

Daniela snapped this picture after we finished. Tired Kiks

I wish I got some video of her grooving to her music and drumming on her TT bars while pumping out like 350 watts. That girl is insanely strong and apparently euro dance mixes make her forget the pain! The rain has stuck around today but I don't mind because we only have 2 runs and I like running in the rain. We have one run done and now just hanging around Little Beans until the next one...exciting times! Oh and the best part is the 3hr nap that preceded this coffee sesh. Sometimes rainy days are nice. Only when infrequent though, I don't miss the Victoria drizzle!

I do miss Victoria a bit though and family and friends. Today my family is moving into a new house! See what they can afford without my food bill?! ;) I keep seeing cars the same as my friends back home and hearing songs and seeing things that remind me of people at home...miss you all! My dad has got many messages this week "Eating crepes, thought of you" "What a Wonderful World is playing, thought of you" "Watching 2 and a Half Men, thought of you" "Made breakfast for dinner, thought of you"

Only 4 more days until we head up to Mooloolaba which is tres exciting! It's my favourite. I probably won't get a chance to post again until I'm up there. I am looking forward to meeting up with Patrick and my fellow Canadian girls, Paula and the Coates twins!! I miss their little happy selves! Oh and I'm also looking forward to being reunited with my bestest friend NORMA!! Oh how these legs have missed her! :)

Ok lunch time, I could ramble forever today!

The Simple Life

2011-03-10T15:40:00.000-08:00

Time is flying. That is such a cliche line. Maybe I'm having too much fun, maybe I'm old...I don't know what it is but the weeks just seem to be ticking over like days! 2 weeks to Mooloolaba now! :)

Today is my 3rd day off since arriving in Australia in December and I don't feel the least bit guilty because this day is well earned. Although without training to wake me up I am still half asleep and attempting to revive myself with copious amounts of mallowccinos. Yep, I invented a drink...The Mallowccino. It's a cappuccino with marshmallows in it...heaven. My roommate Sasha and I are looking up videos that give us butterflies like this one:

http://www.triathlon.org/news/article/live_the_excitement_2011_season_preview_video/

The new ITU promo. Shiver city!! I can't wait to get this season started!

Looking back at the last few months I can't help but feel a little proud. Not a minute of training missed. Not a minute pushed through injury pain but many minutes pushed through "good pain." I can't believe race season is upon us again! I haven't raced consistently since 2007 so I'm looking forward to a full season. I have certainly done everything I can to prepare myself for a long season!

I would like to write about life outside training but unfortunately at this point in the season there really isn't much! My roommates and I laugh a lot about stupid things like busting dance moves at odd times, how much we hurt and Daniela's funny english but this is all done from the infamous blue carpet. It's the space between the couch and the TV where all the stretching, foam rolling, cupping, icing and self massaging goes on.

Basically, if we aren't in the pool, on our bikes, running, at the gym or in the kitchen we are on this carpet. We also spend a bit of time at Little Beans, our favourite local cafe and of course bed. Glorious bed. Naps are a must as a 4:45 wake up call makes it difficult to get a full nights sleep. It doesn't sound too exciting but I really love this point in the season! It's the stuff that makes you confident on the start line.

Anyway here I am getting all cheesy, it must be the ITU promo getting me in that frame of mind! Here are a few photos of our non training life (at the pool in our apartment ;)

Just a regular ol' ice bath

Scooter Diaries

2011-02-28T18:25:00.000-08:00

RIP Pinky :(

PS I give you full permission to make fun of this get up...I don't even know what to say...trigeek chic??

Welcome Sebastian! (like the crab)

I Love My Sport

2011-02-27T14:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a video put together by the Salvisberg brothers. These videos always give me butterflies......it's almost time for the fun! :)

Photo Update

2011-02-21T16:55:00.000-08:00

As promised here are a few photos from the past few days at our new place!

Just a little spring cleaning...

Our other Swiss Miss, Melanie

It's all business at our house, no fun

Sasha has incredible bike skills

Our fake beach pool

The moon from our balcony

Our living area

Geelong Aussie Sprint Champs

2011-02-20T22:18:00.001-08:00

February is fairly early to be racing but as my favourite saying goes, "When in Rome!" Being in the southern hemisphere, race season here begins shortly after us Northerner's finish our holidays. This means that most of the athletes are pretty fit early season by ITU standards. I have fallen into this trap before where I was fit in March and fell into a heap by May. I love to race and will do so at any opportunity but this year I compromised a little. Racing without specific race prep is the best of both worlds! I get to have my fun but keep training through a base block. Training has been pretty full on lately, nothing short or fast but just consistent solid work that has been bogging me down for a few weeks now to be honest. Just barely squeaking out one session at a time left me wondering when the cycle would end! Having woken up no later than 4:50am for 2 months straight (except for 2 glorious occasions), I was desperate for a rest day. Admittedly part of my decision to race was determined by the fact that I would get a rest day for travel! That is, after swim training at 5:30am ;) So with the go-ahead from Coach Craig I was off to Geelong!

The race was a 750m ocean swim, 20km bike and 5km run. 1 hour of full throttle racing! It was a small field of 20 girls which included 5 world champions, 3 of them reigning. Junior, U23 and Senior. Needless to say, I was in good company. I had a great start and swam in a breakaway group of 4. We worked pretty well together despite high winds and we ended up with a 30 second gap by the end of the bike. I had an ok transition and came off 2nd behind 2 time and reigning World Champ Emma Moffat. Immediately I was confronted with a decision. Emma had a quick transition and was about 15m up the road, "Do I run my pace or sprint to close the gap?" This didn't take too much pondering…"SPRINT!" Anyone who has raced against Moffy knows bridging a gap is no easy task because when she is racing, the first kilometre is ridiculous. I closed the gap and continued to push the pace right up to the 4km mark. I was feeling comfortable and like the ball was in my court. That all changed rapidly when I had a rough patch for about a minute and a surge of lactic acid. Moffy felt this and attacked at that very time on the last hill. I couldn't respond and finished the race in 2nd place. I am very pleased with my effort. I was happy to make things exciting and put up a good battle. The crowd certainly enjoyed it! My legs responded alright to the shock of a sprint distance and according to the results I ran 16:43 which would be a PB for me but I have yet to see the men's results so this may not be accurate.

All in all it was a great weekend! I got to share a room with my pal Lauren and we had our usual giggly, chatty time. Even more so on this trip because we had a blackout from the wind storms and we spent the night with flashlights talking nonsense and basically just laughing….mostly at me… I really don't use my brain sometimes! Take this weekend for example; I showed up to this race with no running clothes, no warm clothes and not near enough casual clothes. So basically I had nothing but a surplus of socks and underwear. Lauren played the brave role of running beside me when I was forced to run in board shorts and a cycling jersey. I am going to blame this on my roommate Sasha who was making me laugh while I was packing and distracted me. ;) And Melbourne is no Gold Coast, it was cold! Well 20C…. I was freezing in my tank tops and sundresses! (I made those words plural but honestly, they should be singular…I had do a little recycling ;) I also got to catch up for some good meals with my foreign friends, Vendula Frintova, Laurent Vidal and Will Clarke. And of course the usual suspects Liz, Dane, Taylor and Kane. Good friends, good food and great racing made for a fun weekend!

I'm on my way home now to my new roomies who have warned me that upon my arrival I will find a clean house and a full fridge…I'm alright with that! This is going to be a great 3 months! Daniela and Sasha are easy going girls with a great sense of humour. There are 6 languages spoken fluently in our house and I contribute 1. I'm feeling slightly ignorant. We already have a few routine activities like choreographing dance moves to Daniela's DJ'ing while we cook and clean for dinner. Also, I double Sasha on my tiny pink scooter to and from the pool in our swimmers and towels and she wears a bike helmet…a routine that is luckily going to be quite short-lived. And laughing at/with each other is a daily (ok hourly) occurrence. Pictures of the new digs will be posted soon!

Help Out My Roomies!

2011-02-07T01:06:00.001-08:00

Donate here to the guys in funny suits here:

https://register.beanstream.com/scripts/registration.asp?form=1100

These are a great group of guys who are working so hard to take home Olympic medals. Sponsors needed! Be sure to come out and support them by watching them attempt to break the 100km Indoor Team World Record on March 30th. I wish I could!

Ok so I'm not super computer savvy...I tried to include the link for where to donate...turns out if you click on the title of this post it will take you to the donation page! :)

K is for Klutz!

2011-02-06T02:21:00.000-08:00

What a day! I raced my first enduro triathlon today which is a fun, fast new format. 400m swim/7k bike/1.8k run/200m swim/7k bike/1.8k run. It was a good challenge logistically and physically. I don't think any of us are prepped for such a fast race at this time of year so we were all in the hurt box!

I had a great first round. I found myself running quite comfortably at the front and then realized that unless I planned on solo'ing the next 3 legs I should not waste too much energy. Ashleigh Gentle was not far back and she is a wickedcrazy (i made a new word) fast runner so I tried to keep it strung out a little so we didn't get lazy in a pack and let her tag on the back. It's a good thing I had that little gap because when I took my shoes off the insoles came out too! I quickly put them back in, accidentally grabbed the wrong goggles and ran back into the water. I struggled to see out of the unfamiliar goggles and this was a problem because I was leading the swim! I came out way on the right edge of the ramp that was covered in algae and super slippery. I slid along trying to exit and on virtually my last step I slipped and landed straight on my butt! It was like those cartoons where someone slips on a banana peel! haha It was pretty funny. Would have been more funny if it didn't hurt so much! I happened to land on a broken edge of the concrete so not only did I take a huge amount of impact on my sacrum I also cut my back and my race suit! :( I got up and continued, though painful, it wasn't enough to stop! My chain had come off my bike and I stopped to put that back on and luckily it went on with ease and I rode off with the girls. I struggled through the last bike and run sections but finished it off as best as I could. I ended up 4th and was very happy for it to be done! It was a ton of fun but man that fast stuff hurts! Lauren and I were thinking at this point in the season we would rather do 20km uphill than 1.8k! It was great practice for the upcoming race season though and I'm glad I did it. That is if this pelvis thing turns out ok!!

My clutz day continued when I slammed my finger in the car door, hard enough to draw blood! Then when I returned home I spent some time cleaning the floors and making a big salad to keep for the week ahead. I went to get the milk and knocked it over and although I demonstrated Matrix skills to catch it with one hand, I simultaneously threw the giant bowl of salad from the other hand onto my freshly cleaned floor. :) Let's hope that's the last of it! I'm going to bed soon so odds are in my favour!

Back to the grind tomorrow. If anything this race was a good chance to get a days rest from training!! :) Back fresh as a daisy tomorrow I hope.

Tick Tock

2011-02-02T01:25:00.000-08:00

I'm glued to my TV watching the updates on cyclone Yasi, set to hit Northern Queensland in just 4 hours time. This is predicted to be the biggest, most powerful and destructive cyclone ever recorded. Poor North Queenslanders have had a rough summer. Here is what is heading their way:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/02/idINIndia-54584120110202

Fingers crossed for everyone up there. The weather in this country has been insane this year! Luckily Gold Coast is one of the only cities in Queensland that has not been affected by natural disasters! Phew.

So life for me continues as normal....eat,train,eat,sleep,train,eat,train,eat,sleep, repeat. :) Although I DID get a day off last monday! My 2nd day off since December 1! I almost didn't know what to do with myself! Except wait, there is a beach across the street. I had some camera fun while waiting for my ever-so-tardy friends to come and show me how it's done.

The cyclone has brought some good swell, the surfers are having a hayday. Don't worry, I went to the chiropractor immediately after. It was needed, I'm almost positive the back of my head hit the back of my knees at one point. (It's a good thing coach doesn't read blogs!!) In my defence body surfing is just like our "In's and Outs" surf swim training, just less swimming....

Training otherwise has been really really good. This is the most consistent I have ever trained. Just constantly tired and sore but always able to pull out a good session. No hiccups. Last week was slightly different from our usual routine and going back to the same sessions 2 weeks later really made our progress visible. I didn't know how much you could improve in 2 weeks!!

My first race will be a super sprint series this weekend. I'm really looking forward to that! Not that any of us will be in any kind of sprint form this time of year but that doesn't take the fun out of it!

Here are a couple of photos from the past week;

Aus day BBQ crew

Aussie brekky with my own spin.... minus the beans (for breakfast, seriously?) plus gluten free toast

Dane got a hold of my camera.....

Meat pies during a hilly 5hr ride? Why not?!

Runninngg :)

Don't worry, I'm still west coast ;)

That is all for now folks! Back on the track at 5:30am tmrw so 8:30 bedtime seems somewhat appropriate!

All Work No Play Makes Kirsten Go Crazay!

2011-01-27T15:35:00.000-08:00

This is all the fun stuff...no footage of the work because I was working! :)

It's 5am and I Can't Think of a Title

2011-01-25T02:50:00.000-08:00

Here are a few photos from the past few days.

I took this while on a solo mish ride yesterday, I think it's in Currumbin.

Taylor envying the surfers at the end of our ride

Self photo on a solo ride yesterday...these are never good..... oh well!

Here is some better pictures of my temporary pad;

University Beach Volleyball :)

Kirsten+Technology=Fail

2011-01-23T02:09:00.000-08:00

It started as an interview with our team star Brozzo, the owner of Endura...somewhere along the line I missed the off button....oh so typical!! :) So here you get a real candid look at our banter at training (only it happens to be sans the guys my age so the banter is clean and blog appropriate :) Still alive and moving after a battle of a run! The beach and brekky afterwards makes it alll worth it! almost....actually the ratio is changing as my fatigue creeps up..... :)

Sunny Days

2011-01-16T00:52:00.000-08:00

After a few weeks of constant rain and MAJOR flooding in northern Queensland, the sun is finally out! The floods were devistating, I've never seen anything like it. It became more real when Brisbane flooded. The apartment building I used to live in flooded up 4 stories! The places I used to train are gone, my running trail is now part of the Brisbane river! Thousands of people have lost everything and it will take years to rebuild the city. It's insane. That said, the community spirit is quite remarkable. I remember in New Orleans when there was looting and crime and all sorts of horrible things going on. The only problems in Brisbane is too many volunteers and too many people dropping off goods at evacuation centres! They don't know what to do with it all! Here is a picture of Drift Restaurant (the name is slightly ironic now) on the street I used to live on, Coronation Drive:

Luckily, Morton Bay separates Gold Coast from Brisbane so we had no flooding issues. Training continued on as per usual. And usual means A LOT! :) The past week has been great for new horizons. I have kept a very open mind and have accepted anything given to me without thinking about it too much. I try to just do it without thinking about how hard it is. I learned this in my first few weeks at swim squad. 4k main set holding 1:15 pace on a 1:20 cycle...ok? and then you just swim as hard as you can manage. It is amazing when you finish something you never thought possible and look back thinking, "did I just do that?" That is what I have been doing all week. It was a big week but somehow I have recovered in time for each smashing :)

Today was probably the biggest run of my life. 11.5 hrs later we did our second run of the day, although with that big of a gap I'm not sure we can call it a double run day! And you guessed it...we did absolutely nothing in between except eat and sleep. :)

I haven't had a chance to take many pictures but here are the few I have taken:

This is an afternoon barbie at the beach Wtih Dane, Talyor and Kane, testing out my new go pro cam!

Lastly is a video of me being paid out by Kane. No one wants to hear him so i edited the video a little ;)

Here is my favourite painting in my house! :)

The view when i cross the street :)

Bye bye Maple Syrup :(

Santorini By The Sea Apartments!

My quaint little Kitchen :)

Thats all from me for now! zzzzz time!

All Settled

2011-01-08T18:02:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's already been 2 weeks! The transition here was very smooth and I got set up while training full time. I think I've got the record for quickest international setup! I have to thank Dane and Kane for letting me stay with them and helping me move into my new apartment! It is about 1min from the pool, 5 from the gym, 10 seconds from the beach! There is everything i need in a little string of shops below my apartment. It is fully furnished so I just brought my suitcase and bike box :) I also got myself a cute little scooter to zip around on but it hasn't been much fun in the rain!

The past few days have been really wet but I don't mind because it's still warm. I can't believe what a difference the heat makes on my body! I don't get stiff or sore or any niggles even though I have been training a lot. I have been having a lot of fun at training and the hours fly by! I am lucky to have such a great little group of guys to put in the hard miles with. Yesterday we rode 5hrs in the wind and rain but good company makes it easier! This morning we did a long run and I had the challenge of keeping up with the guys, led by a local 5000m runner. I learned it is possible to be slightly (progressing to quite) uncomfortable for an hour and forty minutes! We caught some waves and coffees after. Now I'm just having a lazy rainy day watching Glee DVDs before another little run.

I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season and it's nice to be settled and solely focused on training for the next few months!

I tried to load some pictures but safari keeps freezing! I will try again later!

Chase That Feelin

2010-12-22T20:33:00.000-08:00

My fortune from dinner tonight. Very generic but fitting at this time! :)
The countdown is definitely in effect! 4 days until I head back to Australia for some simple good, hard training. Off to chase that feelin! Ironically that is the lyric of an Aussie rap song that came on my IPod today and I thought it was appropriate. For me that means the satisfying feeling after a good race (and hopefully season, I don't want to be one race wonder again!) I have been training lots of hours leading up to my arrival in Gold Coast and I tell you it's a lot easier to get it done over there! But I can't really complain because Victoria has been showing off lately.

Today was spectacular. I rode 3hrs on my brand new Trek!! It is red and sparkly and named Dazzle. I haven't taken a pic yet but it is the same as Kyla's and she took a picture: This is Sparkles :)

It is sooo purdy and rides like a dream! Thanks to Billy at Procity and Trek Bikes for getting it rushed out to me and fitted before I leave. That shop is way to good to me! I basically rode my bike out of the shop but in my excitement and busy craze I forgot to swap my tubes and levers etc and OF COURSE i got a flat! Way out in the middle of no where at Lands End somewhere. Luckily I have the greatest dad who drove from downtown, picked me up a wheel at home and brought it out to me and went back to work!! He saved me! That was definitely not a needed addition to my already crazy day!

I have almost got everything together now. Although I did lose my Visa card and may not get one in time now! ha So me, I'm not even surprised! Otherwise all is good. My wonderful roommates have let me keep my stuff at home so that makes my life a bajillion times easier. :)

I promise to blog from Oz more this time around! I can't even contain my excitement! Things seem to be moving in the right direction and now I just have to try not to force it! :)

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Tis the Season

2010-12-07T14:19:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it is December! Time s flying! I have already attended 2 Christmas parties and am hosting one for 40 rowers and coaches this weekend! That is a LOT of food. Better get my apron out like last weekend!

We got in the Christmas spirit and made gingerbread houses! Was quite festive listening to Charlie Brown Christmas and making gingerbread.

Here we are hard at work

My house!

I have had lots of time for baking and such. I have been enjoying myself and hanging out with friends a lot these past 2 weeks. I may have come back to training a little too quickly after mexico so I took another week off and a week to do whatever i felt like doing!! I went to Vancouver and Nanaimo to visit family and friends. I got to spend some time with my little sis at her house in Nanaimo, she is all grown up! :) It was a great physical and mental break and left me itching to get back to training! Today was my first programmed day. I ran long hill reps at the observatory, swam and I'm going to a spin class this evening at Procity. :)

Last wednesday we had our NTC Christmas party. It was good fun. Great group of we have! Aviawest was kind enough to sponsor us with a penthouse for the night! It was amazing! Here are a few shots of the night:

Girlies

We took approximately a billion of these haha

Then on friday I headed back to Vancouver for the Christmas party of one of my title sponsors, Teck. They are a great bunch, hilarious! It was a disco theme, that pretty much explains it right there. I wish i had a fro. Unfortunately my phone died so no pictures from that night.

I took this picture of the Olympic cauldron after I got off the sea plane. Vancouver is so purdy. The more I go there the more I think i could live there but then i remember the percentage of rainy days and i'm not so sure! The rain in Victoria is enough!!

The time before Christmas is flying and before you know it I will be off to training camp. I have decided to go back to Australia for some solid winter training with Craig Walton. I'm really looking forward to some hard work!! For now I chop wood and carry water as Paulo would say! It's all happy days here, really looking forward to this coming year!!

In case I don't blog again before Christmas, Happy Holidays!!

Stolen from Brook

2010-11-24T20:40:00.000-08:00

A little snow in Victoria and it's utter CHAOS!

Oh the Miles!

2010-11-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again! Miles, miles and more miles! I am really loving the fall training. No intensity as of yet, just putting the time in. Most of my training has been alone, besides swimming and I'm doing pretty well! I didn't know I had enough thoughts to last this long! Yesterday I rode 4hrs solo in a wind and rain storm and the time went by so fast! I think it's good for me too shut up for a while :) haha

The running has been going great too. I am running pretty frequently for me but still a slow progression. I did my first tempo last tuesday and was so surprised at my fitness! Usually coming back from a break feels like death! I guess this Mexico fiasco may have been a blessing in disguise!

Other than that I have been trying lots of new restaurants with friends, decorating my new bedroom and cooking and baking lots of new recipes! For tonights dinner I made this Gado Gado from a lovely cookbook Miss Lauren Campbell gave me for my birthday.

I'm all settled for the next month and then it's off for the years travels! Unbelievable how fast the time goes! After yesterdays ride, I'm kind of looking forward to starting travelling! Ok, really looking forward to it! :)

This is How I Like to Play :)

2010-11-02T20:55:00.000-07:00

Twenty Ten

2010-10-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

It's the end of the year in my books! November 1st should be New Years day. In triathlete terms, 2011 has begun. So, a 2010 recap is in order.

I don't believe this years results show the amount of progress I made. I made huge changes with little results on paper but I am ok with that because I made the first few baby steps to get on the right path to long term success. Sounds cheesy and was super tedious and annoying at times but I am proud that I was diligent in sticking to the plan and being patient and I'm glad I did because the gains were huge.

So if we go back to this time last year I was on a plane home from Australia and coming home to have a year where I "step back and see how well I can do with minimal training, just healthy." Well, again I got a bit impatient, I had a great fall and January camp in Maui. February came and I was still fried from Maui but instead of resting I went on another camp with the NTC. In hindsight, probably that was the biggest mistake I made last year but it was still a great experience, I just got a little wrapped up and started to feel invincible. I came home from that camp with a sore knee but ignored it because I had my favorite race, Mooloolaba world cup in 2 weeks. So, like the "old me" I pushed through and figured I would deal with it when I got home from the races (Sydney World Champs series #1 was 2 weeks later.) In the end, I DNF'd Mooloolaba and was unable to walk in the week between the races. I ended up getting an MRI there which showed a lot of swelling and a small tear in my intrafemoral ligament. I had to fly home without even getting to Sydney. Not exactly how I planned to open my season.

Maui

Tucson

Noosa

On the plane home, I did some MAJOR reflecting on myself and my situation. I knew what I wanted and needed to change. I took a break to think about things and heal up. I ended up finding my current coach Jon Brown. He placed 4th in Sydney and Athens in the marathon and is now retired and coaching mainly runners. I took a somewhat unusual route in hiring a run coach but luckily TriCan has the National Centre set up in Victoria so I always have swim/bike company and coaching. Jon helped ease me back into training and change my perspective on training and how little quality it actually takes to be fast and what kind of quality makes you fast and what is junk and makes you injured. Turns out I was pretty wrong! Over the summer we slowly built my fitness, at some points so slowly I was getting frustrated with my 45 minute bike rides!! But it all worked just like they promised. I am sitting here finished the season uninjured, healthy, happy and hungry for more.

I had planned on a stint in Europe where I raced Hamburg WCS and then London 6 days later. I was feeling very fit and ready, very excited to try my hand at running with the top girls again. When we arrived in Hamburg, my stomach was really off. Every time I ran I was cramping really bad. My stomach was always on fire, i wasn't hungry and when I did eat it didn't stay down. I remember sitting in the briefing so hot and dripping sweat but I played cool because I wanted to race so bad. So I took some gastro salts things I bought at a German pharmacy and got on the start line. I proceeded to have an awful swim but I got out and hammered the bike and just as I was approaching the front group I was run into a barrier accidentally by another girl. I saved it and didn't go down but my tire skimmed the edge of a concrete brick thing and I flatted. SO disappointing. A lot of people asked me why I didn't go to the wheel stop. Well, first I tried but I couldn't find the right tent and nobody spoke english. But also, the most important race was only 6 days away and nearly the entire field was in that main pack now so I had very slim chances of catching the pack so I would just tire myself out for a poor result and take away from my race the next week. So I took my normal recovery steps and refocussed for London. I felt awful at dinner that night and thought that I had that lactic burn in my throat from biking so hard. Turns out, it was a cold. I woke up the next morning stuffed up with a cough. Perfect.

We travelled to London that day. I was doing my best to get healthy the whole week in London, sleeping heaps, drinking tons of smoothies, manuka honey every night. I started to feel better a day or 2 out of the race but when I got in the race trying to push my body to the level it takes at a WCS, my body just said no. I have never felt so awful in a race before. I tried the run and I was cramping (most likely from the stomach stuff earlier) I just felt heavy and lethargic. Then I started to feel really empty, low on fuel. I started getting dizzy, I know that bonk feeling too well. I warned Jon I might pass out but kept trucking along. I ended up finishing with my head hanging back and tripping on every step because my front striking leg wouldn't hold me up! haha Again, not how I planned this race to go!

I returned to Victoria SUPER motivated to take on these girls that I kept failing to run against. But after a meeting with Kurt and Jon we decided this year was the right year to race U23 at Worlds. I agreed and happily put in my only solid block of training for the whole year. It was only a few weeks before nationals. I was super excited about this race because my friend Paula was the standard for the women in the world and i would get to race her head to head. Turned out it wasn't really head to head because she ran away from me straight away! But it was good to know where I stand. I finished about 40 seconds back i think.

After that we had only 2 or 3 weeks to Budapest. I was really excited for this race because I knew there was some solid competition. I prepared well and raced solidly. It was really cold so I didn't feel amazing but I was happy because the conditions really didn't suit me but I pulled off a good one. Emma Jackson won with the 2nd fastest run of all the women at the World Championships, Emma Snowsill was the only one to outrun her. She really had an incredible performance. I wanted to win but when I saw her effort I was somewhat satisfied with 2nd on the day!

After Budapest I moved on to France for my first Grand Prix. I stopped in Rome along the way and fell in love with that city! I only had 2 days so I definitely will be back. My experience in La Baule was amazing. I absolutely LOVED the race. I could not stop talking about how fun it was all day. Super fast but yet fun and casual. It was my favorite event of the year. I have now joined my friend Melanie Annaheim on the Chatearoux team and I am super excited for next year!

When I got home I was ready for a break. I still had one race left in Mexico though so I put in 5 more weeks of work. It was pretty tough at times but I really needed some points for next year and needed another solid performance to be in good standing with my federation and funding. I knew i had the ability I just hadn't expressed it so that was motivating enough to get through the final block when everyone else was on holiday. In the end (like I explained last post) I had a great race but unfortunately was DQ'ed because of poor organization. So in a way I achieved what I needed for myself and TriCan but minus the points and money!

Now I am on the ferry headed to Whistler for 6 days getting back into training on some new trails. I will visit my cousins and some friends and go adventuring in the trails! I hear there is snow! Such a change from humid 34C last week!! I am very excited for next year now that I have a years base to build on. Thanks to everyone who supported me this year. Seriously, the amount of messages not only when I succeeded but when I failed was really incredible. I appreciate that kind of support the most, so thank you!!! Also, thanks to my parents for putting up with me in the house this year and to Jon, Kurt, Patrick and all of TriCan and Pacific Sport. To the NTC guys, this year was the most fun ever! We are lucky to have such a great group of people to work with everyday. Also a huge thanks to my sponsors NIKE, TECK, SHIMANO, TREK PROCITY, NORMATEC MVP, POWERBAR and all my supporters too!

SOOO looking forward to the coming year!!

PV Pan Am Champs est LOCO!!!

2010-10-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

After Europe I came home and put my head down for another month of solid training for the Pan American Championships in Puerta Vallarta. I needed a good performance to solidify my year and continue on my curve back up. I got the performance I was looking for on Sunday. I finally put it all down and played offensively. I had my best start ever in the first 100m of the swim and then im really not sure what happened. I found myself in the main pack including the 2 runners who i was hoping would be chasing from behind. The only one left up front after a lap was Sarah McLarty and i found myself in a breakaway group of 4. Gillian Peterson, Flora Duffy, Alicia Kaye and myself were putting in a little extra effort to escape the main pack but our efforts turned out to be useless as be were swallowed by the pack again. My team mate Tenele Hoogland did an amazing job at the front and helped me out a lot. I sat and relaxed for the last few laps and worked on getting hydrated and cooled for the run. I forgot to mention it was 34C and humid. The course was crazy! We didn't even know the course until the morning of the race! Here is a photo i took at the briefing of them explaining the "course options"

HAHA! A sign of things to come.....

So entering T2 i got to the front and took the last corner quite well so i was able to exit transition in 2nd which is good for me. I took it conservative the first 2 laps because of the heat. I haven't raced in the heat in over a year and i didn't want to end up melting into the pavement. I found myself in the company of 2 of the sports best, unknown runners. Carla Moreno from Brazil and Gwen Jorgenson from the US. We ran together taking water on every stop, thanks to Carla for sharing when i missed one! :) Then at the end of lap 2 (out of 3) i decided I could handle 15mins of effort without overheating so i pulled the throttle just a bit going up the slight incline into the race venue area. There was a turn around and then a right turn and another turnaround in front of transition and then you went back out to the first round about the other direction to go out onto the third lap. It was so confusing and complicated, it just looked like a sea of orange cones. We had been following the lead bike for the whole run and on the 2nd turnaround (by the finish) i decided to make this my go point. So after slightly, steadily increasing the pace, i sprinted out of the 2nd turnaround and followed the bike through the 3rd turnout and out onto the long out and back stretch. I hammered all the out having no idea where the other 2 girls were, i knew i couldn't hear their breathing but that was it. I was just going to go as hard as i could to the line because i didn't want another 2nd place this year! ;) Craig, one of our coaches had called to me that i had done something wrong but i had no idea what so i tried to get a gap of 15 seconds to hold off and penalty I may have picked up. I had checked the board for my number and there was no sign of it so i assumed i was fine. When i crossed the line no one took my picture, no one announced my name...it was really strange. I was immediately notified that i had been disqualified for going around the 3rd turnaround on my 3rd lap in the wrong lane. The lane that was like 1m from the "proper lane" even though the lead bike lead me through the one i ran through they decided i had not finished the run course so i was disqualified. We appealed the decision, almost all the athletes back me up and many had admitted to being confused and doing the same thing. But when it came down the the decision the board decided i would still be disqualified. It still seems so unfair but sometimes that is sport. I know i deserved to win, that cone had no relevance. I won by over 10 seconds and the coaches timed my gap to 2nd place as 3 seconds going into the turn and 3 going out so there was no advantage. Anyways, technically rules are rules i guess but the organization of this event was not stellar by any means. I know everyone worked really hard on putting this race together and i am grateful for that. I had a great race, I got what i needed from it for my head but i really could have used those Olympic points!!! I have to thank Triathlon Canada for a great trip! Kurt and Craig were awesome and it was fun getting to know some new Canadian faces! It was a really great time and it's going to continue until Saturday!

I am now on vacation and taking it in style with A-Russ and JP! Here are a few pictures from the days so far!

Our rental van! Seriously, the Hertzmobile!

And Then There Was 3

2010-10-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

Since returning from France I have been training in race prep mode with Jeff and Aaron. We are the lone soldiers trudging on for another month! I have been frequenting the MET which is essentially a computer regulated heat chamber in a trailer! It has not been pleasant. Not at all. Rectal thermometers don't help. But it's nice to watch the sun outside the windows of the chamber ;) Victoria has had an amazing fall so far which has made the outdoor training quite pleasant! Another week here and then I can put my suffering in the MET to use in Mehico! I will race my final competition of the year in Puerta Vallarta for the Pan American Championships next weekend. Looking forward to another chance to salvage my 2010 season!

In non-triathlon news, I have moved into a new house with 2 national team rowers and so far it has been awesome. I didn't lift one heavy thing, i have people to help eat baked goods and i learned how to play poker. I have met like 30 new people this week too...and i don't remember one name yet. It's cool to hear stories from other high performance athletes from a sport i know nothing about! One of my roommates made some sweet kitchen decor)

After next week I will stay in Mexico 5 days and then come home for a few days and then spend a few days up at Whistler with a few friends for some adventuring. But for now, sights are set on Puerta Vallarta!! :)

J'aime la France

2010-09-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

I wrote this on the 3hr train ride from La Baule to Paris. I am now in the lounge at toronto airport awaiting my last 5hr flight home! What a great trip this was. One of my best yet. I can't believe it was only 2 weeks, I did so much in so little time! Now back to real life with swimming tomorrow mornin. :)

My first experience in France has been tres bien! I arrived in La Baule thursday evening and instantly fell in love with the place. It is the french Noosa! Everything positive about Noosa with the European culture and Pannieres too. The people are so friendly too, nothing like what I had heard. I have found myself checking the La Baule real-estate papers all weekend ;)

And the race!! I couldn't get over how much fun it was! I loved every second of it! It was a stacked field but so casual and laid back. It was a beach run in and we lined up with our teams. I had a surprisingly good swim (my first of the year) and hopped on my bike 3rd i believe. My goggles were so foggy I couldn't see anything so I actually didn't know where I was! haha I rode a borrowed bike for the first time in the race! I couldn't even get into the big chain ring! The bike was confusing at first. There were girls up the road but no one was working. Then Jess explained to me that her team mate was up there so they would not catch her. So I did some work and then relegated to the back and rested up for the run. I could not believe the speed at which these girls exited transition! Holy. I tried but my legs weren't ready to go until the 2nd lap but by then the gap was already set. I maintained my position and finished 6th. This is great practice and I want to do more! I felt like I could run that pace for 10k but i just couldn't go any faster. Next time I will be braver and go for it from the beginning. The atmosphere at these races is so cool too. It's all about the teams. I really really enjoyed myself!

My team took us out for dinner after and then to the party. The whole weekend was a great experience! Definitely something I want to do more of. I think these are great training for WCS. My first attempt was great! A beautiful place, a fun race (i'm surprised it was fun because i had not trained since Budapest ) and a great time catching up with everyone. I now have 2 days in Paris with my aussie friend Sam Appleton and then it's back to the west coast! After a good week off I will get back into training for a month and head to Mexico for my final race of the season, PATCO Championship and then je suis fini!

Here are a few pictures from recent adventures!

Notre Dame a la nuit

Looking the part ;)

Dans La Louvre avec Sam

Gettin all fancy

Eiffel Tower from the park at night

Nike Goddess of Victory!

La Baule Men's race

Notre Dame AGAIN!

2010-09-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue, not in the sense of time but in the amount of interesting things in my life!

World Champs in Budapest! What a great experience. My first healthy world champs since Lausanne. So far my track record at worlds shows that I podium or DNF. I prefer the podium much more than the latter. The travel was easy. I was upgraded and ate and slept the entire way. This year, TriCan went out oof their way to make sure our final days leading into the race were as relaxing and uneventful as possible. I was ordered not to touch my bags haha! I had an unusually quiet few days before the race. I was instructed to lay low and not be overly social! haha It was easier than I thought! I found being an unidentified athlete in the U23 category very easy with no interviews or press conferences. I was able to just do my mini workouts, read, nap and eat. Also, Pierre our in house chef made our lives a whole lot easier! Just walk upstairs for a home cooked meal! That might have been the highlight of the trip! That and the race ;)

Race day was just like Victoria! Well maybe worse, 12C and the rain was absolutely teaming down on us throughout the swim and bike. That bike ride may have been the scariest hour of my life. I barely made lead pack after a very very bad first lap of the swim I made 90 seconds on the girls I was around from the 1st lap to the 2nd. I just went on the inside and picked them off one by one. Once I mounted my bike I stayed near the front the entire time. I felt the little extra wind breaking was worth it for safety. The bike course was just crazy. Worse in the pouring rain. At one point my hands slipped off the bars when I hit a pothole covered by a puddle. This is how Kyla Coates crashed and broke her collar bone. I was lucky that somehow my forearms hit the drops and i was able to stay up, heart pounding in my skin! That course should never have passed ITU standards...not sure how it did! I have never been happier to dismount at T2! I had a very hard time in T2 with numb hands and feet but exited near the eventual winner Emma Jackson. My legs were very numb for the whole first lap and Emma started out very quick. I tried to go with her for a minute but I knew pretty much immediately that it was a bad idea. I was pulling away from 3rd place just as much as she was pulling away from me so I was pretty secured the whole run. I kept a steady pace all the way to the finish where I crossed in 2nd. Very happy that I was able to finally execute a good race when it counted. I don't feel that it was stellar, I actually felt much better at nationals but I guess with travel, jetlag etc that is to be expected. I am very satisfied nonetheless. Standing on the podium at World Champs is always an honour and can never be take for granted.

I had a great time catching up with all the U23's and senior men after the race. Then I lay in bed sleepless all night as usual for a post race night. I got up at 6 and went for a run led by our chiro Rob Hasegawa along with our RMT Kim, doc Keeler and Kyle. We were both very sore and tired and expecting maybe 30-40mins ez……..1:20 later we returned dizzy and dreaming of the gross Hungarian breakfast buffet. After a shower and refuelling we were ready to watch the next days events.

The senior womens race was very inspiring. Emma Snowsill is truly amazing. The way she can run just baffles me. It looks like she is sprinting…the ENTIRE time! The rest of the women had a 7 way race for 2nd. Paula made a very gutsy move on the last lap to bridge a 5sec gap back to the group. 5 seconds doesn't sound like much but feels like an eternity when trying to close it. Very proud of her effort!

The juniors were over and done with in the blink of an eye! I forgot how much more spectator friendly they are! Ash Gentle ran blindingly fast. 16 something…I think she would have been top 10 in the guys! Must be something in the water for those Aussie girls! Emma S, Emma M (overall winner) Emma J and Ashleigh. Crazy.

Then it was a quick turnaround from race venue to the party! They hosted a great year end party. I'm writing now from a train on the way from Paris to La Baule.

I spent the past 2 days touring Rome. I fell in love…with the city. The architecture the culture the food….everything. I loved it. 2 short days and off to La Baule! I somehow managed to get here. I got in a taxi at 6:30am with a taxi driver who asked to sleep in my bed for "Amore all night, mamamia!" asked if i needed to stop for lunch…at 6:30am…I was more than scared. After he dropped me off at the wrong airport I paid him 50 Euro too much and ran away. I didn't dare ask him to drive me to the right one. I got in another cab and paid another 40 euro to a more professional driver who miraculously got me there on time! I met a nice girl from California and we travelled together to Paris. Then I met another friend from Algeria for the bus ride to the train and another on the train from Brazil. I was very social today apparently! I had no idea even where La Baule is on the map let alone how to get there! Luckily the people at the airport were surprisingly friendly despite what I had heard. So now after a taxi, a plane, a bus, a train and a metro I am 5 mins away from La Baule! Whew. I have run twice and have not swam or biked since the race so this weekend's french grand prix should be interesting! I have walked about 40km on the cobbles of Rome though! Must count for something!

Here are a few pictures from my journey so far:

Trevi Fountain

Colosseo

Budapest

St. Peters Basillica

Worlds best spagetti!

Kirsten, Keeping Her Mouth Shut?

2010-09-09T08:12:00.000-07:00

I think I just saw a pig flying overhead!!!!

Recently I have not been too fond of pouring my rambling thoughts, feelings, opinions, beliefs and basic daily updates into an online webpage for anyone and everyone to read. I find that most thoughts are only temporary and later seem wrong and usually funny. I often find that what I have written is what I want to think but upon looking back, not really what was going on. "I'm healthy and feeling good" is actually "i'm feeling like crap, have a pounding headache and can't keep any food down but if I remain positive and think of how well the past few weeks has gone it will go away and i won't notice in the race" or "well…healthy in all ways except the torn ligament in my knee…."
Not to be interpreted wrong. It's not intentional, it's just when I look back it's more how I was hoping things were than actual reality. I tend to stay positive and push pain/sluggishness/sickness under the rug and hope that if i ignore or deny it, it will not be true. haha Sounds more ridiculous when I write it! So apologies for the lack of posting, I'm not really sure what to post anymore! It's a bit ironic writing this post actually. But I promise all that i write next is not sugar coated! There's not really anything to sugar coat, as Simon would say "just rolling along" ;)

I just returned from the U23 briefing having recognized all of 5 people probably! Strange, I haven't been in this position since I was a junior at worlds! Training before I left was at my years best I think. The travel was super easy, upgraded all the way! (well except the last 50min flight but i think i can handle that! ;) I slept great that night and got up to a refreshed bod and trained like normal! Never has this happened to me! I nearly skipped jet lag and travel sluggishness all together except for my 3:30am wake up yesterday (and i made up for that by falling asleep at 7:45 last night!) it has been smooth sailing! I am excited and ready for a good race. Trican has really set us up well with a full support staff including a chef! Life is pretty easy here. So far my days have gone like so;
Wake up
Hot choc and reading in bed, Bill Bryson makes me laugh out loud.
email and breakfast
swim
eat
run
eat
sleep
eat
bike
eat
hot choc and reading in bed
sleep
Repeat!

Tomorrow is the day before the race…already! The year has flown by. I still have another month of racing ahead of me but this is the main focus of the year. Anyway, not much else to write except to make sure you tune in on triathlon.org and watch the race live Saturday!

Here is me, Kim and a castle on our run the other day (we are smiling because we are so happy/relieved the homeless man never caught up to us, he was angry that we didn't have cigs!)

2010-09-01T22:50:00.000-07:00

2010-08-24T14:13:00.001-07:00

Findlay, Whitfield collect Canadian triathlon titles

BY GARY KINGSTON, VANCOUVER SUN AUGUST 22, 2010

Double Olympic medalist Simon Whitfield jokingly suggested Sunday that he may have to stop singing the praises of training partner Kyle Jones after barely holding off the Hamilton, Ont., native in Kelowna to capture his ninth Canadian triathlon title.

The 35-year-old Victoria resident got Jones, 25, on a lean at the finish line, edging him by 2/100ths of a second.

“He made that difficult,” said Whitfield, who completed the 1.5-kilometre swim, 40K bike ride and 10K run in one hour, 55 minutes and 40.4 seconds.

“I’m going to have start lying to him about how good he can be.”

What the outspoken Whitfield won’t lie about is his concern that there are few Canadian men capable of pushing him as he eyes a spot on his fourth Olympic team in London in 2012.

“Kyle does the work and, frankly, right now there’s no other male in Canada willing to make that commitment.”

Whitfield won gold in triathlon’s Olympic debut in Sydney in 2000 and a surprise silver in Beijing eight years later. He is currently 18th in the International Triathlon Union’s 2010 rankings, while Jones is 46th. They are the only Canadian men in the top 100.

Whitfield has a 12th and a 14th in ITU World Championship Series races this season, but says the year has been “a bit disappointing.

“Just balancing everything, adapting to life with two children, it gets more and more difficult,” says the devoted father of girls aged three and five months. “It’s been a bit of an ego blow this year, but I feel confident I have it back in the right direction. In terms of where we are in the quadrennial heading toward London, well it’s not the worst thing.”

Whitfield said Sunday’s win was a good tune-up for next month’s World Championships Series Grand Final in Hungary.

Before heading to Budapest, however, he and Jones will spend 10 days training in Germany with his friend and current world No. 1 Jan Frodeno, who tracked down Whitfield in the final 100 metres to win gold in Beijing.

Also heading to Budapest will be Paula Findlay of Edmonton and Kirsten Sweetland of Victoria, who went 1-2 in the women’s race in Kelowna.

The 21-year-old Findlay, who burst onto the international scene with back-to-back wins at London and Kitzbuehel, Austria, on the WCS this summer, recorded a time of 2:02.37 to finish 48 seconds in front of Sweetland.

Sweetland, who won two World Cups by the age of 20 but has battled injury, illness and bad luck for much of the past two seasons, was happy to claim second “to a classy runner like [Findlay]

“On the run,she punched the first five kilometres so unbelievably fast, I just couldn’t keep up with her.

“But I’m really happy with what I did, to see what I’m capable of. And to not have any problems, that was a treat in itself.”

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Triathlon+Findlay+Whitfield+collect+Canadian+titles/3430220/story.html#ixzz0xYn6wqpx

Like a Kid in a Candy Store :)

2010-08-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

2010-08-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

Triathletes Kirsten Sweetland, Paula Findlay bright lights for Canadian championships

Kirsten Sweetland has become ‘more careful and precise’ in her training of late. She says her ‘harder-is-better, more-is-better’ approach was actually doing more harm than good.
Photograph by: Bruce Edwards, Postmedia News files
VANCOUVER — Cycling through the rain a couple of weeks ago in the final stages of a 100-kilometre training ride around Victoria, triathlete Kirsten Sweetland’s ipod was cranking out these lyrics to a Switchfoot song:

“This is your life, are you who you want to be? This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be?”

At that moment, a garbage truck drove by and splashed her with what she described on her website as “gross smelly water, mud and bits of grass.”

“Yeah, what timing,” a laughing Sweetland said in an interview this week as she prepared for Canadian championships in Kelowna on Sunday. “But I really am enjoying myself.”

It has, however, been one bumpy ride the last couple of years for the lithe, 21-year-old dynamo from Nanaimo.

Before Edmonton’s Paula Findlay, also 21, burst from relative anonymity to potential 2012 Olympic star status by winning back-to-back events this summer on the ITU World Championships Series, it was Sweetland who figured to be in that role.

After winning the world junior title in 2006, the 5-1, 105-pound Sweetland won her first World Cup in May of ‘07 at Richards Bay, South Africa, at just 18 years and eight months. A month later she was battling for the lead in the Hy-Vee International in Des Moines, Iowa, with a circuit-high $200,000 to the winner, when she fainted in the oppressive heat with 600 metres left in the run.

She then missed much of 2008 because of injury, primarily a stress fracture in her heel that prevented her from qualifying for the 2008 Olympics.

Sweetland moved to Australia in October, 2008, to train and blistered the field in the opening World Cup of 2009 at Mooloolaba, beating Olympic bronze medallist Emma Moffat by 55 seconds. She posted fifth- and eighth-place finishes in ITU World Championships Series events but was troubled later in the year by a bad back.

Then after solid winter training this year, she suffered a minor ligament tear in her knee.

“After that I took a long look at what I was doing. Why does this keep happening?”

The determined, gutsy, impatient young woman who had tasted such early success realized that her “harder-is-better, more-is-better” approach was actually doing more harm than good. The intensity of her training was too often wrong, she said.

“I’ve always been a bit ahead of my age in almost every sport I did. There are consequences for that, like trying to push too hard.

“Now, I’ve just sort of become a lot more careful and precise in training. There’s a reason for everything I do, a reason for every step up in intensity. And I’m taking care of the details, particularly with recovery.”

But in her first World Championships Series start in Hamburg on July 17 her “hiccups” continued when a flat bike tire caused her to DNF. A week later she finished just 45th in London on the 2012 Olympic course while battling a severe stomach bug.

She hasn’t let those results get her down, however.

“I’ve had a lot of misfortune. But I’m happy where I’m at. I’ve raced so little over the last few years I’m just so excited to get out there. It’s not even about results. It’s that I get to race and do what I really love doing.”

Sweetland will head to Budapest, Hungary, next month for the world championships. But as part of her plan to exercise more patience and regain confidence, she’ll race in the under-23 competition rather than the seniors.

“I am still only 21 and I forget that sometimes. I’ve tried to skip steps along the way and paid the price. I’ll take a step back and race in my proper age category.

“It’s not a cop out,” she said on her website, “but more a stepping stone that I tried to overlook.”

Findlay, meantime, shocked the world by winning in London in her first World Championships Series start. Three weeks later, she proved it wasn’t a fluke by winning again in Kitzbuehel, Austria.

“I knew this season would be better just because I’m not injured,” said Findlay, who battled foot and knee problems last season but still finished third in the world under-23 championships. “But I couldn’t have imagined this, absolutely not.”

Findlay now trains in Victoria, moving there 15 months ago on her 20th birthday.

“My first workout in the pool was in the same lane with [two-time Olympic medalist] Simon [Whitfield.] It was the best birthday. It’s really cool to be around someone who’s had so much success.”

The 35-year-old Whitfield, aiming for his ninth Canadian men’s title in Kelowna, calls Findlay “an overnight success built in 10 years. She possesses that relentless quality that you need to be to be a champion. This redheaded train has been coming for a while.”

Long a mentor to Sweetland, Whitfield says the B.C. native is a “special athlete … who kept wanting to get on the express train. Now she’s settled down a bit, prepared to put one foot in front of the other.

“She can do some extraordinary s--- during training and racing. It’s not a stretch to see two Canadians on the [women’s] podium in London.”

gkingston@vancouversun.com

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Triathletes+Kirsten+Sweetland+Paula+Findlay+bright+lights+Canadian/3419321/story.html#ixzz0x773p1TK

In the words of Austin Horn

2010-08-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

"It hurts so good"

After nearly 4 weeks of being unable to work hard from various reasons like taper/recover/illness etc etc. I am really embracing my ability to give'er!! I started feeling better last tuesday and got straight back to work! I confirmed my suspicion that I was still fit on the track last friday. 8x1km comfy at a nice pace :) i have a personal rabbit who is not too shabby at pacing (within 1 second on all 8!) I headed over to Oak bay after to watch the juniors track workout and go for a ride with them....good fun in some crazy winds! Saturday (the day we do all 3 sports outside) it poured rain all day. Great fun in an open water swim, roughin it up with the boys. Then a ride with Simon and Kyle and A-Russ...been a while since I joined up with the 'men' ! ;) it was a quicker pace than I remember! But fun fun in pouring warm rain. Yesterday was a very inspiring day. I met up with Marilyn and Katherine, 2 women that are training for marathon. I ran 80mins with them with some tempo in there....theeey ran 3hrs! With an hour at 4min, an hour at 3:45! Crazy! Makes me want to run more! 39k later they arrived in the parking lot where i was waiting munching on a donut and coffee from Tims....something about that doesnt equate...i ate donuts while they ran...nice! hahaha. We iced in the ocean after and went out for a nice breakfast. Very nice morning! (slash day!) They are such fun, down to earth girls...I was honoured to join them!

Today I had my first long ride in a while. 3:35 was the time it took to do exactly 100 hilly kilometers. :) I had 3-4hrs on the program but when i saw how close i was too 100k i decided to just go to there. It's funny because this was a regular occurrence for me last year... This year i haven't ridden that far since February! Of course it poured rain again! But I had the company of my dad for a few hours. He is crazy strong and hardly rides..not sure if I am amazed or jealous...probably both! :) I had a lot of fun!

Right I'm very motivated to put my head down...it's crunch time! Trying to take care of the details which I am naturally not the beeessst at. ;) I have decided to race through to the end of October so I have more to look forward to! Lovin the job more than ever right now! :D Which leads me to a funny story from the ride today. After I dropped Dad off, at about 3hrs, I was riding alone in the pouring rain listening to my music when a Switchfoot song came on saying "This is your life, are you who you want to be? This is your life is it everything you dreamed that it would be" right at that lyric a garbage truck drove by and splashed me with gross smelly water, mud and bits of grass! hahaha what timing!! But thinking about it...it's better than I dreamed it would be! haha and there is always a shower ;)

Anyway...this is a pretty boring blog! Training training...I'm having fun! Now off to the movies with my Sis! :)

Oh Right.....

2010-07-30T20:18:00.001-07:00

The other day when I headed out on my ride I had numerous sudden realizations.
1. "did I empty the washer? crap...no"
2. "oh right, I'm only 21"
3. "I forgot to charge my Ipod"

the 2nd being of most importance. I'm only 21. Sometimes I forget that having been in the sport so long. I have tried to skip so many steps along the way (a common side effect of being genetically given absolutely no patience, yes, we'll blame it on genetics.)

It started when i first dunked under water in a pool at age 2 weeks (I'm not kidding...I did not enjoy it and neither did my mother). I skipped training wheels all together and was riding a bike before the age of 3 because my cool older neighbours were learning too. I was doing axels on the ice in figure skating before i was 5. I started training with the National Triathlon Centre by 13 and racing local senior elite races and 16-19 national series races at the age of 15. I was devastated when I was too young to be eligible for National Champs or the Worlds team so I flew to the US to compete there instead. I did my first World Cup and Senior World Championships shortly after my 18th birthday and have paid the price for all that fast forwarding basically since then!

SO....long story short I have decided that it's time to take a step back and fit into the category that I actually am. Jon, Kurt and I have decided that the best thing for me and my development this year is to race U23 World Championships in Budapest. It's not a cop out but more a stepping stone that I tried to overlook. My goal after I won Junior Worlds was to be the first to win Junior, U23 and Senior World Champs...too bad good ol' Ali Brownlee has already done that ;) But it is still my goal nonetheless. But with Beijing qualifying and an injury last year I realized I'm running out of time! It also helps that I currently hold zero points in the series this year so I really have nothing to lose :)

I am more motivated than ever since returning from my disastrous 2 weeks! I am on antibiotics now for a sinus infection so will hopefully be right by then end of the week with some help to kick this thing! Next up is Nationals in Kelowna August 22 and then Budapest the first week in September...gosh the season flies by! I won't let another one fly like that ever again! On that note....I have found a very interesting factor in the cause of my mysterious sacral stress fracture last year. The SRM I was using had one crank 170mm and 1 was 172.5mm...oops...MAJOR OOPS on someones part! Only cost me my season, that's fine ;) ... no sense drudging through the past now but at least it's nice to know I wasn't crazy or super osteopenic! Shaun always said it looked like I was riding with one leg......basically was!! Anyway whats done is done but hopefully no more of this goofiness continues! (I use the word goofiness in place of many other words I would really like to put there ;) BEDTIME! It's like 4:30 am on my internal clock right now! Ohhh jet lag........

A Recent Conversation with Coach Jon

2010-07-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

me: "............ sometimes you underestimate my brilliance ;) hahaha"

Me

i hope you sensed the sarcasm in that last bit!

Jon

Remind me to kick you in the ass when I see you tomorrow.

Me

sure thing.

and remind me to pull your hair....oh wait..... ;)

No Excuses

2010-07-26T01:53:00.000-07:00

So....I'm not going to write much because no one wants to hear my sad tales of misfortune! I will just let everyone know that I am fit and injury free...no worries there...just not able to show it these past 2 weeks. So unbelievably frustrating but just piling more and more fuel onto that fire...it's near hazard stage by now!!! I'm coming home with some lessons learned so I can't complain. I am in Heathrow now awaiting my flight home. Some good rest and care from Momma and I'll be good as new! My horse is waiting for me....time to get back on!

PS i have to say TriCan did a great job and i had a great time with the team. Paula Findlay you make it look too easy! Incredible. That modesty will go a long way :)

2010-07-20T08:08:00.001-07:00

Well that didn't seem fair! I was so excited and ready to race well and my opportunity was stripped from me for reason out of my control. Flat tires. These sort of DNF's seem to leave you on your knees, wheel waving in hand crying to the Gods of rubber.. "WHY?!" ok slight exaggeration...only slight though ;)

That was frustrating. After a less than ideal swim I remained calm and moved swiftly through transition and straight into some tactical riding. I managed to move up through the field with the help of a few girls. About 2 laps in, a girl started to drift outwards when I was crossed her outside. I yelled the universal "WOAH WOAH WOOOAAHH" but she didn't notice and i was being forced straight into a concrete barrier. I moved my front wheel clipping her back one in the process but holding firm to not go down. I lifted my pedal out of the way but my back wheel still hit. I considered myself lucky with my heart pumping in my skin. I quickly looked down for a flat, relieved and continued to chase. Just as we were approaching the front pack Lisa Norden made a break as the group was not sharing the work. I jumped up to chase her and my back end flicked into the air...I looked down to make sure my quick release hadn't come undone...all good...I got on Lisa's wheel and then......FLAT. Devastating. I tried to find the wheel stop but in all the commotion of tents and carpets and crowds it all looked the same and no one was speaking english. Done for the day. So so angering but lets just say fuel has been added to the fire. I don't want to watch these girls run anymore ;)

We are in London now. Right in Paddington. Jon is taking us on a scenic run now to see Big Ben, the eye etc etc all by way of trails and parks! I'm running with my camera :)

Hamburg

2010-07-17T04:28:00.000-07:00

I usually write a pretty long winded pre race report but I don't feel like I have much new to say except that the helicopters and cheering outside for the mens race is giving me goosebumps! (the good kind!) :D vroom vroom!!

Now the Fun Part!

2010-07-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

Well, in truth, it's all fun....(as long as I'm not cold) but some parts are more fun than others. I personally really like the hard stuff. The gutsy stuff where you are just hanging on but feel so good once it's done. I don't get to experience much of that anymore so I relish in my chances to do so. Today I had 2 opportunities.

#1 came in the open water swim. 4k with a 900m race effort and 3x400 faster than race effort. I got in good position on the 900m and worked really hard to come out with the front boys. On the 400's I happened to rock the beach starts which is QUITE unusual for me! I tried my hand at drafting Cole Stewart and Matt Sharpe, arguably the 2 fastest junior swimmers in Canada....well....I gave it a shot! I lasted till 300m before the bubbles started getting smaller ;) But positive I take from this is that I am getting brave. I even whipped out a few of my dirty tricks ;) Stealing feet and getting people off my hip....it works 99% of the time...unless I try to pull one on Jeff...he's feisty! It's part of the game...it's my job to try and take the draft, his to protect his position...and boy, he does it well! ;)

My 2nd opportunity was my afternoon run with Jon. 1:15 total with a 10km neg split. We started out a bit fast so only neg split by like 6 seconds but it was a great effort. I practiced really pushing the last 3k so I won't be scared of hurting in the upcoming races...it's been 11 months since i ran 10k in a race so this is great prep for what it's going to feel like. I really love to run fast and thoroughly enjoyed today's session. I am feeling quietly confident about the next couple of months. I guess not so quiet now as I just put it into the tubes of the interweb :)

That brings me to the funnest (i know its not a word but it describes what i mean perfectly) the funnest part about my job....RACING! It's what i do best, it's what i love and what i have so infrequently been able to do. I am just excited to get out there, feel that vibe (especially Hamburg vibe! Last time I was there I couldn't even hear myself breathing!) just get in there and mix it up!! I'm also looking forward to seeing all my buds from around the world! I am so lucky to do what I do and I definitely don't take racing for granted. I am so privileged and so excited to get back into the ITU world!! But must contain excitement...its a good thing but sometimes causes me to make silly decisions. Jon says the only thing I have to do to be successful is not screw up...hahaha that's one way of putting it! :) Anyway, that's all from me...im relaxing with a hot choc (minus Baileys unfortunately) norma is erasing my run from my legs....tomorrow is another solid day...actually, it's Wednesday which has now officially been changed to Starfishday! My living room floor awaits at 7pm!

Excerpt From Stevo's Blog

2010-06-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

Watts are & HR is.
Pause to embrace.

Pause to embrace this last interval.
Pause to embrace this last set.

Pause to embrace the comfort.
Pause to embrace the comfortable confidence that you have done well.

What will be on this next set will be. Let your legs kick & your arms spin free.

Forget everything you have just done. Just remember you have done well. You have done well & you are ready to be.

Let your Heart Rate be.

Let your feet be quick. Let your turnover be smooth. Let your legs be light.

Let your Watts be.

Let them be what they are, & remember,

Just let them be.

Your HR knows how, your watts just are, & your stroke knows what.

Embrace as they know how to be.

Thanks for a great swim & smooth run.

Rest well.
POSTED BY STEVO

Time Flies...

2010-06-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

either when your having fun or when your getting old....maybe both in this case? For whatever reason, the time is just flying by! I can't believe it's nearly July and I head to Europe in 2 weeks! I am so excited to get out there! As Lauren Campbell recently posted, I love racing. The training day to day is fun and a like it, but I LOVE racing! Over the past few years I haven't been able to do much of it but that is changing quickly. ;) The weeks have just ticked by, putting in the solid work but never getting bogged down. Jon and Kurt have been great at always giving me time to bounce back up. When it's hard it's hard and when it's easy I sit on the patio at Fantastico with a coffee, pastry and book...EASY. :)

There have been a few memorable events over the past few weeks like running at Thetis with Marilyn on a clutz day...i seriously tripped like 30 times! One time she tried to catch me as we were barrelling down the hill towards a woman and her dog, tangled up in each other, leaning forward and barely holding each on up on each step. It was a sight to say the least! Another was a 1500m race effort in the lake where I held on the the AMac, Simon and the boys....i'm not proud because of whose feet i hung on to...I'm more proud that i hung on. It was so hard for me for the last 1km...barely hanging on, sprint back up, lose 1m, sprint again..it was the hardest effort i've done in the water in a while but i was determined to make it to the beach with them. Even though I went numb in the last few hundred meters it felt so great once i hit the sand. Other memorable moments have been great runs with Jon, especially friday when he showed up in a collared button up shirt and cargo shorts that went passed his knees. I just looked and him and laughed and he said "I've worn running clothes for bloody 20 years" haha! I never get tired of his British-ness. Yesterday was note worthy, 5hrs of training at Thetis Lake! 8am-1pm Swim, bike with 2x30min efforts and run off the bike...done by 1:00 in the afternoon was nice though! I went to Market Square for a bit and then went to Jasper Blake's with Simon. I was in the bouncy castle with the kids while they went it Jazz' sauna......i think its weird that this did not seem weird to me:

Then home for some more unusual meat cooking! As of late, dishes on the table have included;
Kangaroo
Wild Boar
Bison
Ostrich
Lamb
and normal meats of course like chicken and seafood...I discovered the freezer at Lifestyles and have been on a weird meat kick! Can't hurt my iron levels I guess! I like coming home from training if it's not too late and cooking a really nice meal. I like to try new things every time and be a bit adventurous. It's like a hobby. I document some of them on twitter sometimes in case anyone is interested or feels like trying something new. Something non triathlon! :) hahaha It's kind of hard to get away from it this time of year...actually I don't even really want to! We'll save that for off season! I still get my coffee time and that's enough for me! :)

Now I'm off for a long run with Jon and lunch with my ma! :)

I Wish I Was This Level Headed at This Stage...

2010-06-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

2009 Junior World Champ, Mario Mola of Spain in an interview with 360 magazine:

360TM: The ITU Junior World Championship Title is a big one. Is there any extra pressure now to race well? Do people look differently at you now in races?

MM: People probably will expect good results from me now, but I am still young and if I want to have a long career, I need to be careful. I have to be ambitious, because this is the only way how you can reach your goals, but I als have to be aware of all the hard work that I need to get done from now. I hope people keep looking at me as they have done before, because - after all - It was only one competition. A bit more important, but definetly only one race.

Watch out for this guy!!

Patience is a Virtue

2010-06-22T21:46:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh I can't tell you how many times those words came out of my father's mouth. I used to have this tape of a song about patience. The scary thing is I can recite it to this day

" Have patience, have patience, don't be in such a hurry. When you don't have patience you only start to worry. Remember, remember that God is patient too and think of all the times that others have to wait for you!" hahaha!! The funniest part is that I used to scream "I want my patience tape, now!!!" hahaha Needless to say, patience has never been my strong point. Until now. I'm just starting to get it now, 15 years later! It is my one and only goal for 2010. It will remain my goal for the next decades of my life but this year it is my one and only.

Jon has been really good at helping me implement this, as has Kurt but when it comes down to it, I have to be committed or their input is useless. I have been diligent in following instructions and you know what? It's not even hard! I don't have that same sense of urgency I once had. That makes things a whole lot easier!

Last weekend I raced a sprint distance at the New Balance 1/2 at Elk Lake. I completed the entire race with a smile on my face. I had SO much fun! Getting back to my roots! No scary music on the startline, just women wishing each other good luck! :) The endurance community in Victoria is amazing! I had a great time out there, aerobar-less and race belt-less! I even followed Jon's pacing instructions to a T without knowing my splits. I just had fun and it happened to be bang on! So great to get out there and put all 3 together again! And I probably won't be doing any more races where I can beat the course record by 8 minutes any time soon ;) haha

http://cti.photoshelter.com/img/pixel.gif
(finishline pic)

Everything is progressing just and fast or faster than when I try and rush things so this couldn't be better reassurance for me that patience is the key. On an exciting side note though....Hamburg WCS is in 3 weeks! :D

Okay, time for bed! I'm stuffed and satisfied from dessert with the boys at the diner, old school style....now I'm sleeepy!

Mind Over Matter

2010-06-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

Cheesy title but oh so fitting!

I always remember being quite good at open water swimming. I could get right on the feet of fast guys and get carried along. I excelled tactically and was gritty enough to hang on for dear life to almost anyone's feet. Although recently, I have been struggling with our open water swims. First it was the cold/numbness, then it was my allergies/asthma, then I was just cursed with tactics and getting in the draft. Finally, last week I told myself enough is enough and next time suck it up! WELL ...it worked! Today's swim was at Thetis Lake again, a big group of people all in and around my speed plus some that are much faster. Fighting, chaos and waves are pretty much guaranteed in these types of swims. My rule today was no stopping, no flitting about and finding the outside for clear water outside the draft. Just gotta get my hands dirty! So, with a few extra puffs and relaxed breathing (my recent trouble has been on edge breathing that goes a bit out of control when caught up in fighting.) I stuck it out and had a great swim. I was able to hang on the boys and actually enjoyed the rough swim! (Not sure Austin and Connor would say the same :P whoopsies!!) We also did short 200m loops at the end where we ran in from the beach and 20 people (mostly guys) were heading to the same kayak about 50m out. HECTIC to say the least but I got right in there and it was fun! It felt good to put my mind towards changing something and succeeding.

So now that that hurdle has been jumped it seems to be smooth sailing from here! Running is coming along way quicker than I expected. I will get to test myself out a bit tomorrow at the New Balance 1/2 Ironman. Nope, I'm not racing a 1/2 Iron! I'm doing the sprint race but I'm pretty sure given the kind of training I've been doing I might be better off doing the half! But we'll save that one for a later day! I am really excited to get out there and race! It's only small but I'm really looking forward to it! I'm most excited about setting up my transition...hahaha I'm such a Tri Geek but when you don't race very often putting elastics and vaseline on your shoes is a novelty!

M&D are taking me out for dinner tonight and then it's an early morning! 7:30 race start! I much prefer 1pm ;) Here's to nice weather tomorrow!! Fingers crossed!!!

2010-06-16T12:04:00.001-07:00

“Excellence can be obtained if you care more than others think is wise, risk more than others think is safe, dream more than others think is practical, expect more than others think is possible.” ~Unknown

Roo Burgers!!

2010-06-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

Just for the comment on the last post :) Aussie burger night...i recommend egg and beets on your next bbq adventure!

Snapshots

2010-06-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

Of my recent hobbies, surroundings and stuff :)

Blogging From Dockside Green :)

2010-05-31T15:27:00.000-07:00

I am writing this post from a cafe beside my new summer condo!! I'm beyond excited about this place. Lauren and Adam Campbell were kind enough to rent me their new condo and I am loving it! I am all moved in and organized. I realized what an athlete I am when I stood back to admire my work in organizing my pantry which has been divided in Redbull and Nike shoe boxes haha! smoothie stuff box, spice box, snacks box etc etc ...can you tell i only had training in the morning yesterday? ;)

I have had to get used to a bit more time on my hands. It's still not much by any means but more than usual with a more simplistic training regime. Back to bread and butter training for me. Back to the old Shaun Stephens mantra "consistency consistency consistency" its easier said than done but i figure if i start with smaller bites it should be manageable to maintain. I just kept biting off more than i could chew in the past and hoping i can stay consistent. I soaked up some wisdom last weekend over a coffee with the infamous evil genius. I walked out with my tail between my legs but with a plan in the forefront of my mind. Some things are glaring but still needed to be brought to my attention from me to see. Now the difficult part...changing habits! It's a full time job i tell ya. But enough about the past and what I'm going to do. This will be my final blab about that kind of stuff. You can only say "I'm turning a corner" so many times before you have to just shut up and do it! :)

NormaTec'ing it now with bulk candy from Save-On across the street....this could be a dangerous location i think!

The Things I Take For Granted

2010-05-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

My Treeekkk!! <3

Like being healthy enough to train all 3 sports! The past few weeks have been wonderful! Just as my knee was getting better I had a bad experience with a Chinese doctor who was a bit rough on me and strained a few muscle attachments at my ribs! Soooo painful! I thought they were fractured! So I was unable to swim for nearly 2 weeks! But in that time I eased back into my biking and running. Last saturday I started swimming again, 2km mind you but it was a start! By wednesday i was up to 5km and now I'm completely back to normal. Rick Say (Olympic freestyle swimmer) has been working on my technique and it has made me sooo much more efficient! 1:10 now feels easy! (that is until my arms get tired and lactic and i cant move at all...i am working on extending this...but for now i usually start a set feeling marvellous and finish pleading someone to chop my arms off)

Running is progressing very very well! I am running an hour tomorrow! I am starting a new program with specific priorities. Olympic marathoner (4th place twice!) Jon Brown is looking after my running and i am really enjoying it! My leash is short and he comes on all my runs with me! Just what I need. No fast stuff for a while...just getting strong in the gym working towards Kirsten Sweetland, 2010 Balanced Edition (as strength coach Cam has named it.) I have also been running with my friend and mentor Marilyn Arsenault. She is so positive and happy, time just flies by! Tomorrow she is taking me around some hills in Thetis Lake, lets hope we make it back...both of us are slightly directionally challenged. Jon never lets us forget it either ;)

Biking has been on my own for a little while. I'm under tight wattage control which is great...no need for partners when i have zones to keep in! I have named my new Garmin Homie G and he comes in handy on these rides! I'm targeting zone 3 right now..which for me is non existent...i like to be above or below (mostly above ;) so this has been great practice.

Training aside, all else is well! I am moving into my friend and fellow N. Team member Lauren Grove's new condo for the summer! She will be off in Switzerland (poor her ;) and I am renting it! It's in the new Dockside Green building (docksidegreen.com) Sooo nice and eco friendly! Plus there is a cafe fantastico (bessst coffee) and bakery below it! and its 1min from Procity bike shop and less than 5 mins to town! I have a feeling i may be cooking quite infrequently this summer :) and poor Billy is gonna have to deal with me hanging out at the shop all the time.

With less training on my plate I have had more time to hang out with my friends. Last night we had one of our final "Patio Nights" my parents have a gorgeous patio area out back with heaters, fire pit for marshmallow roasting, BBQ and fountain...but they are moving next month! So Scotty, Brook and I bbq'ed some burgers and yam fries and made chocolate and toffee fondue. After that we rotated through turns of NormaTec'ing. Tri Geeks to the max! hahaaha

So all in all, everything is in place, feet on the ground....feelin good! I definitely take that feeling for granted until it is gone! So happy it has returned! :) Enough time on the internets, time for french grammar studies...woohoo.......... .... .. .

I'm a Major Nerd

2010-05-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

Meet My New Best Friend Norma

2010-05-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

Yep, I got a new best friend. We hang out, chill, go out the computer and learn french together. She helps me when I'm not feeling well or tired. She's always there when I need her. We only just met but are becoming close very quickly!

NormaTec MVP compression machine is my new recovery toy! It's really helped get control of the soreness in my legs and the tension has now been relieved from my knee! I'm running and biking again with caution but am making steps in the right direction! I have had some great meetings with our high performance director, Kurt Innes lately. Patience is they key....big plans for the next 26 months! ;)

http://www.normatecsports.com/

Carroux's Photos!

2010-05-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

Cool Week

2010-05-09T17:10:00.001-07:00

The past few days I have been hanging out with the guys at Redbull and getting to know everyone. I took the float plane over to Vancouver after a solid morning of training. The athlete marketing guys at Redbull took me out for an incredible dinner at a seafood place in Yaletown. I felt a bit out of place at such a nice restaurant! Never been to anything like that before! I trained and toured around Vancouver on thursday. Wednesday I made the trip up to Whistler in Gabe, a Redull rep's car. He insisted I borrow it even though i was really nervous and didn't want to (v. nice car..i could only imagine the consequences!) Of course when I stopped in Squamish for gas, it wouldn't start! Turns out the battery went on it! I was just thinking "you have got to be kidding!" what are the chances?? Gabe called Squamish resident and fellow Trek rider and Redbull athlete Brandon Semenuk to help me out. He is the best downhill free rider in the world right now. He saved me and took me up to Whistler for the day. What a place! I can't believe I have never been! I will definitely be back there for some training! Here is a video of this stuff this crazy guy does...

Yesterday and today were spent working with the Sun Run with more training and eating ridiculously nice meals. Last night was in a place in Stanley Park with views of the sunset over the water. Amazing. I also had a photo shoot with Yorick Carroux, a famous German photographer who works with Redbull. Got some nice shots in Coal Harbour, I'll post them when i get my hands on them.

Today was insane! Handing samples out to 55,000 people! What an electric environment the Sun Run is! We couldn't have had a more perfect day! On a warm and sunny day nothing beats Vancouver. A great end to a cool couple of days. I've been maintaining my swim/bike since wednesday and building my run back up slowly. All coming together SLOWLY!

Now it's time to spend some quality time with Momma :)

Here are some photos from the trip:

Olympic Torch

Brekky...Aussie style

In Brandons subaru rally car (the one in the video...i NEED one of those!!!

Green Lake in Whistler

Siga (might have spelled that wrong....)

I <3 Vancouver!

I Can Handle This Part :)

2010-05-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

Sweet Ride!

2010-04-27T13:14:00.001-07:00

Shots A La Regan from my bike fit from Billy at the shop. Fun times...was before 6 though so no pizza and beer... The new Trek feels awesome! Women's specific geometry makes SUCH a difference. Love it! PS I just need some purple on there and I would be a Kawasaki girl! Dad would be so proud :) (he has a motocross OBSESSION and is certain i will marry some motocross star one day...i forget his name...it's not looking too good for him! ;) ANYway! All very exciting times here! Nothing like a new bike to make you want to get out...even if it's raining! She has already been Christened by the Victoria weather. Any name suggestions?? I'm not too creative with these things!

Just Another Day at ProCity Cycles

2010-04-26T16:12:00.001-07:00

Ok..I wish I was there for this!

2010-04-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

Time for a Post!

2010-04-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks and a post is overdue... I was telling Kim, my massage therapist today that I need to write one and she suggested food as a crowd pleaser. It just so happens that I have some brownies in the oven now...so maybe I will share that recipe at the end. (PS I hope no NTC'ers read this before swimming tomorrow because it is supposed to be a post Monterrey surprise! Chocolate is great for good and sub par performances...you really can't go wrong!

First though, a quick update on the bod. Between Chiro, Massage and various Chinese therapies my body is slowly reverting to it's pre-tucson state! Yay body! :) I only wasted 2 months in the process..oops! (PS i don't take it as lightly as that sounds) This latest stint of unhealthiness has really forced me to look at the way things have been going and the trends over the years. I don't like it. I take responsibility, but not all! But all I can focus on now is the stuff I can change in myself. Learning the signs. Unfortunately I have been oh so blessed with a hard head and a fragile body (Dad's head, Moms body...darn!) I don't regret the hard head, it's a powerful tool. I just need to use it properly! Where others are praised for similar work ethic, I have realized that my body just can't take that beating. Just because Austin Horn can push himself to the limit day in and day out without coming up hurt doesn't mean I can too. It's unfortunate but is the way it is! I know that this realization along with implemented changes in training will in turn make me faster with less effort. I just have to wrap my head around that! My confidence comes from knowing I have worked really hard. So that needs to change a bit to knowing I am fit and fast because at the end of the day that's all that matters, thats all that gets you a place on the podium. Hard work helps but it can also land me on my butt in a Zero Gravity chair for 12 weeks while everyone else races! I came out at the beginning of this year stating my goal of being undercooked and somehow lost that mid winter. I come from a background of "more is more", toughing it out and "no pain no gain" which is true to an extent, I just need to learn when that is. I need the reigns! and I will hate anyone that pulls on them at the time (ahem..Simon ;) but I know that is what I need to get to the start line. So apologies in advance for being difficult! :) I'm not going to go in any more circles...I have done it for 3 years and it's about time to stop hitting the replay button! The hard part is walking the talk. Like I said, I am very fragile, things go downhill quickly. Too quickly to catch sometimes. I really don't make as any stupid decisions as people think. It only takes one or two iffy decisions to put me out. So now I know, no risks, EVER. 1 session isn't worth a week or more off.
These are all images previously posted on my blog...I can guarantee there will be no more of the sort!

Anyway, there is my rant! Now on a lighter, tastier note....brownies! :)

1/2C Pure Cocoa (I used Epicure)
1C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1.5C Sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 apple sauce
1 tsp vanilla extract

preheat oven 350F and lightly spray 8x8" pan. Sift cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In a large bowl beat together butter and sugar. Whisk in egg whites, apple sauce and vanilla. Stir flour mixture into wet mixture. Pout into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40mins and cut into squares. Voila!

My mom went to an Epicure sales party thingo and they had these as samples, she said they were delicious! Especially considering how healthy they are! (for brownies :) I sure hope so!

Now I'm back to mon français étudie!

2010-04-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

I am posting again with a bit of what you could call unfortunate news. I have been struggling to stay %100 healthy since the end of the Tucson camp and have made the decision with my coach to withdraw from the race in Sydney this weekend. With some pain in my knee that has been lingering since before Mooloolaba we have decided to fly home, rest up and get fit for the bulk of the season. It is early yet and I do not want to take any risks. I had a MRI today to rule out anything major and all looks good. I listened to Taylor Swift during the scan...how could it not be good! I am heading to the airport tonight and will be in the capable hands of my family, friends and doctors at home before long!! I am sad to miss Sydney but I know that it is really the best thing for me so I'm not thaaat sad! I do love the city and will miss Australia though!

We have had a bit of fun along the way hanging out with the international crew here in Noosa. Here is a picture from our BBQ last night! I think I took like 5 pictures this whole trip...oops! but i will post those asap.

8 people from 6 countries with 4 different languages! :)

This is What I Like to See

2010-04-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if anyone has noticed but anytime I am asked who my hero is, my response is never a specific person. I truly admire athletes who are at the top of their sport and remain modest and level headed. These athletes are few and far between! But last weekend's winner and a friend of mine, is a true example. Vendula Frintova and I have got along well over the years. She is a meek, mild personality who can run like the wind and never demands attention from anyone. After moving to Aus this year she has clearly gained strength. She dominated our race in Mooloolaba last weekend. I was so happy to see her do well! A few days after the race, I received and email thanking me for my work on the bike, saying if it hadn't been for my effort she could not have won. (Even though she did the quite a lot of work herself!) She went on to say "If I have a chance to choose someone with who I´d like to share the podium, it would be you!" I was so surprised to get this email! I should not have been surprised coming from Vendula! This is the kind of sportsmanship I love and the email brightened my day after a disappointing day. I enjoy racing but also making friends on the circuit. I've learned the hard way that it is hard to make genuine friendships within the sport but they are out there! Yesterday in Noosa a group of probably 20 athletes met for an ocean swim. Greg and Laura Bennet, Javier Gomez, Reto Hug, Belinda Granger, just to name a few! Along with Swiss, German, British and French ITU athletes! We all had a great uncoached, solid swim set. After that we all went out for brekky. 1 big long table, full of hungry athletes! We sat there chatting about anything but triathlon for nearly 2hrs! I left thinking about what a cool lifestyle I have! There are so many nice triathletes around the world! There are not too many other sports where the athletes around the world are friends! I am really loving the atmosphere here in Noosa and would love to come back! Kathy, DJ and I are having a great time, working/resting hard!

Oh and for a little laugh...little incident yesterday...of course it would happen to me! I tried out my wetsuit for the first 1500m...then realized when I started to take my wesuit off that my swimsuit top underneath broke! So I had to finish the entire swim in 26C in my wetsuit! I would almost have preferred to swim topless by the end! But it was great because with my extra floatation I got to swim stroke for stroke with Javier.....umm what pack did I exit in Mooloolaba? 3rd...oh right...hmmm hate it when that happens!!! Next time I'll be ready!

Now I have to waste a few more hours before making dinner...easy day!!

Rolled the Dice....

2010-03-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

No 6's for me!!

Well, I've learned the meaning f tough day at the office! It sucks! haha Swimming the fastest/strongest of my life leading into the race, my run warm up felt incredible..I was ready to go… I relaxed before the start, had an ok run in…hit a few bad waves but not terrible..just a little late. No big deal, then I looked up…oh…big deal! I got absolutely annihilated around the first buoy. I started to have a bit of a panic and when this happens my back goes into spasm…not fun. I stopped dead at one point just to get these freaks off me!! haha I was so wishing they had cameras at the buoy. Anyway, I worked my way up slowly on the straightaways until i was hanging off the back of the front group…i knew i needed a fast run up on the deep sand to bridge up. When I got to the sand I was at a slow trot…nothing else i could do. I had a quick T1 and hopped onto my bike with Vanessa Raw. I was aaalllmost on her wheel but not quite…she hopped on the pack…i got gapped 10m….20m…30m…i kept it there for about half a lap..nothing to give, gluts burning, back cramping. I looked back to see when help was coming and saw no one…crap!! I eventually got swallowed by the next group who weren't working too well late into lap 2…we were at one point down 2 minutes somewhere around lap 3…i was hanging at the back with a back in spasms plotting where i was going to pull out when miraculously, the cramping stopped! I was just making my way to the front when i hit something on the road and it started making a huge flicking noise…oh perfect! But it turned out it was just a giant piece of tape so i opened my brakes a bit and it was a bit better. Then I dropped my chain twice more (already dropped it twice in the first 2 laps :) and got to the front for 4 laps all out. Not too many people wanted to help so I just rode as hard as I could. I got the gap down to 35 seconds against a good group of girls which i was happy with. The only problem was, after putting my head down and hammering, focussed on chasing, I didn't drink, eat or take my puffer…I came into T1 first and started the run aggressive around the first roundabout and as we settled in i realized i had nothing…i really had nothing. I felt 200lbs, I was already getting the dehydrated/bokny feeling 3k in and looked at the sea of girls infront and thought, do i really want to smash myself 2 weeks out of a WCS for 30th place? No. I ran a few meters past Pat and walked off next to the Swiss coaches. Pat and I walked back to the hotel for a shower, food and icebath. He is really great guy to be around when things don't go your way! I was frustrated but in pretty good spirits. I just hate how in our sport there is so much we can't control! I was so excited about my swimming and yet all it takes is one girl to pull you under and it's over. I gave it my best to come back but I couldn't help feeling a bit jaded. Oh well.. I'm happy for Vendula Frintova! She is a friend of mine and the sweetest girl you'll meet, she has been working hard training in Oz and deserves it! In the evening I went out for pizza with the aussie gang i haven't seen in a while and went to bed…but that doesn't mean sleep! I never fully sleep after races. Now I'm up early and ready for an ocean swim with Kathy before brekky out and shopping! Remember the mantra "race now, shop later!" well we are at the later part! :) Anyway, here's to a better go in Sydney! :)

Footage

2010-03-27T02:54:00.000-07:00

Some photos of our pre race training/fun!

Team Fun

Contemplation....

Pizza Night

Pointing to the many redbull combos on the menu!

Diesel Engine is Warming Up!

2010-03-26T13:49:00.001-07:00

Ok so I have been in Noosa for 3 days now, I have no excuse for not updating my blog! Time is flying!

Kathy, DJ, Pat and I travelled together from Vancouver. I was lucky enough to get an upgrade which made the trip super easy! My trip in point form;
Get seated
Read Aussie newspaper
Refuse champaigne
Sashimi Salad
Lamb Cutlet something or other
Choc Mousse
Sleep 8hrs
Fruit plate and movie (Couples Retreat)
Sleep 4hrs
Coffee
Croissants
Coffee
Blueberry pancakes
Brush Teeth
Land!
What a way to travel! We all slept really well on the plane which made for an easy time adjustment. We still rise early but it really wasn't bad at all. Kathy and I have been enjoying the light training as we both were getting pretty tired at the end of a build block. Tapering feels nice!
Noosa is such a beautiful place! The pool is so nice, 10 lanes outdoor…it's like a little ITU village there in the mornings. We left Noosa today for 3 days in Mooloolaba.
I just finished with the press stuff where I was asked twice what my race plan was or if there is any particular place i plan to launch and attack.... hmm let me just announce that to all the girls i'm racing!! they will see soon enough! ;) Now I'm on my bed with Norma (NormaTec compression ;) relaxing a bit before we go for a bike in the late afternoon. It's quite warm out and we just want to avoid the heat! I got a bit too much this morning…There is no internet here so I am writing this on wordpad and will post later…i think i might die without internet in my room!!

As for the race, I'm get ing excited! Especially after running this morning :) a bit of activation after a taper feels very nice :) My swimming has taken a recent jump at just the right time too! Swimming my best times with less effort is always welcome going into a race ;) It's been a while and I just can't wait to get out there again. Racing is the reason I train 30+ hrs a week, go to bed at 9, nap, eat healthy etc etc…its all for THIS! What I love. Kathy put it well, "I play triathlon" it's so true…pure enjoyment…well and pain…but mixed together it's pretty good! and this course will definitely provide us with a lot of pain! It's why I love it…it's a strong athletes course…i knew there was a reason i did gym 3x per week all year! ;)

Ok so update...all that up there is what I wrote yesterday...now it's saturday morning and i have purchased internet for my room...like i said...i would die! thats all there is to do race morning...skype! :) Talk to my sister about Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers :) Now I'm just heading for run after i digest and before it gets too hot...there is a lot of planning involved when training in Oz! Then swim in the surf and watch some of the mens race. It's looking like great weather for their race...overcast and not too warm. The past few days have been quite warm.

Me, Pat, Kathy and DJ have adopted a new mantra of "Train now, shop later" or in this case, "race now shop later" ...i cant wait to race because i have seen some verry intriguing stores on the esplanade! I also can't wait to catch up with all my friends! right now it's more of a wave as I ride or run past someone :)

Alright, heres a few photos and then I'm off for a run!

me waiting at the chiro...random...

me doing the fist circle dance, immitating the aerobics instructor dude who was REALLY into it

Riding in Noosa :)

Did I always run in bike jerseys??

2010-03-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

Old footage from a 5k race....hilarious and embarrassing at the same time!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWvI01nRApg

PS

Update coming soon!

Mr. Christie, You Make Goood Cookies

2010-03-09T13:57:00.000-08:00

I couldn't think of a title and that's whats written on the box of ginger snaps I'm eating....no relevance to the post really....

Time since Tucson has flown by! I just realized I am overdue for an update! Not too much new has gone on...I came down hard from Tucson...between Maui and Tucson camps and a solid week between, I ended up doing 6 weeks of training camp style work! it left me slightly shattered. But I timed it perfect, held strong through both camps and crashed on the last day and the whole week after basically. On the last 3hr base ride I sat at the back laughing and crying at the same time on the bumpiest road ever with a headwind. I was laughing at the fact that I was crying because the bananas and cookies were in the van with Pat and he wasn't pulling over when he said he would! hahahaha! Finally at 2hrs he pulled over, fed us and put my bike in the van. I knew I was nearing rock bottom so I didn't disagree with his decision. I was basically useless for almost a week after that. Pat and I were confident enough to sit back, relax and wait for the fatigue to pass. I also had some tightness in the hips from MANY hours on the bike. With some extra magic from Kim's hands and Mike as well I was good to go again after only missing 2 sessions. 1 happened to be the Bazan Bay 5k though!!! :( It is near my house and a super fast (but legitimate) course, perfect for PB's. I was looking forward to this as I do not have a time on record in the past 5 years! But I played it smart and did an easy run and now I can smack it up this week ;)

Swimming has been going really well lately. We have already had 2 solid swims so far this week. 10x200 yesterday and 20x100 today. The temperature has dropped the past 2 days so riding hasn't been too fun! Yesterday was 2hr solo observatory hill reps and today was hilly base...both done sans feeling in my feet! It even snowed a bit yesterday while i was running! The sun was shining, it was 6C but somehow there was snow falling....and Pat says he wants us in the lake next week...YEA RIGHT.

In other news...more exciting news actually! I have recently joined the rest of the Women's National Team and will be riding a Trek this year! Rocket bike with a women's specific version of their top of the line (Madone 6.9). This is going to be a good fit! (pardon the pun ;)

This also means I will be working with Billy and the boys at ProCity (http://www.procityracing.com/) They are such a cool bunch of guys! So helpful. Austin describes the shop well in this recent blog post http://austinhorn.blogspot.com/
I am very excited to be the newest member! Many pizza and beer nights at the shop to come....well minus the beer...ew.

Other than that, just tickin along. I can't believe I leave for Australia in 11 days! So excited to return to home #2. Feeling fit, not fast...but fit. Ready to get the feel of racing back! Now puttin the feet up before tempo run this afternoon....

Just Another Day in the Tucson Van

2010-03-03T14:39:00.000-08:00

Kyla Coates is the cutest person everrr.

PS check Marc in the background... if you listen hard you can hear his awesome french singing abilities "you belong with MEEEEE heeeee" ;)

GO CANADA!

2010-02-28T13:25:00.000-08:00

me being a nerd wearing a "helmet"

Things I learned in Tucson

2010-02-26T18:51:00.000-08:00

-NTC knows how to work hard and have a lot of fun

-We know how to party in sweaty running clothes in a giant van

-U23 boys are great riding/running buddies (they are like fish in the pool ☺

-U of A pool is fantabulous

-Hairy the dog is the cutest

-Mt. Lemmon is not as bad as I remembered (especially with my “Mt. Lemmon soulmate”, Mark)

-Cacti needles hurt

-Cole has the moves

-Aaron Thomas is the wittiest person ever

-The twins are secret gangster dancers

-Shimano dura ace 11/28 cassettes are lifesavers on Mt. Lemmon and Gates Pass

-Patrick is very patient

-Being away at training camp makes you forget anything else exists (sorry I never called home!!! ☹ )

-NBC Olympic coverage sucks when you are Canadian

-Swimming high volume makes me go fast

-it’s possible to train sunrise to sunset and still be standing at the end of the day. Patrick quote, post swim/core 1hr break and pre ride/run: “it’s 1:30 now, The sun doesn’t go down until about 6:30 so we should have enough time” We ended up finishing our run at dusk. ☺

-Mark Antoinne should be Taylor Swifts back up singer (he also makes “dem good girls go bad” )

-Austin was right, desert sushi is not so good.

-Riding solo TT is much harder than group TT (my crank fell off while riding so I ended up solo ;)

-We are lucky to have such nice roads in Victoria. Bumps get VERY annoying when tired.

-Massage is very necessary when training an intense 35hrs per week

-When having such fun training 35hrs a week doesn’t seem like 35hrs!

-It is possible for 2 boys to eat 50 McNuggets before dinner

-Nike USA is very generous ☺

-Starbucks 200m from your house is amazing and dangerous at the same time.

-I read a lot more blogs at training camp

-UPS’ing bikes is genius…traveling without a bike is awesome!!

-a fridge shared by 6 girls gets FULL

-Debora is the most generous woman I have ever met

-Tucson is cold on February mornings

-American food can be SO cheap! 69 cent burritos at gas stations… mmm??

-the NTC is a great group of talented athletes that get along and work as hard as any squad I’ve experienced! (and that’s a few! ;)

Lucky Charm!!

2010-02-25T20:10:00.000-08:00

Jack Knox: Our Mountie can make the medals happen

By Jack Knox, Times ColonistFebruary 25, 2010Be the first to post a comment

Jack Knox

Jack Knox
Photograph by: Staff, Times Colonist

The first event to which Sgt. Rob Sweetland took Jacques Rogge was the ice dancing, where Canada won gold.

The second event was the women's ski cross, where Canada won again.

Then the Victoria Mountie ushered the IOC president to Tuesday's hockey game, where Canada beat Germany 8-2.

Here's the good news: Sweetland is scheduled to be Rogge's bodyguard at the hockey gold medal game on Sunday. Go, Canada, go.

Sweetland is getting more of an Olympic experience than anyone this side of John Furlong. He was one of two Victoria-based police officers (you might have already read about the other, Sgt. Tony Parks) to accompany the Olympic torch on its 106-day journey across Canada.

Sweetland had a three-day break after that, just enough time to mow the lawn back home in Victoria ("Hello, Judy, remember me? I'm your husband") before it was right back across the pond and more Olympic duty, this time watching out for Rogge.

That gig ends March 2 -- the same day Sweetland is scheduled to begin a three-week stint working at the Paralympics.

Boy, he's kind of getting the full meal deal, eh? "Almost too full," he says.

He hopes they'll adjust his schedule a bit, and let him get a bit of time at home before the Paralympics. Otherwise he'll miss seeing his daughter, well-known Canadian triathlete Kirsten Sweetland, whom he hasn't seen since October. The 21-year-old's competitive season begins in Australia March 25 -- the day her dad's Paralympic duty is due to end -- and continues in Europe after that. "If I don't get home, I likely won't get to see her until after September."

The torch relay, where he spent much of the time accompanying the flame on bike or foot, was thrilling. "It seemed like 16 days. It just flew. There was so much energy in every day, in every torchbearer."

It culminated in a front-row seat at the opening ceremonies, where Sweetland held spare torches in case they were needed. Had that cauldron-erection malfunction lasted 30 seconds longer, you would have seen him sprinting across the screen to hand replacements to the four Canadians waiting to light the flame. As it was, Sweetland was the one who replaced Gretzky's torch before it ran out of fuel.

Contrast that the-whole-world-is-watching moment with the day the torch relay touched down in Grise Fjord, Nunavut. It's as isolated a settlement as you are likely to find in Canada, removed from the rest of the country by more than just distance. (Imagine a treeless place where the heaters burn walrus fat.) Yet there was the whole community, faces painted with the Maple Leaf, belting out O Canada. "That," he says, "was truly heartwarming."

- - -

2010-02-22T16:03:00.000-08:00

Rainy days in Tucson. :( The weather hasn't been so amazing the past few days but we are still putting good work in! I missed a really great ride when my crank came loose in warm up!! :( i had a crank hanging from my shoe while i pedaled with one leg. So i spent the rest of the ride in the van :( Then we swam in a storm! We swam 100's short course yards...SCY sure makes you feel good about yourself! 1:02's!! :D hahaha

Yesterday I made up the "team TT's" i missed yesterday only minus the team part. 3hrs with 3x20mins hard ending up gates pass which is about a 16% grade. It is much harder solo but was a great ride. I felt strong in the headwind which was a nice surprise. We also had a 5.5k "recovery swim" with 1200m of band only....hmmmmm...... ;)

Today we had a pretty hard swim. 200's ...it was an unfortunate set for me but i gave everything and made it through. That's the thing about swim sets...you know they will end at some point! Just suffer through. There was some crazy wind/rain and cool temperatures that ended up affecting our plans for a brick session. The boys and I ran a 90min base run in the crazy weather. Now we are back out to Zinburger. The girls wanted sushi but boys are whining!! boohoo raw fish!! :) So burgers it is.

More work to come tomorrow! and the next day....and the next! :D

Dance Competition

2010-02-20T21:13:00.000-08:00

We lost to the boys' "fabulous" routine. Only triathlete boys would do this i think!!

Gangster girls...

Tucson

2010-02-17T18:55:00.000-08:00

Day 5 on the Tucson camp and I'm started on a blog! Getting on a roll I hope. 5 days and a lot of great training under our belts! The Tucson weather has been on it's best behaviour for us. The sun has been shining and the temperatures balmy! We are set up in beautiful houses. Ours is a show home so although it's nice, it is also empty...cutting tomatoes with butter knives is awesome.. We swim at the U of A which is an incredible facility! We each get our own lane for most sessions! Spoiled!!

The riding here is pretty good...lots of "classic" rides...although paving budget has been cut in half (literally..it was on the news) so not the beeest road quality...thats what i say when im feeling good...when im tired euphemisms go out the window! haha The team atmosphere is amazing. We have such a great group of young athletes. Tonight we had a team dinner at the infamous Zinnburger...always a good time with the NTC. We have all buckled down into some good training with lots more to come!

Day 1:

Ez 50min run
5k easyish swim
90min easy ride

work the travel bugs out...get settled.

Day 2:
Bike:2:30 hilly ride (Gates pass....steep climb :) with about 30mins of team TT work

Swim 5k pull stuff

Run 1:20 with 40 mins of work...finally starting to feel fit...like spinny legs fit! :)

solid day all in all 5+ hrs

Day 3:
Swim: 6k with 20x100 best average on 1:20 and last 10 on 1:15...whew tough but felt pretty strong. One of those get'er done type swims...head down and go until you can't anymore! Held consistent times throughout. :)

Bike: 3hrs "base" slash almost getting dropped at points!! :)

Run: 20 mins off the bike

another solid 5+ hour day!

Day 4:
Bike: 3hrs with 3x20min solid hill efforts...although the last interval we continued to finish gates pass at almost 30min of effort! Quite a battle near the end with Aaron blowing up then Cole then JP then me then JP came back and Sharpie came from behind...AP took the win by a few bike lengths over JP and Sharpie with me on their tail all of us too lactic to function! Was so much "fun" :)

Swim: 4k eeeaaasy immediately after bike..didn't know i could swim so slow!

Run: 1:10 with 20x40 sec 5k pace 40 sec steady state.... heavy legs all around i think! But we all managed to pull out good runs and still have fun!

Another 5:30 day!

Day 5: We were all hurting after 3 very solid days so Pat gave us legs recovery!
Swim: 5.5k with a bit of break point and some hard 400's ...ouchy lactic burns!!
Coffee: 1 cappuccino
Sushi with girls: lots
Shopping with girls: too much $$ spent too little time! (kept it to a 45min power shop...we are high performance here! :)
Run: 30 ez..legs felt surprisingly good and bouncy!! :) weird.. i'll take it!

Massage and Zinburger to round out the day!

On tap for tmrw...hard swim...Mt. Lemmon!! 24 miles up...total ride from our house...5hrs! and a run off the bike....back to work!

Now i better get some zzz's! 22hrs logged thus far and 8hrs tmrw alone! food and sleep very necessary!!

2010-02-12T08:56:00.000-08:00

"It's not where you start, it's how you finish. Watch the spot."

http://inside.nike.com/blogs/nikerunning_news-en_US/2010/02/12/human-chain-just-do-it

Between the Camps

2010-02-09T17:56:00.000-08:00

One week since I returned from camp in Maui and I am already back in the tunnel. Fatigue tunnel that is.. (coaches always say "there's light at the end of the tunnel" we sometimes joke..nope thats just the lights on the train coming to run us over! :)

I got a few days of good recovery and then back at it on friday. We started with a near 6k draft pack swim of 200's and 400's. I had my usual speedy little partner, Hilarie who gave me a good go...I actually felt better than expected! I missed draft pack swims when i was in Maui! Then it was straight on to the bike for 2:30 with lots of tough hill repeats and then some group TT work. We got a 2hr break then it was time for a SS/tempo run! Whew big day after you add the 2 core sessions in there too! We went out for dinner and a movie that night and saw Dear John...ultimate chick flick..I couldn't stop crying! haha such a sap! (it runs in the Sweetland genes ;)

Saturday we started with a new program in the gym. I'm back to an upper body focus...ouchy...upper body strength isn't exactly my strong point (pardon the pun!:) After that it was straight onto the bikes for a 2:45 hammer fest...or at least it was for me! Still feeling friday's efforts and riding with the big boys proved to be quite a challenge. I nearly got dropped on the millions of hills but I had no idea where I was so I jut had to hang on for dear life! We ran off the bike and then had about 2hrs before swimming. I literally stood in the kitchen and ate the entire time until it was time to go for swimming. When I got there everyone lay sprawled on a mat (I believe Cole was actually asleep...it's not the first time ;) We got a little lecture about the meaning of BASE rides and then had a lighter swim than scheduled. I was bonking hard and just wanted out of the wavy, chaotic pool. When I got home Mom fed me well (she's such a good Momma! and she's getting the hang of sensing when I just need to eat and shower before talked to ;) Then I brought out my new set of cups (that chinese therapy.. like suction cups) and did some self cupping while watching Step Up (the other movie that the cute boy from Dear John is in ;)

Sunday was a nice day. BORING! but nice. Went out for breakfast and ran....that's it...attempting to recover...it worked!

Monday was a busy one! Swim, run testing, strength, bike, core! The run test was not too bad just 3x5 mins at race pace and sliiightly below. Just seeing how much of my VO2 and max heart rate are needed to run at a certain sub maximal pace. We will test this after big training blocks to test my economy (fitness) over time. Hopefully seeing some positive results! :) Good news is my VO2 has lifted since last fall. And it was at a sub maximal effort so we didn't take to see the full number but I believe I was at 66 at race pace... i dont even know what that means! All i know is its better than last time so i'll take it! ;)

Today was a good effort in the pool. Best average 100's...1:11's have never felt so hard! I forgot how to swim! and it felt like the last 50 of every 100 was in mud! Oh well those are the days that make you tough! I had a great run in the afternoon. A combo of short 40sec intervals and a longer tempo piece. Aaron was a great running buddy today! We made a surging game where each of us got one 40 second surge to use somewhere within the 20mins I used mine at 8mins and Aaron was a meany and used his at 15mins! Good fun. High fives all around.

This is turning out to be a long boring post! Training has taken up nearly all my time besides the breakfasts and evening coffees with friends so there is not much else to report! I clearly found enough to tell you though! (i have never had a problem with words ;) Only 2 more days until we leave for our next camp in Tucson! The traveling has begun!

Maui Camp 2010

2010-02-02T17:01:00.000-08:00

Now that I am home, bored and in need of something to keep me from sleeping, it seems like a good time for a camp wrap up post!

Things I Learned in Maui 2010:

-5hr red eye flights don't result in much sleep

-colds/flu's are very contagious at training camps

-3 sessions per day is time consuming

-Kim (massage therapist NOT masseuse ;) is the bestest

-Sam McGlone is a rad roomie

-I actually can descend alright if I chase the boys

-What "steady" feels like (alright, towards the end...but it counts!)

-Mana Foods is incredible

-Maui is the most ideal triathlon place I have experienced

-Chocolate fudge cookies and macadamia nut lattes are addictive

-Don't cover rubbies on your hip flexor with a band-aid before a 4hr ride

-The swim from Polo Beach to Big Beach is 5k (we discovered after swimming there)

-Hitch hiking is safe in Paia (they teach etiquette in local magazines...perfect! ;)

-It's easy to spend $50 per day at Mana foods

-The boys run fast

-I have pitiful flip turns

-Big breakfasts and dried mango are key for not bonking on big days

-1 strawberry daiquiri makes me drunk after a big ride

-Jellyfish stings hurt

-Redbull in my bottle while riding is fantastical

-Carbonation is not

-PK Whitfield is the cutest little mini massage thereapist (my feet are very moisturized ;)

-Everyone is much nicer when fed, including myself

-Austin Horn can eat a LOT

-Lauren is a tough cookie (seen here eating them off the table sans hands ;)

-DJ is a good TT partner

-Running in the cane fields is fun and annoying at the same time

-Cliff jumping is a tad scarey when going first into murky waters with A-Russ assuring me he "thinks" its deep

-Simon makes cool videos

-I can be consistent throughout an entire camp!! :)

-TriCan is awesome for putting this all together for us!!

Back in the Day

2010-01-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

Found this photo from a triathlon from when i was maybe 10 yrs old?? Glad i've figured out what to do with my arms since then :) Thought you might find it funny... PS check the Nike shoes!

Happy Snaps

2010-01-27T22:21:00.000-08:00

Another of Simon's Videos

2010-01-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

Clever...

watch the water on deck from swhitfield on Vimeo.

I Feel Like I Should Blog More

2010-01-25T21:56:00.001-08:00

This picture is totally irrelevant but it's funny... :)

I have endless hours on the internets here and I hardly ever blog! So I thought I could squeak out a few lines! I'm not a TV person so when I'm not swimming, biking, running, sleeping, eating, stretching, core-ing or coffee-ing....i'm interneting! Which is actually quite a lot. Camp has been so great for keeping my focus on all of the above. Nothing to do but HP work! (by the way HP is what the rugby players I did gym with used to say all the time..stands for high performance ;) The camp has really gotten into the thick of things and the fatigue is setting in! Sam and I have been trying to avoid this with ice cream and giant home made cookies ;) my macadamia nut lattes and Redbull in my water bottles also do the trick. But seriously, recovery has been a really priority for my this camp and it is paying off! Not once have I really blown a session. Consistency has been my middle name the past 2 weeks! and that is SERIOUSLY unusual for me! (I didn't obtain the nickname "Cocain" for nothing! :)

Yesterday was probably my biggest run day ever with a 1:40 in the morning with 40 minutes of solid effort in the middle. Kathy and I had a good piece of effort together in the cane fields. Then we went straight onto our bikes for a 90 min Kathy Special... = easy easy spin. Then out for crepes with JP. I had been wanting them for 2 weeks so they were thoroughly enjoyed...just preparing for the summer in Europe :) Then I had an accidental 2hr nap..oops! and another 30min easy jog which felt surprisingly AMAZING! A little core/stretching and a glorious massage from Kim to round off and awesome day at camp!

Today we had a treat of a morning...we didn't start until 8:30!!! Coffee and internets were in order. Then we swam at a 27m pool! haha I liked it because there were slightly less flip turns than short course yards! :) and its was toasty warm. Then nap time and an awesome afternoon ride. 2:30 with 1hr solid. DJ and I did a pairs TT and it was a great effort. Then I had a 10 min run off the bike...psh 10 minutes is hardly worth tying your laces! haha but it was good to feel the jello legs again. At the end of the day Kim and the little neighbors next door joined me for core in the park...well the kids mostly just liked the exercise ball :) I don't let myself shower at the end of the day until i have done my core and i HATE being sweaty so it makes me do it right away :) Core is something that is easy to dismiss when tired but so important for me.

Now it's 10 past 8 and i'm ready for bed! Tomorrow is another double run day so I better rest up!

Half Way?!

2010-01-21T15:51:00.000-08:00

The time here is flying! So far it's been a great camp! No less than 3 sessions per day the entire time. We've had quite a few quality sessions and everyone is getting on great. The location couldn't be better, the houses are nice, the support is incredible...this is really a high performance camp! Today we ran in the morning in Wailea (probably spelled that totally wrong...these names all sound like Kahuna to me! ;) Then we swam a solid open water swim. 400's between the coaches on surf boards! haha we also had some fun with the underwater camera afterwards...today was much more calm than last week where i thought i might die! (slight exaggeration but it was wavy ;)

Kathy!

Check Simon in the background!

me in a wave!

Yesterday we climbed up to 4,000ft of the crater. We did 2x25min efforts in there. I felt really great! The descent was a lot of fun too which is slightly unusual for me! After that I relaxed for once and Sam and I cooked up some bison burgers. I got to try Norma for the first time. It' a compression machine...I took a picture while sitting there for 45mins! Looks hilarious! But my legs feel great today after a solid day yesterday.

Only triathletes hey? I've come to terms with the fact that we are major nerds...for example:

What a trooper! This doesn't even count as nerdy because it is so amazing! Not even a week post crash and Lauren is back on the bike! Even if it takes this ridiculous set up! haha Pretty inspiring!

Energy levels are still great, muscles are good...all is looking good! Half way through but this is when the hard part comes...2nd half! I'm still counting down the days until we ride the crator! 0-10,000ft...5 hours...it's gonna be great!

Now I have to get ready for run #2. 30 second repeats..my specialty ;) can you feel the sarcasm oozing from that sentence??? :)

Group Ride Video

2010-01-20T11:18:00.000-08:00

Simon gettin fancy with the cam.... 1hr Team TT....girls were "sliiightly" behind ;)

get on the fast train in MAUI!!! from swhitfield on Vimeo.

Pat Should Be the New ITU Commentator ;)

2010-01-18T13:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Days

2010-01-18T13:22:00.000-08:00

A week has past and not one blog yet!! oops! The time is flying! Paia is AMAZING! it's this little town in Maui where we are staying. So chill and quaint...i am in loooove! :) Training has been a progressive build. Somewhere around 30 hrs this week...nothing too crazy. We have had a few open ocean swims which are nice except for the jelly fish! we all got a few stings. The other day we decided to swim from one beach around this point way off in the distance...we didnt know how fasr it was but we set out to see. 1 hr later we still were about a mile from the point and decided to swim in to the shore....the shore that was covered in coral and the surf was pushing us in....rocks on either side too...oh dear! We made it to shore and trekked across a ritzy golf green in our speedos..hitch hiked and got a ride in the back of a pickup truck (all 8 of us!) to the beach where we were supposed to swim! Always an adventure! That was the most exciting story so far. Other than that just been ticking along 3 sessions per day plus a little core/strength each day as well. Some sad news is that Lauren crashed on our long ride the other day down a winding descent. A camera fell on the road and then it was utter chaos! Unfortunately she crashed pretty badly and broke her left collar bone and right wrist! So she was really in need of some care. The house is missing her! :( Today we swam in the morning and then we have another solid hill ride and a run later in the day. We are also having a team pizza night because some of the group leaves today. Now it's just me n' Sam left in our lonely little house! Here are a few pictures...more to come...I haven't taken many!

2010-01-12T16:05:00.001-08:00

Yep, it now takes boredom on a plane to get me to write a blog! Maui bound! I have been counting down the past 50 days so I definitely welcomed the day this morning! It also helped that it was pouring rain today ☺

Yesterday we raced the Pioneer 8k…my first running race in years! I ran a steady tempo effort in hopes of not trashing my legs before training camp begins. I did a good job because I feel great today! I ran 28:28 which is right around where I expected for this time of year. It was great to see the running community again!

The past week has been fairly light since Thursday. Some good swimming in there though! Wednesday draft pack are always good fun! Me and Hilarie (my 16 yr old swimming buddy) killed it! ☺ hahaha Friday was another solid day with rounds 400 efforts immediately followed by best average 100’s…that hurts. Saturday was an eye opener set with 100’s on 1:10…I held my PB for 6 100’s! haha I don’t move faster than 1:06 but I can do it a few times…maybe I should try IM ???

I’m looking forward to camp where we just eat/sleep/breathe triathlon for 3 weeks! I am going to miss my latest addiction though…Rock Band…… mom and I were jammin all Sunday! Haha My dad asked for a video….I’ll share the drums…but the spice girls vocals are staying on my computer only thank you very much ☺ Best Sunday activity ever! I wish I could bring it to camp so I can hand the mic to McCartney ☺

ok you have my complete permission to call me a major nerd. I video taped me and mom (but i am blocking her in the shot! lol for my dad who is on the road and can't wait to join us. mom really rocked on this one ;) she really is getting good...this isnt good evidence though! ;)

I have the worst ADD, I cant even finish a movie on the plane, I’m writing a blog and now im bored so im organizing my itunes (I don’t dare touch my iphoto again! ;) Although im quite comfy since Pat hooksed us with upgrades!!! (he is sitting in 35D right now ☹ ) Most generous guy I know! If I’m with him while he’s eating his lunch somehow I always end up with ½ his food! Haha Maybe I can help him one day…

Alright, enough babble from me….3 hours and counting until SUN! Well technically not because it will be dark…. 3 hour until WARMTH!

But this is what I’m leaving behind… I do love Vic…..

Hell Week...well not quite

2010-01-04T14:26:00.001-08:00

As you could probably tell from my last posts..I was pretty excited about hell week! I love these sorts of things! The only problem is my knee had been nagging me for a week or so..i took our ez week with treatment and i wasnt getting better...so for the first 1/2 of the camp i was only swimming and running...i missed 2 or 3 rides. But we figured out the problem...my bloomin ITB is so troublesome!! I joined in the last 1/2 of the camp full time so by the end of the week I wasn't that tired. Although there were a few key fun times! Like 95min run at Beacon Hill with 6x2k hard hilly loop! That was fantastic in the pouring rain...good times with Mrs. Campbell ;) then there was 6k swims everyday...best average 100's and draft packs all finishing with a 10k swim on saturday! Yep, we ran in the morning and then to the pool for 10k with 40x100 of Best Average....it actually went by really fast and i didnt get sore or tired or anything! Very different from how I remember the last time we swam 10k in Flagstaff...although that was 10x1000 at 7000ft with the last 1000 IM lol...

As for the holidays,
Christmas was great! New years was none existent...middle of training camp=no party :)
I went to write a Christmas post with pictures...but then I accidentally deleted ALL THE PHOTOS FROM MY IPHOTO! yes...they are allll gone! :( me being the computer wizard i am somehow deleted them without knowing....my computer did run much faster though ;)

Only one more week left in the cold and then it's National Team camp in Maui! Looking forward to that! I'm sure I'll keep you posted much better over there! I have just been busying myself with other things (like rock band!! :) over here but once i get isolated i'll be posting more frequent i think!

Christmas!

2009-12-26T08:57:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! we had a good time even though it was weird because it was our first Christmas without dad. We went out to Butchart Gardens Christmas eve and walked to gardens to find the 12 days of Christmas. But not without a little treat in honour of dad ;)

Toasting Dad with sambuca...although i think we'd toast to anything with sambuca! ;)

ridin the carousel ..after the sambuca :)

Carolers at Butchart Gardens

Christmas morning was nice. Everyone was way too good to me. Although the higlight of the morning ha to be this scrapbook for Erika. Broke my heart! She had me bawling! hahaha pictures, poems and notes....she was trying to make me cry!

the only way to keep Zoe out of the presents!

After prezzies we called dad on skype and opened our gift from him...big lululemon gift certificate! Then we made the usual Christmas brunch. I got out the nutella in honour of dad....god honouring dad is fun! nutella...sambuca.....

For dinner we had my Aunt, cousin and her boyfriend over. It was a great evening of wine, chatter and food! oh and a lil' sambuca :)

what is it with Sweetlands and their Sambuca!?!

Dad gave mom a beautiful necklace for Christmas...we were attempting to take a picture with the necklace in it...oops!

Little swim today and last big dinner for the season at our friends house! Training camp starts tomorrow!!

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!

Christmas is now officially December 22nd!

2009-12-22T15:32:00.000-08:00

Look what fedex brought me today!!

Then I was so excited i started chugging olive oil ;)

Thank you Tuscan International! You sure do know how to take care of a girl! :) I better save these until my easy week is over!!! :) I'm gonna be bouncing off the walls during "Hell Week" next week between my 8 cases of Redbull and 39lbs of chocolate! hahaha

But for now....we REST! 4 more days until IT'S ON! :D

Testing Fun!

2009-12-18T19:21:00.000-08:00

Fun times! swim, cross ride on the new wheels!! Ridley wonderfulness!!! :D Austin is my favorite for building it!!! Rides soooo nice! Out again for 3 more hours of Ridley love tomorrow! Then V02 max test while listening to an Xavier Rudd song with lyrics "this is how i like to play" .. :) Little mishap at the end with my mouth piece coming loose and nose clip coming off but all good. Next time! Felt really smooth then all of a sudden not smooth when we added incline to 12 mph! Happy with the results (speed wise..i dont know v02 units too well) for this time of year! Pretty inspired to do the next one after watching JP give'r! Then finished off with some 6min repeats for 95min run. Came home to a lovely steak dinner by chef momma! Last day of effort tomorrow before a recovery week! Run, weights, bike, swim on tap for tomorrow!!