Runner's Life

I am proud to announce I have a new sponsor: Runner's Life. I am super excited to work with the owner of the store Dave Dame. Runner's Life is local running and multi sport store located on 174 Charlotte Street Peterborough, ON. I remember getting some of my first triathlon gear from there, back in the day. Like my first pair of racing flats with matching quick laces.

Not only is Runner's Life a store, it's a community within Peterborough. There are so many people that are a part of this unique running and triathlon family. I am honored to become a part of it! I will be getting some nifty swag which you will see me wearing. I will also be posting my race reports on the Runner's Life website and hopefully I might gain some followers along my journey. If you are in the area you should definitely check out the store or you can visit the website http://www.runnerslife.ca/

St.Malo

Race reports seem to be the theme of the week amongst triathlete bloggers. So if you have had enough race reports for one week, stop right here.

Last weekend was my first Canadian Junior Series race of the season and I couldn't have been any happier for the race date to finally arrive. I had been doing a lot of prep work in the weeks leading up to the race so I was ready to rock and roll!

I was well taken care of by two of the best massage therapists Marcelle and Noreen. And spoiled by my chiropractor Dr.Alban Merepeza who has worked with a lot of athletes from different countries at various Olympics and sporting events. He did a fantastic job making sure that my body was in tip top shape.

St.Malo is a great weekend get away place and I figure that most Winnipegians go there in the summer time. I liked the simplicity of the place but it was hard to communicate without cell reception. Oh well! Maybe that was a good thing.

Most of the travelling and race preparation was pretty smooth, except my bike! It got beat up in transit. When I was putting it together I lifted it up holing onto one of the handle bar drops and "crack" the whole drop snapped right off. Just my luck! My dad really helped me out and drove to Winnipeg and bought my bike new handle bars. We got them on just in time for the race.

The race itself was a great experience and was executed well. There were some rough patches (like my swim and run) and some positives (the bike). It seems like I just wasn't able to put the pieces of the puzzle together on that day.

My swim from the get go just wasn't there on the day but I didn't panic and did my best to come out of the water in as small as possible gap from the other girls. When my coach Lorri yelled "42 seconds from the leaders". I knew there was a lot of work to be done. Right from the start of the bike I could see a small pack of girls form in front of me. I just got into my aerobars and hammered. I was luck to have Alizee a Quebec triathlete with me, because we worked really well together to catch the girls. Eventually Alizee and I managed to break from that chase pack around two corners and we bridged up to the leaders. I came into T2 and my legs felt like jelly. I knew the run was going to be a long one. I did my best but I was missing that "ompf" I needed and finished in a solid 6th.

I am ready and super excited to race again in a week at PATCO. Hopefully I will have some better luck in Edmonton!

Zerod Family

I am proud to say I have jumped onto the Zerod Suit wagon for this season. I contacted Mauricio Beuno the Zerod USA sales rep in Californa (with the help of my training partner and good friend Tom) and I have been added to Zerod's Ambassador Branch this year. I am honored to be part of the Zerod family. My new suit came in the mail a couple of days ago and man oh man.... it's nice! I tried it on and it fits like a glove. It's sooo comfy and stylish. I can't wait to rock it this season.

First Race of 2011

Today was my first race of the season and it was Junior North American Championships. For the States, Mexico and other South American countries it was a qualifier for PATCO. I decided it would be a good race opportunity as I was already here in Clermont for a training camp. I am pretty happy with the outcome (6th place). This was my first Junior triathlon that I have actually led out of the water. However, the swim course was set up to my advantage. Very shallow water for about 200m= lots of sprinting and dolphin diving, which I seem to be half decent at. I had a great transition and rode a little less than the first half lap of the bike by my self until I was caught. I tried to make some breaks in the technical areas with Gab Edwards but I am just not strong enough yet. Onto the run I was feeling little stiff and heavy but I still finished strong. In the elite women's race the run splits were blistering fast. I heard that run course was a little short for all the races but ours, they fixed it in time for our race. It's still early in the season and it was fun to get out and give it a go after a hard 13 days of training. I am looking forward to getting back home to get in some more consitent training and race again in the spring time.

Happy Holidays !

Christmas Time

I am sitting here in my room, trying to do anything but study for my exams. I wish it could all be over very soon. I have been counting down the exams. 1 down and 4 to go!

The past few weeks have been great with training and school and I feel as though everything is falling into place.

I finished November, being chosen as an alternate for Guelph's CIS team, which was a pleasant surprise. My weekend in Sherbrooke was awesome. I learned a lot about Cross Country and how important it is to have a supportive team. It was a great experience being a part of the team and the victory of both our women's and men team. Watching everyone race has lit a little fire in me and I can't wait to come back in future years to race for the Gryphon's. Dave is great coach who had built a team with so much passion, drive, and hard work, it definitely has rubbed off onto me. I am really glad I became part of the running family of Guelph. Some of the friendships I have made will last a life time.

Here are some pictures of the race and banquet:

I also took a block of down time and came back to training feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. I am in my third solid week of training with the squad and I love it. I have had more time trials in the past couple weeks than in year. Finally, I used a power meter for the first time in my life. That little computer comes in handy and really allows me to train as a smart athlete. Minus my five minute time trail, where I went out so hard I almost died. You never know until you try! Lesson learned! Speaking of lessons ahah never run by yourself in trails you barely know.... otherwise a 30 min run can easily turn into an hour. I am learning new things everyday, Craig's training program is exciting and everyday for me has been an adventure. I look forward to each day with challenges and fun times.

Christmas is around the corner I only have 10 more days here in Guelph and then I am off to Europe with the fam jam for a couple of weeks. It's going to be a extravagant holiday.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas filled with laughter, love, and lots of eating ! See you in the new year!

Fun Stuff!

I realized I haven't posted anything in a while and thought it would be a great opportunity to write a small update.

I have been at school for almost two months now and I have settled in nicely and adapted to the new routine nicely.

Running for the Gryphons has been an honor and I have gotten to travel to some really cool places. At the beginning of October we travelled to Pennsylvania for the Paul Short cross country meet and that was an awesome trip. It took a while to get across the border for me with my Australian passport, who knew I had to pay a whole six dollars to get a green card! The course was very muddy and parts of it were practically underwater. It had rained a lot before the race and there were times I thought the mud would take me on a slippery ride.
Another cool trip recently was to Eugene, Oregon for the Bill Dellinger cross country Invitational. This was my favourite trip and it was an amazing experience. I got see the University of Oregon and all it's sports facilities. I got to run a 6km race on Pre's Trails and I met a lot of nice down to earth people.
This past weekend was Brock Invitational and a short 3km race. I haven't raced that distance since grade 9. As soon as that gun went off it was a sprint from start to finish! The race was over before it even began. I really enjoyed this one, I was able to used my speed without dying!

The cross season is slowly wrapping up with OUAs and CIS approaching in the next couple weeks. It will be fun to be part of the team and cheer all Gryphs to hopefully win some more titles

I am looking forward to getting back into triathlon training and building some technique and experience for the new season.