Here’s the latest update, 17 races down….28 to go! My body is aching, Advil needed….
Everywhere we go, Jimmy seems to be there!
Here is the updated list, from June 26th till August 28th
1.Huntington Disease Run 10km (with Jefferson)
2.Peachbud 5km
2.5 Peachbud 1-mile Kids run (as Jefferson mascot)
3.Angus Glen Canada Day 5-miler
4.Pride Run 5km
5.Warrior Dash
6.Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon Run
7.Downtown Dash 5km
8.Durham 1/4 Marathon
9.Muskoka Rocks 5km
10. Wilson Wet and Wild Sprint Tri
11. Coburg Duathlon
12. Acura 5km
13. Sunset Shuffle 6km
14. Mid Summer Night Run 15km
15. VR Pro 10km – Children of Merinden Mtn @ Erindale Park (with Jefferson)
16.Slainte Pub 5km
17. Element Racing Off Road Triathlon. (1000 M – 18km – 8km)
—————————————
What’s becoming the MOST fun now is the planning, looking ahead and seeing if there are any new or unique races ahead. Like most athletes we have our bucket lists, so why not get some of these checked off along the way?
David looks to be running the Bupa Great Run in Scotland, as he heads across the pond to visit family. He and Haile Gebreselaisse apparently. When he mentioned the trip, of course we both start searching online for races he can attend. It’s like a game within a game, who can get the most exotic races completed…..
“Sold Out” he says, at 50,000 runners it’s the World’s Largest Half-Marathon.
“Don’t worry” says I, nothing is Sold Out in my world, check the Media section and fill out an online request for starters. David appears doubtful but he quickly learns the power of our brand. Within 24hrs he has two numbers, one for both of us. I guess I need that clone again. That same day, I will be on my bike doing 160 kilometres at Centurion Canada (metric Grand Fondo). Ask me how long my longest ride has been to date?? My butt is starting to sweat just thinking about it.
I will wait till I get to 30 races completed before I worry about the last one, which will include a rather large cake and copious amounts of alcohol to wash it down.
First things first, let me plan the next busy month before I go online and search myself, when I am in England and France for a 12 day holiday end of September (don’t tell Sarah I want to find a race somewhere). The month of September will include a tough Adventure Race that my buddy Steve and I did not finish last year (Logs, Rocks and Steel)…..
http://www.mynextrace.com/2011/02/logs-rocks-and-steel-race-report-2010/
…..and my first Century Ride of the season (160 km’s), so alot of training days still ahead. There may also be another 3-4 race weekend at some point, the most recent one (#’s 15-16-17) didn’t completely kill us.
Since my first Triathlon was such a disaster (race #10) I was hoping for a better result at the Coburg Triathlon last weekend. I’ve done this Olympic Distance race before and although the swim (1500 m) can be rough and wavy, and the bike is super hilly (neither of these disciplines have been prepared for btw), what the heck it looks good on the resume. My biggest concern was the long swim and what would the water temperature be like (see race #10)!
My wetsuit is still broken (zipper) from last summer, many attempts and phone calls to fix it went un-resolved, so I check-in two days before the race and the water is a balmy 22 or 23 (celsius). Break out the bubbles baby, it’s bath-like.
Race morning we arrive (staff person, dog) late as usual and some friends ask me as I arrive at Transition One do I have my wet suit with me?
….Oh Oh
Race Announcer Steve Fleck shouts another reminder, good news the race is delayed but bad news the water is TWELVE degrees and wet suits are mandatory, plus you might want to double up on swim caps! Crap! I gambled and lost, but REALLY don’t want to downgrade to the Duathlon, the Acura 10-miler scheduled tomorrow morning is lots of running. I quickly cruise over to a retailer on-site (who will remain nameless) and figure I will buy one.
$245 and I could be the (stupid) owner of a new wetsuit, which I am thinking I may only wear once the rest of the year. The announcer updates everyone that Fog is also still really bad and the Triathlon may actually get cancelled, so now I could really be stupid buying this wetsuit. But I am also really stubborn, and pick one off the rack and dig into my pockets for the $$$$.
Crap again….I only brought a little cash and my Amex card.
“___________________”, do you take Amex?”
“No (in a very harsh and sarcastic tone that befits the individual who has already bankrupt 2 running stores in less than 10 years).
“No?” I repeat, “what about I give you the $60 cash I have and pay the rest on Monday”. (The guy knows me, we used to race against each other and it’s not like his pockets are over-flowing with money)…..
“Yeah right, what if I can sell all these wetsuits to other athletes here today”? (Fat chance even though a small crowd of desperate looking triathletes have moved over to this booth and are trying on wetsuits as well).
“You won’t sell me a wet suit then?” I ask, again, shocked but not completely surprised (we have a history together and no we didn’t share running shoes).
Long story short, I ended up doing my first Duathlon in years, a 10km run, super-hilly 40km bike followed by a 5km run. Boring running mind you…..at least the chocolate milk afterwards went down smoothly.
Sunset Shuffle – 30th anniversary
Now this was fun….and unique….and my first time racing this odd distance and even odder race. Odds are one of these words is not grammatically correct, how odd is that?
I negotiated brilliantly on this one, traded some sunglasses for me and David race entries, which were only $25. It was like a Time Warp here with old runners (lots of miles under their legs), hand timing, trophies given to 1st and 2nd, no finisher’s medal or tech shirt, Vintage Hot Dogs that tasted amazing when downed with beer.
But that wasn’t the story folks, we took the canoe over! David, Jefferson and myself, from Cherry Beach just a km or so paddle. I have always wanted to do a race on the island and travel this way, so David went along despite the very high, choppy waters we faced.
Sean dropped off us and shot some video here, then Miki met us @ the race and took some more, for posterity! 4 beers and 4 hot dogs later, a new P.B. for both of us….darkness settles and the four of us head back to the mainland. Our bikes were dropped off ahead by Sean, so technically this was a quadrathalon for David and I. We figure a total of 20km for me adding the boat portion, run and bike home, maybe 30 for David.
If you have never canoed or kayaked across the Lake, at night, when the city lights shine brightly ahead of you, then you aren’t a Torontonian! Of course, it’s risky and somewhat dangerous if you are not careful, we had life jackets, tow rope, bailer and cell phones in case of trouble. The Water Police weren’t impressed with my Blackberry App Torch Light serving as our main source of light, but that’s their problem! (what is the fine anyway)…..our intern from Japan, Miki, squealed a few times when Jefferson moved suddenly in the canoe and we almost tipped, key word “almost”, with my new Playbook on hand I was not about to let $600 go wasted on the bottom of the Lake!
We’ll let the video tell the rest of the story, stay tuned!
Peter
aka Jefferson Mascot
Everywhere we go, Jimmy seems to be there!
Here is the updated list, from June 26th till August 28th
1.Huntington Disease Run 10km (with Jefferson)
2.Peachbud 5km
2.5 Peachbud 1-mile Kids run (as Jefferson mascot)
3.Angus Glen Canada Day 5-miler
4.Pride Run 5km
5.Warrior Dash
6.Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon Run
7.Downtown Dash 5km
8.Durham 1/4 Marathon
9.Muskoka Rocks 5km
10. Wilson Wet and Wild Sprint Tri
11. Coburg Duathlon
12. Acura 5km
13. Sunset Shuffle 6km
14. Mid Summer Night Run 15km
15. VR Pro 10km – Children of Merinden Mtn @ Erindale Park (with Jefferson)
16.Slainte Pub 5km
17. Element Racing Off Road Triathlon. (1000 M – 18km – 8km)
—————————————
What’s becoming the MOST fun now is the planning, looking ahead and seeing if there are any new or unique races ahead. Like most athletes we have our bucket lists, so why not get some of these checked off along the way?
David looks to be running the Bupa Great Run in Scotland, as he heads across the pond to visit family. He and Haile Gebreselaisse apparently. When he mentioned the trip, of course we both start searching online for races he can attend. It’s like a game within a game, who can get the most exotic races completed…..
“Sold Out” he says, at 50,000 runners it’s the World’s Largest Half-Marathon.
Some races are this much fun!
“Don’t worry” says I, nothing is Sold Out in my world, check the Media section and fill out an online request for starters. David appears doubtful but he quickly learns the power of our brand. Within 24hrs he has two numbers, one for both of us. I guess I need that clone again. That same day, I will be on my bike doing 160 kilometres at Centurion Canada (metric Grand Fondo). Ask me how long my longest ride has been to date?? My butt is starting to sweat just thinking about it.
I will wait till I get to 30 races completed before I worry about the last one, which will include a rather large cake and copious amounts of alcohol to wash it down.
First things first, let me plan the next busy month before I go online and search myself, when I am in England and France for a 12 day holiday end of September (don’t tell Sarah I want to find a race somewhere). The month of September will include a tough Adventure Race that my buddy Steve and I did not finish last year (Logs, Rocks and Steel)…..
http://www.mynextrace.com/2011/02/logs-rocks-and-steel-race-report-2010/
…..and my first Century Ride of the season (160 km’s), so alot of training days still ahead. There may also be another 3-4 race weekend at some point, the most recent one (#’s 15-16-17) didn’t completely kill us.
Since my first Triathlon was such a disaster (race #10) I was hoping for a better result at the Coburg Triathlon last weekend. I’ve done this Olympic Distance race before and although the swim (1500 m) can be rough and wavy, and the bike is super hilly (neither of these disciplines have been prepared for btw), what the heck it looks good on the resume. My biggest concern was the long swim and what would the water temperature be like (see race #10)!
My wetsuit is still broken (zipper) from last summer, many attempts and phone calls to fix it went un-resolved, so I check-in two days before the race and the water is a balmy 22 or 23 (celsius). Break out the bubbles baby, it’s bath-like.
Race morning we arrive (staff person, dog) late as usual and some friends ask me as I arrive at Transition One do I have my wet suit with me?
….Oh Oh
Race Announcer Steve Fleck shouts another reminder, good news the race is delayed but bad news the water is TWELVE degrees and wet suits are mandatory, plus you might want to double up on swim caps! Crap! I gambled and lost, but REALLY don’t want to downgrade to the Duathlon, the Acura 10-miler scheduled tomorrow morning is lots of running. I quickly cruise over to a retailer on-site (who will remain nameless) and figure I will buy one.
$245 and I could be the (stupid) owner of a new wetsuit, which I am thinking I may only wear once the rest of the year. The announcer updates everyone that Fog is also still really bad and the Triathlon may actually get cancelled, so now I could really be stupid buying this wetsuit. But I am also really stubborn, and pick one off the rack and dig into my pockets for the $$$$.
Crap again….I only brought a little cash and my Amex card.
“___________________”, do you take Amex?”
“No (in a very harsh and sarcastic tone that befits the individual who has already bankrupt 2 running stores in less than 10 years).
“No?” I repeat, “what about I give you the $60 cash I have and pay the rest on Monday”. (The guy knows me, we used to race against each other and it’s not like his pockets are over-flowing with money)…..
“Yeah right, what if I can sell all these wetsuits to other athletes here today”? (Fat chance even though a small crowd of desperate looking triathletes have moved over to this booth and are trying on wetsuits as well).
“You won’t sell me a wet suit then?” I ask, again, shocked but not completely surprised (we have a history together and no we didn’t share running shoes).
Bah Humbug!
Long story short, I ended up doing my first Duathlon in years, a 10km run, super-hilly 40km bike followed by a 5km run. Boring running mind you…..at least the chocolate milk afterwards went down smoothly.
Sunset Shuffle – 30th anniversary
Now this was fun….and unique….and my first time racing this odd distance and even odder race. Odds are one of these words is not grammatically correct, how odd is that?
Beer always makes for a super post race!
I negotiated brilliantly on this one, traded some sunglasses for me and David race entries, which were only $25. It was like a Time Warp here with old runners (lots of miles under their legs), hand timing, trophies given to 1st and 2nd, no finisher’s medal or tech shirt, Vintage Hot Dogs that tasted amazing when downed with beer.
But that wasn’t the story folks, we took the canoe over! David, Jefferson and myself, from Cherry Beach just a km or so paddle. I have always wanted to do a race on the island and travel this way, so David went along despite the very high, choppy waters we faced.
David and Peter at Cherry Beach, navigating choppy waves over to the Island
Sean dropped off us and shot some video here, then Miki met us @ the race and took some more, for posterity! 4 beers and 4 hot dogs later, a new P.B. for both of us….darkness settles and the four of us head back to the mainland. Our bikes were dropped off ahead by Sean, so technically this was a quadrathalon for David and I. We figure a total of 20km for me adding the boat portion, run and bike home, maybe 30 for David.
If you have never canoed or kayaked across the Lake, at night, when the city lights shine brightly ahead of you, then you aren’t a Torontonian! Of course, it’s risky and somewhat dangerous if you are not careful, we had life jackets, tow rope, bailer and cell phones in case of trouble. The Water Police weren’t impressed with my Blackberry App Torch Light serving as our main source of light, but that’s their problem! (what is the fine anyway)…..our intern from Japan, Miki, squealed a few times when Jefferson moved suddenly in the canoe and we almost tipped, key word “almost”, with my new Playbook on hand I was not about to let $600 go wasted on the bottom of the Lake!
We’ll let the video tell the rest of the story, stay tuned!
Peter
aka Jefferson Mascot
