Life is Beautiful

You can't quit until you try
You can't live until you die
You can't learn to tell the truth until you learn to lie
You can't breathe until you choke
You gotta laugh when you're the joke
It's nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful
Will you swear on your life that no one will cry at my funeral

I know some things that you don't
I've done things that you won't
It's nothing like a trail of blood to find your way back home
I was waiting for my hearse
What came next was so much worse
It took a funeral to make me feel alive

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful
Will you swear on your life that no one will cry at my funeral

Alive
Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful
Will you swear on your life that no one will cry at my funeral

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful
Will you swear on your life that no one will cry at my funeral

Nikki Sixx

I guess it is somewhat unusual to start a blog post with words to a rock song. But there is a reason behind it. Sometimes it does take being at your worst to make you be happy for what you have. Right now it is not "me" that is at my worst, it is my cousin.

Over a year ago he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. A young male, prime target for that particular cancer. After a "minor" surgery he was thought to have a relatively good chance at being cancer free. I just got a call from my Mom that it is back and this time it has spread. He now has lymph node involvement with metastasis to his stomach and lung. My experience as a nurse put a knot in my stomach, I know how bad this diagnosis is and what he is going to go through. No one is giving up but the treatment is going to be brutal. I have seen what it will do to him and what complications can develop. I am by no means religious but I am praying it works. He is 30 years old! He should be worrying about what kind of grades his children will get, not if he is going to live or die.

Things like this make me super thankful for what I have...my health, my family, my job and so many other things. So many times we let stupid things drive us crazy with worry when in the grand scheme of things, they really aren't that important. When I was playing with my son before his bedtime, I could not help but think of my aunt and uncle and what they must be going through.

If I could cure one disease, cancer would be it. Since I cant do that I am going to do what I can. I am going to sign up for the Joe's Team triathlon in June. After you pay your registration fee you must raise $500 in order to participate. All the proceeds go to the Tom Baker Cancer Center. I had actually been thinking about doing this for a while but hearing about my cousin is just more motivation. This triathlon is not about the race itself. This one is all about the cause.

I generally try to keep a positive tone to my blog but this is something that I feel is very important to express. It can always be worse and we need to remember that. Good luck Shawn and I love you! Stay positive and beat it for good this time!

Commitment

Today is another day closer to Ironman Canada. Lately there has been no stress when I think about it...right now I am too motivated to be stressed. I actually can't believe how motivated I am. I have gotten into a pretty slick routine and it is working great. I do admit that training on work days is not so fun but I still do it.

It just seems like at this point everything is progressing so well. When I am swimming I just seem to feel the water better. I am aware of how it is flowing by my body and how my position changes that. My cycling is doing well but I am looking forward to getting out on the road!! My running had been a source of disappointment for a while but I am making some big gains here and am much happier! I had a 2 hour run the other day and felt great!

Last year at this time I did blow off the occasional workout. Winter training is no fun (well for me anyway). But this year I have been pretty consistent and have been putting in the effort. Any rare time I have had to miss a workout I have felt huge guilt. Maybe I should not , because real life is more important, but I still do. But like I said that is rare. My coach gives me a time range for the duration of each individual session. I always do the longer option nowadays. I have said it once and I will say it again....I don't want to just survive the race, I want to do well. Skipping workouts wont help me do that...maybe guilt is a good thing ;).

Things that have helped......
1) Early workouts - Getting them in early has helped alot! Although there is still the rare day that I am on the bike trainer at midnight.

2) Music - Revising playlists, finding new music, having my alarm waking me up to motivation music etc... I find it hard to stay unmotivated when "lose Yourself" is playing.

3) Mental imaging - Thinking what it is going to feel like when I cross the finish line at IMC (I WILL FINISH!!!)

4) Routine - Get up with my son, take him to dayhome, eat, spend a few minutes on the computer, workout # 1, eat, errands if needed, workout#2, pick up son, play time with son, make dinner, do house work and then relax, repeat.

5) Get adequate sleep - Not always possible being a shift worker. When I work nights I really only get about 4-5 hours during the day. I try to make sure every day shift or day off I do get a proper sleep. I have incorporated the occasional short nap.

6) Keeping track of progress- I am much better at keeping track of my actual workout volume. Nice to see the progression. Never thought running a half marathon would be just another training day.

So there it is. I know there will be some dark days thrown in there at some point. But right now I am living in the moment and doing everything I can to keep my head in the game and my eye on the prize. It will be worth it.

Running out of movies to watch.

Today I had a 2:45 ride to get done on the trainer and a 30 min transition run. I usually watch a movie and/or listen to music while training in the basement. But I am finding out that you can only watch movies so many times before they no longer help pass the time. The training sessions are getting longer and therefore the need for stimulation is greater. We have a pretty good selection of DVD's but apparently not enough, lol. Just makes me want to get outside even more.

The bike was not too bad overall, the legs felt a bit tired on the longer sets but I just kept the legs turning. The surprising part was how good I felt on the transition run. I hopped off the bike, hit the treadmill and immediately felt good. I was able to pick up the pace very quickly. The pace I did settle into was quicker than what I normally have been running. I felt like I could keep running forever! I really feel like my running is coming back.

The only bad thing about today happened after the workout was done. I was sitting down in a chair holding my son and then they hit....cramps. My quads just seized up and the pain was rather uncomfortable...to the point of inducing nausea. I have has issues with cramping during races but cant remember having them after training. I dount it was due to electrolyes or dehyration. I had 2 bottle of HEED and one Perpetuem. Luckily they only lasted a couple of minutes. I had stretched after the worout but did another round to see if it would help. No more cramps and no abnormal feelings in the legs.

Tomorrow is a swim day so the legs will get a bit of a rest. I am actually really looking forward to the swim...who would have thought. After that I have to head to Ikea to pick up a mirror and a duvet cover. Not super looking forward to that but I promised my wife I would get it done. But for now I am going to have a shower and then enjoy some well deserved time on the couch.

Missing....one blue/white pull buoy!

I was getting ready to head out to the pool and when I grabbed my swim bag I noticed my pull buoy missing!! I use that think every swim as part of my warm up. Although in the grand scheme of things it is not a bit deal, I could always use one of the pool's. But I just could not understand what happened to mine. I KNEW I had brought it home with me from my last swim. So what the hell happened to it?

It didn't take long to get a suspect. Description of the suspect is white male, approximately thigh high, with blue eyes and short sandy blond hair, approximately 15 months old. No tattoo's, scars or diaper rash. Sadly I think I was the victim of a crime committed by my own son!! After a brief interrogation, he admitted to nothing and was totally defiant. A few minutes of tickle torture did nothing except make him laugh. I knew I had to find it on my own.

One thing this guy is, is predictable. He is often found hanging out in the same location, near the toy box. I made my way over to this overcrowded area. After obtaining a warrant from my wife I conducted a intense search of the area. My suspicion was bang on. The little thief had tried to take away my precious pull buoy.

Given that this was his first offence, his sentence was light...curfew and lights out at 7pm. I was a bit concerned about his lack of remorse however. I will have to monitor this closely once he is paroled. Once again, justice is served.

Pump up the volume, pump up the volume!!

I am not talking about the song. I am talking about my training volume. Just finished a solid week of training...wahooo! My coach bumped up the volume a bit and I loved every bit of it. For the first time in a while it seemed like everything worked out great to help me. No one is sick, work was good (did pick up an OT shift) and things are otherwise normal at home.

This week included 3 swims, 4 rides and 4 runs (2 run only and 2 bricks) for a total of 14 hours. I have to admit that I am totally looking forward to my rest day tomorrow. I put in some good effort this week and my body was letting me know, lol. I am feeling tired but in a good way...I know that I have done something.

Unfortunately I go back to work tomorrow....booourns. Four days of work and then off for another 5. But as per usual lately I will probably try and pick up an OT shift. This year is going to be expensive with the triathlon plans and training and we are finally paying off the credit card debt we built while my wife was on maternity leave. An OT shift here and there makes a huge difference!

But as I said before, I am going to enjoy my training day off tomorrow. Nothing special planned, just come home and relax. My son will already be in bed so I will get to talk to my wife for a bit and then hit the hay. I am truly getting old, lol. But having said that I don't think I have hit my prime ;).

Winter....you suck!

I really really dislike winter. I can't wait for the return of sun and warmth and longer days. Minus 20 weather just does not do anything for me. I often question why I moved back to Canada after living in Florida for 7 years. WTF was I thinking???? The snow was nice for xmas but I want it all to die a horrible death and melt away! Ok...rant over, lol.

Today I had a run and a swim on the schedule. I planned on getting the run in first and then heading to the pool for noon. My run was pretty good today. I got in 10km in 56mins but I was happy with the percieved effort. Lately it seems like my 10km runs have been just over an hour and felt like they required more effort. Today's run included strides and I felt so good! My form did not fall into the crapper which was a plus. A 56 min 10k is far from a personal best but I feel like I am getting back to where I want to be with my running.

The swimming is still progressing. But I have to admit that the arms were feeling tired today. I don't look at that as being a bad thing, it tells me that I worked them. But I am glad that they are going to get a few days rest now.

So far this week has been awesome. No one is sick in the house, at the moment, which is a big plus. Work has been good (managed to sneak in an OT shift too) and the training has been great. The next 2 days involves plenty of time on the trainer...I think 4.5 hours over the weekend and a transition run. Let the good times role!!

Git R Done!

Lately I have been going through a bit of a change on how I look at swimming. It is still not my favorite and I doubt it will ever be. But as things progress I find myself actaully looking forward to swim days on my schedule. So what has changed to make me come about?

The swim camp that I took a couple of weeks ago has helped. More tweaking of my technique was welcomed and helpful. My coach is now putting in the pool a little more and increasind the sets in the workouts. Better technique + more practice = results. I definitely think that seeing some good results and pulling it all together is helping mentally. I can feel the difference in the water, it almost feels smooth now.

I havent been worried about swim cutoff in a long long long time. Not since I first started swimming and even then it went away fast. I know I will make the swim cut off at Ironman Canada. But I would like it have a somewhat acceptable time and be feeling ok to get on the bike. Having said that, how much time do I invest in my swim?

Well that I will leave up to my coach. I would definitely not want to pull from the othe 2 disciplines. Given how much the swim portion accounts for in the whole day, I cant justify taking away from the other two. I will have to put in the effort that I need to when I am swimming.

This brings me to the title of this entry. For yesterday's swim I decided to head down to the Talisman to check it out. Other than the locker room, I didnt see too much change. I didnt explore much though. If it werent so much more expensive and far away I would swim here more often. They always seem to have plenty of open lanes so crowding is not a problem.

The sets for the day were warm up, the 10 X 100, 10 X 75, 10 X 50, 10 X 25, cool down. I had had a good swim a couple of days before and my shoulders were still feeling it a bit. But despite that I felt good in the warm up and then into the first set. Midway through I started to feel a bit tired. I think some of it was from getting up with my son at the crack o' dawn. what ever the reason I was just wanting to be done. There have been times where I called it a day and would just go home. But I decided to stick with it and "Git R Done". I have less than 200 days until IMC now!

In the end I was pretty tired but felt good about finishing the workout. I fueled up a bit, picked up my son from the dayhome, met my wife at our house and we did a family trip to costco. Then later on in the evening I got my run for the day in. I just ended up doing 40 mins on the treadmill. My left knee for some reason is giving me grief going up the stairs today, didnt hurt on the treadmill yesterday. Something I will watch.

Tomorrow is another swim/run day. My shoulders feel pretty good today so I am hoping for some good time in the water. But right now my bike is calling in I am going to go answer.