The Anti-Charlie Brown?
An interesting time these last few days. I felt like a little kid in ways...I left the house early Friday morning on my bike and only really came back to eat and sleep. The rest of the time I got to play. Friday was an amazing day. I started riding my bike in Hamilton, went to Oakville, Sherway Gardens, downtown Toronto and back home (Woodbridge). After over 125k riding that day, the first drops of rain I felt were just as I pulled into my street. More impressive was who I got to spend the time with and the stories I heard. The National Kids Cancer Ride is making their way across Canada. I got to spend a day with them. Read about it here. Amazing. Proof that a small group of good people can do great things.
I followed this up with the 8th Annual Lawnboy Cup. I am hoping to get some pictures to put up here, but another successful year. Again the weather co-operated 100%. As the last car pulled away from the diamond on Friday evening the storm started and all day Saturday was amazing. Even after taking a ball in the face, I had a great time. (Yes, I realize what the glove on my hand is for, but it was a bad bounce!)
I typically don't prepare for races with a 6hr bike ride, day of baseball, and only 3 hrs of sleep, but Kat and I woke up early Sunday AM to head up to Huntsville for the Muskoka Chase Triathlon. Ignorance is bliss and although I have done this race 3 times now, I am sure my mind will allow my body to forget how hilly the course is for next year. Even the swim feels like it is up hill. I have often described longer races (the Marathon, the 1/2 Ironman) as mini-movies in which you go through a wide range of emotions...this one was just like that. I could feel in my warm-up that my hip flexiors were kinda ticked off at me but I was determined to push the pace and see what happened. My swim felt pretty good but my time was weak considering the effort. My bike was terrible. I had no pop in my legs, was getting passed liked crazy and honestly, feeling sorry for myself and like a baby.
The excuses were all set: the big workouts that week, the lack of sleep, no rest/taper etc. I was very close to shutting it down for the day. Glad I didn't. I started the run and Kat was there yelling encouragement and I joked the Friday ride didn't help but just started running. Not pushing the pace, but on a sort of autopilot. Good things started happening. Over the first 5k I starting picking people off (always feels good to get those that beat you on the bike) and it seemed at the 5k marker I was passing people in bunches. Not going nuts but working hard and just cruising. It was getting warm so was grabbing 2-3 cups water at every aid station and made sure I got 3 gels in me no matter what my stomach thought. By 10k I was really working to reel some people in especially those in my age group (they write your age on your calve in marker). With only about 100m to go I tracked down one more 30-34 year old male at the top of the hill and kicked it for the line hoping to match at least what I did last year. As it turns out, my surprising run on tired legs lead to a new personal best time and my highest finish in my age group at Muskoka. Nice.
Finally, it was home and inside. Once there the sky opened up and the rain and lighting came down in an amazing display from nature. I feel a bit like the anti-Charlie Brown: lately it is sunshine and not a storm cloud that is following me around.
FUNDRAISING
With over $10,000 in donations our initial target is reached. We obviously underestimated the power of this. What will the next 4 months bring?
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
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THE CAUSE
Regardless of what brought you to our site, we welcome you. Simply put, Racing for SickKids – Ironman Florida 2008 exists for a sole purpose: to raise as much money as we can to support Cardiac Care at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
The division of Cardiology at SickKids was established over 60 years ago and is now one of the largest and most successful of its kind. Like many of the Hospitals’ departments and programs they are world-class innovators, teachers and caregivers. But the real reason SickKids and the Cardiology group is so important to me among the many, many other causes and charities is what they did for my friend, Jonathan Holiday.
I am using the platform of training for and racing in an Ironman Triathlon to share his story. The physical challenges are quantifiable: I will swim 3.9km, cycle 180km and run 42km – consecutively. I will be racing 226km (140 miles) or approximately the distance from Toronto to Parry Sound in a single day. While daunting, I find the mental obstacles far more intimidating, notably having the discipline to fit 15 to 20+ hours of training a week into “life” while avoiding injuries and too many trips to the buffet table. While there is certainly a degree of physical and emotional pain in all of this, it pales in comparison to what the kids and their families are forced to endure every day at SickKids.
Jon was one of these kids. To me he was friend, student, and partner-in-crime. To others he was son, brother, grandson, nephew, classmate, teammate, boy friend. To most, he was better known as “Lawnboy”. For all, he was a special person who, at only 17 years old, left us far too early.
100% of the money we raise will support the Jonathan Holiday Fund to support Cardiology at SickKids. Please follow the link at the top right of the page or click HERE to make a secure online donation.
The division of Cardiology at SickKids was established over 60 years ago and is now one of the largest and most successful of its kind. Like many of the Hospitals’ departments and programs they are world-class innovators, teachers and caregivers. But the real reason SickKids and the Cardiology group is so important to me among the many, many other causes and charities is what they did for my friend, Jonathan Holiday.
I am using the platform of training for and racing in an Ironman Triathlon to share his story. The physical challenges are quantifiable: I will swim 3.9km, cycle 180km and run 42km – consecutively. I will be racing 226km (140 miles) or approximately the distance from Toronto to Parry Sound in a single day. While daunting, I find the mental obstacles far more intimidating, notably having the discipline to fit 15 to 20+ hours of training a week into “life” while avoiding injuries and too many trips to the buffet table. While there is certainly a degree of physical and emotional pain in all of this, it pales in comparison to what the kids and their families are forced to endure every day at SickKids.
Jon was one of these kids. To me he was friend, student, and partner-in-crime. To others he was son, brother, grandson, nephew, classmate, teammate, boy friend. To most, he was better known as “Lawnboy”. For all, he was a special person who, at only 17 years old, left us far too early.
100% of the money we raise will support the Jonathan Holiday Fund to support Cardiology at SickKids. Please follow the link at the top right of the page or click HERE to make a secure online donation.
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