Tri-ing to stay young!

 Well, the binge athlete is at it again. Work got in the way of play (training) this week. This weeks training included 1 evening on the bike with my friend Dave and 1 hour in the pool with coach Grant in our final Total Immersion Swim session. I went out for a 36 km ride with my friend Dave. Dave and I both did our first marathons in 1997 and we trained together out of the Tech Shop on 4^th Street SW in Calgary for the next 4 years. Dave graduated to triathlons in about 2001 and was one of the founders of the Garage Gang along with his wife Jill and several other hard training Calgarians. If you ever had the occasion to drive down Parkdale Blvd. you may have noticed a small garage off the Blvd with a large Ironman logo painted on the door. That was Dave and Jill’s place and it was home to any triathlete that wanted a place to train.  For many years, this was their spinning centre with bikers often spilling out the open garage door. Dave has done several Ironman races and many many other Tris. Dave and Jill found a bike for me 2 years ago and have been urging me to get started ever since. This year I finally hauled the bike out of the garage and dusted it off.Dave has been offering to take my brother Ed and myself out forever, and this week I finally accepted. I can only say: “I should have done this years ago”. We spent a very educational 2 hours. We rode Springbank Road, a straight stretch of rollers and flats. Dave spent the entire time offering suggestions, hints and sharing experiences. I always knew that he was a very capable athlete but I did not know how knowledgeable he was. I can safely say that Dave’s advise will take 15 to 30 minutes off of my 90km GWN ride. We are going out again on the 26th. I know that it will again be another great classroom experience. Friday evening was our last coached swim session.  5 of our swim group will be doing the GWN this Sunday. The other 4 are all experienced Ironmen so I will try to hang around with them to pick a few last minute pointers. 

 Needless to say, my lack of preparation has me a little worried. I know I can complete the individual sections. I hope I have the determination (polite word) to put the whole thing together in under 8 hours. I estimate that I can do the swim in 1:00 to 1:10 and the run in 2:30 to 2:45, which leaves 4:05 for the bike.  That’s an average of 22 k/hr including the big d_ _ _ hill and the transition. Wow, this will be interesting!