The Frenchmen are coming!

They have updated their site...no new pics or anything yet.

http://cneph.ca/Home.html

In other news, Mike Gilday has finally made his blog.  http://mgilday.blogspot.com/  It's brand new, but expect exciting new updates on a regular basis.

For me, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Things are getting ugly, but more importantly, things are getting done.  September 30th is Tuesday.  

Lazy Bones

Alright, i just got a message the other day on Facebook from one J. Cockney...er...too obvious...ahem...Jess C, saying that I am a "lazy bones" and that I should get my blogging in gear.  He is right, as always, but i am in a serious crunch at a moment, which is currently broken up by a short recovery period after slamming an Anatomy/Physiology midterm/final back to back, so i'll give a quick update on what's been going on.  And believe me, lots has been going on.

I went home to Yellowknife for 3 days a little while ago so I will post on that once school is done (after Sept 30).  I then got back to Van and purchased my first car (pictures to follow eventually).  Then I came back to W town, wrote an exam, trained a bit, and then was visited by Speed Skating phenom Michael Gilday who was in Van for World Cup trials and had just qualified for the fall WC circuit.  A few days ago we saw the Vancouver Canucks wandering around the Village.  Yesterday I completed (barely) the Grouse Grind race down in Van.  Today it snowed a bunch here in Whistler at 1000m.  

From CVTC blog:

I guess a super-post is in the works, but for now time to go back to the scholarly pain cave.  Of death.  

Also, there is a whispered rumour that M. Gilday is starting a blog of his own...How sick would that be?

In the words of Harry Seaton:  

Do work son,

T

He's back.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/sep08/sep10news

"Man, know what are so sweet? Camping chairs. When camping. They are just so clutch!"

Why yes, I am self proclaimed quotatious.  I have no idea why I put that as the title...it has absolutely no relevance to this update...

Things have been ok here in Whistler.  I had the worst cold of my life last week which is finally just about history.   Every year without fail I get sick at the transition from summer to fall.  In a way its a good thing because it ensures sufficient antibodies for an illness-free race season (or however the immune system works...).  I've had a few good days under my belt trying to build the volume back up and on my daily am submax test on the bike my results have been getting better and better along with the Polar Fit Test numbers.  Today's submax was worse after the previous 3 days had been getting better so it was important for me to play the day smart and not bury myself in any way in case it is an indication of lingering effects and/or tiredness from the first few days back in training mode.  Today we did some sprints with the American guys who are in town.  I followed Andy Newell on one of them and now have some inspiration to tap into on my quest for a higher top speed.  I got my ass handed to me prettily handily.  I cut the workout pretty short though, I wasn't feeling it very much.  Somehow wasn't in the mindset or condition to be going fast and I have spent the rest of the day in a foul-ish mood, which for me is pretty rare as bad training days are few and far between.  

But anyways, the reason that compelled me to write this post was that this morning I swear I saw Brad Pitt out on a morning jog.  And then just this afternoon on my almost-daily ritual of Nester's Market frequenting I think I saw Curt Harnett biking by on Nester's Rd.  But then again, it's tough to be sure.  All i saw were 2 massive thighs protruding from a swath of flowing golden locks pumping out a high cadence on a spiffy looking road bike.  There are constantly celebs in Whistler, but if these sightings can be confirmed, they will be the first I have seen.  My good pal Kate Bolivar who was working room service all summer at the Four Seasons served Coldplay and Tom Petty during the ol' Pemby Fest.

This weekend I am heading home to Yellowknife for the Champions for Children dinner where the likes of Beckie Scott will be speaking.  The kind folks at Sport North were generous enough to book me a flight up there, so big shout out to you guys, esp. Gail Nesbitt.  It will also be sweet to pay a visit to the good folks at FSC to see what's shakin' in their/my 'hood.  

Until next time.

T

Yellowknife Boy

This guy went to my highschool.

Now he's a star on the new spin-off series 90210 that premiered this week (and there's an encore presentation of the 2 hr premiere tonight!).  

Dustin Milligan.  Man he's smooth...  I want to be a celebrity someday, haha.  I was amped when Dan, after having watched the interview himself, said that he sees flashes of Dustin in me.  He thinks we have many similarities in how we speak and gesture about, he figured it must be a Yellowknife thing.  Sick...

I'm not one to watch a TV series, but this might be my calling.  

Wow, I am having way too much fun with Google's brand new web browser "Chrome". It's so fast, so sick.

In testing its abilities i came across 2 things that made me laugh.  I've seen them before but they are both things that are currently putting a smile on my face.  I'm still holed up with the worst cold i have ever had, sitting in the gloomy confines of 6424 Balsam Way with over a week's growth of facial hair (which is basically nothing for me, haha).  I just tented my face inside a stainless steal bowl of boiling water and eucalyptus oil...it's an old indian trick that helps clear symptoms...thanks Starr.

Check out the Large Hadron Collider rap.  Is this the future of educating people on technically advanced topics?  It may be...  I think its set to fire up this fall.  The world will be watching.

I'm a huge fan of Andy Samberg...

Pics from CVTC blog. (AKA our new ass. coach Erik Nilsson's blog...)

Me leading the uphill double pole test. It's a 1km tt that starts with a nice steep 10%, flattens out over the middle section and then steep again to the finish. Somehow I won this (i had fast skis though, but there were others who had the same speed) so i guess the whole hand ordeal didn't set me back too far in terms of upper body strength. This is a good example of how focused functional training can lead to very fast gains. I did about 4 double pole sessions leading up to this test, some with speed and one being intervals, and just re-ingraining technique and some muscle memory led to me being able to bang heads with the others with only a few weeks out of the cast. Food for thought: if i can gain top end fitness that fast and that easily, should i be continuing to do hard-ish workouts in search of these gains? Or should i be focusing on the real things i think i need to work on while i still have time before race season and then get in my month or so of more "functional" (intensity/technique at intensity/comfort at intensity) work to calibrate the body's perception of speed and hurt in the light of the Central Governor Model so i can be fast on snow?

Some moose hooves intervals at WOP. Notice the breathing device I'm using nicknamed the "Juergalyzer". I wrote about this session in great depth a few weeks back, so check there if you want to know what it was about.

Quick update on the present: I am sick as a dog. Not much training for this kid these days... 2006 Olympian Dan Roycroft is staying at our place this week. Today I went to watch the US team do a classic sprint day up at WOP. Really cool to watch those guys hammer. Inspirational. Check Zach's Kris Freeman blog, quite good update. http://www.krisfreeman.net/

Adios.