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Out of service competition - Barrelman 70.3 Niagara Falls, ON

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My triathlon season which started last fall consisted of three main goals. Perform well at Nationals in Gatineau, Quebec, complete another Olympic triathlon and qualify for the following year and grow from Olympic or Standard distance to a 70.3 distance triathlon. Often referred to as a half Ironman the 2 km swim, 90 km bike and 21.5 km half-marathon distance run. I missed my first goal due to hand, foot and mouth virus days before nationals. Although I worked hard the first three years to achieve a time to attend, I felt terrible for not even lining up for my first goal. It took a few weeks to let this go. I have been competing in triathlon for four years now and this was going to be another fun filled year. After moving my family from Halifax, NS to Borden, ON last year, I made a plan to balance a busy job with regimented physical training to support my mental health. I had to change my weekly training schedule from 5-7 hrs to 7-11 hrs per week when going to a longer distance. 
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Videos from 2XU Camp and the ketogenic diet

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A little more visual than just the pictures. Let's go through some of the things that I have improved since the camp. First of all two days was not enough with this amazing team, I wish I had 2 months with Funk Monk and Kris Joyner, I wish I worked for 2XU and had an affiliation with the Canadian Sports Institute of Ontario. okay Adam, snap out of it. While on the camp I was chatting with Abi, she is a fitness model and even though 2XU was paying for food, she stuck to her meal plan which was basically consistent, perfect sized portions to stick to her plan.  It was really something to see such great will power. She also found out about my addiction to gummy bears and gummy candy in general.  I made an excuse that it was cheaper than gels and it was likely linked to why I was a fat triathlete.  So she proceeded to make me watch the how gummy bears are made in reverse(youtube) and I can honestly say I have eliminated 98% of the gummy treats I used to eat. I also cut
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Shawn Smiles Miller - CISM Athlete

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For those of you that don't know that some of our own Navy Tridents are pretty decent at triathlon.  Three of our members, Shawn, Emilie and Beth have all made the Military CISM developmental triathlon team.  I met up with Shawn over lunch to go over my triathlon season for 2017 and garner any tips and tricks to improve my running. I have not been swimming enough each week but hoping to get back to 3 times a week.  I have been using trainer road that I can hop on the bike after the girls go to bed. Feeling better about swimming and a lot stronger on the bike. I needed help with running and loosing 15 lbs. Shawn graciously agreed and we met at the Stadacona track.  I recently showed him this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSIDRHUWlVo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSIDRHUWlVo He explained that this video was one of the best running break down videos he ever saw. He also mentioned that there is not one way to run.  Depending on how you run, and your bio mechani
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Guest Post 'Syd @sydgo - Training Tips for time-crunched triathlete's

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I met Syd at the #2XUcamp in Toronto, Ontario in November.  We instantly clicked because we were runners or at least I was 1/3 of a runner. I definitely have a lot to learn from her and her blog www.gosydgo.com, check it out or IG feed; it is always full of wonderful action shots and proof that she is not afraid to put the miles in.  Thanks so much for this thoughtful blog. Let me know if you like it and comment on mine or Syd's blog if you feel like it. We really appreciate it.  Training for a race can be time consuming. I can certainly say this was the case for me when I trained for my fall marathon over the summer. I needed to plan out to eat the night before training, what and when to eat breakfast, and what to fuel with during training. Then you have the actual training, doing whatever activity it is that you are going to compete in, but let’s not forget about cross-training, stretching and recovery. There are a lot of aspects to consider when training for an event. They
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The resurrection of the Blog and how motivation can affect your fitness.

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Why hello there,  It has been a while hasn't it.  Well I blog for a couple of reasons.  One of them is too keep myself motivated.  I have had an un-motivating fall.  I really needed something to pick up my spirits.  That call was from Sportchek and 2XU(pronounced Two times you).  I love to enter into contests and rather than say "I never win or I am so unlucky", it is more rewarding to put the positive vibes out there that tell the Universe "I will win".  I saw this advertisement to win an incredible athletic/olympian experience in Toronto, Ontario through joint sponsorships with 2XU, Sportchek and the Canadian Sports Institute of Canada. You had to tag yourself on instagram with the hashtag #2xucamp. I only put in one entry and was chosen to represent the military and the sport of triathlon at the camp.  I was introduced to 2XU from a friend when complaining of DOMS and muscle soreness after races and circuit training.  He suggested I buy a pair of 2XU recove
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When you loose someone close to you who was doing something that they loved...

This will be hard.  I know I have not blogged in a little while.  Actually the last post was drafted quite a few weeks ago but had a busy, sad month. Recently my family and friends lost someone very young in a cycling collision.  His name was Kevin Hurley, and he was the best kind of guy I know.  The last few weeks we have celebrated his work, education, sport and life accomplishments.  There is actually too many to describe on this post. He was a social rockstar and was very caring when he conversed with you.  He always tried to live each day as though it was his last; he was notorious for squeezing so much stuff into one day that he could nap on demand to recharge when the opportunity presented itself. He was always the first one to pass out at a party then wake up to be the life again 30 minutes later. Actually Kevin introduced my brother, Matt to cycling which years later my brother convinced me to start.  We actually have the same bike.  Kevin was getting in a quick 50 km ride b
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For the injuries we cannot see.

Improvement in physical fitness will usually increase success with time.  The rate of that success depends on numerous factors and not being physically injured is the secret to getting there. Success is the tell-tale test of how an athlete is progressing. Whether you shave 10 seconds off swimming 100m or setting PBs on a 5k run or longest bike ride ever . When we have a weakness, we work to get better at it and set goals to work towards an improvement. Now physical effort requires a tank of energy and throughout the swimming, biking and running, we work off that energy. Then refuel and repeat. It is a quick cycle and as long as we can stay injury free, and follow prescribed training plans, we will always see success in some form or another. The basics of improving physical fitness is readily available on the interweb and remarkable improvements can be made very quickly and of course it is quite rewarding when you get there. You just have to put in the effort.  A physical injury can qu
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