Lauren's Blog

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Lauren was named 2007 triathlete of the year in the Elite Female Olympic Distance Category by Triathlon Canada.

Firstly, as promised, here is a quick re-cap of my last two World Cups:

Both 13th place finishes, with the clear highlight being front-pack swims. Korea was a wetsuit race so swimming front-pack wasn't new territory for me, but South Africa was a chilly non-wetsuit swim. I was 8th out of the water after the first lap in South Africa and rode the hips on the 2nd lap to finish solidly in the front pack. At this point in the race, I was so thrilled with my swim that I almost lost focus and forgot that I was still racing! My runs were not exactly stellar but again, I was thrilled to be running in the low 36-minute range after 8 weeks away from running. So all in all, an encouraging start to this Olympic year! (Some new photos from the races are now in the gallery).

The goal of these races was also to earn some ITU points to help with my swim start position at the Olympics. I want to be ranked in the top-10 at the Games as having a higher ranking has helped me in the past make that front group(ie. starting beside faster swimmers). Right now my ranking is 15th and there are a couple women ahead who will not be in Beijing. But, I expect this to change after the next two races, Madrid World Cup and World Champs. The last race to count in World Champs which has a high point value so a goal of top-10 is still in the cards.

Now back to training... it has been a surprisingly solid week. It was the first weeks of quality altitude training and Siri snuck in some tough sessions amongst the longer aerobic workouts. The swims have been the usual for us but I am noticing a big improvement from past years at altitude; making faster intervals, backing up hard sessions and even swimming a best time! We have logged lots of time on the bike this week with some pretty intense efforts. The running is coming along too. I thought I was getting close to hitting "rock-bottom" earlier this week with the daily runs and even the occasional double run-day. But, the ice baths in Boulder Creek and the massages have got me through it and I am at the point where I seem to recover without actually needing a rest. We have a great running trail behind our place that snakes through neighbourhoods, forests and around a couple little lakes. (I can't believe I just mentioned snakes....it's almost that time of year.....) I seem to have a love/hate relationship with this trail. It is so beautiful but when I am out there running I am in a world of pain, just running easy. Thankfully Adam is usually beside me to remind me that I am supposed to be feeling this way at the end of the day, but also to point out the odd poodle-type dog. Note: I say poodle-type dog because sadly a poodle-sighting in Boulder is somewhat rare :(

I am now enjoying my coffee and breakfast on my first Boulder camp rest day. The schedule for the day involves a massage, a short swim, and maybe a visit to the Celestial Seasonings Tea Shop (we live across the street from the factory, on "Sleepy Time Drive." No joke!). We have had some incredible weather lately with highs in the 30's and sunny skies all day. Icing in the creek is actually pleasant when the weather is like this. The water is freezing, coming straight down from the snowy mountains, but I seem to warm up right away as soon as I'm out. Adam and I have two favourite icing locations. One is the popular Boulder Creek, right downtown, where we can enjoy the farmer's market goodies as a treat afterwards. Our other location is in a creek up one of the canyons. When we don't want to cause a scene with our bathing suits in the downtown creek, we retreat to the mountains and take a seat on a rock in the middle of the river! I worry a little about mountain lions, cougars and snakes up in this area but the surroundings are too amazing to pass up. I've posted a photo of some recent icing shots from the Boulder Creek in my gallery.

I'd also like to mention that I am today's official "Boulder County Expert"!!! In the local newspaper everyday they show a small photo with a glimpse of something or somewhere in Boulder. We are instructed to enter online and they post the winner in the next day's paper. I actually knew what the photo was from yesterday: a corner of the awning from Ben & Jerry's ice cream parlour on Pearl Street! No surprise that I knew that! I am still waiting to hear what my prize is...apart from being labelled an expert, or course :)

I know I should be committed to writing my last two race reports, but I had too much fun in Boulder today not to share.

Adam decided last night that he wanted to race this trail run in Jamestown, a small mountain town not too far from here. I half expected him to change his mind, especially when he didn't stroll out of bed until nearly 8am and the race started at 10am. But, that's the way Adam rolls and he was all set to hop on the pain train with the sleep still in his eyes. I only had a long, easy run on the schedule today so I decided to join him for this mountain adventure. As we drove up to Jamestown I watched the thermometer slowly drop until it was close to freezing, and my supportive enthusiasm seemed to follow suit. We drove through Jamestown (all 3 shops and 10 homes) and kept climbing up a dirt road. This road was steep and I was thankful this race was in May and not January as my car, the "little blue bus", might not have made it in any slick conditions. We kept climbing and my ears kept popping. At this point I am thinking there is no way a trail race is up here as there are no other cars and we are deep into the mountains. But sure enough when we arrive at the parking lot we directed to park behind the long string of Subarus and even the odd Hummer, typical Boulder-style. It's lightly snowing at this point so getting out of the car in my light track jacket doesn't seem too appealing. Thankfully Adam was the smart one and brought extra warm gear so I pile on as many layers as I can and walk down the trail to the starting area. Usually when I accompany Adam to these events I end up jumping in the race last minute, but there was no chance of this happening today. As I shivered waiting for the start I made a mental list of the reasons why I would not be participating:

#1 - Siri would kill me.
#2 - We saw a mountain lion while driving to the race start. (At first I thought it was a very large golden retriever and I was just about to say, "what a pretty dog", but then I saw it's tail...a thick lion tail)
#3 - Altitude was 9,000 at the START. I was out of breath walking from the car.
#4 - There was PRE-race food for everyone. No need to race to earn the goods.
#5 - It was snowing.
#6 - Half of the field was wearing hiking boots for this "run."

The winners finished the 10km in a quick 43-minutes...that pretty much describes the terrain. Adam finished a speedy 2nd place and somehow managed a big smile as he ran up the mountain to the finish line. At this point I had already totally raided the food tent but was somehow already starving again (back to altitude training, love it!) As we waited for awards the BBQ started up so we enjoyed some burgers and blue grass entertainment. The food at this small race was incredible. Yes, I will not deny that I am food-motivated so I did not hold back. There were burgers, hot dogs, every possible type of chip, cookies, skittles, PEANUT m&ms, bagels, brioche, etc. A photo was even taken of the hoarding in action (see 'fun stuff'). Totally busted. My pockets were also bursting with snacks to enjoy later.

We made our way back 'down' to Boulder, ears popping and the weather warming. Adam dropped me at the Reservoir for my long run. The wind was ridicuously strong today and I felt like I was running on the spot at times. I didn't feel so bad when I looked up and saw birds in the sky moving backwards. The highlight of the run was definitely the otter-like creature I saw in one of the lakes. His mouth was full of weeds and grass as he swam along beside me. I wanted to follow him to watch the nest-building but nature-spotting wasn't exactly on the program mid-run today :)

The sun is sneaking through the clouds so now would be a great time to ice the legs in the creek. Tomorrow is a long ride and a swim, and dinner at my great friend's, Barry and Jodee's.

I am quite excited to be able to sit down not one, but THREE RACE REPORTS!

I had a tentative race schedule for the start of the year, but the knee injury derailed these plans, so once I was 100%, Siri and I set up an alternate schedule to re-introduce my body to racing. With very minimal running in my legs we hoped that I would "race" myself back to some fitness, as well as regain my feel for running off the bike and overall, just experience how fast World Cup racing is so that I am ready to go in Vancouver next month. I knew the tricky part would be recovering from the races in time for the race the following weekend. I seemed to pull up quite sore from the few run sessions I did at the start of April so I left armed with a travel recovery plan: ice baths in hotel rooms, compression everything (tights, socks, calf sleeves) and even my Earth sandals with the negative heel to relax the calves! My intinerary was somewhat crazy but because I have worked through so much this winter, I was simply so excited to be able to race again that I couldn't wait to get on the plane for the first race.

First up was the Pan American Championships in Mazatlan. Just a short hop from my training base in LA, doing this race was a no-brainer. I knew this race would be a "Mexican Special", hot, humid and pancake flat. It was an ocean swim with some very large, 8-foot surf! I can't say that I am overly experienced in surf but I love the challenge of trying to work with the waves, or in this case just surviving! The waves were so large that the swim was changed to a one-loop format to keep us away from the break until we absolutely had to exit the water. I was a little disappointed about this, but when I attempted a swim warm-up and literally couldn't make it past the break, I accepted that is was probably for the best. The swim was very atypical from most World Cups with little fighting for position once the race started, despite the field of over 40 women. I sensed there was this unspoken mutual agreement to put all our energy into actually swimming and making it back to the beach with minimal carnage. I had a good beach start and once I got through the break I found myself in a pack of about 8 women. At the first turn I was able so get a look behind me and I could already see that the rest of the field was well back. I must have narrowly escaped the next series of massive waves. It was difficult to sight with the chop and the swells, but I exited the water amongst the front group and made my way up the beach to transition. This is where I had my first, disheartening reminder of how fast ITU racing can be. My legs felt heavy running out of the water and I struggled to really bust it up the beach to my bike. It was because of this that I lost touch with the top 2 women. Despite riding hard in a somewhat disorganized bike pack, I got off the bike with nearly a 2-minute deficit from the leaders. I knew I had my work cut out for me on the run and was determined to put any run fitness concerns to the back of my mind, and take it out like I would any other race. "Just run" was my mantra for the day. Within the first minute of the run I had broken away from the other women in my bike pack and started to close the gap on the leaders. I caught the second place woman about half way through the run but couldn't catch the leader. I finished in 2nd place. I wouldn't say this was a stellar run for me by any means but being healthy and able to race hard again was more than I could have asked for on the day.

As soon as the race was over, it was back to my not-so-ritzy room at the Howard Johnson to pack up, check-out and head to the airport. Of course, Jenna, Jason (my LA homestay who joined us for this Mexican weekend), and I grabbed one of the funky golf cart cabs and stopped by my favourite Mazatlan restaurant, Pura Vita for some burgers, fries and soy milkshakes! I know my food standards drop significantly when I visit resort towns, especially in the tourism off-season, but this restaurant is actually GOOD, even by my picky standards!

I arrived back in LA late that night and had a quick 30-hour turn-around before leaving for my next race in South Korea. I don't think there was even a minute to spare with the packing and sorting of all my belongings, saying goodbyes to my amazing California friends, getting a massage, and even sneaking in a bit of recovery training.

This report is becoming ridicuously long so I will call it Part 1 of 3. There are too many great experiences to share in one update and any energy I had at 4am when I started to write this has definitely faded. More stories from my around-the-world-in-2-week trip to follow shortly.

When I woke up this morning I had the feeling that today was going to be one of those days where everything seems to go wrong. I felt a little stiff from yesterday's workouts, realized I was out of the tasty coffee from the Boise roaster, and overall, just felt sluggish, as I do on most recovery days. I thought that a nice cruiser bike ride would do the trick to get me feeling better, especially since the weather is absolutely gorgeous these days. I decided to ride down to the grocery store on Montana Ave, a busy shopping strip. I had a little difficulty assembling the basket to the handlebar clip but I thought it was all good to go when I hopped on the bike. As I am cruising down the bike lane I hit a small bump in the road. Not a big deal, right? Well, it appeared that the basket wasn't latched on properly and it fell forward, jammed in the wheel and the entire contents of my purse were scattered across the busy street. I managed to get off the bike in one piece, pick everything up, re-attach the basket and carry on my way. About 20 seconds later, I hit another bump, this time in front of a busy sidewalk cafe. Yes, everyone watched in horror as this girl nearly crashed her cruiser bike because the basket got jammed in the front wheel. My pretty pink cell phone even had a near-death experience, flying into the middle of the street. I even had one man from the cafe walk over to help me. This brought back memories of the time when I was learning to use clipless pedals in downtown Kingston....we won't even go there...So at this point I am absolutely humiliated and have given up on the basket. I proceed to walk my cruiser bike, with basket in hand, to the grocery store. Of course, not really thinking, I buy the items on my list: bags of flour, fruit and canned beans. In other words, HEAVY items. I will just put them in my basket, right? I walk out to my bike and realize the situation I am now facing. I load them into the basket, rest the basket on the big comfy seat (I knew it was so big for a reason!) and WALK my cruiser bike home. So sad! I have now realized where I went wrong in the basket assembly and look forward to another attempt at "cruising" to the market!

Thankfully my run went much better than I expected, given the start to my day. I made sure to wear all new gear (thanks to Orca, Asics, and Ryder's) so at least I would look good, if nothing else. My iPod died within the first 30 seconds but I enjoyed trotting along, lost in my own thoughts. It was hot out there and I was loving it! This afternoon I made sure to head to Santa Monica College pool for my recovery swim so I could continue enjoying the sunshine. When we got there we realized the main "cold" pool was closed for swim practise. No problem, we will just hop in the warm pool. Well, with the recent hot weather, the water was closer to hot-tub conditions. I normally would never complain about being too hot during a swim, but this was ridiculous! Thankfully it was an easy session so I could drag my wet-rag arms through the water without complete heat exhaustion. I am actually now looking forward to our swim tomorrow morning in the cold water of the Plunge.

I recently got a new cookbook and have been obsessed with trying the recipes. It's the Earthbound Organic cookbook, Foods To Live By. Yesterday I made the 'fusion coleslaw' for the BBQ and it turned out great. Today it is the morning glory muffins. I tweaked the recipe to replace the oil with crushed pineapple and pineapple juice and they turned out amazing! I normally don't shy away from fats (especially avocados, fish, nuts and olive oil), but I really dislike greasy muffins for some reason. These will definitely be the next tasty treats on the long rides.

Tonight I have the special treat of a massage therapist coming to the house! Then, it will be lying on the couch and watching the Bachelor. Siri casually mentioned yesterday that we are up for a "big week" so we all know what that means....

I don't know how to begin this blog besides stating the obvious: it has been a LONG time since my last update! To answer the questions I've been asked lately, no, my blog is not broken and yes, I am still doing the sport! I am still in Santa Monica, plugging away at the training and enjoying the new challenges everyday brings. My life has been full of many fun adventures and many hard sessions over the past month. Here are a few highlights (and lowlights) of what I've been up to:

-traveling to Boise earlier this month to coach a swim-run clinic. I not only had the opportunity to work with ten very energetic and inspiring women, but I also fell in love with the city. It has the small-town feel that I love, amazing running and biking, and a very active, outdoorsy feel with the mountains right there. Plus, it is home to a bakery with the most amazing muffins I have ever eaten! I am already planning a trip back there for a weekend in early-April. Rinny will be coaching a clinic that weekend so I will join her and make it into a mini-training camp.

-Adam came for a 2 week visit! What more can I say about that...it was wonderful and I cannot wait for our summer together in Boulder.

-my knee is healing! I am back to running with many thanks to physiotherapist extradordinaire, Dave Fleckenstein, from Boise. It is nice to work with such a caring and intuitive therapist. If I don't write him a daily update, I can almost guarantee my phone will be ringing! With the way things are progressing, it looks as though my first races will be Tongyeong, South Korea and Richards Bay, South Africa (April 26 and May 4).

-went to the LA Laker's game last night. It brought back many NBA memories of my dad and I going to pretty much all of the Vancouver Grizzlie games. However, it was somewhat of a different experience because the Laker's are actually an amazing team and the only reason people would leave during 3rd of 4th quarter is because they already know the Laker's will win. In Vancouver, though, I think people would leave early for another reason.... And there was a celebrity sighting at the game: Jack Nicholson, sitting courtside, as always. Many thanks to my homestay, Jason for our VIP seats!

-I got into a car accident yesterday! My first car accident! And on the Interstate-10 during rush hour. It was very scary and I still feel a little shaken up. My training partner (and passenger in the car), Jenna has written about it in her blog, so please check out her humourous account of our day: www.jennashoemaker.blogspot.com

-my good friend, Rinny has come to town! It is nice to have an Aussie-influence in the group again and we always share a good laugh over everything. Literally, everything.

-we have had some men in our group lately. Chris McCormack and Paul Amey have been joining us for the early morning swims and definitely add an interesting dynamic to the group. Having some speedy "foreigners" in the mix has been a blast and I never seem to be short of feet to chase or people to race. Siri always loves a little friendly competition now and then. (ok, she always loves it!)

Overall, training has been the usual. We seem to have a weekly plan that we roll through week-to-week. Now and then Siri throws us for a loop and makes some changes, but for the most part, we know what to expect each day. I actually enjoy this "structure" and find myself getting into a groove. It is also fun to re-visit the sessions week-after-week to see improvement.

Tomorrow night is an Easter BBQ/Rinny's 27th Birthday celebration at Mary and Sarah's. Many "dirty" desserts will be consumed, as well as some pinata bashing, egg-hunting, chubby-bunny playing and most likely many schenanegans. But before the party starts, we've got a bike-run session followed by our "recovery" swim of 6km.

I promise to keep the updates coming on more of a regular basis :)

It's odd that I wait until I am absolutely smashed to sit down and write an update. But then again, it's these times that I am most excited about things and want to share my stories.

There are a few reasons why I am so tired. The first one involves swimming. We can pretty much guarantee that when we show at swim practise we will be doing 6km. Of course it is always broken up differently depending upon the day, but we can be sure that it will always add up to 6k. Some days are longer, aerobic swims, some days are pretty much 6k continuous and "hard as we can go", and on other days, the 6km is dragged on and on as we do a million little sets. I have started to look forward to the longer (2-3km) warm-ups because then I know the main set can only be 3-4km. That is a special treat. We all love to do the math and add up how much we've done and how much is remaining. We even love to guess what the main set will be (Siri does not like it when we're right and accuses us of stealing her logbook!) Today though, we would have never guessed what was coming. Typically Monday's are the "recovery" swims so we never saw this coming. I can't disclose the exact details of the workout because I have a feeling this is going to become our new "secret" set, but lets just say I swam more than three back-to-back 1500m efforts all-out with zero seconds of rest. I even managed to swim PB's for all of the 1500m pieces. I started to get hungry part way through and kept visualizing the yummy Kashi cookies I had stashed away in my bag on deck, but I knew there was no acceptable excuse to stop during this swim. I would much rather bonk and drown than hop out of the pool and stoll by Siri to get my snacks. That was just not an option!

Apart from swimming, I've been busy with some good, hard riding, physio appointments and more of the usual naps and tv-watching. However, something that happened to me this past weekend was a little bit out of the ordinary...and devastating! On Sunday morning I was walking out to my car to put the bike on the roof rack. I took the front wheel off, lifted the bike up, but oh, there was no bike rack. Of course I initially thought I was at the wrong car, but then again, I remembered that my car is pretty much the only non-Mercedes in this area. Was it April Fool's Day? No, too early for those pranks. It then dawned on me that SOMEONE STOLE MY BIKE RACK OFF MY ROOF! It was locked on and I had the keys inside my house. It just vanished. So, if you are in the Santa Monica area and see a used Yakima bike rack for sale with four busted locks then please let me know!

On a happier note, I had a great weekend with my parents who were in town for a visit. We had fun touring the city and eating some delicious meals. I feel bad though because they were honestly here for the worst weekend of weather we've had over the past few months. Of course today, the day they fly home, it is back up in the low 20's and sunny again. Sorry, Mom and Dad :(

It's now just about 5pm, which means time for dinner, geriatric-style!

What I have been up to this past week:

-lots of good, hard swimming (with a few "best-ever" back-to-back days in the water)
-built back the volume and intensity of the bike (with some never-been-seen-before watts....yes, got to love how the lack of running leaves something extra in the legs)
-watched all 5 hours of the Westminster Dog Show ("go Poodles!")
-ate too much chocolate on Valentine's Day...and the days following...
-had a couple more painful physio apointments (Graston technique to the psoas HURTS)
-had a POSITIVE acupuncture experience (despite my needle-phobia and the needle that was placed in my forehead)
-warmed-up in my wetsuit for the early morning outdoor pool swims (yes, I am a cold wimp again!)
-went to bed at 7:45pm on Friday night!

Today was a 3.5hr hilly ride in the beautiful sunshine. We climbed up Latigo Canyon Road and as we enjoyed our snacks at the top, noticed numerous Range Rovers pulling into to a private driveway. There really isn't much up this mountain so it got me intrigued. Well, it turns out it is one of the exclusive Rehab facilities, tucked-away in the Malibu hills. Mary and I started to venture up the driveway in hopes of spotting a celeb, but chickened out before we were busted. Watch out for my next career as a paparazzi!

Tonight will likely be just as exciting as last night. I am already eyeing my pajamas, but first I have to stop by the shops to get the ingredients for my beef curry. We are up EARLY tomorrow for our bike/run at Griffith Park. The time trial starts when the sun rises!

Today turned into a great day. I was back on the bike this morning and joined the girls for a couple of hours in the sunshine. The knee was feeling strong and the only discomfort I experienced was some serious overheating with all my layers. I guess the morning temperatures have crept up over the week and because I wasn't out there training, I just assumed I would still need my wool arm and knee warmers...as well as my windstopper jacket...my booties...and a fleecy headband. The sweat started trickling before I even reached the corner but I couldn't dream of complaining. I would take being on my bike a little sweaty and stinky over another day off my legs without a second thought!

I had a "partial" celebrity sighting this afternoon...
My homestay, Jason and I swung by the bike shop to pick up my new cruiser bike. We were chatting to one of the mechanics in the repair area and my eyes started to wander to the rows of bikes on the wall being serviced. A very sweet looking black and white coloured SRM mounted to an equally sweet black/white bike was hanging on the wall. It was brand-spanking new and I could tell there was something pretty special about this bike. The service papers were stapled to the top tube but I could see some lettering poking out the sides. We slid the paper over and guess what the signature said...."Tobey Maguire". Yes, that's right, it was Spiderman's bike. But of course, I couldn't just say, "COOL" like a normal person and continue on with my day. I HAD to press the "mode" button and see his power files...I just had to! Either Tobey is pushing an average of 18 watts or this was a brand-spanking new system. I'm going to guess it was a new system. I then had to ask WHEN he was coming to pick it up. Apparently he visits the shop every once and awhile, but they will be shipping this bike to his New York address. He already has LA bike which is an identical set-up. I am now on Superman alert at the bike shop so maybe one day I will get to meet the man behind the mask.

My cruiser bike is finally here! It took so long because I had to have the popular mint green colour which was back-ordered for weeks. I couldn't have picked it up on a nicer day either. (sorry, I know those reading from Canada might not want to hear this) It was honestly hot today. I was wearing SHORTS and choose to take an even longer route home, just enjoying the warmth and the sweetness of my new ride. I had two accessories immediately mounted to the bike: a basket and a coffee cup holder! A bell is also mandatory but I will hold out until I find one cool enough for this bike.
A photo will be in the fun stuff section tonight!

It has been brought to my attention that it has been 8 days since my last blog (thanks, Simon!) I actually have been wrestling with the idea of writing an update over the past few days, but like most athletes, when we hit a rough patch, we don't often feel inclined to publicise what's going on.

Over the years I have come to realize and really appreciate that there will be ups and downs in our lives. I have also learned not to get overly excited with the ups, but more importantly, not get too down when something doesn't go according to plan.

After the first few solid weeks of training I have pulled up with a "niggly" in my knee. I trained through it for a few days but when I realized it wasn't getting any better while training, Siri decided it was time to give it complete rest. I don't mess around with injuries and am always extremely careful to pull the plug on training before something becomes serious. It's never an easy decision to make because I was still able to get through sessions with some very solid performances, but I have learned over the years that I am far better off taking a few rest days rather than pushing through something and losing half a season. As I think I mentioned in an earlier posting, "it's only January." However, now it is February, but the same idea still stands: there is plenty of time!

As I mentioned before, forced time-off isn't always easy. Day 1 of the mandatory rest brought on a minor meltdown with a plane ticket home almost booked. Near the end of Day 1 I had picked myself up, was thinking clearer, and made the decision to put all my energy into getting better. It isn't easy being in an unfamiliar city and trying to find the right therapists (I now realized just how spoiled I am when back home in Victoria!) but I did some good research and found someone who does treatment that will work for me. The main issue I am dealing with is overly tight muscles that are pulling on my kneecap. This is old territory for me as I had this problem about four years ago, but it was much more severe back then. I learned a lot from this injury the first time around so I know what needs to be done. I found a physiotherapist that specializes in active release therapy and the Graston technique (ie. PAIN!) and from the instant I walked into the clinic and saw the doggie bed and toys on the floor, I knew I found someone who could help me. My very first question to the physio was, "do you have a dog?" His response, "yes, I have 3 standard poodles." WOW. There is nothing quite like being in a world of pain on the treatment table while looking into the eyes of a gorgeous poodle!

After one treatment and a day of icing and stretching, I feel good-to-go. But, my rule of thumb is to take an extra day off after I feel 100% better. Having Siri's full support with my recovery plan really helps my situation as the added pressure from a coach, coupled with my own pressure to get back to training can sometimes be too much to handle. So how have I spent the last few "stress-free" days? Swimming with pull buoy, watching too much American Idol and Top Model, reading cookbooks and grocery flyers (seriously), and today I indulged in some retail therapy. I am itching to get back to it, but tomorrow will be another mandatory rest day, regardless of how I feel, with a visit to the physio and a swim session. I hope to be back on the legs by Saturday but I will take it one day at a time, keeping everything in perspective and enjoying the simpler things in life (ie. finding a tasty recipe for the 3lbs of broccoli I have in the fridge).

This has been my longest break from blogging since starting the camp. It hasn't been intentional but I guess the excitement has slowed, no celebs have been spotted, and I'm into a regular training routine. Instead of writing a very long update on the past week, I will sum up the highlights of the recent days:

Thursday: This is actually a "low-light" for the day, but worth mentioning: On this day I realized my new pink hoodie from Target was probably never meant to be worn. I did a special load of laundry to clean the red wine vinegar stain. When I came to get it from the dryer I saw a little corner of pink sticking out of the door. I had closed the door with the sleeve stuck and it has run it's course so you can image what happened. One arm was twisted about a million times, still wet and now is one foot longer than the other. So sad.

Friday: Dinner with Mary and her homestay, Richard at the popular raw-food restaurant, Julianos. I was a little skeptical at first as Adam and I had a bad raw food experience in Vancouver with "hamburgers", but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I would have never guessed that avocado-based "Smores" could taste so delicious. I considered buying their cookbook but every recipe seemed to have a minimum of 30 ingredients and it made me tired just flipping through it.

Saturday: Finishing my 4 hour ride at the Ukrainian deli down the street and stocking up on the most amazing pierogies I've ever tasted (apart from my grandmas, of course). This shop was a trip down memory lane with the Babushka dolls, smells of fresh borscht and loaves of fresh poppy seed cake. Yummmm!

Sunday: Swimming 100 x 100's "just for fun" in the 3-lane pool in the parking garage of the Yahoo centre....by myself!

Monday: Lunch on the patio at Urth Cafe (as seen in Entourage) with the girls during our FULL DAY OFF! Followed by some shopping, of course.

Tuesday: Discovering that my training partner, Jenna's homestay has a POODLE. Why has this information been withheld from me?!
Check out the 'animal of the week' later tonight as an immediate visit is in order.

I still have an easy bike ride to do this afternoon to flush out the legs from the run intervals this afternoon and then tonight will be centred around catching up on last season's LOST. I have only a couple more days until the season premier so I must remain diligent in my viewing.

I had to laugh at myself tonight. Sometimes I think I take myself too seriously, but thankfully I am able to realize this (often with Siri's trained eye) before I get too wound up.

I have to remember that it is only January....

After a 3 hour hilly ride and an hour run, I found myself struggling to make some of the 100's on 1:15 within our 6km swim this afternoon. This frustrated me. I then found myself at the grocery store and I looked into my basket: lentil pate, sprouted beans, and a 2 lb bag of carrots. I laughed aloud, put all those items back, bought a cookie and left the store.

Once again, it's January!

This is going to be on the shorter side of my blogs as my adventures have been at a minimum these last few days. In other words, I have been tired!

Sunday and Monday were lighter training days, giving my body the chance to absorb the solid block of training I've done since arriving. I really didn't think I needed the rest and almost shared these thoughts with Siri on Sunday. However, after the long run and the swim, I was ready to crash...and it was mid-afternoon! It was one of those days when I wanted to put on my pajamas at 2pm and go to sleep for the night. I somehow stayed awake until a non-preschoolers bedtime and even took in some of the world cup track cycling. Monday was much of the same sluggish feeling but the mid-day vigorous swim was perfect for reminding my body that it shouldn't completely shut-down. So basically, I needed those recovery days more than I had thought!

Today I woke up feeling much more like myself and it's a good thing because we were back at it with a double swim and a treadmill workout. The second swim wasn't planned but because a lifeguard didn't show for the early swim, we were kicked out of the pool part-way through the main set. It was still dark outside and the steam coming off the water was so dense that the sole lifeguard didn't feel safe guarding a 50m pool on his own. Despite it being a shorter swim, afterwards I was just as tired and ravenous as always so cooked up a big 2nd breakfast and got straight back to bed (this all happened before 8am!)

The latest and greatest adventure was my shopping trip to Target with Sarah on Monday. We had some fun trying on clothes and stocking up on essentials. Thankfully she talked me into getting the pink hoodie over the bright white one as I have a tendency to spill my coffee and snacks on occasion. Sure enough, within 10 minutes of getting home I managed to spill red wine vinegar all over the front. At least it's pink! But of course I had just done laundry earlier in the day so wearing it won't be possible until the next recovery day...

I have been back into cooking mode these last few days. The farmer's markets in Santa Monica are absolutely incredible and are on 2 to 3 days a week. Seeing all the different, fresh and affordable fruits and veggies has inspired me to crack open the cookbooks. Dinner tonight was from one of my favourite blogs, 101 Cookbooks. Heidi, the lady who runs this webpage has her own cookbook but tends to review and tweak the recipes of others. She takes a simple approach to whole foods cooking and always has the tastiest, seasonal recipes on her site. I frequently check out her page for inspiration, or just to look at the lovely photos of her cooking. Here is a link to the ravioli I made tonight: www.101cookbooks.com

I also roasted some brussel spouts, broccoli and asparagus with olive oil and fresh rosemary. Everything except the ravioli was from the farmer's market. Dessert was fresh strawberries, some dark chocolate, a couple Kashi cookies, a handful of peanut M&M's...and well, that's all as of now, but it is still early in the night.

This blog was longer than intended so I hopefully didn't bore too many people. It's time to get ready for bed because tomorrow is a big training day, likely 6 hours, plus chiro and massage appointments. Dinner will probably be Whole Foods take-out!

What an adventure on the bike today! I can't remember the last time 4 hours on the bike went by so quickly and I surely can't remember having this much fun. I met up with Sarah and a couple of cyclists and had planned to join them until they started their climbs through the canyon. I have done plenty of climbing this past week so Siri wanted me to keep the ride on the easier side. However, we were cruising along the highway and I was feeling quite comfortable in the draft and not exactly looking forward to turning around and riding solo on the highway home. I actually felt pretty strong and decided to stick with them the entire ride. Siri is always a huge supporter of me adding on the bike miles when feeling good so there wasn't a doubt in my mind that she wouldn't approve of my decision!! So, we started climbing up one of the canyons. The climb and descent weren't too eventful, just a nice, steady pace with good conversation, yummy snacks and amazing views. We got back on the Pacific Coast Highway heading home when a group of cyclists turned onto the highway just ahead of us. We could see their bike kit said "Rock Racing". I look at Sarah and practically yelled, "oh my gosh, it's the Rock & Republic Team!!" (my favourite jean company recently started a pro cycling team...with some pretty good riders..and they are on a training camp in the Santa Monica area). I don't know if it was the adrenaline or if they were just spinning along, but we caught up to them. At this point I didn't really know what to do because I am not about to pass these guys but I also don't want to sit on their wheels. Right in front of me is a guy wearing the kit with full rainbow strips. Mario Cipollini? Maybe. Or was it Santiago Botero? It turns out it Cipollini wasn't at the back of the pack so it was likely Botero. Either way, we were a little starstruck and this definitely counts as a celeb sighting in our world. The story doesn't end here though. As were riding behind them I look off to the side of the road and see a lady walking a standard parti-poodle (a pure-bred multi-coloured poodle). This is a very uncommon colouring for a poodle and I have never seen a standard Parti before. The dog looked glorious! I was about to make a comment and possibly scream a little but I quickly realized that I was in the company of some cycling legends and I might come across as somewhat wacko. So, even though it nearly killed me, I kept my mouth shut. Around the same time as the poodle sighting, we hear a horn beeping from behind. Oh, it was just the team Cadillac Escalade with wheels on the roof cruising by to hand over some drinks! So much excitement at once! The team eventually cut up one of the canyon climbs and the four of us continued our journey home. At this point I had eaten all of my food, including my two "emergency" gels...and I was still hungry! We stopped at an amazing breakfast place that turns out to be only 2 blocks from my home. After some nourisment, and 5 hours after leaving this morning, I made it back home and put the pj's on straight away for a quick nap.

This afternoon we met at the Santa Monica College pool for a recovery swim. Both of their pools were set up as 25 yards so I was all set to start my easy swim in the warm pool (similar in temperature to the Commonwealth deep end...quite nice). However, when Siri announced the workout, I realized this wasn't exactly going to happen. The workout was 5000 yards of short rest swimming. It was VERY short rest swimming as we took 5-10 seconds off our 100m pace time and lets just say that flip turns are not my specialty. I surprised myself though and actually had a breakthrough set. A solid end to a solid day!

I'm laying low tonight and actually turned down a dinner invitation to Nobu (a japanese restaurant in Malibu...aka celebrity hotspot). My homestay, Jason is on the look-out for any "A-list" celebs so if he calls, I will be in my car in a flash! For now though, I'm on the couch, flipping channels between the Food Network and an America's Next Top Model marathon. I am not used to having a tv so I feel somewhat overwhelmed with the 987 channels at my disposal. I have been sticking to the lower channels, or the "free" channels as my dad says. Otherwise I think I would spend all my time watching Adam's favourite station, the preview channel, just to see what is on.

Tomorrow is a long run in the morning, a possible easy swim and then an outing to watch the track cycling World Cup in the afternoon.

It has been more of the usual these past few days: training, resting, cooking, and celebrity spotting. I honestly have not even been on the prowl for the celebs but still seem to be almost averaging one spotting per day. On Sunday, Sarah and I came across Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Ocean's Eleven, Crash) at the Santa Monica Seafood shop. I was just picking up some salmon pinwheels when he caught my eye and Sarah had to keep saying to me, "STOP staring!!" Yesterday was a bit of a dry-spell for celeb spotting but Sarah came across Jamie-Lee Curtis' cat in her backyard (does that count?). Today at the pool we looked over and Rob Lowe (West Wing) was swimming in the next lane. Celeb gossip has always been a favourite pastime of mine so I may keep the "sightings" updated on my blog while I'm here.

Training is going well. My swimming has definitely come up a level over the winter. I'm thinking that the solid swim block I did with Joel's gang in December has played a significant role. I am beginning to revisit some of the standard "Siri sets" and able to hold faster paces and even swimming consistently well with the newfound fatigue in the legs. I think Sarah is also happy that I am no longer depend upon on the draft of the "Groff Express Train" (i.e. Sarah's feet) during the short interval sets. All this band-only swimming is starting to take it's toll though and I am very much looking forward to giving the lats a rest tomorrow with a shorter recovery swim.

We have been exploring new run and bike venues over the past couple days. On Sunday we drove out to Griffith Park to do our bike/run session. The road through the parks climbs up to an observatory, very close to the "Hollywood" sign in the hills. It's a twisty 2-lane, quiet road and the total climb takes about 8-10 minutes, depending on effort. It's a solid grade, similar to the Observatory climb in Victoria. We did some repeats of this climb and then transitioned to a run on the dirt trails near the entrance to the park. Siri has mapped out a "world cup style" looped, hilly route for us. We finished the workout with a stop at the park snack stand. This wasn't a typical greasy food cart, but very gourmet with goat cheese tartlets, vegan avocado sandwiches and one of the best fresh-baked scones I've ever eaten. I think this will become a Sunday morning tradition for us!

This afternoon I did my second treadmill run since September and was surprised how well it went. I am definitely starting this year at a higher fitness level than in the past. Siri, however, is adamant about keeping things toned-done for another month so I will not be increasing speed just yet. The focus is still on getting me strong while building the fitness through overall volume. It was actually quite an enjoyable run as it was prime people-watching time in the Yahoo Center courtyard. The treadmills face a glass window and I was kept entertained by those enjoying their lunchbreaks and even lucky enough to spot 2 poodles prancing along the walkway. I finished the workout with a cool-down spin along the waterfront and came home to a wonderful surprise package at my house. It was just like Christmas, Kashi-style! I have been spoiled with cases of cookies, cereal, oatmeal, crackers and granola bars. Many thanks to Dave at Kashi for the yummy treats!

Tomorrow begins with an early morning solid bike ride at one of our new venues, yet to be explored (either a loop near LAX or the "graveyard" crit course). As always, I'm sure it will be an adventure!

The last couple days have been focused on settling in and starting to roll along with the training. Yesterday was a longer swim that was somewhat un-Siri-like. After warm-up we did a series of mini "main-sets", a change from our typical format. I was swimming just fine for the first main set, but when I heard what the next set was, I couldn't help but think "uh-oh...." Siri is a big fan of band-only swimming which has worked very well for my strength and technique. Two years ago I literally couldn't do 50m with only the band so I'd like to think I've come a long way since then. Well, to get back to the set, it consisted of quite a few 50's. Band-only 50's are my favourite since I can hang out at the wall and mentally re-group for the next interval, however these were VERY short-rest 50's. In other words, I would have to swim all-out if I even wanted a hope to make the pace time. Lets just say I didn't even have a chance to look at the clock before turning around to start the next 50. Thankfully Siri was walking alongside me so I wasn't lacking in cheerleaders. I survived that set and made all but one of the pace times. However the wheels pretty much fell off the already rickety wagon during the final main set. I was swimming with spaghetti arms (Kirsten knows what I'm talking about), but it wasn't cooked spaghetti, more like very al dente noodles. In other words, not my best finish to a workout but a big step ahead of where I used to be.

In the afternoon I met Siri at the TriFit athletic club where we will be doing our treadmill runs, trainer workouts, and some shorter recovery swims. I may also use this facility as "spa" as it was very schwanky with a beautiful locker room stocked full of nice shampoos, lotions, and "even Q-tips" as Siri proclaimed! I guess it's not overly surprising it's a step above the local YMCA as the gym is located right inside the Yahoo Business Centre. The owners are so supportive and welcoming to our group. The rumour is that the new high-speed treadmills were purchased just for us! I got to be the first to test one out yesterday within literally 5 minutes of wheeling it into the gym. Oh, it was nice and may even make the treaddy sessions slightly less painful! The best part is that TriFit is only a 10 minute bike ride from my home and I even pass Whole Foods en route, a convenient stop for fueling up!

Last night was a bit of an adventure. I won't go into it in too much detail, but Sarah (Groff) and I were invited to join Siri and her friends at a restaurant in West Hollywood. We stayed for only about an hour and had a blast....it really is a different world over there...

This morning we were up at 6:30 for a long ride. Sarah and I rode through the local mountains on a great 3.5hr loop. There sure is plenty of climbing around here and for the most part, the roads are amazing. I don't think we even saw one car on any of the long climbs. We did, however, see our 2nd celebrity, Jake Gyllenhaal. He was out riding along the Pacific Coast Highway and we even got a wave! Oh yeah!

I'm now back in bed in my pj's getting ready for a good solid nap. My legs are TIRED. Sarah is riding STRONG right now. She is in great shape and was really making me work out there! I am so excited for her this year as she prepares for her Olympic trials in April. She is more focused, determined, happy, and relaxed as I've ever seen her and I have a feeling this is going to be a breakthrough year for her. I would love more than anything for her to make it to Beijing and I really think we can push each other over these next few months. Given how strong she is right now, I know I've got one heck of a training partner.

The rest of the day will involve a short run, cruiser bike shopping and hopefully a cruiser-bike ride to a coffee shop for a tasty treat. The weather is beautiful this weekend with the high's in the 20's and super sunny (I know those back home in Canada might not care to hear about this...)

Tomorrow is more of the usual: a bike-run in the morning and a longer swim in the afternoon.

My California training camp has official begun. I arrived in LA last night, a day ahead of schedule. Because of the stormy winter weather through the mountain passes, my plan was to take a few days to complete the drive. I left Vancouver on Tuesday morning during a snowstorm so I was worried this could the beginning of a very long trip. But, I somehow lucked out and snuck through the southern Oregon and northern California mountains between storms, avoiding any mandatory chain and 4WD checkpoints. I drove for 10 hours the first day and spent the night in Grants Pass, Oregon. I was up especially early (5am) the next morning and actually started the day with a quick swim at a local YMCA. This was the day I had planned to take especially slow on the road and spend the next night in the Sacramento area. However, once I got on the road I didn't really feel like stopping again and the fast food en route wasn't quite as guilt-free and enjoyable as it was during my off-season roadtrip. So, I drove for another 10 hours (totalling just over 1200 miles on the same highway...) and arrived in the LA area in the evening. I hadn't arranged to stay with my homestay until the next day and I was so exhausted that I didn't have any energy to call up my teammates so I checked into a hotel, grabbed some take-out food and barely remember crawling into bed!

Day 1 of the training camp started with a swim. I hadn't seen Siri and the rest of my team since September, when I left Boulder, so it was wonderful to see everyone again. As predicted, we were right back to our joking-selves, as if we hadn't even been apart for even one day. I haven't been called "GUNZ" in awhile so it felt a little odd to hear the nickname again. "Gunnison" and "Gunzy-Boo-Boo" were also back in action today. Those darn paddles are making my arms too big!!

The training today was a swim and a ride. I had some logistics to plan so I couldn't join the girls for the group ride. After checking out of the hotel, I drove to meet my homestay, Jason and settle into my new "home". I will be staying in Santa Monica which turns out to be quite a central base for our training venues and actually is a great area for training. The close proximity of the beach and the shops is a huge bonus. I think I will be purchasing a funky pink cruiser bike to get around as everything is so close, but maybe just a bit too far to walk on tired legs.

I went for a run this afternoon and had my first celebrity sighting: Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elane from Seinfeld). I was running up Temescal Canyon as she was on her way down. The other "first" for the camp was my first poodle-sighting. As I was finishing my run on the beachside trail I saw the glorious white, perfectly groomed doggie out for an afternoon walk. This place is actually crawling with little dogs. You name a breed and I probably saw it today. Bows, sweaters, booties, and canine jewelry were in abundance. I have already planned my route for evening runs during prime dog-spotting time.

I will do my best to frequently update this blog with my Californian adventures and the "fun stuff" section should have some new additions soon!

I almost couldn't believe it when I wrote the date at the top of this post. It is almost Christmas! It's almost 2008! This past month seems to have flown by, mostly because I am now back on a pretty solid winter training program, just logging the miles, and there isn't too much to distinguish one day from the next.

The focus for this month has been on swimming, swimming, and more swimming, with a little biking and running on the side. I've been lucky to have the company of Kirsten and Jordan for this entire swim block and I think we make quite the dynamic, entertaining posse. Despite reaching new levels of soreness and fatigue, we always seem to giggle our way through the rough patches and laugh it off when we reach a new level of "rock bottom" tiredness. I don't think Coach Joel likes to hear that not-so-positive expression so we've learned to still communicate this by simply exchanging glances after feeble attempts to "warm-up" the arms on the tougher days. Overall though, the month of swimming has gone very well. The good days are getting better with faster times, the occasional PBs, and overall feeling stronger. Even the not-as-good days are a level above where they used to be. We're now into week three of the block and with just a few more big-volume days, the end is in sight. The soreness is gone, the insatiable appetite has subsided (there are fewer midnight snacks needed), and we're now just rolling along and "gettin' 'er done", in the words of Jordan.

I have also had some great times on the Arsenic, my new cross bike. This is the first time I've ever ridden one and I'm hooked! It seems that most of my biking days bring the ugly weather so it has been fun to mix it up, (and bundle it up) and ride the bike up the Goose trail. Check out my 'fun stuff' section later today for a photo of the bike.

Aside from the training, I have been busy cooking, baking and Christmas shopping. I absolutely love this time of year. Strolling through the shops, wrapping presents, going out for coffee and treats, craft fairing, and visiting with family and friends are just a few of my holiday highlights.

Last night we celebrated Christmas at Wendy's with a delicious, full turkey dinner, giant-sized stockings that were literally bursting at the seams, and overload of presents. I know I shouldn't pick favourites, but the best gift was Quatchi, one of the 2010 Olympic mascots. Again, check the fun stuff later for the current Animal of the Week!

On Christmas Eve, Adam and I will travel to Vancouver to spend Christmas with my family. We hope to make it up to one of the local mountains for some XC skiing on Christmas Day. Boxing Day will surely be spent at the shops with my mom and sister. This is the one day of the year that my own family members put my endurance to shame as I am always the one passed out on a bench in the mall well before noon as they march on to the next store. Much to my dad's dismay, the Groves girls have always been known for their tireless shopping ability!

Once January rolls along, I will be packing up and preparing for my winter training camp with Siri and the gang in Santa Monica, California. I don't have a date set for my drive south, but it will likely be around the 10th. I will stay there until the first race of the year, which is still TBD. I hope to finalize my race schedule soon and will post it on the website as soon as I do.

I hope everyone has a great holiday season! Be sure to enjoy a few extra nanaimo bars, gingerbread men, peanut butter balls, and glasses of soy-nog, just like me!

I have started a new section to this website called "Fun Stuff" where I will post random photos, recipes and the animal of the week. As most of you probably already know, cooking and animals are my two other passions so it was only a matter of time before they had their own section on my webpage. Having an 'Animal of the Week' may seem a little odd, but I meet too many fluffy and furry creatures along the way that it's only fair that I share these experiences. Plus, until I can get a dog of my own, these quick encounters with animals in passing are all I've got so I might as well make the most of them!

This coming weekend and the week ahead are full of some great off-season activities. Tomorrow Adam and I are heading over to Vancouver to watch the Phoenix-Seattle NBA exhibition game. On Saturday morning I am off to Seattle with my mom and sister for some good ol' retail therapy. We'll be spending the night so it should turn into a fun girl's weekend. On Sunday afternoon, Adam and I are driving up to Whistler for a week of hiking and relaxing. Siri and I decided to keep training light until mid-November. I am not going to take the usual two-weeks of complete rest this year as physically I don't feel it's needed. I had a good break after Beijing last month, but it is too soon to start back with structured training. So, I will stick to one-to-two 'sessions' a day, with the occasional day off. Swimming and biking will take priority over running because as I recently learned, I can lose strength quickly. Overall, my training will be super flexible so that it doesn't even feel like training. My new cyclo-cross bike is on the way, Argon 18's Arsenic so I cannot wait to get out there on some exploration rides!

It’s hard to believe it has only been a month since I raced in Beijing. I am used to time flying by when in hard training blocks, but when I take a break, it’s amazing how much I can fit in to a ‘real’ day, one that isn’t structured around training, naps and recovery!

My adventures started pretty much as soon as I arrived in Boulder, from Beijing. I arrived back at Barry and Jodee’s house to a huge banner posted on the outside of her house, congratulating me for making the Olympic Team. A big thanks to Jodee Siff, my extremely creative and crafty home stay for making this wonderful surprise! The following day I was up early with jetlag and spent most of the day packing up, running errands, and saying goodbye to Siri and the group. I decided to head back to Victoria right away as I was taking about a week completely off training and was anxious to get settled in one place for the rest of the season. I was up very early again the next morning and started the long 21-hour drive back to Vancouver. I was amazed with my energy levels during the drive and only had to stop on the first day for a 30-minute powernap on the side of the road, somewhere amongst the endless ranches in Idaho. The drive was pretty uneventful, full of fast food, candy, coffee and even a stop at an outlet mall in Seattle! I have to laugh when I think back to this because I had been on the road for nearly two days and I somehow still had shopping on my mind. Anyway, once I dragged myself from the shops, I pulled into the ferry terminal to meet Adam so we could spend the weekend in Vancouver. Adam was planning on racing the Grouse Grind Mountain Race that weekend and I was psyched to be there as support crew, and enjoy the race atmosphere from a spectator’s perspective, for once. We went on Saturday to the base of the mountain for registration. It was at this point that I got the crazy idea that it might be fun to race myself. Plus, I have to admit the prize money up for grabs tempted me. So, I signed up for the race and walked to the base of the trail to get a peek at what I was in for. I had never done the Grind before but heard it was a challenging hike. Well, to make a long and painful story short, I finished the 3km race in 33 minutes, just 30 seconds shy of the old record but only managed second, as the winner smashed that record by over a minute! It was hands-on-knees climbing for most of the race so I’m not sure what was worse, my heart pounding in my throat or my sore back! Adam ran well too, finishing in 4th overall, so not too bad considering it was only 2 weeks after his mountain marathon in Switzerland! All in all, it was a fun event and even though my first words to my parents at the finish line were, “I am never doing that again,” I might consider attempting the Grind again next year.

The next couple weeks were getting back to some light but unstructured training. I was invited to race the Escape to Bermuda Triathlon on October 21 and jumped at the opportunity to visit the island as well as finish the season off with a fun, non-drafting race. I wanted to maintain as much fitness as I could for this race but without a hefty training program. This fall is about resting and getting excited for next season so I have taken a relaxed approach to training, just enough to maintain some fitness but also allowing time and energy for other adventures. Apart from the light training, my days have been filled with cooking and baking, coffee with friends, catching up on the ‘business’ side of sport, furniture shopping (including a tense yet hilarious night at the auction with Adam), adventure runs, trying new restaurants, and catching up with “life”. It’s a refreshing change to be back in Victoria and enjoying some of my old favourite running routes. I always make sure to start every run with a jog through Beacon Hill Park to see the quirky peacocks. As most of you know, I have a slight fascination with animals and will always stop or at least slow down to see a curious creature along the way. I am hoping to post an “animal of the week” on this blog so stay tuned!

I just returned late last night from the race in Bermuda. What an incredible experience!! I can’t remember the last time I have had so much fun while racing!! A big thank you to Dave and Sue Morrison, my wonderful home stays, as well as IMG for putting on such a superb event. I still can’t believe it was a first-time event as it ran flawlessly despite the logistical nightmares of the two transition areas, closing most intersections and roads on the island and not to mention shipping absolutely every bit of scaffolding and equipment by boat months in advance!

I had a pretty solid race, all things considered. I went in with no expectations and simply wanted to finish the year with a low-pressure race. We were loaded onto a fast ferry that took us a mile offshore for the swim start. We lucked out with the weather that morning as the rain held off, but we were hit with some pretty stormy sea conditions. The water was choppy with some pretty big swells and jumping 15 feet off the ferry was actually a little scary! We all jumped in and swam a short ways over to the starting boat. During the short swim to the start I swam right through a school of large jellyfish! I was stung quite badly under one arm and down the front of my suit. For a second I thought the jellyfish was inside my suit but after some serious thrashing (and shedding a tear or two) I got it out and tried to focus on the task at hand. When the horn sounded I started swimming but felt like I was swimming with only one arm for the first few minutes. I couldn’t see the lead men anymore and felt like I was pretty far back. I kept plugging away though and eventually got into a rhythm. I could see some women up ahead so I put my head down and sprinted up to the group. By the end of the swim I made my way to the front of the group and was the first woman out of the water. Once on the bike, I struggled to find much power in my legs. I rode as strong as I could for the 40km, from one side of the country to the other (literally), and got off the bike in 4th place. I knew I was well down from the leader, Becky Lavalle, but as always, I ran hard to make up as much time possible. I managed to have the fastest run of the day and finish in 3rd place. I was pleased with this result but it shows how quickly I can lose strength on the bike. We all have our weaker discipline and when you take a step-back from training, it is likely this sport that will suffer the most. The race aside, my trip to Bermuda was fantastic. I hope to return again next year, bring Adam and spend some time really exploring the island. I will post some photos from the race in the next few days but for now, the cookbooks are peacocks are calling…..

Hi Everyone!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to race the Beijing World Cup, the official test event for the 2008 Olympics. Coming off a 14th place finish at World Champs two weeks ago, I was really looking forward to having another chance to race hard in a very competitive field. With nearly 80 women starting the race, it appeared to be just as competitive as World Champs, if not more so as many countries were using this as an Olympic qualifier.

I was very relaxed going into this event with a goal of finishing in the top-8 to secure my spot on the Olympic team. I don't normally have finish goals as they can depend upon so many uncontrollable factors, but it was something I would keep in the back of my mind as the race unfolded. As always, I wanted to stick to my normal game-plan of going as hard I can from the start to the finish and not being afraid to take risks. I knew my level of fitness was higher than ever going into this event and it will likely be my last major race for 2007 so I figured I had nothing to lose!

After a few days of torrential rain showers that led to a possible postponement, Saturday brought perfect sunny and dry race conditions. The swim was a one loop course with nearly 600m to the first turn. I always prepare for the worst when it comes to fighting during the swim but I had a feeling this race would spread out more than usual, with less contact because of extra distance to the turn. Well, thankfully I had mentally prepared for the worst because it was one of the roughest swims I've ever done. There were times that I wasn't even sure if I was moving forward and even one time when I moved backwards as someone got a good grasp on my ankle! I could tell I was in the thick of things and further back than I wanted to be. I exited the water near the tail end of a long string of athletes. I had a quick T2 and felt strong on the bike right from the start. I knew that there was a very large group forming just up the road and if I wanted any chance to get in there I would have to really dig deep. At the start of the climb I found myself riding side-by-side with Felicity Abrahm. We both chased hard right to the top of the hill and I actually caught onto the back on the crest. However at this point I had gone to my limits and couldn't keep the pace up to stick with them on the decent. Watching the pack ride away from me on the decent was disheartening but I knew at that point I would have to mentally re-group and make the best of my situation. "Staying in the moment" is something that Siri has instilled in me this year as I have found myself in new and challenging situations in many of the races. I can only be concerned with what I am doing at every moment of the race and focus on the things that I can control. So, I rode hard and even though my bike pack was disorganized and unmotivated to work, I put in a hard effort on the course to get the best simulation for next year. We were 2 minutes behind the lead pack of 30 women at the end of the bike. I knew my race for a top finish was over but my race is never over until I cross the line. So, I ran hard. I was mostly on my own for the first half, before I started to catch some front-pack women. I crossed the line in 19th place with the 6th fastest run split. Obviously not the result I had hoped for but I gained valuable experience on the Olympic course that will only help me in the training and preparations for next year.

And now for the exciting news: I have qualified for the Olympic Team!! My result in Hamburg two weeks ago earned me the spot but it wasn't solidified until after this race. I don't really think it has sunk in yet that I will be an Olympian. Qualifying is a very exciting step in my life but I feel as though it is just another step that will lead to greater things. My dream is to win a medal at the Games so I am thrilled to have taken one step closer to achieving it. But for now, I will celebrate this milestone before the hard works begins!

Thank you all so much for your support this year!

This past week has been full of solid sessions and many fun times. My training right now is very similar to this time last year. Siri and I have decided to return to some of the key workouts that helped prepare me for World's last year. It has been fun to return to this sessions but as is always the case, it seems tougher than I remember! When I start to feel especially exhausted I look back at my training log from last year to remind myself that feeling this way is a good thing right now. Adam is also great at reminding me of those days last summer when even walking to the coffee shop was a struggle!

This past Saturday was the Boulder Kids Triathlon at the reservoir. Sarah, Rinny and I helped out with the swim and had a blast cheering on the 400+ kids. Most of the group was resting for Sunday races so I was off to the pool myself after the kids race. Siri gave me a swim set that was possibly my greatest mental challenge yet. It was a short rest set and given how I was feeling that day, the rest was VERY short. Basically, it was 6km straight. I was feeling a little dizzy by the end but excited to get through it. Within a couple hours, Mary and I were on the bikes for a long ride with a long and hilly time-trial in the middle. As always, it was great to have Siri following and cheering from her car. On it's own this would already be a tough day, but the temperature was close to 100 degrees. I think I drank 3 bottles during the time trials (yes, had one tucked in the back of my jersey!) and we rode straight to the cafe afterwards for some ice-cold Izze sodas. After a long cool-down on the bike and a short but quick run, I was done for the day! Sunday morning I met Rinny for a building run on Eagle Trail. She was on fire that day and really pushed me on the final lap. I knew I was hurting when a lady yelled, "rattlesnake ahead" and I couldn't even react! Later that day we headed out to Longmont to cheer on our teammates at the ITU race. It was weird to actually watch an ITU event but surprisingly, I didn't exactly feel any desire to be out there racing. Again, it was a HOT hot day and just spectating was enough! It got to the point where I had to take some water from the aid stations and was soaking my legs in the post-race ice tubs!

Monday was my "recovery" day for the week with only a swim and a massage. Tuesday I was fortunate to see Mark Plaatjes (former Marathon World Champion) for a run assessment and some physio therapy. I have chronically tight glutes, especially on one side and lately they have been quite bothersome. It turns out my right leg is 5-6mm longer than my left! No one has ever told me this before but it explains SO many of my "issues". I will need to put a slight lift in my left shoe but I am going to wait until after these races to do so. I will also get a full-leg x-ray when I return to Canada next month to get the exact difference. In the meantime, Mark will be working on releasing the huge knots in my glutes (yes, my butt!). It was VERY painful yesterday and I have some pretty cool bruises to show for it today. But, I can't even begin to describe the difference I feel. I went straight from the appointment to a bike/run session at Siri's. It was one of my best sessions yet.

Today I was up at what seems to be my usual wake-up these days, at 5:30am. I met Rinny for a long ride, up to Jamestown, and then finishing at the reservoir for our open water swim. It was very refreshing to ride in the cooler weather and on quiet roads. I even stopped for brekkie #2 in my old neighbourhood, at Spruce Confections for an espresso and banana bread. Siri surprised us with a twist to our usual Wednesday swim session. We started with the longer build warm-up and then broke into two teams of 6. We did a 300m beach-to-beach course than went around some of the docks. The team that had 4 athletes across the line first was the winner. Of course it was best of three and Siri thought it would be fun to add on a crazy beach run-in and out and around some obstacles with extra swimming on the last round. I just swam hard and found myself on my own off the front. By the time I caught my breath on the beach I realized there were some seriously rough "tactics" going on out there! Sarah was swimming parallel to the beach, chasing someone and everyone else was pretty much trying to steer clear of her. It was hilarious made the hard work especially fun! After the swim and a leisurely lunch at Breadworks, I returned to my air-conditioned room for a long nap. This evening, after an insane lightening storm and torrential downpour, I went for a run around Wonderland Lake and finished off the night with dinner at the Farmer's Market. I was lucky to get there just before closing so scored a huge bag of peaches, corn, tomatoes, beans, squash, basil, and peppers for a really cheap. I guess I will be cooking dinner for the rest of the week!

Right now I am in-between TV series on DVD and not sure what to watch next. Because I can't seem to decide what to start, I'm back to reading novels....and the odd gossip magazine, of course!

The last few days have been back to business with training and getting into a routine again. Sunday was the first solid run effort since the last race and it was right back on the treadmill to get the legs used to some turnover again. Monday was a longer ride with some short, intense intervals. By Tuesday I found myself already needing some recovery so an easy run and swim was all that was on the program. Coming back up to altitude after a month away always take a little adjustment time and I have found myself more fatigued from workouts than normal. Whenever I being to feel especially tired, it usually just takes a day of lighter training and a "mental break" from the group structure to get ready to go again. Today I was feeling more like myself again and just in time, as we were on the track for one of our epic run sessions. This workout in particular hurts much more than racing. I'm not sure if it's the altitude, the short rest, or the length of the session. Regardless, when I finished the last interval I didn't even know if I could do a cool-down jog! There wasn't much time to feel sorry for myself though as we were meeting at the reservoir for our open water swim an hour later, so I had to get home for a quick brekkie beforehand. I was quite thankful that the swim was a lower-intensity, build effort and I was sure to wear my wetsuit so my legs could just drag along for the ride. This afternoon was very low-key, possibly lazy by most people's standards. After lunch at Wahoo Fish Tacos with the ladies, I spent 4 hours in bed, watching dvd's and just resting. By 5pm I was feeling more energetic and went for an easy run, followed by a very cold ice-bath. I treated myself to a trashy gossip magazine so I didn't stare at my watch every second of the 10-minute ice bath! The bath was actually refreshing tonight as it was 37 degrees during my evening run!! I normally love the heat but it was a little too extreme tonight and I was in need of water within the first few minutes.

This past weekend Adam went back to Victoria to start his full-time program at Royal Roads for the month. We will meet up again in Hamburg and then will be together for most of the Fall as I have decided to join him back in Victoria until Siri's group meets up again in the New Year. We are quite excited as we will be upgrading to a two-bedroom apartment in the same heritage building on Cook Street. Right now Adam has a bachelor-size that doesn't quite have the closet space to accommodate the two of us :) Everytime I'm home I feel bad because my bag of clothes ends up exploding across his living room floor! This new apartment will almost feel like a "home" for me as I never seem to have much of a permanent residence these days. Plus the highlight of Cook Street Village, much to Adam's dismay, is the insanely high poodle population. I am in heaven everytime I stroll down to the coffee shop.

I have added a new photo to my gallery of my sister, Amanda and I at her wedding last month. Every time I look at the wedding photos I laugh to myself because of the treadmill run I had to do that morning. I remember keeling over in the gym only hours beforehand wondering how in the world I was going to make it though that day. Somehow I survived, even wearing those high heels, and it was truly one of the most memorable days of my life.

More from Boulder soon.

This past weekend, the Salford World Cup, was the final race of my month-long journey. After a disappointing swim in Kitbuhel the previous weekend, Siri and I decided we'd do something out of the ordinary to help get my feel for the water back. The plan was to ramp up my swim volume in between the races, swimming between 4-6km everyday. I tend to respond well to lots of swimming, so that was the focus for the week. We were fortunate to stay in Kitzbuhel for most of the week as the warm, clean lake allowed me to do most of my mileage in the open water. I was definitely building up fatigue in the shoulders as the race neared, but I was also feeling stronger and more like myself again.

My number one goal for this race was to have a good swim and exit the water as close to the front as possible. I woke up race day excited to race, possibly more excited and less nervous than ever before. I will have to remember this feeling going into the next races as it seemed to work well. Right from the start I felt strong and was more aggressive than normal. I found a quick hip to catch on to which eventually led to the feet of the quicker swimmers. After the first lap I could see I was right in there in the front pack. I stayed on top of my stroke rate and stuck to those feet on the second lap and entered transition with the main front group. At this point I almost didn't care what happened in the race as I was so psyched to have a great swim! But of course, I kept going with a speedy transition onto the bike. Shortly after the first lap of the bike, the large chase pack from behind caught us so the front pack became most of the 60-women field! The rest of the bike was uneventful as we prepared ourselves for a running race. T2 was hectic but I managed to avoid any serious collisions (no broken toes this time!) and started the run just behind the leaders. I quickly bridged the gap to group of girls who I would find myself running with right to the end. The run felt great, definitely the strongest yet this year. It came down to a sprint finish with myself, Debbie Tanner, Carole Peon, and Nicola Spririg. Despite still feeling light and quick in the final minutes, I couldn't turn on the turnover to match the sprints of Debbie and Carole. I ended up in 9th place, my third top-10 result of the year. Overall, I was pleased with the day as I got some swim confidence back and put out another solid run effort.

I am now back in Boulder and enjoying a few easier days....well, easier for biking and running! Swimming is always on the agenda and will be my focus for these next few weeks leading in to World Champs. Just as I did last year, I will be writing daily or weekly updates of my training and day-to-day life leading into World Champs.

So far this week has been all about recovery and settling back into routine. The timing of my rest block is perfect as Adam is here for the week. I have been loving sitting inside in the air conditioning and Adam is loving running the trails in this insanely hot weather!

Also, I have finally added some new photos from this year to my gallery!

More from Boulder soon!

Hi everyone! I am sorry for doing an extremely poor job at updating my blog lately. For those of you who chat with me on a regular basis, you know that my life has been hectic lately, to say the least. I am writing from a cafe in beautiful Kitzbuhel, Austria. I just raced raced the World Cup here this past weekend and am spending the next few days here, prepping for the world cup in Salford, England on Sunday. I will do my best to sum up the past 9 weeks....

After what seemed to be many months of hard training with very few races, I officially started my race season with the World Cup in Vancouver. It was an incredible experience to have the opportunity to race in my hometown and share my world cup experiences with my family and friends. Although I didn't feel as race sharp as normal and struggled with some cramping in the colder weather, I managed to finish in 8th place. (I need 2 top-10 results to qualify for the World Championships Team, as well as to help with my Olympic qualification). The next weekend was our first Olympic qualifier, the Des Moines World Cup in Iowa. I pulled up from Vancouver with a very sore calf but wrote it off as some post-race tightness and continued with my normal post-race recovery routine. It turns out there was more damage than I had initially thought and I was unable to finish the race in Des Moines. I made the difficult decision on the bike to pull out as I knew there are more important races yet to come and I was worried about making the injury worse. So, after a week of therapy and more rest, I felt good enough to travel to Edmonton for the World Cup. I finished in 8th place at this race, and was really pleased with this result, all things considered. After Edmonton I had a few weeks until my next big race so Siri and I got right back to business with the training. I actually traveled to Utah to race a "fun" non-drafting race the weekend following Edmonton. The Battle at Midway triathlon was situated in the ski resort of Midway, Utah and offered a challenging but refreshing change to standard ITU races. I finished 2nd to Emma Snowsill, just catching Pip Taylor in the final mile of the run. All in all, a great training day and a chance to mix it up in a different style of racing. The following weekend I traveled home to Vancouver for my sister, Amanda's wedding. That was a hectic weekend, but absolutely amazing and a day I will never forget. I will post photos when they are available from the photographer. The day after the wedding, I hopped on a plane with the rest of the Canadian Pan American Tri team to Rio, Brazil. Again, there is too much to say in this quick note as this trip, my first major games experience, was one of the highlights of my triathlon career so far. The race took place at Copacabana Beach and the atmosphere and energy was nothing like I had ever experienced. After a solid effort on the bike, I managed to run myself to a bronze medal finish. Unfortunately I wasn't able to enjoy much time post-race in the village as I had to get on a plane the following day to Europe for these next two races! So the journey continued this week in Kitzbuhel with another World Cup. I was really excited for this race as the Europeans always seem to put on a top-rate event and I couldn't image a more spectacular venue. After a sub-par swim where I really struggled with my sharpness, I found myself in the 3rd bike pack. Eventually we because the very large chase pack but lost nearly 2 minutes to the front group by the run. I felt strong on the run and am finally feeling as though my run fitness is starting to show. I managed to run into 22nd place (nearly 70 women started), not exactly my best world cup showing, but I am pleased to put in a solid effort after a disappointing swim (and a very busy 8 weeks!). I have one more race, the Salford World Cup this weekend. I am working to get my swim speed back this week for one more race effort before my build-up to World Championships and Beijing World Cup.

More from Europe soon!
Lauren

Brent McMahon of Victoria and Lauren Groves of Vancouver finished second and third, respectively, today in the 2007 Pan American Games triathlon competition.

The two medals continue the Canadian streak of a medal at every Pan American Games triathlon since the events inclusion in 1995. The event also doubled as the International Triathlon Union’s Pan American Continental Championships.

While McMahon would have to fight to hang on to his podium position after a mid-race break away, Groves would run back from a two and half minute deficit to take the bronze.

More...from the Runner's Web

Oh yes, the glorious feeling of fatigue is back in my body and I am fully welcoming and embracing it. It sure beats those few weeks of limping around with a stiff knee! I truly believe everything happens for a reason and as traumatic as the crash was, it forced me to take a step back from training to take a rest. As a result, my motivation to work hard and improve is stronger than ever and I am even back on track to where I was in Australia, and setting PB’s in all three sports (well, altitude PB’s :) I actually look forward to the tougher training sessions and for a change, it’s Siri who has to enforce the rest days!

This past weekend I woke up and checked the results of Richards Bay World Cup. I have to give a huge CONGRATS to Kirsten for her amazing performance. What an inspiration!! Seeing up-and-coming Canadian women stepping it up in world-class events says a lot for our high performance/development program. We are absolutely on the right track to strong finishes in Beijing.

Siri added a fun and refreshing twist to today’s training. We swam at the Boulder Reservoir this morning for our first open water swim. I have to give a huge thanks to 5430 Sports for organizing this weekly “pro” swim session. Open water swimming is the only thing Boulder has been missing to make it the ideal training base. Plus, it’s a neat opportunity to mix it up and swim with other speedy swimmers.

This evening I joined in the weekly time trial and was pretty much amazed by the strength and speed of the cyclists around here! Some of the guys flew by me like the cars on the highway! The course was just over 10 miles, point-to-point from Lyons to North Boulder. It was quite challenging with long climbs and a pretty solid headwind the entire way. I was definitely feeling the last few days of training in my legs but put in the effort and even found myself in a sprint finish. Despite having the cheering squad (Siri), he got me at the line but I’d like to think it’s because he had “rested” on my wheel for the previous few minutes :) Anyway, it was a great day of training and I hope to make this a regular Wednesday event.

Tonight is early to bed….after a few episodes of Desperate Housewives, of course!

EndurancePlanet.com Interview with Lauren

I think summer has officially arrived! We’ve had such a beautiful week, lots of sunshine and warmth. Unfortunately, the day my dad was here, Monday, was our last cold and rainy day. The Vancouver rain follows him everywhere! We were able to escape the weather with a scenic car ride, a nice brekkie and lunch, and a little bit of shopping. After dropping dad at the airport, I was able to finish off my recovery day with a short swim and a massage. Dinner was at Whole Foods, of course, now that I’ve got transportation!

The last three days have been chocked-full of quality training. I am quite surprised, but also relieved to see that I still have strength, speed and fitness on the bike and run! My body has adjusted to the training load quite quickly and I can now put in solid efforts at this altitude. I am however, feeling quite tired today! Siri has given me a legs-off day tomorrow to help rest up for the weekend’s sessions. I think I am going to need that recovery for sure.

Last night Mirinda Carfrae and had the opportunity to speak to the Boulder Tri Club. It was a great experience. Public speaking is something that I have been working on and I slowly think I am getting the hang of it. It was such an enjoyable experience and the tri club was so welcoming, asking some great questions. It was also neat to finally meet some of the familiar faces I see around town and on the trails.

It’s almost dinner time now and then off for a much-needed massage. Tomorrow will be a glorious sleep-in before the swim!

Today was a solo training day as most of the group is away racing. I actually enjoyed my own company today and explored new running routes from the house. It had rained a fair bit last night so my favourite “ridge” trail was way too muddy to attempt any sort of run. The dirt here turns to thick, mucky clay when it gets wet so after a few steps you end up running with literally two pounds of muck stuck to your runners. Instead of running with heavy clay boots, I ran around some of the new developments in North Boulder, admiring the homes and picking which one I would like to own. Window-shopping for homes made the long run fly by! I then cooked up some French toast and got right back into bed for a quick nap. This afternoon I was the lone swimmer from our group and had the task of moving the pool covers by myself…in the pouring rain. I uncovered about half a lane, just enough space to squeeze in and get my workout done. I think my paddles only clipped the pool cover about six times but there was no time to make adjustments as it was short rest swimming today.

My dad arrived tonight after the 2-day drive. Yes, he definitely wins the award for father of the decade! Unfortunately it was still rainy and cold so we couldn’t walk around much but had a nice dinner at the brewpub downtown. Tomorrow we’ll get in some more sights (and shopping!) before his flight back to Vancouver.

It feels great to be able to write a post again from Boulder. There seems to be something about being here that excites me and I always look forward to sharing my experiences with others. Maybe it’s the prairie dog over-population, maybe it’s the never-ending sunny days, maybe it’s the endless laughs we share at workouts, or maybe the delicious treats at Spruce Confections….whatever it is, I am so happy to be back here!

I had a great couple of weeks in Victoria, hanging out with Adam, catching up with friends and family, and recuperating from the crash. I thought I would be good to go once the stitches were out, but my knee had other plans. Once the swelling went down I dealt with some patellar-femoral pain, unpleasant anti-biotic side effects and a fair bit of frustration. But, with the incredible support network in Vic everything began to heal quickly (many thanks to Rob Hasegawa, Kim Ward and Dr. Keeler!!).

This week has been about altitude-adjustment and getting my body moving again after the two weeks of recovery. We are back swimming at Elks Pool…those not from Boulder, and well, even those from Boulder, may not know about this pool. It’s a somewhat hidden, outdoor pool that has random motor homes in the parking lot and an unlimited supply of very random items strewn across the deck (i.e. Weed wackers, nose clips, used bars of soap, caulking guns, rusty dumbbells, etc). These props are always the source of our pranks and it is nice to see that they are all still available for our entertainment!
I’ve had some great rides this week and have been LOVING my new bike, Argon 18’s Gallium. Finally I could take it off the trainer now that my knee is healed and test it out on some of the climbs around here.

I am staying with the best home stay in Boulder, Barry and Jodee from 5430 Sports. They have been so welcoming and have really made me feel like part of the family. We even have mandatory quiet time in the afternoons for napping. Can it get any better than that?! Their house is in a perfect location in North Boulder, a short stroll from Breadworks and Ideal Market, as well as yummy coffee shops. I have been commuting by bike and by foot this week which has worked as well as I could use the extra miles but I think I will be quite happy to have my car here tomorrow. My dad may win the father of the year award…he is driving my car here! After 21 hours and a night in Burley, Idaho he will arrive in beautiful Boulder and yes, I will be treating him to a delicious dinner and a tour of the city before his flight home. Thanks, Dad!!

I am off to bed as tomorrow is an early morning and I am pooped from today! I did my long ride to Carter Lake this morning, had a good solid nap and then jogged to the pool for a recovery swim. Tomorrow is a long run, long swim and then hanging out with my dad.

After 77 days in Australia, 6 days in Japan, an enormous amount of luggage, 5 snake encounters, and 10 stitches, I am finally home! I can’t even begin to describe how good it feels to be in a real bed, wear clean (and different) clothes, and enjoy all the other creature comforts of home again.

Because it has been so long since I have written an update, here is a quick report on the last two races:

Mooloolaba World Cup
This was a great start to the season. I had no expectations going in, other than racing hard and smart and making it hurt. With nearly 80 women in the field, it was close to World Champs caliber, which couldn’t have been better for an early-season fitness test. I was coming off a great block of training with Siri and the gang so was excited to see where I was and what still needs work.

I had a breakthrough start to the swim and found myself in the top-5 at the first turn at 400m. (I guess all the “playing” in the waves at Surfer’s Paradise did help!) However, for the rest of the swim, I struggled to hold the pace of the leaders and fell to the back of the large front group. Exiting the water I could see I was at the tail end of a large pack and would really have to hustle my transition to stick with them. I didn’t quite have the urgency I needed and just missed the group at the start of the ride. I found myself in a group that became a very large chase pack by the end of the 40k. We had closed the gap to 35 seconds on the leaders, still enough time to catch some of them on the run, but unfortunately I wasn’t going to be able to start the run with the speedy front pack women at this race. Regardless, I got myself to the front of the group as we entered T2 and was first out on the run. Although not overly happy with my run result, I gave it everything I had and ran myself into 13th place. This was a solid start to the season and got me incredibly fired up for the next race.

Ishigaki World Cup
This was a trip I had been looking forward to for a long time. Firstly, it is in Japan and I always love visiting Japan. Plus, for an added bonus, Ishigaki is a tropical island in the South China Sea, which meant continued warm weather. It was also the last stop on my trip home so even though I had to bring all of my belongings along with me, I knew that as soon as the race was over I was on a plane back home.

Although it rained heavily just before the race, the air temp was still warm and humid. After a slight delay to move our transition area because of a flooded road, we were marched over to the pontoon for the start. I chose a spot on the right side of the pontoon, which, in hindsight, might not have been the quickest line to the first turn. The first loop of the swim was rough, VERY rough. These are the swims I dread, when all I can feel is bodies under me, on top of me and all I can focus on is moving forward and trying to sneak in a breath now and then. I could see the field had split into two distinct groups, the left and right sides. The left side at this point was already well ahead so all I could do was make the best of the situation. In the past, being beat up in the swim would always result in a sub-par performance so I was determined to not let this happen again. I did my best to keep my arms moving and stick with the quicker swimmers who were also caught in this mess. I exited the water with Debbie Tanner and Emma Snowsill, two girls that always find a way to make it to the front, so both were good feet to be on! This time I hustled through transition and our pack quickly formed on the bike. The pace was fast for the first few laps of the bike as we were closing the gap on the front group. The course was technical and with the slick roads and windy sections, we had to keep focused at all times. Unfortunately, just as we bridged up to the leaders, I took a sharp turn with too much speed and went down. Thankfully there were nice and soft crash pads on the turn that broke my fall so I literally just tipped over. Initially I thought I could continue as there was still half the field in the next pack and I didn’t feel hurt….but then I looked down at my knee. I won’t describe the cut with too much detail but it looked deep and I knew it wouldn’t be smart to finish just for the sake of finishing. I was rushed to the hospital (yes, with the sirens on) to get my knee x-rayed and stitched up. Nothing was fractured, just a deep cut and lots of swelling. I couldn’t believe how efficient they were at the hospital. I was back at the race site, all bandaged up, in time to see the race finish! It was a great day for the Canadians with many top-20 finishes, a very promising start to the year.

Next up for me is Vancouver World Cup on June 10. I’ll be in Victoria until the start of May when I will return to Boulder for 5 weeks leading into the next series of races. Despite what happened last week, Siri and I are still thrilled with the result. We have been working my swimming hard and focused on some weaknesses I had in Mooloolaba. Before the crash, everything was going great so I have gained confidence for the next time….not to mention fuel for the fire!

I know I am due for a website update when I start getting concerned emails from friends and family, some wondering if the giant kangaroos had gotten to me! Thankfully I am still alive and well and still having a great time on the Gold Coast. I apologize to all that haven't heard from me in the past couple months. As always, I start training camps with these great intentions to keep everyone up to date on my adventures through emails and photos, because after all, all I have to do while away is train, right? Well, lets just say that Siri has "slightly" increased our training load from last year's Australia camp and my life is training, napping and eating...literally. We occasionally make it to the beach for a quick swim in the late afternoons but most of our fun adventures involve trips to the local bakery and renting TV series on DVD!

Overall everything is going very well. I'm reaching new levels in my training and learning to push myself well beyond my comfort zone (this was something I have struggled with in the past). I enjoy looking back at my training log at the end of the week as I am constantly amazed at what we have accomplished. I can't believe that in just a couple of weeks I will be racing my first world cup of the year in Mooloolaba. I'm actually quite excited for this trip as I think I am going to love the race course (hot and hilly) and from what I have heard, the beaches there are the best in Australia. Siri is giving some of us a mini-break after the race so I will be spending a few days afterwards in the area. I'm quite sure this break will involve many hours spent lounging on the beach, a visit the Australia Zoo, eating a few meat pies and maybe enjoying a night or two out with the girls!

The next update will be after the race (if not sooner)! Thanks to everyone for your kind and supportive emails.

Lauren

So far so good in Australia! I'm settled in our apartment in Biggera Waters (about 3km from the Sports Super Centre in Runaway Bay). This past week it has just been Mirinda and myself but Sarah, the missing link to our training group, arrives tomorrow.

Everything has been going great. I didn’t exactly “ease” into training like I had hoped but survived the first few days and am starting to feel as though I am adapting to the heat and humidity. I set a new record for bike volume last week. Between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning I rode 220km, mostly at a solid pace with some good climbing. I think I actually might understand what it feels like to run off the bike in an Ironman! Ouch! I may now postpone my long course debut by a few more years….

The focus for last week and this week is building up our base with longer sessions, but of course with some intensity thrown in. I’ve joined the kids swim group at the Sports Centre for a couple 5am swim workouts. My first session with them was a day before their swim meet so we did just an “easy 6km” which had some 100’s on 1:10. I had to make a few adjustments to that set! We’ve been doing our runs along the beachfront path right out front the condo, as well as the trails at the Coombabah Lakelands. This might be my favourite place in the world to run. The trails are endless, through the forest/jungle and full of kangaroos! I’m seriously not exaggerating when I say I saw about 30 today. Thankfully only a few were massive males but they hopped off the trail before I came by. (I had some scary encounters with the big ones last year!) I’m always hoping to see a koala up in the trees but I try to run with my eyes on the trail as I know this is snake season here! Plus, I always seem to run into some pretty sticky spider webs and I would hate to meet the creature that created them.

So far the weather has been perfect. It isn’t as hot as last year but that is a good thing when it comes to training. We’ve had the occasional late-night or early-morning downpour but for the most part, it’s sunny with temps in the 30’s everyday. Mirinda and I even had an afternoon at the beach last week. Well, it’s more like 30 minutes at the beach because I’m not really one to lie in the sun and I get scared of sharks when in the water. But, it was an excuse to get out of the house and buy some treats!

I think the highlight of my trip so far is the fresh fruit! I forgot how many perfectly ripe mangos, peaches, nectarines, and avocados you could get at this time of year. Yesterday during my longer aerobic swim I even got out halfway to enjoy a peach!

Tonight we’re going to have a barbeque out by the pool and then bake a banana cake. Mirinda brought her AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) cookbook that if full of yummy easy recipes for athletes. I had always hoped to create a cookbook like this…I guess I will have to create mine for Canadian athletes and include some heartier comfort foods for our cooler weather!

More from Australia soon,
Lauren

Hello from Tokyo! I'm finally en route to Australia after a great training camp in Flagstaff. Although the weather was cold, I got in some great base training, even mixing in a few speed sessions to prep my legs for what's to come these next few months. I'm starting to feel ready to get going on some quality work in the sun. I will to be based close to the Super Sports Center in Runaway Bay, on the Gold Coast. The sports center is an incredible facility, equipped with an outdoor 50m pool, track, cycling crit, great gym and sports medicine clinic. This year I will be staying off-campus, in a vacation rental with training partners, Mirinda Carfrae and Sarah Groff. We haven't seen each other since the fall in Boulder so I am excited to meet up with them again. We're known to share the odd laugh together now and then :)

I'm writing this as I wait for my plane to Brisbane, getting a little sleepy, but happily stuffed from my delicious Japanese dinner. I must have forgotten how long this trip is because I only packed one book that I finished on the first leg of the trip. Luckily I found a newsstand that sold a few english novels but none I've ever heard of. I normally enjoy the odd romance novel but "Seduction" may be a little steamy even for me! Oh well, I can be sure it will be entertaining nonetheless.

I hope to have internet access while down under so I can get back to regular blog updates, with photos too!

Sayonara,
Lauren

This may have been the longest blogging break in the history of blogs, but honestly, there hasn't been much to report this past month.

Most of December was spent recovering from wisdom tooth surgery. To make a long story short, I had a very difficult surgery and encountered pretty much every possible complication. I may have even set a record for the most consecutive trips to the surgeon for post-op treatment. But, as the dentist said, "there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not a MAC truck." Phew! He was right! Shortly after Christmas I started to feel like myself again.

Most of December was spent in Victoria, meeting up with with Joel Filliol's group at the National Triathlon Center for some relaxed sessions and starting to plan for the year ahead. I had a great Christmas with my family in Vancouver and even got to sneak in a xcounty ski trip to Mt. Washington. However, when I say "ski", I slightly exaggerate as I am so new to skate skiing that I spent most of the trip recovering from the initial soreness. I'm also not known to be much of a winter sports girl so I thoroughly enjoyed lounging by the fire in the lodge as Adam and his brother, Matt had fun in the white stuff.

I am now training with the Victoria National Center group in Flagstaff, Arizona. We're at quite a high altitude here (7000ft) so this past week has been focused on low-intensity, higher-volume workouts to ease the adaptation process. I couldn't be more excited to get this year started! After the rough times in December I am thrilled to be back on a structured, consistent training program.

I'll be here with this group until Jan. 21 when I travel back to Vancouver for a day, and then hop on a plane to the Gold Coast of Australia for nearly 3 months with Team Sirius! Although it's sunny everyday here in Arizona, I am looking forward to some real heat.... and the beach :)

I've got some GREAT sponsors on board this year: Shimano (amazing wheels and components), Argon 18 (I'll be riding the Gallium...sweet), Orca (fast and stylin' race suits, wetsuits and training gear), CompuTrainer (great cycling tool, essential for the stormy west coast weather) and I've also got the opportunity to try out some funky gear from Twin Six's alternative cycling apparel (watch out for the argyle jersey!).

We have just returned from a morning snowshoe at the Flagstaff Nordic Center and now it is time to give my legs a rest with a massage. More from Flag later!

It has been WAY too long since my last blog! Now that I am finally starting to feel settled after a few hectic weeks I can fill you in on the end of my season.

My last two world cups in Cancun and New Plymouth didn't exactly go as I had hoped. After breaking my toe in Hamburg, I took a mini-break in Victoria and then returned to Boulder to sharpen up my fitness before the final races. Although I knew I wasn't in top shape heading to these races after missing 5 weeks of running, I still had hoped to have a solid finish to the season.

In Cancun, Kirsten Sweetland and I teamed up for the World Team Championships despite being unable to find a 3rd Canadian women to join us. It was unfortunate because between the two of us we had built up over a 30 second lead on the other countries but without the final team member we couldn't complete the race. Nevertheless, it was a great prep for the weekend and got me back into race mode.

On race day we were faced with torrential rain showers and strong winds but thankfully, the air was still pleasantly warm. I had a great start to the swim and found myself comfortably in the lead pack at 500m but had some difficulty rounding the buoy in the rough waters and lost touch of the pack. I came out at the front of the chase pack and quickly got into a strong pace on the bike, determined to catch the front group. Along with a few others in the pack, I rode as hard as I could but unfortunately it wasn't enough to close the gap and we started the run just over a minute down from the front group. I struggled to find a rhythm for the first lap but built into the run and was able to catch a few from the front pack, finishing in 19th. It wasn't exactly my best race of the year but I was so excited to be back out there, healthy, and giving it my all again.

I traveled to New Zealand the next day and spent most of the week adjusting to the time zone and recovering from Cancun. I can't remember the last time my legs were that sore after a race! I felt like I did when I first started the sport! Thankfully they recovered before the race and I was feeling ready for another good effort. The weather in New Plymouth was unseasonably cold, with temperatures around 8-13 degrees and the water temperature not much warmer. Race morning had the added bonus of periods of torrential downpour and gusty winds. Despite shivering and feeling numb all over, my attitude was positive and I knew I would warm up as soon as I got started. However, this wasn't the case and I struggled to turn my arms over during the swim and felt even stiffer on the bike. I have never felt so powerless. My back began to tighten up and by the last loop of the bike I decided to withdraw from the race. It was incredibly hard for me to make this decision as pulling out of a race goes against everything I believe, not to mention Siri's coaching philosophy, but I don't feel I could have gone further on that day. As I sat on the road after pulling out, I felt absolute exhaustion, physical and emotional. It was been a long season, overall a great season, but I may have stretched it on a little too long. This year was all about taking risks and trying new approaches which for the most part went incredibly well. I learned so much this year, what works and doesn't work, and I think it will only make me strong in the coming years.

On a happier note, I have had a great week of celebrating with my friends and training partners. After literally stepping off the plane from New Zealand, I met up with Sarah, Mary, Rinny and Siri for a night out in Denver. We had a blast, SO much fun! The rest of the week was spent packing up my apartment in Boulder and then driving my car back to Vancouver. It was my first road trip and even though I was driving alone, I had a great time singing along to the radio and seeing some parts of the country I might never visit (Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon). I am now on my end-of season break which involves two weeks of nothing (and I mean NOTHING), followed by two weeks of keeping fit and having fun. I'll be in the Vancouver-Victoria area until early-January when I will travel to Flagstaff, AZ with the National Team for a winter camp. From there, I will join Team Sirius in Australia in February for a couple of months before the season begins.

But until then, I will be cooking, crafting, shopping, getting my wisdom teeth out...and enjoying being an ordinary person again!

I'd like to thank everyone for their support this year, especially my parents, Siri, Adam, and all my sponsors. I couldn't have done it without you!!

Just a quick note from snowy Boulder! We have had quite the snowfall today and it is still coming down pretty heavy. It's funny to think that just yesterday I was running in shorts but today, the parka is out! But I'm learning that's the randomness of Boulder weather!

I still always get excited like a little kid when I see snow, especially when everything is blanketed and beautiful. Victoria doesn't get much beyond the odd cold and sleeting winter day so it is neat to have some "real" snow once and awhile. I'll admit this isn't the ideal weather for Cancun prep but we are making the best of it. Today we did our bike workout on the trainers in Siri's basement with the heaters on to simulate race conditions. It was HOT and very sweaty in that room! Off the bike I did a build run on the treadmill and was pretty excited to finish at my "race pace" given the lack of running lately. My toe is feeling much better everyday and I should be back to my normal running program soon. I think I will soon miss the casual elliptical sessions now that Siri has the "ok" to crack the whip!

I have two more weeks of this mini "training camp" before I rest for the races. My swim volume (and intensity) is still quite high and I am very thankful my upper body is finally adjusting to the volume. I'm even cracking out some quick times in the pool.....well, quick for one-legged flip turn, altitude swimming ;)

I am pet sitting this week for Barry and Jodee Siff, of 5430 Sports. As I am sure most of you know how much I love pets, well, this place is heaven for me. There's Jackpot the border collie, Summer the budgie, the three squirrels who live on the patio, and my personal favourite, Dav the dove. It's going to be a great week!

I am now back in Boulder after a month-long visit with friends and family in BC.

I firstly want to thank Adam's mom, Wendy for her incredible hospitality while I was in Victoria. "Hotel Wendy" went above and beyond and I couldn't be more grateful.

This past weekend was the Victoria International Marathon, Adam's marathon debut. I knew Adam was totally ready to bust out a strong run but he was still nervous and for a change, it was my turn to help him relax and keep the expectations in check. His main concern was the weather and unfortunately the race conditions weren't ideal with a steady downpour and cooler temperatures. In spite of this, he had a incredible race, finishing in 3rd with a time of 2:29! This time ranks him in the top-8 for Canadians for 2006 -- not bad for his debut! I think the highlight of the day though was when I biked by him at about the 27km mark and he starts to sing Fergie's song "My Humps"! (that was the pump-up music I played for him before the race). I laughed so hard I nearly crashed my bike!

I arrived in Boulder on Monday afternoon and am now beginning my three-week build into the races. I had follow-up x-rays on Tuesday to monitor the healing of my toe and got some good news: it's healing ahead of schedule! The x-ray is already showing new bone growth which is pretty speedy healing considering it's only been 4 weeks. I am still being quite cautious with my foot and doing most of my "run" training on the elliptical. Siri has an elliptical in her basement which is perfect for my sessions. It's set up in front of a mirror, a dvd player, a window with an amazing view, and most importantly, there is always a fresh stack of celebrity gossip magazines!

I now have a plastic insert in the forefoot of my running shoes to minimize the flexion when I walk/run/elliptical and this allows me to start to test out some running. I actually wouldn't call it running just yet, more like jogging with high turnover! I was on the treadmill yesterday for 10 minutes and today I will advance to the trail. Very exciting!

Overall, I am doing mostly aerobic workouts this week while I re-adjust to the altitude. The weather is colder than I am used to with the occasional threat of a snow flurry but it still warms up to a nice temperature during the day. We're still swimming early in the morning in an outdoor pool so I am sure to always keep my wetsuit in the car just in case the pool temp drops.

I am now off to the trails behind Siri's house for my little jog followed by some quality gossip-reading on the elliptical.

I am finally back into the swing of things. After my last posting, Siri and I decided I should extend my break for another week to give my foot the best chance to heal. The first few days were great but by Sunday night I was so fired up to train I had to call Siri and beg to start again on Monday. Of course she laughed at me, as always, but was just as excited as I was to get back at it. Adam and I were at the cabin on Mayne but of course the CompuTrainer came along and I got in a great 2 hour ride. Adam even had the TV remote velcroed to my stem so I could stay entertained while he studied for exams. On Tuesday, I went on a mission to the medical supply shops to find tape that is sticky enough to stay on my foot during my longer swims. I found some "®sports tape"¯ that is so sticky the lady at the store strongly urged me not to put it directly on my skin. Perfect! Exactly what I was looking for! This sticky stuff even stays on for my longer swim sessions and water runs. It's been awhile since I have spent this much time at the pool and I am especially loving the permanent chlorine smell.

My toe is starting to feel much better. Riding outside still isn't the best as bumps on rougher roads aggravate it so for now I will be riding the CompuTrainer inside. I set up a great workout room in Wendy's garage with my laptop in front of the bike so I can watch episodes of Lost. Adam works on the computer in the next room so I just call if I need snacks or some company :)

With Adam at school or studying and Wendy at work, I have taken on the role of house cook¡¦and I love it! I treated myself to a new cookbook and look forward to making everyone dinner at night. I have found some great slow cooker recipes but have quickly discovered that the slow cooker isn't much fun to cook with when I am home all day. Letting is sit there uninterrupted for 8 hours is boring!

It's now time to watch a few more episodes of Lost before I head back to the pool for some speed work.

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At first I treated this broken toe as a welcome break from all the travel and hard training I've done this year, but that "R & R" mentality quickly dissipated after a few days of immobility. I wish more than anything that I could just go for a 20 minute run, that's all, just 20 minutes. Even 10 minutes would be great. Yeah, I know, things could be worse, much worse. It's funny how easy it can be to lose perspective, especially when we spend the better part of our lives in our "triathlon bubble".

I spent last week on the go, flying from Boulder to Vancouver, then off to Mayne Island and n