GW

Our 'Mitten'

2011-11-09T16:38:00.000-08:00

Katie and I got Attila, just about 2 years ago. He was a feisty little guy and loved to play, at any hour. You knew we had a cat and loved him very much because we would always find his toy mice in the oddest places. We played hide and seek and the "glove game". He would snuggle us in the morning and wait for us to come home at the top of the stairs.

This past weekend he wasn't himself, just not playful and ornery. On Sunday night he climbed onto his cat carrier (something he hates), and I wondered if this was his way of telling us that something was wrong. Monday morning I woke up to him getting sick. It wasn't pretty, so we took him to the vet and got some tests done as you would with any family member. Attila had a lymphoma in his abdomen, nothing we could do. Not good. After we took him home, he wouldn't eat or drink. He lost several kilos over the past 2 days and wasn't himself.

We took him to the vet today.

It's tough coming home with no 'Mitten' waiting at the top of the stairs.

Attila aka "Mitten"

Once upon a time I was on a boat......

2011-09-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

It seems that Fall is upon us, cool mornings and beautiful Autumn afternoons. It's crazy how fast time seems to fly by. The Summer came and went, and now we are all back at it. I felt like my triathlon season was a success, but was left still wanting more from myself. A lot of things to work on over the winter to gain those few+ percent. So stoked!

Here is a little tidbit so we don't forget summer.

Peach Classic!!

2011-07-18T08:39:00.001-07:00

Wow it has been a while since I posted on the blog. I always find it interesting when people don't blog. Blogging requires the right frame of mind. I usually think that when people don't blog it's because their either done with it or life is just kickin' some ass right now. In my case, it's been a busy year, with lots of things happening and asking lots of questions, "like what does it all mean?"

So last weekend I competed in the Osooyoos Half, where I had a smooth swim, and good bike (I led for a bit until the "rocket" known as Nathan Champness blew by me!) and a strong 5km (note: a half ironman consists of a 21.1 km run) I started slowing down at that point and then I started cramping, not a diaphragm cramp but an over all body cramp. I did some research after the race and have identified myself as a heavier sweater, so I'm trying out some salt replacements. The cool thing about training and racing is learning new stuff about yourself and adjusting to be better next time.

So, after my "death march", (and you know its a death march when your family is looking at you saying "keep going buddy", not "looking strong" or giving you the ol' Tiger Woods fist pump) I took an easy week of training and got ready for the race of all races - the Peach Classic Triathlon (in Penticton). I had a relaxed day on Saturday you know, just Alicia Slades wedding!! and dancing and looking at other people drink beer. Fortunately, it wasn't hot out so the temptation was dampened. If it had been hot, I just don't know - dancing and beer = fun. Speaking of these two great things on race morning with Jeff Symonds he was reminded of an old Rasputin dance injury. Nice~!On to the race!

The swim was very choppy, I did my best to stick to people's feet and lift my shoulders, I came out in 22:16, slow for me and a little ways back from some other guys - Ryan Smiley!(who is in the photo at the top) I had a good T1,and went out onto the bike hard because I knew some super bikers/runners were going to be coming up behind me - Anthony Toth, Scott McMillam, Rob Johnson and Rob Eakin. I was riding scared and whenever I looked down at my speedo I just thought I could go 1km/hr faster. When I got caught by Anthony Toth I just tried to keep the elastic from breaking. I was happy with my 1:05:02 bike! I had a quick transition, and went out on to the run in 5th. (We definatly need a 4 corners transition next year to make it more fair.)

Out on to the run I just tried to go as fast as I could. I held tough and ran a 40:10,not fast but I felt really strong and compared to last weekend it was way better. Overall I came in at 2:09:02 and 9th place, and 9 seconds out of 7th. The nice thing about having a good race is it makes you want to go train even more and smarter, to get even faster! Thanks to the race organizers and congrats to everyone who raced and to Jeff for the dominating performance!

Thanks for reading (mom)

GW

Ps: thanks to Kevin and his www.enduranceplanner.com just awesome!

Beer Mile 2010 Penticton

2010-11-21T17:30:00.000-08:00

What a Performance!! Jeff and Wade threw it down! Here is a little video to help explain. I hope to participate next year and break my personal record of 14:50*.

* I can't hold my liquor at all.

GW

the first flakes!

2010-11-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

There was a buzz in the air yesterday at school. It was snowing! You know when kids can't do anything else but look out the window, that was yesterday. Fortunately, I had a strong coffee yesterday morning that made me bounce off the walls too so the energy was there! (I think I was more excited than the kids!!) When I finished up at work I dropped by the Bike Barn to say hi to the crew and then I went home and waxed my skis, in preparation for a ski this weekend!
It was been a good fall, I did a few xc races and was happy with my running. I did Provincials in Aldergrove and came 17th out of 22. It was a frickin' hard course, 5 loops and 3 significant hills in each. I ran 40:48, a slow time but the winner only went 33 mins and he can run around or under 30 mins. Plus, I felt great!! That night I went out in Vancouver with Sam and his GF Katherine as "Allan" from the Hangover. Awesome times!!
Turns out, the hills or the dancing did in my right calf. I ran a few times after BC's but pulled up lame walking up some stairs at school. I'm currently on the mend and taking it easy. I would gather that this is the best time of the year to be injured, so it's R&R right now.

I can't wait to ski!!

GW

ps: yes that is a " man-beard"

** Correction to a previous post. Thanks to DBD (was TBD), ADB, and KBD. :)

Socialization

2010-10-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

We saw "The Social Network" the other night and I've been thinking about it all week. I've spoken to a couple of my classes. About what a friend is, how we communicate or rather how "they" communicate and what it means to be a friend to someone.

The more we (my classes) talked and the more Katie and I talked about it, the more questions we started to ask. For example, what will happen to society in 5 or 10 years or even 50 years when the teenage generation doesn't know how to talk to other people?

They can text to each other across the room or while sitting/standing beside each other, but they can't talk to each other in person. I don't think it's facebook's fault or textings fault - people passed notes to each other for a long time. It's not even the kids fault,(I sound like my dad saying that) really its no ones fault. But, eventually we need to connect with people in person. Think about the most recent best night or day you've had. I bet it was with a person, not sitting in front of a computer.

I think I better go watch the first karate kid (thanks Chris), then Jerry Mcguire.

GW

A little inspiration!

2010-09-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

We'll it's been a whirl wind of a couple of weeks! I have a great posting at Pen-hi teaching Math and Science. I'm also helping coach the cross country team! We have 31 students running cross country and a few of them are absolutely flying! We're looking for big things! I stumbled upon this video, If anyone finds this cheese in Penticton, let me know.

GW

Summerland Triathlon

2010-09-06T19:35:00.001-07:00

So this past weekend I decided to race in my hometown of Summerland. It was an amazing day all around.

The day started with the 5-7 year olds. They were so inspiring, they had to do a 50m swim, 1.5km bike and a 500m run. I was amazed at the sheer determination and how much fun most of them were having. Albeit there were some tears but after some sympathy from a mom the kid got going again.

I remember my first triathlon, I think I was 7. I came dead last but it didn't matter, I had picked the most dandelions out of everyone and I won a Waterman pen set, which is still in my parents basement today. What does a 7 year old do with a pen set?

On to the race. I had a good/short dip in Okanagan lake and was out on to the bike.

I led for about 7km and was caught by Scott McMillan and Fraser Cashion eventual winner). We were separated by about 20 seconds. Coming into T2, Scooter led in and I followed, Fraser made an error on the last corner and got caught up with another racer.

On to the run, I was the first to get caught by the fast moving Fraser Cashion (him and his brothers can frickin' run like the wind -Braedon ran 36:22 at the peach Classic this year) He went past me and eventually beat me by 37 seconds, but the real race was for 2nd. Scott and I ran side by side until the short downhill into the last 300m of the race. I was confident that I could take him in the sprint as we had sprinted in a cross country race about a year ago and I had some good wheels then. So I led it out and put in a surge and then a final kick to the line. It was super fun racing and hats off to both Fraser and Scott. Great times!!

Check the photo out below. Oh yeah and that is thee Jeff Symonds in the background. What a grin... everyone loves a sprint!!

Take care

GW

Nationals - The exam

2010-08-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the National Triathlon Champs in Kelowna.

I'm going to preface this post with an analogy. Triathlon or sport in general for that matter is like school. You spend a lot of time and energy preparing for an exam, making sure there are no holes in your knowledge so that when it comes time to write a test you can handle anything the prof throws at you.

I felt like I had studied appropriately and was prepared, apparently I was studying the wrong material! This exam kicked my ass. Big shout out to the guys in the 25-29 age group, they were frickin' solid. Rob, Ryan, Ramzy and Clarke great races guys! I look forward to next year already!!

I had a good swim warm up, and got the position I wanted on the beach, far right with a straight line to the first bouy. The gun went off and I was smooth, I found Ryan Smiley's feet right away and felt comfortable. The swim went as planned, 19:40.

Out on to dry land, My wetsuit wouldn't come off, I think the zipper got caught up in my racing suit, then as I got it off by my bike my left hamstring cramped up nice and tight. I didn't want to let this phase me so I spent the first 10 mins on the bike stretching it out taking in some fluids and a gel. Meanwhile I lost touch with some fast cyclists. I salvaged the bike ride and got my legs back on the 3rd loop and got my mind ready to run fast. Just a point, Rob Eakin went past me like I was going backwards, it was awesome to see!

My running has been very promising lately. Through T2 I picked up my feet and tried to run under 40mins (which was my goal) The first 3km were tough but I found my stride for the final 7km. Just kept trying to build. I finished 13th in my age group, not good but I don't want to be a whiny little bitch. It wasn't my day. Thankfully though I had a bunch of fun still.
Next year I want to be stronger and it will happen, just gotta keep my stick on the ice.

I would really like to thank all the people that have helped me out this year. Andrew, Chris and Ginny from BPR, Will from the Bike Barn, Mark Kildaw, Marc Nicmchuk, and the guys that I look up to and am fortunate to train with DBD, ABD and KBD. I'm very fortunate to have all these people that help me out so much! Also to my girlfriend Katie for being a big supporter of my training.

Is it time to ski?

GW

Bacon and eggs

2010-08-10T13:18:00.001-07:00

So this morning I got home from a nice run with Jill and decided bacon was in order. I figured Jordan, Jill's husband seems to do pretty well eating bacon so why couldn't I? So I popped over to T-bones and picked some up. It was glorious! I paired the bacon with fresh/ripe avocado and tomatoes and a couple of eggs.

Bacon and Eggs it's whats for breakfast!!

GW

A Review - The Local Lounge in Summerland

2010-07-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

We went to the Local Restaurant in Summerland a couple of nights ago, it's about a 15 minute drive from Penticton and definitely worth it. This is a fairly new restaurant in South Okanagan, that prides themselves in serving local foods, meats, produce and wines.

Our roommate Dharma took us out and once again we were treated to a great meal over looking Okanagan lake. A couple of my best students were working that night, it's always fun to see kids outside of school. We were initially seated in a booth and then when a table outside became available we moved out on to the patio.

We started with some adult beverages from the Cannery and then went to order. I enjoyed the Cherry spare ribs with Jalapeno corn bread and asparagus.

Katie got the halibut and chips

and Dharma ordered the amazing Local burger and fries.

We didn't have to wait too long and the food was amazing. I looked at the ribs and the meat fell off the bones - absolutely amazing, Katie's Halibut could be described as coated in crispiness, not batter and fish but just a little bit of batter and a whole lot of fish. Finally Dharma's burger was juicy and full of flavours.
For dessert we ordered the Chocolate cake, it was baked fresh after we ordered it and had this really sweet raspberry syrup drizzled on it.

Between three of us it didn't last long.

All in all it was a great night, the service was really good, the food and venue awesome and the company great!

Enjoy!

GW

Peach Classic tomorrow!

2010-07-17T12:14:00.001-07:00

Well, it's the Peach tomorrow! The town is buzzing and very busy. I'm super excited, there are lots of fast guys coming up from the coast so it should be a really competitive race.

Race report tomorrow!

GW

Ps: Still yet to hear how boy's night went last night? There was a lot of trash talk at Physio this week about the taber toss and golf ball catch. Can't wait to see the photos!

It's getting hot out there!

2010-07-14T15:37:00.000-07:00

I think the movie says enough. GW

Famous?

2010-06-21T09:20:00.001-07:00

I was looking on the YVR website today to see if Katie's flight had left yet and there was a cyclist on it and oh yeah, it's me!!?! Not too many Bike Barn Jersey's in Vancouver let alone on sweet blue Cannonadale's with a yellow Giro Pnuemo!!

Initally there is a picture of a terminal but if you click on the little arrow, there's me!!! HA!

That's gotta get me some free flights?!

GW

North Shore World Championships of the World!

2010-05-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

I had a great race today! Here's a little video!! Congrats to Rob on the win!

Results

GW

Please be careful.

2010-05-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

I got home from a hike with my rec leadership class this afternoon, to see a terrible accident in Quebec. Just speechless.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/05/14/quebec-cycling-accident.html

GW

Holy Gloves.

2010-05-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

I've had these gloves for about 9 years. I got them before I went to Victoria to train for a summer, with the big boys. They have lived in Australia and riden around Europe. I had to lay them to rest today.

At least they were good for picking certain things.

GW

Race season is upon us! I'm stoked!!

Annual Waterman East Egg Hunt

2010-04-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

Every Easter the Waterman clan comes together to collect those pesky little eggs, that get laid by the Easter Bunny. Every year it turns into a mad rush for eggs and then several well planned ambushes to get others eggs. My tactic is to wait for my little sister Erin to build up her egg supply and then attack! This isn't a normal attack, I get her to pull her basket away and then I kick it. Eggs go everywhere, I push her over and scramble for eggs. This would work well except for the fact that Sarah (my older sister the vulture) and her Husband swoop in takes them all while we are fighting. I always end up laughing too hard to win.

This year Katie and I lost with 24 eggs, Erin had 31 (minus the four I stole after the fact) and Sarah won with 34.

After the hunt my mom and dad prepared an amazing turkey dinner. I feel very fortunate to be able to spend time with my family.

GW

Easter Ride!

2010-04-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

Four days off and 5 rides! Today Chris and I headed out to the Westbench in Penticton. I think it's called the Sepratist. Legend has it that a French Canadian made it. hmm.

"It'll be just around the corner.........."

2010-04-04T07:28:00.001-07:00

Were the words from my esteemed riding partners. They were talking about the team car as we waited patiently. Dave had a flat, no let's be more specific than that - a pinch flat. Maybe ABD forgot to fully inflate his tires or it could have been what DBD said matter of factly. "People only get pinch flats because they are fat" At this point in the ride Tom let us in on a little secret - he had 4 cups of coffee this morning before the ride. pee #1.

We continuded on to Giant's Head the first climb of the day to be met by happy people hiking up and down and a 150lb grey Great Dane that decided to run with us as we rode up. This thing was HUGE! Very impressive and beautiful and it had a teethy grin the whole time. At the top pee #2 .

We rode back into Penticton to The Bench for a coffee and granola muffin. - that brings the count to 5 for DBD. We also proceeded to watch a family have a nice morning and see their son slouch over an iPod touch playing a game the whole time. It was time to ride. pee #3?.

Onwards and upwards we headed up to Spiller, above the Eastbench in Penticton. At the base of the climb DBD stopped to remove a couple of layers, oh and I think pee #4.

We passed the dump and the grade increased. I was just controlling my breathing and focusing on a steady cadence and spinning circles. At the steepest part of the climb DBD turned the screws just a fraction. What happened next is always a pleasure. ABD yelling a profanity and being dropped like 3rd period French. I went around him directly to Tom's wheel. We had a little battle to the top - I took a solid 2nd place, and we waited for Dave. pee #5.

All in all it was a great ride and fun as well.
Thanks for the ride guys.

GW

Post script - I think the best thing about riding is that your bike is always up for a ride, it never says no and wants you to ride it as hard as you can as much as possible even twice a day.

What makes an amazing sandwich?

2010-03-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a sandwich that was like..........damn! The other day I felt like having soup and a sandwich. So I had the stand by cloudy day soup - chicken noodle and I made a turkey sandwich on Squirrely bread. So what makes a great sandwich? Is it the bread? The veggies or the sauces? I think its all of the above, plus the process!

Firstly, the bread. Can't be dry or fall aparty. I like it toasted.
Secondly, mayo or ranch dressing.
Thirdly, put the lettuce on one piece of bread and the meat on the other. This step holds in any juices that may make the bread soggy in transport or storage.

Lastly, I put tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers in the middle.

Sounds pretty good.

the only other thing that could make it taste better is if someone else makes it!!

Take care

GW

reply from Samuel Kohen

2010-03-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

ERRONEOUS ON MANY COUNTS!!!!! 1) This was the 3rd annual Kenny vs. Spenny hockey tournament. The score before this year was 2-0 for Sam. This year was the big upset year as Geoff - thanks to his high school students drastically improved his skating ability and has learned how to use his stick to hit the puck. It was a shocking upset that will resonate until next year when the rematch will right the wrong. 2) I don't appreciate the comments "on me being "Way bigger" or my lecture on "weight loss". I get the hint - I am out of shape! Everyone can now attest to this given the near cardiac arrest in the video. I will now hang my head in shame at my great defeat and binge eat until next year!

lol
Sam

You never know what you are going to get........

2010-03-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

When you open a drawer in a guys bathroom.

GW

Spring break Extraveganza

2010-03-18T10:15:00.001-07:00

Well, another Spring break has flown by! The first week my friend Sam and I headed up to Apex for our annual Kenny vs. Spenny weekend-o-fun. This consisted of snowshoeing up Mt. Riordan a couple of times, skiing and snowboarding, cross country skiing and of course hockey. Oh yeah there was some Call of Duty, beer, and amazing amounts of beef. Plus a sprinkle of unassuming snowballs! We started off with a snowshoe up Riordan, it was my great idea that we should pack our downhill gear up with us, it was good but a sweat fest. The second day we tried to go downhilling but visibility was atrocious! So we cross countried instead. Sam did amazing for a guy who hasn't been more than a handful of times. On Saturday we awoke to an amazingly blue sky and about 10cm of fresh powder. We got down for first tracks and possibly had the best snowboarding I've done in the past 10 years!! We got in about 20 runs and our legs were fried! (this was foreshadowing for the following morning where a mano-a-mano hockey match was scheduled).

A little background info, Sam is a better hockey player than me hands down. He's bigger and has has played a lot more. But......the rink is at altitude, I've been training for triathlon and cross country skiing, oh and my Rec Leadership loves playing hockey. On top of this Sam is studying for his final Med School exam, the big Kahuna!! Needless to say, we are 1-1 for two years. I won 5-3.

That afternoon, I went down to Penticton and got my girlfriend Katie so we could all go for a skate ski together. Once again Sam did amazing for his first time Skating. We made a little promotional video for his upcoming lecture on weight loss.

The next morning we went up to Riordan again sans downhill gear. It was way easier and gave me a chance to catch Sam off guard at the top with a snowball. The perfectly shaped snow projectile caught him in the back, not as good as last years "back-of-the-head-while-he-was-peeing" but still good. It was on, there were several near miss head shots and a couple of good body shots all in all I need to work on my throwing arm! It was a fantastic time!! I'm looking forward to next year already!! GW

Ps: I got consistently throttled at Call of Duty. Plenty of getting knifed in the back and not even knowing what had just happened!

happenings......

2010-03-07T17:33:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted something on the blog, but that doesn't mean that nothing has been happening!

Last weekend Katie and I and my sister Erin went to the Olympics. After a torturous drive on Friday night on the Hope Princeton we made it! The next morning after a drizzly run, we went downtown and hung out on Robson and took in the atmosphere! It was absolutely electric and I'm so glad we went, just to see the crowds and people from all over the world. For example we were on the bus heading down and a group of Russians began to sing hymns - only at the Olympics! I ran in to the Austin Horn and his entourage. I think it's always interesting to run into people who you read their blogs so you know what's going on in some facet of their lives. (that's another post)
I wish I had a few more days as it's hard to fit in everyone! Next time.

And now I'm on Spring break, a little too early this year but I'll take it. I started it off ambitiously. Tom and I headed out early on Saturday morning for Vernon. We competed and completed the Sovereign Lake 30km skate. I had a very solid final race of the season, I placed 12th and with in 11 minutes of the leaders. yeah they better watch out!

After the race we made our way back home. Not with out a couple of stops of course!! We stopped at Stussi's to drool over skis, then a glorious bite of bratwurst at Helmuts.

Not sure Katie would have appreciated the 42" LCD playing a video of how they make the sausages. Ha.

If you get a chance it was so good.

From there we made a last minute decision to have a beer at the Cactus Club in Kelowna. No explanation needed. Thanks for the beers Bri.

From the CC we headed to Fresh Air to drool over more skis. Good times. All in all it was an excellent day.

Then today Katie and I went for a run. She went for 90 mins and I ran for 30. The best 30 of the year so far, the achilles felt really good, I'm very excited to slowly be getting back into running. Then this afternoon was my first ride outside, just a high cadence jaunt to Crescent Beach in Summerland. Bring it on!!

Thanks for reading.

GW

Thanks again to Frank of Peach City Runners for the fast skis!!

Fantastic Friends, Food and Fun!!

2010-02-21T20:06:00.001-08:00

Last weekend, a group of amazing people came upto Apex to have our Bi-annual gathering. People came from as far as Calgary and Vancouver, Summerland and Penticton! Katie and I, Daniel and Crystal, Meghan and Cam, Pam, Jonathan and Sarah, Amanda and Scott, Adrian and Hilary and Katherine and Link all came up for a weekend getaway. We were treated to Olympic opening ceremonies and mogusl, amazing food and great company. Here is a snipit of us going down Cannonball. There will be one more video to come of a showdown between Geoff (aka: David) and Adrian (aka: Goliath)

Thanks for a great time guys. See you for the Rodeo Wedding this summer. Oh we'll be seeing you all before that though!

GW

Overlander 50km!!

2010-01-26T10:19:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I raced the Overlander 50km Skate race. It was a great day for racing. We rolled into Stake Lake Ski area to a disceptive -6 degrees and fog. Over the week I had been watching the weather and had already waxed appropriatly, thanks to Frank for hooking me up with some Black Wolf, I had quick skis!

So after a little warm up the race was underway. It started off hot as usual and I managed to not blow my whole race right at the beginning. At the first hill a group of 6 or so went up the trail and contended for the win. I was in the next group of 8 or so guys and we were rolling! A race was in the works! It was so fun to have guys around me and be drafting and actually have that feeling of racing. I had fast skis, I was catching guys way heavier than me on the down hills. Each lap the effort increased a little so that 1 or 2 guys would get popped off the back of the group. For me this happened around 43Km, I tried to go with another athlete but the call to the engine room for more power went unanswered. Not to worry, I finished and improved on my overall placing from 2 years ago. I came 12th and felt good all day.

The best part of the trip besides the race was hanging out before and after. On our way home we stopped in Peachland at a Restaurnt called The Blind Anger, http://www.blindangler.com/ to have some delicious burgers and fries. Fantastic location, great service and really good food. I will definatly go back there soon.

While sitting reminishing about the day DBD once again offered up some cash for me to jump in the lake. I wanted to, but since he and his wife just had twins, his budget for shinanigans has been reduced. I figured for a brown one I would have but a red one just doesn't cut it.

Here's a few photos taken by Kerry Vancooy.

Thanks to DBD for driving and Johnny and Al for the company. Also to Frank for the wax.

GW

This just in, a post race video!!

Hiring: Ninjas

2010-01-22T19:23:00.000-08:00

So, today after school I whipped down to Penticton to pick Katie up from work. As I got out of the car I checked up and down the street for parking attendants (AKA: Frickin' Stealth Ninja's). The coast was clear..........or so I thought.

I popped in to KHK for maybe a couple of minutes. Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone by my car. I just figured someone was trying to steal my sweet ride. Nope, they were just giving me a ticket! The deed was done, I now owe the city of Penticton $10, not $35 because I will pay it in the next 7 days.

Here is the ironic thing, the windshield wiper that the FSN put the ticket under was the rear wiper that is on the front. I was driving along and my brand new wiper flew off. If I hadn't replaced the wiper would they still have given me a ticket?

Also, you would think that with the big'ole orange jacket that the parking ticket person wears that I would have seen him/her. I guess it's dark when they turn it inside out.

Watch out out there.

GW

Be safe out there

2010-01-19T22:03:00.000-08:00

A friend sent me this tonight and I had a great laugh. It is a bit vulgar but it gets to the point. Literally.

GW

unfinished business

2010-01-18T21:32:00.000-08:00

The semester is coming to an end, children are feverishly trying to hand in unfinished work yet they still try not to actually do any work. Now remember this is only some. Others, like the champions that they are have pulled up their socks and stepped on the gas! Definate shout out to them.

Speaking of the pulling up of socks, last year around this time I started a 50km ski race in Kamloops. Poor planning and a weak mind led to an uncharacteristic DNF. This Sunday is all about self redmeption. I don't plan on winning unless Steven Bradbury was my lucky charm, but I do plan on going out on the conservative side of my balance point and feeling great and given'r for the last 20km. I'd like to pass people on the last lap, not be passed. I'll let you know.

On another note, go to www.google.ca and type in "pulling up socks" 2nd row.

GW

mini-vans

2010-01-15T23:04:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed that you only get pasted by mini-vans? I drive an 'older' Volkswagen Golf, 23 years old to be exact. The "Mobile" has a custom muffler that I didn't pay for but others would, and I go on average about 7-10% over the speed limit most times, except for in school zones. Here I drive 5km below just to piss the people off who don't understand why we drive slow around schools. Because kids think they are invincible. Now back to the mini-vans. My first question is why?

1) Parents are late because they had to get their kids ready.
2) Parents are bored of their existence so they get a rush by going 30km over with their kids in the car.
3) According to DBD, who is a newly-minted connoisseur of the mini-van, it's because they are actually a little performancy.

I'm no expert, a) because I don't have kids and b) don't have a mini-van but I think it's all of the above. If you dropped close to 40 grand on a mini-van you'd want to see what it has too.

Take care and slow down.

GW

Winterman2010

2010-01-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

Yes, today was the annual challenge that makes your stomach turn and your "nacho" shrink. I'm talking about Winterman2010, this entails a long ski* and some sort of run or showshoe either before or after the ski. DBD, Jonny-O and I undertook this endeavour at 8:12 this morning. Tom stopped off at Starbucks because he was already worried about the impromptu "Grudge" match he would submit us to.

Once at Nickel Plate I waxed quickly and got going. We started with a Loppet loop(when I say we I mean Tom and I because Johnny-o took a short cut at the upper meadow - I'm just saying is all) A quick pitstop was made for refueling and then we headed off to Panorama, Buck's Trek, Winter's Creek, Motherlode and back for our 2nd refueling session.

We then went out to Silverside to get our 3 hours in. At the bottom of Silverside DBD, threw it down. A grudge match for the ages, approximately 6-8 minutes up Buck's trek. Johnny-o and I were given a minute head start. This proved to be a costly miscalculation by Evans.

I went out hard to demoralize Johnny, and to make DBD think twice. I managed to feel strong and made it to the predetermined finishline approximately 20 seconds in the lead and about 1 minute ahead of Johnny. I'm not tooting my own horn here, just saying that they both looked into their suitcases of courage and found there was none.

After we got in, I went home and they like the champs they are went for a 10km run, to finish off Winterman2010. Thanks for the great training day guys.

GW

*I didn't do the run, I only did the ski. Just so no one is confused.

keys, money, mobile.

2009-12-29T17:47:00.000-08:00

Life has been pretty good, I'm on Christmas break right now. That means spending time with family and friends, some skiing, squash, and some riding inside. Sometimes when you are out there the mind wanders, possibly even reflecting - (I guess that's where New Year's resolutions come in!) So, I got a new cell phone yesterday, nothing too fancy but it provides the ability to communicate with others, some apps and the selling feature -- free and my monthly bill should be approx $25 a month. I wanted an iPhone but I just couldn't justify it. This made me think about why cell phones are so useful. I was on my bike this afternoon and watched the lecture below on www.ted.com, check it out.

Also, this graduation speech from Steve Jobs was also really motivating.

Naps are probably worth more than gold.

GW

When the pool closes

2009-12-21T21:14:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone (mom), it's been a long time since my last post but on the darkest day of the year, I've realized that when the pool closes in Penticton for renos (lets be honest for way more than a year). We can keep our skills up by danger swimming. There has to be someone with a pool who would be up for this. DBD, don't your neighbours have a pool?

keep your head up out there.

GW

Synergistic!

2009-10-17T23:35:00.000-07:00

I saw this, and I thought............... I can do this.

GW

I can't wait..............

2009-10-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Borrowed from Andy Russell's blog, I'm so stoked for skiing! The training has begun.

GW

Campbell Mountain X-country!

2009-10-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since I last posted. It's been a busy September with trying to get a teaching contract and subbing and mountain biking! ha! After Nationals I was at the Bike Barn for Ironman, it was awesome! I got to see the sweetest bikes and some really fast people. Turns out the fastest people were in town for a while. Jordan absolutely demolished the course. It is so inspiring to see people achieve their dreams!

So this morning I raced at the Campbell mountain cross country race, #3 of the interior cross country series. It was a very challenging course and a few really strong athletes showed up. (as usual) I had a good start (the first 2 km were straight up)and saw my heart rate get up to 176. I was in 4th at the top of the hill, and was joined by Scott McMillan for the rolling 3 km or so. It was really fun having him there to key off of, I tried to stay with him and just tell myself it didn't hurt that much. With a kilometer to go Scott put in a surge and I managed to stay with him, then it was my turn and he stayed with me (I also didn't want to blow up so it may have been a bit conservative) then he went and I attacked right after that with about 100m to go. I was happy with the race because it was so much fun and my legs felt really good (IE: no niggles!)

Check these photos out!

Keep it real.

GW

The Big One

2009-09-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

What a weekend!! We just got back from a fantastic weekend in Parksville on Vancouver Island. On Friday afternoon, Katie and I and our friends Marc, Marcia and her sister Laura who was visiting from the St. Louis area headed down in search of the elusive "big one".

After a "Pro-d day/morning" we caught the 7:00pm ferry on Friday night and headed over to Marc's Mom's place in Parksville. With a stop at BP for pizza we hung out and got to know each other a bit before bed.

On the Saturday morning, Katie and I woke up a little early so we could get a run in. Yes we were those people running on the highway, but just for a little bit before we found the route up this very very steep hill called "little mountain road". Katie said "it doesn't sound daunting, but it was", and I agree, it had to be about 2km of over 10% grade. No word of a lie!!

We got back and then spent the rest of the day kicking it old school, we went to Cathedral Falls for a hike, and then Coombs to see the "license to print money" Goat on Roof market and then we went to an old growth, very cool!

The next day us guys (Marc, Jeff (Marc's cousin), John (Marc's Step dad) and me!) were up at 5:30am and out on the water at 6:06am. We headed off and once we got our lines in, it was on!! Maybe 2 minutes later my line got a strike and I was instructed :) to reel'er in. In pure amateur fashion I did just that. The fish went under the boat a couple of times and I had too much pressure on it but I managed to fight it into the net. It took all of about 5 minutes. It was pretty damn cool!!

We had our lines in for a few more hours and got one more bite but it got away, then the weather came in so we had to head it back into shore. I do have to say there was about a 3 hour period there where I thought I was going to huck my breakfast -oh huh that was about how long we were out there for!! hahahaa. Yeah I pretty much had a queasy stomach for the rest of the day.

We're now back in Penticton getting ready for the first day of school.

Taking names and kicking ass!

GW

A big thanks to Jean and John Pickford for having us this weekend and to Marc, Marcia and Laura for being such good travel buddies with Katie and I.

Perogies and Turkey burgers!

2009-08-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

As I write this I am enjoying a post swim workout perogies and homemade turkey burger off the BBQ. You may ask, "perogies for a second breakfast?" I ask, "why not?" It was really good and chances are I'll do it again at some point in the near future.

So this past weekend I raced in Kelowna at the National age group champs, and here is my race report.

The day started off like any other, I woke up earlier than I wanted and then managed to fall back to sleep. Fortunately, my age category had a gentlemanly start time of 9:30am. I got to the race at around 8am and proceeded to set up my transition, bike, helmet, and some running shoes. It was pretty chill. At about 9am I got my wetsuit on to go get a good warm up in, I find I always swim better the longer the warm up I have. After some little bursts I was ready, we lined up at the start and I had a great position to the right, straight in front of the first buoy!! The gun went off and I had a clean start and some open water. I was thinking, this is how it's supposed to go! Until about 20 seconds later about 20 guys swam over me. I think this is how Kramer felt when his karate class ganged up on him in the back alley. I got punched and kicked and got a good one in my left eye. I had to stop up for a second because my goggles got kicked into my eye. After that I tried to calm myself down and focus on my turnover. I made some progress up to a group and then on the second lap I went for the few guys a head of me. I came out in great position in 19:24 and then had a very quick transition. Out on to the bike I got up to speed and then got my shoes on, I felt really good and just tried my best to keep my watts as high as possible. I rode 1:02:01, I think it was the wheels!!

Out on to the run I focused on my cadence and relaxing my upper body. I thought I was running faster than I was, (obviously) but it was a 40 min flat 10km, not too bad but I was hoping for a couple minutes faster. (This gives me a great goal for nest year as I want to run as fast as the elite women - I know I know) All in all I was really happy with my race, I managed to hold off the charge from behind and win my age group and place 10th overall!!

There are a lot of people to thank that helped me have such a great race/season, first and foremost my girlfriend Katie for being so understanding, my parents, my training partners Tom, Dave and Olly, the man with the magic hands Mr. Giggles himself (Mark Kildaw), Mark and marcia for putting us up for the race and Will for always setting my bike up damn fast! Finally, a thank you Paul Rahula who tweaked my orthodics allowing me to run.

Thanks for reading,

Now it's off to the Barn!

GW

Throwing it down, the happenings

2009-08-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

Well the end of the summer is upon us, the weather has taken a turn as a low pressure system has made the lake a touch cold. I think it will get hot again though because we usually get a cool spell right before Ironman but I think it is a week early!!

The past few weeks have been pretty busy, Katie and I moved in to the new Palace, and I've been working as a protege to Mike Holmes. Measure twice, cut once. I've been pulling up carpet and underlay and we are almost finished putting down the laminate! It looks fantastic! My knees hurt but when you walk in it is totally worth it.

Training was going pretty well up until this past Wednesday (I caught a cold, actually it caught me I was trying to get away from it but I was too slow) and am now coming around just in time for Nationals. Fortunately, I could only really get over trained so maybe its a blessing in disguise! I'm really looking forward to racing nationals, and then Cultus Lake. I think it's good to have a goal after a big race so that you don't lose perspective in that there will be another race and you can always prepare a little better. I love learning.
Finally we were watching "performance" and stumbled upon "Pop that Collar" This could be an anthem for the summer. When in doubt pop that bad boy.

GW

Peach Classic!

2009-07-20T08:13:00.001-07:00

Well, the weekend has come and gone. I raced in the Peach Classic Triathlon yesterday and I had my best placing thus far, 12th.

The sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup at a deli!!

I went for a warm up paddle and did 4 x 25 strokes hard. I felt really good even though it was like a washing machine out there. At the start I had a good run in and was agressive. I lost contact with the front guys but I was able to come out of the water in 6th and still pretty close. Out on to the bike I just put my head down and went. Jordan Rapp went past me like I was going backwards (pretty awesome!!) It was windy out there but once I made the turn at Painted rock we were flying!! Travis Chater (an old friend) caught me and we pushed each other all the way back into town. Out onto the run Travis gapped me out of transition, and we stayed like that the whole way, I almost caught him at the turn around but then we started going down hill. I was really happy with my run, I cramped a bit but was able to stay focused on my turn over and feeling light on my feet. At around 8km, TBD caught and passed me and gave me some words of encouragement (" I'm running fast because there are cold beers at the bar and I don't want them to spoil!") Fun times!!

Over all it was a good day that gave me some things to think about before nationals at the end of August!

Lastly, it was really great to have my girlfriend Katie and her dad watching as well as my sisters Erin and Sarah and baby Hannah. SO great having them all there.

I'm out for a round of golf.

GW

ps: big shout out to ABD for volunteering at the finish, and to KBD for yelling at me to dig, and to Will for making my bike really fast!

League of Extraordinary People - 2009

2009-07-13T17:09:00.000-07:00

Once a year, a dozen of amazing people that I went to high school and univeristy with get together and catch up, in interesting places in the province. Last year we met in Tofino for surfing and drinking.

The 2009 edition led us to the North Okanagan to Shuswap Lake Provincial Park! we arrived on Friday evening after realizing the Shuswap is further away than Google maps says, plus when you stop for dinner, groceries, beer and gas the trip gets extended. Never the less we made it to our campsite just before 10pm. Our parks (BC's) are basically on the other side of the spectrum of wilderness compared to the park we were at in the states last weekend, each site was surrounded by trees and we really felt secluded. Just what we were looking for. That night once everyone arrived we caught up around the campfire with adult beverages in hand. I chose Philips Slipstream Cream Ale. Probably my new favourite beer, it's smooth with no after bite and there are cyclists on it - it has to be good!!

The next day we all made breakfast together, and hungout drinking coffee waiting for the straglers to arise. We then went on a hike up (when I say up, I mean straight up and then straight down) the side of a mountain, and then made our way down to the beach. It was so nice!! We tossed the frisbee and read. I couldn't believe how many people had massive boats, just obscene!

That night we had a group meal of burritos, there was a plethra of colours!~ Everyone was pretty damn full, but all left some needed room for smores!!! I would like to point out here that the "waterman smore technique" was introduced and used by all. Smiles all around!

The next morning we did the same thing, just hung out and cleaned up. Some went to the beach and we headed out.

It was a great weekend, and I'm so thankful for all those people that were there, and some were really missed. We all missed Malcolm and Steph and Dan, as well as Coral and Adam (and the kidlets) and Crystal and Dave (and the new kidlet)

I can't wait until February for the ski trip!!

Take care.

GW

Steamboat Rock!!

2009-07-04T13:38:00.001-07:00

We just got back from a fantastic little holiday in the US of A! Katie, Nicole (her sister), Andrew (her brother - visiting from London, Eng), Ian (Nic's BF) Marcia, Marc and I headed down to Steamboat Rock this past July 1st. It's about 4 hours south of Penticton, and it would be totally desolate except for the fact that the Columbia river has been dammed!
Not really knowing what to expect except for cold beers and Frisbee tossing it turned out to be an awesome little getaway. We drove thru the Osoyoos border crossing where we were interrogated as to why we were coming to America. I referenced the song, and used my Jedi mind tricks and everything went smoothly. Just a quick note here, if they ask you a question, don't lie, they already know the answer! It also helps if you went to highschool with the border guard.

We drove down thru Omak (pass the Stampede) and on to the Grand Coulee Dam! It was just amazing and the little town was straight out of the fifties. About 10 miles south we got to the Steamboat Boat Rock campsite. Let me tell you it was freakin' hot, we basically went straight to the water to cool off. That night we made glorious hamburgers and smores and threw the football about 50 times too many so that all our shoulders hurt the next day.

The following day we went on the Grand Coulee Dam Tour, it was so impressive and very educational (yeah I know I'm a nerd) We were allowed to ask dam questions after
the dam tour!! It is the 3rd biggest concrete structure in the world!

That night we went to the "Laser" show on the dam, it ended with Neil Young's "Coming to America". Awesome!!

The next morning we made the trek up Steamboat Rock. It took about an hour round trip and was really cool, there were some great views and some really neat geographical structures, just completely different than in Penticton. After that we packed up and tried to pawn off milk and beer. The milk was a tough sell but the beer was accepted with open arms!

On our way home we were once again stopped at the border, it only took about 25 minutes so no worries. What a great trip, and everyone had a pretty good time!!

GW

ps: we only got passed by minivans full of children

You come to my house... and kick my dog?

2009-06-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

The Mob is everywhere, they are connected to everything and everyone. Let me tell you their evil tentacles are here in Penticton alive and well. Anything and everything you do is being watched by someone and if you do something bad (ie: fail a kid who may or may not have ties to the mob) it/they will come back and get you when you are least expecting it. Take for example my most recent visit to Iron sport physio, I'm laying on the table (with my clothes on - hold your horses ladies) and Mr. Mark Kildaw (mild mannered triathlete by morning and evil physio by night) pulls out 4 inch acupuncture needles. Basically it's the mob's way of sending a guy named "Tony the Shovel" to your house to send you a message. The result being the same -- I can't walk. I rest my case but I'm going into adjudication meetings for failures next week and if this inability to walk continues I'll have no names on my list.

Hell, it may just be Karma, who's to say?

I think I'm going to sleep an extra 2 hours tonight.

GW

Slip my wheel on!

2009-05-24T15:33:00.001-07:00

So, it's been a while since I last posted. I just figured nobody actually read my blog but it turns out 2 people do, Olly and my mom. The past 2 months have flown by, I've been very busy with school, on May 9th I travelled to Winnipeg for the National Science Fair where I was a chaperon to 6 fantastic kids! This was a great opportunity as I had participated in 2 national fairs in 1996 and 1999. Let me tell you it was tremendously different being there as an adult. The meeting on Sunday night from 8 until 10, was a sneak peak to the meetings to come. Lets just say I learned a lot, and met some really cool people along the way.

This past weekend I competed in Oliver at the sprint triathlon in the self proclaimed wine capital of Canada. I placed 3rd behind two very strong athletes. Jordan Rapp who is a really nice guy and who is now living in Penticton won the race and spanked me good - he's gonna be up there at IMC. More importantly, I got beat real bad by a guy named Joel Johnson. He is 15 and he will go to the Olympics.

Now onto this week, I just got back from a ride with TBD. Let's just say I took an untimely pull (read: I should have just gone straight to the back) and DBD and KBD reminded me that they can distroy me at any time. Thus, I'd like you to take a look at the clip below :)

sleep well.

GW

My eyes are up here!

2009-03-28T13:31:00.001-07:00

I guess you could say that I'm getting tired of people talking about and looking at my rack. We had a group ride today out to Oliver (the self proclaimed Wine capital of Canada) and then up past the White Lake observatory**. I took out my Cannondale instead of the winter steed. Right away people were making lude comments about my rack, wondering where it was, and how big it was, how much beer my rack could hold. Heck they even wanted to touch it! You can look but you can't touch. I'll be keeping my rack wrapped up from now on in a pair of Paniers for commuting to work, and the 'Dale for the more 'serious' rides. All I can say is I'm looking forward to this weeks threshold Thursday at the Naramata Dipper.

Remember, look at the sun and then look away.

** I was doing well, but just like Olly, Dave and Tom dropped 3rd period French in high school, I as well got dropped like 3rd period French.

Spring break!!!

2009-03-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

Spring Break!!! Well Spring break is upon us, I'm on the second week of a great Spring Break, I spent the first week at Apex with Sam and his friend Carolyn. We had several Kenny vs. Spenny episodes on the ice and on XBox. Fortunately, we're at 2000m up there so I was able to keep the hockey casualties to a minimum. Sam would shoot the puck to the other end of the ice so that he could recover while I went and got the puck. Unfortunately for him this didn't help his cause as I've been at altitude several times this year! It may have been the spanky new skates Sam got me for my belated birthday present! As for the Xbox, Sam dominated like the champ he is.

Now I'm back at home and procrastinating very well at getting to work (marking and planning). I have been riding quite a bit too. I'm excited for the season!!

Take a nap, you've earned it.

Trifecta Completed!

2009-03-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! I (Team Big Deal*) had a very interesting weekend of high octane activities. On Saturday morning we were greeted by a brain freezing blizzard at Sovereign Lakes in Vernon where we competed in a 30km loppet. It was pretty nuts, almost a foot of snow fell right before the race so we had to lift our legs pretty high, and the groomer went over part of the track which made it super narrow! This narrowness caused a hard fall when I caught a tip in the snow beside the trail! While I was licking my wounds an older gentleman (58) passed me and continued to put the hurt on me for a few more k's. Luckily, age was on my side as I had to out sprint him for 14th place overall! I know, but he was tough! After the race, as per Dave's recommendation we hit up Moxie's in Kelowna. bunch of tired looking guys sitting in really nice leather chairs.

The following morning we raced in a 5km, this was fun but not at the same time. It was a freezing northerly wind and I elected to wear shorts! This race probably turned out to be a mistake for me as I have been nursing my left calf ever since. At least I'm keeping our "team" Physio in business!!

As for that afternoon, we competed in a Master's swim meet. It was so much fun and my times weren't that bad, I was especially stoked about my 100m free time as I was only a second off my lifetime best, of 1:03!!

After a weekend like that, I was pretty wrecked for a few days and now the "sore" calf/ankle is a bummer. But, the good thing about getting an injury is that it reminds you how lucky we are to do this and be so active.

Go take a nap.

Geoff

*I am merely an honourary member of TBD, as I have not completed the criteria to be an offical member.

Highs and lows

2009-02-09T09:51:00.000-08:00

Well isn't life interesting, one day you can be like a well oiled machine and the next you can be a snot factory with the wheels falling off. I had a great ski this past Saturday, I classiced for 30 km, with Tom, Dave and the president of Nickel Plate himself Mike Bartier or Mr. President as he prefers to be called. It was a perfect day, the sun was out and the snow was fairly quick. The first lap felt great I went 59:45 for 15km, with an average heart rate of 138. I just tried to stay steady and not work too hard. On the second lap I turned it up a little bit and attacked all the up hills and sharp corners. I went 58:15 for the second 15km with an average heart rate of 143. It felt a lot harder than that. After I finished I think this is where the grease turned to snot, I didn't get enough post-effort fuel in and I was cold even though I changed clothes. Now being Monday and having taken yesterday and today off I'm still feeling under the weather. Hopefully tomorrow brings a little more health.

This leads me to some thoughts. It's funny how we (we - meaning people in good health who are active and eat right and get enough sleep) take our health for granted. I couldn't imagine living with an extra 25kgs or some sort of cardio respiratory disease. So with this feeling of "ok I'm sick but when I do feel better I'm going to really appreciate it" I'm going to continue doing work for the upcoming week and get to bed early, so that I can fully appreciate my glorious predicament of being fit, healthy and happy.

wash your hands

2009-01-29T22:05:00.000-08:00

Due to "Them's fighting words" comments left on the blog about what is and what is not "montage" training, the previous post has been altered. In doing so I hope to not get 'remined' again by any other members of TBD. It would be a bloody day if I were to meet them in a back alley after a triathlon, considering we can all run pretty fast and they are all way bigger than me.

Snow Shoeing in the Sunshine!

2009-01-25T12:17:00.000-08:00

This post is a little late, but as they say in the world of Assessment for Learning (AFL) better late than never. So last weekend Katie and I were up at Apex with our friends Crystal and Dan who were up from Vancouver. It was a great time of skiing, skating and snowshoeing. Oh and some beverages were consumed and some games were played (Blokus and Crib) We shared the dinner making responsibilities, we made a nice chicken stirfry with rice noodles and Dan and Crystal brought massive Halibut chunks for our consumption. I have never tasted fish that nice before.

Fortunately, for all those concerned the weather cooperated as well. When I say cooperated I mean plus 12 and hot, getting our winter fix of vitamin D. Here's a couple of shots from a balmy snowshoe.

Into the clouds!

2009-01-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

Well, if you were in the Okanagan Valley today you probably didn't get to see the sun. I was fortunate enough to have the morning off, so Katie and I went up to Telemark in Westbank for a ski! It was glorious sunshine and the trails were mighty quick! What a way to start the day!

GMW

Old School Rocky Training

2009-01-12T19:34:00.000-08:00

Rocky Balboa is one of my idols, he trained in Siberia for what seemed an eternity. I try to emulate the 'montage' everyday. Grunting Helps.

First Ski Race of the Year !!

2009-01-11T14:59:00.000-08:00

I had an excellent cross country ski race today up at telemark in Westbank (West Kelowna). It consisted of 15km classic - my wax although not all fancy pants worked amazingly, and then a 15km skate ski - my wax was a little slow but it was really soft as well.

The reason why I say excellent, is I didn't get chicked, well not if you count the girl (who I found out this morning she is in grade 10, turns out she is an even better runner!! Can you say future Olympian? ) who was on a relay team who nipped me at the line. I'm gonna say that I beat her because I was slowing down to go into transition so I didn't ski by my skate skis. And thats all I have to say about that. Kudos to Katie for hanging out for six hours and taking some sweet shots!!

2009-01-03T15:24:00.001-08:00