Our 'Mitten'

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......

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!!

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

I think the movie says enough. GW

Famous?

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!

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


Results


GW

Please be careful.

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.

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

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!

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.........."

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.