I hope everyone had a pleasant holidays and happy new years to all.
The Boys (We take things very serious)
In the early weeks of December leading up to the holidays training had been quite consistent with some awesome runs with the gang and the odd run with the UVic xc/track team. With the weather outside rather grey we go indoors for our winter swim focus. With 6-7km swims, we start to feel a bit water logged but it sure makes dropping back down to 5-5.5km swims feel quite easy. All in all a nice base to the season. Swim coaches Rick Say and Gord Veldman have been relentless in encouraging strong posture keeping tension between our shoulder blades. Almost instantaneously I noticed a huge difference. Fatigue is delayed and I feel much more solid in the water. So I began incorporating this into my running and cycling. Again I notice such a difference.
This year after spending Christmas with my family, I joined Brianna and her family in Calgary. Calgary itself was not very cold but we made many trips up to Banff and Lake Louise. I experienced XC Skiing for the first time. The scenery was amazing, surrounded by mountain peaks it was one of those experiences that you feel completely part of nature at its finest. I also had the pleasure of running on Nose Hill. This semi barren rolling landscape invites you to run to the highest point. You run to one summit, realize there is another one a little higher and commit to running to the top of that one. At the top, you look around and see nothing but the Rockie Mountain foothills. What a view.
Three more weeks here in Victoria, then the boys and I will be heading down to Tucson Arizona for some warm weather and a bike focus. I have been having dreams of riding up Mount Lemmon on my new steed. But more on that and Tucson later,
Hope all is well out there,
ciao for now,
Andrew
I had the absolute pleasure of going to a Dan Mangan Concert. The Show was amazing and Dan was awesome live. Awesome voice and great lyrics. Dan invited Aidan Knight out of the crowd to come up and sing one of his songs.
Between icy roads, wind storms and sideways rain it is beginning to look a lot like winter. So we have been riding the cross bikes both on the road and on the endless trails that Victoria has to offer.
There have been some changes here in Victoria. I am training under the guidance of Patrick Kelly. For the past 3 weeks we have continued to build nicely. Swim mileage is up to 5km+ and runs are up to 70minutes with steady to tempo efforts interlaced. This past sunday Connor, Aaron and I jumped in with the Uvic XC team for a run around the lakes. For a 60minute run my Garmin File showed an absolutely perfect build throughout the run. This afternoon we had our first Hill rep session. A simple set of 15min steady effort plus 4x 2min effort up the side of Mount Doug. It seamed that we were in one of the most natural of situations. Under the towering old growth forest, we finished the run soaked by the rain and caked in mud, elated after a job well done.
The following is a video I made with a camera mounted on the handlebars of my cross bike. I hope to do more of these throughout the season as an alternative way to document some of my training.
For now, it is off to bed.
Hope all is well,
Ciao for now,
Andrew McCartney
Cyclocross Ride
Windy Day In Victoria
I was very tempted to go sailing in this....
...but then I remembered my torn old sail somewhere in Cadboro Bay....
Despite crashing in the men’s Keirin final at the track World Cup in Manchester, Malaysian cyclist Azizulhasni 'Pocket Rocket' Awang got back on his bike to cross the line and picked up the bronze medal for his troubles. All this with 20cm piece of wood sticking through his left calf! One of the toughest riders out there?
Ciao for now,
Andrew
And so my season has come to a conclusion. My final race of the season was nationals in Kelowna, BC. I was in great spirits as I was basically racing in my back yard, a course that suited my strengths and I had the confidence that I have had a good track record on this course.
Sadly two days before race day, I got food poisoning from a chicken stir fry at Earls.... I thought Earls would be the safe bet but for the next day and a half I was hiding in my hotel room drinking water to excess.
Come race day I was healthy but evidently over-hyrdrated as when I exited the water, the cramping began. In a small break including Simon Whitfield, Kyle Jones, Jon Bird, and 3 others. I felt we worked well together building a 80second lead. Entering T2 we were disappointed and surprised to see the main pack on our heals. On to the run, every muscle in my body began cramping full. I ran through a lot of pain. 4 days after the race I was still in crutches.
I am very disappointed. This was not the way I wished to conclude the season.
I have parked it now. It has been a hard pill to swallow but I am not one to wallow in my disappointments. I decided to finish the season there and focus on 2012.
For 2012, while I am still training with future Olympics in mind, next season I intend to compete in a number of non-drafting events. Specifically the 5150 Series. The Series is up at http://5150.com/events/ I am still waiting for the updated schedule for ITU but after discussion with coach ill have an accurate schedule planned.
For now, the boys and I are building back into training. Swimming no more than 3.5km at a time. Nice build into both running and cycling. (Unlike last year)
Stay tuned for a year in review post.
Meanwhile, check out this video. Intended for technical feedback
Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.
Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.
I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.
I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.
A few additional thoughts:
To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.
To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.
To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.
To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.
To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.
And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.
My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.
I am in Kelowna for the Canadian National Championships. This is an ITU Premium Continental Cup where the Canadians will be duking it out for the National Title.
I am Über excited. Also Über nervous.
I feel fit, and rested. I love racing at 2pm as I get to sit here in a cafe, nice jog to get the cobwebs out, rock out to some motivating music trying to limit the dancing around the hotel room. Rest up for the race. ;)
It has been awesome to travel here with Brianna. She has put up with my sometimes silent sometime ornerary nerves leading up to the race. Lots of super pleasant dinners out, a walk or two along the water and a photo-op at a Vineyard.
I find this blog is a good way to release some nerves. Share my emotions, in which there have been plenty.... At the moment, I am going through too many scenarios. In the advice from Simon, I must go through the race once in my head, set it aside and watch a movie or play a video game. Find a distraction!
My thoughts for the moment are with the swim. I am ranked 8th but due to a 7min late arrival to the race briefing, I will have last pick of a start position. Not the worst thing, just means I will have to have a strong swim start and a good warm up. It does however toy with my fear of "Quicksand." The fear of having one swimmer on my left hip and another on the right. I try to loose them but in my efforts I only burn myself up. This has happened in swim practice but never in a race situation. I over come this by reminding myself that yes, it is a 1500m swim and the race is not decided in the first 400m. 1500m is a long time to acquire strong positioning.
I am not a big UFC(Ultimate Fighting) kind of guy. To be honest, I have a hard time watching it on TV. Maybe it is the blood. I don't get faint or anything but when Im getting my blood tested, I can't watch. Anyway, before most races the movie, "Never Back Down" really does get me excited for either training or racing. It gets me in the mindset that, "Ya...This is my battle", "ya...never back down, never give up," "Im touff." Yes I know I spelt tough wrong. From the book 'The Outsiders' they called themselves, 'Touff' because they felt they weren't the 'Tough' that got in fights but the 'Touff' that had potential, could take a beating and keep coming back for more. Anyway, after watching "Never Back Down" it makes me feel touff and ready to make it a hard race. There is also the lesson of taking 'control of the outcome' and I really like the idea that I have full control over myself as we should. This I feel is super important in not only racing but in life. So I watched it last night while shaving(I know, Ironic. Touff guys shave their legs too!) and I'll watch it before I leave for the course today.
Well those are my thoughts, I am off to mend to my many shaving cuts.... ha ha.
Hope all is well,
Congrats to all the Junior Elite and youth racers yesterday. Very inspiring and makes me excited to perform today.
Ciao for now,
Andrew
From the Never Back Down Soundtrack is this song, 'Above and Below' by The Bravery
It has been a rather lonely month in Victoria with my regular training group out of town. But I have had the pleasure of training with the Development group. I have been mainly joining them for their swims only. Running against the statistics of my GPS watch and racing at least once a week in either the Sidney Velo Time Trial series or the Victoria Cycling league Criteriums. I feel these are so valuable. They are timed official organized races. I am training to race and racing to train.
My latest Triathlon result would be the Subaru Sooke International Triathlon. I originally saw this as a C level race that I would use as a tune up for August 21st National Championships but when the races format was changed to a ‘Chase’ and prize money was announced the quality of competition increased. Chase, means guys against girls. The girls left 15minutes ahead of the guys. There was prize money for the top 5 guys/girls and top 3 overall. This was such a fun event. Here is how it went.
It was a misty morning, so we watched as the girls disappeared off to the far end of the lake 15minutes before the mens start. With a strong ranking I picked the far left, so I would have open water from the gun. Aaron Thomas took the swim out hard. I did take over the lead about 500m into the swim and pushed the pace. I exited the water with both Brent McMahn and Aaron close behind.
On to the bike, I realized early that a TT frame would be quite beneficial as Brent left Aaron and I pulled away on the early flats. I did get into the flow. I worked the hills hard and tried to limit my losses on the flats. About 25km into the 40km ride I was caught by Jeff Symonds and Stephen Kilshaw. We stayed pretty close together for the remainder of the ride.
On to the Run I had a real scare as about 100m into the run I began cramping badly. I stopped to stretch quickly and that seemed to calm it down. I then began to put everything I could into it. The course was mainly downhill out and uphill back so I focused on limiting the jarring effects of the descent. Climbing back out, I pushed myself to a strong 4th place finish amongst the men.
Overall, I am pleased with the result. I am excited about doing more of the Time Trial racing. Perhaps some 5150 racing and eventually HyVee next year. Results can be found HERE.
Excitement Building for the Subaru Sooke Triathlon “Chase”Largest Pro Field Ever Assembled on Vancouver Island
The beautiful west coast community of Sooke is quickly placing itself on the triathlon world map. The event this Sunday will draw the largest Pro field ever assembled on Vancouver Island; with 40 Pro triathletes competing in “The Chase”. The Women’s Pro field will have a predetermined head-start time on the Men who will battle to track down the women, while the women fight to keep the lead and cross the finish line first for $15 000 in cash & prizes. The “Chase”, a non-drafting Olympic distance event where the cyclists must stay separated by at least 10 meters, has drawn a wide range of different triathlon specialists – from Junior Champions who traditionally race over the shorter sprint distance to Ironman athletes accustomed to racing a much longer event.
The race will be produced into a one hour feature and aired nationally on TSN and TSN 2 networks this September. The production will showcase the beauty that Sooke offers, including a new closed bike course up the scenic Pacific Marine Circle Route with its unique coastal communities and ocean views.
Racing on the Women’s side, is Ironman 70.3 US Champion, Amanda Stevens of Colorado Springs. Stevens will be challenged by Tenille Hoogland (Courtenay BC), who is coming off an Ironman 70.3 win in Calgary last weekend where she narrowly beat Sara Gross of Victoria by 6 seconds, Sara is also competing. Chasing on the Men’s side will be Olympian and Pan American Silver medalist, Brent McMahon (Victoria), Penticton’s Jeff Symonds (2010 Subaru Vancouver Champion) and Chris Boudreaux of Portland OR (2008 Subaru Sooke Champion).
“This is the biggest group of pros we have seen racing on Vancouver Island since the 2001 Nike International Triathlon at Elk Lake” said Olympic Gold Medal Coach Lance Watson, “This format is a really exciting way to have athletes of all different distance specialties come together in one race – it could be a battle of 4 or 5 men and women all sprinting for the finish”
The race will also feature an amateur field of 500 athletes arriving from 4 countries including Germany and Mexico; 5 provinces and 13 US states (with Hawaii, Texas and Idaho represented). Also featured is 2010 Vancouver Ski-Cross Gold Medalist Ashleigh McIvor who will participate as she continues her rehab after a devastating crash at the X Games where she tore her ACL.
The Subaru Sooke Triathlon will also include a brand new two day Sport and Lifestyle expo taking place on August 5th and 6th at the Prestige Oceanfront Resort and Conference centre. The expo is open to the public and will include the Danone Kids Fun Zone.
For the Symphony Splash this year, Brianna and I Kayaked from the Selkirk Tressle to front row centre of this years Symphony. What a blast! Great music, getting cozy with all the other boaters and then a long convoy of Kayaks back to the docks.
Something I have noticed over the past 11 years of racing is I do tend to build overall into a season. Specifically in my running and biking. Not so much in my swimming as for me I can be doing 5km swims early in the winter. This is manageable due to the fact that it is hard to get injured from too much swimming. Perhaps some shoulder pain but swimming since I was 8 years old....well I am quite adapted.
The first race of the season is always a scary one. You have been training hard, you may feel strong, fit but it takes a race to show where you actually are. My first race of the season was Escape from Alcatraz which is not really my specialty being non drafting. However it certainly does show the area in need. For me my riding and actually my swimming. The best part of my day there was my run. Overall I was pleased.
So I got home and got working on my bike. Monroe ITU was around the corner and I hoped to bring up my weaknesses.
In Monroe, I took a risk. It didn’t quite work out. I poured everything I could into my strategy, yet called it off when I saw it was not going to work. If this strategy works it can be great but if it doesn’t it may look foolish and it turns into a bad day.
Monroe is a small town outside of Seattle. Kind of a farming area with the ocean near by. Aaron and I drove down and stayed by a sea side town called Everett. The course was flat across the board with a rather technical course. Out and back but with 3x180 degree corners in a “T” formation. My weakness in the swim has been my start. So with a rather slow start I began making up ground in the final km back up to the feet of Jon Bird and Dustin McLarty. We exited the water and formed a pack of about 11 guys. On the bike the pace was slow with a few attempts to break but no one managed to get separate. I saw these attempts and figured the motivation to get away was there within at least 3 guys in the group. So I planned a break on lap 5 of 8. I swung out and quickly got a 20-30 second gap. No one came with me so I set a strong pace in hopes of either pulling away. Ideally I was hoping for someone like Hunter Kemper, Ben Collins or Victoria team mates to join and work together. Four Kilometers down the road the pack got organized and began bringing me in. With this realization, I cut my losses and focused on getting ready for the run. On to the run, I struggled to get my legs in the first of 4 laps and managed to finish strong for the second half.
Overall I took a risk. It didn’t work. I salvaged what I could. I fought back against what could have been much worse. I finished 9th on the day. Perhaps if I played it safe I could have finished higher. But if my risk worked it could have been great. Thus the conflict.
SAN FRANCISCO! I never get sick of this city! I look forward to this race every year. The Treasure Island ITU. This year, I experienced an almost unbearable heartbreaker of a result. There is no need to sugar coat this, I am partly angry, rather disheartened but hugely motivated.
Boy, for the entire weekend leading up to the race, I was in such a good state of mind. The race briefing was full of re-acquainting with good friends. I was ready to race. Race morning was full of energy; The usual semi-chaotic rush to set up your bike, warm up, suit up, pick up chip and prepare for the gun to go off.
Another fast swim lead out by Dustin quickly stretched out the pack and formed a break of about 10 guys strung out. The 10 of us grouped up on the bike and worked well together to build a sizable lead. Once we had a solid lead i began keeping track of the laps to go. 3 laps.... It was our main focus to get a gap. So I was not keeping close track of laps to go until this point. Little did I know the mistake had been made. I did not intend on breaking away in San francisco but in the 4th lap I took a 90degree corner very hard accelerating me off the front of the pack. I realized the opportunity and worked to build a lead. I glanced at the lap counter, 2 laps to go.... I kept good pressure and was joined by Tom Zaferes. The two of us continued to work together. It was very exciting as this was really going to work out! We were going to stay away!! And best of all, I felt very in control of both my heart rate and in-turn in control of the race. We rounded the corner to receive the bell for the final lap. 1 lap to go.... We flew through the winding section looking for every advantage we could get. On the long straight away that followed, I looked back to see where the chase pack was. They were nowhere to be seen. Everything fell apart as I came to the horrible realization that we have been sent for an extra lap.
Writing this about 3 weeks after allows me to clear my thoughts a bit. The collage of emotion were originally a mix of, ‘I can salvage this!’ ‘Holly Sh**, no no no,’ ‘Should I just drop out?’ ‘How the hell does this happen!’ Along with a number of other curse words, a couple of km of smacking my handlebars, I came to a more sensible thought. I said to Tom, “Alright, brick workout it is.” With loads of adrenaline I began riding as hard as I could. We ran together for the first lap comfortably, until Tom got a bloody 15sec transition penalty. This was humorous since with basically a 14minute extra lap 15sec were the least of our worries.... He said go ahead and I ran it in a little harder for the second half.
Pros:
Congrats to Matt Sharpe and Sarah-Anne Brault on the wins.
I have the fitness
Tactics Work
I didn’t give up.
Cons:
I did an extra lap on the bike.
Count Thy Laps!
Moving on.
Sorta....
I have always been a physics guy and a big part of physics is cause and effect. One of Newtons Three laws of Motion is, “ For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” I am of course referring to the motivation and the fire lit within me. I can use this! And I have, training has been very strong.
Since then I have competed in a number of Criteriums. Two that are noteworthy are of course Newton Heights and a pleasant win at Caleb Pike.
Newton Heights is simple. The race is a battle of attrition. Since it is pretty much hill repetitions for 18 laps it does break up quickly. Several laps in the group split up with a break of myself and two others. Curtis Dearden and Colin Hynes. Couple laps later it was down to Curtis and myself. We worked together for 6 laps and with about 4 laps to go the in-fighting commenced. Curtis got a gap and held it to the finish. I was second and Colin was third.
The following week was Celeb Pike. I was patient here. Around the half way point I broke away for about 3 and half laps with a pretty strong lead. I was joined by 4 others including Tyler Trace, Jason Eagles, Raphael Lalumiere and Steve Bachop. We worked really well together for 3 laps and with half a lap(1.5km) to the finish. I attacked getting just enough of a gap to hold off Tyler’s strong sprint to the finish.
Since then Training has been hard with a Time Trial 1410meter big island loop last wednesday. I swam a 14.43 which is a personal best. So all is well in the swimming department.
Next for me will be the Sooke Chase next weekend and Nationals in Kelowna in three weeks. But more on that later.
Sailing.
I am back online.
Thanks for reading and hope all is well.
ciao for now,
Andrew McCartney
Need Motivation. Check out this song/video. Woodkid - Iron (see also remixes)
More on the light side. Dan Mangan - Robots
"Robots need love too."
On to the Run I had a real scare as about 100m into the run I began cramping badly. I stopped to stretch quickly and that seemed to calm it down. I then began to put everything I could into it. The course was mainly downhill out and uphill back so I focused on limiting the jarring effects of the descent. Climbing back out, I pushed myself to a strong 4th place finish amongst the men.
Monroe is a small town outside of Seattle. Kind of a farming area with the ocean near by. Aaron and I drove down and stayed by a sea side town called Everett. The course was flat across the board with a rather technical course. Out and back but with 3x180 degree corners in a “T” formation. My weakness in the swim has been my start. So with a rather slow start I began making up ground in the final km back up to the feet of Jon Bird and Dustin McLarty. We exited the water and formed a pack of about 11 guys. On the bike the pace was slow with a few attempts to break but no one managed to get separate. I saw these attempts and figured the motivation to get away was there within at least 3 guys in the group. So I planned a break on lap 5 of 8. I swung out and quickly got a 20-30 second gap. No one came with me so I set a strong pace in hopes of either pulling away. Ideally I was hoping for someone like Hunter Kemper, Ben Collins or Victoria team mates to join and work together. Four Kilometers down the road the pack got organized and began bringing me in. With this realization, I cut my losses and focused on getting ready for the run. On to the run, I struggled to get my legs in the first of 4 laps and managed to finish strong for the second half.
