White Christmas

Please Join me as I sing along with Bing Crosby in White Christmas (Please Click Here) Ok, so its not Christmas, but it sure looks it here in Victoria. We have about a foot of snow! Since biking and running were out of the question, I scrounged around in the crawlspace and dug up my Grandpas old TRAK XC Skis. I shuffled down the Galloping Goose Trail, every so often hitting a ice patch and loosing control. Because Victorians all know that the snow will be gone by the weekend, there is this desperation to do everything we rarely get to do. There are already 5 snowmen on my cul'd'sac after one day. I shoveled out a neighbor in needs driveway and finished up an Essay.
Our car barely made it up the hill in order to get to swim practice yesterday morning. Fun group of people. It's funny, hardest day to get to practice and we have the best showing! After, I had a treadmill run in the Gym.
3x {4x {1 min}} focusing on a good body lean, and comfortable arms. This made for a fun, hard set of speedwork.

And to all a good night,
Andrew McCartney

Todays Top 5

Top 5 Christmas Movies:

1. It's A Wonderful Life ("Well, you look about the kind of angel I'd get. Sort of a fallen angel, aren't you?")
2. A Christmas Carol (Original with Alistair Sim)
3. Miracle on 34th street (Original with Natalie Wood)
4. A Christmas Story (Fra-gee-lay. That must be Italian)
5. The Grinch (The Cartoon)

I will raise my eyes and look down that corridor; 4 feet wide, with 10 lonely seconds to justify my whole existence. But WILL I?

Altered First Scene of Chariots Of Fire

Chariots of Fire...one of my favourite movies. Today, I felt like I was In the first scene of this epic movie. It was the first Track workout of the season. It felt Great. Picture 6 skinny runners all in short shorts weaving through campus in the pouring rain. As we carve around the track we don't notice a drop. But to get to the Details:

The workout was:

20min warm up

Drills

5X300m

10min Steady State

15min warmdown

But I am off for tonight,

Ciao,

Andrew McCartney

Todays Top 5

Top 5 Classic Movies:

1. Casablanca (Humphrey Bogart...Need I Say Any More)
2. Rebel Without a Cause (James Dean as Jim Stark)
3. Chariots Of Fire (A Must Have)
4. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (The Perfect Role for Jimmy) See Also
5. The Philadelphia Story (A Comedy With my Favourit Actor Jimmy Stewart)

Rain Rain go away...

Bonjourno,

Well we have had a number of mild days but it is back. It is not just pouring out there, its windshield wipers on full speed, taking a bath, walking between classes and the sun is never coming out again. And then it happens the clouds part and for half an hour the sun shines out of an angry sky and the light is extraordinary and you can't help grinning.

On the relatively mild days I got some good solid training in. Some BEAUTIFUL RUNS on Dallas Road! I am now on a 4 days on, 1 day off program as I build. Mainly just swimming and running. I should be back running with the Vikes on Thursday. Off to the usual Tuesday class and I see Mike leaving his, another one of the characters on the Track and Field team.

Good looking team! (Mike what are you doing in the Back Row?) Looking forward to racing with you guys in the new Year!

I have been experimenting with European Music. Well European alternative. I have discovered a number of groups like, The Knife, Belle and Sebastian and Beirut with help from my sister. I like trying out new music. I have an eclectic collection of music. Everything from Indie Rock and Roll to Country. The most outrageous song I know would have to be Kurt Cobain's favorite band, the indie rock specialist, "Beat Happening's - Bad Seeds" If indie rock is not for you then stay far away from Beat Happening.

Well training is going awesome, School is wrapping up and Life is good.

Good night and Good luck,

Andrew J McCartney

Todays top 5

Top 5 Inspirational Runners in History (keeping with the running mind-set)

1. Dorando Pietri (1908 Olympics) See also.
2. Haile Gebrselassie (Given)
3. Fanny Blankers-Koen (4 Gold Medals at age 30)
4. Steve Prefontaine (Guts, Glory and Attitude)
5. Roger Bannister (3.59.4 Mile)

All For One ... Run For All

Tuesday morning had a 4km swim. Felt strong and smooth. Just got into a groove. Swam well.

However, the highlight of the day was the run. I only ran for 40min but 15 of this was Tempo and I felt that effortless feeling again. Effortless speed. It is nice to see it is all coming back fast. There is nothing better than that light springy feeling of running fast. I also find running is the best time to clear out the attic. I do my best thinking when I run.

Wednesday morning swim again and it is nice to see Colin, Kyle and Kirsten back in Victoria and in the pool after an extended season of racing. Way to finish on a high note guys. Congrats. Swam well another solid 4km. Again, though the highlight came in the afternoon with a 1:30 on the rollers. Doing all the tricks again including a new one: One Leg Cycling! Awesome! Did a number of hard sets but I felt fast! If I were on the road, I think I would be going really Fast. I have the Powertap back on the bike so next ride I will know for sure. My heart rate was definately up there.

Term papers are all due Final Exams are coming up and Indoor Track is sprinting ahead. I'm writing one paper on the Environmental Health of British Columbia's largest River Basin - the Fraser River. One paper is about tracking how Newspapers cover Environmental Issues - very disturbing.

Did you know that we Canadians have access to 20% of the world's Fresh Water. Apparently we waste it big time. We use twice as much on a daily basis as the average European!

And well that brings you up to date. Hope all is well out there.

Take Care,

ciao

Andrew McCartney

Today's Top 5

Top 5 Locations to Run in Victoria:

1. Dallas Road/Beacon Hill -Breathtaking

2. Mount Doug Park -Hard core, but fun

3. Elk and Beaver Lake -Grew up on this one, Started on my bike with training wheels beside my parents who ran

4. Thetis Lake -Always a good challenge

5. The Gorge/ Inner harbour -Great on a sunny day

Back into the Flow of things.

O K, so...to catch you up. Coach Craig Taylor has me on a 2 day on, 1 day off program to build me back into the flow of training. Wednesday I had an early swim, about 5km not too hard a lot of pull so that was a bit hard on the shoulders but recovered fast. Checked in at the office for work but was not needed. Everything under control there. Had an hour and a half of rollers in the afternoon. That was a blast! I have really got this down. Next I am going to add an attachment with magnets in order to create resistance. That little extra challange.

Friday, a group of us ran at Mount Doug. Everything was very wet and very muddy. But I loved it. We did some pickups just to get the legs firing. Felt awesome. Springy and fast and the fitness is coming back. I am looking forward to a winter of some hard hard run training to get me ready for a sub peak, Indoor season with the Vikes.

Saturday went for a ride with the guys out on the road. A Cycling focus will have to wait till later in the season. I am mainly concerned about skills at the moment. Even with the rain I work the corners, think about apexing each corner and the proper lean. Also Rollers will make me very efficient once I start pushing the big gears.

As for today I had tough swim workout, about 4.5Km of Short Course Racing Fun. We had series of 50's with a Time Trial in the middle. I swam a 26.1 which was O K. Near the end of the set Craig made a challenge swim. Scotty and I had a Time we had to beat. If I swim faster than 25.5 or if Scotty swam a 26.1 the group would be free to go home. I was feeling pretty tired from the rest of the set but I gave it my best. Both Scotty and I were just off. I swam 25.8 and Scotty swam a 26.3. Next time.

I was talking to Brad Cunningham and he gave me some great advice. We were talking about aspirations in life. I told him one of my goals outside of triathlon was to own a coffee shop. He told me that you have to let people know about your dreams. If you keep it in, it will not happen. The old saying you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. When I was in Europe, I tried out many different cafes and I came home with so many ideas for a piece of Europe in Victoria.

Well the electricity should be going out any minute because we are going through a true west coast wind storm so I better wrap it up. I am heading down to Clover Point to do some storm watching.

Till next time...keep on rocking in the Free world.

Andrew McCartney

Todays Top 5

Top 5 Coffee shops in Victoria

1. Bean Around the World (Funky atmosphere)
2. Moka House on Cook St. (Noisy and Fun)
3. Mirage (Best Coffee "Art")
4. Mocambo Coffee (Poetry readings, "Artsy Fartsy")
5. Pacific Union (Tres Chic)

Today...Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday!

Yes Tuesday, not quite half way through the week but a little closer than monday.

This Tuesday morning I doubled my swimming volume. 5km of swimming with some good efforts tossed in. We did our usual "Break Point" test. This consists of 7 x 50 at a pace pre-conceived by the coaches. The goal times were a bit on the safe side so I was an average 2 sec faster than the goal times. Stroke rate held even at 29 strokes/50meters and I dropped to a 29sec 50m with 30 stroke rate. This is kind of exciting for me because it shows that I have not lost my efficiency. I am just about where I was during race season. Awesome Possum! Which reminds me,


"Happy Birthday to Neil Harvey!" Neil is the center's Swim Coach. Neil has been coaching swimming since 1978 so he knows what he is talking about and can find things to work on for even the finest stroke. He does remember how to swim in case anyone needs a race. So celebrate, Neil, and I will see you 7:30am tomorrow morning.

Tuesday is my long day of school. Two long 3 hour classes, pretty much in a row. The school day begins at 1:30 and ends at 9:30. Luckily class #2 is quite interesting and it helps to have a friend in it.

Today's Top 5:

Top 5 Music videos of 2006 (thus far and are subject to change without notice):

1. Cuff the Duke - The Ballad of Poor John Henry (A real Feel good Video)
2. Ok Go - Here it goes again (wow)
3. James Blunt - You're Beautiful (Sensitive Side)
4. The Raconteurs - Steady, As She goes (See also "Hands")
5. The All-American Rejects - Move along

A Break from the Rain

After about 3 days of constant downpour, the clouds subsided and gave way for a very enjoyable run this morning. Just a cruisy 10km with the Vikes at Elk and Beaver Lake. The trails weren't as muddy as I thought they would be, but there were some spots where the lake had overflowed a tad bit. I rushed home to see the results of the Cancun BG Triathlon World Cup. Some solid performances, some dissapointments and some just pure bad luck (Flat). Off to my home away from home. I do my studies in a small office on the pool deck that I like to call mine. I borrow a bit of Internet time, turn on some quiet music. It is this kind of atmospher where I am most productive. (Study Log: Solid 4hours) I believe I am 1/3rd ready, right on schedule for thursdays exam. Study, study study up to swim practice. Run and jump and off. Swam 3km with about 500m of effort. The rest was focusing on stretching out the arms and getting as much as I can out of every stroke. Felt awesome! Swam well.

Todays Top 5:

Top 5 Places in the World I Wish to Race.

1. Siena, Italy (A must)

2. Melbourne, Australia (Train and Race here)

3. La Habana, Cuba

4. London, England (Olympics 2012!)

5. Bejing, China (Olympics 2008)

(Siena, Italy)

Had a Good Day

7am the alarm goes off I am up and I am off to the pool. I always get there early. I feel it is a time to adapt to the scenery and lighting. The initial dive is always a shock to the system. (especially the chilly Commonwealth Pool) I begin the workout with the traditional "Run and Jump." I don't know about others but I always have to have a good song in my head as I swim. But I don't just hum the tune, I sing it out loud. But nobody notices because when I breath, that is the gasp of air between lyrics. It works very well for breathing every 3 to 5 strokes creating proper breathing patterns.
Later I had a nice coffee break with my Sister Jenny and My Mother Lisa at the Pacific Union. It is a New place close to China Town beside Dragon Alley. I have my favorite Coffee(an Americano) and I practiced some "Joiner Photography" See Below for example. This is a project in progress but it is close. The Idea is that if one picture makes you look at it once, then 10 pictures will make you look at it 10 times. It also gives the sense of movement and activity such as having coffee with your sister and your mother.

Later in the day I decided do some spinning on the rollers. I only spun for 40 min's but of that 40 minutes 30 of it was no hands! (New Personal Best) Proudly I finished, put the bike away, hot tub for 20min and then home.

One of my favorite movies is, "High Fidelity" staring John Cusack. Throughout this movie John names off top 5 lists. These lists range from Top 5 love songs to Top 5 break ups. I am going to do the same starting today. See Below.

Till next time,

Thank You and Good Night

Andrew McCartney

Today's List is:

Top 5 Songs to Sing During a Workout

1. Econoline Crush - You Don't Know What its Like
2. Europe - Final Countdown
3. A Fire Inside - Silver and Cold
4. Led Zepplin - Immigration Song
5. The Arcade Fire - Rebellion Lies