Where in the World is Chuckie V

Chuckie V is, in my opinion, the best triathlon blogger IN THE WORLD!  He is a great writer, very interesting, and as far as I can tell probably a pretty awesome coach.  Also he won Ironman Canada in 1999.  His hiking journals are also pretty awesome, I spent many hours reading his PCT journal end to end.  However, last year his blog went offline/private.  I was devastated since I was slowly reading through his posts, but there was no clue where his online persona had gone too.  Until now!  The boys at Slow Twitch found a link to this blog.  Pretty cool, I guess he is hiking through some mountain range in England, and now there are tons of interesting Chuckie V adventures to read again!

Here are some links to Chuckie V's materials that are still kicking around the internet:

• Most Recent Chuckie V Blog
• Trail journal on the Pacific Crest Trail
• The Art of War
• Young Pro's Survival Guide on Slowtwitch
• What Would Tony Little Do
• Some guy talking about the Chuckie V Effect
• 20 Questions with Chuckie V

Update: new Chuckie V blog

Update update: Chuckie V's 2013 Appalachian Trail Journal

Am I in Better Shape This Year Than Last?

Last year I did a pretty good job of training, culminating in my best half marathon time ever, 1:53 something. This year I want to do better of course, since there is a still a 10 minute gap I have to close with Fast Alex.  So my question to myself is, am I in better shape this year than last?  Is there reason to think there will be an improvement?

I have run very consistently this year, 6 days a week every week but I think my pace is slower and probably overall mileage.  I think my heart rate might be better though.  So here is a comparison of my training week in the last week of January in 2012 and 2013!

Last Year

Tuesday - it looks like I swam, biked 10 minutes, and ran for 1/2 a mile?
Wednesday - looks like I ran just under 40 minutes, 4 miles, the first mile slow (~11:00 min/mile), the middle two miles fast (8:45 min/mile), and the last mile slow again (around 10:30 min/mile).  When fast heart rate was 182 or so, when slow it was 151 and then 165 after
Thursday - spin class
Friday - 2 miles, 10:00 min/mile, avg heart rate was 159
Saturday - 3 miles, 8:45 min/mile, avg heart rate was 175, seemed to settle out at 180 for the last part of the run, also did a spin it appears
Sunday - long outdoor run, 7.31 miles, 11:19 average pace, average heart rate was 157
Total mileage - 16.5 miles

This Year

Tuesday - 2 miles, 10:15 min/mile pace, 152 average heart rate
Wednesday - 2 miles, 9:40 min/mile pace, 158 average heart rate
Thursday - 3 miles, 9:45 min/mile pace, 164 average heart rate
Friday - 1 mile, 8:15 min/mile pace, 172 average heart rate (rose to 179/180 by the end)
Saturday - 4 miles, 10:30 min/mile pace, average heart rate 151
Sunday - 1 mile, 8:00 min/mile pace, transition run after spin, heart rate rose to 170 bpm by the end
Total mileage - 13 miles

The two mile workouts are probably the most comparable, and it seems from them that my heart rate is slightly ahead of where it was last year.  I think after this week last year I started to pick up my speed and my long run distance, so I may have to factor that in for future runs...

Training Update - One Month In

I've been going pretty hard and running 6 days a week every day since New Years, and I think I'm starting to see improvements.  Most runs have been around 9:30 to 10:30 min/mile pace which is too slow to get close to Fast Alex, but my heart rate has been quite a bit lower than years past, so I am still holding out very, very limited hope that I will see enough improvements to beat Fast Alex.

My hip has been pretty sore, especially in weeks 3 and 4 which led to me easing off on the mileage a fair touch.  However, this week it has felt a lot better.

In addition to running I've been pushing other exercises a fair bit, doing 3 X 1KM rowing every week and also core and weight training.  Maybe that will help too?

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
01-Jan-12	0	2	2	2	2	2	1	11
08-Jan-12	0	2	3	2	2	3	1	13
15-Jan-12	0	2	3	1	2	3	1	12
22-Jan-12	0	2	2	3	1	4	1	13
29-Jan-12	0	2	3	3	1

New Footbridge in Edmonton

The best, most interesting places to run in Edmonton are along the river valley trails.  Some great news along this front, apparently there is a major expansion of river valley trails planned for the next three years that will add (or rehab) 74 km of trails.  The new footbridge is what I am most excited about, it looks like it will be between Terwillegar Park and the flat area underneath the Edmonton Country Club, where they will be building some more new trails to connect to the other new footbridge (to Fort Edmonton).  Sounds like there will definitely be some nice new loops to run.  A map with the details is here.

While checking this out I also noticed there is an Android app for The River Valley Alliance.  It basically provides routes and information on all sorts of walks along the river valley, and could be a pretty good tool to plan some runs, I think.

Best Kids Triathlon in Edmonton?

My 6 year old son, Cameron, made a New Years resolution to complete a triathlon this year.  He is pretty young, so he has more spirit and energy than experience, so we wanted to find one with a pool swim and a fun atmosphere.  It appears most of the Kids of Steel (KOS) races for 6 year olds consist of 50 meters swimming, 1.5  km biking, and 500 m running.  We have heard kids can use life jackets for the swim and training wheels for the bike so it should be appropriate for any 6 year old.

These are the main races we found that looked best:

• St. Albert Kids of Steel
• on June 9th, 2013
• Triathlon AB info link here
• hosted at Fountain Park Recreation Centre
• this event is just for kids, so it is guaranteed to not be an after though for an adults triathlon 
• Beaumont KOS Triathlon
• on July 1st, 2013
• hosted at the S&D AquaFit Centre
• Beaumont on Canada Day must be fun
• Triathlon Festival KOS
• on June 22nd, 2013
• official web page is here
• hosted at the Royal Glenora Club
• here is a link to an article about it
• Canadian Derby Edmonton Marathon ABC Run for Kids Run/Walk
• on August 17th, 2013
• this one is just a 1 km run, but it might be fun too

Please vote on our poll at the side of the page, Cameron will appreciate the feedback!

Airfare and Hotel Booked for Vancouver Half!

We booked our air and hotel package early this year since West Jet had a sale.  Last year we waited until late March and paid $600 per person for the Georgian Court.  This year we paid $630 to stay at the Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel, but we could have gotten $600 for some slightly less convenient flights.  Both hotels have very good locations, right downtown but this year we are closer to the Expo, which might be cool?  We arrive Friday morning to allow us an extra day in the city and fly out Monday morning to avoid flying out right after the race, the same as last year.

We booked travelocity this year since they beat expedia's price.  Looks like so far booking early has paid off, as the current price is up to $700 with way worse flights.


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Update

Jan 16 - looks like the same package we booked is available for $603 on expedia now, I guess we booked too soon...
Feb 4 - still $603 bitter, though the flights are worse now
Feb 13 - super bitter, down to $585, return flight has a stopover though
Feb 20 - hanging in at $596
Feb 27 - up to $623, and the flights are atrocious!
March 6 - up to $664, terrible flights, early booking finally looks like a good idea
March 14 - $672
March 20 - $634
March 27 - $596
April 3 - $596
April 10 - $610
April 17 - $717
May 1 - $771

Registered for BMO Vancouver Half Marathon 2013

Registration for the half marathon is complete.  Registration cost goes up to $109 after tonight (from $79 right now) so if you are thinking of doing this one, sign up now!

Hotel and flight booking is still in limbo.  Last year we booked through Expedia and stayed at the Georgian Court, right downtown.  I'll keep an eye on Expedia's sales and try to get the best price again this year.

Fast Alex Training Hard to Defend His Title