2018 XTERRA Maui Mudfest
The 2018 XTERRA Maui World Championship will be remembered for the epic muddy course conditions.
Satisfaction comes from giving it your best effort for the day
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2018 Tri The Dirt XTERRA Victoria
Signup is open for TRI THE DIRT XTERRA Victoria and our second edition is going to be EVEN BETTER! This camp is specifically focused on the XTERRA Victoria course and athletes who have signed up for XTERRA Victoria race save $25 and alumni from Tri The Dirt Bear Mountain save an additional $25! We are rolling out the 2018 Tri The Dirt team gear so if you want to be part of the first year of TTD sign up quickly.
Tri The Dirt XTERRA Victoria edition is June 8-10! You should plan to be in Victoria for a 5:30pm open water swim session on Friday night June 8. The camp will run to approximately 4pm on Sunday June 10 with full days on Saturday and Sunday. The final itinerary will be out in two weeks time.
The sign up INCLUDES TAX this time around 🙂
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Whether you are a beginner who is just starting your adventures on the dirt or a veteran looking to find more free speed TRI THE DIRT is the camp for you! This is also an excellent opportunity for riders to come to familiarize with the course and receive coaching on how to best race at this venue. This is a NON COMPETITIVE skills based camp. This is not about smashing yourselves with exertion, it is about mindful improvement through better execution. Everyone will improve and will swim/bike/run/transition at their level. The learning environment is positive, fun, and confidence building. NO ONE GETS DROPPED and NO ONE FEELS LIKE THEY ARE WAITING!
The camp will all be based at Durrance Lake where the XTERRA Victoria event will be held. This camp is skills based, so all of the training will be focused on technique, but will also include a thorough preview of the courses.
We will teach you skills to tackle what you will encounter at XTERRA Victoria – roots, rock rolls, hills, and tight corners. All of these obstacles require nailing the basic skills of mountain biking and some good run technique. You will leave the camp with the knowledge of how to train to be better at this sport – not just fitter. Offroad racing rewards technically sound athletes – so we will make you technically better at swimming, biking, running, and transitioning.
Why Tri The Dirt—> See HERE
The camp will start with an OPEN WATER BUOY session. This session will be in wetsuits at this time of the year. Sighting, turns, pack swimming, and entry/exits of the water will be covered.
Then there will be a run clinic on AGILITY and UP/DOWNHILL running. Mountain bike skills clinics will start with the basics and we will progress to some common maneuvers that incorporate all of the skills.
Learn skills appropriate for YOUR LEVEL that make you a more confident rider
Also included in the camp will be a session on nutrition, transitions, and a tech session on suspension and tires.
This camp is supported by Clif Bar so we will have snacks on hand to avoid any hangry incidents…and at the end of the camp there will be an all out rock/paper/scissors war for prizes from Rudy Project. We didn’t say it was all non-competitive!
Lunch will be provided! (as long as you are stoked on a massive Red Barn sandwich, cookie, and a drink because that is really all we can offer at this venue!)
Looking forward to meeting you all at Tri The Dirt. Space is limited… so don’t delay.
XTERRA Tri The Dirt Promo
Go Camping with 3X XTERRA World Champ, Melanie McQuaid
From www.xterraplanet.com by Pamela Hunt
Close your eyes and imagine your ideal coach. Tough, kind, incredibly knowledgeable, totally trustworthy, and maybe a bit of a badass.
If you just imagined three-time XTERRA World Champ Melanie McQuaid, you are in luck. This year, McQuaid will be leading the Tri the Dirt off-road triathlon camp from April 27th-29th at Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, British Columbia. She and former pro mountain biker, Adam Walker will offer intense mountain bike coaching for both beginners and expert off-road athletes.
“For XTERRA and mountain bike racing, fundamental technical skills are always going to be a limiter if they are not in place,” said McQuaid of her decision to offer a camp. “So I figure the most important coaching I could offer are the technical aspects of XTERRA and off-road triathlon. I partnered with Adam, an experienced skills coach, so together we can offer a camp of technical coaching that will blow people away.”
The camp is a natural progression of McQuaid’s coaching and skills clinics. Last December, she offered a swim and run camp that was highly successful.
Tri the Dirt Camp will kick off Friday evening with a hill running session and dinner. Saturday will begin with a mountain bike skills workshop, a session on bike set-up, and continue with a lesson on skills, including angulation, rotation, cornering, and pumping. The day will conclude with an open water swim practice. Sunday will be equally awesome and will include another mountain bike skills session and a duathlon to practice transitions.
McQuaid added that her camp is neither a train-cation nor a mad, overtraining opportunity. “We are going to make you better technically. You will see immediate results and take away knowledge that will continue to improve and break through to new levels in your sport.”
But this is also camp, meaning that the weekend is pretty much guaranteed to be a blast.
“In general, mountain biking demands a laid back attitude,” said McQuaid. “It’s part of the culture. So as soon as a mountain bike is involved, people relax, have fun, and enjoy the connection to nature and other athletes. You are coming to Canada. We pride ourselves on friendliness, politeness, and kicking serious ass on mountain bikes. We would love to demonstrate all of the above at Tri The Dirt Camp.”
For more information on Melanie McQuaid’s Tri the Dirt Camp, visit http://melrad.com/
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Off-road Triathlon Technical Skills
Off-road Triathlon Technical Skills
(Previously published in the print edition of Triathlon Magazine Canada)
Working on technical skills is important if mixing some off road triathlon in an otherwise paved season is in your race plans Off road racing technical skills are important as the course is a challenge in itself. Once you have the technical skills in place you can then plan your strategy to best the competition.
The trails were technical and fun at ITU Cross Triathlon Worlds.
2018 Tri The Dirt Triathlon Camps Kickoff at Bear Mountain
Inaugural TRI THE DIRT triathlon camp – Bear Mountain Resort April 27-29, 2018
After 22 years of racing mountain bikes, road racing, triathlon and XTERRA/offroad triathlon I am super excited to offer a triathlon training camp dedicated to the off road discipline. I am drawing from my experience as former Canadian National team cross country mountain bike racer, XTERRA pro with over 50 professional victories including five World titles, and six time Ironman 70.3 Champion to bring you TRI THE DIRT – the ULTIMATE OFFROAD TRIATHLON CAMP.
I am excited to partner with former pro mountain bike athlete (we were team mates back in the day!) and master technical skills coach Adam Walker of The Cycling Co to offer hands-on mountain bike skills coaching which really sets this event apart from any other triathlon camp in the world.
Check out Adam’s website to learn more about him!
TRI THE DIRT is for:
- The fresh faced beginner new to triathlon racing who has decided offroad is the coolest
- The seasoned Ironman veteran who is looking to try something a lot more fun
- The tri-curious mountain biker who is secretly coveting the ability to swim and run and is ready to come out and race
- The expert XTERRA racer who wants to dominate the top step of the podium at XTERRA Victoria
- Athletes that want to go have the most amazing, killer, train-cation on SWEET SWEET westcoast trails!*
*must be willing to learn some awesome new skills in the process
Sign up follows along with the itinerary for the camp.
Athletes need Tri BC memberships on that weekend and can sign up for membership through MelRad racing (with a $5 discount cha-ching!). Athletes not from BC – details on how to buy a two day event membership is available.
There is the option to use an Interac email transfer instead of using Paypal.. just contact me to use that option and I will provide you with a receipt!
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Our goal is to make you more confident in your riding skills and help you master the world famous west coast single track trails. TRI THE DIRT is an opportunity to learn the skills honed in Victoria, BC that developed the #1 women’s mountain bike team in the world (for over 20 years!) In addition to riding skills, TRI THE DIRT is about executing an excellent off road race and what training to dominate the trails both on the bike and run.
The cornerstone of a great offroad race is excellent riding but it is still a triathlon. We will help you navigate the swim, bike and run where you maximize your strengths and build on your weaknesses. We will touch on all aspects of off road racing.
The camp is suitable for ALL LEVELS. TRI THE DIRT is your opportunity to improve by teaching you when you are comfortable, confident, and relaxed! This camp is not on the trails for the awesome XTERRA Victoria event but the coaching will prepare you well to take them on. Stay an extra day and you can go do a course recon to check it out!
The only restriction is this camp is 18 and over – stay tuned for the kids version in the future!
Early bird fees until March 16th!
Early bird camp fees are $399 plus GST —> $418.95
On March 17th the price will jump to $425 plus GST
On March 30th the price is $450 plus GST.
On April 13th the price is $475 plus GST.
REGISTER EARLY!
We will honor your entry for a future camp or allow you to transfer to another athlete AT ANY TIME.
NO refunds after April 13th (see above.. you can defer to another camp or another athlete who wants to take your spot).
There is an athlete LIMIT! Refunds up to two weeks in advance but you can transfer your registration to someone else if you can’t make it. First signed up gets the spots and once we are sold out.. that is it.
Also we have CUSTOM TRI THE DIRT CAMP JERSEYS and BOCO hats!! Woohoo.. thank you Champion System. We will provide a link when the store is live.
Thank you very much for checking in with us! Adam and I are excited about TRI THE DIRT and are confident this is the best triathlon camp in the world. The stoke is high.
Schedule for 2018 Tri The Dirt Triathlon Camp at Bear Mountain Resort
What Is MelRad Multisport Coaching?
What is the MelRad Multisport Coaching Program
MelRad Multisport Coaching is the evolution of Mel’s RAD RACING TEAM which was the FIRST triathlon age-group team dominating the US and Canada back in 2009. MelRad Multisport is the evolution of my experience in the sport. I am offering a personalized training service for athletes pursuing goals in triathlon and cycling. Interested? Please send an inquiry through this website!
I have the knowledge and experience to coach endurance athletes interested in all triathlon disciplines and distances, mountain bike events and road cycling. If your goal is your first Ironman or an XTERRA victory, the MelRad Racing Training program is for you! Training should be basic, simple to understand and effective. I will teach you to understand the fundamentals of training and how to get the best of yourself.
I personally coach ALL of my athletes. All programs suit your unique needs, limits, and personal goals. I can find the best in you and make the most of the time you have. I have coached athletes to regional age group wins, national wins and World Championship titles. If you want to put in the work, I will show you the way.
“Having Mel as my coach this past season was an incredible experience! As she states on her coaching page “If you want to put in the work, I will show you the way” and she did that plus much much more!
She delivered me a detailed tailored training program. I found that she was constantly tweaking and updating my program to find a healthy, realistic balance between my work and home life yet pushing me to be my very best in all my athletic endeavours. The level of communication I received through out was astounding as she always made herself available to me by utilizing all methods of communication such as phone calls, texting and emails. Through out my season I felt Coach Mel was fully invested and committed to helping me achieve my lofty goals. I can truly attest that with Mel as your coach you will receive a coaching service of the highest level.
Just some of the rad experiences Mel helped me achieve this season:
Qualified for Xterra World Championships
1st M30-34 Xterra Victoria
2nd Masters M30-39 Victoria Canada Cup MTB XC
2nd Expert Male Overall in Alberta Cup MTB XC Series
2nd overall 5peaks Squamish 13km Enduro RunI highly recommend Melanie as a coach to anyone!
P.N.”
Services include:
- Unlimited email contact to explain and support workouts
- Weekly contact by phone
- Planned testing to analyse how things are going and ensure accurate training zones
- Set-up of an annual training periodization designed around races and priorities
- Determining and addressing physiological limiters and monitoring of progress throughout the season
- Pre/post event support: analysing race outcome, discussing strategies and approaches.
- Discussion of race nutrition and approaches to different courses for both mountain bike and triathlon.
- Sharing detailed knowledge of numerous multiday mountain bike races and how to prepare body and equipment.
- Specific pacing plans for all of your races including wattage recommendations on the bike
- Online TrainingPeaks diary submit/track results
I not only coach athletes physically, I prepare you mentally. As a coach for executives and a public speaker, I can help you master the mental side of the sport. I will create a personalized Annual Training Plan with your key races in mind and then build a program based on 1-4 week cycles to help maximize your strengths and work to minimize your weaknesses. With a BSc in Chemistry and Biochemistry, I have an objective and scientific approach to training methodology. However, my race experience is how I can get the best results because EXPERIENCE counts.
I have that experience:
- UCI Road Cycling World Championships
- 5x UCI Mountain Bike World Championships
- 5x IM 70.3 World Championship
- 12x XTERRA World Championships (3 wins/7 podiums)
- 2 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championship wins
- Wins and Podium performances at professional level road, cross country mountain bike, endurance mountain bike, XTERRA, ITU Cross Triathlon, Half-Ironman, Full Ironman, Challenge triathlon, and trail running.
- Won 6x professional half Ironman distance races
- Second place professional first attempt at full Ironman distance
- Comeback from a potentially career ending fracture (experience recovering from major injury)
I can help you have your best performance and help you control circumstances to make each race one you can be proud of. I understand the intricacies of high performance and the challenge of balancing multisport in a busy family and professional life.
I have CAC Coaching Certification in cycling and Community Coaching Certification from Triathlon BC. I have been coaching athletes, pro and amateur, for 12 years.
Being a mom and a kickass athlete
This story is about Jackie Burt, a wicked pro I coached from Gunnison, Colorado. There are a lot of truths in the article about balancing being a mom and being a kickass athlete. I love this story.
| By Brian Metzler
Gunnison mom balances competitive drive and life with kids April 17, 2006 |
| Gunnison – Jackie Burt is a stay-at-home mom. Sort of.
Not long after she drops off her children at school, she can often be found at the gym grinding her way through a 90-minute cycling class. Then she might swing by the pool for an hour of swimming. Lately, her typical week has also included alpine skiing, running, weight lifting, skate skiing and even ice hockey. It’s not that the 34-year-old Gunnison resident doesn’t enjoy a little peace and quiet, but this mom is on a mission. She’s training like a fiend so she can earn professional status as an off-road triathlete by midsummer and have a chance to shoot for top-10 finishes at the sport’s U.S. and world championships in October. Most of the events in the Xterra off-road triathlon circuit consist of a roughly 1-mile swim, 25 miles of mountain biking and about 6 miles of running. The pros finish in about 2 1/2 hours. Burt is a reluctant but improving swimmer, an expert mountain biker and a very good runner. Based on her fierce determination, rapid improvement in recent years and the fact her children – 9-year-old daughter Emma and 7-year-old son Sam – are in school all day for the first time, Burt, who picked up the sport six years ago, appears poised for her best season of racing yet. She also has retained Xterra women’s world champion Melanie McQuaid to coach her this season to make sure no stone is left unturned. Burt’s first race is April 23. “I’ve always been competitive, and it’s really nice as an old-lady mother to be able to dig that out and use that,” she said. “There are challenges, but at the same time, I don’t know how I could survive the balance of motherhood without competition. It’s my very own, and it’s a great way to stay focused in life.” It certainly helps that her husband, Ashley, is a dedicated amateur Xterra triathlete and her biggest supporter, and that they’ve been able to share their love of sports and the outdoors by involving the children in their training and long race weekends. In the summer, the Burts will do running workouts while Emma and Sam ride their mountain bikes on the same trails. In the winter months, the family often goes alpine or cross country skiing together and then returns home to watch a movie on TV as Jackie and Ashley spin on indoor bike trainers. But with the kids involved in a variety of sports ranging from triathlon to hockey to gymnastics, scheduling can sometimes be tricky. On one occasion last summer, Jackie finished a race near Bailey and then had to scurry to braid Emma’s hair and quickly drive her to Longmont for a gymnastics meet. “It’s been a fun challenge,” said Ashley Burt, 38, who is the president of the Gunnison Bank and Trust and race director for the fourth annual Crested Butte Bank Trails Triathlon on July 30. “I think, more than anything, the kids are growing up in a household where Mom and Dad are athletes who train a lot, and that seems normal to them. And when it strikes your kids as the norm, they don’t really question it, and they actually enjoy it.” |
2015 Ironman Canada
This quote sums up my 2nd place (and fastest bike split) debut Ironman Canada performance and why I am so happy with what happened but hungry, motivated and determined for more:
“A win doesn’t feel as good as a loss feels bad, and the good feeling doesn’t last as long as the bad. Not even close.” – Andre Agassi
Coming that close to winning my first Ironman was insane. But losing the race that late in the race leaves me with the belief that I could maybe win an Ironman. I don’t know that I truly thought I could win Sunday. I don’t really feel “bad” about anything on Sunday because I truly gave my best on the day. The fact I made some mistakes and didn’t win means there is still unfinished business and I am so glad. It is what drives us.
Danielle Mack executed a super strong race under terrible conditions to win her second Ironman. Although I love a lot of the girls I race against- because they are amazing people I admire so much- having a former XTERRA age group World Champ win this Ironman makes me very happy. I am so happy for her and I am so glad she got to experience the wonderful vibe and support my country brought on the day. So my sincerest, biggest, proudest congratulations to you Danielle on such a great race!
Third place was another Canadian -Jen Annett- who posted the fastest run. XTERRA girls and Canadian girls are tougher than a $3 steak so the race conditions were no match for us. Thank you to the rest of the field for making my first Ironman such a hard effort because I wanted nothing less than my best on the day and that is exactly what I gave thanks to you guys. What a day.
Thank you Whistler for welcoming us, taking care of us and inspiring us. Through terrible weather there were volunteers and fans everywhere, from Whistler to Pemberton. I actually had tears welling up coming in off the bike because there were SO MANY PEOPLE!!!!! It was overwhelming. Thank you thank you! I never would have expected an Ironman to create career moments but there are many from Sunday. Whistler, you rock. Also thank you to Ironman Canada and WTC for this event. I appreciated so much the opportunity to race in my home country and seeing the familiar faces from Ironman in Victoria and Whistler helped me calm my nerves. Thanks a lot guys.
Absolute destruction
So here is my day:
“What you feel doesn’t matter in the end; it’s what you do that makes you brave.” – good old Andre again.
The weather was not good for anyone- there are no magical powers that make you good in cold weather it is just 100% acceptance of the situation and immediate problem solving to make the most of it. Well, and maybe some experience slogging through it (the Canucks and Brits are good at this). I was just determined to have the best possible first Ironman I could-no matter what the conditions. I told myself: “No one gives a crap whether you are cold, sore or tired (I was all of the above). What are you going to do about it? Make this count.”
I was worried about how much to wear because I am so terrible riding no hands on my time trial bike so what went on was going to end up staying on for the duration of the bike. I knew it was going to be chilly and cold so I chose long finger gloves, arm warmers and a vest. The vest was key. Make no mistake, when it is less than 15 degrees Celsius you better keep your core warm or you are going to burn a bunch of calories you can’t replace.
So with my outfit planned out I went and swam my first straight 3800m swim. In hindsight, I need to swim more super long swims. I stuck on the feet of Karen Thibodeau and Laurel Wassner until we passed buoy number 4 and then I think maybe the lead changed between those two and the feet I was on disappeared. So I dangled and wondered do I punch it to stay in their group or do I cool it and get dropped. How much does swimming cost in an Ironman??? So I tried harder for maybe 50m and then I gave up the chase because they really were too fast for me. I plowed alone in the water all by myself (well other than some REALLY fast AG athlete who passed me at about 2100 m) until the last 100m when a couple of age group men, Liz Lyles and Cait Snow ran by me into transition. Dangit.
So then we are on the bikes and since it is only a 5’ gap to age groupers I am seeing more Agers already. Liz had blasted out of T1 without putting many clothes on so I didn’t catch her again until about 15km down the road. I tried to make a joke when I caught up and went by but she was not happy about the weather. She is tiny and she needed a parka and a toque. I was told to cruise it up Callaghan and not go hard so I didn’t. I did not realize there was a $1000 prime to the top (I think this was good in hindsight). I had Laurel in my sights but she wasn’t coming back super quickly. I just stuck to a heart rate and minded my own business. I think she was planning on the prime because once she won it the gap evaporated and I passed her on the second switchback down the hill. Then I was in the lead. Woohoo!
Fffffffffffffreezing.
Thank you to Eon D’Ornellas, 4x Olympian and 2x Canadian road race champion for changing my tire for me before the race and offering excellent pre-race cycling advice. He said to take it very easy on all of the technical bits and I took that advice. This meant any skills I had were waste because I took absolutely zero risks all day and rode my brakes like a Cat 5. I was very, very slow on every corner which I am sure didn’t help pad my lead. I don’t regret that though… I did NOT want to run my first marathon with road rash.
I just kept plowing away in 10cm deep puddles for 180kms all by myself and man, it took forever. No one was setting any records…. We couldn’t go fast even when it was flat because the flat had a massive headwind. Not a soul was around so I was singing songs to myself (thanks Beth for the advice!) and smiled to stay positive. I was passed by a few Agers up to Callaghan but passed up to three or more of them by the Meadows (not sure if they were AG or pro men). I struggled in the Meadows section. My hip was hurting from some kind of weird cramp, I was all tense and freezing and I couldn’t hold aero position – so I was standing up a lot. That was a terrible, terrible section for me. I also saw the rest of my competition all riding together (legally!) and they really weren’t that far. Cait Snow was riding by herself, all smiles as usual. On the run she was cheering for me…haha. She is such a freaking star. I would not want to go to an Ironman just to finish for points especially after just kicking ass and winning in France so high five Cait – you are so damn tough. Thank you for the encouragement out there. Can’t wait to cheer for you in Kona!
I live in Victoria and have ridden so many rides in my career in equally crappy weather with Houshang Amiri’s http://pacificcyclingcentre.ca/ group. I just kept going back to that. “You can live through this, you’ve done this a million times, if it is hurting you it’s hurting everyone.” That is the benefit of being tough in the winter… you are ready for any race.
When I rode into Whistler the crowds were incredible. They were calling my name and freaking out. I almost started to cry. It was effin crazy. So I was so stoked to get out there and run when I came off the bike (I was stuck leaning forward for about 15 steps- yikes) I tore into the change tent. Then I couldn’t get my armwarmers off but got the gloves and vest off ( with helpers), changed my socks, put on a race belt, put on my Fuelbelt and was off running. My transition was not fast. I saw Christine Fletcher come ripping out of the portaloo… almost missing her lead biker duty! Hilarious.
Then my Fuelbelt fell off and a yardsale of random sports nutrition was everywhere. So I started running around collecting it all and a volunteer tried to spiral pass one of the flasks to me… which I of course missed. I ran around the corner and the belt fell off again. Picked it up and put it on again … nope, down again. The belt I have used a million times in training refused to Velcro shut in this race. WTF. So I salvaged two gels and a flask at a feedzone and carried on without the rest of my stuff (salt pills, extra gel etc) and tried to carry the flask. Which I dropped two more times in the first kilometer. When the race comes down to about 120 seconds you start to remember these things in crystal clear detail.. haha!
Race belt snafu plus hair tie destruction. Even my hair elastics weren’t up to the task.
Then I got to running. Unfortunately, I chose to run based on heart rate rather than on pace. Dumb dumb dumb. Now I know you should run on heart rate or pace- choosing whichever is not fantasy. Everyone warned me… including MBK, Brent, Beth Gerdes and Kelly Williamson….. I think the words were “Don’t go out TOO HARD!!!” by all of them. So running 6km at 4:00/km pace (2:48 marathon) and another 8 km at about 3:01 pace was stupid, stupid, stupid because the back half of that marathon was at a glacial pace. Back to reality…. My dream marathon was 3:10 so 4:31/km pace. Going out like a rocket came back and bit me so hard in the back half. Lesson learned. Plus no one told me Garmin’s don’t last through an IM. You need more than one! Lesson #2. Danielle caught me somewhere around 4 kms to go and she was just gone. Game over.
Hugging it out post race 🙂
The freaking gong show of people at Whistler cheering at the finish was amazing. OMG that was the most fun ever in my life. You guys are so cool… some that I remember hearing (I am so sorry I don’t remember everyone) were Care, Jasper, Mike, Lala, Elladee?, MC, Lisa, Clint, Sara, and Alison. So great to have a big hug from Jazz at the finish. I heard Clint a lot out there and I appreciate it so much buddy! Especially the calming words after I was run over by the tv scooter..haha! I know there are a million more of you guys but I was kind of in a hypoglycemia induced coma for probably 15kms of that marathon so I was foggy on what happened for a lot of the day but there were people from my mountain bike career, XTERRA people, Victoria folks, Vancouver people.. it was crazy. Thank you guys so much… I tried SO HARD!! That feels so good today.. thanks for helping me get that out of myself.
You guys are soooo awesome!
So thank you to my yoda, Kelly Guest of Livefit coaching, for helping me transform into someone who can actually almost win a race that includes a run marathon. I can’t wait to try again. I want to crush a marathon so bad. Thank you for all the elite juniors I train with that help me attempt to ignore my age: Hanna, Elspeth, Holly, Hamish, Megan, Abby, and Lydia. Thanks to Clint Lien’s group for letting me drop in and hang out with some athletes who are my own age and thank you to the Thetis Lake Friday morning swim club for constantly crushing me every Friday. You guys are amazing. Thank you to Houshang Amiri for letting me train with his U23 http://pacificcyclingcentre.ca/ cycling stars in the winter. Here’s hoping I can keep up for a while longer! Thank you to my regular run training partners Danelle Kabush, Kelly, Nick, Mike, Buttons, Care, Marilyn, Trent, Hilary and Elspeth. Extra thank you for Danelle. You are the best- not just as a training partner but also for the mindset! Look her up for mental training because she will make you unstoppable http://danellekabush.com/sponsors/ .
Thank you to my sponsors who believe in me and see that I can race at the highest level at this point in my career. Easily, I am as fit if not even fitter than I have ever been in my life. Trek Bikes is amazing – what a privilege to be on this team. Thanks to Bontrager for the amazing wheels and shoes. Thank you to Shimano for pedals and shifting that were bombproof on the worst of days. Thanks to Rudy Project for the amazing helmets and glasses. Thanks Blueseventy wetsuits for allowing me to swim solo and lose 3 ish minutes to fast swimmers in my first Ironman. Thanks Powertap for helping me train on the bike with proper objective data. Thanks Champion System for the cool clothes with my own designs. Thank you Frontrunners Victoria and Asics for figuring out my footwear to transform into a runner. Thank you Procity Racing for heckling me and keeping me grounded throughout my long career… oh and race tuning my machines to perfection. Thanks USANA for keeping me healthy and Sci Con Bags for keeping my bike healthy during travel, thanks Saltstick and Powerbar for providing nutrition.
Summer holidays then Challenge Penticton August 30. Right now I am so sore. Thanks for reading.
Xterra World Champion Live Updates: They’re Off
The canon has been fired and Xterra worlds are under way. We’ll let you know how things are panning out after the first lap.
