"I'm a Little Tired"

I suppose that's to be expected eh? I didn't sleep much last night as I couldn't get my mind to slow down. I really want to tell you all about my race but if you're still interested it will have to be tomorrow. At least if we can get an internet connection as we're back on the road...headin home the Canadian way.

In the mean time check this out.

I wish to dedicate day 1a to the memory of Ironman Wally Wiwchar, who sadly passed away during yesterdays race. He died doing what he loved.

“Live as you would have wished to live when you are dying"---Christian Furchtegott Gellert

love
peter

"Take That Cancer"

And that's about all I have to say, other than to tell you that this whole journey of the past year was in my mind a testament to the human spirit and a testament to family and friends. They are in essence one and the same. I am very proud of myself today for this thing, but even prouder of all those who dared to love me, and dared to believe in me. Historically that has not been an easy task because I've been an asshole for a good part of my life. Today I don't feel so much like an asshole. Today I feel special! Today I am an Ironman! My Subaru Ironman Canada official finishing time was 11:36:54. Maybe you'll find the proof here. Just enter bib # 1841. Take that world! Take that cancer!
More tomorrow. Right now I need to try to eat and then I'm gonna have a beer. Maybe two!

love
peter

"Sunday Morning 4 AM"

...Lets get this show on the road! Or in the lake first I guess. It will be a long warm day (32 deg) but with little wind, the weather channel claims. I now have to focus on one thing only. I need to believe that whatever comes out of this day that I will be proud of myself. I have put a great deal of pressure on myself and am afraid of letting myself and others down. I need to remind myself of the accomplishment of simply getting here. By the end of the day I will be able to say, "I am an Ironman"

I wish to dedicate this entire day, and every day after this to my wife Claudette Regnier, without whom I would not be here today!

"The crime is not to avoid failure, the crime is to not give triumph a chance."---H. Weldon

love
peter

"Let er Rip!"

I have to post early today so that I'm not worrying about it tonite. I don't really have much to say anyway, which will please Bill. I feel quite anxious but that's clearly normal. I'm sure that's why you see so many people still out there, swimming, biking and running. They're just trying to deal with the jitters. Personally I'm trying to cope by relaxing a little and keeping my feet up.

I think generally that I have everything ready and the logistics of race day figured out. We went and checked in my bike and my transition bags this morning and so that's something off my mind. I will make one last visit down there this evening to walk my mind through the transitions again. Tomorrow morning will just be a last minute check of my tire pressure and that part should be good. Also in the morning I have to hand in my special needs bags and get my body marking done. The truly amazing part of this whole event from human perspective is not the competitors, but rather the volunteers. There are just over 2600 competitors, and 4000 volunteers!!! Many of them are already down there helping you with anything you may possibly need. I try hard to thank everyone of them I pass by.

I have to take this last opportunity to thank so many people who have helped me out over the last year. They are too numerous to mention but you know who you are. I'm pretty sure that over the last year I have mentioned each and every one of you in my blog and so we'll leave it at that. With one exception. One more time I have to thank Claudette. She often says that I would do the same for her, but I'm not sure that she's right. She has totally and unselfishly made this incredible journey "all about me". The neat thing for both of us however is that it has clearly brought us closer together. Especially these last 2 weeks, living together in this small space we have gotten along so remarkably well. I think I will always cherish this part of it.

As to tomorrow specifically I am still extremely anxious. Despite that I promise to do everything my mind and body are capable of. The one thing I'm quite sure of is that I will have the kind of day that I deserve. Time will tell what that is.

Tomorrow Claudette will be trying to get some video and pics and as such I'm gonna leave you on your own to find any race updates. I think you should be able to get it here ....I hope.

I wish to dedicate day 345 to the most important person that happened to me in decades. My grandson Colby, who's smile will literally be carrying me to the finish line tomorrow!

...and in closing...the mans famous last words were....bring it on!!!!!!!!!

"Try Not; Do or Do Not!"---Yoda

love

peter

"Almost There"

As hoped for I got to meet Paula Newby-Fraser this morning.



Besides being the most successful long course triathlete ever, she is bright, witty and well spoken. I had a chance to meet with her along with a small group of people who had entered the race through the community fund program. A charity program in which you pay twice the entry fee, and coincidentally the reason I was allowed to carry my entry over to 2009. She made several comments which I found sensible but the point which hit home the most with me was related to "why are you here?" She said that the most common phrase she usually heard during race week was "I just want to have fun". She challenged us on this, making the point that a year ago when we signed up and started training that the idea of 'fun' had nothing to do with it. She went on to share her belief that each and every one of us was there for a very special, very personal reason, and that we should focus on that as opposed to having fun. I took her advice to heart and as such intend on trying to enjoy my success, as opposed to having fun. I think those are 2 very different things

I'm tired today and at the same time I'm ready to go. I did not sleep well last night but hope for better tonite. I continue to get amazing support from so many people but tonite I had a special call. My sister-in-law Heather and her daughter Carla gave me the most wonderful words of support. They then put brother Bill on the line who proceeded to tell me at some length that my blog was mostly a waste of words. This didn't bother me because generally I agree with him and I appreciate his honesty. It was clear however that he has read enough of it to be able to make that judgement and as such I say it must have had a few good moments. Besides, he blew his whole tough guy approach when he told me that "he loved me"!!! I love you too Bill!

Teresa tells me that we made it onto the TV in Kitchener tonite courtesy of Janine and there will be a followup on Monday for anyone who cares. Any video you will see will be courtesy of my wife, videographer extraordinaire.

I wish to dedicate day 344 to our Kylie, the most perfect girl child ever born, and on who's shoulders I will fly through the course.

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one."---Dr Seuss

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."---Walt Disney

love
peter

"Got er Made Now"

I've got the sister on my team! You may recall one of my very early postsI dedicated to this woman, Sister Madonna Buder. She is 79 years old and has completed 35 Ironman Races. She said she would pray for me, and failing that she would walk the marathon with me. I'm counting on the prayers!

This morning started out with registration down at the park, and by the time we were out of there and back to the RV, my stress level was through the roof. Thank goodness Roo had the foresight to get us in line before they even opened, other wise we would have been standing for hours. What an incredible zoo! Fortunately as the day wore on Claudette talked me down and as I started getting all my respective gear packed and ready for the race I gradually settled down. Phone conversations with Peter and Miguette and the grandchildren(especially them) really helped, as well as a text message from Jon and a brief note I got from Cory....she's still taking care of me in my old age.

I also continue to get incredible support from other family and friends through e-mail, Roos facebook, and by phone. I am so humbled by it all.

I went over my bike one more time including checking every chain link individually, then took it out for a short ride. I officially declare it ready to go.

Tonite I will just try to relax and then tomorrow I will prepare everything I've not already done, including mixing all my nutrition. My bike and my transition bags actually need to checked in on Saturday anyway. Bit by bit they are erecting all of the fences, tents, bleachers etc and so I can start to get a sense of where and when everything will happen. I am looking forward to them getting the swim buoys out on the lake so that I can get my head around that. I already know that 2 kms out is going to look like a long way and the sooner I see it the better.

Tomorrow I will be going to a breakfast meeting exclusively for participants who entered through the community fund charity, and I think there I will be able to meet Paula Newby- Fraser. She is unarguably the most successful triathlete of all time, of any gender. She has won 24 Ironman races including Hawaii 8 times. ABC sports named her the greatest all around female athlete in the world! Maybe I'll get a few tips eh?

For the most part I want Saturday to be a day of meditation and soul searching. I need to enter this thing with a clear mind and a feeling of peace. Wish me luck with that.

Today Claudette asked me what I was going to do without my blog? Good question eh? I'm not sure yet but right now I think I will try to carry it on for a while. I can, if I choose to do so, sign up for 2010 on Saturday??? Probably not! But to continue my writings I would probably need something to give it some focus and as such maybe I'll come up with some new endeavour...something more useful...something harder...something not so selfish. We'll see.

I wish to dedicate day 343 to my littlest son Adrian who also happens to be my biggest son, but more importanly a son who has grown into a man before my eyes! Today he watered his mothers plants without a reminder, thereby reaching heights I have never scaled myself!!!

"Courage is just fear, plus prayers, plus understanding."---Edward Albert

"I have lived to thank God that all my prayers have not been answered. "---Jean Ingelow

"It is in vain to expect our prayers to be heard, if we do not strive as well as pray."---Aesop

love
peter

"Now That's a Good Sign!"

I was down at the lake today just trying to de-stress and a guy handing out business cards gave me one. He was a registered massage therpist who was offering his services to people "after their Ironman" I didn't have a sign on me and I was just dressed in my sloppy clothes but somehow he suspected I was a competitor. I hope it was because I looked like one. I'm gonna believe I did.

I did my little simulation today and it went well. Everything felt good, and I learned a few little things as well. My new ear plugs are comfortable and keep the water out nicely. Sand will be a potential problem as I come off the beach and get into my cycling shoes. Normally I would just ignore it but I'm afraid to for this distance. My heart rate monitor felt fine under all my stuff so that's good. I was trying to decide whether to take my own wetsuit off while still in the water or whether to use the volunteer wetusit strippers and that answer bacame obvious as I struggled a bit getting it off myself. My bike felt great after all the attention it got and my "race" shoes were a pleasure to pull on.

Tomorrow morning, check in starts and at that point I will get my race number and all necessary paraphernalia. Then I can start getting all my gear bags packed and hoepfully that will begin easing the stress. I had 2 beers this afternoon because I was starting to feel a little out of control. I know that sounds pathetic but the physical withdrawal from exercise combined with the emotional aspects of doing something you've never done before, truly take a toll.

I had much e-mail chatter with mt friend Janine Grespan today and she still intends on doing something around this thing. If you get a chance watch CTV Kitchener news at 6 on friday and you should see me. She will re-introduce me with the intention of doing a follow up on Monday after the race. Claudette sent her some video today and will also send what she can capture on race day. As well there is a possibility that I may get interviewed by CTV Vancouver some time in the coming days. I'm not sure if it will be a useful distraction or more stress?? Either way...bring it on!

I want to take back my offer to have Roo send out race day updates because it should not be necessary. The website specifically states that they will have a live "athltete tracker". At the very least you should be able to see when I finish each component and there may even be more frequent data during the run. Here again is the Ironman Canada link but I'll provide more info as they provide it to us. For now if you like you can hit the Race Coverage button and read the story.

I have a special place in my heart today for my dear brother-in-law Mike, just in case he needs it.

I wish to dedicate day 342 to my son Michael who was born special, remains special today, and from whom I have learned so much

And on good signs...

“It was ordained at the beginning of the world that certain signs should prefigure certain events."---Marcus Tullius Cicero

love
peter

"How Old do I Look?"

This morning I had a great swim and for some reason suddenly felt ready to do this thing....at least physically. Then I got talking to a guy on the beach who asked me if I was in the same age group as him. I said, "Well I'm fifty-three", and he never really responded, so I asked him directly how old he was. His sheepish and somewhat apologetic response was, "ummm, sixty five!" Holy shit...this guy thought I was a senior citizen!

Oh well, just one guys opinion right?

So I headed off to Tim Hortons to get a coffee for me and my sweetheart, (no not my bike!) and before the young lady rang up my bill she said, "and are you a senior sir?" Holy Smokes!. As Arlo Guthrie of Alices Restaurant fame would say, "its a movement"

Do I really care? Does this really bother me? Perhaps surprisigly, I can give you an emphatic NO!. I know that if I grew my hair a little and put a little Grecian formula in it I would not look a day over 60. But what differnce would it make? I would still be the same person, with the same number of years and the same life experiences. I think perhaps it's good for me to be reminded that I'm now an old, or at least oldish bugger. It keeps a man honest to know that his days are numbered. Besides, when I was a very young 37 years old, I smoked a pack and a half a day, drank 5 or 6 beers, regularly ate a large bag of potato chips with dip, and was always too tired to play with my children. I plan on having enough energy to play with my great grandchildren one day. Isn't that a cool freakin idea? And no matter know old I may look, I know it is a realistic possibility.

So back to my morning swim. It was a glorious quiet morning when I slid into Lake Okanagan at 8 am. I spent the nicest 40 minutes in the water I have ever experienced. The lake is quite clean and it was flat as glass. Like swimming in the pool but with no turns.

Besides the senior citizen I also met a really cool couple in the water. Their names were Jim and Janine Boldra from Wisconsin. They have done this race together for the last 21 years straight! Unbelievabe eh? Jim is actually one ahead of her at 22 completed , and if you think that's amazing....my 65 year old friend was also here for his 23rd in a row. I may look old but I'm still just a newbie!

And yes, I do feel more ready today. It's all a mind game now. Staying calm, relaxed and confident. Tomorrow morning I will do a mini traithlon, intended to simulate race day. I will use all my race day gear, and eat accordingly tonite and tomorrow morning. Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it goes.

I wish to dedicate day 341 to my son Jonathan, who refuses to give in to his demons. May he continue to win the battles!

"Never fear growing old; there are many who have never had the privilege"---Anon

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."---C.S. Lewis

“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."---George Bernard Shaw

love
peter

"Some Attention for my Sweetheart"

But first I took Claudette out for lunch.

Then I spent the entire afternoon with my other "best girl"

I gave her new rim tapes.

If you're not familiar with these, they go on the inside of the rims to prevent the tube from blowing out through the spoke holes.

New tubes.

Twenty bucks apiece!

The blue race tires.

Man they look good!

New batteries.

If I get tired I'll simply use the battery backup...just kidding...they're for my speedometer.

A new chain.

Actually I put it on before I left home but I took it apart again and cleaned it.

Some wonderful high tech lube.

It goes on wet and then dries.

A complete cleaning and tuneup

Including tightening all her bolts!

A new Bento box.

For tubes, wrenches, CO2 cartridges, ass wipe etc

And doesn't she look fast!

Or at the very least, pretty.
Just like my wife!

I had a good day today. As hoped for, working on my bike really relaxed me. I actually did spend about 5 hours with it. This morning I also rode an easy 30 kms and felt quite relaxed. As I mentioned yesterday I've been feeling a little overwhelmed. And despite my protestations to the contrary I have even been worrying a little that maybe I won't live up to expectations. I feel a sense of responsibility to all those who have been so supportive for the last 2 years. If I don't do this thing successfully I will have let you down, and let myself down. That's really been bothering me, but somehow today I started to move past it. While I still believe that I have a tremendous responsibility to repay all the love, kindness, and support I have been given by so many, I suddenly realized that it has nothng do do with swimming, cycling or running, and certainly nothing to do with 12 hours! My responsibility to each and every one of you, and to myself, is so much simpler. My responsibility is about having fun, about letting my spirt soar, (thanks Elly) about celebrating life, about feeling proud, about using this experience to add value to my life and to the lives of those around me, and yes Mary about being safe.

This new responsibility I accept willingly.

I realize now that if I let the success or failure of this whole thing from a physical perspective become a reason for sadness or happiness, then I will cheapen the whole journey that I have been on, and that so many others have shared with me. I promise that I will not let that happen.

Oh, by the way, I still plan on finishing in 12 hours!

I wish to dedicate day 340 to my number one son Peter. May he discover all the things he needs out of life and may he find his responsibilities fulfilling.

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach."---Tom Robbins

“You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of."---Jim Rohn

“Every person is responsible for all the good within the scope of his abilities, and for no more"---Gail Hamilton

love
peter

"More Rules"

This one made me laugh! It is rule number on for the run portion of the race.

"No form of locomotion other than running, walking or crawling is allowed."

I think I'm gonna crawl for a while just to take full advantage of the rules!

I'm a little bit tense today as I gradully start to grasp the scope of the whole thing. Penticton is only a little bigger than St Thomas and you can see already that this event just takes over the town. I feel special to be lucky enough to participate but it is a bit overwhelming.

I didn't do much today as we settled in but I did get into the lake this morning. It was quite choppy and I felt slow and sluggish.



The picture was taken later in the day when it had settled down and they also claim that at 7 am it is usually quite calm. I will swim at least twice more this week just to get the bugs out.

You know what I hate? I hate it when someone else has a creative idea before I do. I'm actually way behind on this one because if you check out the participants list you will see some very interesting "professions" listed.

Here's just a sampling of a few cute ones...
bikini inspector
sock tester
lion tamer
bike whisperer
spouse neglecter
lion tamer
...and my personal favorite...
professional snail walker!

I may have to do another ironman just so that I can join the ranks of these creative athletes. I would choose to be a "superhero"!

Son Michael is just about to land in Amsterdam on hs way to Copenhagen for a short vocation. I hope all goes well. Nice to make good use of some of my airmiles!

That's about it for today. Tomorrow I'll ride again and then take my bike apart. That will probably help me relax.

I wish to dedicate 339 to my wife who's been holdng my hand both figuratively and literally, both of which help a lot.

"Being a hero is about the shortest-lived profession on earth."---Will Rogers

love
peter

"Welcome to Penticton"

And I don't plan on leaving for some time. Forty bucks a day gets me electricity, water, sewage, cable TV and a fast wireless Internet connection! No property taxes!! And it's a 3 minute walk to the beach and all around me there's beautiful scenery, with great roads to ride or run on. Too much! I even thought I found a fitting place to relocate permanently when this came up on our navigation system as we approached the city.

Actually my whole family could probably move here and feel at home, but I'll settle for my grandchildren coming to visit once a month or so. How about it Mom and Dad? If I send the air fare? And no, no, no.... you should stay at home and enjoy some alone time!!

But seriously I am very happy to be here. When we came into the Okanagan from the south we drove the hard parts of the bike course (from 60k on) and while I am still very respectful of the incredible climbs I am less scared than I was. After we got parked I rode the first part of the course and also most of the run course. Lots more hills, but again, the scenery is very distracting. One thing that is a bit disconcerting, something which we had already noticed while driving, is that your eyes really deceive you. Because of all the curves and the surrounding topography it is very hard to tell whether you are going uphill, or downhill or neither. Very strange indeed. I need to focus on my intensity and try to disregard the speedometer. This phenomenom helped me make a decision; whether or not to wear my heart rate monitor? The most important rule of the day will be to stay within myself for the entire bike ride. I am more determined than ever to enjoy the day regardless of wind, rain, heat, sleet, hail, hills, lake monsters, flat tires, or whatever else may come my way. My HRM hould help with this.

I was reading some Ironman advice the other day in which the author strongly recommended that first timers keep any time goals to themselves. His rationale was that you will focus too much on the time and disregard circumstances such as the weather and end up blowing up. I knew of this risk when I told you of my 12 hour time hopes, but I am also determined that I'm gonna be smart. I hereby make a promise to myself and to you that I will use my brain, enjoy the day, and whatever will be, will be. I know in my heart that no one will think less of me if it takes me an hour or 2 longer. Oh by the way, I still plan on finishing in 12 hours!

We also checked out the lake this afternoon and I'm not worried about the swim at all...other than battling it out with the rest of the neoprene clad idiots. As I make that comment it occures to me that I should feel right at home. Everyone out there doing this thing is an IDIOT! Woohoo!! I'll probably meet some long lost relatives.

I wish to dedicate day 338 to Dan Ashton the mayor of this beautiful town that has allowed me to come here and hang out for a week or so.

"While runners differ, basic principles never change. So it's a matter of fitting your current practices to fit the event and the individual. What's good for you might not be worth a darn for the next guy."---Bill Bowerman(co-founder of Nike)

And this one is perfect eh?

"Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day."---Samuel Goldwyn

love

peter

"Looking Back"

Teresa sent me a nice note of encouragement this morning in which she referenced some comments I made on the blog in the very early days. That got me to




and look back a little bit and also to think back a little bit. And yah we're back in the land of 2 official languages, even though I don't think anyone in BC even knows what "Arret" means!

So first on the looking back I found this, which I wrote on september 29th of last year, primarily in response to a question that Elly had asked.

I am doing this because I can! I am grateful that I can and so I intend to celebrate by doing so. I am doing this because it will be a great adventure. A whole year of intense workouts in 3 disciplines. I am doing this because the event itself will be a great adventure. Claudette and I will probably take our RV out to the beautiful Okanagan and make it a well deserved(at least for Claudette) vacation. I am doing this because Claudette thinks I should, and that in itself is a good enough reason for me. I am doing this for the very resaon Elly asks the question; as a motivator to be the fittest kindest person I can be. I believe that it has already done some things for me in this regard. And last but not least I am doing this because Pete Townsend and Roger Daltry asked the question "Who are you?" or more specifically in the lyrics of this great tune..."who the fuck are you? I am doing it to find out who I am, no pun intended. The first line in the song after the intro says and I quote..."woke up in a Soho doorway, a policeman knew my name. He said you can go sleep at home tonite, if you can get up and walk away". Thats why I'm doing this. To prove that I can get up and walk away. I don't mean from the physical challenges that tore me down in the last year, but rather from the self pitying, dependant, depressed person that I had become as a result. I am doing this because I want to get up and walk away, so that I can sleep at home tonite. Some people can't and/or don't!

Pretty cool eh? Especially as I sit here in our RV just a few hours from Penticton!

And on thinking back, I didn't look it up but I remember very clearly making the commitment publicly that beyond just doing an Ironman, I was resolved to come away from it without the burning question that many are faced with after achieving a goal of some kind, and that question is of course "is that all there is?". That's really been on my mind for the last week and rightly so. If I come out of this with anything less than I hoped for from a psychological perspective than I will feel like I have let myself down. I'm gonna continue to ponder it over the remaining days and although I don't feel like I've got a tight grip on it right now I intend to by the 30th.

I wish to dedicate day 337 to my grade 8 french teacher Madame Chan (yah she was Chinese!) who is as responsible as anyone for the fact that I understood the Arret sign!

Beyond getting me thinking Teresa also supplied the appropriate quotes for todays blog and here you have them.

"I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."---Henry David Thoreau

"The dream was always running ahead of me. To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it, that was the miracle."---Anais Nin

love
peter

"Oh The Anticipation!"

It builds every day. Right now I just want to get to Penticton and get organized. I think(hope) that once I can see the course and test the water I will start to feel in control. It's not that I'm overly worried about anything in particular, it's just fear of the unknown. Driving through the low mountains of Montana today was a good experience as I expect the course to be similar types of grade even though we were quite a bit higher overall today (2000 metres). The highest Ironman point is about 800 metres.

We only have about 800 kms to go so our tentative plan is to get to the border tomorrow and then on saturday finish the last leg by taking the long way to Penticton. Which coincidentally follows the last 120kms of the bike course...all the hard parts!

I'm paranoid that I'm gonna stub a toe or get a cold over the next few days, even though I haven't had any kind of minor illness ever since I started training. I suppose that's why they call it paranoia eh?

A part of my mind is also back home with my kids and my grandchildren. I know I need to focus and try to forget about them for a while but I just can't see that happening. The best I can do is try to kep it in perspective and use my love for them as a source of energy as opposed to letting it drain me. Maybe if I think about how much they love me and the good things they wish for me it will help. Yup...that's gonna be my strategy.

My wife has been doing her best to keep me distracted but I don't know how much more of that I can do either. After all I am 53 years old and I need to save my legs!! Then again I say screw it...no pun intended...life is short!

I'll tell you one thing I don't regret is taking the RV. It gives us such independance which will be even more important in the week leading up to the race. The very best part about a motorhome has to be taking a dump while riding down the road! I've even taken a shower although that's a bit more adventuresome. And I have been very surprised by the facilities that cater to RVers as we moved across the country. Other than the first night we have easily found RV parks, everyone of which has complete water, electricilty, and sewage hookups....not to mention wireless internet! Too much! Can you imagine the advantage when I get there, over people who have to stay in hotels. Hell, I'll probably win the race!

Today's workpout was a weird kind of thing. Thirty kms on my bike followed by a 15 mnute jog. It hardly seems worth putting the wheels on my bike but that's what they tell me I need to do. After all it would be hard to ride without them...man I kill me!! And it was a beautiful day with beautiful scenery. Here's where I rode.



I actually stopped and took a picture with my phone which explains the low resolution, but you get the idea. A guy could ride all day here.

Tomorrow will be a complete day off so I expect to be totally stir crazy by the time we arrive in Penticton on Saturday. Fortunately my first order of business when we do arrive will be a 60 km ride with a short run. The reduced trainig also allows me to have a few beers. I really like Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale if you've never tried it. It is one of the few that I've tried that don't seem to burn my throat. I'm on my third tall one! Good for me! No booze once I get to the Okanagan!!

I wish to dedicate day 336 to Wanda, the lovely, gentle, humourous lady who gave us the "special" rate at the park tonite. If the whole world were like her there would be no war!

And after 336 days of finding quotes I found one written just for me. This one is brilliant in it's simplicity, and I need to wear it around my neck. I will resist my normal temptation to find a few others...this one stands alone! I'm going to sleep with it, and I'm gonna wake up with it. Maybe it will hit you like it hit me.

“If pleasures are greatest in anticipation, just remember that this is also true of troubles"---Elbert Hubbard

love
peter

"Distractions"

Are probaby a good thing for me right now and certainly driving across the northern US is a distraction to say the least. As promisd we had a nice visit with the presidents today



Did you know that it took 400 workers 14 years to carve the thing? It really is an amazing feat.

The problem with distractions is that every time I remember why I'm even making this trip, I suddenly come back to earth in a big way. My anxiety level and my irritability spikes way up, compounded of course by the effect of tapering my workouts. I need a drink!!

Oh, by the way, after listening to that cool song about 50 times I now believe that Neils dog is "King" not "Cain', but he's still not scairt to jump off the truck in high gear!!

I had a decent run today through part of South Dakota. Claudette really liked the long rolling hills with the wide open rural scenery but I prefer some trees. In the end I went a little over 16 kms which is right on schedule.

You know how I'm so often taking shots at the good old US of A, but I have to tell you that in the past few days I was reminded again how friendly people are througout the central parts of the country. Yesterday, while out riding a cop actually waved at me! Just a friendly, nice to see you wave. Back home I always wave at the police, especially when running, and they always wave back. But never once have I had the experience of having them wave first.

I wish to dedicate day 335 to Gutzon Borglum who may never have done an Ironman, but he did carve Mount Rushmore!.....with 400 helpers!

“I have wandered all my life, and I have also traveled; the difference between the two being this, that we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment"---Hilaire Belloc

"Hutchison's Law: Any occurrence requiring undivided attention will be accompanied by a compelling distraction."---Robert Bloch

love
peter

"Blackberry Blues"

I'm afraid that my technolgy is not working so well out here in the wild wild west. I have no e-mail for some reason, and only managed to get on the web some back door way after hours of playing. So this will be short....if it works at all.

I had a nice little bike ride today. Forty five kms through 2 states.((Minnesota and Iowa)
We're now driving through South Dakota and will park somewhere here tonite. Mount Rushmore for sure tomorrow.

As of this moment (7 pm or maybe only 6) we've gone almost 1900 kms. We'll pass the half way point today still.

I wish to dedicate day 334 to Neil Youngs musical dog "Cain" who's not afraid to jump off the truck in high gear!

"Keep on going, and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down"---Charles Kettering

love
Peter

"I'm Movin to Iowa"

They have these really cool rest stops along the major highways where you can park your RV and get free wireless Internet!! Too much eh? In Ontario the only thing that's wireless is the toll roads. All you have to do is get close to the 407 and they send you a bill for 15 bucks.


Anyway I can post my blog tonite all by myself because of the Iowa DOT. Last night I was saved by Miguette. I couldn't get it to go with my Blackberry so I e-mailed it to her and she posted for me. I think I figured out how to do it though and should be good for the rest of the trip. Iowa doesn't go on forever!

Besides, Iowa has these people.



Within the over 800 kms we put in today we made a brief detour to visit my very dear friends the Gibson family. The guy in the middle of the back row is Jonathan. He's a very special 19 year old who just survived an incredible battle with viral encephalitis. He's in the process of learning to walk and talk all over again, but his determination is clear. Also in the pic, his mom and dad, his brothers Jordan and Justin and that's his girlfriend Ellie beside Roo. (Ellie....nice name eh?) We didn't stay long, but it was long enough to feed off the incredible energy and renewed closeness that this family obviously has. It was an energizing hour we spent with them. Thanks Rick and Amy!

After we parked our rig at their house Roo and I went for a run together, just to remind ourselves why we don't often run together....but we still got back as friends. Speaking of friends we also made several new ones of the Iowan canine type....like the people they were generally friendly.

I know I was supposed to bike today but my heart wasn't in it, and all the experts say that at this point if you don't "feel" like it, don't do it. I will ride tomorrow sometime. We can really take our time now as we're obviously making good headway. We are north of Des Moines about half way to the Minnesota border which we will cross in the morning. We are approx 1/3 of the way to Penticton.

We had a good suggestion from Rick today as he believed Mount Rushmore in South Dakota was barely out of our way. I checked it out and sure enough it's probably only a half hour off of Interstate 90 which is the main road we will take west. We could easily check it out.

So far Roo and I are doing great in each others company. As much as I already miss everyone at home I can tell that this is something we really needed to do. The last 2 years have been hard work and it feels good just to be away and forget about reality for a while. Which makes me think that come Aug 30th I'm gonna get a real does of a different kind of reality!!

I was just about to start panicking about getting my post up before midnite when I suddenly realized....you you got it...I'm in a new time zone! No worries!

Lastly for today, I got an e-mail from Janine Grespan this morning asking when we were leaving for the Ironman because she wanted to come an do a video shoot before we left! Bummer! But she's maybe working on something else. We'll see.

I wish to dedicate day 333 to my old friend Murray Mackey(aka Mrs Doubtfire) because being in Iowa reminds me of him.

"The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together."---Erma Bombeck

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."---Jane Howard

....and this ones for my dad, for me and for my sons...

“Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice"---Anon

love

peter

"On the Road"

Yes we're away. At about 1 pm the bus pulled out.
I managed to get my swim in. One hour 23 minutes in a choppy but warm Lake Erie. I'm pretty sure that all the lake swimming has slowed me down a little bit but I don't care. To stand up after that amount of time and really feel like I've done nothing is very gratifying. With the lake being so much warmer now I learned another lesson...or I suppose it was yesterdys lesson all over again. It wasn't til some hours later that I realized I was dehydrated. (I hadn't peed) I know that the wetsuit makes me sweat, but again I somehow forgot. Smarten up idiot!

Right now we're parked in a rest area along I94 near Kalamazoo Michigan. We've got the air on and just chillin.

We've come just over 400 kms so we're 1/10th of the way there already. Tomorrow Roo will run in the morning and then we'll head out. I will save my bike ride for the other side of Chicago some time in the afternoon.

All the way from Kalamazoo I'm sending "un abrazo" to our daughter Miguette. Sorry we missed each other this morning.

I wish to dedicate day 332 to the almost civil US border guy that checked us through today.

"If you expect nothing, you're apt to be surprised"---Malcolm Forbes

"The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem"---Theodore Rubin

Love
peter

"Relax Man!"

How do you eat an elephant? Well one bite at a time of course!
So I broke the whole thing down into smaller pieces. More specifically about 4000 arm strokes, 30,000 complete revolutions of the pedals, and somewhere around 40,000 steps. Doesn't that sound a whole lot easier?

Anyway, believe it or not I think I'm ready to go. Still worrying about everything under the sun but probably needlessly. I think once we get away I should settle down a little bit. Besides I now have a new secret weapon in my arsenal. Only Roo and Colby know about it. I'll share it with everyone else after the race,...it's powerful stuff!

I completed my last semi-long bike ride today and got one final lesson about hydration. I rode 120 kms and when I tried to go for a jog afterwards I had no gas left. I just got too casual about it and underestimated the heat. I ended up with about 20 minutes jog/walk which is fine. Tomorrow I need to apend at least 1 hour 20 in the lake before we go because I haven't swam for a week, and I probably won't be able to swim again until we get to Penticton.

My posts from here on in will be short and sweet since I have to try to do it on my Blackberry. I hope it works out.

For anyone who cares the race website promises exclusive race day coverage but I don't know what that means. Here's the link if you want to check it on Aug 30th. You have to click the red tab that says "Race Essentials" which will then bring up the coverage link. Also for anyone who's interested just send an e-mail to prooyakkers@cosma.com with "race day" in the subject line and I will try to create an address group and maybe Roo can send updates with my Blackberry. And if you really care you can always call my cell (519 636 9051) and check up on us anytime.

I wish to dedicate day 332 to Paula Newby-Fraser, one of the worlds most successful triathletes who sent me a very imformative e-mail today regarding the race.

“The time to relax is when you don't have time for it."---Sydney J. Harris

love
peter

"Unfinished Business"

I got my picture from my buddy late last night and so here it is.



From left to right are Jose Antonio, myself, Roman, and Jose Ramon. We just completed our 3 km run in style. This was as a result of a challenge I issued Jose Antonio 4 or 5 weeks ago. I am very proud of him as he moves forward in his efforts to improve his health. Roman and Jose Ramon came out in support as well. I felt a great sense of fellowship.

I could actually use a little of Jose Antonio's help as well. He is an accountant and a very astute businessman. I wonder if he could help me with Revenue Canada? It turns they have a little unfinished business wih me as well. When I got home I found a letter from them asking for supporting documentation for Michaels tuition fees. As soon as I seen it I knew that I had screwed up, and sure enough I made a typo to the tune of $3000!!! It turns out that I don't think it will affect our actual taxes but it does cause me a lot of grief. I just spent the last 2 hours putting together the documentation I think they want. And of course they want it now!! Not after my Ironman. I hope they like what I'm sending them. We'll find out!

For me the hardest part is to know that I made such a mistake. Not paying attention!

That's all the energy I have for tonite. I ran 7.5 kms when I got home and I have a long ride (120kms) tomorrow morning.

I wish to dedicate day 331 to Jim Flaherty, Canadas Minister of Finance. Thanks for the letter Jim!

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."---Albert Einstein

love
peter

"Rules!"

It seems they have "rules" to this whole thing! I looked the word up in the dictionary anf got this.

"a principle or regulation governing conduct, action, procedure, arrangement, etc."

So apparently you can't just do what ever the hell you like. Well actually you can, but as you can see below they will then kick you out. The following was posted on the race site this morning. You may or may not find it interesting.

A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD REFEREE
Author: August 13, 2009

Dear Athletes, For this Ironman event, we will be using a slightly modified version of the 2009 USAT Competitive Rules. In summary, we will operate under the “3 strikes and you are out” principle.

Even though DRAFTING is the only violation to incur a 4-minute time penalty (to be served in the nearest penalty tent, located at various spots on the bike course), any type of violation counts toward your 3 strikes.

Example: 1. DRAFTING violation (4 minutes, served in penalty tent on the bike course)

2. HELMET CHINSTRAP violation (stop-and-go, served in penalty tent on the bike course)

3. LITTERING violation—this is the 3rd violation and results in disqualification (DQ)

Again, any combination of 3 rule violations will result in a DQ. To minimize your misunderstanding of the rules on race day, please take the time to read and understand the following summary of Position Violations and review the 2009 USAT Competitive Rules.

• ALWAYS RIDE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF YOUR LANE to avoid an ILLEGAL POSITION or BLOCKING call

• KEEP FOUR BIKE LENGTHS (7 METERS) BETWEEN YOUR BIKE’S FRONT WHEEL AND THE REAR WHEEL OF THE CYCLIST IN FRONT OF YOU to avoid a DRAFTING call

• ALWAYS PASS ON THE LEFT OF THE CYCLIST IN FRONT OF YOU, NEVER ON THE RIGHT to avoid an ILLEGAL PASS call

• COMPLETE YOUR PASS WITHIN 20 SECONDS to avoid a DRAFTING call

• IF PASSED, DROP BACK FOUR BIKE LENGTHS BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO RE-PASS to avoid an OVERTAKEN or DRAFTING call

You will see a large number of trained referees on the course who will ensure safety and fairness. Triathlon is an individual event, and it is your responsibility to fully understand the rules and avoid penalties. The referees’ ruling is final in the case of Position Violations, and there are no protests or appeals. The following are several other common rules violations:

• HELMET CHINSTRAP—the chinstrap of your helmet must be securely fastened whenever you are on your bike on race day!

• RACE NUMBER—you must display your body race number during the bike and run portions of the race, and your bike number must be properly attached to your bike and be visible from the left!

• LITTERING—do not throw away ANYTHING outside of official aid stations!

• UNAUTHORIZED EQUIPMENT—sorry, absolutely NO MP3 players or other audio devices (yes, that means NO Oakley Thumps™ or Apple iPods®)! No cell phones either!

• OUTSIDE ASSISTANCE—do NOT accept any assistance from anyone other than a race official, and do NOT allow non-racers to ride or run alongside you!

Please remember that even though DRAFTING is the only violation that incurs a 4-minute time penalty, you must go to a penalty tent for any violation to have your number marked, and all violations count toward your 3 strikes. There will be no penalty tents on the run. If you are penalized on the run, the official will mark your number on the spot. FAILURE TO STOP AT THE PENALTY TENT IS GROUNDS FOR DISQUALIFICATION (DQ)!

Please remember to treat other athletes, all volunteers, and your referees with courtesy and consideration. Not doing so is UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT and may result in disqualification.

I sincerely hope you run a perfect race, have lots of fun, and achieve all your goals.
Jürgen Heise, Head Referee, 2009 Ironman Canada

I'm not worried about any of these rules with the exception perhaps of the drafting stuff. To start with the 7 metre rule is just absurd as far as I'm concerned. You cant possibley get any kind of advantage beyond 2 metres of another rider. If you took all 2900 riders and spread them 7 metres apart you would have a line about 20 kms long. This problem should diminish as the race wears on but I worry about the congestion early on. As well, just like the guy in the car that passes you on the highway and then slows immediatley, there are many riders like this.

Oh well, I'll just do my best since I hate it when people try to draft, and If I do get nailed I get a 4 minute rest! As long as I don't get caught 3 times eh?

Having the last couple of days off has given me time to really consider whether I am ready for this and for the most part I think I am, physically. It would have been better if I had 2 years instead of one, and I wish I had started weight training right from the start, but other than that I think I've done all I can do.

Mentally is still a different matter and correcting that is a task I will take to heart once we head out in the RV. The biggest problem I have is the feelings of guilt that I carry about the selfish nature of this whole undertaking. In the last couple of months especially I have given neither my employer nor my family the commitment they deserve from me. I am fortunate that they both have been so understanding. Regardless, this negative emotion doesn't do me any good , and so for the next couple of weeks I will remain selfish and try simply to focus on my event. For 2 weeks nothing else can matter!

I had another brief story to tell you tonite but without the picture I was expecting from Jose Antonio it won't fly. Maybe tomorrow I'll cover that one. I think maybe JA fell asleep in his fancy chair!!

I wish to dedicate day 330 to Jose Ramon Perez because he's a good guy who also runs and bikes.

“The first rule is not to lose. The second rule is not to forget the first rule."---Warren Buffett

"You are remembered for the rules you break."---Douglas MacArthur

"There are two good rules which ought to be written on every heart - never to believe anything bad about anybody unless you positively know it to be true; never to tell even that unless you feel that it is absolutely necessary"--- Henry Van Dyke

"Inspiration"

Yesterday I received this e-mail from my friend Mark Whitten. You can see that with his note he forwarded me an e- mail that I had sent him shortly after my diagnosis almost 2 years ago now.

Peter,

I would like to wish you all the best in your triathlon journey! My thoughts will be with you August 30th! I know you will complete this and surprise yourself in the process…

Please see below e-mail. I hope it will also serve as inspiration!!! I kept it for that reason!

Saludos!


Sent: Wed Oct 10 5:49:37 2007
Subject: Running

Excellent. I too will be running a spring marathon....london in early may. Maybe that can work for you somehow? I would also love to be a long distance(no pun intended) amateur coach for you if you're interested in any training thoughts. This will be my 5th shot at the distance. My PB is 3 hours 11 minutes, and am still committed to going under 3 hours sometime in my life.
Mark I will share something very personal with you which only my family knows at this time. One week before my diagnosis I officially signed up to do Ironman Canada next august, in Penticton BC. A dream that has been 15 years in the making. My plans have not changed.
This friday I start both chemotherapy and radiation treatments which they promise will make me very sick. Throughout this I will be holding on to my Ironman dream very tightly. To have any hope to be ready for august I have to be already very fit by marathon time in may.
As to running Boston, you indeed need to qualify, but quite frankly I don't know what the attraction is. The distance is the same everywhere, as is the gratification if you are doing it for the right reasons. I have run Detroit, Toronto and London, ontario twice and definitely enjoyed the smaller local race much more.

peter

Oh how incredibly naive I was. In hind sight it all seems so weird. To start with, that I ever thought I was still going to do the 2008 event, and secondly the prophetic nature of the whole thing. Even though I lost a entire year somehow I did indeed held on to my dream. Also I can't believe Mark kept the note. Somehow he believed in me long after I had stopped doing so.

What's even more ironic is that today I received a note from Ironman Canada asking me for comfirmation of my attendance. They very same message I got last year which led to the dream coming alive again. It was nice that this time I didn't have to send my regrets!

I wish to dedicate day 329 to Cole Robilliard who continues to fight an uphill battle against the evils of cancer.

"It's all about decisions! We choose what decision we make everyday!"---Horst Schulze

“If you only do what you know you can do- you never do very much."---Tom Krause

love
peter

"My New Favorite Place"

Is now officially Houston Texas. That's why I decided to spend a night here. You may recall that George Bush Intercontinental Airport was also the scene of a little extra interrogation by my friends at US Immigration some weeks back.

Today I can't blame the Americans though. My plane was an hour and a half late leaving Toronto this afternoon because of a bizarre system that even the pilot never knew existed. Apparently there is some kind of setup that detects lightning within a 60 km radius and if this occurs none of the service staff at the airport is allowed outside. There is a network of strobe lights that issue a warning and basically the whole airport shuts down. The airplane I needed to get on was sitting at the gate but the arriving passengers couldn't get off, and so of course we couldn't get on. Once they let us on I was questioning whether I was doing the smart thing or not, since maybe I would have been able to get another flight direct to Mexico, but I thought we could still make it. What I didn't consider was that even though we were on board, the whole airport was of course in turmoil and we sat around the tarmac for another 45 minutes. And of course I couldn't change my mind anymore then!

Anyway, I missed my connection by about 5 minutes and so here I sit. Fortunately they have a hotel right at the airport so it's not too bad right now. They rescheduled me for the same flight to Saltillo tomorrow evening which would mean I would spent the entire day here, but fortunately I managed to get it switched to an earlier flight (10 am) to Monterrey. That is only a good hour away and my friend Patricia will arrange to have me picked up there and driven to the plant.

Overall I'm pretty happy with how I coped. I wanted to yell and scream, but I know it's my own fault anyway. I schedule my life so tightly, especially when travelling, that this shit is bound to happen. I take later flights with tight connections, specifically so that I can still get a workout in on the day I fly.

Still I can tell it's gonna be a long 19 days. Already I'm starting to feel like I'm gaining weight and losing fitness. Somehow felling bagged has become the norm and anything else is worrisome.

Speaking of workouts I ran the block before I left and that will be it until my return friday evening. Well except for a promised 3 km jog with my 2 friends from Saltillo. I hope they're ready because I'm gonna hold them to it, and if they whine we're gonna go further. Get ready muchachos!

I wish to dedicate day 328 to my wife, because hotel rooms make me miss her.

"I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace."---Dalai Lama

love
peter

"Nervous Already!"

Partially it's because I'm not leaving myself enough time to get ready to travel. I am going to Mexico in the morning, and won't be back until late friday, then I still have a long ride saturday, and a long swim Sunday before we head out. I will try to use my travel time to make comprehensive lists of what I have to do and what I have to pack wehn I get back. My wife has graciously offered to perpare anything I need and I'll try to take advantage of that. It's just my personal "control freak" problem that may get in the way of that.

I better figure out how to deal with these anxiety issues because it's only gonna get worse as I work out less....like coming off drugs! I think I'll take a pill!!!

Today was an easy 60km bike ride and that's it. I will get a short run in tomorrow morning before I leave.

I wish to dedicate day 327 to 2004 Olympic Triathlon champion, Canadian Simon Whitfield, who when asked how he sleeps before a big race answered, "on my side".

“Oh the nerves, the nerves; the mysteries of this machine called man! Oh the little that unhinges it, poor creatures that we are!"---Charles Dickens

“When you suffer an attack of nerves you're being attacked by the nervous system. What chance has a man got against a system?"---Russell Hoban

"Rough Waters"

Lake Erie is a relatively shallow lake which apparently explains why there are so many boats on the bottom of it. It doesn’t take too much wind to whip up the waves pretty good. While it wasn’t by any means a threat to boating this morning it was indeed a bit choppy for swimming. I didn’t feel like it but I got myself in there (it wasn’t so bad at little beach) and spent an hour zig-zagging back and forth. Here’s proof of the conditions.



But it didn't look so bad from up higher.




And that was it for today. We had a nice visit from Jon and Alisha and we all took a nature walk down to Hawk Cliff.

I wish to dedicate day 326 to Ogopogo, who will no doubt keep the lake calm on Aug 30th.

“I think you have to know who you are. Get to know the monster that lives in your soul, dive deep into your soul and explore it."---Tori Amos


love
peter

"Thats It!"

Three weeks tomorrow is the big day, and my taper officially starts now! I can’t believe it’s here but I'll tell you it’s just in time. I have felt sluggish ever since my strong run on Wednesday and this morning the day’s task just seemed so daunting. I really had to work hard mentally to get my butt out there especially after waking up to a gloomy day with a promise of rain. I think if I didn’t know that Jon and Alisha were coming down and staying overnight, I would have found some way to procrastinate until tomorrow. As it is I’m glad I had that motivator. I had to work hard to do my 5 hours and 50 minutes but in the end I felt pretty good. The 5 hours was 150 kms of bike ride, the last 40 kms in the rain, and the 50 minutes was 10 kms of running. All’s well that ends well.

Some years ago when we lived on Queen street in St Thomas, you would frequently see a unique couple walking the streets of our neighborhood. He was an older, quite tall gentleman and his friend was a not so old, and not so tall lady. A real caricature couple. From their mannerisms and the bits of conversation you could sometime overhear they were both clearly “special” in some way. This was not an unusual sight in our area of town, because there were several “community living” homes nearby. For several years I would see the two of them walking the streets, constantly in conversation, and despite their “uniqueness” they were quite obviously soul mates. Then one day I seen him by himself, and then again on another occasion…the gentleman all alone? For some time I never seen him at all until one day I was at the library and I seen him walk in…again alone. I admit that out of the corner of my eye I spied on him a little bit as he sat down at one of the reading tables. He spread out a bunch of books in front of him but instead of opening one of the books he had gathered, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He unfolded what appeared to be a letter and from the state of the paper and the depth of the folds it was clear that this note had been carried around for some time and folded and unfolded a multitude of times. As if to confirm that, and while I watched, he put the letter away and pulled it out at least 2 more times. Every re- reading of it brought an intensity to his face that clearly indicated how priceless and significant the words on the page were. For some reason I had a certainty that the letter was from her. Whether circumstances took her out of his life in a temporary or a permanent way, I would never know, and if the truth be known perhaps the letter wasn’t even from her. Regardless of any of this, it was clear that words on a piece of paper meant so much to him that he was trying to preserve them for as long as possible, and that they had become an important part of his life.

So I know that you thought perhaps I was not going to come back to my letter at all but in fact I was just waiting for the feeling to be right and so here goes. First off I will not discourage you from trying to figure out who the letter was from, but I will not divulge the author unless I get permission to do so. I have shared it with my wife as I try to do all things unless specifically asked not to.

As to the letter itself I can tell you that I have already read it several times, and while perhaps I won’t get as obsessive as my old friend from the library I expect to read it many more times, and in fact intend on taking it with me to Penticton.

Why did these 2 pages of words…just words after all... strike such a chord with me? I guess I have to tell you a little about the contents to illustrate. After an introduction the writer starts with a reference to my journey from sickness to health, and then ultimately to fitness and beyond. He/she expresses appreciation for my willingness to share my journey through my writings, and commends my courage in doing so. As much as I take some pride in this, I know that it is only circumstance that brought me to that willingness. It may seem strange to you but despite all my bellyaching about my health, both physical and emotional, I truly do consider some aspects of my illness to have been a gift. One of these is the relative, reckless abandon with which I now make myself vulnerable to the world through my openness. I say relative because although I am now very candid compared to the way I was before I still want to do more. I have come to believe that only when I am prepared to be completely honest with the outside world will I be completely honest with myself, and in turn approach the inner harmony that I so strive for. For this reason I am grateful for the writers’ encouragement. If it somehow affects people in a positive way, why not keep doing it eh?

The writer then goes on to talk about ideas/thoughts/feelings triggered in his/her own mind when I shared some of my personal experiences. Especially those related to my youth at school and at home. I suppose we all have many stories that we’ve never told and maybe even many memories that we’ve suppressed. I acknowledge the writers commentary here as a rewarding side effect of a blog which was originally intended to make me think…not anyone out there!

He/She then goes on to thank me for my references to and interaction with my grandchildren and you can imagine what that means to me.

The next paragraph references my work and hit home with me again, and I quote, “I don’t think you ever do any real work. You just make time to sit and talk to people about their personal lives” Absolutely correct ! And coincidentally the aspect of my work that I’m most proud of.

We then come to the last paragraph which the writer claims to be the real reason for the letter in the first place. In their closing comments I am delivered an eloquent expression of their desires for me on race day and promises to send me energy throughout the day. The last 3 sentences near brought me to tears and indeed is the reason that the letter will go with me to Penticton. I give them to you also as the closing words of my post today. You will understand why I was so moved

“And when you toss aside your wetsuit, and park your bike, and it is nothing but you and the road, may the joy of living and breathing take you to the finish line with enough energy left to throw your arms in the air and then wrap them around your wife. And know that there are so many more of us who have followed you all day from wherever we are and celebrating with you. This is the wish that I send to you today”

I wish to dedicate day 325 to the old gentleman of the well read letter, whoever and whereever he is.

"You cannot dream yourself into a character: you must hammer and forge yourself into one."---Henry D. Thoreau

"Try not to become a man of success but a man of value."---Albert Einstein

love
peter

"My Brother Terry"

Last year we visited my brother's house for a day, with Colby in tow. He was so impressed with Terry's chickens and Terry never forgot it. This year when he found that he had a few to spare he thought of Colby and as he so often does with all those around him, he donated both the chickens and his time. Today Terry and his wonderful wife Karen made the 2 hour drive to deliver them. I'm very proud of, and very grateful to be able to call this man "brother"



We got 4 different varieties of hens and also one rooster. They are Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Rocks, Barred Plymouths, and Ameracaunas....I think...and the rooster is also a Buff Orpington. Aren't they pretty?



Today I swam in the lake for about 40 minutes and then spent the rest of the day more wisely....with Terry and Karen. One last tough workout tomorrow!

I wish to dedicate day 324 to the memory of Bob Russell, a cancer victim and the composer of the song, "He ain't heavy, he's my brother"

Let me be more like Terry.

"Let me be a little kinder, Let me be a little blinder
To the faults about me. Let me praise a little more,
Let me be, when I am weary; Just a little bit more cheery,
Let me serve a little better Those that I am striving for.
Let me be a little braver When temptation bids me waver,
Let me strive a little harder To be all that I should be;
Let me be a little meeker to the brother that is weaker;
Let me think more of my neighbor and a little less of me.”---Anon

“I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. I sought my God, but my God eluded me. I sought my brother and I found all three."--- Anon

love
peter

"Education?"

Today on my bike ride I got thinking about my grandson and what a great summer he seems to be having, and it occured to me that it's unfortunate that he has to go back to school in september. Why? Well because like most every other kid there he's gonna spend about 75% of his time either daydreaming or bored out of his tree! In 12 years of elementary and secondary school I learned to read and write english, learned some basic math and a little bit of french. Everything else I know I learned somewhere else, some other time.

So here's my solution to our almost useless public education system

Step one...retrain half of the teachers to do something else, since only half of them have the aptitude in the first place. Step two...pay the other half twice as much and double the performance standards. Step three...cut the class sizes in four. Step four...have kids spend 2 hours a days in school (all year round) and the rest of the time just messing around with their grampas. I guarantee results!

You know what the problem with my solution is don't you? Us? Society. We need the schools and the teachers to babysit our kids for 7-8 hours a day. As parents we don't really want them hanging around with us all day and there's not enough grampas to go around. But I'm gonna continue to try hard to do my part. Hopefully my little bit of teaching will help offset the pain of their "formal" education.

On the training front it was a pretty quiet day. My legs felt like lead from yesterdays run, but it's the good kind of fatigue that comes from knowing you had a great workout. I did as planned today...40km bike followed by a 4.5 km run. Like I said I was tired but at peace with it.

And I think we're ready for the chickens.

Speaking of education, today I learned a new meaning for the expression, "playing chicken". To Kylie it literally means pretending you're a chicken, sound effects and all. What a joy!

I wish to dedicate day to Mr Ross Kirby, in who's employ I spent my first summer away from home.

"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education."---Albert Einstein

"Boredom will always remain the greatest enemy of school disciplines. If we remember that children are bored, not only when they don't happen to be interested in the subject or when the teacher doesn't make it interesting, but also when certain working conditions are out of focus with their basic needs, then we can realize what a great contributor to discipline problems boredom really is. Research has shown that boredom is closely related to frustration and that the effect of too much frustration is invariably irritability, withdrawal, rebellious opposition or aggressive rejection of the whole show."---Fritz Redl

love

peter

"Fear"

Colby's feeling a little "cooped" up but not near as much as he gonna when he realizes that the whole chicken thing is a story concocted by his parents to disguise the fact that this little house is really being built for him! Wait til they put him in for the first time and throw the key into the corn field. Just kidding. If he was always locked up we would never to able to experience "uncooped" moments like this one that Claudette captured tonite....my new favorite Colby pic!



Besides, even if they did lock him up Colby is too innocent to know fear. And isn't that the way it should be.

I really felt today like I'm making progress with my own fears as relates to Ironman. Shoving them out there on the periphery where they belong. What value is their in the emotion of fear? Perhaps a little bit on the edges is not bad just to keep you motivated but that's it. But because it's an emotion it takes training (pun intended) to learn to manage it. In my case there's no question that the satisfying workouts I've had recently are what's getting me into a better place. Most recently Saturdays long bike and then again today's run. You may recall that I was very happy with my long run last week, and that I even shared my progressive improvement as the run went on. Today I completed the exact same run (4 blocks) and again I wish to show you my times., and to save you looking back to last wednesday I give you both.

Last week/This week
41:15/40:47
39:58/ 39:29
38:57/ 37:15
37:21/ 34:25

Holy Cow! While I don't pretend that this is any kind of fast running compared to the world, it is pretty fast compared to me a year ago. And as I have probably mentioned about a million times by now, it's about fitness and endurance not about speed. Today I'm not very afraid. I know I'll still fall back at times over the next 3 1/2 weeks but just for today I'm gonna relish the feeling....I am invincible!

I have to tell you about a moment I had this evening which was a bit of an epiphany...one in which I took my own advice, or rather the advice of C S Lewis from last fridays post. Here was the situation. I was working very hard on my henhouse, trying to hurry in an effort to get to a certain point when my phone rang. It was Claudette, asking if I could bring her camera to the ball diamond because Colby was catching tonite. What immediately went through my head was, "man, I'm busy here!" followed immediately by a rememberance of the quote from Lewis, and I give it to you again in it's entirety.

“The great thing is, if one can, to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions in one's "own" or "real" life. The truth is, of course, that what one regards as interruptions are precisely one's life."---C.S. Lewis

It was an amazing moment for me. How could I possibly consider the opportunity to go see Colby play backcatcher, all the while doing a favour for my best friend as an interruption in my life???? It was with pleasure and anticipation that I grabbed the camera and Kylie, and headed out. Rather than resentment I felt priviliged. Too cool eh?

I still got everything done that I wanted to.

I promised that you would get further detail on my letter of yesterday but Im gonna beg your indulgence to leave that for another day. What with running, and chicken cooping, and playing with my grandchildern I'm tired and ready for bed. Tired but gratified.

Here's a funny thought. More than once I have almost ended a work e-mail with "love peter". Must be careful....or than again, maybe who cares?

In wish to dedicate day 322 to my high school english teacher Mrs Reinhardt who taught me not be afraid to read, and who also treated me with dignity....even when I stole her word study book!

“Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future."---Fulton Oursler

“He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life."---Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Fear has a large shadow, but he himself is small."---Ruth Gendler

love
peter

"I Got Mail"

Sometime, maybe tomorrow I'm going to try to tell you in more detail how it impacted me. Right now I'm still digesting it. For now I just want to tell you how to make someone feel very, very special. Write them a letter! Not an e-mail but a letter. You can even type it if you want, but put it in an envelope with a stamp and their name on the front. There is no gift you can think of that will mean more.

I had a tough training decision to make this morning. I had limited time since I had a dentist appointment and so I had to choose between eating and swimming. Perhpas I rationalized it but the eating won! So that's 2 swim workouts in a row I've talked myself out of. Should I worry? I think not. After the dentist I got to the track and did a nice spirited workout and that was it for today. Tomorrow will be my last long run as I start my taper immediately after my last long bike on saturday.

Then I moved on to my other full time job and actually got some things done...even if you can't see it. I finished the roof, put the window and chicken access holes in, and insulated and finished most of the inside walls.

I think Colby is seriously thinking of moving in here permanently



We debated over the size of the chicken door and in the end realized it should be ok because this "turkey" fits.



Still it seems small and so I asked Colby if he thought a chicken could duck, which earned me a shrug of the shoulders. So then I asked him if he thought a duck could chicken, which earned me a "you're an idiot look"!

I wish to dedicate day 321 to Nathan, the life guard at the pool, because after watching me for a while he told me I had nothing to worry about.

"To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart."---Phyllis Theroux

"And none will hear the postman's knock without a quickening of the heart. For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?"---W.H. Auden

love
peter

"Four Walls and a Roof Over Your Head"

And a place to plant potatoes....or corn I suppose?

What more could anyone ask out of life.

Well maybe a little help now and then.

The thing I don't understand is how with all this help things seem to take twice as long??

Oh well, who cares. This is the kind of help I like. They don't try to tell me how to do stuff! And I'm pretty sure we created a memory today. I'm looking forward to friday when Terry will be creating the memories....he's delivering the chickens, and the rooster! Cock-a-doodle-do!

Today was bike ride day. I'm still a little tired from Saturday but overall feeling good. I went 65 kilometres at 30kms/hr. Not too bad especially since the fickle winds played tricks on me. You just can't trust mother nature. My toe didn't really hurt today, but it still tingles and feels numb. I don't know what that's about, but I don't like it.

I suppose it shouldn't come as a surprise, but speaking of memories, spending several hours on your bike can lead to some reminiscing. Today for some reason I flashed back to the first long bike ride I ever made. I must have been 16 or 17 and my friend and I rode from the farm all the way to his home in Burlington. It had to be over 80 kms and I remember it as a vast undertaking. I'm sure it took us the better part of a day on our Canadian Tire 10 speeds. I especially remember ridng down Clappison Hill going almost as fast as the cars. Anyone who knows that hill will believe that story. It drops almost 100 metres over 1 km. The next day I must have rode the hill again, except this time going up, but for some reason I don't recall it at all.....maybe I walked up it?

It's nice to have good memories like this, the trick is not to let it get to you when you realize that it was 36 years ago!!! Time never stops eh? Another 36 years fron now I'm pretty sure I'll be dead, or at the very least unable to ride 80 kms. Better enjoy today eh? And I can't rightly think of a reason not to. After all I have a roof over my head, and a place to plant potatoes.

I wish to dedicate day 320 to Rodney Shantz, my friend of 36 years ago who took that ride with me.

"Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories."---Steven Wright

Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph
Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you"---Paul Simon

love

peter