Jason's Blog

ITU Lima 2012

2012-02-27T14:41:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately I haven't found any pictures for this event as yet, but will post a couple when I get them.

I usually go into a race most nervous about making the lead group out of the water, the moment I saw the swim course those nerves went out the window. Breaking about 40m off shore were so rather large waves. I was one of the first guys to get out past the breakers on my way to the first buoy 700m out. The buoys were difficult to see since they were so far apart and the swells so big. I was quickly joined by 8-10 other guys who moving very fast through the water. I hung on the back on the group for as long as I could, hoping we would get back to the breaking waves before I got popped off the back. I made it to the edge of the break when a big set started to come through, I caught the first wave going straight over top 2 other athletes and continued to body surf it up onto the beach. To my surprise I was the guy onto the beach. I hustled out my wetsuit and started the 800m run to the transition.
The bike course consisted of a "small mountain" they called it. There's probably know better way to explain it, it was steep climb up through the rocks, a short windingroad along the top and then into a steep decent with 4 switch backs just before we reach the transition again. We did this 7x.
I started the run feeling pretty good, trying to stay patient and slowly start building into it after 5km. 5km came and 5km went and I wasn't able to pick up the pace. I held my position and finished 11th.
Once again I am not very please with the overall result. I know I am capable of a better result, I just haven't been able to show it yet.
On a better note the result in Lima has moved me into 2nd in the New Flag ranking in order to qualify for London.

My next race is another ITU sprint distance event this weekend in Clermont.

Bridgetown Continental Cup 2012

2012-02-15T16:15:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Barbados hosted its first ITU event. The men and women's fields where small, 18 and 16, respectively, but very strong.

The race started out better than I could have hoped. I came out of the 750m swim 3rd just behind Daniel Unger (2007 world champion and 6th at the Olympic Games ), I.Polyanskiy and Lamar.

On the big a group of 10 of us came together. The pace was pretty hot for the duration of the bike.

We all came into T2 together, the second I started the run my legs were know where to be found. I suffered through each step of a very uncomfortable 5km run to finish 12th overall. This was know where near the result I was looking for nor the performance I believe I was capable of doing.

I have gone back to the drawing board and next weekends race in Peru, Lima will hopefully have a whole different outcome.

That said. I would like to thank Peter Gibbs, president of Barbados Triathlon, all the many volunteers and sponsors such as BOA, BFIT, CIBC, Fortress and Powerade for helping to put on the race, it was a huge success.

See below for Ricarda's and Lauren's views.

Ricarda Lisk: http://www.ricardalisk.de/index.php?id=25&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=322&tx_ttnews[backPid]=10&cHash=7032fb1a55

Lauren Campbell: http://laurengroves.blogspot.com/2012/02/barbados-itu.html

Peter has been dedicated to the sport of Triathlon in Barbados since my very first race almost 12 years ago. He has ensured that once a month there is a series of kids races taking place, Sunday morning, at the gymnasium. This is were I took part in my first triathlon. 12 years years ago I don't think either of us ever imagined having myself looking for a start at the 2012 Olympic Games nor BFIT hosting an ITU Pan American Cup.

Photos thanks to Mark Harris.

Barbados CC Swim Venue

2012-01-30T12:03:00.000-08:00

Sunday evening Sarah Ann, dad and myself went down to test out the swim course for the Bridgetown race on Feb 12th. Now either I have got really fast, which I think is probably the case, or the course is still a little short, which Sarah and my dad think is more realistic. We were doing 3x750m at around 7:50-7:55. This will be fixed shortly
Despite the tentatively short course the swim course is amazing. Crystal clear water with coral reefs below and as you can see below very very rough.

Barbados Training Camp volume II

2012-01-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

Barbados Training Camp Volume II

http://www.youtube.com/

Barbados Training Camp Volume II

Barbados Training Camp - volume 1

2011-12-26T08:27:00.001-08:00

training video w Jason Wilson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRTUjee6ZJc

Barbados Training Camp Volume I

http://www.youtube.com/

Barbados Training Camp Volume I

Round de Island Bike Ride

2011-12-22T10:25:00.000-08:00

I havent wrote anything here in a while, mostly cause I usually just put up race updates, since there are no races for a while im going to throw up some footage here and there of our mini Barbados training camp.

This is day 6 I beilve but when you look back it's just a blurr of miles. Just yesterday Matt an myslef decided to ride around the island ( Matt's idea ). So we did. 4hrs 13mins and 109km later; here is some of the footage I got.
Garmin Map of route

North Point

Directions......

Coming Soon : Epic video of first 8 days of training in Barbados!

Pan Am Games 2011

2011-11-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

These would be my first ever Pan Am Games, Mexico. From the time we got off the plane we were treated like movie stars, getting to cut lines, having people take our bags and police escort to the hotel. It was pretty cool.

Thanks to some around the clock assistance from Greg and Craig my race prep went as smooth as ever.
This race was a lot different to other races in many ways. Since only 40 guys were allowed to race you had to qualify for the event before hand. Then because of the small field and the olympic spot that was given to the winner there was a lot of team tactics going on by the countries who had a full team racing. The small feild made the swim very important. A slightly slower than noraml swim and missing the lead pack could end you up 2mins down by the end of the bike.

The water was very warm, I think I heard it was almost 29 degrees. I ended up coming out of the water in a small second group about 5sec behind a even smaller lead group. The team tacticts benifited me here as the entire USA team was in my group and needed to close that gap to the lead group if they wanted a chance at the win. I was along for the ride. Once we caught them the rest of the bike was a game of cat and mouse, guys trying to get away and others chaisng them down. In the end know one was succesful and we all came into T2 togethere.

I started the run feeling pretty strong, but it was 40+ degrees out side so I stuck to the plan and went steady for the first half of the run. After 5km guys started to come back, the heated started to pay its toll. With 1km to go I was running 8th. It being the the last race of the season an all I decided it was time to leave it all out there. I caught and passed 8th place just before the blue carpet and was able to run down the carpet givning high fives to everyone with there hands out, I finished 7th, not 1st but it was still pretty cool. I was very happy with it.

Yokohama WCS - Sept 19th

2011-09-20T00:43:00.000-07:00

After Beijing I flew over to Japan for the Yokohama WCS. Before traveling to Yokohama for the race I spent a week in Chiba at the NAC where most of the Japanese athletes train. Also staying there was the Canadian, USA and Mexican teams. The training centre was amazing. They had a 100m out door pool, 25m indoor pool, indoor and out door tracks, great running trails and amazing food.

The race on the other hand didn't go as I hoped it would. I came out of the water a little farther behind than I would have wished but was able to get behind some good wheels which got me up to the main group of about 53 athletes. It was boiling hot outside, 99 degrees and 98% humidity. I hung off the back of the lead group for the duration on the bike. When I got off the bike and started to run my legs just weren't there. I tried to fake it for a while and pretend I was feeling great but nothing was going to change the way I felt. Lap after lap the heat took more and more out of me. Although I knew the points I might get would not beat any of my previous scores I hated the fact of pulling out and not finishing. So I struggled through the last 5km to finish 42nd.
I not sure if it was the heat or if I just hadn't recovered well from Beijing or if it was a combination of both.
I plan to take around a week easy to recover fully and then start a solid last prep into the Pan Am Games in October, where Ill make up for this race.

U23 World Championships

2011-09-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the ITU website:

Beijing World Championships 2011

2011-09-15T04:09:00.000-07:00

13 hours after leaving Toronto we arrived in Beijing, with a whole 12 hour time difference. We didn't have too long to get used to the time difference we got there on Monday and raced on Friday. I thought I had it covered until I feel asleep at 3:30pm 2 days before the race and ended up sleeping for some 14-15 hours.
The day before a couple of us went out on the race course for a ride while they were washing it with a couple large trucks. We came around a freshly washed corner and 5 of us piled onto the pavement. It was a slow crash and none of us were badly inured, we were left with some nice road rash and bruising though.

I on the start line I lined up next to the same guy I lined up next to in Edmonton, where I had a good swim. Once again he didn't let me down. I came out of the water 10th and quickly found my self off the front of the lead pack with another Russian athlete on the first lap of the bike. We quickly got caught and I paid for the effort during the next couple of laps, I just hung onto the back of the lead group. 3 athletes got away and put 1min into our lead group by the end of the bike. I started the run very conserved as planned and I felt great. I had to keep telling myself to hold on hold on stay relaxed wait for the last lap. I started the run in 22nd and found myself in 14th by the last lap, but then it started to hurt. I held on for as long as I could, I crossed the line in 15th. A mere 30sec separated me from a top 10 finish.

It was awesome to race first. After the race I flushed out for the next 3 days, watched the rest of the races, did some sight seeing then boarded a plan for Tokyo.
I am at the training centre in Chiba Japan right now and will travel to Yokohama on Saturday for my 2nd WCS race on Monday.

Below is a copy of the link to the results, race video and some pictures.

U23 worlds Video:
http://www.triathlon.org/news/article/sharp_leads_british_podium_sweep_in_mens_under23_world_championships/

U23 worlds results:
http://www.triathlon.org/results/results/2011_dextro_energy_triathlon_-_itu_world_championship_grand_final_beijing/6146/

Lausanne 2011 Sprint World Championships

2011-08-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

After 3 flights, 2 trains and a bus I finally arrived in Lausanne, luckily the race was not for another couple days so I had some time to get other the travel and get used to the time difference.
I was pretty nervous with it being my first WCS event an all. Down at the swim course course the day before the race the rumour going around was that this would be the fastest sprint in the history of triathlon.
It was finally the morning of the race and time for the gun to go off. I made it to and around the turn around buoys without to many blows from the other competitors. I came out of the water with YORKE (CAN). We missed the lead group but a chase pack quickly formed around us and with the help from other athletes we were able to make a 15sec gap, 8sec by the end of the 2nd lap, and by the hill on the last lap we were part of a 50 guy lead group.
The run didn't really got the way I hoped. The second I started to run I felt a stitch in my side which decided to hang out there for the duration of the race. It didn't make it impossible to run but I could defiantly of done without it. I finished 33rd in my first ever WCS event.
I don't think my run was any indicator of my current running ability, I believe I could have run some 20sec faster.

The day after the race Andrew Russel and I decided to do a 3 and a half hour ride up the Col de Jaman (1875m), a 12.5km climb, which took us an hour to get to the top. The scenery and the climb it self was pretty amazing.

Edmonton World Cup

2011-08-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

After pulling out Monterrey because of a knee injury, it would make this my first World Cup event for the year. I was super nervous. I was lucky to have the support of the ITU development team there as well as the support from my coach and another coach Ottawa, Greg Kealey. An athlete couldn't ask for much more than that.
Other than being swarmed by mosquitoes every time you stepped outside, the weather was pretty good for racing I thought.
We didn't race until 3pm so I had the entire morning to be nervous. I think I had about 4 coffee's, which is about 3 too much for me.
When it was finally time to line up, I stuck to my pre race plan and lined up where we had before hand decided. I think this made all the difference, I got my self an a good pair of feet an didn't let them go for the rest of the swim. I existed the water 10th, which is pretty remarkable for me. From the time I existed the water till about 5mins into the bike I was all out, there was no way I could be going any harder. After those 5mins the bike was a walk in the park, all I did was try to stay out of trouble an keep both wheels on the road. I got off the bike in the lead/main group and ran in 20th for about 7km then slowly started to fall back. I ended up crossing the line in 30th.

I was pretty happy with the race. I mean 10th out the water if it was a fluke or not I'm not sure yet, but that is what I have been working all winter and spring towards.

Coteau du Lac CC

2011-07-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

This is about a month late now but I'm going to post it anyhow.
I went into Coteau feeling great about my swim and bike, but was still a little nervous about that 10km run with my knee and lack of running.
I pulled off an amazing swim, coming out of the water 2nd and was 1st onto the bike course. A group of 6 of us quickly came together. We worked together like it was planned, putting 2mins onto the chase group by the end of the bike.
I got onto the run feeling great! Then the 7km mark came an my lack of running started to show. I was able to hold onto a 4th place finish.
The best news of all was that my knee did not hurt during the run!!

Next up Edmonton WC.

Race Report - KW Classic June12th

2011-06-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

So I haven't been updating this to regularly lately cause well nothing really has been going on. As sort of a prep for coteau du lac and because I'm getting very antcy not haven raced for so long I entered my self in a bike race this past weekend.
It being my first bike race in Canada I had to race elite 4. The race was only 60km(9laps). Less than 2km into the race I went flying past the first turn and went from 2nd to last in a matter of seconds. Then my inpatients set in and I rode off the front on lap 2 and soloed it before I was caught by lap 4. Not learning my lesson I tried again almost immediately and was caught again almost immediately. I then sat in for a couple laps and when for it again on lap 6. This time I gave it all I had to stay away. I ended up crossing the line 1st and 26sec ahead of the rest of the field.

Road trip to Ottawa

2011-05-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I drove 5 hours to Ottawa and 5 hours back in the same day with Craig, Dave and Chris. Thanks to Craig and Dave for doing all the driving. Everyone in the car had their own reasons for making the road trip. I went to Kunstadt and picked up my new Scott Addict RC that Imad had already set up and ready to roll. I have been on the bike every day since I have got it, including today for 3hours in 5 degrees, rain and wind, it's an amazing machine. Thanks Kunstadt and Imad.
I then went to get a gait test done which Joanna had organized for me. I think it went very well. I am still waiting for the full analysis, but what made me really happy at the time was that I ran for about 12 minutes without my knee hurting, and not just easy running, Joanna had that treadmill up at 12mph. Thank you Francine for taking out the time to test me.

First Blog Post

2011-05-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

I've been asked numerous times now if I have a blog and why don't I make one? Some of my main reasons against it were: my writing and grammar are terrible. I guess there was only one reason.
I finally decided to make so bare with me on the grammar side of things.

I have been pretty bumbed out lately about my knee, you can ask Dorelle she'll tell you how much I complain to her about not being able to run, she probably wants me back running just as much as I do. After a little sit down with Craig this morning I feel a lot better about everything and that I'll be back on track in no time.