Sunday, May 28, 2006

A packed weekend..

Sat Morning, riding with Toronto Triathlon Club.

Did a 40 km with them. It was fun. I am quite amaze at how well my climbing skills have improved. All the pain in the past long rides are paying off. There was this hill that looked like a wall. Before the hill, there was a valley. I started gaining speed and was rocketing up the hill. From mid pack, I went to the first. Mind you, these riders are social. Also mind you, even that was a good feeling, the better feeling is that I was spinning my way up that hill at 100+ RPM. Amazing. I need to do more climbs. They will only make me stronger.

I really enjoy the club atmosphere. Too bad, my training schedule is in conflict with a lot of their meetings. They are a really nice bunch of people.

After a while, the group stringed out. The leader did his best to keep everyone together. In group cycling, the people in the front will want to keep going and the people in the back will be left behind. I spent most of the ride in the back. Since the bike leader must lead, I figured I can help out by staying in the rear and wait for the back of the packs so they know where to turn and not get lost.

Lord, please give me some heat...

Afterwards, headed to the beach to play some volleyball. Met up with my friends and instead did a long run. This run was dedicated to my parent's friend. He recently found out he had prostate cancer. It was in the late stages and he is being operated next week.

We talked over the phone last night. I told him that my training and my plan to do Ironman Lake Placid in 2007. He told me he would come and see me.

Later, dad was talking to him and I overheard my dad saying "yeah..Cliff got a lot of muscle now..he eat veges with no salad dressing...very healthy...yeah i will tell him to email you his triathlon pics"...my friend, photographer, took some action shot of me in my tri. I do not enjoy showing them as they seem to be quite superficial. Last night..those pics have a much deeper meaning. He knows I had cancer before. And those pics give him hope.

Woah...that really hit me hard...so today's run was dedicated to him. I asked Lord, "you gotta give me hotter temperature than that." It is not hot. I need to be sizzling. I pick a path that seem to be endless and I never ran in the shade. No way. This run is to be tough and brutal. Keep that cadence and keep the form and run.

Ever since I started training, I am wuss in the cold weather. I can't stand it. I start to love the hot weather though. This is sick :0.

Note: The counter is in km, not in miles. So I did about 14 km (8.75 miles).

My knees were going wonky on the last few km. Each knee has experienced sharp pain once. After the run, I noticed my right quad was really sore. I suspect I put more pressure on my right knee b/c my right quad is weaken.

Sun...I did nothing. Woke up at 6 am. Did some house chores. I was really tired. Not enough sleep and my right quad is not fully healed. So I bailed on my swim and my bike. After church, spent the afternoon walking around in the park.

15 comments:

Born To Endure said...

It's 95 down here today..isn't that hot enough for you yet?? :-D

Rachel said...

I know what you mean about the heat. I'm a wuss in the cold too. That was very nice of you to keep the pack together on the bike ride.

Habeela said...

I hope your friend pulls through. One of my old roommates has had cancer 2 times now and I'm often motivated by her attitude through all of it. So inspiring.

Steven said...

It's cool that you will be training for IMLP at the same time I'm training for IM Canada next year!

We can swap war-stories...

qcmier said...

I love training in the heat, but geez, I have never prayed for it. And if this was not in an IM year for me, I would never pass up a game of beach volleyball for a run. Take care of those knees.

I hope your parent's friend will be okay. I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about your friend's cancer. You are in a position to provide encouragement because of your past experience. You know what he is going through because you've been there yourself. You know in a a way that most people do not. I know that you can be a great help to him.

Meagan said...

How are you liking the heat now? :)
I'm sorry to hear about your friend, he is in my prayers.

MD said...

I know what you mean about the cold. Its getting cold down here in Victoria Australia and I cant stand it. There is still another 4-6 months before it warms up again.

Thomas said...

I hope your parents' friend will be ok, and that he will indeed be around to watch you doing an IronMan. It sounds rather serious.

Btw., got your shoes already! The postal service must have put on a turbo boost.

Anonymous said...

That's pretty cool cliff. It's always nice to be able to help someone work through the pain that you've already experienced yourself. Hey, go do a cycling race and you'll know for sure how well you're doing on the climbs ;)

Anonymous said...

That's pretty cool cliff. It's always nice to be able to help someone work through the pain that you've already experienced yourself. Hey, go do a cycling race and you'll know for sure how well you're doing on the climbs ;)

Rae said...

That's so awesome that you can be an inspiration to someone else through your athletics!

If you want some heat come on down South! We've got it in BUCKETS!

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