Peter's Team Diabetes Triathlon (and formerly Marathon) Blog

Here are pictures taken of Jill doing the 15K race in Grande-Digue on Sunday.
Jill and Peter on their way to the start line

... and she's off ...

The course ran along the coast line for the first third - absolutely beautiful

Coming down one of the hills with a view into the bay

Hydrating at the 14k water station

Jill stops for a pic with Kris Acker, regional manager for the Running Room.

Thumbs up for a great finish

It's all about the "bling" - a.k.a. the finisher's medal

A well-deserved pasta lunch hosted by the community of Grande-Digue hit the spot!

The finisher's medal has a great picture of the parish church which is the landmark for the start/finish.

The Saint John river which flows through downtown Fredericton is flooding more than usual this year due to the incredible snowfall we had this winter. Here are a couple of pictures that I tool yesterday while I was out for a run at lunchtime.

Weather was nice again yesterday so I went out for a 20k jaunt on my bike. Much of the route that I followed was the same as the route that will be used for the race I am doing in July. Between now and then I hope they do some road repairs because the surface is in horrible shape. There were a couple of times when I thought I might destroy a tire or rim when I hit potholes or cracks in the road.

Had a busy weekend of training activities. On Friday after work I took Sebastian out for a 15k ride and then Saturday I did my first "brick" - a ride followed immediately by a run. The ride portion was 17k and the run was 2k. Your legs feel really strange for the first part of the run after pedalling for so long - different muscles at work - but after a while everything is back to normal.

Sunday was my long run day - 18k. The weather was gorgeous and I was able to run in shorts and t-shirt without needing a jacket.

Today is Marathon Monday - the 112th running of the Boston Marathon. To think, last year at this time I was there and getting ready to start. Good luck to my friend and UNB colleague Mike Baldwin who is running today as well as to all the folks from Running Mania who are taking part in the most famous marathon of them all.

... than re-connecting with a long-lost friend? A couple of days ago I made email contact with one of my best buds from college, Mark Ross. Sometime over the past 10-15 years our careers ended up taking us to opposite ends of the country and we lost track of one another. I'd searched for him using Google and Facebook but never any luck. Then, through a mutual contact I ended up getting his email address. Turns out he is still in the military and stationed in Holland.

Marco - great to be back in touch with you (I know you're reading my blog now so leave a comment!).

It's been almost a week since I was in the pool so even though the weather was gorgeous I decided to swim today rather than go for a run. I'll be taking Sebastian out for a spin after work though so I will get to enjoy some sunshine.

Winter's back has now been broken !! Spring has truly sprung !!

Today I was out for a run at noon and it was absolutley gorgeous. After work today I am going to take my new road bike - Sebastian - out for an inaugural ride. I am really looking forward to starting my cycling training to add to the running and swimming that I have been doing.

A little more about Sebastian. From what I've read online, a lot of cyclists and triathletes are in teh habit of naming their bikes. Not sure why but who am I to argue with tradition. So, for the past few weeks I have been trying to come up with a suitable moniker.

Sebastian is what I decided upon after reading that St. Sebastian is the patron saint of athletes and soldiers (I am ex-military) and that he cured many people afflicted with serious disease. I hope that the same energy he showed in spreading and defending the Faith will help me in my upcoming triathlons and that the fundraising I have done for Team Diabetes will ultimately lead to a cure.

Yesterday I got another long run in and despite not really wanting to do it, all went well, I did a 16k route that took me across the river and then east along Waterloo Row and the Lincoln road. Much of the time I was able to see the Saint John river where the ice is now out and concerns about flooding are starting to build.

Busy week ahead. I'm off to PEI to pick up Stephanie at school tomorrow and Wednesday morning I'll get to watch her ride before we head back home.

Even though Jill is out in Kelowna for a visit, she's still keeping up her Half Marathon training. Here she is with her twin Jacqui doing her 18k LSD. Way to go !!

In case you're wondering, my inactivity on this blog does NOT mirror inactivity in my training. Rather, it is a sign that life has been busy.

Last week I managed to get to the pool twice and one of those workoputs included a 1000m swim - that's 40 lengths of our university pool. I feel really proud that I was able to achieve this distance and although my technique is still lacking, I feel like I am getting better.

I also got out for a couple of runs last week including a 16k LSD yesterday. The weather was gorgeous and makes such a difference to one's attitude when trying to do longer distances.

As I was on my way back from the run I saw a few people out on bicycles - mostly young kids on shiny new sidewalk bikes with training wheels. It got me thinking that if the weather holds I might try getting out on my mountain bike later in the week. Still too early to take my gleaming new road bike out.

Last night I received a phone call from my Mom informing me that one of our closest family friends, Jackie Shouldice, had passed away. "Nannny Jackie" as she was known to my kids has been a special part of my life since the late 1960's when our family moved into a house two doors down from where she lived with her husband Ron and sons Lee, Tracy and Tyler. Over the past 40 years she has been more than just a friend and neighbour. Hers was the first place we stopped on the way home from the hospital with our newborns. She was the person who looked after our toddler when Jill first returned to work. Hers was amongst the first places that I had to get to when I was home in Ottawa on business. Jackie was a very special lady. She was thoughtful, generous, fun to be with and kind beyond description. She will be missed tremendously by Jill, Stephanie, Christopher and me.