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

It's been a long time since I made any changes to the links that I have set up in this blog. Over the next few days I hope to refresh it a bit by eliminating some of the "old" out-of-date stuff and adding some newer up-to-date info. For example, I've added a link to the "Beginner Triathlete" web forum that I have found to be very helpful. More changes to come in the days ahead.

Just checking the blog and realize that I haven't posted all week. I've been a little lethargic where training is concerned. I did get out for a nice run on Wednesday after work but that's about the sum total. Took the day off work today to get some chores done around the house. Of course, it's raining so won't be able to do the primary task but still nice to be off. Plan is for a run and a ride this long weekend.

On Sunday morning I went for my longest ever bike ride. My route was almost 50km and took me along the north side of the Saint John river all the way to the Mactaquac Dam and Headpond and then back along the south side of the river via the old Trans-Canada Highway.

While 50k isn't huge by cycling standards (Tour de France riders will do 150 - 200 km some days) it was a big accomplishment for me. This is especially true because there were a couple of SERIOUS hills along the route.

Here is a picture of the Mactaquac Dam which is used to create hydro-electric power. You can see the headpond that was created on the upriver side of dam. It's now used for boating and there is a nice provincial park that includes a golf course, camping, marina, etc.

I was out today at lunch for a 30 minute run and it occurred to me that it's been a long time since I did any noon hour running. Guess it's because I was concentrating on getting to the pool. At any rate, it was a gorgeous day and so it was really nice to be out there alongside the gorgeous Saint John river.

The UNB pool is closed for a couple weeks of maintenance so a friend suggested I try the new outdoor pool that the City of Fredericton had built this year. Although it was chilly, it was a nice change to be swimming in the great outdoors. Here's a look at the facility:

It's been over a month since my last blog post but today I am rededicating myself to regularly updating this site.

Since my inaugural triathlon I havn't been able to compete in any more events but I have kept at the swimming, biking and running. Hopefully I'll be able to find a triathlon to compete in before the end of this season and I'm already thinking about stepping up to the next distance level (Olympic distance) in 2009.

Just over two weeks ago I had a proper "fitting" of my bicycle and man, what a difference it has made. I bought the bike at a Local Bike Shop (LBS) here in Fredericton called The Radical Edge and as part of their tremendous customer service they did the fitting at no cost. While in PEI for the past two weeks I got in several long rides including a 40k one and the comfort level was vastly improved over what it would have been a couple months ago!

At this point I am in the market for a triathlon wetsuit (I borrowed one for my first event) which will complete my equipment needs. I have a line on a used one but am waiting to hear back by email from the seller.

Hard to believe that summer is so quickly coming to a close. Already time to look at Fall plans. I have signed on to lead another group at my local Running Room store but the clinic doesn;t start until later in October. The group will be a Learn To Run group (last time I led a 10k group) so it'll be folks brand new to the sport. I hope I can get them enthusiastic about running but mostly I want them to be enthusiastic about "active living".