Sunday, December 23, 2007

Christmas early at home!


Let start with a great news! I will be riding Cervelo next year!!!! and 2009 also!!!! I m super excited to get back on there bike and have then showing me that they definitly beleive and stand behind me! I m so excited!!! Of course, riding the flag ship of cervelo, the p3c but also will be riding one of there R3 family road bike.....!!!!

More great news about new sponsorship to come!!!!

As for now, i m swimming with my local swim club, did a 18:34 1500m yesturday and a 6.8km swim today. Also a lot of trainer rides, some cross country skiiing and running! It s a bit unstructure right now as i have so much stuff going on.... christmas time is not a easy time to have a fix schedule.

I m heading out to my parents house on the lake for the next 5 days! It should be extremly slow pace with good food and tons of napping and relaxing. I would say that it come at a very good time as i m very tired, been so so so so busy lately, didnt get as much rest as normal but it was for the best!

ok, i have to go, i have to start shoping as i just realise that there is a holiday call christmas coming soon and i want to take some lead on things and get the buying present done early! I m heading out in the jungle!!!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Claudia song


I havent update much the blog. I been sick for the past 7 days with a strong case of cold. I havent done any session of training during that time. I watched a lot of movies and slept a lot. I m feeling a bit better today and really hoping i can get back slowly to training tomorow.

I always get sick around janurary/feburary but this time, i guess it s earlier! Hope i m now clear of sickness until ironman arizona!

When i was at the Canadian National triathlon training center, Every second monday, we would have what we call a toolkit! It s a meeting with all the athletes of different sport in a classroom and listen to someone that will come talk about a subject related to sport. I would go most of the time because it was all you can eat pizza and grape juice! But, there was that one monday when someone very special came to talk to us... someone that really reached me whit his message. His name is DR martin collis, He is a motivational speaker about Personal and Professional Wellness. Dr martin was very energetic, made us laugh so hard, it was like a stand up show but for free and with pizza at the same time. At the end of the presentation, he took his guitar and played a song. Ok, it s maybe not the greatest musicien in the world but the message is very simple and i always liked to hear it....

so here it is... download it if you feel like it. down the page...claudia song

http://www.speakwell.com/well/2001_summer/1.shtmlhere s the lyrics:

Claudia

It was just 50 meters of pale blue water
It was cool in the California heat
And the golden swimmers laid their soaking towels on the pool deck
To keep themselves from blistering their feet
And yet another station wagon parked in the parking lot
And yet another kid had come to swim
To swim for the champion club Santa Clara
Where everybody seemed to win
She asked for a trial and the coach with a smile
Said he’d be glad to see what she could do
But as he watched that little 12 year old attack the water
It was obvious she hadn’t got a clue.
She wasn’t very strong she did everything wrong
Just another kid he’d have to turn away.
But she explained that she’d failed in a bunch of other sports
So the coach said if she worked hard she could stay.
So she came to practice and found out very quickly
There was not a single kid that she could beat
Her suit rubbed hot shoulders and the chlorine blurred her vision
She was last when they put her in a meet
But the coach he was wise and he felt he’d realize
That she’d found another sport she could not do
So he helped her when he could, but told her mother perhaps she should
Look around a bit, find something new.


Chorus

Because she never made the finals
And she never got a ribbon for her wall
She never won a medal or a trophy or a T-shirt
She never won anything at all.




So the season ended and we said goodbye to Claudia
And a chapter came to its appointed end
She hadn’t mastered swimming, she could never think of winning
But at least she felt the coaches were her friends
But on the first day of next season for some masochistic reason
Claudia was standing there again
She swam 2 hours every morning and 2 hours every evening
With discomfort coming awfully close to pain
So when we held a banquet at he closing of the season
Just to give the Olympians their due
We bought a Dolphin trophy for the kid who tried the hardest
And we bought it with one person in view
Mark Spitz and Donny Schollander were scooping up all the silverware
And then we asked for Claudia by name
Oh I’ve never seen such happiness, and tears and total radiance
And I don't care if I never do again

Repeat Chorus

If that was all the story it would still have been worth telling
Because no-one loses when they do their best
But there is a little post-script that may be of some interest
So quickly I shall let you know the rest
Her body changed perceptibly as she approached maturity
And quietly co-ordination came
And when you add co-ordination to total dedication
Then the record books would shortly know her name
After the first 2 years the rest of it came easy
We just sat back and watched the tale unfold
In the individual medleys up in Mexico City
Claudia won 2 Olympic golds
So to all you people sitting there with your expertise and your savior faire
Be careful to all the kids that you turn away
For there’s many hurts and many scars when you reach for your appointed stars
But they’re not always as far as first they seem





Claudia wins gold!

She won 2 Olympic finals
And she won a stack of ribbons for her wall
She won a bunch of medals and some trophies and some T-shirts
But the Dolphin trophy meant the most of all

Saturday, December 8, 2007

feeling down?

if you are lacking motivation, feel down or can't get off the door for training....maybe just take a moment to watch this and get off the door after.....

Friday, December 7, 2007

sick...nooooooooooooooooooooo

i had some great training lately. I been very consistant and things have been going very well. I had a few good 8km swim workout with the swim team and some hard sets! My running is also on track and i been slowly increasing the miles on the bike.

Unfortunetly, i got sick! A Cold! it s been 3 days that i been resting and catching up on many different things. I will hopefully be able to annonce some great news next week as a lot is happening right now. It s a very exciting time for me so almost good that i been sick so i had time to deal with all these obligation!

well, that s all for now, i do miss the swim practice, i hope to be back on my feet tomorow so i can get some good workout in...... my mtb finaly arrive from penticton and he wants to get some good miles in the desert!

Me and Zach had a team meeting dinner last night at the McDonald, it was good, and a lot of meaningfull things were said!

hope everyone stay warm and healthy... it s not fun to be sick!!!

Monday, December 3, 2007

the routine!!!!


Well, there isnt much to talk about, i m just getting the word done and it s actually a littel boring right now, all my runs are 50 minutes... they always have stide at the end, mostly always on the same roads, the bike is the same, ride the same road and not much special stuff, just ride z2 and get home! At least, there is the swimming, the new team is definitly a good distraction and motivating for me. I been swimming around 30km a week....very happy about that and most of it is very technical....We use all the toys also, lots of fines work, snorkel, paddle and tons of very silly weird drills. I never know what drills we are suppose to do so i always have to check on the next lane as i swim to understand what is going on......!!!!








Got my flight book for christmas vacation and i should be in quebec from the 17th to the 4th. I have to bring my trainer bike and ride on the rollers..... but will have plenty of time to get out in the cross country ski!!!! I would like also to thanks Doug in calgary that as been giving me huge help this year with some traveling and once again will get me to a white christmas and back to las curces for training..... thank you so much, i really appreciate!


It s also the sponsorship season, i talk to different company and see if there is possible association that could come up next year. I really hope to have most of my last year sponsors back and a few have already confirm.... but i have to say it s a bit long to wait for the reply and the negociation.... not my favorite time of the year.




For those that wonder how sponsorship work, here s a idea of it :







1.you first write or call a contact at a company, let say Will Pratt at the Bike Barn in penticton








2. then, the company of course fly you first class to there headquarter to impress you. Big company like bikebarn will get me on there private jet with tons of ''Save by the bell'' video as they know i like that







3. As you get there, they will take you out for dinner and try to make you drink a lot..... The often make a profile study of you with the FBI so they already know your taste..... the barn had tons of desert for me ......they really were agressive in the seduction process




Then the numbers session start.... big numbers.... with tons of 0000000000000 it s hard to keep focus at this time, there is a base salary, that is what you get even you have a bad season and are grumpy all year long. Then, there is bonus... for exemple, Will as offer me a 1 000 000$ bonus if i win the tour de france on top of ironman lake placid that coincide with the day off in the tour.... very interesting. they always put a pencil near your hand as they really want to sign you. Drink keeps flowing!!!!




finaly, you come to a agreement, you got a contract, you are a sponsor athlete and you jump back in the private jet(this time, they make you fly in a different model exclusively for athlete that have already sign the contract) back to your home......


that is how sponsorship work in the world of triathlon! Any questions????














have a nice day!