m y T r i L i f e

Kelowna Apple

Well... our trip to the OK to get married has begun!

I'm writing this from Fibonacci coffee house in Penticton right now. Our accommodation for the week is located high up in the hills above Kaledan (about 25km from here), and has no internet, no tv reception and no cellphone reception. We are essentially cut off from all the electronic noise that inundates our daily lives. And frankly, it's kind of nice!

We ended up leaving Edmonton very early Saturday morning (1:30am) and drove overnight to Kelowna. With good weather and a full moon, the drive went by fast. However, by the time we reached Kelowna, our legs were feeling awful, our muscles tight, and we both were a bit dehydrated. After race package pickup, we checked into our B&B and proceeded to do our taper workouts. I felt ok... but I was unsure of how the long drive was going to affect me on Sunday.

Sunday morning. The hostel host lady had promised to throw out some light breakfast for us very early, so that we could eat and get to transition early. Well... we awoke and no breakfast. As we were packing our bags into the car to leave just before 7pm, the host lady apologized for sleeping in. Well... we had zero food and my start time was 8:55, and Naomi's was 9:00pm. Nice. Knowing I couldn't get in much solid at that point, I opted for a can of Red Bull to get me to the start line. Naomi downed some Timmie's at 7:15.

At transition, we were given the word... no wetsuits. Well.. my swim time wouldn't be fast... but at least the water was warm... and for the first time this season... it was hot and sunny! Naomi was feeling some anxiety... she has never swam open water without a wetsuit before. Thankfully some good friends of her's helped her during the warmup to get her to the start line a little more calm.

The race.... well it went ok.... but not great. The lack of sleep and dehydration had me feeling very flat. My taper was perfect (thanks Marc!), but that damn drive.... *sigh*. I was really hoping to perform my best at this race... but I just couldn't find my top gear on race day. I asked Marc about this and he wrote:

"it is better to drive overnight the night BEFORE the race, and not sleep at all. What happens is that the big deficit you are in means that as soon as you get your sleep, you wil go into massive repair/healing mode and go 100% FLAT!"

Live and learn! I HAVE to really concentrate on total preparation and execution... not just being FIT for a race.


Naomi had a rough swim... but she conquered her fear of open water sans wetsuit.... I know that is a huge thing for a lot of swimmers. Good job Naomi!

Last night, after the race we drove to Penticton... well... Kaledan, and checked into our B&B. We came back down to town to watch the women's Olympic triathlon... great to see Emma Snowsill get the gold medal she deserves. Tonight the men's race.. can't wait!!!

Two more days... to the BIG DAY. :-) Naomi has been posting pics to faceboook. I think she's updating her blog as well... stay tuned.

posted by Greg Nicholson @ 8/18/2008