Better late than November.

So.  2014 race season.  Done and dusted.  I write this having just run the BMO Okanagan Marathon on Thanksgiving Sunday, and let's just say there was a good cup of Humble mixed in the Pumpkin Pie recipe this year.  The race itself is one of the finer fall marathons out there, and I highly recommend it (Save-On Foods is also a co-sponsor of the event).  It's always perfect weather for a personal best time, and excellent justification for the ensuing Thanksgiving binge.

So it's now October.  I've been a little neglectful as far as March-through-September blogging has been concerned.  With work, training, racing and moving cities, it's been a productively busy time.

The season itself was, result-wise, my best ever.  I'm still in that economic gray area between age-grouper and legitimate professional, but a bunch of amazing people came on board to help weight the scales towards the Pro end of things.  I started the year representing the Starting Block (and through them Eload Sports Nutrition and Saucony), and Breakaway Health and Fitness, and the support network just grew from there.

March saw me team up with Sun Country Cycle and Re-Cycled Accessories. Ricardo and his crew solved all of the mechanical issues I usually inflict on my bikes, helping me throw down a 56:19 bike split for 40k en route to a 2nd place finish at the UBC Triathlon that March.

In April I started racing for the local Save-On Foods.  Jim, the manager, is a constant, supportive presence in the North Okanagan community.  He spent a week camping out on the roof of his store this September to raise 2500 pounds of food for the Salvation Army's food drive.  We hit off right away, and looking back on late April it was a definite turning point in helping me realize what I could do for others in the midst of what can at times be a very selfish endeavour.  Another 2nd place at the Delta Tri and a win at the inaugural Cherry Blossom Triathlon in Kelowna capped the month.  That race, put on by former Olympians (and new parents)  Malindi Elmore and Graham Hood along with stand-up comedian James Young, is a fantastic early-season grassroots event, and despite taking place on a cold, wet day, it's debut was very well-received.

May brought a bit of lunacy, in addition to a Provincial Amateur title in duathlon.  The win was against Justin Birks, with whom I've had some good battles over the last 5 years.  Justin is making great strides on behalf of Not For Sale, an anti-human trafficking organization, in affiliation with the More than Sport program, which enables athletes extend the positive impact they make far beyond the sports world.

The weekend of May 31st/June 1st was probably the nuttiest of the year, as the Wine Capital of Canada Triathlon (Standard-Distance) and the Oliver Half-Iron were held on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.  I love doing the Outback events here in the Valley, and I'd desperately wanted to do both races.....so I did.  I won a very windy WCOC Tri on Saturday and decided to just go for broke on the bike at the Half on Sunday. It wound up working, and I went from having not won either of the races before to winning both on consecutive days.

The Oliver races also solidified my growing reputation as a threat on the bike, helped along in great part by Havoc, my B12 bike from Felt Bicycles.  I hooked up with Felt through Sun Country in May, and immediately resolved to cause a ruckus on my fantastic new steed.  As riding it gave me an overwhelming urge to "Cry 'Havoc', and let slip the dogs of war!!!" as the quote goes, the B12 earned it's name in a hurry.

The rest of June was all about getting over the cold that I picked up from the Oliver weekend (the piper always needs paying, after all), and things other than actually competing.  The highlight was my amazing girlfriend, Tara, moving up from the coast at the end of the school year the weekend of the Kal Rats Sprint Tri, which we both did.  It was a fantastic feeling to know after the race that we wouldn't have to go another few weeks without seeing each other.

The day before Kal Rats was the Paradigm Naturopathic Kids of Steel triathlon.  I'd been asked by my sponsor Cindy Garvin (of Re-Cycled Accessories), who was directing the race, to hand out medals at the finish line.  I gladly obliged, and spent an incredibly enjoyable morning kneeling lower and lower (the youngest waves started last) hanging medals on some very happy kids.  I was more than a little inspired, and received a good lesson on the importance of enjoying the sport first and foremost.  It helped make the next day, where I took my third Kal Rats win ahead of two excellent Okanagan athletes in Jake Van Allen and Justin Birks, even more enjoyable.  I then got to watch Tara finish a fantastic fourth in the women's race (it's her first year of triathlon), after she'd led everyone out of the water (myself included-----no debate on who wears the speedo in this household).

July was bite-off-more-than-you-can-chew month.  I made a last-minute decision to race long-course Nationals in Vancouver, on a course that would force me to rely on the weaker aspects of my Tri game.  I wound up getting my butt handed to me by Andrew Russell and Nathan Killam, two athletes who are much more well-rounded than I am, and taking some good notes for the remaining races of the year.

Some of those notes were applied the following weekend, as I had one of my better swims of the year and a respectable bike split to win the Peach Classic Triathlon in Penticton.  This is one of my favorite courses, in possibly the greatest triathlon town in the world.  A win there gave me a good boost in confidence heading into August.

There was also an attempt to race the Calgary 70.3, but my organization skills (or lack thereof) got the better of me.  I've heard nothing but great things about that race though, so it's definitely on the docket for next year!

One tremendous boost in mid-July was the addition to my team of RB Piping Inc.  Through their support, getting to and through races is going to be that much easier in 2015.  They've helped open some big doors for me for next year, and I couldn't have raced Nationals without them.

And finally August.  I made the mistake of allowing too great a gap between races, and it was a month from Peach Classic to the Kelowna Apple Tri in mid-August.  This was not a good thing; too long without competition and you'll find me making growling noises and chasing cars.  This was the last year I'll do the Apple/Challenge Penticton double.  I enjoy the hit-out, and the Kelowna course and atmosphere are awesome, but it may not be the best thing to do one week before an iron-distance race.  It felt great to go out with another win though, and like any other race in Kelowna:  do it if you get the chance.  And it did serve to fire me up for Challenge Penticton the next weekend!!  I'll post a recap of Challenge within the next few days, as it deserves it's own post.  There was, for sure, enough craziness in that one day to equal the rest of the season combined.


Nathan