This is what I’m hoping will happen with the last game of the Canucks season.  Please let the Canucks play at their best.  And, Boston too.  I’d much rather we win the cup in a well played game with no crappy calls or dirty hits or blow-outs.  Just good fast hockey, with good goals, and then this town will erupt.  The Stanley Cup deserves to be awarded in a spirit of competition and cooperation.

This is what we live for…

Does this sentiment apply to triathlon?  I think it does.  I think that’s the beauty of doing races.  The sense of community, the cheering, sharing your energy to help others, racing with friends, celebrating achievements with others.  For me, this sense of cooperation that I find in triathlon competitions might be what keeps me coming back for more.

We’re doing the Race Across the Lake in Kelowna on the Saturday and then the Peach Triathlon on the Sunday. I’m not sure why exactly… but I’m sure we’ll have fun. Right, K?

I guess we might take after this crazy old fart (his words, not mine).

I wore my Garmin last week to see exactly what kind of workout Ultimate Tuesdays deliver. Garmin made a little movie for me [click the image below to play]. You can see where my stuff was on the sideline, my lazy defense, our sometimes crazy offense, and where I parked the car (& please excuse my visit to the washrooms). Triathletes and their technology. Jeez.

I ran 6.8km in 2hrs 40min – which sounds VERY slow and steady! Ultimate is pretty much the opposite of slow and steady and involves lots of short bursts of sprinting, lots of standing around, and lots of smokies on the BBQ.

Throw a frisbee at the finish line & all my Ultimate Tuesdays will pay off.

I’m finding other equally rewarding ways to stay involved. For example, this weekend I volunteered at a water station at the Ladner Half marathon. It was great to see everyone out there! As a bonus, we were stationed way out on the country farm roads right beside a self serve farmers kiosk with beautiful purple, yellow and orange tomatoes.

I’ve also been using my bike as a way of traveling lately. Commuting is a great way to get in the training, even if you don’t have a big race that scares the pants off you.

My all time favorite motivator for getting out there is being outdoors. With no racing bug to focus the speed and distance, I’ve been enjoying the settings even more. I have really appreciated my favorite trails and especially the swims in Boundary Bay. Getting outdoors is what it’s all about!

My view is that good teaching is a lot like good coaching.

Trading my Team Canada t-shirt for a Team Mexico shirt at the 2008 ITU World Championships - a highlight for me as an Athlete

Athletes and Coaches from Team Canada (Red) & Team USA (Blue) at the Pan American Junior World Cup, circa 1999 - a highlight from my Coaching experiences

When I reflect on my experiences in sport, I find that there is a lot of carry over into to the realm of education. For example, my involvement in high-level amateur athletics taught me the importance of goals. Celebrating success, how to deliver and receive effective feedback, and how to tap into motivation are all things that I’ve learned about in sport and now focus on in my teaching. I also think that the collaborative relationship that successful coaches and athletes share mirrors a good educator – student relationship. Building on these reflections, I believe that it is my role as an educator to encourage students and to coach them for success.

As a bit of background information about myself, I’ve been involved in sport for many years. I’ve participated in high-level amateur sport, enjoyed recreational leagues, and coached Junior (<19) as well as Masters (40yrs+) athletes. As I tell the story of my athletic experiences, a few achievements stand out as highlights including a 4th place finish at the Pan-American Junior Track & Field Championships, a 2nd place finish in the Honolulu marathon, National Team carding in the Olympic Hopeful category during my university years, and more recently my finish at IronMan Canada.

Throughout all of these experiences, I’ve been lucky to have interacted with some very talented coaches and mentors. My earliest teaching experiences are based in coaching. These experiences range from: coaching experiences in track and field at highschool, university, and provincial levels; being a guest speaker for Sun Run clinics; designing and coaching marathon training programs; participating in NCCP level II certification courses as a guest speaker and participant. Here’s a few more highlights from my own coaching experiences:

• 2000 & 1999 National Team Manager, Canadian Junior Racewalk Team, Athletics Canada.
• 2001 – 1995 Head Coach, Racewalk West Track and Field Club.
• 2000 Coach, Honolulu Marathon Training Program, Joints in Motion, Arthritis Society.
• NCCP Level I, Level II (theory) Coaching Certification for Track & Field, specialization Racewalk

Involvement in sport is a life long passion for me. In addition to being personally fufilling, I’m constantly learning about myself, about good coaching, and about scenarios for success. I’m happy that I can make these connections between two of my passions in life: 1) being active in sport, and 2) being an effective educator.

This year we did a short hike up to Dog Mountain up at Seymour. There wasn’t much snow but the trail was still fine. At the top, we got a really cool view of the city covered in fog.

In a holiday season filled with eating, driving and visiting, I always appreciate the opportunity to get outdoors. Here’s some pics from our christmas day tradition.