Alive With Sport

Tired, strong and powerful

Joanne — Tue, 15 May 2012 06:20:44 +0000

I had a great weekend of training: swim bike on Friday, bike run on Saturday (a good 110km jaunt out to Chiiliwack on Zero Ave), run swim on Sunday… And just for good measure another 40km on the bike tonight. … Continue reading →

The Honeymoon Package

Joanne — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:01:06 +0000

This is where we’ll be in December. We booked the honeymoon package (with scooter)!

Aitutaki, Cook Islands.

Photo from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/caryd/

Delta Race report

Joanne — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 05:16:59 +0000

Here’s me at 6:30am on race morning. You really can’t have a bad race day when you dress up as a bunny!

Today went really well. I really enjoyed racing and volunteering with my SAA and South Delta friends – my local triathlon community is really made up of a great group of people. So many good laughs today. The kids race was so fun. I made kids laugh, fixed googles, and helped some scared ones. These kids have the tenacity to just keep going and have fun (despite everything being new and quite scary). It was really quite inspiring! My race goal for today was to react well to unpredictable things that get thrown my way – so seeing these kids do it like it was no big deal was a good start.

After the volunteering, I showered and tried to stay off my feet and for the couple hours wait until my swim start. Hanging out with Rob and Evan on the pool deck and joking about trying to beat each other was a good fun way to kick off the race. My swim was great. I was really really comfortable and fast. My swim time was 12:15 for 700m*. I even was comfortable enough to do a couple of flip turns. The first step of reacting well — was definitely covered here in this busy swim — well done, Joanne.

As I pushed my bike through transition, I noticed my hat caught on my bike pedal, so I calmly stopped and placed it to the side. One of the volunteers noticed and picked it up for me. Second reaction – also good The bike was good. I just went. There was no one to pass or catch so I just went. As I started I noticed that my bike computer wasn’t on – so I turned it on – and it beeped with the low battery warning. So I turned it off and just kept riding. OK did you really have to put so many tests out there for yourself! As I came back into transition and was putting on my shoes, I heard this voice, “Joanne, do you want your visor for the run?” So I just kept putting on my shoes, and said, “Yes, thanks!” Man, you’re getting good at this. The run was fine. My legs felt weird coming off the bike. A reminder that I need to do more brick runs. I felt good.

I had a 3-4 min personal best today and accomplished my race goal but one of my favorite parts of today was the sense of community that I felt. There were so many great people involved. We had a lot of fun together.

*Unfortunately, the time that was recorded for my swim was 13:15 – sometimes at this race the swim times are wrong – oh well. I still had fun, despite the swim time AND I was genuinely laughing about it. Race goal really accomplished, well done!

Barton (who’s in the picture with me above) said to me, “So, are you going to be fast this year?” I guess so, Barton! …and I’m excited.

Train Your Brain

Joanne — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:59:15 +0000

Train your brain – brainpower and the elite athlete – of course they go together PLoS One Article, NYTimes Article

Take a minute

Joanne — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:01:37 +0000

I love Thursdays

Joanne — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 03:55:01 +0000

A trail run is pretty much the perfect way to start the day!
I’m loving my Thursday morning trail runs at UBC.

Rick Mercer takes on Olympic Swimmers

Joanne — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:24:23 +0000

The part at the end just kills me – laughed so hard I was crying.

Granted Tenure Today

Joanne — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 03:22:22 +0000

I was granted tenure today – which means that I’m eligible for sabbatical in 2013 – not that I’m counting down or anything! Now I just have to figure out how to do science education in Europe on a bicycle … Continue reading →

Aliens made me do it, again.

Joanne — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 04:21:23 +0000

One highlight of today included a sunset ride off River Road made possible by daylight savings. Taking home $50 in prize money for a second place overall in the UBC duathlon was also pretty cool. It cost me $57 to enter so I’m $7 in the hole. [chuckle] I think I might have eaten $7 of peanut butter bagels. Maybe… Actually, I’m glad that I made the decision to participate in the UBC duathlon today. I enjoyed my interactions with friends, clubmates, colleagues, and fellow racers today. I say participate here because I’m not supposed to be racing. I’ve got a bit of an injury and my instructions from physiotherapist are keep the running to less than 5km**. So the race plan for today, er I mean the idea, was to take it easy on the run, hammer the bike and then jog or walk or quit or something. I admit, I hadn’t really thought past the bike. I compromised on the rules and went easy on the runs (23:08) and (23:09) and hammered the bike (40:38). My new TT bike is fast and fun and the motor was working well today – good enough for 7th fastest bike split overall. Mission accomplished. I got off the bike feeling pretty good and was pretty sure that I had passed most if not all the ladies so I just kept going. My injury was no problem today but I do have a very very tight back (which may be stemming from the injury or the lowered bike seat or something). I’m not sure exactly what story I’ll tell to my physio on Tuesday. I could try, “Aliens made me do it.” I may have tried that excuse before. I guess I could go with the truth, I just like racing the UBC Duathlon.

**For the record, I respect my physiotherapists advice very much. I’m exaggerating the story just a bit. My injury does seem to be getting better and it never fails to amaze me how the physio exercises can pinpoint my weaknesses.

Only Getting Better

Joanne — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:05:20 +0000

When I’m broken down, I’ll be brushing off my kicks … I’m only getting better, better, better.
from K’Naan: “Better”

These K’Naan lyrics appeal to me for several reasons. I’ve got a bit of an injury and with a bit of rest and some TLC it looks like it’s getting better. But the real reason that I’m posting is that it looks like my running seems to pushing new boundaries, my riding is in a new place already and my swimming has new focus. The rocket launch of my new bike, a Cervelo P3 who I’ve nicknamed Pete, was this weekend. We were in the Okanagon for my first ride outdoors on the new stead. There was a crazy tail wind and the TT bike is pretty much made to ride straight and fast in those conditions (44+kph on the flats). It was pretty fun. My journey to IronMan Canada is starting off with this catchy theme song, “I’m only getting better, better, better…”