I had planned to lay this baby to rest but its been a busy few weeks what with Trent's arrival to Van and summer finally arriving (June 28th!) I actually have some updates to post that might interest some of you back home.

Let's begin with Canada Day. Its long so grab yourself a drink and settle in.

We kicked the day off with my competing in the Canada Day Classic Open Water Swim. I've been doing a lot of swimming over the last few months and had ventured out to the open water swim practices when they started in early June. They didn't go well. I was experiencing a lot of nausea and dizziness from the rolling/crashing waves and drinking a lot of sea water. It wasn't and certainly wasn't pretty. Worried that I was in over my head having registered for the 2K, I decided to head to a local lake where many triathletes here in Van train and where the Canada Day Classic would be held. After one swim in Sasamat Lake I felt like a superstar and had my confidence restored. I could do this. I managed to get a few more open water swim practices in before race day and felt that I could at least complete the race. Looking at the past results I set myself a goal of finishing in the 40 minute time range.

Come Canada Day we arrive at the race and I quickly lose all confidence. I am surrounded by triathletes. They're buff, looking confident and all seem to know one another. My manager, Trent Waterhouse, reassured me that I would do fine as long as I just stuck to my race plan. For me it wasn't so much a race but accomplishing the challenge of competing in my first open water swim event.


The call goes out for my event (Women's 2K) and I lien myself up with the most direct line to the first bouy about 600m out. The gun goes off and according to plan I start out swimming steady and focusing on getting my breathing regulated. At the first buoy I am feeling pretty good and and make the turn with only a few arms and legs in my way. The next stretch was the longest at about 750 m. I'm focusing on what I think is the next buoy but start to worry when I see swimmers stretched out a good 200m to my left. Am I head to the right buoy, am I way off course. I continue on and reach the buoy. At this point I realize that while I may not be the fastest swimmer I do swim the straightest/shortest race of anyone in the field. After another short 200m I round the final buoy and head for the finish line. I am passed at this point by three guys racing the 4K who fly by me like I am standing still. It was unbelievable the power these guys had and it gave me a boost to swim in strong. I see the finish line buoy and focus on swimming hard past the beach with all of the spectators. As I make the turn into the finish gantry I see a pair of legs run out in front of me. I pop my head up only to find out that I have over shot the finish line and am on the far side of it. I quickly duck under the finish line rope swim the last few meters and run out of the water to see Trent with camera/video in hand cheering me on.










When the results were posted I was thrilled to see that I had finished in a respectable 36:25, several minutes ahead of my goal. To celebrate we headed to the Port Moody Firefighters Canada Day Pancake Breakfast. Yummm, deep fried sausages.