race this sacred journey
• 4. Fun --There is no point in doing all this training unless you enjoy the experience and have fun. I have observed many triathletes train for the Iron Man with vastly different approaches. My two 2 heroes are Leslie Riva and Lori Allin because they always looked so happy and seemed to love every minute of their training and the race itself. I wanted to be like them!

Plan for the Worst:

I was astutely instructed to prepare for something to go wrong during training sessions and on race day itself. I had my share of challenges including a fickle front de

I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in such an amazing event as the Iron Man Triathlon. I truly value living in a free and democratic country that is not only war free but beautiful beyond belief. To have 5000 volunteers for 2500 athletes is phenomenal and I commend the people of Penticton for continuing to do such an outstanding job of hosting this event.

The journey to the starting line of Iron Man Canada in Penticton started about a year ago. I had completed 14 marathons and a handful of ? Iron Man triathlons but the Iron Man always seemed so mind boggling and apparently out of my reach.

My Iron Man game plan was to:
• Hope for the Best
• Plan for the Worst and
• Expect the Unexpected

The biggest obstacle in my mind was the gargantuan task of running a full 26 mile marathon after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 miles. How did these people do it? My friend Don Henderson described the marathon in the Iron Man as a more of a “pilgrimage” or journey to the sacred land.

I chose to compete in the Iron Man because I knew it would be a sacred journey into the unknown. I dreamed about completing it ever since I saw Paula Newby Fraser and Mark Allen conquer the course in Kailua Kona, Hawaii in 1992.

1. Hope for the Best:

I recently researched and wrote about two people who recovered from life threatening illnesses. They learned to embrace the journey of recovery and transcended their tragic circumstances. The key for both of these people was to visualize the end result. They practiced visualization daily and saw themselves as healthy and leading happy productive lives. I followed in their foot steps and immediately started visualizing myself at the Iron Man finish line with my arms raised in victory and the crowd cheering loudly.

The obvious next step was to hire a coach and come up with a feasible training schedule.

I did not have to reinvent the wheel in preparing for the race as I hired my friend David Kazakoff a 9 time Iron Man finisher. He wisely gave me my schedule 1 month at a time so I could keep focused and not get too concerned about the rigorous training near the end. The four key components of my training were:

• 1. Balance --the 3 disciplines of swim, bike and run,
• 2. Focus --on the current workout only
• 3. Discovery --Enjoy all of the experiences and embrace this sacred journey
• 4. Fun --There is no point in doing all this training unless you enjoy the experience and have fun. I have observed many triathletes train for the Iron Man with vastly different approaches. My two 2 heroes are Leslie Riva and Lori Allin because they always looked so happy and seemed to love every minute of their training and the race itself. I wanted to be like them!

Plan for the Worst:

I was astutely instructed to prepare for something to go wrong during training sessions and on race day itself. I had my share of challenges including a fickle front der

parently out of my reach.

My Iron Man game plan was to:
• Hope for the Best
• Plan for the Worst and
• Expect the Unexpected

The biggest obstacle in my mind was the gargantuan task of running a full 26 mile marathon after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 miles. How did these people do it? My friend Don Henderson described the marathon in the Iron Man as a more of a “pilgrimage” or journey to the sacred land.

I chose to compete in the Iron Man because I knew it would be a sacred journey into the unknown. I dreamed about completing it ever since I saw Paula Newby Fraser and Mark Allen conquer the course in Kailua Kona, Hawaii in 1992.

1. Hope for the Best:

I recently researched and wrote about two people who recovered from life threatening illnesses. They learned to embrace the journey of recovery and transcended their tragic circumstances. The key for both of these people was to visualize the end result. They practiced visualization daily and saw themselves as healthy and leading happy productive lives. I followed in their foot steps and immediately started visualizing myself at the Iron Man finish line with my arms raised in victory and the crowd cheering loudly.

The obvious next step was to hire a coach and come up with a feasible training schedule.

I did not have to reinvent the wheel in preparing for the race as I hired my friend David Kazakoff a 9 time Iron Man finisher. He wisely gave me my schedule 1 month at a time so I could keep focused and not get too concerned about the rigorous training near the end. The four key components of my training were:

• 1. Balance --the 3 disciplines of swim, bike and run,
• 2. Focus --on the current workout only
• 3. Discovery --Enjoy all of the experiences and embrace this sacred journey
• 4. Fun --There is no point in doing all this training unless you enjoy the experience and have fun. I have observed many triathletes train for the Iron Man with vastly different approaches. My two 2 heroes are Leslie Riva and Lori Allin because they always looked so happy and seemed to love every minute of their training and the race itself. I wanted to be like them!

Plan for the Worst:

I was astutely instructed to prepare for something to go wrong during training sessions and on race day itself. I had my share of challenges including a fickle front de

raser and Mark Allen conquer the course in Kailua Kona, Hawaii in 1992.

1. Hope for the Best:

I recently researched and wrote about two people who recovered from life threatening illnesses. They learned to embrace the journey of recovery and transcended their tragic circumstances. The key for both of these people was to visualize the end result. They practiced visualization daily and saw themselves as healthy and leading happy productive lives. I followed in their foot steps and immediately started visualizing myself at the Iron Man finish line with my arms raised in victory and the crowd cheering loudly.

The obvious next step was to hire a coach and come up with a feasible training schedule.

I did not have to reinvent the wheel in preparing for the race as I hired my friend David Kazakoff a 9 time Iron Man finisher. He wisely gave me my schedule 1 month at a time so I could keep focused and not get too concerned about the rigorous training near the end. The four key components of my training were:

• 1. Balance --the 3 disciplines of swim, bike and run,
• 2. Focus --on the current workout only
• 3. Discovery --Enjoy all of the experiences and embrace this sacred journey
• 4. Fun --There is no point in doing all this training unless you enjoy the experience and have fun. I have observed many triathletes train for the Iron Man with vastly different approaches. My two 2 heroes are Leslie Riva and Lori Allin because they always looked so happy and seemed to love every minute of their training and the race itself. I wanted to be like them!

Plan for the Worst:

I was astutely instructed to prepare for something to go wrong during training sessions and on race day itself. I had my share of challenges including a fickle front de

owd cheering loudly.

The obvious next step was to hire a coach and come up with a feasible training schedule.

I did not have to reinvent the wheel in preparing for the race as I hired my friend David Kazakoff a 9 time Iron Man finisher. He wisely gave me my schedule 1 month at a time so I could keep focused and not get too concerned about the rigorous training near the end. The four key components of my training were:

• 1. Balance --the 3 disciplines of swim, bike and run,
• 2. Focus --on the current workout only
• 3. Discovery --Enjoy all of the experiences and embrace this sacred journey
• 4. Fun --There is no point in doing all this training unless you enjoy the experience and have fun. I have observed many triathletes train for the Iron Man with vastly different approaches. My two 2 heroes are Leslie Riva and Lori Allin because they always looked so happy and seemed to love every minute of their training and the race itself. I wanted to be like them!

Plan for the Worst:

I was astutely instructed to prepare for something to go wrong during training sessions and on race day itself. I had my share of challenges including a fickle front de

race this sacred journey
• 4. Fun --There is no point in doing all this training unless you enjoy the experience and have fun. I have observed many triathletes train for the Iron Man with vastly different approaches. My two 2 heroes are Leslie Riva and Lori Allin because they always looked so happy and seemed to love every minute of their training and the race itself. I wanted to be like them!

Plan for the Worst:

I was astutely instructed to prepare for something to go wrong during training sessions and on race day itself. I had my share of challenges including a fickle front derailleur, a rash of 10 flat tires and horrible cycling weather.

The most memorable training day occurred in late July. I was nicely on my way up island for my longest bike ride of the year (180km) when I got two flat tires in a row. I was only mildly annoyed and merrily on my way until I heard the dreaded thump of yet another flat tire. I was out of spare tubes, 70 kilometers away from home and it was about 34 degrees Celsius. Luckily I packed a cell phone and had memorized the local taxi company’s number. However, my mouth dropped when the dispatcher said he could not pick me up for another 3 hours! I finally managed to contact my office manager Nancy who graciously saved me from walking home. Needless to say, I have a great respect and appreciation for loyal employees and cell phones.

Sunday August 27, 2006 was race day and I was ready. I was very fortunate and grateful to have the fantastic support of my girlfriend Laurie and her 12 year old son Taylor. They woke up with me at 4:30 and accompanied me to the start line for body marking and pre race preparation. Taylor supported me on my training runs by riding along side on his bike. I always wondered why he was always riding so far in front of me. Later I learned that he was embarrassed with me wearing my purple biking “spanky” pants. He couldn’t let his friends see him with me!

When the cannon blasted to start the swim I was very excited along side the other 2500 competitors. I was going to have fun and treat this as just one long day of training. Within the first 300 meters of the swim, I was punched in the nose and kicked in the chin. I also heard a cry of, “get off of me!” I should have followed the swim strategy of the Iron Man triathlon author and expert Ray Fauteux and stayed totally to the left of everybody! However, I remained calm and focused and had a decent swim. As I exited the water, the announcer was boisterously calling out all our names. Before I knew it, I had my wet suit off and navigated my way to the change tent full of naked bodies and wet suits. I found my bike easily and was on the next stage of the journey. The bike ride was absolutely spectacular. The first 60 kilometers thru Oliver and Osoyoos was pretty easy and I felt very good.

I had driven the bike course 3 days ago so I knew that the challenging hills started at Richter’s pass and continued for another two to three h