Subaru, Update and Oh So Much More

As many of you know I took a trip back to New Brunswick last week. I had a blast catching up with friends, family and getting a 5K race in! In a week I was able to get a lot done for my triathlon career as well.

I am pleased to announce that I will once again be partnering with Aberdeen Subaru, and Greg O'Leary this season. They have been great to my family and I in the past and I cannot wait to work with them for the second year. If you're in need of a great car, with fantastic costumer service you shouldn't look further than Aberdeen Subaru on Rothesay Avenue. I can say with confidence that Subaru is a very reliable company with cars that handle superbly and have all wheel drive for the snowy and icy winters we get on the East Coast! Thanks again for working with me this year, and for many years to come!

I've now been back in Hamilton for a few days training, volunteering and racing. C3 hosted the Kid's of Steel in Caledon over the weekend. After volunteering all afternoon Saturday, I raced Sunday morning in the 16-19 age group just to work out the rust. I was happy with the result of placing first in my age group and having the fastest time but I still have a lot of work to do! Here's a picture of me racing over the weekend. I want to thank The Radical Edge in Fredericton, New Brunswick for lending me this Trek Madone. It wasn't quite my Cervelo S5 but it's really not about the bike!

Thanks to everyone that made this race possible and to my awesome teammates for making the weekend fun! I can't wait to get a few more hard weeks of training in here! Now it's time to get off my computer and get out doing what I love. Over and out. 

Tucson, This Time Around

Well I just finished yet another training camp down in Tucson. I love going this time of the year because it's so hot outside, which makes training even more fun than normal! I flew in the day after my last exam to get some solid training in while others finished up their exams.

I ended up having some very good workouts. I recall saying to Johnny the day after I flew in,  "Nothing beats jet lag like a sprint set at U of A." And I actually meant it, although painful at the time, I bounced back from the day of travel and the stress of exams because I didn't have much choice. Johnny was fit and ready to train, so I had to be too! But back to the University of Arizona pool, it was beautiful. I would rank it #1 in the pools I've swam in over the past few years. Here's a picture just to show how breathtaking it really is! And a huge thanks to the masters team there letting Johhny and I jump in for a couple of practices!

After a few more days with Johnny, he drove himself to the airport, me being half asleep in the passenger seat, and we said our goodbyes. Then it was back to crushing another week of training. Everything ran relatively smoothly, only having one minor bike problem.  I feel as fit as I need to be right now and ready for the 2014 season to start. 2013 was a tough year, but it's time to leave the past where it should be and get back into race mode. Over and out. 

Here's one of the amazing morning runs with the mountains in the background!

I'm Not Living Under a Rock

Hi everyone,

Just so you know I'm not living under a rock. I've been MIA for a bit and I do apologize for that! School has been busy, especially on top of training! I'm pleased to say that I'll be heading down to Arizona again in 6 days for a couple of weeks to get another warm weather camp in before the summer starts in Canada. I can't wait to get down there again and see how fit I'm getting. Obviously with the fall in September there are still days that my shoulder isn't 100% but those days are becoming scarce now and I'm hoping they'll disappear forever in no time. I'm currently busy studying for exams but this seemed like the perfect way to take a break.  I'm going to be doing a lot of studying and packing the next few days but it'll all be worth it for Arizona! That's about all there really is to update everyone, but I'll send out another blog post while I'm in Arizona to let people know happening in my little world!

Cheers!
Reid

Update and Indoor Tri Recap

Hi Guys,

I haven't posted anything since the new year, but now it's February and February is always a great month. Some people like it because Valentines Day is the 14th, that's not exactly why I like it but Valentines day is the day before I fly to Arizona for yet another training camp! I'm looking forward to this one a lot more than the ones in the past, don't get me wrong I've been extremely excited for all of them but this one just means so much more. I finally feel like I'm training again; getting into a rhythm. Arizona this year is going to be a huge part of my comeback and I'm really looking forward to getting a kick start on my 2014 season!

As I mentioned before I'm getting back into training. I've actually been swimming a lot considering that I dislocated my shoulder not so long ago. But with all of this swimming also comes A LOT of strength and injury prevention exercises. In order for me to perform at the level I have performed at my last two summers I have to be stronger than ever and I can't get injured again. I'm taking all of the precessions I need to so I don't have to start this season the same way I ended the last one. I'm looking forward to seeing what 2014 will bring me!

The race recap for the tri on the weekend will be super short because there isn't much to talk about but it went a lot better than I thought it would. I wanted to be mediocre at all three disciplines and not "die" or burn out half way through the race. I went out really relaxed in the swim because I knew shoulder pain was going to come but I just stayed as relaxed as I could and just pushed through the pain. My bike ride was ok, I wanted to be able to run so I kept it a bit more controlled than normal given my current fitness but it was a good plan because I actually ran well considering how much time I took off. I'm not going to throw any numbers out there because I'm kind of living in a cave right now and I like it that way but don't worry my fitness is coming back fast and I'm itching to race outside again. I really couldn't have had a better recovery! Thanks to everyone that helped me through my injury and sickness. I really appreciate, more than you'll ever understand. Time to get back to studying but here's a picture from the race on the weekend. I'm kind of hiding in the back!

Reid

Demons

Really there isn’t a better word to describe 2013. Everyone has his or her own demons and mine were present most of 2013. In 2013 my grandfather passed away, I wasn’t as successful as I wanted to be in my races, I dislocated my shoulder and I had been sick with a tonsil infection for three months. Those were my demons. I know it’s a weird theme to dwell on but just to describe how much the term “demons” really meant to me, I have now played Demons by Imagine Dragons on my iPhone 435 times. Yes, it’s beyond crazy but there really isn’t very much sanity in my life.

In 2013 I also had a lot of success. I got to miss most of the last semester of high school because of how supportive my teachers and school where about chasing my dreams. I went to Arizona to train with my teammates in February and May, and had the best experience of my life. I got a serious girlfriend that was there for me throughout most of this wild journey and I can’t say how grateful I am for it. I met some of the most amazing people in my life, my roommates, before I came home to get my tonsils out. At 18 years old I traveled around the country and even into South America to race this summer. I really did have an amazing year in a lot of ways.

I put a lot into my triathlon life, training and racing. Triathlon really is my life. So when I had a few bumps this year in my races it was pretty hard on me. I was content to have finished the season ranked 11^th in the country but I was ready to train hard again and get to where I want to be in 2014. Unfortunately on September 8^th I fell off my bike and things changed drastically. I went from training 20 hours a week to not being able to train. I was constantly in pain, and school really wasn’t going well because I got really sick. I could barely breath some weeks because my tonsils were so inflamed. My parents and I decided it was best to go home and get my tonsils out there and recover. It was the right move, although I was far from pleased with the decision initially. Before the surgery I started training again because I was well enough to do some easy training, but it still wasn’t the same. Now post surgery I am getting back into the groove of things and heading back to Hamilton in January for round two of first year. I know that it’s still going to be tough because university isn’t easy but now that my shoulder is better and my tonsils can no longer cause me trouble I will be able to handle it.

I really hope that 2014 is a better year for me in all aspects of my life and that I have finally left my demons behind but I know it’s still going to be tough. I know that every day is going to be a challenge until I can train at the same caliber I used to be able to but I am almost there and I know I’ll be there soon. Hopefully this little bump is over with and I can finally focus on the 2014 goals I set for myself. Here’s to getting there again and accomplishing everything I want to in 2014!!

Everyday I look at my watch and I remind myself of the journey; where I’ve been and where I’d like to be again. Here is my bracelet from Brazil that helps me get through the rough days.    

In The Name

Well this post is going to be really short and it's not super important. I just changed the name of my blog because I'm not sure the old name "tripainnb" was right. I named it that because I find triathlon's to be a painful sport but I'm not sure if people might have gotten the wrong impression. Now I am calling it Reid's path because Reid's journey was taken and because it is my journey to success. And as I've recently realized a very hard path or journey. I'm currently recuperating but will be back sooner than you think. Over and out.

Reid

Welcome to Hell.

Hi Guys!

This is going to be really short but I might as well get this done and out of the way well I can. I was finally okayed to get back to training on Monday. I was obviously excited but I didn't do any training other than physio on Monday.
Then I woke up yesterday with a sore throat. I had strep throat, or the doctor thought I did the first week of my shoulder injury because I wasn't sleeping. I thought the strep throat was back so I went to see a doctor and got in today. I found out that I most likely had a peritonsillar abscess (basically a swollen collection of pus beside my tonsil), so off to the ear nose and throat specialist I went.
When I finally got to see the specialist they did some analyzing and decided to drain the puss. Which is probably one of the most uncomfortable procedures I've ever undergone. I am now on antibiotics and tylenol three to hopefully help me get through this. So here I am with yet another thing going wrong. If you can take 30 seconds to tell me that your thinking of me then please do so because I'm about to go crazy and I'm really not in the right place.

Reid