Kimberly Fawcett

Well this site was as spectacular as ever. It was a touch anti-climatic in that it took an hour to drive to Metianyu but we only spent about 30 mins climbing the wall. It was quite crowded so moving up and down the stones was a bit problematic. I did not have any trouble walking or climbing but I had to watch where I was stepping. Lots of people stared.

The views of the countryside were phenomenal from the wall. Given the thickness of the wall's construction and the terrain of the countryside, I almost felt as if the Emperor's that had built the wall were a bit paranoid. Seriously...what invading army would plan an invasion thru the mountains with the equipment they would undoubtedly need to overtake the Forbidden City (the ultimate prize)? Just does not make sense. I am thinking that there were a few Generals with enormous egos that posted anyone they did not like to these remote areas. There is nothing around this wall for miles and miles. Complete isolation. Even food would have been hard to come by. Life on the wall would have lacked serious quality of life.

The luncheon afterwards was excellent. It was one of the best meals we have had all week. Many thanks to Ming Hua Chung our tour guide.


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Location:China

We had a great post-race meal at a local restaurant called Auspicious. It was very very good authentic Chinese fair. We ordered about 10 different dishes and shared them amongst the team. YUMMY!!

Many thanks to Grant for breaking open his 12 yr old bottle of Rye that he picked up in the duty free shop. It did wonders for my hip flexors who were still slightly annoyed with me for putting them thru that grueling 20km bike on race day. They are fine this morning thankfully. My entire body feels fine.

I remain a. Little disappointed this morning but I have come to realize that there are just some things beyond my control. I gave it my best shot.

Lessons learned:
1. Get my bike adapted to include climbing gears. I have no ability to stand up so i need the extra


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I placed fourth!

This was the most demanding course I have ever raced. My training went well all summer but on the day, my training fell short of what I needed to climb the 8-10% grades over 500-800m of climbing and times that by 10 over the course of 23 km.

It was an amazing race. Well done China! I am glad I came and conquered the course but at the end of the day I did not have the proper equipment to climb these grades as an above the knee amputee. I should have changed out my front derailleur to a triple...just like all the other AK amputees. We need the granny gear to climb so I was taken on the hills and had no legs left for the run. It's unfortunate but nothing I can do about it now. My bike coach had thought that there was no grade over 2% and I took that info at face value. In hindsight, I should have done my own calculations.

Swim was ok but I was a bit off my rhythm. Got slammed at the start by the guys again. Oh well.

The run was ok but I had no legs left! Brutal run but I made it. I was never so happy to see the finish line.

Great experience and lots of lessons learned.



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Ok it's the day before the race and I definitely have race jitters. Curtis is just as nervous as I am. As my handler he has to follow strict rules and could inadvertently disqualify me. So his fears are just as real as mine; he too has to perform on the day

Not much more to say except that I missed the team photo and opening ceremonies as I had to have my rear derailleur cable completely replaced. Yes mechanical issues have reared their ugly head. Our job is to stay calm and simply go with the flow

Many thanks to the Chinese ITU mechanics who did an amazing job repairing my bike




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Well it was an interesting day today. I spent most of the morning searching for a bike mechanic. I found the TriCan bike designate, Jay, who was able to get my rear derailler working again. I guess I should have protected and stabilized it better in my bike box given that the journey alone was bound to cause shifting inside the bike box. I also regret not getting my bike tuned up again right before we left Canada. I figured that I just had it tuned up before London UK four weeks ago, so did I really need to? WRONG WRONG WRONG! I should have kept to my normal race routine and had my bike tuned up. Even though we are deemed Elite we do not have access to the Canada elite support staff. Otherwise I would have had my bike repaired yesterday without issues.

While Jay was able to get my bike up and running, it's not finely tuned. Jay is a formula race car driver with a big heart and great tools. I am truly grateful for his help but I don't have confidence in my bike. So I am going to have to try and ride the Papa Hill tomorrow. Hopefully that part of the course won't be closed off.

Chinese security is starting to tighten up. I just got a note slipped under my door ordering me (well instructing) to attend a security screening at 1520 h. Oddly enough I will be at a TriCan meeting at the same time so I won't be able to make the timing. The note also states that the bus I am supposed take leaves the hotel 2 hours before the event! Sitting in a stadium for 2 hours and then participate in a 2-3 hour opening ceremony and pasta party, the evening of my race, is not that appealing. Security is so tight that I probably won't be able to leave at a decent time to return back to the hotel for a good night sleep. I guess I will have to make the call tomorrow as to whether or not I will participate in the opening ceremonies. It's too bad but such is the life of a racer. I came to race and represent Canada. It's a matter of priorities

I am feeling good today. I had a good run. My pace was a bit fast but that is ok. A case of pre-race jitters. I ran with Charles, our 74 yr old age grouper. He is in great shape and is racing sprint distance on Sunday. It's a definite must see for me. His lovely wife June volunteered to help as a Handler. A very nice couple. I am hoping that I can use Charlie as my aid at the bike dismount but I have to wait until tomorrow for a ruling from the ITU. The ITU might simply assign a delegate of their choice. Regardless of who helps me as long as I know who the person is and that they know how to help me, I will be fine.

It's started to rain this evening. I am hoping that the weather system will pass us by this evening and that it will be dry tomorrow. Here's hoping that for once, I will race with good weather. I have participated in only three international races in short paratriathlon career. Each and every time it has poured rain...and not just a sprinkle here and there. It was an all out assault. One can only dream for good weather.




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Up at 0545h this morning and gulped down a refreshing smoothie with bananas and mango. I added a protein supplement so it filled me up quite nicely before the morning bike ride around the race course.

We headed out for our group ride at around 0615h. We are only 2 kms from the race site, which is awesome.

Despite what my coach told me, the profile of this bike course has several grades over 8 percent. On the first hill my chain fell off and I crashed. This will teach me to ignore the sound of a twing coming from my rear shifter before I head out onto a ride. Bad bad bad. I managed to pick my butt up off the pavement and put my chain back on. I got back on my bike and just gutted it out all the way up the hill. A little zig and zag and before you know it I was at the top of this bugger of a hill. I finished the loop and then headed back to the hotel. YES I will find the bike mechanic today so that when I head out tomorrow, my bike is in good working order.

Once off the bike we took an hour break and then headed to breakfast. Since I had a smoothie I really was not hungry. I did have a tasty coffee.

About 30 mins later we were at the pool. Before long I was experiencing a Charlie horse in my good leg!! What else could go wrong! I guess that crash on the bike did a little damage as I am now achey all over. Damn!!!

So now I am sitting in my room snacking on some noodles and 7up. Think I will stretch and then have a nap. No sightseeing for me this afternoon.


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Well hello everyone! First full day in the country and we have just learned that there is no access to Google or WI-Fi in this hotel. We are not certain if you can only access WI-Fi in Beijing. So my blog entries will be delayed.

The country is very beautiful. We are north of Beijing in a place called Changping. Nice area but the road system is under construction so it seems. Made the drive out here more like off-roading.

We have a decent room but it's not a double bed. It's two single beds. Smoke stains on the carpet so we wear our shoes all the time. Great ac though and nice linens. Beds are very hard. If you had a bad back you would be in heaven.

We will be out on the bike tomorrow and again in the pool. I hope to be able to do some running on site. The run route is all on top of a padded surface that is much like a track surface. This means that it is soft and will be much easier to run on.

Food is good just different. I will be carbo loading with rice. Not much in the way of sweets though but we got some amazing fruit at the local WalMart. Yes you heard me correctly. This place was huge and had everything you could think of including BEER. It was kind of like an LCBO inside the store. Curtis and Grant (another amputee Cdn racer) were checking out the scotch for after the race.

Curtis is running around in his underpants to keep cool. It's very very hot and humid here.

Got good news from the ITU today. I am going to be permitted to have someone at the bike dismount much to my relief. Just means that I won't need to find a safe crash zone to get off my bike. Yeah!!!! Also will be able to get red swim cap for swim exit. There is an assumption that all amputees can hop. In Canada the rehab centers discourage hopping since I broke my only good ankle because it has limited flexion. All to say that I am very glad that I asked the question in the first place.

That is all my news. Feeling ok and positive about the race. After the bike familiarization I will have a better feel for the race. I will post again tomorrow.


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We are now underway. First leg of the trip is complete! Vancouver is beautiful as per usual. Flying over the Rockies was majestic. Not a cloud in the sky so that you could see the tops of the mountains as clear as day. Curtis and I are somewhat tired but we should be able to recover with a latte at the Maple Leaf lounge.

Did a "mini-sprint" triathlon in reverse today. Started with a 3k run, followed by a hilly 10k bike and ended with a 400m swim. Felt pretty good afterwards. Goal was to focus on transition and technique in all of the disciplines. Overall it was a great day.
Bike is packed, suitcases are just about done (waiting for a bit of laundry), and I am chillin' with a brew. Flight is at 0 dark buffalo tomorrow morning, so off to bed soon!!


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Hi everyone. Three days until I step on the plane and head to Beijing.

It's a very hard process.  Physically, I am adapting fine - mentally, I'm finding it tough.  Will stay strong!!

Well what can I say, 'I love it!!'.  Here's what I wrote into the Racermate (http://www.computrainer.com) WANTED: DESPERATE ATHLETE Contest:

My name is Kimberly Fawcett and I am an officer in the Canadian Forces (http://www.kimberlyfawcett.me).  I lost my right leg while on duty five years ago.  I started triathlon as part of rehabilitation and love it.  I have progressed to the point where I know I'll make the Canadian Paralympic Paratriathlon Team (I medalled at the Worlds in 2008 & 2010), but need your help to get to the top of the podium.  I have used a CompuTrainer several times and immediately noticed improvement in my pedal stroke and found that I can actually generate power with my prosthetic leg!!!

I had the privilege of trying out this piece of kit a couple of times and knew that I had stumbled onto something really good.  For the first time in my life I was able to visually see how much power my residual limb can actually generate on the bike through the SpinScan Pedal Analysis feature.  I am of course, an above-the-knee amputee - well actually a through-the-knee amputee.  Because I have my full quad and hamstring, with the CompuTrainer's help, I have re-learned to use these muscle groups.

One benefit of being a traumatic amputee is that I have muscle, ligament and tendon memory.  I know how my leg should work and how to fire the muscles.  With the CompuTrainer's help, I awoke my sleeping nerves and muscle memory as I learned to climb.  This came to me as a complete shock to be honest.  I think in my mind I always thought my leg muscles were working, but I really couldn't see any results to confirm it.  Using the SpinScan, I can actually see my progress.  I can also help train my brain to learn the signals from my muscles when they fire.  These associations are critical as they help me in my everyday activities, like walking and running.

The CompuTrainer is a great piece of equipment, but it comes at a fairly large upfront cost.  If I win this contest, it will put me in good stead for success at my planned ITU races in London, Edmonton and the World Championships in Beijing.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!!!

Its the day after my first track and field meet.  I'm not certain how I feel about the experience.  There were lots of young faces and plenty of anxious parents sizing up the competition on behalf of their sons and daughters regardless of whether their child wanted to know anything about the competition.

I watched one father and mother approach a young girl just to find out how old she was.  The young girl was from Montreal and she was 9 yrs old.  She ran in the heat just ahead of me.  Both she and her older brother are naturally talented runners.  I wish I took the time to ask her her name.  She was quite nervous, but she ran a great race.  She beat a few older girls which raised eyebrows.  That's why this father and mother who perched beside me on the stands looking like vultures at the ready, wanted to find out if this talented 9 yrs old was their daughter's competition.  I wanted to say something to the parents but I just sat there and kept my mouth shut.  Not my place to say anything.  These are the kinds of people I detest being around. The parents that lack any respect for the competition or the sport.

A day later, I am still wondering what lessons learned I can take away?  I learned that their is no margin for error in a sprint distance race.  It is fundamentally critical that you execute the game plan from the moment the Race Officals says, 'on your mark'.  In fact, I am more apt to believe that the execution of the game plan begins in practice.  You have to be able to practice your game plan in order to perfect it.  Come race day, the execution of the game plan is essentially second nature.  The difference between first and second is purely the mind game.  If you believe you will
win the race, you will.  If you can execute your game plan to perfection the result is inevitable.  She who can execute a flawless plan is triumphant.

So what next?  Well, I have to build a race game plan that I can practice every time I go to the track.  Simply running down the track and trying to go faster each and every time is not enough.  I will also have to rethink my Plan B.  I am learning invaluable running skills but I also need to
translate that into a fast 5km race.  I also have to determine if I am even talented enough to be doing sprints.  I like endurance events and I'm just not convinced that I have the fast twitch muscles necessary to become a 'speedster'.  What I have decided to do is set milestones.  If I am unable to achieve two successive milestones, then I will revisit my commitment to track and field - to the sprint distance race.  At the same time that I set milestones for my sprinting, I will set milestones for my 5km race.   I think I already know the outcome but this means that I am situating my estimate to a certain degree, and that is not good thing.

I have decided to keep an open mind, build milestones and focusing on achieving those milestones head on.  Its going to be a tough 4th quarter but I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.  Lets wait and see.

When you have one of the top National Sprinting coaches in Canada taking interest in your running, you know you have struck pay-dirt !!

Three short weeks after placing third at the World Paratrithlon championships, I met Hugh Conlin.  With my trusty coach Helen Cooper by my side, Hugh asked if I would be interested in trying sprints - the 100m and the 200m.  I was a little shocked at the offer.  I even asked him, "are you certain I am talented enough to do sprints?"  He just laughed and told me not to worry about it.  Two short weeks later and I am starting my first ever sprinting session with this amazing person I have now dubbed YODA.  I have learned so much about good running technique in such a short time - it was awesome.  Sprinting is incredibly technical, completely powerful, and absolutely frightening all rolled up into one.  I was hooked.  Sprinting is not for the faint of heart, and it takes the courage of a lion to step into a starting block.

Its been 5 weeks since I started training with YODA.  This Saturday, I am going to do my first race.  I'm stoked.  I am going to have a great race and an even greater day.

To my good friend Helen (aka Obi-Wan Kenobi), thank you for believing in me, for taking a chance on me, and for allowing me to achieve amazing things on the track and out on the triathlon race course.  Together we will change the world one race at a time!!

I've got a soaking wet, slightly disappointed, but overall content Kimberly upstairs here in the hotel.  She had a great race, but just couldn't run as hard as she wanted to - the mind was there, but the leg(s) couold only do so much.  Once I look after the care and feeding of my little triathlete, I'll write more!!

Quiet day in Budapest.  Lots of race prep.  Getting ready to head down to the transition area to drop off Kim's bike - it's rainy, so we are going to get wet!!  Got some nice emails from CF members (including the CDS - thanks sir!!)  Kim seems pretty calm and ready to race, so all is good!!

Well, it was a long and busy day here in Budapest.  Got up early for a team breakfast, followed by a trip (for Kim) down to the race site for registration.  I headed into Pest to recce out the other spots we would be visiting today.  We linked up for the Paratriathlete Briefing at 1330 and went to the Team Canada Meet and Greet at a local sports bar (owned by an expat Canadian and, supposedly, Wayne Gretzky).  This was followed by the Team Canada photo.  While the rest of the team headed out for the opening ceremonies, we headed over to the Hotel Intercontinental to get Kim classified.  So, according to the experts, Kim is actually missing her right leg above the knee - can you see the sarcasm at all?  Anyway, she has officially been classified and can qualify for medals now.

We will head down to the race site again tomorrow, to check out the newly-set up transition area and to drop Kim's bike off.  After that, it is all race prep, all of the time...

I think I will go and drink a tasty beer now...

Hi All,

Overall, another good day.  Did a bit of bike work with Kim this morning.  I (2Legs) then went out for a 16k run (not entirely intentionally...)  Went to the Race site and watched the Aquathon (Swim/Run competition).  Had a good lunch, then a nap, then some mental skills training.  Kim is now writing out her race plan for Saturday, while I am slaving away over this blog.

The race site is pretty nice.  The only issue we are having right now is that the water temp is 14 friggin' Celcius - kinda chilly.  This may stop the paras from going for a pre-race familiarization swim, as they tend to suffer in the water more than the average age-group athlete.  I ran the bike/run course today - relatively flat, so it should be fast!!

Took lots of pictures, so they will be up as soon as I figure out how to upload them!!

Busy day!!  As mentioned earlier, Kim went for a swim with the team.  She got to meet some of the elite Team Canada athletes and had a good workout.  Did some mental skills training later with the coaches, put together her bike and did some transition training.  Had a nice meal at a swanky restaurant and am now thinking very hard about going to bed.  Tomorrow will be a route recce of the bike course and some more mental skills training.  As far as I'm concerned, Kim doesn't need any mental training...

Have a good one.

OK, we made it.  Long flight but all right.  Bit of an adventure to get downtown from the airport, but nothing too crazy.  It is 0900 on Tuesday morning - Kim is off for a Team Canada swim with her para teammates.  There are about 8 of them, along with 2 coaches.  I am off to look for coffee - in my humble opinion, a more important mission than swimming...

Budapest is very nice.  Lots of old buildings and tons of tourists.  It is sunny outside and a bit cool.  All of the triathletes are contemplating what they are going to wear on race day because of the coolness.

Our hotel is nice.  Food is pretty good and cheap - paid the equivalent of $10 last night for a pizza and a 1/2 litre beer - most awesome, I must say!!

We'll put together Kim's bike later this afternoon, then do a transition skills session.  Tomorrow we'll go for a bike ride - you take your life into your hands biking on some of these roads, so I'll have to do a bit of a recce later.

More to follow later!!!

I attended Sir Wilfrid Laurier High School today as the Guest Speaker. It was an amazing experience; 1500 students, staff and honoured guests. The gym was packed. I am very glad that I went to speak with the students last week to gain an appreciation of what it is they feel about Remembrance Day and its relevancy in today's world. When I initially asked the question, what to you think of when you remember…and, why do you remember…to my surprise the answer was, 'its too difficult a question to answer!'. So I decided that I would help them find a small part of their answer. I focused on the journey of the injured soldier.

At zero dark buffalo this morning, icky here dawned her wetsuit for the last
of the seasons open water swims. Its October 8th and I am about to step
into the lake at Petrie Island.

To be honest, the water is not that cold. About 14 celcius so not that bad.
I would not want to stay in the water any longer than 25-30 mins though. It
was 6:45am a few minutes before sunrise when I took my first step into the
water. I was pleasantly surprise; not too bad at all. The water was as
still as ever this morning. As soon as the sun broke the horizen, the most
beautiful hue of orange and pink streamed through the clouds and onto the
water. It made for a picturesque camera shot for sure.

The best time to do cold water training truthfully in the fall. I truly
dislike the early spring swims because the water is infinitely colder. I
forgot my ear plugs this morning though...my only regret. Ear plugs do a
great job to stop cold water getting into your inner ear and causing brain
freeze. Very annoying particularly when you are trying to get up out of the
water. Its like having vertigo - inner ear imbalance. Good thing I
remembered them for Budapest.

It was a beautiful morning and I feel refreshed. Mind you, I just took a
long hot shower so I am feeling awesome. A hot cocoa in front of the
fireplace and by lunchtime, I should be ready to go for a run.

Have a great long weekend everyone.

I've got a soaking wet, slightly disappointed, but overall content Kimberly upstairs here in the hotel.  She had a great race, but just couldn't run as hard as she wanted to - the mind was there, but the leg(s) couold only do so much.  Once I look after the care and feeding of my little triathlete, I'll write more!!

Quiet day in Budapest.  Lots of race prep.  Getting ready to head down to the transition area to drop off Kim's bike - it's rainy, so we are going to get wet!!  Got some nice emails from CF members (including the CDS - thanks sir!!)  Kim seems pretty calm and ready to race, so all is good!!

Well, it was a long and busy day here in Budapest.  Got up early for a team breakfast, followed by a trip (for Kim) down to the race site for registration.  I headed into Pest to recce out the other spots we would be visiting today.  We linked up for the Paratriathlete Briefing at 1330 and went to the Team Canada Meet and Greet at a local sports bar (owned by an expat Canadian and, supposedly, Wayne Gretzky).  This was followed by the Team Canada photo.  While the rest of the team headed out for the opening ceremonies, we headed over to the Hotel Intercontinental to get Kim classified.  So, according to the experts, Kim is actually missing her right leg above the knee - can you see the sarcasm at all?  Anyway, she has officially been classified and can qualify for medals now.

We will head down to the race site again tomorrow, to check out the newly-set up transition area and to drop Kim's bike off.  After that, it is all race prep, all of the time...

I think I will go and drink a tasty beer now...

Hi All,

Overall, another good day.  Did a bit of bike work with Kim this morning.  I (2Legs) then went out for a 16k run (not entirely intentionally...)  Went to the Race site and watched the Aquathon (Swim/Run competition).  Had a good lunch, then a nap, then some mental skills training.  Kim is now writing out her race plan for Saturday, while I am slaving away over this blog.

The race site is pretty nice.  The only issue we are having right now is that the water temp is 14 friggin' Celcius - kinda chilly.  This may stop the paras from going for a pre-race familiarization swim, as they tend to suffer in the water more than the average age-group athlete.  I ran the bike/run course today - relatively flat, so it should be fast!!

Took lots of pictures, so they will be up as soon as I figure out how to upload them!!

Busy day!!  As mentioned earlier, Kim went for a swim with the team.  She got to meet some of the elite Team Canada athletes and had a good workout.  Did some mental skills training later with the coaches, put together her bike and did some transition training.  Had a nice meal at a swanky restaurant and am now thinking very hard about going to bed.  Tomorrow will be a route recce of the bike course and some more mental skills training.  As far as I'm concerned, Kim doesn't need any mental training...

Have a good one.

OK, we made it.  Long flight but all right.  Bit of an adventure to get downtown from the airport, but nothing too crazy.  It is 0900 on Tuesday morning - Kim is off for a Team Canada swim with her para teammates.  There are about 8 of them, along with 2 coaches.  I am off to look for coffee - in my humble opinion, a more important mission than swimming...

Budapest is very nice.  Lots of old buildings and tons of tourists.  It is sunny outside and a bit cool.  All of the triathletes are contemplating what they are going to wear on race day because of the coolness.

Our hotel is nice.  Food is pretty good and cheap - paid the equivalent of $10 last night for a pizza and a 1/2 litre beer - most awesome, I must say!!

We'll put together Kim's bike later this afternoon, then do a transition skills session.  Tomorrow we'll go for a bike ride - you take your life into your hands biking on some of these roads, so I'll have to do a bit of a recce later.

More to follow later!!!

This week had a few rough patches, but training has gone well. I am fit and I am so ready to race. I have been ready for over a month now and trying to stay mentally sharp has been a challenge. Run training this week was phenomenal - thank you Helen Cooper. Bike training was also good. We had some major winds to contend with this week - parts of Hurricane Earl, I think. Really challenged me to figure out how to handle my bike with race wheels. Its all good. So if there is any wind, I'm still going to burn up the course. Same same with swim training. I am very ready. Many thanks to Vicki Keith and Tom Anzai.

Hi everyone!

Well a couple of good things have happened since my last post.

I had a great interview with Carolyn Waldo of CTV Sports. She's an amazing women and a true inspiration to me. Carolyn is helping me document my road to the World Paratriathlon Championships in Budapest, Hungary on September 11th. Please be sure to watch !!

I also had some promotional photography done by G.R. Martin photography. Julie and Guy are phenomenal photographers and I am so fortunate to be working with them. We did a running photo shoot up at Major's Hill Park. It took a few 100 snaps to get the right shot, but I believe we got it. Sunset and Parliament in the background. Can't wait to show them off.

Unfortunately I had a bad fall while running over the weekend. Road paint, wet weather conditions, and a running flex foot don't mix !! If they call it road rash when a bike slips off its wheels, wonder what I should call a slip off a prosthetic...a road wax? Was thinking that leg wax can remove hair on your leg just as effectively as the road will falling off your leg!! I am out for Nationals in Kelowna however. My running leg goes in for a tune up next week. I want to make certain its ready for Budapest and there are no surprises.

Gotta go.

Hello everyone.  1 Leg Reporting - Well, the NYC Tri was a blast.  Had an excellent 1500m swim (00:22:17) which was a personal best, and beat the two USA girls I was told that I would never beat !! Ha ! Swimming in the Hudson River - not so OK.  Salty and the small amount I swallowed (accidentally) caused me some gastro issues that took a week to resolve. Very very humid day, 102 F.  Made the bike hard - made breathing hard.  Great day overall.

OK, a week later and we are off to Lake Placid for the Ironman.  Curtis and I were both a little nervous - me moreso because I was not feeling so great following the NYC Tri.  Remember, I swallowed water from the Hudson.  The weather was absolutely perfect though.  Water temperature equally perfect.  The race started at 0700h.  Off we went.  The first loop for Curtis was uneventful.  He started wide and swam inward towards the buoy.  I drew the straw to wait and then pick my way through the slower swimmers.  Plan A - Curtis' plan - worked like a dream.  Plan B - Kim's plan - sucked !!  I got some dude's big toe up my right nostril that gave me a bloody nose.  Grooming gentlemen…they care called toenail clippers !?!  After I shake that off I run into another kook who's punching out everyone who passes him.  The guy clocked me so hard, it popped my ear plug out and I was seeing stars.  I was so angry, and swam up beside the guy and elbowed him in the gut and then blasted off past him.  Can you say 'jerk' or what?  Guy had issues with being passed by a chick with one leg.  Well get used to it buddy…I'll be back again next year too !!  My race was slower than my norm, but I finished the full swim and that was the goal.  Curtis had a great swim too and a really good bike up until the 120km mark.  His left knee started to bother him so he took it a bit easy for the last 70km.  No biggy, onto the run.  It was a tough run, but he made it through.  CURTIS SMITH YOU ARE AN IRONMAN; 15:25:10.  Long day, but a great one.  I am so proud of my IRONMAN.  He rocks !!

Here we are - Kim and I are sitting in the Starbucks in Lake Placid, waiting for the transition area to open at 5am (it's currently 0429). We are both kinda nervous, but excited too. Actually got a bit of sleep - whenever I happened to wake up, I grabbed a bite of sandwich (peanut butter, of course) or a sip of my Gatorade.
Swim should be fine - key is to stay calm and to swim steady. Same strategy for the bike - easy for the first hour so I can eat and drink, then pick up the pace for the remainder of the first loop and all of the second. Key to the run is to start easy and pick things up (and people off) on the second loop.
Kim is doing the swim. When asked for a quote she said "Blah, blah blah" (I wasn't paying attention...). Actually, she said "Time to get it done. Be glad when it's over!"
More to follow!!


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Hi all - 2Legs here,

Racing season has officially begun!!  My first race was actually last Sunday (Limestone), but this weekend is chock full of goodness!!  I'm doing the Law Day 5K today in downtown Ottawa - nice and easy, just a workout.  Tomorrow (Saturday) is the Cumberland Duathlon with the lovely and talented 1 Leg - I'll do the first run and the bike (2.5k and 20k respectively) and she'll do the final 2.5k run.  Still haven't decided what bike I'm going to use - my old reliable Trek 1000 or my borrowed Quintana Roo Tequilo.  Got some work to do tonight to sort that out!!  Finally, on Sunday, I'm doing some kind of run at the Place d'Orleans race - 1/2 marathon or 10k (depending on how I feel).  Watch here for our results!!

Everyone please take note! I conquered Blair Road hill....me... the chickadee with one leg. It was tough but I now know that I can do it. The tough part was actually coming down the hill. I have no break ability on my prosthetic. So in effect, I'm hopping down the hill on the steep parts. As it slowly flattens out, I can start running again. It was a little 'out of control' on the first time down the hill. I really had no control of the speed, so I decided to just to be one with the wind. Thank goodness I didn't fall - it would have hurt - alot !!

YEAAAAHHHHHH...I did it !! Another mountain conquered.

It's been a while since we've put anything up here and there is A LOT GOING ON!!!

First off, we got an email from Triathlon Canada this evening - Kim has officially been named to the National Paratriathlon Team for the 2010 World Triathlon Championships being held in Budapest this September.  Yay!!!  We've been waiting for this word for a while now and it came at absolutely a perfect time!!

Second, Kim has recently gotten some absolutely awesome support from her coaches and a few sponsors have stepped up to the plate to support her efforts.  We'll blog a bit more about that soon, as we want to give these great people the attention they deserve.

Our training has been going very well.  Kim is running better than ever (as am I) and we are both swimming fairly strong.  More to follow on the biking - we have to hit the roads harder!!!

Stay tuned!!

Hi All,

So, Kim & I had a good solid training weekend. Started off with a 3:15 bike on Saturday (our longest yet) at Cyclelogik. Ian put us through our paces and we left with sore butts!!! Nothing that a soak in the tub couldn't cure, though.

Sunday was the Winterman 1/2 Marathon. I went in with two goals - 1. Beat my time of 1:49 that I laid down in Afghanistan in November, and 2. See how the body reacts to a long post-bike run. I am happy to report that I did beat my Afghanistan time (not by much - depending on who's timing you use, it was either by 5 or 30 seconds!) and that my body reacted fairly well. Sore knees today, but I am walking around reasonably well. On another note, if I had entered the 5km race, I would have (in all likelihood) won my age group - thanks Helen & the Lions!!

Stay chilly!!

Yes, we accepted the challenge and we both made it !?! It was a very tough class but exhilerating at the same time. Using our heart rate monitors, we started at a relatively low heart rate level. The goal was to maintain a good solid spin rate with a stabilized heart rate - something you could easily maintain for an extended period of time (for about the first 60 mins). Then the paced picked up and by about the 2 hr mark, we were spinning at the top of our zone 3 (very hard). While we were up in this range for 3 sets of 3 mins high zone 3 followed by a momentary reprive in the low zone 3 range. OK, let me explain that low zone three is NOT a reprive by any measure. We maintained this tempo for about 12 mins in total. I thought I was going to puke after the 3rd set. Curtis and I were both in the hurt locker. Spinning beside Curtis is always a challenge when we are working hard because he sweats so much. Gadzuks there was a pond developing below his bike and it was heading my way!! When sweat is flying everywhere, the last place you want to be is right beside him. Good thing I love him dearly!! Once our zone 3 sets were over, we started our decline back into the more gentler kinder zone of 2 and then 1. You would have thought that at the end of 3 hr class there would have been a resounding 'hooray'!? But no. There was only silence. I felt great afterwards. My muscles weren't sore and my butt was in good shape, but I didn't want to be the only one to yelp, 'good job'. I must admit that sometimes, I do have the advantage in having only one leg. I only feel half the exhaustion, pain and stress. I can use my prosthetic leg to give my biological leg a break. So if my knee is starting to hurt, and use my prosthetic side more to give my biological side a break. Its particularly advantageous for longer distances. Thank God. I have finally found the one advantage over people with two legs where a prosthetic actually comes in handy. Things to make you go, hmmmmmm !

As promised, here is a video of Kim running 6 months later. See how much more relaxed and smoother her stride is. Awesome!!!

Here's a video of Kim running on an outdoor track in June 2009. Compare it with the video that I am going to put up in our next post. You rock Kim!!

Happy New Year everyone. We just returned home from Lake Placid. The trip was a lot of fun and I am glad we went. We tried out the bobsled run ! Holy crow !! Think we managed to get up to speeds in and around 55mph (89km/h)...and our start point was only 1/2 way up the race course ! Not for the faint of heart. A highly recommended activity if you have a need for speed. The skeleton course was also open to us, but somehow barreling down this same course head first just was not in the cards for either one of us. We also tried Biathlon. OK, this was a bust for me. I now know why they push the sleds on AK amputees. The range was fun though - typical for a military soldier. Curtis hit 5/5 targets. I shot a whopping goose egg !! This is where I have to admit that I actually needed my glasses. Drats !!