Dag! Hoe gaat het met jou? (Hi, how's it going?)

Well I made it to the Netherlands. The flight wasn’t too bad, “slept” for most of the flight since Martin Air charges 12 euros for movies (everyone knows I would never pay that!)! Nicole and Dan (from Calgary--they are here for a week and I am staying with them until Sunday) picked me up at the airport in Schipol, along with the Dutch National team coach, Adrie. We went straight to see the pool and where Adrie lives—I am staying at his place next week and for the remainder of my trip.

So far things are good. I am having a bit of a tough time with all the Dutch since my brain has to translate everything--I sometimes get lost in the conversation…I’m sure it will get better over the next month!! This week has been about getting over the jet lag and getting a few workouts in before the nationals on Saturday night. Above are a few pictures of our first bike ride and swim in s’Graveland (where Nicole’s aunt lives).

Well, back to practicing Dutch!! My race is on Saturday night and I think it will be live on the race website: http://www.triathlon.tv

Tot ziens!

Lisa

Welcome!!!

Welcome to my blog---yes, I have finally admitted that I am a delinquent e-mailer and have really not been the best at keeping in touch with everyone!! In my defense; the time has flown by this year--Starting with the Australia training camp in February and March and a little trip to Hawaii and Japan in April. I then had a short stop home, with a quick weekend in Mexico thrown in, then a mini-training camp in Victoria, back home for a week and then back to Vancouver for another race! That brings me to June! Phew!!

As most of you know, I am racing for the Dutch National Triathlon Team this year. I have dual citizenship with Canada and the Netherlands and chose to race for the Dutch this year—which is very exciting!! The Dutch team has been very supportive and positive!

So far my racing has been hopeful; I had a great swim/bike in Australia World Cup(was even leading the race for a bit!) but my run wasn’t quite ready yet (I had a leg injury in Feb/Mar). I won the super fun Lavaman in Hawaii, after which I picked up a nasty illness that was tough to shake (see June isseue Triathlete Magazine, pg 217!). From Hawaii, I flew over to Japan for another World Cup, still fighting whatever it was I had so my race was a bit lack-luster—but hey, I finished ‘er off anyway! Once back in North America it was off to Mexico for a points race and a 4th place finish. This weekend I raced the new World Cup course in Vancouver. The weather was a little cool, so was the ocean, but it was an excellent race and will be great for World’s next year! I finished a disappointing 26th after a frustratingly slow swim, which didn’t put me in the best position for the bike. Oh well, it’s still early season, I am still positive but I have a few key things to work on over the next few months!

Now I am off for my European tour for a month. I have Dutch Nationals June 23rd (http://www.sabictriathlon.nl), European Championships June 30th in Copenhagen (http://www.triathlon.org), the Holten points race in the Netherlands July 9th (http://www.triathlon.org), and finally; Kitzbuhel, Austria World Cup on July 22 (http://www.triathlon.org). Then I return home for 6 weeks of training and then hopefully back to Europe for the World Championships in Hamburg, Germany!

I will try to update my blog on a regular basis…..hopefully I’ll be better at this than e-mails….I apologize again!!

Take Care!!
Met vriendelijke groet,
Lisa