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Posted by Colin Jenkins | Aug 29, 08 03:46 PM

What a crazy past week. It has been a while since my last post so I guess I will start just before we left Victoria to head over to Beijing. We were lucky enough to have the local bike shop put on a little send off celebration for the triathletes heading to Beijing the day of the opening ceremony.

It was amazing to see what was supposed to be a couple of family and friends turn into something much bigger. It seemed like the entire community came out to say farewell and wish us good luck. It was a great night with lots of positive energy and a perfect way to head into Beijing.

The trip over to Beijing was great ... well as great as sitting on a plane for 12 hours can be. We were lucky enough to get first class tickets in the pods on Air Canada so we all had lots of room, ate good food, and watched lots of movies.

Upon arrival we were immediately met by people from the COC to take care of us and take us to our villa that we rented by our race site. The triathlon venue was a 60 minute drive outside of downtown Beijing so staying in the athlete village was not going to be an option for us.

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Posted by Colin Jenkins | Jul 25, 08 09:25 PM

One of the perks of being a professional in an Olympic sport is that you are surrounded in training and racing by individuals who some people idolize.

The adults try to make sense of how they can physically go that fast and push their bodies that hard, while the kids dream of one day having the opportunity to achieve that kind of greatness of their heroes. Well, it is not often I meet someone whom I really look up to in sport, someone who amazes me with what he’s accomplished and overcome ... but this happened on the final night I was in Plymouth, Minn., before leaving for New York City.

Simon Whitfield and I were in the coffee shop across from the hotel where we were staying, drinking and reading the local paper. In the sports section was an article on the Tour de France and how a past champion was at the tour for the first time in over 10 years.

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Posted by Colin Jenkins | Jul 16, 08 05:38 PM

Less than one month away until I leave for Beijing. The last six weeks since I have been named to the team have seemed to fly by. Before I know it, I will be on the start line.

In the final preparations for the Games I am doing a couple of non-drafting races (the Olympics will be drafting on the bikes) in the U.S. with the rest of the men’s Olympic Triathlon squad. Last weekend's race was in Minneapolis and this weekend is in New York City.

For the week between we are based out of Plymouth, Minn., which was just named the 2008 Number One City in America to live (for population under 500,000). It really is a great place. Lots of green space, wide open roads and big lakes. Training here is awesome.

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Posted by Colin Jenkins | Jul 2, 08 10:02 AM

Since I moved to Victoria, B.C., three years ago my life has become rather simplified. It has become a continuous rotation of eat, sleep, train, repeat. No days off, no weekends to hang out. The days become a blur and I never seem to know what day it is. Mondays become Tuesdays become Fridays and before you know it we are back on Monday.

The reason why I have enjoyed the triathlon training in Victoria and why it has been successful for me is because there are no distractions. I have no family out here so I never have any family commitments. Also, my friends are part of our squad with similar goals and work ethic so they never bug me to go out partying, drinking and staying out late.

I am not saying that I do not like spending time with my family or having a night on the town, it is just a sacrifice that I have made in order to achieve my goals.

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Posted by Colin Jenkins | Jun 11, 08 11:55 AM

The World Championships this past weekend will be remembered for the cold, wet conditions the athletes had to endure in Vancouver. By the time the men's race had rolled around Sunday afternoon the rain had stopped but the water temperature was barely 11 degrees and the air temperature in the low teens.

There were some strategies I used to try to keep myself warm before and during the race that seemed to work OK but there was not much that I could do to make sure that all my muscles stayed warm out on the course.

The race did not go according to my plans. I seemed to have an off day and could not relax during the race. The energy was not there and I suffered right from the get-go. It was not a fun two hours.

This was our last selection race for the Olympic Games and a top-8 finish would guarantee a spot on the team. None of the men were able to finish that high (with the exception of Simon Whitfield who finished sixth but already had a spot on the team) so the decision went to the high-performance committee to decide which athletes to send to the Games with the goal of winning a medal.

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Posted by Colin Jenkins | Jun 6, 08 09:16 PM

On Thursday I hopped on a ferry from my training base here in Victoria, B.C, and headed to Vancouver to race in the Triathlon World Championships this coming Sunday which are being held in and around Stanley Park.

It is exciting to be racing in such a big event in your own country, never mind your own backyard. And with it being only a 90-minute ferry ride to Vancouver, it is going to be a huge bonus as opposed to travelling half way around the world. Being stuck on a plane for 15 hours and recovering from jet lag is not the best way to spend your time before a big race.

I should introduce myself. I am a triathlete on the National Team racing on the World Cup circuit. For the past two years I have been travelling the world to race in exotic locations and big cities in hopes of getting those coveted Olympic points in order to qualify for the Summer Games in Beijing.

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