Paul Graham

Algonquin Extreme 2005 edition

trip_05_1 (19k image)
After a 1 year break, The Algonquin Extreme Canoe Trip (TAECT) made a come-back. For the first time in TAECT history no houldcrofts were present, however we were able to add some of the faces to the mix (Tim and Dianne). Things ended up turning out differently than scheduled, but it all added up for another great trip.

We paddled into North Tea Lake Friday morning, and shortly after getting to our camp site a nice thunder storm rolled in. The next morning was dull, but not raining, so Dave and I continued around the same loop that we did in 2003. Tim and Dianne would stay on North Tea Lake for the remainder of the trip, and meet up with us on Monday back at the parking lot.

Somebody must have gotten our weather order mixed up, because we didn't get what we had requested. Of the four days, only Sunday was sunny, but luckly we didn't get the flooding that happened in Toronto.

Far too many pictures can be found here

Dave's pictures will be added shortly.

trip_05_2 (22k image)
Paul on 08.23.05 @ 02:17 PM EST [link]

2005 Beaton Classic

Sunday morning was the second event in the weekend's double effort. This one was uncharted waters being a quadrathlon, and not something I had been training for. I've never raced a canoe before, so it was going to be an interesting event to say the least. The Beaton classic is a long standing tradition in Sudbury with many legends surrounding past events. The swim and canoe are on Lake Nepahwin, the bike on roads near Laurentian University, and the run is on some very hilly roads and rugged trails.

These are a few pictures Roy Hums took, and more can be found on the Sudbury cycling website (www.sudburycc.ca).
beaton_2 (72k image)

My splits were:
34:54.6 (1 mile swim plus 2x 800m run)
58:41.7 (30km bike, 30.7 km/h)
52.29.4 (4km paddle plus 2x 800m run)
1:02:51.7 (12km run, 5:14/km)
total:3:28:57.4 (6th place male Solo)

Full results can be found here.

Paul on 08.08.05 @ 10:58 PM EST [link]

Espanola Triathlon

Another weekend, another race... or two. Saturday morning was race 1, at 7:00am in Espanola. This is perhaps one of the fastest sprint triathlons out there. The swim is in a lake at the top of this hill and the second transition area is at the bottom. So the bike is down a large hill then relatively flat. The 5k run is basically dead flat. Anyway, the race went pretty well for myself, however I was having stomach issues during the bike, and couldn't seem to warm up (it was stupid early after all). I improved my time by exactly 1 minute from last year for a time of 1:12:25 for an overall 7th place finish.

My approximate splits were:
750m swim 12:34 (1:41/100m)
20k bike (+T1&T2) 36:56 (32.5 km/hr)
5k run 22:55 (4:35/km)

Full results can be found here.
Paul on 08.08.05 @ 10:56 PM EST [link]

Holidays 2005

Well, as my holidays draw to a close I suppose its time to update my webpage. Unfortunatly my second week was spend mostly in bed with a sore throat, but not to worry, I managed to cram enough stuff in the first week to more than make up for that. Kate was able to get a bunch of days off work, so we made the most of it by doing day trips. Some of the highlights included a trip to Centre island, a canoe lesson for Kate at Kelso, Shakespear in the Park, Niagara falls, and of course hanging out in downtown Oakville. Some pictures can be found here
Paul on 08.01.05 @ 03:22 PM EST [link]

Niagara sprint Triathlon

Sunday July 24th, 2005 was my 10th triathlon, and 5th this season. Although this one was shorter than most I've done it was no less difficult. The killer hill lived up to its reputation, however the nice flat run more than made up for that. All in all an enjoyable tri, although the rest of the day overshadowed it.

niagara_tri (50k image)

My splits were:
12:30 (700m swim, 1:48/100m)
T1 0:48
48:58 (25km bike, 30.6 km/h)
T2 0:44
30:40 (7 km run, 4:23/km)

1:33:37, 6/15 men 25-29, 67/285 overall

Full results can be found here.
Paul on 08.01.05 @ 02:58 PM EST [link]