We are the champions!

Brand Champions that is! What do you think of the new suit I'll be rocking this season? A local Vancouver company called Sugoi was looking for some brand champions and my application was accepted. Part of the pitch was that Gunner had already been picked up and we would look sweet racing and training in the same gear. They've got a dope looking West Coast themed line just for brand champions including the tri suit above and the singlet below (the two items I'm going to pick up for sure.)
Pretty pumped about getting accepted and it's pushing me to get going on the bike and in the pool so I can rep them with a little pride. You can check out what's up with me and the other brand champs here.
The first running shirt I ever bought over 7 years ago (an insulated long sleeve) is a Sugoi and it's still in the rotation today on cold days. Yeah, I know, that's kinda gross, but the thing looks as good as when I bought it. And I'm cheap. So it stays! Along with the five or six other items from them that have worked their way into my regular rotation.

Training has been pretty light compared to the build up to Vegas and it's been a challenge to get a handle on where things are fitness wise. I haven't spent any time in the pool or on the trainer in the past so there's nothing for me to compare to. I'm just trying to get as much time in as I can and go from there. One thing that's rad about being a total beginner in the water is that every swim there's so much improvement!
Last year early in the season I spent a lot of time strengthening the core and I've gotten back to that and hope to be well balanced and rangy by the time race season gets here. There's a kick ass core workout on Flotrack from Team Indiana Elite that I'd like to work into the program eventually after the basic stability exercises have addressed any muscles imbalances. An area that I could have worked harder last year.
Almost finished reading 'In Pursuit of Excellence' the first time and I'm going to have to re-read it for sure. Maybe hitting up a few pages in the A.M. while I'm, er, sitting, might not be the best way to retain the info...
Musically, two dudes that I'm big fans of, Andrew Bird and M. Ward, both dropped new albums but I haven't had a chance to hit them up yet. Stay tuned.