This week was one of recovering. I wasn’t just recovering from running the race, but also from being so cold. My core body just doesn’t seem to want to get warm. I don’t think I was hypothermic at the race on Sunday, but I think it has affected my body’s ability to regulate its temperature [...]
Last week somehow turned into a rest week. I guess it makes sense after the week before’s pummeling of my body. On Sunday after the swim it kind of shut down. I could feel myself lagging in the water. I felt ill. Somehow I made it through the swim and spent the rest of the day on [...]
December is always a difficult month to be motivated to train. It is busy with parties and family gatherings, not to mention buying presents and preparing for the holiday season. This December I was working in retail and it was BUUUUSY! Also, I had two clients have babies in the early part of the month [...]
Today my friend and I went for a run and accidentally* ran off-and-on for two hours (we shopped in there for about 20 minutes). It was -27 degrees Celsius with the windchill (about -20 without it) and we had planned for a 30-45 minute run. I had eaten at 5:30am and we started running around [...]
Last week was my first week becoming re-acquainted with my dreaded bike wind trainer. I haven’t put my bike on it for about a year and a half, after taking last winter off completely.
On Wednesday I had my first indoor bike session of the 17-weeks to Spring coached program that I’m taking and coaching [...]
Getting up at 6am on a Saturday is not generally my idea of a good time, but when one is training for Ironman it just has to be done. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one and met 9 other people to get together for a 3-hour ride. One of the guys in the club has [...]
On Monday I biked to work in a snow/rain storm in the name of active recovery. I knew that I wouldn’t have the energy to do anything more than that after work. On Tuesday, I took my pup for a much-needed walk in the morning and then for a nice, chilled out run/walk in the [...]
It’s true that I have not trained as much this winter as I had hoped I would. I would even say that the past couple of months I have been in a negative rut, physically, emotionally, and mentally… all very closely related of course. Last week I decided at the last-minute that I was going [...]
Well, now that I have new shoes and it’s warm out, I’m all about the running. It probably helps that I’ve also signed up for two races in February: The Brain Freeze (a 10-km) and The Hypothermic Half (half marathon, 21-km). Both of them are in February and it is likely that they will be [...]
As I was laying in bed, listening to my alarm clock sound at 5:30am I couldn’t help but swear at the Triathlon Gods who have cursed me to love this f-ing sport. I promptly turned off the alarm clock, swore at the Pool Gods, and slept for another hour and a half. When I finally [...]
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TNT Fundraising Dinner!
On Friday, January 27 we are holding a fundraising supper. It will be completely vegan (see my post here to understand why).
Where? Masonic Temple 1021 Sask Crescent West, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
When: Friday, January 27, 2012
Cocktails at 5:30pm, Dinner 6:30pm
What: A delicious meal, a silent auction, wonderful musical entertainment, and lots more!
Why? The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada is a voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. LLSC funds lifesaving blood cancer research across Canada and provides free information and support services.
Tickets
are $30 and can be bought at
Turning the Tide bookstore
525 - Broadway Avenue
LLS office
202-402 21st St E, 242-6611
You can also get them from Darcy & Crystal. You can email werunforcancer@gmail.comVT is on Twitter!
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VT has a new look!
Purple has a new meaning in my life as it is the main colour of Team in Training, a group that raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This cause is very near and dear to my heart as my partner and main training buddy had Leukemia & Lymphoma when he was a child. Blood cancer can be very deadly, so I am thankful for the treatment and care that he got.
It is for this reason that we decided to run a marathon together with the Team in Training group in Saskatoon. We have a goal of $13,000!
What is VT?
This website is one that I, Crystal Clarke, started in 2007 with big ideas. It is morphing slowly into a resourceful website for vegans and athletes alike. I put my personal touch on this website in the recipes and the training blog, as I'm a writer & a vegan triathlete. So what is a vegan triathlete? Well...
vegan. n. vee-gahn. - a person who refrains from using any animal product whatever for food, clothing, or any other purpose.
triathlete. n. someone who participates in races consisting of swimming, biking, and running in that order; there are several varying distances with some standard distances:
Sprint: 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run
Olympic: 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Half Ironman: 2km swim, 90km bike, 21.1km run
Ironman: 3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km runPlease leave comments! I love reading and replying to comments. Cheers!
Who am I?
My name is Crystal Clarke. I'm a vegan triathlete. I've been vegan since 2002 and a triathlete since 2003. Since then I have completed 1 Ironman, 4 half IMs, several Olympic triathlons, and many other triathlons, duathlons, running races, and biking races. My goal for each race is to finish. I'm pretty slow, but can be a middle-of-the-pack person if I'm not injured and train consistently.
In addition to being a vegan triathlete, I'm a writer, I'm an Agrologist, I'm a soil scientist, I'm a knitter, I'm an anti-consumer, I'm an environmentalist, I'm a budding Buddhist, I'm a yogi, I'm a student of life, and I'm bipolar. I'm a lot of things! I don't fit into any one category - that's what I think sets me apart from other athlete blogs.
Past Posts

