IMC Race Report

Now what?  That was the first thing I thought this morning when I woke up.  Well, maybe that came after thoughts of ice cream and beer.

My day started at 3:45am on Sunday. I didn't get much sleep as my mind was focused on the race before my head even hit the pillow. But that's why Friday night's 9 hours of sleep were so important. Turns out I wasn't the only one who didn't sleep. Ricky managed a solid 6 hours, but all of our housemates slept lightly...stressing over the best spots to cheer us on I guess. As soon as I woke, I visited my favourite pre-race location...the bathroom. Then had a not-too-heavy breakfast. Cinnamon Raisin English muffin with banana and natural peanut butter, a bottle of Powerbar Perform, water, walnuts, almonds, chocolate and a couple of fig newtons.

Dezz and Shannon drove me down to the start about 5:20 (Rick headed down to Smith & Company for breakfast already) for body marking and special needs bag drop-off. Then over to transition where I put my nutrition on the bike, waited in the port-a-potty queue, and slipped into something a little more uncomfortable. Once I had my wetsuit on, it hit me how close the race start was. I found Ricky down at the start, along with my coach, a few teammates and a few other friends. It always eases the mind a little when you see familiar faces.

Rick planned to start near the front along the buoys, I prefer a start closer to the back along the outside. So I bumped into my Talisman teammate James McCreath and we chatted until Oh Canada started. Then the start horn went off, I wished James luck one last time, and suddenly I was engulfed by splashing water and a mass of flailing arms and legs. I don't recall the swim being so chaotic in 2009; it was impossible to find any open water during the first 500m of the swim. But I snuck a look at my watch after 2000m and was pleased to see I was actually ahead of my goal time. And then it got ugly. After making the final turn back to the swim finish, my dodgy sighting and foggy goggles lead to me swimming about an extra 300m. I was way off course to the left and had to correct a few times only to venture back to the left. I finally reached the beach about 99 minutes later and found Dezz and crew as soon as I stood up. Only about a minute faster than 2009, but the new improved stroke definitely had me feeling much better effort-wise when I ran over the transition mat to have my wetsuit stripped off. I also managed to shave about 3 minutes off my transition time.

 I changed into bike shorts for the 180km ride and headed out the change tent to be met by Grant handing out gels. A few quick words and then sunscreened up, peed and grabbed my bike. Once again, the last one on my rack.  That just gives me more people to pass on the bike. I started off with very low gear, spinning the legs out and taking in some water. The ride along to MacLean Creek road felt great, and a quick peak at my Garmin showed I was cruising along the slight downhill about 50km/hr. Once we hit the MacLean Creek hill, it looked like a traffic jam. People were almost at a standstill on the road, weaving back and forth. I maintained my high cadence and flew past the majority of those people who seemed to be in for a loooong day once the real hills started. At the bottom of the hill, I stomped on the pedal to try get some separation from everyone else, only to have my chain fall off. But it did make me slow down enough to see Mick, Annabelle, and Ava cheering me on. And the quick 5 second stop was luckily the only mechanical I had on the day. I was excited when I saw the Osoyoos Husky...Richter was just around the corner.At the bottom of the climb I saw one of my training partners, Soostie, and we exchanged a few words before beginning the climb (hope all is well Soostie). I felt great going up the 11km climb and still maintained by consistent cadence. All those training days in the hills were really paying off. I made it through the first 75km, including the climb up Richter, in about 2 hours. Following Richter there is a series of rollers and the out-and-back before hitting Yellow Lake, a longer but less steep climb. The decent from Yellow Lake can be very fast, but we had a good headwind that worked to slow me down a bit. I still attacked coming down and had to shake my head at the number of cyclists with no bike handling skills and apparently no experience in riding on a road with other cyclists. But I hate to pass up free speed so my decents were very aggressive back into town. My nutrition on the bike consisted of Powerbar gels from the aid stations, 2 nutella wraps, a couple of fig newtons, some Pringles at special needs, and Powerbar Perform and water. I just kept grabbing fresh cold drinks and added a few Hammer fizz tabs at the aid stations and ditched the old bottles. Official bike time: 5 hours 47 minutes.

After a 7 minute transition, I headed out on the run with my legs feeling good, my tummy not feeling so good. I had a bit of cramping on the bike while in aero position, so I could tell the run may pose a few problems. But I told myself to run through the pain should the need arise. I didn't want another +5hour marathon like 2009. The heat continued to be a factor along the run course, probably reaching about 32C. Once you get through town and reach Skaha Lake, it's a beautiful run, but offers very little shade. So every aid station was a must too keep cool and prevent dehydration. Based on my tummy and the heat, I decided to skip the gels and got  most of my calories from Powerbar Perform. I also took in a few orange slices, grapes and watermelon. I also grabbed three ice cold sponges, a cup of ice and a cup of cold water to cool my skin. My stride felt great ("Drive those knees forward") and I felt I could have pushed harder. However, I could also feel my gut cramping a little when I did pick up the pace. With the heat, I decided to play it a bit more conservative and held something back. I walked the aid stations but ran the rest of the race, including all the hills. My final 5km were run at 5:05/km; by that point I figured lets just get this thing finished with and deal with the issues later. I caught up with fellow Talismaner James, whom I started the swim with, and offered him a few words of encouragement as he headed towards the home stretch. I also saw another teammate, Faizel, who finished about 4 seconds behind. 3 Talisman members within 5 minutes of each other!

In the end my run was slow and therefore my overall time was slower than my goal time, but on the course I had a decision to make. I debated about pushing myself faster and ignoring the signs by body was giving off, or just slow down a bit and pace myself to an enjoyable run. I opted for the latter and ended up feeling great crossing the line. Had you guaranteed that if I pushed myself all the way my body wouldn't shut down 7 or 8km from the finish, I probably would have raced for that sub-12. But you never know how your body will react, especially in extreme heat over 12 hours. And with that, I'm a bit disappointed in my final time of 12h 24 minutes, but at the same time I reached the chute feeling strong and my body is feeling great today. Over the next few days I'm going to deal with those little what-if scenarios playing out in my head, but at the end of the day it is what it is. No regrets as I did what I felt was right at the time. And improving my personal best by 58 minutes can't be looked at as failure.

As for the finish itself, I was lucky to be met by friends Erin, Michael, and Marc as volunteers. Then I saw Ricky (great race bro...very proud of you). After choking down a timbit, half a cookie and orange crush, I had a quick chat with coach Grant. After a bit of recovery, I finally made it over to an anxiously awaiting Dezz and the rest of the support crew with big smiles on their faces. And then I finally felt ready to tackle a slice of pizza. We headed home for a shower, some much needed food and a short rest. Then back over the the finish line for the last hour of finishers. Congratulations to everyone who raced today...those were some tough conditions.

Once again, thank you for all the messages from friends and family. It seems strange to me that so many people are coming along on this journey with me, but I am honoured and humbled by your support.

Now, on to the next one. A few days of R&R and then back to the drawing board (or doctor) with these silly cramping issues, a chat with Grant, and an evaluation of my goals for next year (No, they don't include IMC 2012).

Cheers!

T-12 hours

I wrote a blog entry back on July 3 saying I can't believe how quickly the past 10 months have flown by.  And now I'm wondering where those last 56 days have gone.  In 12 hours time I will be standing on the shoreline of Lake Okanagan watching the pros getting smaller and listening to Oh Canada!  And quite frankly I. Can't. Wait. 

Dezz and I left Calgary with our friend Shannon on Wednesday afternoon. After a chill drive out here with a stop in Sicamous at D'Dutchman for ice cream (well Dezz and Shannon had ice cream...I just watched), we met up with Ricky at the house. What a place! Gorgeous views, great layout, and uber-friendly owners.  About 11pm I headed out the door for a very short jog just to get the legs firing after the long drive.

On Thursday we headed down for a hot yoga session. Or should I say warm yoga.  Then it was down to the expo for race registration. This is when it really set in that the race was fast approaching. It's like a well oiled machine, with some amazing volunteers pointing us through the guantlet of tables (most of those volunteers appeared to be in their 70's...so great to see the way the locals embrace this race). Later in the afternoon Rick and I hit the the road for a 90 minute bike and a 30 minute run. The legs felt very good, but I was a bit worried when Rick appeared to roll his ankle. Turns out his 5 meter leap was actually to avoid a dead snake laying in the dirt. I can't believe how many athletes were riding Skaha Lake Road out to OK Falls. But with 3200 athletes competing on tomorrow, I guess there's only so many roads around here. The heat out here is crazy. It's been over 30C all week, and no sign of the weather cooling down for race day.

Umm, I just took a slight break to eat and now I've gotta get my butt to sleep...up at 3:45am to eat. Last night, which is the most important night, I managed a 9 hour sleep. Everything is ready go tomorrow. Bike and gear bags are in transition, special needs bags are packed, and my morning clothes and food are all set out.  I'll update you all tomorrow or...more realistically...Monday. 

Thank you for the texts/facebooks/tweets over the last three days. It's an honour to have so much support out there. And it was great to chat with my coach tonight too. And of course, my boo and my Penticton housemates. Cheers and goodnight.

Feeling lazy

After a night of kicking my butt at Tri club, I kicked my taper off with a trip to Vancouver this past weekend.  Dezz and I flew out Friday afternoon, giving us plenty of time to track down the Banana Leaf Malaysian restaurant for a 9-course sampler, followed by a sunset stroll along the beach. On Saturday we rented hybrid bikes and did a leisurely ride around Stanley Park. Nothing like parking your bike on the beach and eating salmon burgers. Ahh, Vancouver. After a fish supper (fish & chips) we headed to watch Sade and John Legend. AMAZING! We met up with a couple of friends for drinks afterwards. And then Sunday was a lot of walking, shopping and eating. It was a very relaxing weekend. However, I tried not to lose sight of IMC being a mere 2 weeks away.  I kept my alcohol consumption to my limit...2 drinks Friday, 2 drinks Saturday and 0 drinks Sunday. And yeah, we ate a LOT, but I did try to go for the healthier options (even buying groceries Friday night so we could make our own breakfasts). The rest was definitely welcome physically, but the mental break was equally as welcome.

Of course I feel at a loss when I'm away from training for too long, so my run on Monday night was much anticipated. Many people have asked me if I rest until Ironman now. The short answer is "no". A taper doesn't mean that I put my feet up until race day. Rather, the loooong training days are behind me and I focus just on shorter training sessions with some intensity. So Monday night's run was only 45 minutes but after a warm-up I did some interval runs, followed by a cool down. Yesterday and today's bike rides were commutes to work, but with short intervals incorporated. Toss in some yoga sessions, a couple of swims, and more running and cycling, and you have yourself a taper week.

In about 10 days 23 hours, I'll be running down that finisher's chute. At that point I can sit back, put my feet up and yes, rest. 

Perfect timing

At this time exactly 3 weeks from now, I should be sitting at the finishing chute cheering the other Ironman competitors across the line. As much as I love racing, I am also really looking forward to crossing that finish line and having some time to relax and reflect on the past year.

This weekend was my last long training weekend before my taper.  But I have reminded myself a few times today that it's not time to take my foot off the gas just yet. Tomorrow and Tuesday will involve yoga and some interval work. And I'm really looking forward to Coach Grant pushing us to the limits on Wednesday and Thursday for our last week of tri club before a short "summer" break. Dezz and I are off to Vancouver next weekend (Sade and John Legend baby!), so I won't have any trouble mentally keeping the momentum up for a few more day before enjoying a couple days R&R (ok, the Stanley Park seawall may call me for a short run...or it may just call for a nice leisurely walk with my wifey). 

So am I actually ready to start this taper on Friday?  I felt good after last week's epic training weekend but I would have hesitated to say yes I am ready. But after yesterday's 33km run and today's 148km ride, I can say with confidence...Bring it!  Yesterday's solo run in the heat of the day felt very good. I slowed a bit over the last 5km as my knee started to bother me, but nothing a little ice and rest didn't cure when I got home. I am facing a dilemma of what running shoes to race in, but that'll sort itself out over the next couple of weeks. Today's ride with my partner in crime, Ricky, featured a lot of rollers and I still felt strong spinning up the hills on our return leg of Road to Nepal. I'm most definitely not feeling overtrained, nor am I feeling undertrained. If you told me back in January I could hit August 7 feeling this way, I would have taken it. So here I am, feeling pleasantly confident but far from overconfident.
The perfect place to be.

Not Long Enough Long Weekend

The arrival of the Heritage Day long weekend was accompanied by the countdown to IMC reaching the "twenties" (27 days away today).  Which of course meant three things...training, training and training. Dezz is still working out of town, which makes a dedicated training weekend easier on the relationship. I did, however, have to sacrifice Ava's first birthday picnic. (Sorry Ava, tito David still loves you).

Mentally, Friday felt like it should have been a holiday too, so I'll start of with Thursday evening.  In place of our Swim-Run at Talisman, Grant arranged for us to get in an open water swim at Lake Bonavista (thanks Tushar).  After slipping (ok, struggling) into my wetsuit and swim cap, I jumped into the water and was amazed at how warm the water was.  I suddenly recalled my first ever open water swim (not a hey, look at me doggie paddling and splashing around in the water with my family before I go eat some sandwiches and chips kind of an open water swim, but a real hey look at me exhaling in this cold, dark liquid and moving myself forward in a semi-straight line kind of an open water swim) at Arbour Lake 4 years ago. The water temp was approximately 4 degrees Celsius above freezing and I vividly remember Irene and I both sticking our faces in the water for approximately 0.007 seconds before lifting our heads out simultaneously and stating our intent to withdraw from the upcoming triathlon. Compared to that day, Bonavista was paradise. Being my first OWS since Chinook, this really helped to put my mind at ease. I felt quite confident and Grant passed on a few tips about siting which made for a very positive experience.

On Friday night, I met Rick and his friend out at Telephone Loop in Bragg Creek for a trail run. Telephone Loop is about 16km of ups, downs, mud, water, and beautiful forests... go do it if you ever get the chance. Starting with a moderate uphill climb, I ran much of the route at my own pace (Rick stuck back with Treena to fight off any cougars, bears, or ornery raccoons) and really pushed on the uphills. I enjoy trail running as it provides interval training and a great core workout without even thinking about it. At the 11km mark I hurdled a big puddle, landed on a rock and rolled my left ankle. Oh oh. I guess this is the downside of trail running when you're as clumsy as I am. The ankle held up for the last 5km of the run. I was happy with my run effort, but it wasn't a true reflection of my fitness as I did have 3 rest stops while waiting for Treena. (From now until after IMC, I'm only running with people faster than me).  I carried a bottle of water with me, but didn't take in any nutrition. As for the ankle, ice and elevation on Friday night meant that I was good to go again Saturday (as I type this now, the ankle is back to 100%). 

Saturday was a great training day. Rick and I headed out to Highway 1A and rode return Banff to Lake Louise ski resort. Our set was 55 min E1/E2, 3 x 30 mins E3 with 5 min recovery, 55 mins E1/E2. Over the 102km and 3h 25mins, the temperature probably averaged about 25C. I took in 2 bottles of water and a bottle of Powerbar Perform along with 3 gels and an energy bar. Immediately after the bike, we hit a trail for a 35 minute run. The trail was a steep uphill, so although the legs kept moving, a high cadence and driving the knees forward seemed almost impossible.  I held back a bit on the fast descent due to my ankle injury the previous night. Overall though, I was happy with the way the legs felt once I returned to the van.  About 30 minutes later, we were pulling on the wetsuit and jumping into the Quarry for a quick 1000m swim. Once again, it may not have been fast but the open water swim felt comfortable. I only hope this feeling keeps up come race day. Paninis, soup and ice cream were well deserved for lunch.

The Common concert kept me up late Saturday night, but  waking up for another day in the saddle on Sunday was much easier than waking up for work any other day of the week. After meeting at Glenmore Reservoir to watch a couple (literally) of runners at Calgary 70.3, Rick and I headed out to Highwood Pass. We parked at the south gate and started up the less steep but longer climb to the summit. The 38km climb took 2 hours. The 17km descent took 23 minutes. As the descent offers an active recovery, we just turned around and headed back up the pass. We managed the 17km ascent just shy of the hour mark, and then the 38km descent back to the car took 1h 2mins. We had planned for a 5 hour day in the saddle, so we were quite happy to do the 108km effort in under 4.5 hours. Temperatures were 30C at the base (and a balmy 20C even at the summit), so I was glad to have my 4 bottles of hydration to wash down 3 gels, a PB-Jam wrap and an energy bar. 

I was looking forward to my recovery ride come Monday morning. Jenn couldn't make it out with us today, so once again my partner in crime and I set off. A 95km route west on Hwy 22 to Millarville and back along Road to Nepal offered a challenging recovery ride. Through the first 1 hour, I was struggling to get the legs firing on all cylinders. My legs slowly started to wake up as the ride went on. And after picking up a roadie who continually sucked our back wheels without wanting to take a turn pulling at the front, I suddenly found the energy to put the hammer down and pick up the pace. Rick is riding phenomenally right now, so he had no problems pushing the pace with me. Yes, it should have been an E2 ride today, but sometimes the conditions just force you to ride harder. And I know my coach would approve! By the time we hit the hills of Road to Nepal, my legs were spinning the way they should be. A few more intensity rides and a big distance ride next weekend, but this weekend did a lot for my confidence in the saddle. I am however, looking forward to a swim tomorrow. I may not even kick!

Does anyone even make it through 6 paragraphs of my rambling?  I really need to do these earlier in the evening so I'm functional enough to edit.