Getting a cold a 1 1/2 weeks before my first Half Iron was not exactly in the playbook. I was worried that I would be unable to race the Great White North on July 4th. But luckily I have been on the mend and each day I have been feeling a bit better. I may not be 100% on race day but I am hoping to be close. Given how much I was looking forward to this race I decided to not let this cold get me. I coughed until I hurt to the secretions out of my airways. I just keep thinking I had to keep it out of my chest. with some luck that was pretty much the case.
The past few days have been relatively good training/taper. Friday was my first day back at it and was an easy 1 hour bike ride. Lots of coughing and snot rockets and a high heart rate but at the end I felt OK. Sat was a 50 min run with sun race pace intervals with lots of coughing and snot rockets. Sunday was a brick with no coughing on the bike, some coughing on the run and snot rockets on both. Today was a swim and no coughing and lots of sno...haha you thought I was going to say snot rockets. No, no snot rockets in the pool.
So yeah, overall I am feeling much better. Still a bit of pressure in my head but my breathing is coming along. No rattle in my airways, easy breathing and somewhat clear nasal passages. And now I am looking forward to race day again.
On friday I will be heading up to Edmonton with my wife and son to stay at my sis/bro in law's house in Edmonton. I am oping to get out to Hubbles Lake to get an open water swim in. I am debating driving the bike course just for the hell of it. We'll see what time allows.
On another note I would like to say congrats to the guys from the may long training camp that raced IM CDA this weekend. From the sounds of it there were a few rough days in there but everyone finished (with some awesome times too). I spent a good portion of the day watching the feed and following peeps on the tracker. Its a good feeling cheering on guys that helped make my training weekend so great. I don't know how I would have done that weekend without them. So congrats to Darryl, Curtis, Trevor and Mark!
Looking forward to seeing some of you bloggers at GWN this weekend!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Seriously bad timing..
Last week my wife and son went to visit some family in Dawson Creek, BC. Shortly after arriving home my little boy started coughing and had a open tap for a nose. His "voice" was barely there. Yup he got a full on cold...his first one. Very shortly after his Dad got his not so first cold. Normally its not a problem but I am 2 weeks out from my first Half Iron.
Good thing is I have almost 2 weeks to kick it. Right now its mostly in my head, just really stuffed up and a bit of pressure. I get up in the morning, cough up some nastiness and then feel ok from a breathing perspective. I started taking Cold FX to see if that would help...I never take it but am willing to try anything.
Despite the cold I managed to get in a 100k ride and a 3km transition run yesterday. Besides being the king of snot rockets I felt ok yesterday. I really have to get used to running in the heat again...I was sweating tuns but felt ok. Later that night I felt pretty tired. But I was happy to get my brick done.
I am gonna just keep up some level of activty, get as much rest as possible and drink lots of fluids. My son is doing much better so thats some stress off my mind. My wife has unfortunately become the third victim of this cold in out household. Just hoping to feel better by July 4th!
Good thing is I have almost 2 weeks to kick it. Right now its mostly in my head, just really stuffed up and a bit of pressure. I get up in the morning, cough up some nastiness and then feel ok from a breathing perspective. I started taking Cold FX to see if that would help...I never take it but am willing to try anything.
Despite the cold I managed to get in a 100k ride and a 3km transition run yesterday. Besides being the king of snot rockets I felt ok yesterday. I really have to get used to running in the heat again...I was sweating tuns but felt ok. Later that night I felt pretty tired. But I was happy to get my brick done.
I am gonna just keep up some level of activty, get as much rest as possible and drink lots of fluids. My son is doing much better so thats some stress off my mind. My wife has unfortunately become the third victim of this cold in out household. Just hoping to feel better by July 4th!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Lake Summerside Olympic Tri race report.....finally.
This race was totally one of convenience. My brother and sister in law live in the Lake Summerside Community in Edmonton. And to top it all off, they are about 300m from the start! It was a no brainer...roll out of bed and do a tri, lol.
My wide and I drove up to Edmonton on Saturday and as soon as we made it our family's place I took off to go get my race package. Luckily, United Cycle was not far from where we were staying and was easy to find. After getting my package I decided to check the store out and I walked into a friend that was also competing in the LS tri.
My friend Dave and I used to work together at the Foothills in Calgary until he and his wife moved to Edmonton. Dave and I have been talking smack to each other leading up to this tri. We both have said we are going to kick each others asses..yada yada yada...but all in good fun. He has been in to all aspects of triathlon much longer than me bit I keep telling him I have youth on my side (like 4 years max, lol). After catching up for a bit we decided to head on over to LS and check out the transition walk through they were having.
The biggest reason for me going to was to find out about the status of the swim. Earlier in the week we had received an email from the race organizer that the water temp was concern and that the swim may have to be shortened or cancelled. AT the briefing one of the first things discussed was the swim and the news did not appear encouraging. The water temp needed to be 13 deg Celsius to have a swim at all and at that point it would be 1/2 the planned distance....it was at 11 that AM.
When I heard that the swim was "in jeopardy" I was quite bummed. Swimming is by far my worst discipline but I have been working hard to improve it. I also want every chance I can to gauge my improvement and to work on better open water swimming. But alas the final decision was going to be made in the AM. I went home and enjoyed a BBQ with the family and tried not to think about it.
The next morning I woke up a bit earlier than I had planned. I planned on getting up at 7 am when transition opened up but at 6 am I was wide awake. My son was in a crib in the same room we were staying in and was wide awake and staring at me when I looked at him. I got up and enjoyed a few minutes with him and then he went to sleep again. I grabbed my things and headed on down to the transition area at 7am.
Being that I was one of the first people there I pretty much had the choice of where I wanted to set up. I got the exact spot that I had scoped out the day before! I never place too much importance one the location but it is nice when you have the spot that is easy to find and easy to get to/exit. After setting up my gear I took my bike over to the United Cycle tent to have them do a quick look at it. After putting on my rear race wheel, the day before we left for Edmonton, I noticed a grinding noise coming from my rear derailleur. I took it to Eurotech cycle the day before and very quickly they were able to correct the noise. But when I took it off our vehicle's roof rack when we arrived in Edmonton and when for a test ride the noise was back. Luckily the On site tech from United Cycle had the problem corrected within seconds and I was good to go.
I saw the race director as I was setting up and asked him about the swim....and the news was awesome! Full distance swim today! The temp had come up 14.8 degrees. I do find it hard to believe that the lake temp would rise from 11 to 14.8 in one day...I am thinking there was some inaccurate measurements in there somewhere. Regardless I was not going to complain. Better run back and grab my wetsuit!
I had run into Darryl and he set up next to me and then my friend Dave came along later. Always nice to have a few people you know around and that you can pass the time talking to. We had a bit of time to head to the lake and get a warm up swim in. The water wasn't exactly warm but very tolerable. Then it was on to the pre race briefing and then it was time to race!
THE SWIM
I decided prior to the start to just relax and do my own thing. I used to get a bit freaked out by contact in the water. I was not afraid of getting hurt but more of getting in others peoples way. This time I didn't care, I was going to swim and if contact was made so be it. I had just as much "right" to be in that space as anyone else. Given that the race numbers were small, just under 100 for the Oly, I didn't worry much about were to start. As soon as the signal went I headed in and went for it. The first turn buoy was fairly close to the start so it didn't take long to get there. I made the turn pretty clean and without hesitation. The next turn buoy was the longest distance away. I just swam and made sure to sight frequently. Eventually it was time to turn and I made the turn clean again. Now time to head to the beach and do lap #2.
During the Legend training camp in Penticton we did some open water drills on exiting and re-entering the water during a lap swim course. They came in quite handy!!! I swam up until the point of scooping sand and then headed onto the beach for the turn. I headed back into the water and then remembered...your heart is going to be up, you need to relax. I took it a bit easy until I felt the HR was coming down and then was making the turn on the first buoy. I felt mildly tired at this point but not exhausted. I also thought I was swimming just a bit slower on this lap. Later my wife said that on the first lap I was probably in the first 40% but for the second I was in the last 40%. I was happy to see that the beach exit was approaching and would soon be on my bike!
Swim time 31:27 (69/93)
T1
Exiting the water I felt "ok" and by "ok" I mean my usual feeling of bunk. I ran into the bike rack and had my wetsuit down to the waist. Once I reached my bike I stopped and took a couple of deep breaths. Not sure of my actual time but it was probably about average.
THE BIKE
The bike course was a flat, 2 lap route. After winding out of the Lake Summerside community it then went onto a secondary road for the majority. The pavement on the secondary road was bumpy to say the least. I hate getting shaken around like that but just had to roll with it. My goals for the bike was to keep aero as much as possible, don't kill my legs and be a bit more confident on my turns.
I felt ok coming out of T1 and it wasn't long before I found my cycling legs. The first lap was passing a fair number of people that had been ahead of me on the swim. Even though I am becoming a better swimmer I am still not that fast. I passed Darryl when he was heading back to finish. I didn't say hi because he looked really focused and he was motoring!
The turn around to start the second lap was right next to the transition area so as heading towards it there were athletes from the spring race just getting on their bikes. I was just coming out of the turn around when I noticed another rider swerving towards me from the other side of the road. I look over and this moron was trying to get his feet in the shoes he already had clipped into the pedal. I started yelling at him to watch out and he is coming closer and closer. I have to admit at this point I started letting out some rather non family friendly words. This guy had not business trying to put his feet in his shoes in this location. And it was obvious he was not good at doing it either. Just before he hit me he managed to turn away and avoid colliding with me. Anyway...rant over.
The second lap was pretty uneventful. I was feeling pretty good and was a bit disappointed to be getting off the bike. I was happy with the speed I was maintaining and the time I was going to have. But alas it was now time to run.
Bike Time 1:15:17 (32/93)
T2
AS I was rolling into transition my friend Dave, the one that I had been talking smack with, was just heading out on the run course. He yells out something like "Hey Dan I am beating you". Ohh not what you want to yell at me, lol. I racked my bike, threw on my shoes and visor and was heading out of transition. I was happy with my exit time.
THE RUN
I was determined to catch up to my friend Dave. I knew I would do it too. I wasn't going to go all out but I picked up the pace a bit just to narrow the gap. I think it was about 700m into the run and I caught up with Dave and promptly gave him a slap on the ass as I passed him, lol. But I decided at this point just to ease up a bit and to run with him. The pace turned out to be comfortable and we ran very consistent. Darryl ran by us a couple of times and no surprise he was smoking the run.
The course was a 4 lap route for the Oly distance athletes. I had run it before while visiting my family so I knew what it was like. No bike hills, just a minor false flat. I took in some gel and fluids at each turn around, it was my first time using a gel flask to do this rather than taking a full gel packet. I will definitely do it this way in the future. I like the idea of spreading out the fuel.
I was still feeling ok at lap #4. I had some muscle "twinges" that I though were going to turn into cramps at the begging of the lap #1 but the faded away. I could tell that my friend Dave was a bit tired. As we headed toward the finish we had 2 turns...a right and then a left. Dave had the inside but as we entered the turn I started my sprint and "closed the door" as he called it. I sprinted ahead of him and didn't look back. After I crossed the finish I turned around and waited for Dave to give him a big high five...and to taunt him, lol.
Run time 59:18 (62/93)
OVERALL
I am pretty happy with a 25min personal best but more important I felt I had a solid race. I was very happy that I took about 10 mins off my Oly swim time. It was good to race with a few people that I know. Talking to Darryl just before the race start helped keep my mind off things. Running with my friend Dave and our friendly trash talk made the race even more fun. This race has helped with my race confidence. I am really looking forward to GWN!
Overall time 2:46:00
My wide and I drove up to Edmonton on Saturday and as soon as we made it our family's place I took off to go get my race package. Luckily, United Cycle was not far from where we were staying and was easy to find. After getting my package I decided to check the store out and I walked into a friend that was also competing in the LS tri.
My friend Dave and I used to work together at the Foothills in Calgary until he and his wife moved to Edmonton. Dave and I have been talking smack to each other leading up to this tri. We both have said we are going to kick each others asses..yada yada yada...but all in good fun. He has been in to all aspects of triathlon much longer than me bit I keep telling him I have youth on my side (like 4 years max, lol). After catching up for a bit we decided to head on over to LS and check out the transition walk through they were having.
The biggest reason for me going to was to find out about the status of the swim. Earlier in the week we had received an email from the race organizer that the water temp was concern and that the swim may have to be shortened or cancelled. AT the briefing one of the first things discussed was the swim and the news did not appear encouraging. The water temp needed to be 13 deg Celsius to have a swim at all and at that point it would be 1/2 the planned distance....it was at 11 that AM.
When I heard that the swim was "in jeopardy" I was quite bummed. Swimming is by far my worst discipline but I have been working hard to improve it. I also want every chance I can to gauge my improvement and to work on better open water swimming. But alas the final decision was going to be made in the AM. I went home and enjoyed a BBQ with the family and tried not to think about it.
The next morning I woke up a bit earlier than I had planned. I planned on getting up at 7 am when transition opened up but at 6 am I was wide awake. My son was in a crib in the same room we were staying in and was wide awake and staring at me when I looked at him. I got up and enjoyed a few minutes with him and then he went to sleep again. I grabbed my things and headed on down to the transition area at 7am.
Being that I was one of the first people there I pretty much had the choice of where I wanted to set up. I got the exact spot that I had scoped out the day before! I never place too much importance one the location but it is nice when you have the spot that is easy to find and easy to get to/exit. After setting up my gear I took my bike over to the United Cycle tent to have them do a quick look at it. After putting on my rear race wheel, the day before we left for Edmonton, I noticed a grinding noise coming from my rear derailleur. I took it to Eurotech cycle the day before and very quickly they were able to correct the noise. But when I took it off our vehicle's roof rack when we arrived in Edmonton and when for a test ride the noise was back. Luckily the On site tech from United Cycle had the problem corrected within seconds and I was good to go.
I saw the race director as I was setting up and asked him about the swim....and the news was awesome! Full distance swim today! The temp had come up 14.8 degrees. I do find it hard to believe that the lake temp would rise from 11 to 14.8 in one day...I am thinking there was some inaccurate measurements in there somewhere. Regardless I was not going to complain. Better run back and grab my wetsuit!
I had run into Darryl and he set up next to me and then my friend Dave came along later. Always nice to have a few people you know around and that you can pass the time talking to. We had a bit of time to head to the lake and get a warm up swim in. The water wasn't exactly warm but very tolerable. Then it was on to the pre race briefing and then it was time to race!
THE SWIM
I decided prior to the start to just relax and do my own thing. I used to get a bit freaked out by contact in the water. I was not afraid of getting hurt but more of getting in others peoples way. This time I didn't care, I was going to swim and if contact was made so be it. I had just as much "right" to be in that space as anyone else. Given that the race numbers were small, just under 100 for the Oly, I didn't worry much about were to start. As soon as the signal went I headed in and went for it. The first turn buoy was fairly close to the start so it didn't take long to get there. I made the turn pretty clean and without hesitation. The next turn buoy was the longest distance away. I just swam and made sure to sight frequently. Eventually it was time to turn and I made the turn clean again. Now time to head to the beach and do lap #2.
During the Legend training camp in Penticton we did some open water drills on exiting and re-entering the water during a lap swim course. They came in quite handy!!! I swam up until the point of scooping sand and then headed onto the beach for the turn. I headed back into the water and then remembered...your heart is going to be up, you need to relax. I took it a bit easy until I felt the HR was coming down and then was making the turn on the first buoy. I felt mildly tired at this point but not exhausted. I also thought I was swimming just a bit slower on this lap. Later my wife said that on the first lap I was probably in the first 40% but for the second I was in the last 40%. I was happy to see that the beach exit was approaching and would soon be on my bike!
Swim time 31:27 (69/93)
T1
Exiting the water I felt "ok" and by "ok" I mean my usual feeling of bunk. I ran into the bike rack and had my wetsuit down to the waist. Once I reached my bike I stopped and took a couple of deep breaths. Not sure of my actual time but it was probably about average.
THE BIKE
The bike course was a flat, 2 lap route. After winding out of the Lake Summerside community it then went onto a secondary road for the majority. The pavement on the secondary road was bumpy to say the least. I hate getting shaken around like that but just had to roll with it. My goals for the bike was to keep aero as much as possible, don't kill my legs and be a bit more confident on my turns.
I felt ok coming out of T1 and it wasn't long before I found my cycling legs. The first lap was passing a fair number of people that had been ahead of me on the swim. Even though I am becoming a better swimmer I am still not that fast. I passed Darryl when he was heading back to finish. I didn't say hi because he looked really focused and he was motoring!
The turn around to start the second lap was right next to the transition area so as heading towards it there were athletes from the spring race just getting on their bikes. I was just coming out of the turn around when I noticed another rider swerving towards me from the other side of the road. I look over and this moron was trying to get his feet in the shoes he already had clipped into the pedal. I started yelling at him to watch out and he is coming closer and closer. I have to admit at this point I started letting out some rather non family friendly words. This guy had not business trying to put his feet in his shoes in this location. And it was obvious he was not good at doing it either. Just before he hit me he managed to turn away and avoid colliding with me. Anyway...rant over.
The second lap was pretty uneventful. I was feeling pretty good and was a bit disappointed to be getting off the bike. I was happy with the speed I was maintaining and the time I was going to have. But alas it was now time to run.
Bike Time 1:15:17 (32/93)
T2
AS I was rolling into transition my friend Dave, the one that I had been talking smack with, was just heading out on the run course. He yells out something like "Hey Dan I am beating you". Ohh not what you want to yell at me, lol. I racked my bike, threw on my shoes and visor and was heading out of transition. I was happy with my exit time.
THE RUN
I was determined to catch up to my friend Dave. I knew I would do it too. I wasn't going to go all out but I picked up the pace a bit just to narrow the gap. I think it was about 700m into the run and I caught up with Dave and promptly gave him a slap on the ass as I passed him, lol. But I decided at this point just to ease up a bit and to run with him. The pace turned out to be comfortable and we ran very consistent. Darryl ran by us a couple of times and no surprise he was smoking the run.
The course was a 4 lap route for the Oly distance athletes. I had run it before while visiting my family so I knew what it was like. No bike hills, just a minor false flat. I took in some gel and fluids at each turn around, it was my first time using a gel flask to do this rather than taking a full gel packet. I will definitely do it this way in the future. I like the idea of spreading out the fuel.
I was still feeling ok at lap #4. I had some muscle "twinges" that I though were going to turn into cramps at the begging of the lap #1 but the faded away. I could tell that my friend Dave was a bit tired. As we headed toward the finish we had 2 turns...a right and then a left. Dave had the inside but as we entered the turn I started my sprint and "closed the door" as he called it. I sprinted ahead of him and didn't look back. After I crossed the finish I turned around and waited for Dave to give him a big high five...and to taunt him, lol.
Run time 59:18 (62/93)
OVERALL
I am pretty happy with a 25min personal best but more important I felt I had a solid race. I was very happy that I took about 10 mins off my Oly swim time. It was good to race with a few people that I know. Talking to Darryl just before the race start helped keep my mind off things. Running with my friend Dave and our friendly trash talk made the race even more fun. This race has helped with my race confidence. I am really looking forward to GWN!
Overall time 2:46:00
Saturday, May 29, 2010
So ....IV team it is!
Tonight I got a call from the Medical Tent Captain for Ironman Canada 2010. I had submitted my name to volunteer there since I was going to be there signing up for 2011. I knew the general idea behind a medical tent but got a few more details about the roles/expectations.
At IMC there are 3 areas of the tent. Number 1 is triage...you do a quick assessment to see who needs what and goes where. Number 2 is the chairs...
"I have some blisters". And number 3 is the cots....I need a ton of IV fluids and give me some medications while you are at it". As for personel, for every 6 athletes there is one Dr, one "bedside" nurse and one "IV" nurse.
Not to toot my own horn but there are very few people that can start an IV as well as me. So I am going to be assigned to the IV team. My role will be to start the IV, give fluids and I may have to administer medications. Intersting enough, some of the nursing personel may be nursing students. Given their limited scope of practise this will be one of the instances where I would be administering meds.
I am pretty excited to do this. I think it will be lots of fun and a way to give back to the triathlon community (and yes, easier sign up is a good perk). I don't wish a trip to med tent on anyone but it happens and I don't mind being there. Hope I don't see anyone I know there!!
On a personal training note, I am pretty much recovered from training camp. I am doing the Calgary Half in the morning. I can't say that I am too excited about running tomorrow. This weather is bringing me down!! I remember how great the weather was last year! I just want to run in shorts and a t shirt, no more jackets or tights. Anyway, I am sure I will be more postive tomorrow night after I am done,lol. I will keep you updated!
At IMC there are 3 areas of the tent. Number 1 is triage...you do a quick assessment to see who needs what and goes where. Number 2 is the chairs...
"I have some blisters". And number 3 is the cots....I need a ton of IV fluids and give me some medications while you are at it". As for personel, for every 6 athletes there is one Dr, one "bedside" nurse and one "IV" nurse.
Not to toot my own horn but there are very few people that can start an IV as well as me. So I am going to be assigned to the IV team. My role will be to start the IV, give fluids and I may have to administer medications. Intersting enough, some of the nursing personel may be nursing students. Given their limited scope of practise this will be one of the instances where I would be administering meds.
I am pretty excited to do this. I think it will be lots of fun and a way to give back to the triathlon community (and yes, easier sign up is a good perk). I don't wish a trip to med tent on anyone but it happens and I don't mind being there. Hope I don't see anyone I know there!!
On a personal training note, I am pretty much recovered from training camp. I am doing the Calgary Half in the morning. I can't say that I am too excited about running tomorrow. This weather is bringing me down!! I remember how great the weather was last year! I just want to run in shorts and a t shirt, no more jackets or tights. Anyway, I am sure I will be more postive tomorrow night after I am done,lol. I will keep you updated!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Legend training camp weekend!
My long term goal right now is Ironman Canada 2011. It's something I decided that I wanted to do and I am pretty good at doing what I put my mind to. My coach's may long training camp would be the perfect chance to see exactly what I was getting myself into. I knew that going into this it would be a bit of a test for me. My longest ride ever has been 100km and that was last summer. This year's longest has been 60km...inside and on the trainer. The plan for the camp was two 150-160km rides and a true hill climb. Just a little more than I am used to, lol. My coach said "you can tell me if you still want to do an Ironman at the end of the weekend". So how did it go....
Day #1 Friday
The plan for the day was the IMC course but in reverse. By doing it in reverse you get a hill climb early in the ride and the "rollers" are a bit more work. We started the ride early in the morning (not too early). At this point it was nice to be out on the bike. Very quickly into the ride I learned that I was not a climber, lol. I have usually done ok on "hills" but know when I think about it they were just rollers. I was very quickly getting my first taste of true hills out here. Going up Yellow lake was a grind but it was still early so I felt ok. Going down Yellow was FREEZING, still somewhat early in the morning and in the shade of the mountains. We stopped at the "The Bear" and got some refills on the fluids.
We bypassed the out and back, didnt sound like I was missing much. For the next while it was nice and flat and were had a nice pace line going. I took the lead for a brief period and that was the end of that. Definately a skill I need to work on. I thought I needed to pick it up to overcome the drag at the front but I ended up breaking up the line. Next time I will be more aware.
And then came on the rollers. Up down, up down...a couple near the end were nasty. I remember being a bit tired going up the last one, lol. Not too long after the rollers we were heading up the backside of Richter's pass. It was just another climb at this point. I admit that I was often in the easiest granny gear...I got no shame, lol. Coach Greg came back to check on me and give me some motivation....thanks. And then finally we were at the top...hell ya. Lots of people heading up Richter that day. And then the decent....brrrrr. I thought my thigh was cramping at one point, but no, it was just that cold.
So at the bottom we stopped at the Husky and refueled. Aint gonna lie...I am tired at this point, lol. But still 60m to go at this point. Quick break and its back on the bike. No big hill sclimbs left but just feels like a long way to go. I really was happy that we were getting close to home. We stopped at Tickleberry's (awesome ice cream place) but we didnt get ice cream, lol.
We decided to take the "run course" route home. It was nice to get to see this part. I have pretty much decided that this part of of the run when I do IMC will suck. The turn around for the run is in this area and it is a little bit hilly, lol. But then it turns into nice flat road. Very nice to roll back into town on. I started to pick it up a bit and hurry my ass back into town. I had a feeling that the rest of the group would be waiting ahead. My quads were a bit on fire and I was afraid they were going to cramp up. I hit a small up swing in the road and decided to stand it up...big mistake. My quads, especially my right, started to cramp. I streched them out for a second and then kept my legs moving.
I wasnt sure how my transition run would go but I decided to give it a shot anyway. I did a quick change and started to run. My legs are pretty dead at this point. I made it about 1km and the cramps came back in the quads. I gave them a brief massage and then started back to the hotel. The cramps were getting progressively worse to the point of reducing me to a standstill on arrival at the hotel.
I hobbled back to the room and started to take in any food I could get. I was so hungry. My wife later confessed that she really thought I looked bad when I arrived and could not believe that I even attempted a run, lol. Day one over time to sleep.
Day #2 Saturday
The morning was an open water swim in Oliver. I was feeling surprisingly ok by morning, the quads were a little tender but functional. I was excited to try out the new Xterra wetsuit I have bought. The water was cool to say the least, lol. We did a little work on sighting to start things off and get warmed up. After that we did a few exits and entrance drills. It was nice to get out of the pool for a change. I ended up being quite pleased with the new suit....much more comfortable on the shoulders!
Next on the plan was a 20 km warm up ride from Oliver to Anarchist to start the hill climb. I wasnt sure how it would go....15km up. My plan was to start the climb and to just keep my legs moving. For the most part I did the climb in my easiest gear with brief perios in some harder gears. About 1hr and 15 mins of un upward grind and I made it. The rest of the crew were there waiting for me...they did that alot this weekend, lol. Decending is another area I have to work on. I need to gain confidence that I wont die on the decent. I get a bit freaked out by the speed on some of the hills. The ride back to Oliver was pretty uneventful..with the exception of having to call Greg andget directions back to the lake, lol.
Day #3 Sunday
Last biking day of the camp....IMC bike course in the normal direction. The weather looked like it had the potential to turn nasty..it was cool, cloudy and some wind going on. We threw on some extra layers and headed on out of town. As we were on our way out we came upon a half marathon that was being run that day. Not exactly great weather for that either. We made our way through Mclean and headed towards Richter. Along the way, one of the other riders and I (Curtis) rode together and had a good talk. Always nice to meet new people and it surely helped pass the time.
We hit the Husky and again we refueled. Greg told me to head out when I was ready. Pretty soon after I was back on the road heading up Richter. Not much after that they group was passing me on the way up. Some fast riders in out group...I dont feel bad getting passed by guys like Greg, Darryl and Trevor. It was good to have seen what the part of the course was like even though in reverse. I just kept telling myself...keep the legs moving. It was nice to get to the top and to see the group waiting there.
We started to get a few sprinkles of rain and the roads were a little wet. Not cool for someone that hate decending at the best of times. But I keep a little tension on the brakes and used some techniques that Greg had told me about. Obviously I made it down ok, lol.
And then came the rollers! Definately much easier this way! I decided to keep pace with another group of riders ahead and just to keep them in my sights. It wasnt long before the we were out of the rollers and on some flat surface again. I caught up to this other group and then decided to draft with them for a while. I thought about passing them for a short period and then though...why? Its not a race and I still have alot of riding to go. I stuck with them until Greg and Darryl came back got me and Curtis.
We hit "the bear' to get more fluids. Unlike friday, we had a hill climb near then end of the ride....not looking forward to it at this point. Keep the legs moving, just keeping telling myself that. I was happy that at this point I was not having any muscle cramping and actually felt better than I had on friday at the same distance in the ride. One thing that I had changed was my nutrition. A sponsor for the camp was Hammer nutrition. I decided to use Hammer gel, HEED and Perpeteum on Sat and Sun. I had been using Gu and Nuun before this. I really think this switch helped me....no cramps, GI issues and I felt stronger!
So after a little while I was at Yellow lake and getting ready to decend. Always good to see your coach come back down to check on you and the goup waiting at the top, lol. Pretty much all downhill from here!! We got a little sprinkle going down ....again, not cool. I was glad to see the flats again. As we were coming into town I realised that I was feeling ok. I was hoping for a good transition run.
Getting back to the hotel was a good feeling. A quick drop off of the bike and a change and I was out the door. I felt tons better than on Friday!! The legs felt pretty good, tired but still good. I was actually running at close to half marathon race pace. Not sure how I would feel later if I had to keep running but for now I was ok. I did 2.75km in just over 15 mins....not bad after 155km on the bike. And then to top it off was a nice cold water immersion of the legs in the lake sipping on a recovery drink, lol.
Day #4 - Monday
The goal for today was a longer run. I decided to shorten the run up a bit to 1 hour just to get on the road a bit earlier. I knew it was a long drive back home and wanted to get my wife and son back at a reasonable time. I did 10km in 1:05 which I was ok with considering the volume I had put in over the weekend.
Overall it was a great weekend. By far it was the most volume I have put in that short amount of time. Got a bunch of confidence in my riding skills too. On the flip side I have realized how much more I need to do for next year. It was awesome riding with some really great guys as well. Over the weekend I would my totals look like 1km of swimming, 400km cycling and 15km running. Would I do it again...hell ya.
And to answer your question Greg....I still want to do an Ironman.
Day #1 Friday
The plan for the day was the IMC course but in reverse. By doing it in reverse you get a hill climb early in the ride and the "rollers" are a bit more work. We started the ride early in the morning (not too early). At this point it was nice to be out on the bike. Very quickly into the ride I learned that I was not a climber, lol. I have usually done ok on "hills" but know when I think about it they were just rollers. I was very quickly getting my first taste of true hills out here. Going up Yellow lake was a grind but it was still early so I felt ok. Going down Yellow was FREEZING, still somewhat early in the morning and in the shade of the mountains. We stopped at the "The Bear" and got some refills on the fluids.
We bypassed the out and back, didnt sound like I was missing much. For the next while it was nice and flat and were had a nice pace line going. I took the lead for a brief period and that was the end of that. Definately a skill I need to work on. I thought I needed to pick it up to overcome the drag at the front but I ended up breaking up the line. Next time I will be more aware.
And then came on the rollers. Up down, up down...a couple near the end were nasty. I remember being a bit tired going up the last one, lol. Not too long after the rollers we were heading up the backside of Richter's pass. It was just another climb at this point. I admit that I was often in the easiest granny gear...I got no shame, lol. Coach Greg came back to check on me and give me some motivation....thanks. And then finally we were at the top...hell ya. Lots of people heading up Richter that day. And then the decent....brrrrr. I thought my thigh was cramping at one point, but no, it was just that cold.
So at the bottom we stopped at the Husky and refueled. Aint gonna lie...I am tired at this point, lol. But still 60m to go at this point. Quick break and its back on the bike. No big hill sclimbs left but just feels like a long way to go. I really was happy that we were getting close to home. We stopped at Tickleberry's (awesome ice cream place) but we didnt get ice cream, lol.
We decided to take the "run course" route home. It was nice to get to see this part. I have pretty much decided that this part of of the run when I do IMC will suck. The turn around for the run is in this area and it is a little bit hilly, lol. But then it turns into nice flat road. Very nice to roll back into town on. I started to pick it up a bit and hurry my ass back into town. I had a feeling that the rest of the group would be waiting ahead. My quads were a bit on fire and I was afraid they were going to cramp up. I hit a small up swing in the road and decided to stand it up...big mistake. My quads, especially my right, started to cramp. I streched them out for a second and then kept my legs moving.
I wasnt sure how my transition run would go but I decided to give it a shot anyway. I did a quick change and started to run. My legs are pretty dead at this point. I made it about 1km and the cramps came back in the quads. I gave them a brief massage and then started back to the hotel. The cramps were getting progressively worse to the point of reducing me to a standstill on arrival at the hotel.
I hobbled back to the room and started to take in any food I could get. I was so hungry. My wife later confessed that she really thought I looked bad when I arrived and could not believe that I even attempted a run, lol. Day one over time to sleep.
Day #2 Saturday
The morning was an open water swim in Oliver. I was feeling surprisingly ok by morning, the quads were a little tender but functional. I was excited to try out the new Xterra wetsuit I have bought. The water was cool to say the least, lol. We did a little work on sighting to start things off and get warmed up. After that we did a few exits and entrance drills. It was nice to get out of the pool for a change. I ended up being quite pleased with the new suit....much more comfortable on the shoulders!
Next on the plan was a 20 km warm up ride from Oliver to Anarchist to start the hill climb. I wasnt sure how it would go....15km up. My plan was to start the climb and to just keep my legs moving. For the most part I did the climb in my easiest gear with brief perios in some harder gears. About 1hr and 15 mins of un upward grind and I made it. The rest of the crew were there waiting for me...they did that alot this weekend, lol. Decending is another area I have to work on. I need to gain confidence that I wont die on the decent. I get a bit freaked out by the speed on some of the hills. The ride back to Oliver was pretty uneventful..with the exception of having to call Greg andget directions back to the lake, lol.
Day #3 Sunday
Last biking day of the camp....IMC bike course in the normal direction. The weather looked like it had the potential to turn nasty..it was cool, cloudy and some wind going on. We threw on some extra layers and headed on out of town. As we were on our way out we came upon a half marathon that was being run that day. Not exactly great weather for that either. We made our way through Mclean and headed towards Richter. Along the way, one of the other riders and I (Curtis) rode together and had a good talk. Always nice to meet new people and it surely helped pass the time.
We hit the Husky and again we refueled. Greg told me to head out when I was ready. Pretty soon after I was back on the road heading up Richter. Not much after that they group was passing me on the way up. Some fast riders in out group...I dont feel bad getting passed by guys like Greg, Darryl and Trevor. It was good to have seen what the part of the course was like even though in reverse. I just kept telling myself...keep the legs moving. It was nice to get to the top and to see the group waiting there.
We started to get a few sprinkles of rain and the roads were a little wet. Not cool for someone that hate decending at the best of times. But I keep a little tension on the brakes and used some techniques that Greg had told me about. Obviously I made it down ok, lol.
And then came the rollers! Definately much easier this way! I decided to keep pace with another group of riders ahead and just to keep them in my sights. It wasnt long before the we were out of the rollers and on some flat surface again. I caught up to this other group and then decided to draft with them for a while. I thought about passing them for a short period and then though...why? Its not a race and I still have alot of riding to go. I stuck with them until Greg and Darryl came back got me and Curtis.
We hit "the bear' to get more fluids. Unlike friday, we had a hill climb near then end of the ride....not looking forward to it at this point. Keep the legs moving, just keeping telling myself that. I was happy that at this point I was not having any muscle cramping and actually felt better than I had on friday at the same distance in the ride. One thing that I had changed was my nutrition. A sponsor for the camp was Hammer nutrition. I decided to use Hammer gel, HEED and Perpeteum on Sat and Sun. I had been using Gu and Nuun before this. I really think this switch helped me....no cramps, GI issues and I felt stronger!
So after a little while I was at Yellow lake and getting ready to decend. Always good to see your coach come back down to check on you and the goup waiting at the top, lol. Pretty much all downhill from here!! We got a little sprinkle going down ....again, not cool. I was glad to see the flats again. As we were coming into town I realised that I was feeling ok. I was hoping for a good transition run.
Getting back to the hotel was a good feeling. A quick drop off of the bike and a change and I was out the door. I felt tons better than on Friday!! The legs felt pretty good, tired but still good. I was actually running at close to half marathon race pace. Not sure how I would feel later if I had to keep running but for now I was ok. I did 2.75km in just over 15 mins....not bad after 155km on the bike. And then to top it off was a nice cold water immersion of the legs in the lake sipping on a recovery drink, lol.
Day #4 - Monday
The goal for today was a longer run. I decided to shorten the run up a bit to 1 hour just to get on the road a bit earlier. I knew it was a long drive back home and wanted to get my wife and son back at a reasonable time. I did 10km in 1:05 which I was ok with considering the volume I had put in over the weekend.
Overall it was a great weekend. By far it was the most volume I have put in that short amount of time. Got a bunch of confidence in my riding skills too. On the flip side I have realized how much more I need to do for next year. It was awesome riding with some really great guys as well. Over the weekend I would my totals look like 1km of swimming, 400km cycling and 15km running. Would I do it again...hell ya.
And to answer your question Greg....I still want to do an Ironman.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
UCTC super sprint
The tri season has officially kicked off for me in a rather gentle way. I figured the UCTC super sprint would be a nice and easy race to get back into the swing of things. Being that it was only a 300m pool swim, 12km bike and 3km run I expected it to be a quick one too.
I had no plans to get there super early as I knew where I was going and didn't really care about my transition spot. I decided that the extra sleep would be better for me. I made it there at about 6:45 and was quickly set up and ready to get the show on the road. But like all tri's you get set up and then its time to wait.
After what seemed like forever the race began. I was in the second heat which started at 8:30 and was happy to get in the water. During registration we had to provide out approximate 300 m swim time, I had figured my out to be 6:30. Each heat started 15mins after the first, four swimmers per lane and each swimmer began 10 seconds after the person ahead of them.
I can't say that I really enjoyed the pool swim. I think there might have been a combination of me swimming faster than the time I gave them and the person ahead of me swimming way slower than she told them. A 25m pool and 300m distance equals 12 lengths and I was on the heals of the person ahead of me on length #2. I could not pass because of the narrow lane and I would have had a head on with the other swimmer. I basically had to stop swimming at one point and wait. I was pretty frustrated with that. My swim time was 6:45 which included a walk from the pool area. Not happy with that time since I felt like I was held up. Not going to cry about it, it is what it is. Regardless I was glad to be heading out to the bike!
The bike course was 4 loops of a 3km route. It ended up being a bit technical and fun in that sense. Lots of turns and short sprints. It was hard to keep speed due to the short distance and turns but it was not a big issue. My time was 25:02 for the 12km.
The run was a simple, flat out and back. I think I could have pushed it a bit more here but that doesn't really help me now does it, lol. My time was 15:45 for the 3km. Not much to say about this one.
Overall my time was 47:38, good enough for 26th/102 people. It was a fun season opener for me and to get the race drive going. Looking forward to the next race!!
At the time I am hitting the publish button here I am back from the Legend Training camp in Penticton. I will hopefully writing my blog about that later tonight but until then, in one word.....EPIC.
I had no plans to get there super early as I knew where I was going and didn't really care about my transition spot. I decided that the extra sleep would be better for me. I made it there at about 6:45 and was quickly set up and ready to get the show on the road. But like all tri's you get set up and then its time to wait.
After what seemed like forever the race began. I was in the second heat which started at 8:30 and was happy to get in the water. During registration we had to provide out approximate 300 m swim time, I had figured my out to be 6:30. Each heat started 15mins after the first, four swimmers per lane and each swimmer began 10 seconds after the person ahead of them.
I can't say that I really enjoyed the pool swim. I think there might have been a combination of me swimming faster than the time I gave them and the person ahead of me swimming way slower than she told them. A 25m pool and 300m distance equals 12 lengths and I was on the heals of the person ahead of me on length #2. I could not pass because of the narrow lane and I would have had a head on with the other swimmer. I basically had to stop swimming at one point and wait. I was pretty frustrated with that. My swim time was 6:45 which included a walk from the pool area. Not happy with that time since I felt like I was held up. Not going to cry about it, it is what it is. Regardless I was glad to be heading out to the bike!
The bike course was 4 loops of a 3km route. It ended up being a bit technical and fun in that sense. Lots of turns and short sprints. It was hard to keep speed due to the short distance and turns but it was not a big issue. My time was 25:02 for the 12km.
The run was a simple, flat out and back. I think I could have pushed it a bit more here but that doesn't really help me now does it, lol. My time was 15:45 for the 3km. Not much to say about this one.
Overall my time was 47:38, good enough for 26th/102 people. It was a fun season opener for me and to get the race drive going. Looking forward to the next race!!
At the time I am hitting the publish button here I am back from the Legend Training camp in Penticton. I will hopefully writing my blog about that later tonight but until then, in one word.....EPIC.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
OMG...your legs are getting big!!
The other night I was getting into bed and my wife blurts out "OMG...your legs are getting big!" I kinda chuckled...they were always "big" but then she clarified by big she meant muscular, lol. I still chuckled when she cleared that up, lol. I don't really notice the look but I am definitely noticing some performance.
This weeks training has been awesome. I feel unstoppable on the bike right now. One work out was 7min time trials x9. I felt better and better as the workout went on. Today was 8 x 4min big gear hills, I was able to push and keep a 80+ cadence and still feel good. Loving the bike!
My swim has felt great too. Although yesterday it was rough getting up at 6:45 to head to the pool. I had just been up at 5:00 to 5:30 feeding my son. It took all I had to get out of bed. But I just reminded myself that GWN is only a couple months away. I am not worried about the swim cut off, I know I will make it. But I don't want to just survive it..I want to kick its ass ;). It was a good swim but I was getting tired at the end. I think that was due to sleep and not the exertion.
After that swim I went home and we got our son ready to go "swimming" for the first time. We went to Cardel Place and I was not surprised at how many families were there! It was great being in the water with my wife and son. Normally in the bathtub he is splashing around like crazy but in pool he was not as active. I think it was just a different experience that he wasn't used to. He didn't cry or seem unhappy by any means. It was fun and I we will probably try to take him weekly.
Later that day it was time to get my run in. I debated to do a treadmill run or to venture outside. With the weather being so crappy as of late, I have had very little desire to run outside, despite my usual disdain for the treadmill. But I decided to suck it up and run outside. I started at the shouldice pool and headed east along the bow pathway. Ended up doing a good 8km run at not quite race pace but faster than I normally run in training. It was a good run with the only exception that I was starving by the last 2km. My stomach was growling so loud! I didn't bring any calories to eat so I headed on over to a grocery store and grabbed some chocolate mile...totally hit the spot.
I am really feeling good about training right now. I am feeling pretty strong and my toe is feeling much better now! I am looking forward to this month too. I have the UCTC super sprint on the 16th ( 300m pool swim, 10km bike and 3km run)...this will be a balls to the wall race! May long is the Legend training camp in Penticton. Having never been to Pentiction I am very excited to go there. I think its going to be a hard few days of training but I will love it! And then at the end of the month I have the Calgary Half marathon. Had lots of fun with this one last year and I think I will enjoy it again...just another training day!
Hmm what else...ordered a new wetsuit yesterday. With the Legend team partnership with Xterra wetsuits it was an easy choice to try one of these. Only bad part is buying a wetsuit without being able to try it on. I have a good idea of my size but I can always exchange it if need be. I will let you know how it works out!
This weeks training has been awesome. I feel unstoppable on the bike right now. One work out was 7min time trials x9. I felt better and better as the workout went on. Today was 8 x 4min big gear hills, I was able to push and keep a 80+ cadence and still feel good. Loving the bike!
My swim has felt great too. Although yesterday it was rough getting up at 6:45 to head to the pool. I had just been up at 5:00 to 5:30 feeding my son. It took all I had to get out of bed. But I just reminded myself that GWN is only a couple months away. I am not worried about the swim cut off, I know I will make it. But I don't want to just survive it..I want to kick its ass ;). It was a good swim but I was getting tired at the end. I think that was due to sleep and not the exertion.
After that swim I went home and we got our son ready to go "swimming" for the first time. We went to Cardel Place and I was not surprised at how many families were there! It was great being in the water with my wife and son. Normally in the bathtub he is splashing around like crazy but in pool he was not as active. I think it was just a different experience that he wasn't used to. He didn't cry or seem unhappy by any means. It was fun and I we will probably try to take him weekly.
Later that day it was time to get my run in. I debated to do a treadmill run or to venture outside. With the weather being so crappy as of late, I have had very little desire to run outside, despite my usual disdain for the treadmill. But I decided to suck it up and run outside. I started at the shouldice pool and headed east along the bow pathway. Ended up doing a good 8km run at not quite race pace but faster than I normally run in training. It was a good run with the only exception that I was starving by the last 2km. My stomach was growling so loud! I didn't bring any calories to eat so I headed on over to a grocery store and grabbed some chocolate mile...totally hit the spot.
I am really feeling good about training right now. I am feeling pretty strong and my toe is feeling much better now! I am looking forward to this month too. I have the UCTC super sprint on the 16th ( 300m pool swim, 10km bike and 3km run)...this will be a balls to the wall race! May long is the Legend training camp in Penticton. Having never been to Pentiction I am very excited to go there. I think its going to be a hard few days of training but I will love it! And then at the end of the month I have the Calgary Half marathon. Had lots of fun with this one last year and I think I will enjoy it again...just another training day!
Hmm what else...ordered a new wetsuit yesterday. With the Legend team partnership with Xterra wetsuits it was an easy choice to try one of these. Only bad part is buying a wetsuit without being able to try it on. I have a good idea of my size but I can always exchange it if need be. I will let you know how it works out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
