Congrats to Joel and Michelle!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Sharon's 2010 Regina Beach Race Report
There is something about being at the cottage that makes me want to eat junk food and drink pop…we arrived at my family’s cottage 2 days before the race and I tried really hard to behave myself nutritionally, and I didn’t even go wakeboarding even though the lake was like glass both days. 
I slept terribly the night before the race, the whole family was out and there lots of activity in the cabin. Race morning came early, but nevertheless I felt great!! My stomach actually tolerated all the food I feel I need to stuff in it race morning and it was the first race that my hubby and I were both doing. Having him with me for the drive and registration/transition set up/warmup was an awesome distraction. He helped me with my wetsuit and kept me calm. Usually I have a stomach ache from the nerves, but on race morning it felt great.
I have to admit I had been creeping on my competition…I had checked her race results from a June race so I knew she was faster than last year, but then again so was I. Marty was doing the sprint, which started 45 min after the oly so he told me he’d be at the swim exit to tell me how far ahead of me she was when I got out ( last year she beat me out of the water by 1:07). The swim went pretty well. I was between two swimmers for most of the first leg and the guy on my right kept running into me. I was working pretty hard to keep up with both of them so made the decision to drop behind him. The effort immediately felt easier, and I stayed on his toes until rounding the second buoy at which point I began doubting my effort and passed him. I had clear water for the rest of the first lap and all of the second lap. I was completely surprised when I came out of the water and Marty was pointing to Emma just in front of me! I came out just 2 seconds behind her! The RB tri has a unique element in it….the lake is in the Qu’Appelle Valley so they have a T1 where you strip off your wetsuit, put on your shoes and run 650m to the top of the valley to head out onto the bike. They actually take the time from the hill and add it to your total run time, and subtract the distance off the final run (this makes for a slow run split) We jogged up the hill together and had a brief chat about how long the swim course seemed (she was 2 mins slower than last year and I was 1 min slower than last year).
Once I got out on the bike I realized I was pushing a little harder than I wanted to. Emma was behind me so I was the prey being chased. I figured I would be able to outrun her so decided on a little experiment…I was going to push really hard on the bike and see what the result was on the run. The bike was great, I wasn’t passed by any men and really enjoyed digging in and seeing how fast I could go. My bike split was 5 and a half minutes faster than last year although the conditions last year were not as favorable as this year. As I finished the bike I saw my family there cheering me in; that was awesome!!
After speeding through transition I hauled off down the 650m hill thinking of the time I wanted to make up because of how slow it is going up (I really wanted a fast run split on this course). Felt great, got to the bottom, they announced my name, went through the first water station at breakneck speed and then it happened…my vastus medialis on both quads started to cramp up. I slowed down and did some butt kicks, finally had to walk, couldn’t stretch them because then the hamstrings wanted to cramp. So did some walking butt kicks for awhile, then eased into a slow jog and finally got back up to a reasonable pace. I walked through the next two water station to make sure I got enough, took it really easy at the turn around point which involved a good hill climb before turning around to head for home. Was passed by a couple of guys on the run which made me mad because I knew I could be faster, but I hung in there, ran through the last water station and finished the run. The guy at the finish line was asking for my chip and I told him I couldn’t stop walking because my legs would cramp up…managed to get it off while walking, which was kind of impressive…. Almost my whole family was there at the finish line which was fantastic, Marty had come in just before me too so got to congratulate him on his first open water triathlon.
Oh, and Marty was 7th overall in the sprint and 2nd in his AG!!
Side note: I think the muscle cramps were perhaps a direct result of my fast bike, but also the fast run down the hill…I need to try the experiment again when there are no huge descents at the start of the run! Oh and the aftermath of muscle cramps-delayed onset muscle soreness, it’s like doing a thousand squats with heavy weights, severely aggravated by wakeboarding and waterskiing. 2 days post race, having trouble going down stairs or hills and sitting down in chairs. Easy run scheduled for tomorrow…might not happen
I slept terribly the night before the race, the whole family was out and there lots of activity in the cabin. Race morning came early, but nevertheless I felt great!! My stomach actually tolerated all the food I feel I need to stuff in it race morning and it was the first race that my hubby and I were both doing. Having him with me for the drive and registration/transition set up/warmup was an awesome distraction. He helped me with my wetsuit and kept me calm. Usually I have a stomach ache from the nerves, but on race morning it felt great.I have to admit I had been creeping on my competition…I had checked her race results from a June race so I knew she was faster than last year, but then again so was I. Marty was doing the sprint, which started 45 min after the oly so he told me he’d be at the swim exit to tell me how far ahead of me she was when I got out ( last year she beat me out of the water by 1:07). The swim went pretty well. I was between two swimmers for most of the first leg and the guy on my right kept running into me. I was working pretty hard to keep up with both of them so made the decision to drop behind him. The effort immediately felt easier, and I stayed on his toes until rounding the second buoy at which point I began doubting my effort and passed him. I had clear water for the rest of the first lap and all of the second lap. I was completely surprised when I came out of the water and Marty was pointing to Emma just in front of me! I came out just 2 seconds behind her! The RB tri has a unique element in it….the lake is in the Qu’Appelle Valley so they have a T1 where you strip off your wetsuit, put on your shoes and run 650m to the top of the valley to head out onto the bike. They actually take the time from the hill and add it to your total run time, and subtract the distance off the final run (this makes for a slow run split) We jogged up the hill together and had a brief chat about how long the swim course seemed (she was 2 mins slower than last year and I was 1 min slower than last year).
Once I got out on the bike I realized I was pushing a little harder than I wanted to. Emma was behind me so I was the prey being chased. I figured I would be able to outrun her so decided on a little experiment…I was going to push really hard on the bike and see what the result was on the run. The bike was great, I wasn’t passed by any men and really enjoyed digging in and seeing how fast I could go. My bike split was 5 and a half minutes faster than last year although the conditions last year were not as favorable as this year. As I finished the bike I saw my family there cheering me in; that was awesome!!
After speeding through transition I hauled off down the 650m hill thinking of the time I wanted to make up because of how slow it is going up (I really wanted a fast run split on this course). Felt great, got to the bottom, they announced my name, went through the first water station at breakneck speed and then it happened…my vastus medialis on both quads started to cramp up. I slowed down and did some butt kicks, finally had to walk, couldn’t stretch them because then the hamstrings wanted to cramp. So did some walking butt kicks for awhile, then eased into a slow jog and finally got back up to a reasonable pace. I walked through the next two water station to make sure I got enough, took it really easy at the turn around point which involved a good hill climb before turning around to head for home. Was passed by a couple of guys on the run which made me mad because I knew I could be faster, but I hung in there, ran through the last water station and finished the run. The guy at the finish line was asking for my chip and I told him I couldn’t stop walking because my legs would cramp up…managed to get it off while walking, which was kind of impressive…. Almost my whole family was there at the finish line which was fantastic, Marty had come in just before me too so got to congratulate him on his first open water triathlon.
Final results: swim 25:07 (7th with the men,last year 24:12), bike 1:06:58 (5th with the men, last year 1:12:28), run 48:22 (11th with the men,last year 50:31) total time: 2:20:26 (1st female overall, 6th with the men, last year 2:27:10).
Oh, and Marty was 7th overall in the sprint and 2nd in his AG!!
Side note: I think the muscle cramps were perhaps a direct result of my fast bike, but also the fast run down the hill…I need to try the experiment again when there are no huge descents at the start of the run! Oh and the aftermath of muscle cramps-delayed onset muscle soreness, it’s like doing a thousand squats with heavy weights, severely aggravated by wakeboarding and waterskiing. 2 days post race, having trouble going down stairs or hills and sitting down in chairs. Easy run scheduled for tomorrow…might not happen
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tara's 2010 IMC Camp Experience
Angie’s Ironman Canada Prep Camp 2010
So I am full of emotions right now, but I thought since I was in a quiet house, with no workouts to do, that I would write down how I felt about IMC prep camp!
First of all, after much debate and inability to make any kind of decision, Kelly and I decided to start our trek to Penticton on Wednesday night after the girls were in bed. Well that was good in theory except the girls were up late and not asleep when Kelly came to pick me up. After lots of hugs and kisses (since Andrew and the girls were leaving that Friday for 2 ½ weeks), Sydney was at the top of the stairs crying “don’t go to ’Panticon’, don’t go to ‘Panticon’”. However we finally made it out of the house and we were on our way. We stopped in Golden and stayed overnight with Leana, so that we could make it to Penticton early enough to get settled and ready for our workout that evening. After checking into Kelly’s hotel, we decided to take a little stroll. I had never been to Penticton, so Kelly took me down to the peach, showed me where the swim start was and showed me the IMC start/finish sign (very exciting - I got butterflies and almost cried, which for me would be a recurring theme for the weekend). We then met Ally, JoZ, Nola and Leana at Salty’s for lunch. After a great lunch, we checked into our hotel we went to the grocery store to get supplies for the weekend. After Leana and I went back to our hotel, Kelly took off to get organized for our shake down ride and swim. Shortly after, Leana received a call from Kelly – she accidently hit her bike which was on top of the car. Her seat and bottle cages were destroyed. She quickly headed to the bike barn where she got new seat and bottle cage.
We met the team at Skaha beach for an intro to the camp and a shake-down ride and swim. Angie talked about IMC and what we should expect on the weekend. I got all teary and emotional. I started to cry. I really couldn’t stop. Got laughed at J (in good fun I know). After that, I got a hug from Angie and we headed out on our bikes. The plan was to head out of town, do MacLean Creek loop, and then head out to OK falls. Unfortunately there was a fire on McLean creek drive and the roads were closed. We therefore went out to MacLean creek, turned and headed back to the parking lot, and then went out again. I was really trying to stay focused, but I must admit there were quite a few tears on this ride. I’m still not really sure why. I think I was just really anxious about the weekend and whether or not I could handle all the workouts. We arrived back at the beach and got ready for a quick swim at Skaha Beach. We did a quick warm up and then some drills. We got some instructions from Angie, and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for our big ride on Friday. At the hotel (which I shared with Leana, Ally and Tanya), it took about an hour for us to get all organized with our nutrition and bikes etc. After that, lights out to try for some sleep (which for me didn’t happen very easily).
We got up bright and early and headed out to Skaha beach again for our big ride. Leana, Kelly and I decided to head out with the first (read slow) group. I was getting my bike organized and pumping tires, when the presta valve broke on the rear wheel. Crap – what a way to start the ride. So I changed the tube and started pumping it up. Crap – I broke the valve again. Changed the tube AGAIN (thanks Kelly for the extra tubes you gave me for the ride). I asked Leana to help me pump my tires since it was her pump and clearly I was screwing something up. All set to go. I gave Hope all my extra nutrition. She and Angie were going to be support for our ride, and Hope was going to be in charge of our group. So we headed out. The goad was “easy cheesy”. This was going to be my mantra for the day. As many of you might know, I’m not really intro mantra’s per se, but I really wanted to take it easy so I could make it through the course. I was really nervous – what if I couldn’t make it up Richters? What if I couldn’t get up Yellow Lake? What if I bonked? What if I really couldn’t to this? Okay, I let myself have that for about 30 seconds. Then I decided it was a beautiful day for a ride and I was with some great friends and teammates (okay Angie, for the record I’m crying as I write this J). Let’s get going! We started out and headed out for MacLean Creek Road. Angie gave us the advice of breaking the course down in sections, and checking each portion off when they were finished. The first, was MacLean Creek, then Richters, then the out and back and then Yellowlake. So, we were on to our first check. Kelly and I settled into a nice rhythm together. We have been training alot together, so we were really comfortable riding with each other, and we ride at the same pace. Angie had warned us that the hill on MacLean creek was the biggest incline that we would encounter for the entire ride. So, onward and upward. We made it through MacLean Creek – CHECK! However our sadistic coach thought it would be a good idea to do MacLean Creek twice. So we headed back for a repeat. Second time didn’t seem as bad as the first. So MacLean creek again – CHECK! Then it was onto Oliver and Osoyoos. It was a pretty flat ride out to Osoyoos. We really tried to keep it “easy cheesy”. Then I had to hit a bathroom. Luckily there was a campsite so Kelly and I had a quick stop. We kept riding through a nasty mud puddle and kept going onto the Husky and the Canadian flag. We met up with John, Trish, Paddy and Tanya at the Husky station. We took another quick pee break and tried to clean up as much as possible. Now was the first test – Richter’s pass. Angie told up it was 11Km, had 4 distinct “benches” and would take us between 25-40 minutes to climb. Okay – let’s go. I started Richter’s – easy cheesy – I wasn’t even halfway through the ride. So I counted the “benches” and watched my time and distance. After the third bench, there seemed to be a downhill – had I counted wrong? I was a bit confused since I knew I wasn’t at the top. I saw Paddy and asked her “one more climb?” And her response was “yes, but it’s a short one” LIAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So the final climb...........Angie was waiting at the top with the truck taking pictures (for the record I’m all teary again – do these count in the pool?). I was so glad she was there. Richter’s Pass – CHECK. Moments after I got the top, Kelly arrived. We did a bit of a happy dance at the top of Richter’s, refocused and headed downhill. I knew that the 7 dwarfs (I prefer that to the 7 bitches as it seems less daunting and I was planning on naming each of them) were after Richter’s, but I didn’t realized they were right after. After a couple of “hills” I’m thinking – are these the rollers? YEP, they were. The distance between Km 100 and 110 were the longest of the ride. I felt like I wasn’t even moving. There was a headwind and these were hard. I had planned to take a honey stinger bar at the top of Richter’s, but I was so excited I forgot. I wasn’t bonking by any means, but I wanted some food. However, we make it through the rollers and shortly after that, we saw Hope in the truck. I had my power stinger bar and felt much better. Kelly and I then headed out towards the out and back. I want to preface this part by saying that both Kelly and I thought an out and back was really an out and back. I also have to digress and point out that one of our goals (or more accurately unrealistic hopes) was to not be passed by anyone in the group that started 45 minutes after us – UNCHECK. Sarah passed us before the out and back. We started the out and back and then Sarah passed us again – OOPS, we missed Dali drive. We headed to the end (or past the so I had to redo the hill) and headed to Beck Road. Since we missed Dali drive on the way out, we did Beck drive out and back again. The out and Back - CHECK! Then we headed toward Keremeos. We saw Angie and she yelled “what are you guys doing here”. My response was, “aren’t we supposed to be here?” NO, we weren’t supposed to turn at Beck road. Angie said we could continue on and still get the same distance (plus we had just climbed a hill) or she would show us where we were supposed to be. Kelly and I both agreed to go back as we wanted to do the route. So back we went. We got back on track, and then – YELLOW LAKE. Angie kept telling us it wasn’t that bad. In retrospect I have few words for Angie on this and quite frankly they aren’t very nice so I will just get on with it.......I started climbing. The one thing about Richters was I knew how far I had to go. When I started climbing Yellowlake I had no idea. I now know that I like to know the end point. And for the record – it is about 18K. So I climbed, I climbed and I climbed some more. At one point all I could say to myself was “just keep spinning, just move forward” I really wish I had counted how many times I said that to myself. My feet were burning. My legs were tired, but at least my mind was focused – just make it to Hope. I saw Cathy and Shannon on hill and they were moving forward. And then finally I saw the truck. I don’t think I have ever been so happy to see anyone in my entire life. Just after I got to the top I saw Angie – Yellowlake – CHECK! Then the most bizarre thing happened –about 2 minutes after I got to the top, I forgot just how sucky the climb was – kinda like childbirth. Lots of people were at the top offering tonnes of encouragement –thanks to Paddy, Trish and JoZ. Kelly arrived shortly after that and we did another happy dance at the top of yellow lake. We refuelled and began our “easy” descent back into town. Alfred was catching us, so we had to leave so he didn’t pass us! The descent back into town was harder than I anticipated. I’m not the best at downhills to begin with, and there was a headwind. So I was pedalling downhill and felt like I was bearly moving. Also, the traffic on the road made me nervous. The shoulder was all gravel so we couldn’t ride on it. At one point a yellow car forced me off the road and forced me onto the gravel. Luckily I recovered and Kelly helped me regroup. We kept going and got passed by Alfred and Angie. We headed back into town. At Km 173 my Garmin died. So really don’t know the entire distance I did or my time, however, at least I got most of the data. We headed back into town and to Skaha beach. The IMC bike course completed – CHECK! Wow, I did it - the IMC bike course. Total time I was gone was 8 hours and 8 minutes. I’m not sure what my ride time was, since I didn’t have my garmin, but I think it was around 7 hours 15 minutes based on Kelly’s info. It was slower than I thought it would be. However, at least I know this now, so hopefully I won’t be too disappointed on race day. Kelly took off for her brick run, and I waited for Leana to get back since my running shoes were in her car. When Leana got back, I quickly grabbed my shoes and visor and headed out for my brick. I was supposed to do 30 minutes, but only did 25 minutes. Angie said that was okay. After Leana and Nola got back from their brick we headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and then off to yoga. Then we had dinner with the team at “Saltys”. After dinner Kelly, Mitch and I went for ice cream and then off to bed for our swim and bike the next day.
The next morning, we headed down to Okanagan Lake for a 4Km swim. I expressed to Angie that I would prefer to do the bike ride again rather than a 4K swim. But a swim it was, so we go on our wetsuits and we were off. As you know, swimming is not my strong suit. But Angie gave us great advice – one buoy at a time. The plan was to swim to the Sycamous and back, twice. Total – 4K. So I started swimming. At first I could only breathe on one side. My shoulder was hurting when I was only breathing on one side. I calmed down at about 500m and could bilateral breath. And then, I felt someone on my feet. My first thought was “who is stupid enough to draft off of me?” I would later realize that it was Alfred J. I hit the Sycamous and then turned around. I had a really hard time sighting on the way back – good lesson since this is the same time of day that we will be swimming. I got back to the shore – 42:39!!!!!!! Back for lap 2. I sighted better the second time. By the last 750m or so I was tired. I just kept thinking, long and slow, long and slow – made it back for a second time – second lap – 43:43, (a bit slower but I will take it) and then another 1:22 to get back to shore. Total swim 1:27:45. I WAS THRILLED. When I signed up for the race, my goal was a 2 hour swim. Maybe, just maybe I can get in a bit under that! I told Angie my time and her comment was that she wasn’t surprised. She told me that one of things she liked about me was that I always underestimated myself and I always over performed. I’m taking that as a good think. 4Km swim done – CHECK.
We then went for coffee and breakfast as a team. We then got ready for our “recovery ride” and I use that term loosely – THE WALL. So we started towards OK falls on the marathon route and once we regrouped at the beach, we headed for the climb. It is a total climb of about 3K, with the last 1Km having grades of as much as 9%. But I started out slow and steady. As we began climbing, Scott was making fun of mine and Kent’s socks – Kent had red polka dot king of the hill socks, and I had socks with pink flowers. I pushed up the hill. I did have to use my granny gear and stand at times, but I made it to the top. We went a bit further after the hill to spin out our legs and then came back to regroup with the team. The original plan was a 55K ride with a decent from Yellowlake. However it was really warm with some significant wind, so Angie had a change of plans. We rode back to OK falls to get more water and fuel (thanks Cathy for driving support). Some people were just heading back to Skaha Lake, but some others were going to ride MacLean Creek Backwards. It was mostly the speedy boys adding on, but I was feeling good at already had mentally prepared for a 55K ride, so I decided to join them. I knew I would be dropped, but I still had some energy to ride more. So I headed out and had a great ride. I didn’t realize how “bad” the MacLean Creek Hill was until I rode down it! After we got back to Skaha lake, I went out for a quick 10 minute brick and then some recovery food and a quick dip in the lake. We headed back to the hotel to shower and off to another yoga class. After yoga, we went to Earls for dinner with the team and after dinner we headed down to the peach for a tour of the transition area the start/finish line. Angie was telling us what to expect on race day and as per usual Tara style, I got all teary and started to cry. Not just once, but a few times. I don’t really know what my problem is, I just find this all very emotional and overwhelming. Angie suggested that the team starts taking bets as to how many times I will cry the week before IMC J. Following the tour, we went for some ice-cream and then home to bed to be rested for our long run. As it turns out my mind was in overdrive from the transition chat and I hardly got any sleep at all.
Sunday...........On the schedule was a long run 2 ½ - 3 hours depending on how we were feeling. Angie wanted us to go all the way to OK falls along the marathon route. If we were there before 1 ½ hours, we were to go on, but if it was longer than that to get to OK falls head out there anyway and turn around and that the truck would pick us up at the 3 hour mark. She really wanted us to get a feel for the entire first half of the marathon course. We had strict instructions to run based on how we feel. Not by pace and to take HR with a huge grain of salt – it may be low because we were fatigued, but on the other hand it could be high because of the heat. So I set off, with my garmin showing only HR, and set it to beep every 15 minutes to remind me to eat and drink regularly. I started ez, with a loose goal of making it to OK falls and back in the 3 hours. I ran with my iPod since I wasn’t sure if I would find anyone to run with. I felt great. Slow and steady. I watched my HR and tried to keep it in check. I was feeling good. The hills weren’t as bad as I had feared and soon I was running towards OK falls. I had been running for just under 1 hour 20 minutes. Our instructions if we hit OK falls before 1 ½ hours was to run past that point and turn around at 1 ½ hours. I kept running and saw Nate, and Sarah just ahead of me. Then Angie ran past me going the other way. The comment she gave me as she passed really made my entire weekend – she said “you are F****NG awesome”. That put a huge smile on my face. I got to the end of the road and I was only at 1:29:00 – CRAP – so I ran out and back a bit to get to 1:30:00 and then I headed back towards OK falls. I got there, made a quick trip to the bathroom to pee and fill my water bottle, and was on my way back. I picked up the pace a bit on the way back. I passed Kelvin and Angie – don’t get too excited – they were walking back to the truck after they had finished their run, and Angie asked me why I looked so happy. My immediate response, without even thinking was “because I’m running”. I was bopping to my music and really enjoying myself. I continued to stop every 15 minutes to make sure I was drinking and took a gel everyone 45 minutes (except I skipped the last one since I was almost done and wasn’t sure I needed/wanted one). I got to MacLean creek road and was shocked. I missed this hill I was anticipating – I obviously ran it, but clearly it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I headed back into town feeling strong. By the time I got back to the parking lot I was at 2:57:XX – so I ran around for just over 2 mintues until 3:00:01 – I added on the 1 second so I would get 30Km. I negative split my run by about 3 minutes and ended feeling really happy with me effort. Long run done – CHECK! We had some post-run food and another quick dip in the water and then Angie did a quick wrap up since a bunch of the team had to head out of town.....
Thoughts on the weekend.......
I have so many feelings I don’t even know where to begin. First of all, the weekend was far more emotional than I anticipated. I was prepared for the physical aspects of the workouts, but not the emotional/mental aspects of the camp. I realized that I’m pretty good at getting the job done, but not so good at anticipating it, thinking about it, or analyzing it. I was really pleased with all my long workouts – the swim, the bike and the run, but the bike was a lot harder and slower than I had hoped. But I’m really glad I figured that out this weekend and not on race day. I just have to readjust my expectations accordingly. Easy cheesy will take me far farther than trying to go faster on the bike. I really do believe that. Even though the bike was harder and slower than I had expected, my nutrition was good and I was still able to do my brick run afterwards. I think that this will take me far on Aug 29. I just have to remind myself this throughout the ride. Richter and Yellowlake are hard – suck it up and get it done. I did it on Friday and I will do it on race day. Remember to eat some solid food at the top of Richter’s before the 7 dwarfs. Other thoughts - I can swim. I never really thought I would be able to say that. It may not be pretty and it may not be fast, but I can do 4Km in open water in well under the cut off time. I can run even on really tired legs. On race day, I have to remind myself how much I love the run.
Goals for race day – get through the swim – slow and steady, one buoy at time – in order to get on the bike. Get through the bike – easy cheesy – check off MacLean Creek Drive, Richter, the rollers, the out and back and Yellowlake. Get off the bike and run a marathon – one aide station at time. Keep smiling. Stay positive. Finish the race in less than 17 hours (okay my real goal is less than 15 hours).
Angie’s Ironman Canada Prep Camp 2010 – Check!
So I am full of emotions right now, but I thought since I was in a quiet house, with no workouts to do, that I would write down how I felt about IMC prep camp!
First of all, after much debate and inability to make any kind of decision, Kelly and I decided to start our trek to Penticton on Wednesday night after the girls were in bed. Well that was good in theory except the girls were up late and not asleep when Kelly came to pick me up. After lots of hugs and kisses (since Andrew and the girls were leaving that Friday for 2 ½ weeks), Sydney was at the top of the stairs crying “don’t go to ’Panticon’, don’t go to ‘Panticon’”. However we finally made it out of the house and we were on our way. We stopped in Golden and stayed overnight with Leana, so that we could make it to Penticton early enough to get settled and ready for our workout that evening. After checking into Kelly’s hotel, we decided to take a little stroll. I had never been to Penticton, so Kelly took me down to the peach, showed me where the swim start was and showed me the IMC start/finish sign (very exciting - I got butterflies and almost cried, which for me would be a recurring theme for the weekend). We then met Ally, JoZ, Nola and Leana at Salty’s for lunch. After a great lunch, we checked into our hotel we went to the grocery store to get supplies for the weekend. After Leana and I went back to our hotel, Kelly took off to get organized for our shake down ride and swim. Shortly after, Leana received a call from Kelly – she accidently hit her bike which was on top of the car. Her seat and bottle cages were destroyed. She quickly headed to the bike barn where she got new seat and bottle cage.
We met the team at Skaha beach for an intro to the camp and a shake-down ride and swim. Angie talked about IMC and what we should expect on the weekend. I got all teary and emotional. I started to cry. I really couldn’t stop. Got laughed at J (in good fun I know). After that, I got a hug from Angie and we headed out on our bikes. The plan was to head out of town, do MacLean Creek loop, and then head out to OK falls. Unfortunately there was a fire on McLean creek drive and the roads were closed. We therefore went out to MacLean creek, turned and headed back to the parking lot, and then went out again. I was really trying to stay focused, but I must admit there were quite a few tears on this ride. I’m still not really sure why. I think I was just really anxious about the weekend and whether or not I could handle all the workouts. We arrived back at the beach and got ready for a quick swim at Skaha Beach. We did a quick warm up and then some drills. We got some instructions from Angie, and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for our big ride on Friday. At the hotel (which I shared with Leana, Ally and Tanya), it took about an hour for us to get all organized with our nutrition and bikes etc. After that, lights out to try for some sleep (which for me didn’t happen very easily).
We got up bright and early and headed out to Skaha beach again for our big ride. Leana, Kelly and I decided to head out with the first (read slow) group. I was getting my bike organized and pumping tires, when the presta valve broke on the rear wheel. Crap – what a way to start the ride. So I changed the tube and started pumping it up. Crap – I broke the valve again. Changed the tube AGAIN (thanks Kelly for the extra tubes you gave me for the ride). I asked Leana to help me pump my tires since it was her pump and clearly I was screwing something up. All set to go. I gave Hope all my extra nutrition. She and Angie were going to be support for our ride, and Hope was going to be in charge of our group. So we headed out. The goad was “easy cheesy”. This was going to be my mantra for the day. As many of you might know, I’m not really intro mantra’s per se, but I really wanted to take it easy so I could make it through the course. I was really nervous – what if I couldn’t make it up Richters? What if I couldn’t get up Yellow Lake? What if I bonked? What if I really couldn’t to this? Okay, I let myself have that for about 30 seconds. Then I decided it was a beautiful day for a ride and I was with some great friends and teammates (okay Angie, for the record I’m crying as I write this J). Let’s get going! We started out and headed out for MacLean Creek Road. Angie gave us the advice of breaking the course down in sections, and checking each portion off when they were finished. The first, was MacLean Creek, then Richters, then the out and back and then Yellowlake. So, we were on to our first check. Kelly and I settled into a nice rhythm together. We have been training alot together, so we were really comfortable riding with each other, and we ride at the same pace. Angie had warned us that the hill on MacLean creek was the biggest incline that we would encounter for the entire ride. So, onward and upward. We made it through MacLean Creek – CHECK! However our sadistic coach thought it would be a good idea to do MacLean Creek twice. So we headed back for a repeat. Second time didn’t seem as bad as the first. So MacLean creek again – CHECK! Then it was onto Oliver and Osoyoos. It was a pretty flat ride out to Osoyoos. We really tried to keep it “easy cheesy”. Then I had to hit a bathroom. Luckily there was a campsite so Kelly and I had a quick stop. We kept riding through a nasty mud puddle and kept going onto the Husky and the Canadian flag. We met up with John, Trish, Paddy and Tanya at the Husky station. We took another quick pee break and tried to clean up as much as possible. Now was the first test – Richter’s pass. Angie told up it was 11Km, had 4 distinct “benches” and would take us between 25-40 minutes to climb. Okay – let’s go. I started Richter’s – easy cheesy – I wasn’t even halfway through the ride. So I counted the “benches” and watched my time and distance. After the third bench, there seemed to be a downhill – had I counted wrong? I was a bit confused since I knew I wasn’t at the top. I saw Paddy and asked her “one more climb?” And her response was “yes, but it’s a short one” LIAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So the final climb...........Angie was waiting at the top with the truck taking pictures (for the record I’m all teary again – do these count in the pool?). I was so glad she was there. Richter’s Pass – CHECK. Moments after I got the top, Kelly arrived. We did a bit of a happy dance at the top of Richter’s, refocused and headed downhill. I knew that the 7 dwarfs (I prefer that to the 7 bitches as it seems less daunting and I was planning on naming each of them) were after Richter’s, but I didn’t realized they were right after. After a couple of “hills” I’m thinking – are these the rollers? YEP, they were. The distance between Km 100 and 110 were the longest of the ride. I felt like I wasn’t even moving. There was a headwind and these were hard. I had planned to take a honey stinger bar at the top of Richter’s, but I was so excited I forgot. I wasn’t bonking by any means, but I wanted some food. However, we make it through the rollers and shortly after that, we saw Hope in the truck. I had my power stinger bar and felt much better. Kelly and I then headed out towards the out and back. I want to preface this part by saying that both Kelly and I thought an out and back was really an out and back. I also have to digress and point out that one of our goals (or more accurately unrealistic hopes) was to not be passed by anyone in the group that started 45 minutes after us – UNCHECK. Sarah passed us before the out and back. We started the out and back and then Sarah passed us again – OOPS, we missed Dali drive. We headed to the end (or past the so I had to redo the hill) and headed to Beck Road. Since we missed Dali drive on the way out, we did Beck drive out and back again. The out and Back - CHECK! Then we headed toward Keremeos. We saw Angie and she yelled “what are you guys doing here”. My response was, “aren’t we supposed to be here?” NO, we weren’t supposed to turn at Beck road. Angie said we could continue on and still get the same distance (plus we had just climbed a hill) or she would show us where we were supposed to be. Kelly and I both agreed to go back as we wanted to do the route. So back we went. We got back on track, and then – YELLOW LAKE. Angie kept telling us it wasn’t that bad. In retrospect I have few words for Angie on this and quite frankly they aren’t very nice so I will just get on with it.......I started climbing. The one thing about Richters was I knew how far I had to go. When I started climbing Yellowlake I had no idea. I now know that I like to know the end point. And for the record – it is about 18K. So I climbed, I climbed and I climbed some more. At one point all I could say to myself was “just keep spinning, just move forward” I really wish I had counted how many times I said that to myself. My feet were burning. My legs were tired, but at least my mind was focused – just make it to Hope. I saw Cathy and Shannon on hill and they were moving forward. And then finally I saw the truck. I don’t think I have ever been so happy to see anyone in my entire life. Just after I got to the top I saw Angie – Yellowlake – CHECK! Then the most bizarre thing happened –about 2 minutes after I got to the top, I forgot just how sucky the climb was – kinda like childbirth. Lots of people were at the top offering tonnes of encouragement –thanks to Paddy, Trish and JoZ. Kelly arrived shortly after that and we did another happy dance at the top of yellow lake. We refuelled and began our “easy” descent back into town. Alfred was catching us, so we had to leave so he didn’t pass us! The descent back into town was harder than I anticipated. I’m not the best at downhills to begin with, and there was a headwind. So I was pedalling downhill and felt like I was bearly moving. Also, the traffic on the road made me nervous. The shoulder was all gravel so we couldn’t ride on it. At one point a yellow car forced me off the road and forced me onto the gravel. Luckily I recovered and Kelly helped me regroup. We kept going and got passed by Alfred and Angie. We headed back into town. At Km 173 my Garmin died. So really don’t know the entire distance I did or my time, however, at least I got most of the data. We headed back into town and to Skaha beach. The IMC bike course completed – CHECK! Wow, I did it - the IMC bike course. Total time I was gone was 8 hours and 8 minutes. I’m not sure what my ride time was, since I didn’t have my garmin, but I think it was around 7 hours 15 minutes based on Kelly’s info. It was slower than I thought it would be. However, at least I know this now, so hopefully I won’t be too disappointed on race day. Kelly took off for her brick run, and I waited for Leana to get back since my running shoes were in her car. When Leana got back, I quickly grabbed my shoes and visor and headed out for my brick. I was supposed to do 30 minutes, but only did 25 minutes. Angie said that was okay. After Leana and Nola got back from their brick we headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and then off to yoga. Then we had dinner with the team at “Saltys”. After dinner Kelly, Mitch and I went for ice cream and then off to bed for our swim and bike the next day.
The next morning, we headed down to Okanagan Lake for a 4Km swim. I expressed to Angie that I would prefer to do the bike ride again rather than a 4K swim. But a swim it was, so we go on our wetsuits and we were off. As you know, swimming is not my strong suit. But Angie gave us great advice – one buoy at a time. The plan was to swim to the Sycamous and back, twice. Total – 4K. So I started swimming. At first I could only breathe on one side. My shoulder was hurting when I was only breathing on one side. I calmed down at about 500m and could bilateral breath. And then, I felt someone on my feet. My first thought was “who is stupid enough to draft off of me?” I would later realize that it was Alfred J. I hit the Sycamous and then turned around. I had a really hard time sighting on the way back – good lesson since this is the same time of day that we will be swimming. I got back to the shore – 42:39!!!!!!! Back for lap 2. I sighted better the second time. By the last 750m or so I was tired. I just kept thinking, long and slow, long and slow – made it back for a second time – second lap – 43:43, (a bit slower but I will take it) and then another 1:22 to get back to shore. Total swim 1:27:45. I WAS THRILLED. When I signed up for the race, my goal was a 2 hour swim. Maybe, just maybe I can get in a bit under that! I told Angie my time and her comment was that she wasn’t surprised. She told me that one of things she liked about me was that I always underestimated myself and I always over performed. I’m taking that as a good think. 4Km swim done – CHECK.
We then went for coffee and breakfast as a team. We then got ready for our “recovery ride” and I use that term loosely – THE WALL. So we started towards OK falls on the marathon route and once we regrouped at the beach, we headed for the climb. It is a total climb of about 3K, with the last 1Km having grades of as much as 9%. But I started out slow and steady. As we began climbing, Scott was making fun of mine and Kent’s socks – Kent had red polka dot king of the hill socks, and I had socks with pink flowers. I pushed up the hill. I did have to use my granny gear and stand at times, but I made it to the top. We went a bit further after the hill to spin out our legs and then came back to regroup with the team. The original plan was a 55K ride with a decent from Yellowlake. However it was really warm with some significant wind, so Angie had a change of plans. We rode back to OK falls to get more water and fuel (thanks Cathy for driving support). Some people were just heading back to Skaha Lake, but some others were going to ride MacLean Creek Backwards. It was mostly the speedy boys adding on, but I was feeling good at already had mentally prepared for a 55K ride, so I decided to join them. I knew I would be dropped, but I still had some energy to ride more. So I headed out and had a great ride. I didn’t realize how “bad” the MacLean Creek Hill was until I rode down it! After we got back to Skaha lake, I went out for a quick 10 minute brick and then some recovery food and a quick dip in the lake. We headed back to the hotel to shower and off to another yoga class. After yoga, we went to Earls for dinner with the team and after dinner we headed down to the peach for a tour of the transition area the start/finish line. Angie was telling us what to expect on race day and as per usual Tara style, I got all teary and started to cry. Not just once, but a few times. I don’t really know what my problem is, I just find this all very emotional and overwhelming. Angie suggested that the team starts taking bets as to how many times I will cry the week before IMC J. Following the tour, we went for some ice-cream and then home to bed to be rested for our long run. As it turns out my mind was in overdrive from the transition chat and I hardly got any sleep at all.
Sunday...........On the schedule was a long run 2 ½ - 3 hours depending on how we were feeling. Angie wanted us to go all the way to OK falls along the marathon route. If we were there before 1 ½ hours, we were to go on, but if it was longer than that to get to OK falls head out there anyway and turn around and that the truck would pick us up at the 3 hour mark. She really wanted us to get a feel for the entire first half of the marathon course. We had strict instructions to run based on how we feel. Not by pace and to take HR with a huge grain of salt – it may be low because we were fatigued, but on the other hand it could be high because of the heat. So I set off, with my garmin showing only HR, and set it to beep every 15 minutes to remind me to eat and drink regularly. I started ez, with a loose goal of making it to OK falls and back in the 3 hours. I ran with my iPod since I wasn’t sure if I would find anyone to run with. I felt great. Slow and steady. I watched my HR and tried to keep it in check. I was feeling good. The hills weren’t as bad as I had feared and soon I was running towards OK falls. I had been running for just under 1 hour 20 minutes. Our instructions if we hit OK falls before 1 ½ hours was to run past that point and turn around at 1 ½ hours. I kept running and saw Nate, and Sarah just ahead of me. Then Angie ran past me going the other way. The comment she gave me as she passed really made my entire weekend – she said “you are F****NG awesome”. That put a huge smile on my face. I got to the end of the road and I was only at 1:29:00 – CRAP – so I ran out and back a bit to get to 1:30:00 and then I headed back towards OK falls. I got there, made a quick trip to the bathroom to pee and fill my water bottle, and was on my way back. I picked up the pace a bit on the way back. I passed Kelvin and Angie – don’t get too excited – they were walking back to the truck after they had finished their run, and Angie asked me why I looked so happy. My immediate response, without even thinking was “because I’m running”. I was bopping to my music and really enjoying myself. I continued to stop every 15 minutes to make sure I was drinking and took a gel everyone 45 minutes (except I skipped the last one since I was almost done and wasn’t sure I needed/wanted one). I got to MacLean creek road and was shocked. I missed this hill I was anticipating – I obviously ran it, but clearly it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I headed back into town feeling strong. By the time I got back to the parking lot I was at 2:57:XX – so I ran around for just over 2 mintues until 3:00:01 – I added on the 1 second so I would get 30Km. I negative split my run by about 3 minutes and ended feeling really happy with me effort. Long run done – CHECK! We had some post-run food and another quick dip in the water and then Angie did a quick wrap up since a bunch of the team had to head out of town.....
Thoughts on the weekend.......
I have so many feelings I don’t even know where to begin. First of all, the weekend was far more emotional than I anticipated. I was prepared for the physical aspects of the workouts, but not the emotional/mental aspects of the camp. I realized that I’m pretty good at getting the job done, but not so good at anticipating it, thinking about it, or analyzing it. I was really pleased with all my long workouts – the swim, the bike and the run, but the bike was a lot harder and slower than I had hoped. But I’m really glad I figured that out this weekend and not on race day. I just have to readjust my expectations accordingly. Easy cheesy will take me far farther than trying to go faster on the bike. I really do believe that. Even though the bike was harder and slower than I had expected, my nutrition was good and I was still able to do my brick run afterwards. I think that this will take me far on Aug 29. I just have to remind myself this throughout the ride. Richter and Yellowlake are hard – suck it up and get it done. I did it on Friday and I will do it on race day. Remember to eat some solid food at the top of Richter’s before the 7 dwarfs. Other thoughts - I can swim. I never really thought I would be able to say that. It may not be pretty and it may not be fast, but I can do 4Km in open water in well under the cut off time. I can run even on really tired legs. On race day, I have to remind myself how much I love the run.
Goals for race day – get through the swim – slow and steady, one buoy at time – in order to get on the bike. Get through the bike – easy cheesy – check off MacLean Creek Drive, Richter, the rollers, the out and back and Yellowlake. Get off the bike and run a marathon – one aide station at time. Keep smiling. Stay positive. Finish the race in less than 17 hours (okay my real goal is less than 15 hours).
Angie’s Ironman Canada Prep Camp 2010 – Check!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Richelle's 2010 24 Hours of Adrenaline Race Report
I did a 5 person team at the 24 Hours of Adrenaline this weekend.
Here is the link to my my race report (with pictures):
http://richellelove.blogspot.com/2010/07/24-hours-of-adrenaline.html
I had a blast and just can't seem to get enough of my mountain bike these days!
Here is the link to my my race report (with pictures):
http://richellelove.blogspot.com/2010/07/24-hours-of-adrenaline.html
I had a blast and just can't seem to get enough of my mountain bike these days!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Richelle's 2010 National MTB Championships Race Report - sort of
I am super busy gearing up for 24 Hours of Adrenaline this weekend so I have yet to write a race report from last weekend at the Canadian National Mountain Bike Championships at the Canmore Nordic Centre.
It was a very exciting race! And it was very hard. I found myself on the wheel of a girl who si normally miles ahead of me but I felt strong and aggressive all race and it payed off! I love mountain bike racing!
And here is the article the Cochrane Eagle wrote about it:
http://www.cochraneeagle.com/2010/07/silver-lining-for-love-at-nationals/
It was a very exciting race! And it was very hard. I found myself on the wheel of a girl who si normally miles ahead of me but I felt strong and aggressive all race and it payed off! I love mountain bike racing!
And here is the article the Cochrane Eagle wrote about it:
http://www.cochraneeagle.com/2010/07/silver-lining-for-love-at-nationals/
Monday, July 19, 2010
Christine's 2010 Coral Springs Race Report
Hello All
This has been an interesting season. Every race that I have done I have had to deal with “cyclical issues”, I have had some personal issues and I found out that I have low iron. Did you know that dizziness, heart fluttering, numb limbs, swelling and trouble breathing are all symptoms of low iron? Did you also know that there is good iron and not so good iron…I was taking the no so good iron? Chinook Oly was really hard for me, I had no energy, due to the low iron, and I was really hard on myself. I wanted Coral Springs to be different. Four day before I was really dizzy again and had low blood pressure (102/67), talked with the naturopath and learned about good and bad iron. Found the good iron and hoped that I would be okay enough for Sunday. I felt a bit better on Saturday. I also did the things you are supposed to do, ate well, rested well and trained well. I was just planning on finishing. Sunday am went well, once again paid attention to my food and ate a bit more than normal and planed for more than normal race nutrition to try to give myself extra energy. Found Nola and JoZ fast and felt aright. I really had only one goal, finish.
Got in the water and as usual everyone takes off so fast, I just got into my grove and did my thing. I have a great time first lap (15:30), second lap I was able to just flow and be a long, sooth boat; I started to pass a lot of people. This feels good as I don’t experience this on the bike or road. Had an excellent swim, 32 min.
Transition was okay. The bike was really good too. I was trying to keep my heart rate up, and average at least 30k/k. I was able to push myself. I had a decent bike. I was actually contemplating doing Ironman next year while riding…maybe
Everything slowed way down on the run. I had to stop twice for a bathroom break and I was dizzy after the second loop. Loop three and four had a lot of walking. But this is okay. I knew I was going to finish and not break down. I was a lot kinder to myself and I know that the results were not due to lack of training, I actually think because of the training I was able to complete this race. Just wait until I get iron…I plan on kicking ass. My time was about the same as Chinook
With Warm Regards
Christine
This has been an interesting season. Every race that I have done I have had to deal with “cyclical issues”, I have had some personal issues and I found out that I have low iron. Did you know that dizziness, heart fluttering, numb limbs, swelling and trouble breathing are all symptoms of low iron? Did you also know that there is good iron and not so good iron…I was taking the no so good iron? Chinook Oly was really hard for me, I had no energy, due to the low iron, and I was really hard on myself. I wanted Coral Springs to be different. Four day before I was really dizzy again and had low blood pressure (102/67), talked with the naturopath and learned about good and bad iron. Found the good iron and hoped that I would be okay enough for Sunday. I felt a bit better on Saturday. I also did the things you are supposed to do, ate well, rested well and trained well. I was just planning on finishing. Sunday am went well, once again paid attention to my food and ate a bit more than normal and planed for more than normal race nutrition to try to give myself extra energy. Found Nola and JoZ fast and felt aright. I really had only one goal, finish.
Got in the water and as usual everyone takes off so fast, I just got into my grove and did my thing. I have a great time first lap (15:30), second lap I was able to just flow and be a long, sooth boat; I started to pass a lot of people. This feels good as I don’t experience this on the bike or road. Had an excellent swim, 32 min.
Transition was okay. The bike was really good too. I was trying to keep my heart rate up, and average at least 30k/k. I was able to push myself. I had a decent bike. I was actually contemplating doing Ironman next year while riding…maybe
Everything slowed way down on the run. I had to stop twice for a bathroom break and I was dizzy after the second loop. Loop three and four had a lot of walking. But this is okay. I knew I was going to finish and not break down. I was a lot kinder to myself and I know that the results were not due to lack of training, I actually think because of the training I was able to complete this race. Just wait until I get iron…I plan on kicking ass. My time was about the same as Chinook
With Warm Regards
Christine
Maureen's 2010 Magrath Race Report
Just 2 weeks after racing her first 1/2 Ironman, Maureen did an Olympic distance race! And boy did her and the girsl she went with have fun! Going to Maureen to this race is worth considering for next year.
This was my fourth time at Magrath's "I Swam the Dam" triathlon; it's an annual road trip for my running friends. I started as a swimmer on a sprint relay team in 2007, bought a bike the next year and did the sprint, last year the Olympic was my A race for the season and this year it was a victory lap after GWN. We had ten friends in our group this year, including a core group that has been there for all four years. Our goal the first year was "to have more fun than anyone else." We've kept that goal and every year we think we achieve it.
This is a terrific race. It's in a scenic location about 30km south of Lethbridge and has a wonderful family feel, with what seems like half of the small town of Magrath volunteering. The race organizers and directors, a young couple, Dennis and Shawna Strong, put on a well-organized, fun and safe event. We've gotten to know Dennis and Shawna over the past four years and this year, in addition to all the directional signs to the race, they put a handmade sign on the highway, recognizing our group. We felt "dam" special. Like GWN, there are two transition zones, so a bit of schlepping around, but it's all very well organized and all your gear ends up right where it is supposed to at the end.
I wasn't sure what to expect, only two weeks after GWN, but I knew I wanted to feel at the end that I couldn't have done more. My only time goal was to be one minute faster on the run, which seemed possible, since many of my runs have been faster this year.
The water was the choppiest it's been in my experience ... not waves but definite ripples. It was also pretty cold! I found it hard to get a smooth rhythm going and for some reason felt oddly irritable through the swim. The swim is usually my favourite part of any race, but not this time. I didn't wear my watch for the swim but based on how I felt I expected the results would show I was about 5 mins slower than last year. Nope. About four seconds. 32:51 vs 32:55 in '09.
I'm still learning on the bike. Scared on the downhills, weak on the uphills and figuring out what I can do on the flats. I'm always cautious about killing my legs on the bike and having nothing left for the run, which is my weakest discipline. But I vowed to ride as aggressively as I could while still having something left for the run. This is a very forgiving course. A few small hills but overall a net downhill ride and most years there's a tail wind for much of it, as there was this year. I was happy with how I pushed and I didn't brake at all on the downhills (unusual). So I was surprised to see I was four minutes slower than 2009 -- 1:29:48 vs 1:25:16. The bike time includes both transitions and I was particularly smooth in either one, but not clumsy enough to add four minutes.
My goals on the run were to be one minute faster than last year, and just like GWN, to start slowly and be meticulous in not taking "unsanctioned" walk breaks beyond 10 and 1s and the three aid stations. It's a highway run with no shade and it was hot. My HR was 182 in the first km, but I slowed down and got it under control. I watched pace and HR and tried to keep both where I wanted them until the last 2 km. Last week I re-read one of Angie's blog posts about how racing hurts and I remembered last year before Magrath Richelle told me she wanted me to "allow myself to hurt." (That seemed ridiculous to me at the time … a totally foreign concept). I remembered both of those reminders in the last 3-4 km when I was getting hot and tired. The run has a "bump" in the last 300m. It felt like the Curling Club hill. I couldn't even respond to my friends who were cheering, I was pushing so hard to get up and over that bump and then drive to the finish line. To my surprise, my run was exactly 4 mins faster than last year: 1:06:47 vs 1:10:47. So I made up the four minutes I lost on the bike and finished 37 secs slower than last year overall at 3:09:27. But I met my goal of being feeling like I couldn't have done anything more.
I am usually in the bottom few in my age group (50-59). This time I was dead last -- fifth of 5. Our age group winner was faster than several in the 40-49 age group. Go figure.
Angie says you can divide results into all triathlons and Wasa. I think it's probably all triathlons, Wasa and Magrath, thanks to the net downhill bike with prevailing winds at your back.
Bottom line: a fun weekend with friends, another great experience and some more things to learn and practice. This was my last tri of the season, as August is full of other commitments. I'm already looking forward to next year.
This was my fourth time at Magrath's "I Swam the Dam" triathlon; it's an annual road trip for my running friends. I started as a swimmer on a sprint relay team in 2007, bought a bike the next year and did the sprint, last year the Olympic was my A race for the season and this year it was a victory lap after GWN. We had ten friends in our group this year, including a core group that has been there for all four years. Our goal the first year was "to have more fun than anyone else." We've kept that goal and every year we think we achieve it.
This is a terrific race. It's in a scenic location about 30km south of Lethbridge and has a wonderful family feel, with what seems like half of the small town of Magrath volunteering. The race organizers and directors, a young couple, Dennis and Shawna Strong, put on a well-organized, fun and safe event. We've gotten to know Dennis and Shawna over the past four years and this year, in addition to all the directional signs to the race, they put a handmade sign on the highway, recognizing our group. We felt "dam" special. Like GWN, there are two transition zones, so a bit of schlepping around, but it's all very well organized and all your gear ends up right where it is supposed to at the end.
I wasn't sure what to expect, only two weeks after GWN, but I knew I wanted to feel at the end that I couldn't have done more. My only time goal was to be one minute faster on the run, which seemed possible, since many of my runs have been faster this year.
The water was the choppiest it's been in my experience ... not waves but definite ripples. It was also pretty cold! I found it hard to get a smooth rhythm going and for some reason felt oddly irritable through the swim. The swim is usually my favourite part of any race, but not this time. I didn't wear my watch for the swim but based on how I felt I expected the results would show I was about 5 mins slower than last year. Nope. About four seconds. 32:51 vs 32:55 in '09.
I'm still learning on the bike. Scared on the downhills, weak on the uphills and figuring out what I can do on the flats. I'm always cautious about killing my legs on the bike and having nothing left for the run, which is my weakest discipline. But I vowed to ride as aggressively as I could while still having something left for the run. This is a very forgiving course. A few small hills but overall a net downhill ride and most years there's a tail wind for much of it, as there was this year. I was happy with how I pushed and I didn't brake at all on the downhills (unusual). So I was surprised to see I was four minutes slower than 2009 -- 1:29:48 vs 1:25:16. The bike time includes both transitions and I was particularly smooth in either one, but not clumsy enough to add four minutes.
My goals on the run were to be one minute faster than last year, and just like GWN, to start slowly and be meticulous in not taking "unsanctioned" walk breaks beyond 10 and 1s and the three aid stations. It's a highway run with no shade and it was hot. My HR was 182 in the first km, but I slowed down and got it under control. I watched pace and HR and tried to keep both where I wanted them until the last 2 km. Last week I re-read one of Angie's blog posts about how racing hurts and I remembered last year before Magrath Richelle told me she wanted me to "allow myself to hurt." (That seemed ridiculous to me at the time … a totally foreign concept). I remembered both of those reminders in the last 3-4 km when I was getting hot and tired. The run has a "bump" in the last 300m. It felt like the Curling Club hill. I couldn't even respond to my friends who were cheering, I was pushing so hard to get up and over that bump and then drive to the finish line. To my surprise, my run was exactly 4 mins faster than last year: 1:06:47 vs 1:10:47. So I made up the four minutes I lost on the bike and finished 37 secs slower than last year overall at 3:09:27. But I met my goal of being feeling like I couldn't have done anything more.
I am usually in the bottom few in my age group (50-59). This time I was dead last -- fifth of 5. Our age group winner was faster than several in the 40-49 age group. Go figure.
Angie says you can divide results into all triathlons and Wasa. I think it's probably all triathlons, Wasa and Magrath, thanks to the net downhill bike with prevailing winds at your back.
Bottom line: a fun weekend with friends, another great experience and some more things to learn and practice. This was my last tri of the season, as August is full of other commitments. I'm already looking forward to next year.
Danielle Jackson's 2010 Coral Springs Race Report
A crazy situation for Danielle! Wow! But way to get it done and rock a 4th place finish Danielle!
I thought I should send you this, just in case you're wondering if I actually did the race yesterday. I did! And I thought I had a pretty good day. I didn't accurately track my splits for the day, so I was counting on the event timing to do it fo me. Looks like I'm out of luck though. According to the Coral Springs results that just are posted, I wasn't even there.I'm not happy about this, and I sent an email to Trevor Soll to ask him how this happened. I'm pretty sure I know how; they weren't even checking the timing chips as they handed them out, and as luck would have it, mine wasn't working. Awesome (grrrr).
Anyways,I felt like I had a pretty good day out there. We entered the water right at 8:30 and I remember looking at my watch as I came out and it was 9:02.(It took me forever to get my wetsuit off, so I had a pretty long transition...)The first 20 km on the bike took me 40 min. I did nothing but pass people out there - and only got passed by a couple of really fast looking aero-helmeted sprint guys. According to my computer the course was actually 42 km long. But I forgot to check my finish time until it was too late, because I walked my bike back to the car. I'm pretty sure it was around 1:26 (ish). I know I slowed a little right towards the end because I started to feel a little tired in the legs and I wanted to save something in the tank for the run.(I had a pretty good transtition, except I had to run back to my bike for a swig of eload...)Here's where I wished I would have started my watch timer, because my heart rate monitor can't record splits, so I have a total time, but not an accurate run time. My total time on the HRM includes my transition from bike to run. I felt really good on the run. And I finished strong. I think I was right around 1 hour, but I'll never know for sure now. I was hoping I might have come in under an hour. At first I wasn't sure I wanted to do this race, but I got my shit together, and went out there and gave it 100% effort, and now I don't even have official times. Can't count on anything I guess. "You pays your money and you takes your chances..."
A few hours later, Danielle sent me this:
Okay they found my times!
swim = 33:02
bike = 1:31:03 (I know I slowed; and it was almost 2 km too long)
run = 1:01:43
Placed 4th in my age group. That makes me happy :)
Danielle
I thought I should send you this, just in case you're wondering if I actually did the race yesterday. I did! And I thought I had a pretty good day. I didn't accurately track my splits for the day, so I was counting on the event timing to do it fo me. Looks like I'm out of luck though. According to the Coral Springs results that just are posted, I wasn't even there.I'm not happy about this, and I sent an email to Trevor Soll to ask him how this happened. I'm pretty sure I know how; they weren't even checking the timing chips as they handed them out, and as luck would have it, mine wasn't working. Awesome (grrrr).
Anyways,I felt like I had a pretty good day out there. We entered the water right at 8:30 and I remember looking at my watch as I came out and it was 9:02.(It took me forever to get my wetsuit off, so I had a pretty long transition...)The first 20 km on the bike took me 40 min. I did nothing but pass people out there - and only got passed by a couple of really fast looking aero-helmeted sprint guys. According to my computer the course was actually 42 km long. But I forgot to check my finish time until it was too late, because I walked my bike back to the car. I'm pretty sure it was around 1:26 (ish). I know I slowed a little right towards the end because I started to feel a little tired in the legs and I wanted to save something in the tank for the run.(I had a pretty good transtition, except I had to run back to my bike for a swig of eload...)Here's where I wished I would have started my watch timer, because my heart rate monitor can't record splits, so I have a total time, but not an accurate run time. My total time on the HRM includes my transition from bike to run. I felt really good on the run. And I finished strong. I think I was right around 1 hour, but I'll never know for sure now. I was hoping I might have come in under an hour. At first I wasn't sure I wanted to do this race, but I got my shit together, and went out there and gave it 100% effort, and now I don't even have official times. Can't count on anything I guess. "You pays your money and you takes your chances..."
A few hours later, Danielle sent me this:
Okay they found my times!
swim = 33:02
bike = 1:31:03 (I know I slowed; and it was almost 2 km too long)
run = 1:01:43
Placed 4th in my age group. That makes me happy :)
Danielle
Jeff's 2010 Heart of the Rockies Race Report
A great day at Heart of the Rockies for Jeff!!!
Saturday Pre-Race:
On Saturday afternoon we met up with Angie and the rest of the TriLife team for a pre-race workout. We spent the majority of our time working on open-water swimming tactics/techniques as well as our transition set-up, I found this to be very helpful. The workout was fun but more importantly, we were able to work out some kinks in the race plan for the following day, I definitely used what we covered in the race and found it saved me swim and transition time. Throughout the day I spent time reviewing my race goals and visualizing the race sequencing and any issues that might come up during the race.
My pre-race goals were as follows:
1. Have fun and work hard.
2. Practice nutrition/fueling for Calgary 70.3.
3. Improve upon last year’s time at this same race (27:53, 1:23:44, 45:03)
Sunday Pre-Race:
Arrived at 7am (8am race start) to set up the transition (using Angie’s tips), followed by a short warm-up run with Sebastian then off to the lake for a short warm-up in the water. Overall, I felt confident and ready for the race to begin.
Swim:
My original plan was to find Angie’s feet to see how that felt, however in the confusion of the race start I was unable to find her and was forced to swim solo. Eventually I found someone to follow (after a few elbow’s/punches to the head). I had no issues sighting (again using techniques that Angie reviewed with us the previous day) and felt strong in the water, I focused on “rolling my shoulders” with each stroke, and could have held the pace for longer (I think). When I exited the swim I was somewhat surprised by the clock as I swam 27 minutes at Wasa in June, overall I was very pleased with the start of the race, not to mention the swim workouts that Richelle has prescribed to me have definitely improved endurance ability! Swim time – 25:19
Transition #1:
Had trouble getting the wetsuit off my ankles, but other than that it went quickly (compared to Wasa), time was approx. 1:37 (which was counted as ‘bike time’). Rode sockless, no issues.
Bike:
Given the course profile (very hilly in both direction), my plan was to take advantage of the ‘downhill’ sections on the way to the turnaround and then do as best as I can on the return. I spent most of the ride in the aero position and was feeling good, unfortunately I ran out of Inifinit at the 20km mark of the race (I need to take more than 1 bottle next time). I knew I was going faster than last year and was pleased with what I was able to push, I was passing people and getting passed by about the same amount of people (whereas last year I only passed a handful of people on the entire ride). I tried to hold off Sebastian for as long as possible, as he is an extremely strong rider (and this gave me some good motivation), but he passed me at the 30km mark and was out of sight in a matter of minutes. At this point the bottle of Infinit that I took is feeling great (thank you Richelle!!) and I did not feel hungry or anything like that. Coming back into town I felt good and was anxious to start the run (as this is my favourite event). Bike Time – 1:19:44
Transition #2:
Was quick into transition, minor delay in getting my socks on for my running shoes (for the future need to look at sockless running shoes), time was approx 1min.
Run:
Similar to the bike course, the run course at Heart of the Rockies is very hilly (which works to my strengths), as mentioned before, I was happy to get running. Nutrition consisted of 1 Honey Stinger gel at the 2.5km mark of the run, I was also very thirsty and was taking 2 cups of water at each station, however I was pleased to experience no stomach issues with the Infinit off of the bike. As typical on most of my running races, I try to focus on how I am feeling and not necessarily my actual pace on the garmin, this way I can go as hard as possible without worrying about time. I felt great on the run (the program from Richelle has incorporated a lot of brick workouts which are great practice for race situations) and was not passed by a single runner whereas I was able to pass around 15 people, the run went very well and if I was going 100% I could have possibly pushed it a little faster (I wish the run was a little longer J). Run – 42:54
Overall Thoughts & Observations:
1. Had fun (well it is fun when the race is actually over!).
2. Need additional fuel for the bike, as I seemed to be very thirsty. Taking 1 gel at 2.5km worked well for the 10km race, for longer races I would plan on taking additional gels (at 8.5km and 15km’s).
3. All of my goals were accomplished, including improving significantly on last year’s times.
4. Special thank you to Coach Richelle as she has given me an aggressive program (since I joined Team TriLife 2 months ago) which has been pushing me in training, with the goal of getting me stronger for the races. I feel with her program that I have been improving in all aspects and thus giving me confidence for the upcoming race, bring on 70.3!
5. Areas to improve include working on my cycling ability, as this again held me back in the overall picture, but improving 4 minutes compared to last year is a good start, I am pleased with the progress. I am anxious to see what will happen after another year of solid training on the bike. In the mean time I need work on getting more overall speed on the bike.
6. I enjoy running the most.
7. Swimming: it is very important to get on someone’s feet as soon as possible in the race.
8. Transition #1: need to practice getting my wetsuit off quicker – maybe cut the bottom of my suit to my ankles?
Saturday Pre-Race:
On Saturday afternoon we met up with Angie and the rest of the TriLife team for a pre-race workout. We spent the majority of our time working on open-water swimming tactics/techniques as well as our transition set-up, I found this to be very helpful. The workout was fun but more importantly, we were able to work out some kinks in the race plan for the following day, I definitely used what we covered in the race and found it saved me swim and transition time. Throughout the day I spent time reviewing my race goals and visualizing the race sequencing and any issues that might come up during the race.
My pre-race goals were as follows:
1. Have fun and work hard.
2. Practice nutrition/fueling for Calgary 70.3.
3. Improve upon last year’s time at this same race (27:53, 1:23:44, 45:03)
Sunday Pre-Race:
Arrived at 7am (8am race start) to set up the transition (using Angie’s tips), followed by a short warm-up run with Sebastian then off to the lake for a short warm-up in the water. Overall, I felt confident and ready for the race to begin.
Swim:
My original plan was to find Angie’s feet to see how that felt, however in the confusion of the race start I was unable to find her and was forced to swim solo. Eventually I found someone to follow (after a few elbow’s/punches to the head). I had no issues sighting (again using techniques that Angie reviewed with us the previous day) and felt strong in the water, I focused on “rolling my shoulders” with each stroke, and could have held the pace for longer (I think). When I exited the swim I was somewhat surprised by the clock as I swam 27 minutes at Wasa in June, overall I was very pleased with the start of the race, not to mention the swim workouts that Richelle has prescribed to me have definitely improved endurance ability! Swim time – 25:19
Transition #1:
Had trouble getting the wetsuit off my ankles, but other than that it went quickly (compared to Wasa), time was approx. 1:37 (which was counted as ‘bike time’). Rode sockless, no issues.
Bike:
Given the course profile (very hilly in both direction), my plan was to take advantage of the ‘downhill’ sections on the way to the turnaround and then do as best as I can on the return. I spent most of the ride in the aero position and was feeling good, unfortunately I ran out of Inifinit at the 20km mark of the race (I need to take more than 1 bottle next time). I knew I was going faster than last year and was pleased with what I was able to push, I was passing people and getting passed by about the same amount of people (whereas last year I only passed a handful of people on the entire ride). I tried to hold off Sebastian for as long as possible, as he is an extremely strong rider (and this gave me some good motivation), but he passed me at the 30km mark and was out of sight in a matter of minutes. At this point the bottle of Infinit that I took is feeling great (thank you Richelle!!) and I did not feel hungry or anything like that. Coming back into town I felt good and was anxious to start the run (as this is my favourite event). Bike Time – 1:19:44
Transition #2:
Was quick into transition, minor delay in getting my socks on for my running shoes (for the future need to look at sockless running shoes), time was approx 1min.
Run:
Similar to the bike course, the run course at Heart of the Rockies is very hilly (which works to my strengths), as mentioned before, I was happy to get running. Nutrition consisted of 1 Honey Stinger gel at the 2.5km mark of the run, I was also very thirsty and was taking 2 cups of water at each station, however I was pleased to experience no stomach issues with the Infinit off of the bike. As typical on most of my running races, I try to focus on how I am feeling and not necessarily my actual pace on the garmin, this way I can go as hard as possible without worrying about time. I felt great on the run (the program from Richelle has incorporated a lot of brick workouts which are great practice for race situations) and was not passed by a single runner whereas I was able to pass around 15 people, the run went very well and if I was going 100% I could have possibly pushed it a little faster (I wish the run was a little longer J). Run – 42:54
Overall Thoughts & Observations:
1. Had fun (well it is fun when the race is actually over!).
2. Need additional fuel for the bike, as I seemed to be very thirsty. Taking 1 gel at 2.5km worked well for the 10km race, for longer races I would plan on taking additional gels (at 8.5km and 15km’s).
3. All of my goals were accomplished, including improving significantly on last year’s times.
4. Special thank you to Coach Richelle as she has given me an aggressive program (since I joined Team TriLife 2 months ago) which has been pushing me in training, with the goal of getting me stronger for the races. I feel with her program that I have been improving in all aspects and thus giving me confidence for the upcoming race, bring on 70.3!
5. Areas to improve include working on my cycling ability, as this again held me back in the overall picture, but improving 4 minutes compared to last year is a good start, I am pleased with the progress. I am anxious to see what will happen after another year of solid training on the bike. In the mean time I need work on getting more overall speed on the bike.
6. I enjoy running the most.
7. Swimming: it is very important to get on someone’s feet as soon as possible in the race.
8. Transition #1: need to practice getting my wetsuit off quicker – maybe cut the bottom of my suit to my ankles?
Nola's 2010 Coral Springs Race Report
I wasn't putting too much stress on myself for this race. I had a pretty good sleep last night except for the rodeo that followed once Kevin got home. He was at a friend's house to play a game and got about home at 1:30am. I hadn't put the dogs and cats to their respective sleeping quarters and let's just say there was general mayhem when Kevin got home - dogs barking and Kevin trying to round up the cats (one did end up sleeping with us). I know going on too much about this - but I found it quite funny.
Anyways, I got up at 6am and had toast with pb and honey and off to the race I went. I didn't really had a goal in mind other than to have fun (and I wasn't really planning on racing). I found Christine and JOZ quite quickly and we put our bikes together. Danielle (Richelle's athlete) was there too. The 4 of us were together on the beach and did a group hug before the start and did a Team Trilife cheer! On the swim was where I really decided I wasn't going to race the race. I was really tired, but still felt good and I just swam my own thing. I think my transition went ok considering we had to strip our own wetsuits and I was out faster than some people who got in there before me. Mantra - smooth is fast, fast is smooth.
On the bike the 1st out and back I went at a leisurely pace - HR only 127! I decided to pick it up on the 2nd out and back and heart rate was def up 145+. Course was actually long - 42km.
2nd transition I was out quick. First loop was not my fastest and I started to pick it up in the 2nd loop and I caught up to Joz on her first loop. She was feeling dizzy, so I ran with her. I stayed with her for the whole race. I finished my race, pulled off my timing chip and ran out to catch up with Joz and ran with her on her final lap. I had fun today and I think I needed this social/fun race. Ally was there after the race and it was great to see another TTL athlete just out there to support her buddies!
I know I went on a bit for a non-race race, but I had fun and that was very important to me. My time or place wasn't something I really cared about. I saw other people I knew and it was just a good day. Great people and great weather for a race. Just over all a very good day!
Anyways, I got up at 6am and had toast with pb and honey and off to the race I went. I didn't really had a goal in mind other than to have fun (and I wasn't really planning on racing). I found Christine and JOZ quite quickly and we put our bikes together. Danielle (Richelle's athlete) was there too. The 4 of us were together on the beach and did a group hug before the start and did a Team Trilife cheer! On the swim was where I really decided I wasn't going to race the race. I was really tired, but still felt good and I just swam my own thing. I think my transition went ok considering we had to strip our own wetsuits and I was out faster than some people who got in there before me. Mantra - smooth is fast, fast is smooth.
On the bike the 1st out and back I went at a leisurely pace - HR only 127! I decided to pick it up on the 2nd out and back and heart rate was def up 145+. Course was actually long - 42km.
2nd transition I was out quick. First loop was not my fastest and I started to pick it up in the 2nd loop and I caught up to Joz on her first loop. She was feeling dizzy, so I ran with her. I stayed with her for the whole race. I finished my race, pulled off my timing chip and ran out to catch up with Joz and ran with her on her final lap. I had fun today and I think I needed this social/fun race. Ally was there after the race and it was great to see another TTL athlete just out there to support her buddies!
I know I went on a bit for a non-race race, but I had fun and that was very important to me. My time or place wasn't something I really cared about. I saw other people I knew and it was just a good day. Great people and great weather for a race. Just over all a very good day!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Gerry's 2010 Desery 1/2 IM Race Report
This is Gerry's last race before IMC! Some big improvements over Oliver 1/2 and some great experience out on that Ironman course.
All righty then. To begin with I chose an excellent motel that had a kitchen unit as well as being a large suite. It had a bedroom, bath and a large kitchen, dining area as well as living room. To top it all off it was only about a five minute walk to the beach start area and only a couple more to the transition area.
Perfect come race morning.The weather was gorgeous. I arrive Friday morning after overnighting in Revelstoke and it was already almost 30C by 1030. the weather got up 40C the day before the race and was scheduled to be about 38 with humidity on race day.
The swim began from the lower portion of Osoyoos lake and was a two lap triangle with an exit after the first lap. There was a run for about 200 metres along the beach approach to a tunnel under the road to the transition area where one mounted up for the ride up out of town, up through Richter Pass and then down through the rollers to Cawston and back again. The run left the transition area and headed up a small pair of hills before heading out along the shoreline of the south portion of the lake for an out-and-back two lap 21.1 km trot. That's the brief survey of the course.
Sunday morning dawned bright and clear with only a few clouds and no wind. The temperature at 5:00 am was already 20C and by race time was approximately 22C. The race started at 7:00 am exactly and I positioned myself to the right rear of the swim scrum. I had swam about 48 minutes at the Calgary 70.3 for 1900 metres, almost the same time at Oliver's 2000 metres and hoped to better those time during this race. I struck out at a steady pace that put just enough strain on the arms to know that I was working. I was a bit annoyed by a few swimmers who apparently had never heard of sighting because they were literally cutting across the swim at 45 degrees. I held the same pace for almost the entire race, picking it just a bit for the last few hundred metres. When I checked my watch when I hit the timing mat it said just about 45 minutes! A three minute improvement.
Swim time 45:14
I hit the strippers at the run and had layered on plenty of Glide so the suit zipped right off and I was running for the bike racks. This time I had gone with a tri top instead of cycling shirt and decided to go without socks or riding gloves. Stripped down to the bare minimum I reached the racks, put on the sunglasses, helmet, grabbed a caffeine shot for my pocket and headed out to the mount area at the run. Transition time was less than four minutes,... nearly a six minute improvement over Oliver.
T1 - 3:29
As soon as you hit the road and began pedalling you could see the first hill. At about 200 metres from the start the climb from town to Richter began. It is a long, long climb from 900 ft to 2100 ft and the top of the pass. The ride the back side to the Nighthawk turn went by quickly as one roared down the back side. Sadly the speed was reduced by a slight headwind that prevented building some really good speed but it wasn't too. bad. The climb to the nighthawk turn was not too bad nor was the ride through the seven rollers on the way to Cawston and the Barcelo Road bypass. The wind had shifted to the north down the valley so the entire ride to Cawston was into the teeth of a steady wind that frustrated the attempts to take maximum advantage of the decent down to the turn around. In retrospect this was a bonus as that same wind was to help on the ride back to Osoyoos.Once headed south again on the valley floor the wind helped push one along at a relative easy 35-40 km depending on the rise and fall of the road. Even the first few rollers were not too bad with the assistance of wind helping with the climb. Alas, the wind cannot overcome all gravity and the last two rollers, the nighthawk climb and the return up Richter were gruelling. The temperature was now well over 30C and a good portion of water taken from the aid station was used to soak the head and back. If one has never ridden back up Richter, I recommend one does so. Richter from the front side doesn't look so scary after you have climbed the steeper and long way up the back side. With time ticking by, knees and back feeling the strain I just kept cranking the pedals at a steady 75-77 rpm in my lowest gear and rolled my way back over the pass. Once at the top and realising that it was almost all down hill from their one was almost tempted to call it a day well done,... almost. After that hard a climb it was a true pleasure to gear up and begin to crank some serious power into the pedals as the pass dropped away to Osoyoos. Speed exceeded 70 kph on the decent into town and only breaking for the corners killed the joy of making it through the ride. This was no record breaking time but it was one of the most satisfying rides I've ever done.
90km Ride 3:57:36
Reaching the dismount line one had to run down a small hill to the transition area. The legs were a bit wobbly after that tough a ride but it felt good to be on two feet again,... my butt thought so too. The run to the rack, dumping the riding gear, donning socks runners and a cap I headed for run,... forgetting my solid food chews,... not needed anyway). Got through that one in just over three minutes.
T2 - 3:03
Hitting the asphalt road the first thing one noticed was the heat. It was now approaching noon and the temperature was in access of 35C and climbing. The temps reach 38C in town with heat on the asphalt reaching more than 40C along Hwy 3 through town. Sponges and water were worn as well as swallowed, salt tabs were popped every 15 to 20 minutes and plenty of Gatorade and ice went down well. The run went quite well for the first 17 km with little excitement. Plenty of folks were on hand with water hoses, super-soakers, crushed ice and the like to keep the runners cool and every aid station was well stocked with liquids and some fruit. It was only the last four km when I started to fade. The last climb over the low set of hills was tough as was passing by the finish line for the second time before making the final turn and the last km to the finish. I was surprised to see the number of folks behind me and happy I was not the last over the line. Tough run at 40C,... but the finish line was crossed.
Run time - 2:54.35
Finished 281 out of 309 starters. There were 15 who did not make it to the finish line or dropped out.Probably the most fun I've had at a 1/2 IM and I'd do this one again without hesitation, even with the ride and the heat.
Gerry
All righty then. To begin with I chose an excellent motel that had a kitchen unit as well as being a large suite. It had a bedroom, bath and a large kitchen, dining area as well as living room. To top it all off it was only about a five minute walk to the beach start area and only a couple more to the transition area.
Perfect come race morning.The weather was gorgeous. I arrive Friday morning after overnighting in Revelstoke and it was already almost 30C by 1030. the weather got up 40C the day before the race and was scheduled to be about 38 with humidity on race day.
The swim began from the lower portion of Osoyoos lake and was a two lap triangle with an exit after the first lap. There was a run for about 200 metres along the beach approach to a tunnel under the road to the transition area where one mounted up for the ride up out of town, up through Richter Pass and then down through the rollers to Cawston and back again. The run left the transition area and headed up a small pair of hills before heading out along the shoreline of the south portion of the lake for an out-and-back two lap 21.1 km trot. That's the brief survey of the course.
Sunday morning dawned bright and clear with only a few clouds and no wind. The temperature at 5:00 am was already 20C and by race time was approximately 22C. The race started at 7:00 am exactly and I positioned myself to the right rear of the swim scrum. I had swam about 48 minutes at the Calgary 70.3 for 1900 metres, almost the same time at Oliver's 2000 metres and hoped to better those time during this race. I struck out at a steady pace that put just enough strain on the arms to know that I was working. I was a bit annoyed by a few swimmers who apparently had never heard of sighting because they were literally cutting across the swim at 45 degrees. I held the same pace for almost the entire race, picking it just a bit for the last few hundred metres. When I checked my watch when I hit the timing mat it said just about 45 minutes! A three minute improvement.
Swim time 45:14
I hit the strippers at the run and had layered on plenty of Glide so the suit zipped right off and I was running for the bike racks. This time I had gone with a tri top instead of cycling shirt and decided to go without socks or riding gloves. Stripped down to the bare minimum I reached the racks, put on the sunglasses, helmet, grabbed a caffeine shot for my pocket and headed out to the mount area at the run. Transition time was less than four minutes,... nearly a six minute improvement over Oliver.
T1 - 3:29
As soon as you hit the road and began pedalling you could see the first hill. At about 200 metres from the start the climb from town to Richter began. It is a long, long climb from 900 ft to 2100 ft and the top of the pass. The ride the back side to the Nighthawk turn went by quickly as one roared down the back side. Sadly the speed was reduced by a slight headwind that prevented building some really good speed but it wasn't too. bad. The climb to the nighthawk turn was not too bad nor was the ride through the seven rollers on the way to Cawston and the Barcelo Road bypass. The wind had shifted to the north down the valley so the entire ride to Cawston was into the teeth of a steady wind that frustrated the attempts to take maximum advantage of the decent down to the turn around. In retrospect this was a bonus as that same wind was to help on the ride back to Osoyoos.Once headed south again on the valley floor the wind helped push one along at a relative easy 35-40 km depending on the rise and fall of the road. Even the first few rollers were not too bad with the assistance of wind helping with the climb. Alas, the wind cannot overcome all gravity and the last two rollers, the nighthawk climb and the return up Richter were gruelling. The temperature was now well over 30C and a good portion of water taken from the aid station was used to soak the head and back. If one has never ridden back up Richter, I recommend one does so. Richter from the front side doesn't look so scary after you have climbed the steeper and long way up the back side. With time ticking by, knees and back feeling the strain I just kept cranking the pedals at a steady 75-77 rpm in my lowest gear and rolled my way back over the pass. Once at the top and realising that it was almost all down hill from their one was almost tempted to call it a day well done,... almost. After that hard a climb it was a true pleasure to gear up and begin to crank some serious power into the pedals as the pass dropped away to Osoyoos. Speed exceeded 70 kph on the decent into town and only breaking for the corners killed the joy of making it through the ride. This was no record breaking time but it was one of the most satisfying rides I've ever done.
90km Ride 3:57:36
Reaching the dismount line one had to run down a small hill to the transition area. The legs were a bit wobbly after that tough a ride but it felt good to be on two feet again,... my butt thought so too. The run to the rack, dumping the riding gear, donning socks runners and a cap I headed for run,... forgetting my solid food chews,... not needed anyway). Got through that one in just over three minutes.
T2 - 3:03
Hitting the asphalt road the first thing one noticed was the heat. It was now approaching noon and the temperature was in access of 35C and climbing. The temps reach 38C in town with heat on the asphalt reaching more than 40C along Hwy 3 through town. Sponges and water were worn as well as swallowed, salt tabs were popped every 15 to 20 minutes and plenty of Gatorade and ice went down well. The run went quite well for the first 17 km with little excitement. Plenty of folks were on hand with water hoses, super-soakers, crushed ice and the like to keep the runners cool and every aid station was well stocked with liquids and some fruit. It was only the last four km when I started to fade. The last climb over the low set of hills was tough as was passing by the finish line for the second time before making the final turn and the last km to the finish. I was surprised to see the number of folks behind me and happy I was not the last over the line. Tough run at 40C,... but the finish line was crossed.
Run time - 2:54.35
Finished 281 out of 309 starters. There were 15 who did not make it to the finish line or dropped out.Probably the most fun I've had at a 1/2 IM and I'd do this one again without hesitation, even with the ride and the heat.
Gerry
Photos from GWN
Cindy's Photos:
http://gallery.me.com/cchetley
Caroline's Photos:
http://gallery.me.com/carolineang
Album name is "GWN 2010 TTL"
Use the name "angie" with other word being "teamtrilife".
Thank-you ladies for capturing such a great day. It means so much to have athletes who are not racing out there to cheer and take pictures. A very important roll for the team!
http://gallery.me.com/cchetley
Caroline's Photos:
http://gallery.me.com/carolineang
Album name is "GWN 2010 TTL"
Use the name "angie" with other word being "teamtrilife".
Thank-you ladies for capturing such a great day. It means so much to have athletes who are not racing out there to cheer and take pictures. A very important roll for the team!
Maureen's 2010 GWN Race Report (coached by Richelle)
Maureen had a great first 1/2 Ironman and surprised herself on how amazing she really could do! Way to go Maureen!
I had a great day at GWN! This was my first race at this distance and I had been thinking about and focused on (some would say obsessed about) the day since I registered in September. It exceeded my expectations in every way.
My objectives from my race plan were to:
Finish within the cut off time
Stay in the game – if things go wrong, deal with them and move on
Stay mentally tough and positive – remember this is my hobby, how much I’ve trained for it and that I want it to be a positive experience … so I can make it one
I had objectives for swim, run and bike too, all focused on process and attitude.
The short report is:
Check. Finished in 7:03 – 57 minutes ahead of the cut off
Check. Nothing really went wrong so it was easy to stay in the game. I had a really sore knee (IT band related) on the run but I took some Advil and tried to ignore it. It didn’t improve but it didn’t get much worse.
Check. I had one of the best racing experiences ever. Normally I get tired, dispirited, negative, disinterested, etc during a race. I have a bad habit of giving up on myself. This was completely different. I was positive and excited all day. I kept saying to volunteers, “I’m having a great day!” I suspect they thought I was delirious or on something stronger than Heed.
The longer context ...
The day unfolded pretty much as I anticipated. The weather made a big difference, right from the swim, when the sun conveniently went under a cloud just when it otherwise would have been in my eyes, making sighting harder. I’ve been trying this summer to run in heat so I could be better prepared for it, but I was very happy not to have to put that training to the test.
I had a mental playlist to motivate and inspire me. To my surprise, early in the ride, the Pointer Sisters – who are not on any playlist of mine -- took up residence in my brain with “I’m so excited.” They never left. That was how I felt and the beat was okay too!
Lessons learned, in no particular order:
Packing can be more stressful than the event! I got all worked up about all the STUFF and organizing it all, even though I am really really organized and have great lists and systems.
A coach is invaluable. I trusted Richelle’s programs, advice and wisdom through the year. She had faith in me, which gave me confidence. I did what she told me to (mostly) all year and believed that it would all come together when I needed it to. And it did.
A race plan is invaluable too. Mine was very detailed, but it helped me anticipate just about everything. For me, that’s important and it worked.
The TTL group meeting on Saturday was great. I learned a lot from Angie’s instructions and from practicing the swim and transition skills. It was nice to meet some more TTL folks and put faces to names.
You CAN get everything you need from liquid nutrition. I was worried that Infinit might not be enough on the bike, but it was. I drank a full aerobottle every hour; I wasn’t hungry at all and I had enough energy for one of my strongest half-marathons ever. On the run I carried my fuel belt with Nuun, took two gels and a few honey stingers plus water from the aid stations and that was it. No Heed. No Coke. No food. And I felt great.
The downside to liquid nutrition means you have to pee. Often. I know I could have been under 7 hours if I hadn’t needed those four pee breaks.
I have wonderful friends (not a lesson, but a reinforcement). Carla was also doing the race and helped with tons of ideas, suggestions and wise counsel. Two others drove up from Calgary and were there, in pink wigs, with signs and tunes, at the start of the ride, on the final stretch back into town and then on the run. And my training partner Terry, who trained for the race but couldn’t do it, dragged her family several hours out of their way heading home from their cottage to come and be there for the finish line. We all drank champagne that another friend sent from Toronto.
Having family support makes a big difference. My husband was sceptical of this whole endeavour when I started but changed his mind as the year went on and he realized just how committed I was to it. He never bellyached about the time I spent training, even though it was on top of the long hours I already spend at work. He was a great Sherpa and fan on race day, trying to keep up with the email and text traffic on the iPhone.
I wish TTL gear fit me better so I could be visible to team members and supporters. I did my best by at least wearing something orange, but it’s not quite the same. Sadly, there’s none that’s comfortable enough to wear for 7+ hrs.
I doubt I’ll ever have another ½ Ironman race that comes together so well. But I enjoyed the experience so much I will definitely do more. I can’t wait to try the next one.
I had a great day at GWN! This was my first race at this distance and I had been thinking about and focused on (some would say obsessed about) the day since I registered in September. It exceeded my expectations in every way.
My objectives from my race plan were to:
Finish within the cut off time
Stay in the game – if things go wrong, deal with them and move on
Stay mentally tough and positive – remember this is my hobby, how much I’ve trained for it and that I want it to be a positive experience … so I can make it one
I had objectives for swim, run and bike too, all focused on process and attitude.
The short report is:
Check. Finished in 7:03 – 57 minutes ahead of the cut off
Check. Nothing really went wrong so it was easy to stay in the game. I had a really sore knee (IT band related) on the run but I took some Advil and tried to ignore it. It didn’t improve but it didn’t get much worse.
Check. I had one of the best racing experiences ever. Normally I get tired, dispirited, negative, disinterested, etc during a race. I have a bad habit of giving up on myself. This was completely different. I was positive and excited all day. I kept saying to volunteers, “I’m having a great day!” I suspect they thought I was delirious or on something stronger than Heed.
The longer context ...
The day unfolded pretty much as I anticipated. The weather made a big difference, right from the swim, when the sun conveniently went under a cloud just when it otherwise would have been in my eyes, making sighting harder. I’ve been trying this summer to run in heat so I could be better prepared for it, but I was very happy not to have to put that training to the test.
I had a mental playlist to motivate and inspire me. To my surprise, early in the ride, the Pointer Sisters – who are not on any playlist of mine -- took up residence in my brain with “I’m so excited.” They never left. That was how I felt and the beat was okay too!
Lessons learned, in no particular order:
Packing can be more stressful than the event! I got all worked up about all the STUFF and organizing it all, even though I am really really organized and have great lists and systems.
A coach is invaluable. I trusted Richelle’s programs, advice and wisdom through the year. She had faith in me, which gave me confidence. I did what she told me to (mostly) all year and believed that it would all come together when I needed it to. And it did.
A race plan is invaluable too. Mine was very detailed, but it helped me anticipate just about everything. For me, that’s important and it worked.
The TTL group meeting on Saturday was great. I learned a lot from Angie’s instructions and from practicing the swim and transition skills. It was nice to meet some more TTL folks and put faces to names.
You CAN get everything you need from liquid nutrition. I was worried that Infinit might not be enough on the bike, but it was. I drank a full aerobottle every hour; I wasn’t hungry at all and I had enough energy for one of my strongest half-marathons ever. On the run I carried my fuel belt with Nuun, took two gels and a few honey stingers plus water from the aid stations and that was it. No Heed. No Coke. No food. And I felt great.
The downside to liquid nutrition means you have to pee. Often. I know I could have been under 7 hours if I hadn’t needed those four pee breaks.
I have wonderful friends (not a lesson, but a reinforcement). Carla was also doing the race and helped with tons of ideas, suggestions and wise counsel. Two others drove up from Calgary and were there, in pink wigs, with signs and tunes, at the start of the ride, on the final stretch back into town and then on the run. And my training partner Terry, who trained for the race but couldn’t do it, dragged her family several hours out of their way heading home from their cottage to come and be there for the finish line. We all drank champagne that another friend sent from Toronto.
Having family support makes a big difference. My husband was sceptical of this whole endeavour when I started but changed his mind as the year went on and he realized just how committed I was to it. He never bellyached about the time I spent training, even though it was on top of the long hours I already spend at work. He was a great Sherpa and fan on race day, trying to keep up with the email and text traffic on the iPhone.
I wish TTL gear fit me better so I could be visible to team members and supporters. I did my best by at least wearing something orange, but it’s not quite the same. Sadly, there’s none that’s comfortable enough to wear for 7+ hrs.
I doubt I’ll ever have another ½ Ironman race that comes together so well. But I enjoyed the experience so much I will definitely do more. I can’t wait to try the next one.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Coach Angie's 2010 GWN Race Report
I think most of you know my story. My new nickname “Angie Running in Socks” speaks loads as do the 2 big black marks on my feet. I suppose I should think of them as “badges of a hard day”... maybe I will soon.
The weekend leading up to race day was nothing short of amazing. I loved being in GWN with our team. AT the carb load on Friday I was a very proud coach! Not only for my athletes, but for Richelle and Sarah as well. They are a huge part of the success of this team. Pre-race workouts on Saturday were SO much fun even though the wind was on the edge of tornado force! When a rack with Sarah’s bike blew over and nearly clipped her, it hit me just how hard the wind was blowing. I thought that if it’s that way tomorrow “we” athletes from the South will do better than others because we are very familiar with strong wind! Luckily we didn’t need to draw on that experience as race day had perfect conditions.
Race morning went tickety boo. I changed my breakfast and went away from my standard bagel with a fried egg, cheese and tomato, and switched to my new favourite breaky of oatmeal with a half an apple and raisons, a wee bit of brown sugar and skim milk. On the bike I realized that I forgot my heaping tablespoon of almond butter! I had a brief moment of panic that I was racing without any proteinJ The panic quickly dissipated as I realized it wasn’t really hurting me and if it was, there wasn’t much to do about it by that point anyway! The lesson to take from this little blooper was that I need to not be quite so casual about race morning. I’ve race... a lot, over the years. I find that lately I have a hard time being keyed up doing normal pre-race tasks. The last few races I’ve forgot simple little things that I believe help me work towards success. Do I think that missing almond butter was a key factor in the creation of a challenging day? No... but it was careless.
In the morning I think a lot of us felt like rock stars! Team TriLife supporters were in full force taking photos, candid and posed. Lots of hugs and have a good day. I took off for a few minutes by myself for a run in my keens... no extra running shoes! I also had my wetsuit on up to my hips. I looked like a bit of a freak, but it worked to warm me up and get my brain in race gear.
I stood on the beach with Tanya Salomon. She ended up being second overall woman for the day!!! We chatted briefly and then the gun went sooner than I expected. A quick dive in and I tried to stay on her feet. I thought I was swimming SO fast!!! I felt SO good in the water! If anything, I was a bit warm, but the goop and mud didn’t bother me, and I was very lucky to have very little contact. I found feet, fought to stay with them on and off throughout the swim, and felt I executed well. The hardest part was the run around the buoy to the second lap! Running through knee deep quick sand takes your breath away! I didn’t get my splits at the half way point because my watch was under my wetsuit. I’m pretty sure I slowed down the second lap, but that’s OK. It was still a good swim. Time 32:39. I’m consistant!
Bike: I had a really quick transition and was on my way! I was excited to ride and felt the conditions were ripe for fast times. At the mount line my aerobar pad fell off. There was nothing I could do so I got on and rode up the hill. This turned out to be a major distraction throughout the ride. My forearm was on metal and screws. At times I was grumpy about it, but then I would will away the anger and tell myself “control what you can, let go what you can’t”. I contemplated stopping for help, but honestly didn’t think that bike support would have anything to fix it. I rode in aero mostly, but I couldn’t quite rest comfortably on that arm. Still, my bike time was fantastic. It exceeded what I ever believed was possible. Nothing to complain about there. I did an analysis of my watts from the last 5 races at this distance I’ve done. It’s below in a chart.
· Oceanside March 2009,
o Average watts 165
o Normalized power 175
o Ride time without transitions 2:47:25
o Course... hilly and windy
· Great White North 2009,
o Average watts 181
o Normalized power 184
o Ride time without transitions 2:36:54 with transitions. (2:34 “ish” without)
o Course... flat, tail wind out, head wind back.
· Sooke Sept 2009,
o Average watts 177
o Normalized power 190
o 2:43:19 for 86km not including transitions
o Course... VERY hilly! HARD!
· Clearwater Nov 2009,
o Average watts 184
o Normalized power 188
o 2:17:35
o Course... FLAT AND FAST!
· Great White North 2010,
o Average watts 172
o Normalized power 176
o Ride time without transitions 2:33:28 with transitions. (2:30:30 “ish” without)
o Course... flat, slight head wind out, tail wind home.
As you can see over the year last year my bike fitness grew. Oceanside was done on indoor training. Average watts is set on my powertap head to only count watts when I’m pedalling. If I’m descending and not moving my pedals, the zero is not averaged into the watts. Normalized power is a way to compare one ride to another regardless of terrain or wind. It’s calculates your effort to create a wattage that you would have had WITH that effort on a totally flat course. As you can see Sooke the highest. That is because of the hills! It was a tough one. I knew that even though this ride was my fastest at GWN, it was not my best effort in the “Angie compared to Angie” mode of comparison. I could not have rode any harder. It was my best effort for the day. Nutrition went well; I consumed a bottle of infinit per hour. (Mind you, I wore a fair amount of infinit because the top of my aerobottle came off! I HATE it when my fingers stick together! At every aid station I would grab water and try to release the goo... it didn’t work, but I kept trying!)
One other interesting analysis... in 2010 I had the 65th fastest bike split. In 2009 I had the 96th fastest bike split. That is a really interesting comparison that surprises me. It makes the lower watts in 2010 a bit off. Hmmmm.... now I’m thinking.
The BEST thing about my ride was my dismount! For the first time in my racing career I did a gliding dismountJ It was SO fun and fast!!!!! THANKS to the TTL Tent Dwellers for all their cheers at the end of the bike. I loved seeing the orange and purple jackets on the course as well! It very much brings you back to focus when you hear cheers from teammates and friends!
T2 went well. Nothing much to talk about. I got in, and got out.
Run: This is where my challenges began. Let me prefix this by saying that if one of our team had a run like I did, I would discuss the following points with this athlete. I believe these points, and if nothing else, this has been a very good learning experience that what I say does make sense and I need to apply it to myself.
1. You learn more from a hard race than a race that goes well. Next time you toe the start line you will have a reference for how much you can hurt, and how much you want to not give in to the demons that make you slow down. This was a learning race... the harder the race, the more epic the learning.
2. You toughed out a very tough day. A lot of people would have quit, and you didn’t. You are an amazing athlete committed to your trade of racing at the edge of your abilities. Some days are diamond, and some are coal. You pulled out a pretty amazing finish of a really hard day.
OK... so that is what I would say, and actually, typing it out helps.
Stats first... I always hit my interval button at km markers. It’s part of my post race analysis. Below is what is on my watch from the run. I’m showing you this mostly because it’s how I analyze my race.
· Km 1 4:42
· Km 2 4:25
· Km 3 4:46
· Km 4 4:59 (walked to drink out of plastic cup)
· Km 5 4:40
· Km 6 4:48
· Km 7 4:53
· Km 8 5:19 (bathroom break #1)
· Km 9 4:36 (making up for bathroom breakJ)
· Km 10 4:46
· Km 11 4:36
· Km 12 4:51
· Km 13 4:54
· Km 14 4:56
· Km 15 4:54
· Km 16 and 17 10:00 (bathroom break #2 in here I think)
· Km 18 5:06 (foot pain pretty bad)
· Km 19 4:48
· Km 20 – 21.1 9:56 (took off both shoes and ran with my socks)
What happened...
When I started the run I knew that I felt tuckered. Last year GWN was my zen race! I started to run and had to tell myself to slow down! I had a hard time keeping my pace back in a reasonable range. I felt SO good. This year it felt like a grunt from the start. Still, I was running well according to the km markers. Stay focused Angie. This is your job today. Get it done.
Early in the run my left lower leg went numb. It was like running on a stump... almost felt like I was dragging it along. I wasn’t, but that’s what it felt like. I did frequent “body scans” and would assure myself that as long as it doesn’t hurt, you can run through it. Pain is one thing, a numb limb is another. Keep running. The km’s were clicking off at a pretty good rate. I was surprising myself based on how my legs felt. All good.
Then... grrrr.... this NEVER has happened to me in a Half Ironman IN MY LIFE!!!! My bowel started to gurgle and brew. The pressure was mounting. I didn’t have gut issues, I just had to go! WHAT THE ....???? Into the bushes at about 8k. I’m not sure who could see me, and to be honest, I didn’t care a whole bunch. When I gotta go, I gotta go NOW! I don’t have much wiggle room. Thankfully there was a treed area for me to step into at my “moment of need”! Back to the run, I caught the fellows I was running with and continued on. My leg / foot were still numb but that’s OK. I knew that Sarah was working hard behind me, and I was motivated to stay in front. I timed her at the turn around. She had gained about :20 on me. That’s OK. I took :30 for the bathroom break. I can hold this. I had to walk thru a few aid stations to get water. Those darn plastic cups. I think you all know what I’m talking about. Sarah was the hand on my back pushing me. This was hard.
My bowel struck again! NO!!!!!! This can’t be happening! This one was quick! In and out of the trees. SORRY to residents of Stony Plain. Back on the run. Come on Angie... keep going.
At about 16k my leg lost the “stump-ness” and a pretty incredible pain went into my foot. I’ve race through a lot of “foot pain” having had a mortons neuroma removed. This felt worse, but my memory might have faded. I tried to walk and wiggle my foot to see if it would let go. It didn’t. I’d run, walk, run, walk. Sarah was right there. At this point it was hers. She blew by me like I was standing still!!! She was breathing harder than I’d ever heard her breathe, and I knew she was having THE RACE OF HER LIFE!!!!! As a competitor, it was a place lost. As a friend first, coach second, it was an amazing demonstration of what you an athlete can do with not only amazing fitness, but amazing determination and resolve to dig deep and ask your mind to allow the “push” when it’s SO hard! I was proud of her! I still am.
Just past the 19k mark I was walking. I was on a hill, and JoZ was on her way down. That darn JoZ yelled at me and told me to get running! After she apologized, but she was just what I needed. I’d seen Richelle, Ally, and Jeff and John, Cindy on the course. All I could say to them was “rough day”. They told me to stay strong, I felt like I was crumbling. For some reason when JoZ told me to pick it up, a light switch went off. At that moment, I took off my shoe, and the relief was instant. I tried to run with one shoe for a few steps, but that was a BAD idea, so the other shoe came off. Once I started running in socks (thus the name) my legs came back, the pain was gone, and I found the determination to finish strong that I had lacked the last several km’s. Sarah was in site, and I was pushing with everything I had to make gains. I carried my shoes for maybe 800m, and I dropped on right before an aid station. I threw the other one at the volunteers and asked them to please save them for me. (Amazingly I got my shoes back from a wonderful volunteer within minutes of finishing! THANK YOU!)
As I turned the corner and saw the TTL tent, and heard the cheers, my emotions started to build. I was going to finish what I would call the run from hell. I heard Annie say “where are your shoes” and I think I had a wee bit of a smile... inside... at that moment! Thank you Annie! I crossed the finish line, I think I hugged Sarah, and I started to cry. I’m still emotional typing this right now.
I kept thinking “it shouldn’t be that hard”. The pain in my feet and ankles hit me as soon as I stopped, and emotionally I was done. I ended up with medical for a few minutes which was OK. I’m still emotional as I type this.
I expected my run time to be much slower than it was. I was shocked to see I was only :15 slower than last year. When I was running I must have ran pretty fast... my suunto graph tells the tale well... run / walk/run / walk in the last 5k.
This feels a bit like Clearwater did. If I had finished in 4:48 with a 1:42:?? run AND I’d raced well, I would have been thrilled! At my age, PR’s are hard to come by! I’ve been at this game for quite a few years now, and to be honest, a PR is a gift. I am so attached to execution though that a fast finish time has very little meaning to me if I don’t race well. On this day I can say that my issues were not necessarily execution issues. I think I paced well, nutrition went well, my mental state was down and that is a negative that I can control, but apart from that, the aerobar pad, bathroom breaks and feet issues were pretty much bad luck. I can’t fix that. I did learn though about what I can push myself through although I hope not to go there again anytime soon!
I talked to Chad a few days after the race and was telling him my tale. He put me in my place in about 2 seconds. He said “at least you can race”. How true is that? At least I can race. That is a perspective that I needed to hear, and Chad and John are both examples of athletes overcoming incredible obstacles to get back to a start line. How much would Terry have loved to be at this race.
Perspective is everything. This was a rough day at “my” office, but there are better days ahead. I am so blessed to have triathlon in my life, mostly because of the people, and also because I get to challenge myself on a daily basis with training. The races are the proverbial icing on the cake. A tough race is not a season ruined, and yes, my finishing time was really solid.
I think that’s all I can tell you. Thanks for reading. Angie
The weekend leading up to race day was nothing short of amazing. I loved being in GWN with our team. AT the carb load on Friday I was a very proud coach! Not only for my athletes, but for Richelle and Sarah as well. They are a huge part of the success of this team. Pre-race workouts on Saturday were SO much fun even though the wind was on the edge of tornado force! When a rack with Sarah’s bike blew over and nearly clipped her, it hit me just how hard the wind was blowing. I thought that if it’s that way tomorrow “we” athletes from the South will do better than others because we are very familiar with strong wind! Luckily we didn’t need to draw on that experience as race day had perfect conditions.
Race morning went tickety boo. I changed my breakfast and went away from my standard bagel with a fried egg, cheese and tomato, and switched to my new favourite breaky of oatmeal with a half an apple and raisons, a wee bit of brown sugar and skim milk. On the bike I realized that I forgot my heaping tablespoon of almond butter! I had a brief moment of panic that I was racing without any proteinJ The panic quickly dissipated as I realized it wasn’t really hurting me and if it was, there wasn’t much to do about it by that point anyway! The lesson to take from this little blooper was that I need to not be quite so casual about race morning. I’ve race... a lot, over the years. I find that lately I have a hard time being keyed up doing normal pre-race tasks. The last few races I’ve forgot simple little things that I believe help me work towards success. Do I think that missing almond butter was a key factor in the creation of a challenging day? No... but it was careless.
In the morning I think a lot of us felt like rock stars! Team TriLife supporters were in full force taking photos, candid and posed. Lots of hugs and have a good day. I took off for a few minutes by myself for a run in my keens... no extra running shoes! I also had my wetsuit on up to my hips. I looked like a bit of a freak, but it worked to warm me up and get my brain in race gear.
I stood on the beach with Tanya Salomon. She ended up being second overall woman for the day!!! We chatted briefly and then the gun went sooner than I expected. A quick dive in and I tried to stay on her feet. I thought I was swimming SO fast!!! I felt SO good in the water! If anything, I was a bit warm, but the goop and mud didn’t bother me, and I was very lucky to have very little contact. I found feet, fought to stay with them on and off throughout the swim, and felt I executed well. The hardest part was the run around the buoy to the second lap! Running through knee deep quick sand takes your breath away! I didn’t get my splits at the half way point because my watch was under my wetsuit. I’m pretty sure I slowed down the second lap, but that’s OK. It was still a good swim. Time 32:39. I’m consistant!
Bike: I had a really quick transition and was on my way! I was excited to ride and felt the conditions were ripe for fast times. At the mount line my aerobar pad fell off. There was nothing I could do so I got on and rode up the hill. This turned out to be a major distraction throughout the ride. My forearm was on metal and screws. At times I was grumpy about it, but then I would will away the anger and tell myself “control what you can, let go what you can’t”. I contemplated stopping for help, but honestly didn’t think that bike support would have anything to fix it. I rode in aero mostly, but I couldn’t quite rest comfortably on that arm. Still, my bike time was fantastic. It exceeded what I ever believed was possible. Nothing to complain about there. I did an analysis of my watts from the last 5 races at this distance I’ve done. It’s below in a chart.
· Oceanside March 2009,
o Average watts 165
o Normalized power 175
o Ride time without transitions 2:47:25
o Course... hilly and windy
· Great White North 2009,
o Average watts 181
o Normalized power 184
o Ride time without transitions 2:36:54 with transitions. (2:34 “ish” without)
o Course... flat, tail wind out, head wind back.
· Sooke Sept 2009,
o Average watts 177
o Normalized power 190
o 2:43:19 for 86km not including transitions
o Course... VERY hilly! HARD!
· Clearwater Nov 2009,
o Average watts 184
o Normalized power 188
o 2:17:35
o Course... FLAT AND FAST!
· Great White North 2010,
o Average watts 172
o Normalized power 176
o Ride time without transitions 2:33:28 with transitions. (2:30:30 “ish” without)
o Course... flat, slight head wind out, tail wind home.
As you can see over the year last year my bike fitness grew. Oceanside was done on indoor training. Average watts is set on my powertap head to only count watts when I’m pedalling. If I’m descending and not moving my pedals, the zero is not averaged into the watts. Normalized power is a way to compare one ride to another regardless of terrain or wind. It’s calculates your effort to create a wattage that you would have had WITH that effort on a totally flat course. As you can see Sooke the highest. That is because of the hills! It was a tough one. I knew that even though this ride was my fastest at GWN, it was not my best effort in the “Angie compared to Angie” mode of comparison. I could not have rode any harder. It was my best effort for the day. Nutrition went well; I consumed a bottle of infinit per hour. (Mind you, I wore a fair amount of infinit because the top of my aerobottle came off! I HATE it when my fingers stick together! At every aid station I would grab water and try to release the goo... it didn’t work, but I kept trying!)
One other interesting analysis... in 2010 I had the 65th fastest bike split. In 2009 I had the 96th fastest bike split. That is a really interesting comparison that surprises me. It makes the lower watts in 2010 a bit off. Hmmmm.... now I’m thinking.
The BEST thing about my ride was my dismount! For the first time in my racing career I did a gliding dismountJ It was SO fun and fast!!!!! THANKS to the TTL Tent Dwellers for all their cheers at the end of the bike. I loved seeing the orange and purple jackets on the course as well! It very much brings you back to focus when you hear cheers from teammates and friends!
T2 went well. Nothing much to talk about. I got in, and got out.
Run: This is where my challenges began. Let me prefix this by saying that if one of our team had a run like I did, I would discuss the following points with this athlete. I believe these points, and if nothing else, this has been a very good learning experience that what I say does make sense and I need to apply it to myself.
1. You learn more from a hard race than a race that goes well. Next time you toe the start line you will have a reference for how much you can hurt, and how much you want to not give in to the demons that make you slow down. This was a learning race... the harder the race, the more epic the learning.
2. You toughed out a very tough day. A lot of people would have quit, and you didn’t. You are an amazing athlete committed to your trade of racing at the edge of your abilities. Some days are diamond, and some are coal. You pulled out a pretty amazing finish of a really hard day.
OK... so that is what I would say, and actually, typing it out helps.
Stats first... I always hit my interval button at km markers. It’s part of my post race analysis. Below is what is on my watch from the run. I’m showing you this mostly because it’s how I analyze my race.
· Km 1 4:42
· Km 2 4:25
· Km 3 4:46
· Km 4 4:59 (walked to drink out of plastic cup)
· Km 5 4:40
· Km 6 4:48
· Km 7 4:53
· Km 8 5:19 (bathroom break #1)
· Km 9 4:36 (making up for bathroom breakJ)
· Km 10 4:46
· Km 11 4:36
· Km 12 4:51
· Km 13 4:54
· Km 14 4:56
· Km 15 4:54
· Km 16 and 17 10:00 (bathroom break #2 in here I think)
· Km 18 5:06 (foot pain pretty bad)
· Km 19 4:48
· Km 20 – 21.1 9:56 (took off both shoes and ran with my socks)
What happened...
When I started the run I knew that I felt tuckered. Last year GWN was my zen race! I started to run and had to tell myself to slow down! I had a hard time keeping my pace back in a reasonable range. I felt SO good. This year it felt like a grunt from the start. Still, I was running well according to the km markers. Stay focused Angie. This is your job today. Get it done.
Early in the run my left lower leg went numb. It was like running on a stump... almost felt like I was dragging it along. I wasn’t, but that’s what it felt like. I did frequent “body scans” and would assure myself that as long as it doesn’t hurt, you can run through it. Pain is one thing, a numb limb is another. Keep running. The km’s were clicking off at a pretty good rate. I was surprising myself based on how my legs felt. All good.
Then... grrrr.... this NEVER has happened to me in a Half Ironman IN MY LIFE!!!! My bowel started to gurgle and brew. The pressure was mounting. I didn’t have gut issues, I just had to go! WHAT THE ....???? Into the bushes at about 8k. I’m not sure who could see me, and to be honest, I didn’t care a whole bunch. When I gotta go, I gotta go NOW! I don’t have much wiggle room. Thankfully there was a treed area for me to step into at my “moment of need”! Back to the run, I caught the fellows I was running with and continued on. My leg / foot were still numb but that’s OK. I knew that Sarah was working hard behind me, and I was motivated to stay in front. I timed her at the turn around. She had gained about :20 on me. That’s OK. I took :30 for the bathroom break. I can hold this. I had to walk thru a few aid stations to get water. Those darn plastic cups. I think you all know what I’m talking about. Sarah was the hand on my back pushing me. This was hard.
My bowel struck again! NO!!!!!! This can’t be happening! This one was quick! In and out of the trees. SORRY to residents of Stony Plain. Back on the run. Come on Angie... keep going.
At about 16k my leg lost the “stump-ness” and a pretty incredible pain went into my foot. I’ve race through a lot of “foot pain” having had a mortons neuroma removed. This felt worse, but my memory might have faded. I tried to walk and wiggle my foot to see if it would let go. It didn’t. I’d run, walk, run, walk. Sarah was right there. At this point it was hers. She blew by me like I was standing still!!! She was breathing harder than I’d ever heard her breathe, and I knew she was having THE RACE OF HER LIFE!!!!! As a competitor, it was a place lost. As a friend first, coach second, it was an amazing demonstration of what you an athlete can do with not only amazing fitness, but amazing determination and resolve to dig deep and ask your mind to allow the “push” when it’s SO hard! I was proud of her! I still am.
Just past the 19k mark I was walking. I was on a hill, and JoZ was on her way down. That darn JoZ yelled at me and told me to get running! After she apologized, but she was just what I needed. I’d seen Richelle, Ally, and Jeff and John, Cindy on the course. All I could say to them was “rough day”. They told me to stay strong, I felt like I was crumbling. For some reason when JoZ told me to pick it up, a light switch went off. At that moment, I took off my shoe, and the relief was instant. I tried to run with one shoe for a few steps, but that was a BAD idea, so the other shoe came off. Once I started running in socks (thus the name) my legs came back, the pain was gone, and I found the determination to finish strong that I had lacked the last several km’s. Sarah was in site, and I was pushing with everything I had to make gains. I carried my shoes for maybe 800m, and I dropped on right before an aid station. I threw the other one at the volunteers and asked them to please save them for me. (Amazingly I got my shoes back from a wonderful volunteer within minutes of finishing! THANK YOU!)
As I turned the corner and saw the TTL tent, and heard the cheers, my emotions started to build. I was going to finish what I would call the run from hell. I heard Annie say “where are your shoes” and I think I had a wee bit of a smile... inside... at that moment! Thank you Annie! I crossed the finish line, I think I hugged Sarah, and I started to cry. I’m still emotional typing this right now.
I kept thinking “it shouldn’t be that hard”. The pain in my feet and ankles hit me as soon as I stopped, and emotionally I was done. I ended up with medical for a few minutes which was OK. I’m still emotional as I type this.
I expected my run time to be much slower than it was. I was shocked to see I was only :15 slower than last year. When I was running I must have ran pretty fast... my suunto graph tells the tale well... run / walk/run / walk in the last 5k.
This feels a bit like Clearwater did. If I had finished in 4:48 with a 1:42:?? run AND I’d raced well, I would have been thrilled! At my age, PR’s are hard to come by! I’ve been at this game for quite a few years now, and to be honest, a PR is a gift. I am so attached to execution though that a fast finish time has very little meaning to me if I don’t race well. On this day I can say that my issues were not necessarily execution issues. I think I paced well, nutrition went well, my mental state was down and that is a negative that I can control, but apart from that, the aerobar pad, bathroom breaks and feet issues were pretty much bad luck. I can’t fix that. I did learn though about what I can push myself through although I hope not to go there again anytime soon!
I talked to Chad a few days after the race and was telling him my tale. He put me in my place in about 2 seconds. He said “at least you can race”. How true is that? At least I can race. That is a perspective that I needed to hear, and Chad and John are both examples of athletes overcoming incredible obstacles to get back to a start line. How much would Terry have loved to be at this race.
Perspective is everything. This was a rough day at “my” office, but there are better days ahead. I am so blessed to have triathlon in my life, mostly because of the people, and also because I get to challenge myself on a daily basis with training. The races are the proverbial icing on the cake. A tough race is not a season ruined, and yes, my finishing time was really solid.
I think that’s all I can tell you. Thanks for reading. Angie
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
What I learned at GWN 2010 by Sue (coached by Richelle)
Got home and thought about the race for a bit - I really enjoyed the day.
I think I made it under 6:14 which means I was within a minute of my personal best for Great White - not bad for whining about being under trained.
So what did I learn:
1. Egg sandwich for breakfast works (that was practice for Calgary 70.3 - eat breakfast on the bus)
2. Carb-pro at transition works - also gives me a bit of extra water, since I probably under hydrate
3. Sighting for my first lap of the swim was atrocious - I probably added 500 m.
4. Better sleeping through drugs the night before works.
5. It is a liberating experience not to use a watch.
6. I need practice at transition, I dawdle
7. I had to tell Marc he was right (even though I don't do that very often), he was right about just going out and enjoying the day.
8. Even though I was close to a PB it was worth stopping to talk to Marc and get a kiss (yes you can be sucky when you get old), and it is okay to break the rules and down 1/4 cup of Tim Hortons coffee on the run when you are cold!
9. I'm ecstatic I ran the 21 km - last couple of races I definitely did more walking than running.
10. Need to get a few long rides in, neck, shoulders and back suffered a bit.
11. A good race does wonders for your head space - I'm already looking forward to getting back to training - keep your fingers crossed for good cycling weather.
12. Pigtails work!
13. It means a lot to see a friendly face on the course - thanks for being there.
Your often silent and incommunicado client
Sue
I think I made it under 6:14 which means I was within a minute of my personal best for Great White - not bad for whining about being under trained.
So what did I learn:
1. Egg sandwich for breakfast works (that was practice for Calgary 70.3 - eat breakfast on the bus)
2. Carb-pro at transition works - also gives me a bit of extra water, since I probably under hydrate
3. Sighting for my first lap of the swim was atrocious - I probably added 500 m.
4. Better sleeping through drugs the night before works.
5. It is a liberating experience not to use a watch.
6. I need practice at transition, I dawdle
7. I had to tell Marc he was right (even though I don't do that very often), he was right about just going out and enjoying the day.
8. Even though I was close to a PB it was worth stopping to talk to Marc and get a kiss (yes you can be sucky when you get old), and it is okay to break the rules and down 1/4 cup of Tim Hortons coffee on the run when you are cold!
9. I'm ecstatic I ran the 21 km - last couple of races I definitely did more walking than running.
10. Need to get a few long rides in, neck, shoulders and back suffered a bit.
11. A good race does wonders for your head space - I'm already looking forward to getting back to training - keep your fingers crossed for good cycling weather.
12. Pigtails work!
13. It means a lot to see a friendly face on the course - thanks for being there.
Your often silent and incommunicado client
Sue
Kelsey's 2010 Foothills Charity Tri Race Report (coached by Richelle)
Congrats to Kelsey for being the first PERSON out of the swim! She has also had foot issues which she pushed through to get the day done! Way to go Kelsey!
At the beginning of the race I was a little nervous, since the clouds were brewing thunderstorms, it was freezing and I wanted to brave the 60-degree water wetsuitless. Once I hit the water, I instantly got into race mode, and after the first three minutes I was in the lead. The swim felt very strong and I emerged out of the water first, feeling very confident and full of adrenaline. As I got to my bike, I felt my transition was a little slow and struggled clipping into my pedals.
The bike surprised me, usually being my weakest part of the tri, after the first 5km my legs just turned on and I was flying through my gears. As I approached the transition zone at the end of my bike, I was nervous about the run. I haven't hit rubber to ashphalt in two weeks due to my foot injury and wasn't sure how it was going to pan out. After the first two km's, my foot seemed to simply go numb and I pushed through the rest of the race. I had a strong finish which was great passing two girls on the home stretch. Overall, I am very happy about this first race of the season. I have my competitive hat on now and know what I need to focus on. I dropped 5minutes from last year and have a new PB now :)
Kels
At the beginning of the race I was a little nervous, since the clouds were brewing thunderstorms, it was freezing and I wanted to brave the 60-degree water wetsuitless. Once I hit the water, I instantly got into race mode, and after the first three minutes I was in the lead. The swim felt very strong and I emerged out of the water first, feeling very confident and full of adrenaline. As I got to my bike, I felt my transition was a little slow and struggled clipping into my pedals.
The bike surprised me, usually being my weakest part of the tri, after the first 5km my legs just turned on and I was flying through my gears. As I approached the transition zone at the end of my bike, I was nervous about the run. I haven't hit rubber to ashphalt in two weeks due to my foot injury and wasn't sure how it was going to pan out. After the first two km's, my foot seemed to simply go numb and I pushed through the rest of the race. I had a strong finish which was great passing two girls on the home stretch. Overall, I am very happy about this first race of the season. I have my competitive hat on now and know what I need to focus on. I dropped 5minutes from last year and have a new PB now :)
Kels
Mike "the Runner" Crawford's 2010 GWN Race Report (coached by Angie
From Mike "aka I am a runner" Crawford!!!!! I think that article I sent
that said "there's no such thing as a great bike and a bad run" had quite an
impact on the team as a general rule. Mike gave up a few minutes on the
bike... which honestly could have been the phlegm in his throat from his
cold, but he made it up HUGE on the run. Total net gain, 10 minutes!
CONGRATS Mike... yes... you are a runner! (I loved your process goal on the
run, and how you acknowledge the mental demons that try their darndest to
get you to walk. You didn't give in, and the result speaks for itself.)
CONGRATS!
My goals going into this race were focus and form. I've noticed a lot
lately when my focus wanders, my form falls apart and my pace drops. In the
past I've always relied on distractions, on letting my mind wander to help
get through the work, just let my legs go. I've seen what that does for me,
so this was all about keeping my head together, and doing everything
possible to set up for a great run.
That's the theory, at least. The cold that Jacob had shared with Daddy
(he's very good at sharing) was starting to kick in by Saturday afternoon.
My throat was getting sore, voice coming and going. I wasn't sure how that
would affect the race. Tried to stay hydrated and fueled throughout the
day.
Slept horribly on race night, between Jacob's bouts of coughing and my trips
to the bathroom. The alarm went off way too early. My throat was sore
enough that my usual breakfast of toast wasn't going down. Tried some
oatmeal, wasn't much better. Got my gear together for the ride to the start
with Kelly and Mitch.
Getting my transition area set up I realized just how many things I had
forgotten - body glide, transition towel, sunscreen, and most importantly -
pre-race fuel. I had nothing to sip on for an hour and a half till race
start, as I didn't want to dip into my ride infinit. Between that and the
cold, I had a lot of doubts swimming around. Tried to push these thoughts
away by mingling with other TTL'ers.
The swim was mostly uneventful. Started in the middle, not far from the
front, but wasn't eager to dive into the crowd - I knew the first buoy would
be rough. I took an elbow to the nose on the first turn, but felt like the
current of all those bodies carried me through the corner. Around the
second corner a guy cut in front of me, so I decided to go up and over (if
that was you, sorry!). Swim time was 33:05, just seconds faster than last
year.
Coming out of the water I felt quite nauseous. I took my time in T1,
putting on arm warmers, and the rest of the gear. Started refueling as soon
as I got to the top of the hill, and quickly settled my stomach. I felt
good on the bike, but found that my Garmin wasn't set up as it should have
been, so I had to reset, which threw off my measure of distance/time. I
felt I was holding good speed, but my HR was way lower than usual - not sure
if that was the cold, the extra rest, or what. I pushed when I could, held
pace when I needed. I wasn't going to lay it all down and sabotage my run.
I was passed early on by Scott, and later on by Trevor and Alfred. My mind
wandered a few times, and bringing it back brought me back to pedalling full
circle, which brings up the speed, tried not to beat myself up about it all.
After the last turn on the highway I was ready to be done the bike - the
pavement was horrible, my body was getting sore, and had the headwind.
Instead of fighting it, I sat up and took it a bit easier - told myself to
get ready for the run. Bike time was 2:50, 3 minutes slower than last year,
although I didn't know that at the time.
T2 was quick, just a change of shoes and grab my hat. Got some cheers from
Richelle, then saw the family waiting for me. My throat was so sore I
croaked out something about cough medicine, but I don't think they heard.
My legs felt great, I had to keep backing off the pace. I had a goal pace
in mind, once I settled in I was about :10 slower but was content with that
- still much faster pace than I've run in a tri before. Ran for a bit with
Trevor, congratulated him on his great ride, then carried on. Saw Scott
again, Alfred, and Angie and Sarah battling it out. I knew from about 7k
that nutrition wasn't sitting well. I was walking the aid stations,
starting to take water and coke, but it wasn't easy. I just hoped that I'd
get enough in to not fall apart before the end.
John, Cindy, Ally and Caroline seemed to be everywhere on the course.
Smiling, cheering, it all helps so much. After the turnaround, I started
seeing all the other TTL'ers. Tried to cheer them on the best I could. By
15k my pace was dropping - I knew the lack of sufficient calories was
catching me, but I drew on my running successes this year to keep going. No
walking allowed aside from aid stations, was the goal. Letting myself off
was a bit of a demon of mine in the past - I wanted to put that to rest.
I was amazed at the strength I found for the last couple of k. Came round
the corner, saw the tent, heard the cheering and knew it was almost over.
Run time 1:54, 12 minutes faster than last year. Total time was 10 minutes
better as well.
Results: I accomplished most of my goals, the important ones anyway. I
controlled what I could (effort, nutrition, mind). I tried to let go of the
things I couldn't (my cold, the wind, forgetting a bunch of stuff). I
didn't let myself walk outside of an aid station. I expected my bike to be
faster, still need to figure out what happened there. But as hard as it was
at the end, I felt that I had the run that I had been hoping for.
Thanks to all the teammates and their families out supporting each other.
So much of my training is solo, it makes such a huge difference on race day.
And Angie: see? I'm a runner now too. I'm looking forward to IMC.
Mike
that said "there's no such thing as a great bike and a bad run" had quite an
impact on the team as a general rule. Mike gave up a few minutes on the
bike... which honestly could have been the phlegm in his throat from his
cold, but he made it up HUGE on the run. Total net gain, 10 minutes!
CONGRATS Mike... yes... you are a runner! (I loved your process goal on the
run, and how you acknowledge the mental demons that try their darndest to
get you to walk. You didn't give in, and the result speaks for itself.)
CONGRATS!
My goals going into this race were focus and form. I've noticed a lot
lately when my focus wanders, my form falls apart and my pace drops. In the
past I've always relied on distractions, on letting my mind wander to help
get through the work, just let my legs go. I've seen what that does for me,
so this was all about keeping my head together, and doing everything
possible to set up for a great run.
That's the theory, at least. The cold that Jacob had shared with Daddy
(he's very good at sharing) was starting to kick in by Saturday afternoon.
My throat was getting sore, voice coming and going. I wasn't sure how that
would affect the race. Tried to stay hydrated and fueled throughout the
day.
Slept horribly on race night, between Jacob's bouts of coughing and my trips
to the bathroom. The alarm went off way too early. My throat was sore
enough that my usual breakfast of toast wasn't going down. Tried some
oatmeal, wasn't much better. Got my gear together for the ride to the start
with Kelly and Mitch.
Getting my transition area set up I realized just how many things I had
forgotten - body glide, transition towel, sunscreen, and most importantly -
pre-race fuel. I had nothing to sip on for an hour and a half till race
start, as I didn't want to dip into my ride infinit. Between that and the
cold, I had a lot of doubts swimming around. Tried to push these thoughts
away by mingling with other TTL'ers.
The swim was mostly uneventful. Started in the middle, not far from the
front, but wasn't eager to dive into the crowd - I knew the first buoy would
be rough. I took an elbow to the nose on the first turn, but felt like the
current of all those bodies carried me through the corner. Around the
second corner a guy cut in front of me, so I decided to go up and over (if
that was you, sorry!). Swim time was 33:05, just seconds faster than last
year.
Coming out of the water I felt quite nauseous. I took my time in T1,
putting on arm warmers, and the rest of the gear. Started refueling as soon
as I got to the top of the hill, and quickly settled my stomach. I felt
good on the bike, but found that my Garmin wasn't set up as it should have
been, so I had to reset, which threw off my measure of distance/time. I
felt I was holding good speed, but my HR was way lower than usual - not sure
if that was the cold, the extra rest, or what. I pushed when I could, held
pace when I needed. I wasn't going to lay it all down and sabotage my run.
I was passed early on by Scott, and later on by Trevor and Alfred. My mind
wandered a few times, and bringing it back brought me back to pedalling full
circle, which brings up the speed, tried not to beat myself up about it all.
After the last turn on the highway I was ready to be done the bike - the
pavement was horrible, my body was getting sore, and had the headwind.
Instead of fighting it, I sat up and took it a bit easier - told myself to
get ready for the run. Bike time was 2:50, 3 minutes slower than last year,
although I didn't know that at the time.
T2 was quick, just a change of shoes and grab my hat. Got some cheers from
Richelle, then saw the family waiting for me. My throat was so sore I
croaked out something about cough medicine, but I don't think they heard.
My legs felt great, I had to keep backing off the pace. I had a goal pace
in mind, once I settled in I was about :10 slower but was content with that
- still much faster pace than I've run in a tri before. Ran for a bit with
Trevor, congratulated him on his great ride, then carried on. Saw Scott
again, Alfred, and Angie and Sarah battling it out. I knew from about 7k
that nutrition wasn't sitting well. I was walking the aid stations,
starting to take water and coke, but it wasn't easy. I just hoped that I'd
get enough in to not fall apart before the end.
John, Cindy, Ally and Caroline seemed to be everywhere on the course.
Smiling, cheering, it all helps so much. After the turnaround, I started
seeing all the other TTL'ers. Tried to cheer them on the best I could. By
15k my pace was dropping - I knew the lack of sufficient calories was
catching me, but I drew on my running successes this year to keep going. No
walking allowed aside from aid stations, was the goal. Letting myself off
was a bit of a demon of mine in the past - I wanted to put that to rest.
I was amazed at the strength I found for the last couple of k. Came round
the corner, saw the tent, heard the cheering and knew it was almost over.
Run time 1:54, 12 minutes faster than last year. Total time was 10 minutes
better as well.
Results: I accomplished most of my goals, the important ones anyway. I
controlled what I could (effort, nutrition, mind). I tried to let go of the
things I couldn't (my cold, the wind, forgetting a bunch of stuff). I
didn't let myself walk outside of an aid station. I expected my bike to be
faster, still need to figure out what happened there. But as hard as it was
at the end, I felt that I had the run that I had been hoping for.
Thanks to all the teammates and their families out supporting each other.
So much of my training is solo, it makes such a huge difference on race day.
And Angie: see? I'm a runner now too. I'm looking forward to IMC.
Mike
Coach Sarah's 2010 GWN Race Report
This race season has been an eventful one......especially since I was not planning on racing this year. I think feeling more relaxed overall going into this race helped with the outcome.
Race goal: Sub 5 hours (last year was 5:02:57)
Usually for this race we stay at friends of ours for the weekend in Edmonton, guess I should have double checked that we had arranged this earlier.....instead we realized that they were on vacation and just getting back on the Friday night. Oops. Good thing Pam had a hotel room that she needed to get rid of (too bad she wasn’t able to make it to race though). Turns out it was much closer and more convenient. I was not following one of the biggest rules of racing “don’t try anything new on race day” as I tried out my poor man’s version of a disc wheel on the bike and swam in some new goggles.
Swim: a little slower than last year, however, I was not surprised as I have not been in the pool as much as I should be. I also had some cramping during the last portion of the second lap. I told myself to take the time to stretch it out with the swim strokes, watch the breathing and reminded myself that triathlons are not won in the swim........not that I was going to win anything.
Bike: Goal 2:40, time 2:37. I was pleased with my bike. After the race I was really happy that I had not been passed my ANY girls.........until I remember that ANGIE flew by me......so only one girl. I found out that I can burp/ puke and continue to ride at 40km/h. On the way home I was getting some aching into the thighs and lower abdomen so I tried stretching it out in a gentle pelvic thrust movement as I passed the traffic cops before heading back into town. Amusing I am sure!
Run: Goal 1:45, time 1:38:05. Let me just say I surprised myself!! I had done some bad math in my head before getting off the bike and thought that I needed a 1:45 to come in under 5 hours. I started the run and decided to race by feel. Things were feeling good. I told myself that “pain is temporary”.....but then I thought, “I don’t have any pain”, things were good so I just pushed hard. I counted down the kilometres and kept telling myself that I could do 10 more...9 more...8 more...ect. I will be honest, it helped knowing that Angie was ahead of me and that I was catching up. Knowing how strong of a competitor she is, I knew I was having a good day. Having fellow TTL athletes cheering me on and telling me Angie’s just ahead, go get her, sure did help. I am sure that people were telling Angie that I was behind her and to keep pushing hard! In the end I was racing against my own time goals and I succeeded. My run time ended up being less than 2 minutes slower than my stand alone ½ marathon, I am thrilled.
Final time: 4:47:46! I exceeded my goal!
Thank you to all of the fellow athletes for cheering me on and taking so many pictures along the way! Thank you also to my hottie husband for all of his support, he truly is my biggest fan and believes in me more than I believe in myself at times. And of course, thank you Angie! Thank you for coaching me along the way, all of your support and your friendly competition and motivation you provided me!:))
Race goal: Sub 5 hours (last year was 5:02:57)
Usually for this race we stay at friends of ours for the weekend in Edmonton, guess I should have double checked that we had arranged this earlier.....instead we realized that they were on vacation and just getting back on the Friday night. Oops. Good thing Pam had a hotel room that she needed to get rid of (too bad she wasn’t able to make it to race though). Turns out it was much closer and more convenient. I was not following one of the biggest rules of racing “don’t try anything new on race day” as I tried out my poor man’s version of a disc wheel on the bike and swam in some new goggles.
Swim: a little slower than last year, however, I was not surprised as I have not been in the pool as much as I should be. I also had some cramping during the last portion of the second lap. I told myself to take the time to stretch it out with the swim strokes, watch the breathing and reminded myself that triathlons are not won in the swim........not that I was going to win anything.
Bike: Goal 2:40, time 2:37. I was pleased with my bike. After the race I was really happy that I had not been passed my ANY girls.........until I remember that ANGIE flew by me......so only one girl. I found out that I can burp/ puke and continue to ride at 40km/h. On the way home I was getting some aching into the thighs and lower abdomen so I tried stretching it out in a gentle pelvic thrust movement as I passed the traffic cops before heading back into town. Amusing I am sure!
Run: Goal 1:45, time 1:38:05. Let me just say I surprised myself!! I had done some bad math in my head before getting off the bike and thought that I needed a 1:45 to come in under 5 hours. I started the run and decided to race by feel. Things were feeling good. I told myself that “pain is temporary”.....but then I thought, “I don’t have any pain”, things were good so I just pushed hard. I counted down the kilometres and kept telling myself that I could do 10 more...9 more...8 more...ect. I will be honest, it helped knowing that Angie was ahead of me and that I was catching up. Knowing how strong of a competitor she is, I knew I was having a good day. Having fellow TTL athletes cheering me on and telling me Angie’s just ahead, go get her, sure did help. I am sure that people were telling Angie that I was behind her and to keep pushing hard! In the end I was racing against my own time goals and I succeeded. My run time ended up being less than 2 minutes slower than my stand alone ½ marathon, I am thrilled.
Final time: 4:47:46! I exceeded my goal!
Thank you to all of the fellow athletes for cheering me on and taking so many pictures along the way! Thank you also to my hottie husband for all of his support, he truly is my biggest fan and believes in me more than I believe in myself at times. And of course, thank you Angie! Thank you for coaching me along the way, all of your support and your friendly competition and motivation you provided me!:))
Tanya's 2010 GWN Race Report (coached by Angie)
Thank you Tanya... one of my favourite moments of the day was when you came up to me with a Cheshire Cat smile, and told me your time! You told me your best hope was 6 hours, and you’d just finished in 5:45 capping the day with a stand alone PR half marathon. Holy cow!!!! The work is paying off. You got it done and now you’re on to IMC. THANK YOU for your race report Tanya!!! CONGRATS!
AngieThanks for your support on the weekend. You helped me relaize that it really does take alot of work to improve yourself but it can be done!The race went well for me, I stayed calm during the swim, and made sure I ate lots on the bike, although i forgot to cut up the banana before hand so that was interesting trying to eat!My HR monitor clipped off the strap and had to put it in the bento box for the bike. Had to go by feel which wasnt a good feeling, my legs were definately taking back to me!I was thankful to get off the bike and was happy when I saw 4hours on the clock at the start of the bike. I felt good right away on the run and ran with a girl who was handicapped. She was running at a good clip. I didnt stick with her but she was within sights the entire way. It was fun to pick people out that I was going to catch up to next and found the K's flowed by nicely till about 17-18K. I realized it was time to pick up the pace alittle and finally rounded the corner to see 5:45. My goal was 6hours so this was extra special to be 15mins faster then my secret goal. My run time was the fastest half I have EVER run. 1:51 and change.Congrats to everyone else who who completed the race with smiles on their faces! I also enjoyed reading everyones race reports.
Tanya
AngieThanks for your support on the weekend. You helped me relaize that it really does take alot of work to improve yourself but it can be done!The race went well for me, I stayed calm during the swim, and made sure I ate lots on the bike, although i forgot to cut up the banana before hand so that was interesting trying to eat!My HR monitor clipped off the strap and had to put it in the bento box for the bike. Had to go by feel which wasnt a good feeling, my legs were definately taking back to me!I was thankful to get off the bike and was happy when I saw 4hours on the clock at the start of the bike. I felt good right away on the run and ran with a girl who was handicapped. She was running at a good clip. I didnt stick with her but she was within sights the entire way. It was fun to pick people out that I was going to catch up to next and found the K's flowed by nicely till about 17-18K. I realized it was time to pick up the pace alittle and finally rounded the corner to see 5:45. My goal was 6hours so this was extra special to be 15mins faster then my secret goal. My run time was the fastest half I have EVER run. 1:51 and change.Congrats to everyone else who who completed the race with smiles on their faces! I also enjoyed reading everyones race reports.
Tanya
Carla's 2010 GWN Race Report (coached by Angie)
Well let just say going into this race I didn’t feel rested not taper wise but more sleep deprived and mentally drained. My week before had been really busy. I have to be honest, the last month I have been tormented by guilty feelings of spending less time with my family and struggling with those torn feelings of is this all worth it. Not that I have to trade but the balance was off for me. My kids are getting at a great age and putting me first is not on the priority list. So going into the race I was confident in my abilities but I knew I would have to fight mentally in this race so that was the true test.
Getting to Stony Plain was great because it put me in race mode. It helped a lot to see everyone at the carbo load dinner and at the pre-race warm-up on Saturday. Thank you Angie as you prepare us well by going through everything. My swim felt good on Saturday so I was happy about that.
The morning of the race I woke up feeling tired b/c the kids were up late and the train that seemed to blow its whistle all night long. Nevertheless it was RACE morning and things had to be done. Mixed bottles of infinite, ate usual breakfast, toast and honey, and egg on toast. Got my cup of coffee from Angie Winkler (thanks) got all the gears going! Ok got my race bags in Richelle’s car and we off about 6:35 to race start. Quickly found my bike, pumped the tires (thanks Leslie for the pump), put my fuel on my bike, turned in my run bag, and got in the porta potty line. Finished sun screening myself …I hear Cindy teasing me from a far about “still getting sunscreen on Carla.” We always have a way of making each other laugh before a race only this time she wasn’t racing! Thanks Cindy! Found JoZ and headed to the beach to do a quick warm-up and find a spot on the beach. I had a great warm-up swim…long and strong is my thought for the swim. Got out and made my way through the timing mat and ran into Tara who was clearly nervous about the swim and talking about IMC. I am glad I was able to relax you Tara. The story of Cindy’s and I swim start at IMC last year is pretty funny. You will do well at IMC! OK race mode, found a spot on the beach left middle like last year and waited for the count down. My Goal for the swim was to swim smooth and be faster or on par with last year. Hit my Garmin on (yes I wore my Garmin after cursing myself for not at Wasa) and I was off. The first lap was choppy till the second buoy and finally I got into a rhythm. My plan of going wide at the buoys’ paid off as I didn’t get kicked or slowed down. First lap 20 plus minutes yes I was on course way better then Wasa. Second lap seemed to go faster and much smoother. I must say the guys were the worse swimmers of all. Sorry guys but geeze. Every time someone came into my space it was a guy ..green cap after green cap. I didn’t pick it up in the final lap as this was not my focus maintaining is a good word for my swim. I came out quickly glanced at my watch 41 min + great! Tried to get off the wetsuit and damn my arms got stuck! Finally got it off and ran off to find my bike.
My HR was actually lower then normal but I knew I didn’t push the swim... (thought) next race. Quick race belt, helmet, watch on bike, socks, and shoes and off only to be blocked by another racer WALKING in transition aisle. My thoughts “REALLY who walks in transition???” I say excuse me as a wanted to run her over with my bike b/c she hit me in the swim a couple of times trying to squeeze in a small space in the water. Ok get passed her mounted the bike and as soon as I got out of the main road, my race belt fell off ahhh I have to get that. STOP #1- infinite poured out my bottle, grabbed the race belt and off again. Got past the congestion of bikers and got into a good cadence…hmm cadence that wasn’t working either (thought) “not stopping.” Got to the awful railroad tracks boom boom there goes my profile bottle and 1 hour of fuelling gone. STOP#2 -I had to picked that up and probably almost caused and accident. Now I am thinking ok there goes a minute plus get the bottle back on secure it and thought now I only have 2 hours of fuel left. I knew I had gels for the run but I didn’t want to rely on those. (Thought)..plan B in place. Take all of fuel on bike. All I kept thinking it could be worse you could get a flat. At that point several TTL members passed me up asked if I needed help/fuel..thanks Tara. I think Caroline has the picture of all of us together. Ok finally I am thinking about what I am supposed to do. The first 30-40k went well I was watching my HR staying in a moderate mode. I knew I could go faster but my new mantra was to “be patient, conserve on the bike so I can have a good run.” I knew I wanted my run to be good so this was the plan and when I the lost fuel, I knew there would be a price to pay on the run as well. STOP #3 came in about 40k. I dropped my chain (thought..”rookie”) and did the ole trick of putting back in big gear it went on but locked. ..ok stop put it back on try to get my cadence sensor back working ..no dice…continue. Meanwhile Tracy (saw her with a flat earlier thought poor Tracy) catches up with me and ask if I need help. Ok I knew time had to be made up and this was the time and after the turn around it was game on zone 3 here I come. I had to pee and missed my opportunity on the one hill. I tried so hard but couldn’t. You were right Angie I passed a lot of people at that point. I even caught up with Leslie Anne with her fast swim. She screams “not bad for a small chic” and then “HAPPY JULY 4th!” I had to laugh as I thought of our conversation the day before. She thought I was from the Maritime’s J..”no” I say ..from Lousiana, USA. I was feeling good way better then last year at that point. I knew I was going to have a good run. I fuelled way better although I know I didn’t get in enough with the missing bottle of infinite. The last 10k thinking about T2 couldn’t wait to get off the bike and onto the run. I got my Garmin off and put on my arm worked like a charm with my quick release.
T2 screaming my number found my spot. Hat, shoes off/ruining shoes on, race belt I left it tied to my bike. I couldn’t fix it at that point. I started the run at first ouch but then I felt good again WAY better then last year. I went out fast and kept repeating too fast, too fast, slow down..oh there are the porta potties ..pee pee…ok there went another minute but oh well it has to be done. I saw Leslie Ann again…screaming “did you warm it up for me?” I say yes you bet! I knew she was having a good day! Turn the corner saw Kelly who I knew was also was having a good day give a quick pat and move on. I too was going to have a good day the run was my baby. I was holding a good pace for a while but I knew I had to get some fuel in soon. The infamous side stitch was back. So I slowed a bit and ran through it and it finally went away. Took in gel about 15min into the run…uhh yuck seem to just hang there in my gut. MANTRA for run “hold pace hold pace, no walking. I didn’t want to walk and I didn’t need to unlike last year…as the proper fuelling on bike has paid off. Hit the 13k mark ok need some more fuel this time I stop at the aid station to make sure I get enough water to wash that GU down. Yuck still hanging in my stomach and I actually felt nauseous from all the junk in my gut. I saw Alfred, Scott, and others. It was great to see everyone and everyone looked so good. I kept pushing and holding pace…and telling myself to hold on till mile 10 b/c I knew that when the fuel issues might come up and it did. Hit mile 10 and knew it was a mental race from here on out. I did slow down a bit from the second half but I was happy with holding my goal race pace. I did have that conversation with myself but I quickly shoved away and kept going I was almost there. I heard a girl say we have 10 min. left and she was right 10 plus minutes is nothing but something when your legs are begging you to stop. Grab a coke but worried with my gut was going to do but I was so close what can happen…push on. Saw the tri-life tent and everyone screaming. I hear Angie’s voice “go Carla.” I turn the corner and there is was on the clock 5:29.30 sec. I knew I wasn’t going to make my 5:30 goal but I didn’t care b/c I had a great day and for whatever reason the minutes I lost on the bike from stopping shattered a goal. No big deal. I know it had nothing to do with my ability to RACE. I took 12 +min. off my time from last year and I felt so good. My swim was not my fastest but fast for the year and for what ever reason I get faster in the pool it doesn’t seem to show in the open water. My bike was about 6 min plus faster then last year and my run was 7 min faster which was my ultimate goal!! I am learning to hold on the bike so I can race the run. Yahoo!
Thank you everyone we really do have a great team and I felt the support! It was great to cheer everyone on. Paddy and Trish you were so cute at the end coming in together. Now I am officially taking a rest week and happy. I feel good I actually feel like I could do workouts but I am notJ. I have a long way to go to Ironman Arizona! Good luck everyone with IMC training! Remember the toughest part is the training! Thanks JoZ we really had some good chats! Thanks for all the photographers’ and cheerleaders. I heard your voice Cindy and missed you out there on the course.
Getting to Stony Plain was great because it put me in race mode. It helped a lot to see everyone at the carbo load dinner and at the pre-race warm-up on Saturday. Thank you Angie as you prepare us well by going through everything. My swim felt good on Saturday so I was happy about that.
The morning of the race I woke up feeling tired b/c the kids were up late and the train that seemed to blow its whistle all night long. Nevertheless it was RACE morning and things had to be done. Mixed bottles of infinite, ate usual breakfast, toast and honey, and egg on toast. Got my cup of coffee from Angie Winkler (thanks) got all the gears going! Ok got my race bags in Richelle’s car and we off about 6:35 to race start. Quickly found my bike, pumped the tires (thanks Leslie for the pump), put my fuel on my bike, turned in my run bag, and got in the porta potty line. Finished sun screening myself …I hear Cindy teasing me from a far about “still getting sunscreen on Carla.” We always have a way of making each other laugh before a race only this time she wasn’t racing! Thanks Cindy! Found JoZ and headed to the beach to do a quick warm-up and find a spot on the beach. I had a great warm-up swim…long and strong is my thought for the swim. Got out and made my way through the timing mat and ran into Tara who was clearly nervous about the swim and talking about IMC. I am glad I was able to relax you Tara. The story of Cindy’s and I swim start at IMC last year is pretty funny. You will do well at IMC! OK race mode, found a spot on the beach left middle like last year and waited for the count down. My Goal for the swim was to swim smooth and be faster or on par with last year. Hit my Garmin on (yes I wore my Garmin after cursing myself for not at Wasa) and I was off. The first lap was choppy till the second buoy and finally I got into a rhythm. My plan of going wide at the buoys’ paid off as I didn’t get kicked or slowed down. First lap 20 plus minutes yes I was on course way better then Wasa. Second lap seemed to go faster and much smoother. I must say the guys were the worse swimmers of all. Sorry guys but geeze. Every time someone came into my space it was a guy ..green cap after green cap. I didn’t pick it up in the final lap as this was not my focus maintaining is a good word for my swim. I came out quickly glanced at my watch 41 min + great! Tried to get off the wetsuit and damn my arms got stuck! Finally got it off and ran off to find my bike.
My HR was actually lower then normal but I knew I didn’t push the swim... (thought) next race. Quick race belt, helmet, watch on bike, socks, and shoes and off only to be blocked by another racer WALKING in transition aisle. My thoughts “REALLY who walks in transition???” I say excuse me as a wanted to run her over with my bike b/c she hit me in the swim a couple of times trying to squeeze in a small space in the water. Ok get passed her mounted the bike and as soon as I got out of the main road, my race belt fell off ahhh I have to get that. STOP #1- infinite poured out my bottle, grabbed the race belt and off again. Got past the congestion of bikers and got into a good cadence…hmm cadence that wasn’t working either (thought) “not stopping.” Got to the awful railroad tracks boom boom there goes my profile bottle and 1 hour of fuelling gone. STOP#2 -I had to picked that up and probably almost caused and accident. Now I am thinking ok there goes a minute plus get the bottle back on secure it and thought now I only have 2 hours of fuel left. I knew I had gels for the run but I didn’t want to rely on those. (Thought)..plan B in place. Take all of fuel on bike. All I kept thinking it could be worse you could get a flat. At that point several TTL members passed me up asked if I needed help/fuel..thanks Tara. I think Caroline has the picture of all of us together. Ok finally I am thinking about what I am supposed to do. The first 30-40k went well I was watching my HR staying in a moderate mode. I knew I could go faster but my new mantra was to “be patient, conserve on the bike so I can have a good run.” I knew I wanted my run to be good so this was the plan and when I the lost fuel, I knew there would be a price to pay on the run as well. STOP #3 came in about 40k. I dropped my chain (thought..”rookie”) and did the ole trick of putting back in big gear it went on but locked. ..ok stop put it back on try to get my cadence sensor back working ..no dice…continue. Meanwhile Tracy (saw her with a flat earlier thought poor Tracy) catches up with me and ask if I need help. Ok I knew time had to be made up and this was the time and after the turn around it was game on zone 3 here I come. I had to pee and missed my opportunity on the one hill. I tried so hard but couldn’t. You were right Angie I passed a lot of people at that point. I even caught up with Leslie Anne with her fast swim. She screams “not bad for a small chic” and then “HAPPY JULY 4th!” I had to laugh as I thought of our conversation the day before. She thought I was from the Maritime’s J..”no” I say ..from Lousiana, USA. I was feeling good way better then last year at that point. I knew I was going to have a good run. I fuelled way better although I know I didn’t get in enough with the missing bottle of infinite. The last 10k thinking about T2 couldn’t wait to get off the bike and onto the run. I got my Garmin off and put on my arm worked like a charm with my quick release.
T2 screaming my number found my spot. Hat, shoes off/ruining shoes on, race belt I left it tied to my bike. I couldn’t fix it at that point. I started the run at first ouch but then I felt good again WAY better then last year. I went out fast and kept repeating too fast, too fast, slow down..oh there are the porta potties ..pee pee…ok there went another minute but oh well it has to be done. I saw Leslie Ann again…screaming “did you warm it up for me?” I say yes you bet! I knew she was having a good day! Turn the corner saw Kelly who I knew was also was having a good day give a quick pat and move on. I too was going to have a good day the run was my baby. I was holding a good pace for a while but I knew I had to get some fuel in soon. The infamous side stitch was back. So I slowed a bit and ran through it and it finally went away. Took in gel about 15min into the run…uhh yuck seem to just hang there in my gut. MANTRA for run “hold pace hold pace, no walking. I didn’t want to walk and I didn’t need to unlike last year…as the proper fuelling on bike has paid off. Hit the 13k mark ok need some more fuel this time I stop at the aid station to make sure I get enough water to wash that GU down. Yuck still hanging in my stomach and I actually felt nauseous from all the junk in my gut. I saw Alfred, Scott, and others. It was great to see everyone and everyone looked so good. I kept pushing and holding pace…and telling myself to hold on till mile 10 b/c I knew that when the fuel issues might come up and it did. Hit mile 10 and knew it was a mental race from here on out. I did slow down a bit from the second half but I was happy with holding my goal race pace. I did have that conversation with myself but I quickly shoved away and kept going I was almost there. I heard a girl say we have 10 min. left and she was right 10 plus minutes is nothing but something when your legs are begging you to stop. Grab a coke but worried with my gut was going to do but I was so close what can happen…push on. Saw the tri-life tent and everyone screaming. I hear Angie’s voice “go Carla.” I turn the corner and there is was on the clock 5:29.30 sec. I knew I wasn’t going to make my 5:30 goal but I didn’t care b/c I had a great day and for whatever reason the minutes I lost on the bike from stopping shattered a goal. No big deal. I know it had nothing to do with my ability to RACE. I took 12 +min. off my time from last year and I felt so good. My swim was not my fastest but fast for the year and for what ever reason I get faster in the pool it doesn’t seem to show in the open water. My bike was about 6 min plus faster then last year and my run was 7 min faster which was my ultimate goal!! I am learning to hold on the bike so I can race the run. Yahoo!
Thank you everyone we really do have a great team and I felt the support! It was great to cheer everyone on. Paddy and Trish you were so cute at the end coming in together. Now I am officially taking a rest week and happy. I feel good I actually feel like I could do workouts but I am notJ. I have a long way to go to Ironman Arizona! Good luck everyone with IMC training! Remember the toughest part is the training! Thanks JoZ we really had some good chats! Thanks for all the photographers’ and cheerleaders. I heard your voice Cindy and missed you out there on the course.
Kent's 2010 GWN Race Report (coached by Angie)
PRE-RACE
This was a crazy weekend. I knew it would be going into it. My daughter qualified for the Alberta Long Course Provincial Swim Championships in Edmonton at the last meet of the season and sure enough it coincided with GWN. As much as I needed to focus on my needs and my race prep, I also needed to focus on supporting her. We changed our plans for accommodations so that I could still be close to Stony and Hope and Ella could be close to the Kinsman Centre downtown.
On the first day of the meet (Friday morning), who should I bump into at the Kinsman Centre… Angie! She was attending to one of her Junior Elite Triathletes. I was able to give her an update on my past couple of months of training and prep – I have always been notorious for being a poor communicator with my coach; I don’t know why she puts up with me! She insisted that I get a swim in at Hubble Lake if I could fit it in as I have not been able to get any open water swimming in so far this season – it’s also my weakest of the three disciplines. Fortunately, I had already planned on getting the swim in after race package pick-up
After bumping into Scott, Cindy and Alfred at the Arena, I learned that the lake was not as pristine as it has been in the previous 5 GWN races I’ve participated in. I don’t relish open water swimming, so this bit of news didn’t sit well with me. Turned out to be alright though. I learned a long time ago that spending a few minutes to blow bubbles in the water for a few minutes before venturing out for the swim does a lot for calming any jitters. Once again no problem. I hooked up with another group of swimmers (safety in numbers) and headed out with the intent to just swim out to the first buoy, turn around and head for shore. Once I reached the buoy, I felt good, and a couple of the swimmers I was with intended to swim a full loop. I decided to do the same. Great choice as I finished the loop feeling strong enough to do it again (I didn’t).
All set for Saturday morning’s TTL race prep session, which was a lot of fun. Really good to reconnect with the team. Again the swim went well – I felt ready to go. Well almost… I’ve been plagued with a shin splint problem in my left leg since finishing the Peach City Half in Penticton on the Victoria Day long weekend. It’s put a dent in my ability to run with any speed. It still wasn’t great on our quick practice loop at the lake. I would have to alter my race plan to compensate. Well, with that done it’s time to get some down time. Off to watch Ella swim a couple of events and get an early pasta dinner in.
RACE DAY
I had a great sleep – courtesy of the humidity in the Kinsman Centre. I woke up before the alarm and felt ready for day ahead. Quick breakfast of oatmeal, banana and yogurt and then grab my nutrition (something I forgot in a previous year) and gear before heading to the lake. I’ll spare all the little details, except to say I’ve “never” seen a porta-potty line run so quick and efficiently at “any” race… kudos to Wade Church for sorting this out.
A quick final dip in the lake to adjust the wetsuit and blow some more bubbles, and then back to the beach to prepare for the start. No jitters, no nerves. Just ready to go.
The swim executed perfectly. I seeded well. No collisions. I owned my space. I found feet to draft. I sandwiched myself between swimmers on my left and right and sighted well. I reached the first buoy quicker than expected. Same for completing the first loop. Same for the second loop. Completing in 40:05. 5 tenths/sec faster than in 2008 when I last raced GWN!
T1 was quick with one exception… getting my jersey on… my upper body was still too wet and I got tangled up – probably cost me a full minute getting it sorted out.
The bike was great. I knew I needed to hold back a bit to have a bit of a jump on the run. I “spinned” in my small chain gear for the entire course. I added time to my 2008 bike – about 6 min, finishing in 2:51. I finished feeling strong though, not being passed in the last 30km. The course is great for getting to see other TTL athletes working the course. Lots of waves and cheers exchanged. T2 was flawless. In and out in very little time. Angie has taught me well!
The run was a surprise. I thought I would struggle with my shin splint problem, and for the first 3km it felt like I was in for a world of hurt, but it never materialized. I focused on the task. Like just about everyone else from our team, I can’t thank John, Cindy and Richelle enough for the cheering and words of encouragement. Big thanks to Scott too. At the 18 km mark I was starting to lose focus and struggled with that nagging voice that says “just walk for a bit”. I can’t remember the conversation, but our quick chat got me re-focused to finish strong. 1:55:08 – almost a minute faster than 2008 and only 6 min off my standalone ½ Mary PB.
Final time was 5:26:26. 6 min off of my PB for this course. I had no time goal going into this race – only to gauge my training progress for IMC. Based on this result I think I’m on track. I’m also grateful for reconnecting with team mates that I haven’t seen for weeks. We are already starting to hook up for training sessions – so important to get through those really long rides leading up to the Penticton camp an the big race in August.
Congratulations to everyone who competed, and thanks to Angie for leadership, her patience (with me), and the knowledge and experience she shares with us all.
This was a crazy weekend. I knew it would be going into it. My daughter qualified for the Alberta Long Course Provincial Swim Championships in Edmonton at the last meet of the season and sure enough it coincided with GWN. As much as I needed to focus on my needs and my race prep, I also needed to focus on supporting her. We changed our plans for accommodations so that I could still be close to Stony and Hope and Ella could be close to the Kinsman Centre downtown.
On the first day of the meet (Friday morning), who should I bump into at the Kinsman Centre… Angie! She was attending to one of her Junior Elite Triathletes. I was able to give her an update on my past couple of months of training and prep – I have always been notorious for being a poor communicator with my coach; I don’t know why she puts up with me! She insisted that I get a swim in at Hubble Lake if I could fit it in as I have not been able to get any open water swimming in so far this season – it’s also my weakest of the three disciplines. Fortunately, I had already planned on getting the swim in after race package pick-up
After bumping into Scott, Cindy and Alfred at the Arena, I learned that the lake was not as pristine as it has been in the previous 5 GWN races I’ve participated in. I don’t relish open water swimming, so this bit of news didn’t sit well with me. Turned out to be alright though. I learned a long time ago that spending a few minutes to blow bubbles in the water for a few minutes before venturing out for the swim does a lot for calming any jitters. Once again no problem. I hooked up with another group of swimmers (safety in numbers) and headed out with the intent to just swim out to the first buoy, turn around and head for shore. Once I reached the buoy, I felt good, and a couple of the swimmers I was with intended to swim a full loop. I decided to do the same. Great choice as I finished the loop feeling strong enough to do it again (I didn’t).
All set for Saturday morning’s TTL race prep session, which was a lot of fun. Really good to reconnect with the team. Again the swim went well – I felt ready to go. Well almost… I’ve been plagued with a shin splint problem in my left leg since finishing the Peach City Half in Penticton on the Victoria Day long weekend. It’s put a dent in my ability to run with any speed. It still wasn’t great on our quick practice loop at the lake. I would have to alter my race plan to compensate. Well, with that done it’s time to get some down time. Off to watch Ella swim a couple of events and get an early pasta dinner in.
RACE DAY
I had a great sleep – courtesy of the humidity in the Kinsman Centre. I woke up before the alarm and felt ready for day ahead. Quick breakfast of oatmeal, banana and yogurt and then grab my nutrition (something I forgot in a previous year) and gear before heading to the lake. I’ll spare all the little details, except to say I’ve “never” seen a porta-potty line run so quick and efficiently at “any” race… kudos to Wade Church for sorting this out.
A quick final dip in the lake to adjust the wetsuit and blow some more bubbles, and then back to the beach to prepare for the start. No jitters, no nerves. Just ready to go.
The swim executed perfectly. I seeded well. No collisions. I owned my space. I found feet to draft. I sandwiched myself between swimmers on my left and right and sighted well. I reached the first buoy quicker than expected. Same for completing the first loop. Same for the second loop. Completing in 40:05. 5 tenths/sec faster than in 2008 when I last raced GWN!
T1 was quick with one exception… getting my jersey on… my upper body was still too wet and I got tangled up – probably cost me a full minute getting it sorted out.
The bike was great. I knew I needed to hold back a bit to have a bit of a jump on the run. I “spinned” in my small chain gear for the entire course. I added time to my 2008 bike – about 6 min, finishing in 2:51. I finished feeling strong though, not being passed in the last 30km. The course is great for getting to see other TTL athletes working the course. Lots of waves and cheers exchanged. T2 was flawless. In and out in very little time. Angie has taught me well!
The run was a surprise. I thought I would struggle with my shin splint problem, and for the first 3km it felt like I was in for a world of hurt, but it never materialized. I focused on the task. Like just about everyone else from our team, I can’t thank John, Cindy and Richelle enough for the cheering and words of encouragement. Big thanks to Scott too. At the 18 km mark I was starting to lose focus and struggled with that nagging voice that says “just walk for a bit”. I can’t remember the conversation, but our quick chat got me re-focused to finish strong. 1:55:08 – almost a minute faster than 2008 and only 6 min off my standalone ½ Mary PB.
Final time was 5:26:26. 6 min off of my PB for this course. I had no time goal going into this race – only to gauge my training progress for IMC. Based on this result I think I’m on track. I’m also grateful for reconnecting with team mates that I haven’t seen for weeks. We are already starting to hook up for training sessions – so important to get through those really long rides leading up to the Penticton camp an the big race in August.
Congratulations to everyone who competed, and thanks to Angie for leadership, her patience (with me), and the knowledge and experience she shares with us all.
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