Ironman Canada 2007
A year of preparation and today was finally the day! It is hard to even try to put in day into words, the anticipation, excitement, fear and yes plenty of Gatorade.
I while managed to sleep a fair number of hours, I was restless with anxiety mainly of over sleeping and not the actual race. I awoke 4:15am and gather up all my remaining gear and joined the rest of the team on the shuttle over to race area.
The street was only open for race participants, first I dropped off my special needs bags for the Cycle and Run then headed towards the body marking. It was still dark out and the street suddenly went from being crowded to gridlock with standing room only, as the lines for body marking began, it took 20 minutes to get through to the transition area. First I went to my bike pumped up the tires and filled the bottles,then over to transition bag area to put in last minute supplies. I also realized the one thing I'd forgotten was a towel to dry off after the swim, with quick thinking I decided to utilize my sweatshirt for purpose. I found the rest of the team and got into my wet suit.
Meanwhile the event announcer's were building the anticipation with music to pump up the crowd and the participants. The next thing I knew I was heading down the start line in the water for the start.
Standing in water with just minutes to go until start, what I had been talking about for the past year all suddenly became real. I was there in the waiting to begin with 2700+ people , ready to begin if nothing else would be one of the exciting days of my life. I felt great trepidation, would I fail to complete what I had set out to do, would I let down all the people who sponsored me? I just had way of predicting the outcome, with all the training in the world I just didn't know. However I been prepared well and remember the most important the coaches had said "Just go out there and enjoy yourself". It may have been race but it was also an experience you have to take every moment in, with this in mind began...
The swim start was like no other triathlon I ever done, a mass start with 2700+ people. I started close to front even knowing I would have a number of people swim over me, it also gave me the added motivation to swim faster, swim or be swum over. It was frantic, I was surrounded all I hear was the splashing of the water and everything else seemed to be a blur. I slow down and just look around it was an incredible sight and I was right the middle, trying to avoid being kicked or elbowed in the head. It should be noted that is is everything important to try and avoid concussion in this scenario.
The 2.4 mile course was a triangle beginning and ending in the same place, to be honest I didn't really examine the course in detail before starting. I just ask what I should sight for, on which side I should keep the buoys on basically just follow everyone else. After the first 30 minutes the gridlock traffic of the lake, let up some and I was now making my own way or did that just mean that I was going my own way? Well I look up and sure I enough I was dead on course about to collide with the buoy, I manged a quick correct and barely scraped by to should I say almost underneath the side (I'm glad it was not a metal one). Nearly two year at this whole swimming thing and I still haven't quite got the whole breathing down, this can lead to great deal of discomfort and lower performance, however I have learned how to burp while swimming which take care of things. At the far end of the swim there were large boats on which people were cheering from and before I knew I was was turning around and heading back to shore. The second half seemed to take longer everything still appeared to be a long way in the distance, but as I got closer I sped up and kicked more with my legs to getting blood flowing again. Finally I reached the shore which was lined with people all the way into the water, including the Ironteam staff in there instantly recognizable jackets with Green and Purple flames. I felt triumphant completing the swim as it is always one of the biggest challenges in my mind, though was still a long day ahead. I ran out of the water to the transition area, where the volunteers pull my wet suit off me. I the picked my transition bag and ran over to the changing tent. Generally I'm every quick at transition and all I really had to do was put my socks, cycles shoes, helmet and sunglasses and run out of there, however there was something in the tent I was not expecting to see which I was not prepared for. It retrospected was cruel and unusual yet every alluring, yes in the tent they actually had chairs! I would strongly recommend that no one ever sit on a chair during a triathlon, because you'll like it, especially after a 2.4 mile swim which leaves your legs feeling a lot like jelly. So I sat, relaxed a little contemplated the long line for the toilets, I quickly devised a solution to needing to pee and while maximizing my time sitting on the chair. It is amazing the things you'll do in race, compromises that you just don't make in everyday life, but I'll just say the I did make sure the chair was dry when I left it. Having lost a little time in the transition I ran to my bike and headed out on the road.
The cycle is without a doubt my favorite part of triathlon and I felt on top of the world as I started the ride. The streets were lined with people cheering, the adrenaline rush was immense though I tried to not let it take me over. I was cautious of the drafting rules in place and with so many riders out I had to be constantly passing people to adhere to a 4 bicycle length minimum distance. The first 5 miles were through town and with a few major turns I had to be careful, I didn't what to wipe out at any point during the ride especially not the beginning. A number of my teammates are faster swimmers than me but I knew I could make up the time on the bike. It was great to see my fellow teammates on the cycle course, it wasn't until midway through the cycle I catch up with some and of course there is always one or two you can't catch. I was reserved on the bike, I knew going out to hard to ruin my chances of having a good run so I worked on keeping a steady pace. The first 40 miles were generally flat or downhill which made of an average speed of 26mph, I felt great and hoped it would continue that way. However I knew the hills were coming and they sure came. I began the first climb and tried to keep a good pace and my heart rate low, but realized I had to slow down, the hills were just going to keep coming this was not a sprint. With the hills also came crowds of people to cheer everyone on which on a long hill is much appreciated.
After the first big climb on the ride there was nice decent followed by some rollers, my pace picked up again and soon enough I was headed on a long out and back to the special needs area at mile 70 where the bag of supplied I had dropped off had been taken. Inside the bag I had a spare inner tube, a bottle of Gatorade and variety of food including, a sandwich, Pringles, Oreos and homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies (with coffee as the special ingredient). I quick had a bit of everything and left within a 5 minutes. Coming away from the out and back I was hit with headwind which is very discouraging, will the road was mostly flat it felt like I was climbing. I got the chance to see a my teammates again heading in the opposite direction, it was great knowing I was not out there alone.
Back on the main loop of the course it briefly started to rain and I was about the start the biggest climb of the course. While the weather conditions appear to be worsening I didn't let that get to me, rain is not a deterrent for me having grown up in Scotland. I had been managing fluid and calorie in take well a long the course and was still feeling pretty good. The main climb sneaks up on you, it starts every gradually getting steeper and wearing your resistance down. At one of the water stops up the hill a couple of guy's were hold up a sign that said "Smile if you peed on your bike", although I hadn't reading the sign raised my spirit and I smiled. As I past by I heard "Don't worry your not the only one".
The next few miles to summit dragged on, but I was rewarded at the top with the support of Ironteam were on the top of the cheering in full cheering force, complete in one case with a wig and silly glasses :-) This was the best part of the ride and knowing I had a ten mile decent to on the back to the transition made it even better. One thing that was concerning my was an occasional some shooting pain I'd been having in my knees, towards the end of the climb. I had to take easy as I finished the remaindered of the ride. The decent was great and just what I needed, what came a as surprise was the rain in Penticton, where the roads were wet with some drizzle still coming down. As I got closer to the transition the Cycle course overlapped the Run course I could see what faced me next.
My Bike to Run transition quicker, but the seat did have me for a couple minutes again and I also took the time go the restroom as there was no line. With another heavy application of sunscreen for the volunteer staff, headed on to the run.
While I had been a strong runner earlier in year, injury through over training had kept me away from running, my longest run in the past few months has only been 14 miles. With some pain on the bike, I was mental preparing myself for a painful run which I may end-up walking to finish. As I started the run it was easy to put those thoughts to the back of my head albeit briefly as the crowds cheer everyone on, I knew I just had to keep smiling the rest of the no matter what my body was feeling and I'd be fine. The first mile marker I saw was for mile 25! Had blocked out the last 24 miles of running was it nearly over already? Unfortunately it was just the way the course was designed there were a couple of turns at the beginning which takes you to an out back and back which goes right by the finish line, which at least means you have accurate picture in your mind for the end. My pace was about 8mins 30secs per mile as I ran the first few miles through the town. I actually felt pretty good the first 6 miles, the people in the town were great and I even saw a few friends cheering as I went down the main street.
However the next thing I knew I was exiting the town to the long and lonely run all the lake. The temperature was good the made a appearance a couple of times but thankfully remained in it's place behind the clouds. It was just about taking things one mile at a time I was now on a 10 minute pace which was great timing from a hydration stand point, I got some Gatorade as I went through each stop, I also started switching off Gel to more natural foods, like Bananas and Oranges which were able at the stops. Towards mile 12 there was a large climb on what had appeared to be a mostly flat run course and my feet agitated like there was something in my shoes, the something was just blistering. At this point I was a couple of my teammates heading back from the turnaround I knew it wasn't far and I'd soon have my special needs bag, a nice reward for the hill. There were loads of people in the turnaround area cheering and I picked-up my bag and tried to eat food without stopping, it turned out I didn't really any "special needs" at that time, didn't really use much of the food in the bag and discarded it quickly.
The turnaround point really was a in way a turning point me in every sense, I knew I just had 13.1 miles to go I just needed to keep up the pace and what better way that to know you have people right be you. I must give notable mention to my teammate Brenna who was right behind me at the turnaround and that is when the chase began. Also as I reach mile 14 I saw another couple of my teammates who also good runners, I knew anyone of them could catch me in the remainder of the race. For the next 3 miles, every time I looked behind me Brenna was never too far off, although my body wanted to slowdown and was starting to tell me "Hey what the rush?", my competitive instincts were also at play and were edge out the exhaustion. Mile by mile now the end was getting closer and by mile 20 I reached Penticton again and proclaimed out loud "Penticton, the promise land of the finish line", very quietly of course I didn't want anyone to think I was delirious. As I hit mile 22 I met Coach Mike, who was out on the course on a mountain bike, it said I looked good "Slow and Steady", I said "Hey, not so much of the slow" as I picked up my pace a little, my heart rate picked up to at which point then slowed down again. As I reached the main street again, it was definitely quieter than before. There was also something I hadn't noticed on my way out, there was a small but definite incline on the main street.
I wasn't looking good or feeling all that great over the last few miles as the pictures show. On the final mile little did I know Brenna was now right behind me and about to pass me. I really didn't have much left in me at this point, but knew I was close it is was time to go all out and finish strong. With burst of acceleration I changed my pace from 11mins down to 7mins, that was just enough to catch and pass Brenna again, we passed opposite directions we high-fived other each.
With the end right ahead of me, a long year was coming to end, the experience had been a amazing and challenging from start to end. I ran in towards the finish line and finished triumphant, with a finish time of 12 hours, 26 minutes and 59 seconds.
I would like to thank my Coaches and Team for helping me train for this incredible event. I'd like thank my friends and family for understanding why I've been so busy this past year. Most importantly I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, in support for me, with your help I've managed to raise over $11,000 for research and patient services.
Final Times:
Swim: 1:30:46
T1: 0:09:11
Cycle: 5:54:40
T2: 0:07:30
Run: 4:44:53
Finish: 12:26:59
Swim Details:
2.4 Miles
1hr 30mins 46secs
2:24 per 100m
Cycle Details (
Click here to View on Google Earth):
5hrs 54mins (total)
5hrs 46mins (ride)
112 Miles
7,423 feet of climbing
152bpm Avg. Heart Rate
187bpm Max Heart Rate
19.2mph Avg. speed
48.6mph Max speed
Run Details (
Click here to view on Google Earth):
4hr 44mins
26.2 Miles
2,333 feet of climbing
Heart Rate
158bpm Avg.
187bpm Max
135bpm Low
Pace (per mile)
10mins 47secs
Labels: Ironman Canada 2007, Triathlon
It's tomorrow!
I thought there would be plenty of time get everything done, but sure enough things happen and I'm off a nicely organized schedule. Firstly my bike was making a awful squeaking sound which surely would made all the participants in race take notice and get out of my way, while it had that benefit it was caused by the wheel rubbing against the frame. While the problem turned out to by as simple adjusting a couple of screws, it took some time to sort out. By the time it came for our Ironteam lunch, I hadn't organized my transition area and had to do so before 3:45pm.
I cut out of lunch early and jogged (no running) back to the hotel and arranged all my gear and the bike and got it over to the Transition area in time.
This evening I prepared the food for my special needs bags for the bike and the run, this involved some last minute shopping to get important items that would be hard to come by on race day, such as? Umm, Gatorade :-)
I managed to get an early tonight, as I'll be up at 4am tomorrow!
Labels: Ironman Canada 2007
Pre-Race Activities
Today there was much to do and still tired from yesterday's traveling it felt like it was going to be a long day. First the team meet up for a run down of the schedule: Race Packet pick-up, Bike Pick-up, a quick ride, a quick swim, quick run, team photo and athletes pasta dinner.
By the time we had gone through the lines at the race expo for packet pick-up and more importantly the "
Ironman Canada " merchandise tent it was nearly midday. We stopped over at
Tri-Bike transport to pick-up our bikes then ride back to the hotel. I could hear something rubbing on the bike but could figure out what it was, I didn't think much of and went for lunch.
After lunch a few of us headed over to the lake for a quick swim, we were only out for twenty minutes, the temperature was good but the water was a little rough.
Next up was one of the most important part of the day, posing in photo of the
Ironteam! Twenty different cameras, over one hundred photos the
paparazzi had arrived.
At 4pm we headed over to for the athlete's "
carbo-load" pasta dinner. It was held at the local convention center, which I'm guessing is the only place where you are going to be able to seat and feed 2700+ athletes. After we eat they had a series of presenters recalling the history of the event and how it was the first North American qualifier for the
Ironman World Championship in
Kona. They also covered the details of the event and all the rules, that were to be strictly enforced with a penalty system which included Yellow and Red cards, timeouts and disqualification. While some of the rules made good sense for safety reasons, disallowing the use of mermaids to assist in the swim was just down right cruel.
After dinner I had a few photo opts :-)
Labels: Ironman Canada 2007
Welcome to Penticton, Canada
An extremely early start to the day (3:30am) with a flight to Vancouver, followed by a long but very scenic bus ride, took me to the beautiful town of Penticton, in the heart of British Columbia, Canada.
Labels: Ironman Canada 2007
Where?
For months I've the same exchange over and over again with a number of different people I which goes something like this:
"Ironman, really? Hawaii?"
[me]: "No Ironman Canada" :-)
"Oh, where in Canada?"
[me]: "Penticton, in British Columbia"
"Where is Penticton?"
[me]: "About five hours drive from Vancouver"
"Won't it be cold? Why not do Hawaii instead?"
[me]: "Actually it gets quite hot there sometimes 100F, plus to do the Hawaii one I'd need to qualify first, it the World Championship, that's certainly not happening this year" :-)
"And so it includes a full marathon? and how long was the bike again?"
A Year in Training...
Well I couldn't possibly imagine begin all that things I've experienced over the past year, here is a (fairly) quick recap of the past year:
August 26th 2006: In final preparations for my second Half-Ironman (Big Kahuna), I crashed my bike quite spectacularly on our team practice Triathlon. After a few hours waiting in the hospital, I found out I'd fractured my arm and would not be able to do my event which was in two weeks time.
September: Having missed my Trialthon, I was determined not to miss my next event which was my first
Century Ride. I hadn't done any training and my arm was still not fully healed, being only four weeks since the accident. So against my Doctor's best advice I went ahead completed my first century, it left me very sore wondering how I would ever run 26 miles afterwards.
October: Ironteam kick-off and the training began, I started to get a lot of good runs in and I completed my first Triathlon since the accident. Just 6 days before
Escape from the Rock, I was not able to swim with out pain in my arm, but come race day, I guess the water was cool enough to numb the pain.
November: Was a busy month with the
Treasure Island Triathlon and my second
Century Ride made for another busy month.
December: The weather was getting colder but I was still getting some good miles in the
bike and the run.
On day of over exuberance, I ran 29 miles and cycled 25 miles.
January: I did my first practice
Triathlon with the Ironteam over at Treasure Island and more early morning runs and
rides.
February: This was another great month of training, good rides and runs. Plus my first on my own,
self supported Century Ride. I felt great and ready for Ironman but still had 6 months to go.
March: Perhaps one of the toughest months of the year filled with some regrets, I completed my first
Double Century Ride (in Death Valley of all places), finishing in 10th place and feeling pretty good. Although I took some recovery time I hit things little hard on the Ironteam,
practice Half-Ironman at Lake San Antonio, while I finished the practice well, I realized a week later I put
some serious wear on my legs that do cost me dearly.
April: Was a low key training month, I did my best to continue all the workouts but it was impossible run more than a mile without pain. I started going to a place called SMI, where they specialize in treating athletes with injuries such as mine. There treatment is very effective though describing it as painful would be an understatement. Still managed to get some good training including the
Ironteam Boot Camp weekend and
hill repeats on Mount Diablo brought my heart rate to a new high of 203bpm.
May: It was time for
Wildflower again, I was not fully recovered but decided to put in my best effort without damaging myself any further. I was fine until 5 miles into the run where I started having issues with my legs, I did my best to slowly jog the rest out with worsening things. I continued to cycle strong,
hit a top speed of 54.9mph (obviously I would of like to have gone faster but the speed limit was 55mph).
June: A new month and different goal, I had been training with the cycle team for
America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride, a Century Ride around Lake Tahoe. Training with the cycle team had been great though I'd only done a few rides with them, forgetting about that whole not being able to run thing was good. I completed the Century Ride strong and quickily, with a 5hr 10min ride time I was the fastest finisher of 1800 people, though I should point out it was not a race :-)
Just one week after Tahoe, I faced one of the Ironteam's toughest training weekends at
Lake Berryessa, a 2 mile swim followed by 98 mile bike ride with 13,000feet climbing with a run the next day.
July: The madness continued, with another brutal Century Ride in the East Bay with 12,000 feet of climbing (plus i got lost and did another 17 miles trying to find my way back). Then racing tried at
Vineman, completing my third Half-Ironman of the year and first with a sub 6 hour time. Not letting up for the month of July, the next weekend at the longest workout of the year, "
The Triple Brick", a 9 hour workout, 2 hours of cycling and 1 hour running, repeat 3 times!
August: This is the taper month, the first weekend was a on your own Century Ride, known as a "
Mental Toughness Ride" which I did up in Napa on the Vineman course. The following week I went up to
Donner Lake for 2.7 mile swim, I just need a long distance to find a rhythm. Now in full taper with just short workouts.
The above summaries are just the tip of the iceberg, the past year has been tough physically, mentally and emotionally in all aspects of life. While it has had it's challenges it has been an incredible year!
Labels: Century Ride, Cycling, Honorrees, Running, Swimming, Triathlon
The Art of Taper...
With Ironman Canada just a week away, I am now into the most important phase of training, known as "Taper". This is the time when the workouts are drastically scaled down to a minimum to allow the body to finally recover and strengthen. This has been fairly restful week, no early morning or late nights but just long days with much to get organized.
Wednesday night the team all met up at De Anza College, for a brief track practice, followed by a our send-off party, in which the most important part of taper was fully realized, yes cake!
Saturday morning I volunteered at the Summer Tri Team's practice Triathlon, in which I did some cheering but nothing too strenuous. I final shake down ride in the afternoon for just 45 minutes to make sure my bike was in good mechanical shape for shipping.
Sunday - Last Ironteam practice, which was short with just 5 miles of running we were down by 9am, a first for the Ironteam! We all meet up for breakfast afterwards which ended up taking longer than the workout itself. I then went home and frantically (talk about being organized) packed up all my Tri gear and bicycle to have it shipped up to Canada!
Labels: Cycling, Running
Donner Lake 2.7 Mile Swim
Swimming has been my weakest of the three and after a disappointing swim at Vineman I wanted rebuild my confidence with one last big open water swim in before Ironman. Having just decided to do the Donner Lake Swim, at around 3pm yesterday, I started the long drive up to Donner lake just before 9pm, I arrived in Truckee just gone midnight. Having barely slept I left the hotel at 6am, wearing my wetsuit, with my first port of call at the supermarket to get something for breakfast, surprisingly I didn't really get any strange looks. I guess it was a little premature to start wearing the wetsuit as the swim was not going to start until 8am, but it did bring me back to the good old days of wetsuit week :-)
By 8am I was in the water and ready to start, it was not nearly as cold as I thought and the majority were going without a wetsuit. Just before the start I asked someone exact where the finish was as there were no buoys in sight, I was then pointed to a small orange dot in the distance at the far side of the lake, with the advice of just using the mountain to sight from.
The swim started with 300+ swimmers with a wide starting line from beach, it was a little crowded at the beginning but nothing as bad as the beating you get at the start of a triathlon. My goal was to keep a consistent pace and keeping swimming the whole way. For a while at the beginning I was near a kayak which was helping lead the swimmers, this stopped me from making any wrong turns and helped with the pace. With the lake being very long and wide the pack spread out and after the first mile I left like was all alone. Now a pessimistic person would start to think everyone else had finished already and that they were the last remaining swimmer, while I not the best swimmer thought didn't even cross my mind. Instead I took the optimistic approach and pretended I was leading the pack and having the best swim of my life, there is nothing better than a positive attitude to keep you going strong. However the best will in the world can not prevent the occasional issue, firstly I got a cramp in my leg, staying relax and let it gradually ease away did the trick through it slowed me down. Secondly at around 2 miles into the swim I found really need to pee and was becoming uncomfortable (here is the part of the story where I let people use their imaginations of how I resolved this). Needless to say I kept going with a couple course corrections as I finally sighted the finishing point. With just merely 500 yards to go, two people came out from know where and swam by me. I picked up the pace a little and started kicking more to get my legs ready for the land. I ran out of the water very nearly stumbling and landing flat on my face, my time was 1hr 41mins on clock.
Swim Details:
1hr 41minutes
1045 Calories
169 Max Heart Rate
134 Avg Heart Rate
It felt strange to not be able to go jump straight onto my bike, instead I got some food in the finishers area and then caught a bus to the beginning. Once I got my to my car I changed to my bike gear and set off for a ride up Donner Pass. I hadn't planned on a long ride as I was in entering the taper phase of training and also exhausted. Obviously the first thing I realized was it is a heck of lot quicker go from one end of the lake to the other by bicycle. I then started to climb Donner Pass, which offers some spectacular view of the lake, I found my self stopping a number of times to take pictures...
The views were striking, and my heart rate was raising along with the elevation, tried to take the ride easy and was very cautious on the decent. I completed the ride with a loop around the other side of the lake. While it was a short ride the swim was worth the trip up to Donner Lake.
Ride Details (
Click here to view on Google Earth):
55mins /12.5 miles
1,499 feet of climbing
Speed:
13.5 mph Avg
41.0 mph Max
Heart Rate:
133 bpm Avg
171 bpm Max
Labels: Cycling, Swimming
The Mental Toughness Ride
Today on the training schedule was something called a "Mental Toughness Ride", this was suppose to be a on your own self supported ride without the team. After what could be described as comedy of mishaps yesterday I ended up getting home very late, with a mere 4 hours of sleep I set out early to start my ride. However instead of just doing a local ride I thought I'd drive up to Napa and do a couple laps of the Vineman course to get my 100 miles in.
Cycling tired is one thing, driving tired is another, although I was full conscious and able to operate my motor vehicle safely I was not doing so well on the directional front. I made only one mistake but it was a big one, the next thing I knew I was no longer on 880 but instead crossing the Bay Bridge. When I reached San Francisco for some reason instead of turning around I just headed through and out over the Golden Gate. After completing my tour of the bay, I finally reached my starting point in Napa just gone 9am. After fiddling about, getting my bike and nutrition ready for the day I started my ride at 9:40am.
The first thing I saw out on my ride was a Policeman stopping the traffic and directing me through, while this might seem a little odd it just happened that there were a couple Triathlons going on that morning on the course I was riding. What a coincidence? The day I decide to drive up to Napa for a solitary ride, there happened to be a full course setup with Police to direct the traffic, water stops, race photographers and of course people cheering. Well fancy that?
My course was actually not identical to race course but had a rather significant overlap, but at least the first 5 miles were different. That was also the most challenging part, though I had done the route a couple times before I had never done it on my own and it is amazing how all roads seem to look the same. I took those first miles carefully to get on the right track, the people racing had all set out a lot earlier than I had so I was most definitely behind the wave.
As I was riding it occurred to me I actually knew a 3 people who were racing, even though I was tired these things started to come back to me. There were two races the full Vineman (Ironman distance) and Barb's race (all female Half-Ironman), one of teammates (Mike) was doing Vineman and the other two friends were doing Barb's Race. While I knew I wouldn't catch up with Mike has this race started much earlier, I thought I may catch my other friends.
Neither of the races had a large number of competitors, which meant the roads were still fairly empty, as I got into mile 15 of my ride I started passing more and more people. Of course I had an unfair advantage, I'd done no swim and didn't need to save my self for the run, so I let it all go. It is a fairly flat course so it was easy to maintain a good pace, as the miles went on I the police continued to get me though every intersection and I was offered water and Gatorade, but being self sufficient I declined.
It was just past mile 40 when my heart rate hit it's peak for the day, was it a big hill or fast sprint? Neither having come just come down a small hill, I was coasting along then all of sudden, while my mind was drifting elsewhere, my bicycle was drifting into a ditch. Hitting the ditch at around 20mph, my heart rate shot up and my focus was now crystal clear, I had to keep the bike steady to avoid a wipe out. With only a few weeks left until Canada now was not the time to have an accident. I manage to gradually slow down then get back up the road. A woman who was cycling just behind witnessed the excitement and complemented me on my recovery. Finally at around mile 45 I caught up with two of my friends from the team, I not sure the first one even realized it was me as I cheered her on as I went by. When I came up to my second friend I chatted a while and wish were luck and continued on.
When I completed my first loop, I took a quick pit stop and refueled. I realized I hadn't even gone through my water bottles. While two water bottles is just about average for me, today was hot and getting hotter.
I felt I pushed it too hard the on first loop, as I started the second I lowered my pace so I'd last the next fifty miles. I knew where I was going the second time around (which always helps) however by ride did take me directly through the run course, which made for some careful riding. 70 miles into the ride, the heat and exhaustion were getting too me, while I was not delirious I felt the ride was going on forever and was starting to suspect I missed the next turn. How could miss a turn on a clearly marked course? Well thinking I did I started to back track, but shortly behind me was one of the racers, so I turned back around and continued in the right direction again, sure enough the turn was right up head.
Although I managed to last the first loop with the water I was carrying, the next time around I was consuming it twice as fast, lucky for me there were water stops on the way. As I past through the next one I grabbed some water and continued on. The temperature was apporaching 90°F, and I was sweating as much as I was drinking. The second loop seemed to drag on, but the people cheering at the water stops helped, also I was happy knowing I didn't have run after the ride to contend with. With a few more burst of energy I made it up the final hill and it was then plain sailing from there.
At the end I was some what dehydrated and generally exhausted. The lack of sleep and heat through out the day had made for the perfect "Mental Toughness Ride".
Ride Details (
Click here to view on Google Earth)
104 miles
6,020 Feet of climbing
79.4°F avg.
91.4°F high
Heart Rate:
156 bpm Avg.
193 bpm Max
Speed:
17.4 mph Avg
40.0mph Max
Labels: Century Ride, Cycling
A year of preparation and today was finally the day! It is hard to even try to put in day into words, the anticipation, excitement, fear and yes plenty of Gatorade.
The street was only open for race participants, first I dropped off my special needs bags for the Cycle and Run then headed towards the body marking. It was still dark out and the street suddenly went from being crowded to gridlock with standing room only, as the lines for body marking began, it took 20 minutes to get through to the transition area. First I went to my bike pumped up the tires and filled the bottles,then over to transition bag area to put in last minute supplies. I also realized the one thing I'd forgotten was a towel to dry off after the swim, with quick thinking I decided to utilize my sweatshirt for purpose. I found the rest of the team and got into my wet suit.
Standing in water with just minutes to go until start, what I had been talking about for the past year all suddenly became real. I was there in the waiting to begin with 2700+ people , ready to begin if nothing else would be one of the exciting days of my life. I felt great trepidation, would I fail to complete what I had set out to do, would I let down all the people who sponsored me? I just had way of predicting the outcome, with all the training in the world I just didn't know. However I been prepared well and remember the most important the coaches had said "Just go out there and enjoy yourself". It may have been race but it was also an experience you have to take every moment in, with this in mind began...
The swim start was like no other triathlon I ever done, a mass start with 2700+ people. I started close to front even knowing I would have a number of people swim over me, it also gave me the added motivation to swim faster, swim or be swum over. It was frantic, I was surrounded all I hear was the splashing of the water and everything else seemed to be a blur. I slow down and just look around it was an incredible sight and I was right the middle, trying to avoid being kicked or elbowed in the head. It should be noted that is is everything important to try and avoid concussion in this scenario.
The 2.4 mile course was a triangle beginning and ending in the same place, to be honest I didn't really examine the course in detail before starting. I just ask what I should sight for, on which side I should keep the buoys on basically just follow everyone else. After the first 30 minutes the gridlock traffic of the lake, let up some and I was now making my own way or did that just mean that I was going my own way? Well I look up and sure I enough I was dead on course about to collide with the buoy, I manged a quick correct and barely scraped by to should I say almost underneath the side (I'm glad it was not a metal one). Nearly two year at this whole swimming thing and I still haven't quite got the whole breathing down, this can lead to great deal of discomfort and lower performance, however I have learned how to burp while swimming which take care of things. At the far end of the swim there were large boats on which people were cheering from and before I knew I was was turning around and heading back to shore. The second half seemed to take longer everything still appeared to be a long way in the distance, but as I got closer I sped up and kicked more with my legs to getting blood flowing again. Finally I reached the shore which was lined with people all the way into the water, including the Ironteam staff in there instantly recognizable jackets with Green and Purple flames. I felt triumphant completing the swim as it is always one of the biggest challenges in my mind, though was still a long day ahead. I ran out of the water to the transition area, where the volunteers pull my wet suit off me. I the picked my transition bag and ran over to the changing tent. Generally I'm every quick at transition and all I really had to do was put my socks, cycles shoes, helmet and sunglasses and run out of there, however there was something in the tent I was not expecting to see which I was not prepared for. It retrospected was cruel and unusual yet every alluring, yes in the tent they actually had chairs! I would strongly recommend that no one ever sit on a chair during a triathlon, because you'll like it, especially after a 2.4 mile swim which leaves your legs feeling a lot like jelly. So I sat, relaxed a little contemplated the long line for the toilets, I quickly devised a solution to needing to pee and while maximizing my time sitting on the chair. It is amazing the things you'll do in race, compromises that you just don't make in everyday life, but I'll just say the I did make sure the chair was dry when I left it. Having lost a little time in the transition I ran to my bike and headed out on the road.
The cycle is without a doubt my favorite part of triathlon and I felt on top of the world as I started the ride. The streets were lined with people cheering, the adrenaline rush was immense though I tried to not let it take me over. I was cautious of the drafting rules in place and with so many riders out I had to be constantly passing people to adhere to a 4 bicycle length minimum distance. The first 5 miles were through town and with a few major turns I had to be careful, I didn't what to wipe out at any point during the ride especially not the beginning. A number of my teammates are faster swimmers than me but I knew I could make up the time on the bike. It was great to see my fellow teammates on the cycle course, it wasn't until midway through the cycle I catch up with some and of course there is always one or two you can't catch. I was reserved on the bike, I knew going out to hard to ruin my chances of having a good run so I worked on keeping a steady pace. The first 40 miles were generally flat or downhill which made of an average speed of 26mph, I felt great and hoped it would continue that way. However I knew the hills were coming and they sure came. I began the first climb and tried to keep a good pace and my heart rate low, but realized I had to slow down, the hills were just going to keep coming this was not a sprint. With the hills also came crowds of people to cheer everyone on which on a long hill is much appreciated.
After the first big climb on the ride there was nice decent followed by some rollers, my pace picked up again and soon enough I was headed on a long out and back to the special needs area at mile 70 where the bag of supplied I had dropped off had been taken. Inside the bag I had a spare inner tube, a bottle of Gatorade and variety of food including, a sandwich, Pringles, Oreos and homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies (with coffee as the special ingredient). I quick had a bit of everything and left within a 5 minutes. Coming away from the out and back I was hit with headwind which is very discouraging, will the road was mostly flat it felt like I was climbing. I got the chance to see a my teammates again heading in the opposite direction, it was great knowing I was not out there alone.
The next few miles to summit dragged on, but I was rewarded at the top with the support of Ironteam were on the top of the cheering in full cheering force, complete in one case with a wig and silly glasses :-) This was the best part of the ride and knowing I had a ten mile decent to on the back to the transition made it even better. One thing that was concerning my was an occasional some shooting pain I'd been having in my knees, towards the end of the climb. I had to take easy as I finished the remaindered of the ride. The decent was great and just what I needed, what came a as surprise was the rain in Penticton, where the roads were wet with some drizzle still coming down. As I got closer to the transition the Cycle course overlapped the Run course I could see what faced me next.
While I had been a strong runner earlier in year, injury through over training had kept me away from running, my longest run in the past few months has only been 14 miles. With some pain on the bike, I was mental preparing myself for a painful run which I may end-up walking to finish. As I started the run it was easy to put those thoughts to the back of my head albeit briefly as the crowds cheer everyone on, I knew I just had to keep smiling the rest of the no matter what my body was feeling and I'd be fine. The first mile marker I saw was for mile 25! Had blocked out the last 24 miles of running was it nearly over already? Unfortunately it was just the way the course was designed there were a couple of turns at the beginning which takes you to an out back and back which goes right by the finish line, which at least means you have accurate picture in your mind for the end. My pace was about 8mins 30secs per mile as I ran the first few miles through the town. I actually felt pretty good the first 6 miles, the people in the town were great and I even saw a few friends cheering as I went down the main street.
However the next thing I knew I was exiting the town to the long and lonely run all the lake. The temperature was good the made a appearance a couple of times but thankfully remained in it's place behind the clouds. It was just about taking things one mile at a time I was now on a 10 minute pace which was great timing from a hydration stand point, I got some Gatorade as I went through each stop, I also started switching off Gel to more natural foods, like Bananas and Oranges which were able at the stops. Towards mile 12 there was a large climb on what had appeared to be a mostly flat run course and my feet agitated like there was something in my shoes, the something was just blistering. At this point I was a couple of my teammates heading back from the turnaround I knew it wasn't far and I'd soon have my special needs bag, a nice reward for the hill. There were loads of people in the turnaround area cheering and I picked-up my bag and tried to eat food without stopping, it turned out I didn't really any "special needs" at that time, didn't really use much of the food in the bag and discarded it quickly.
The turnaround point really was a in way a turning point me in every sense, I knew I just had 13.1 miles to go I just needed to keep up the pace and what better way that to know you have people right be you. I must give notable mention to my teammate Brenna who was right behind me at the turnaround and that is when the chase began. Also as I reach mile 14 I saw another couple of my teammates who also good runners, I knew anyone of them could catch me in the remainder of the race. For the next 3 miles, every time I looked behind me Brenna was never too far off, although my body wanted to slowdown and was starting to tell me "Hey what the rush?", my competitive instincts were also at play and were edge out the exhaustion. Mile by mile now the end was getting closer and by mile 20 I reached Penticton again and proclaimed out loud "Penticton, the promise land of the finish line", very quietly of course I didn't want anyone to think I was delirious. As I hit mile 22 I met Coach Mike, who was out on the course on a mountain bike, it said I looked good "Slow and Steady", I said "Hey, not so much of the slow" as I picked up my pace a little, my heart rate picked up to at which point then slowed down again. As I reached the main street again, it was definitely quieter than before. There was also something I hadn't noticed on my way out, there was a small but definite incline on the main street.
I wasn't looking good or feeling all that great over the last few miles as the pictures show. On the final mile little did I know Brenna was now right behind me and about to pass me. I really didn't have much left in me at this point, but knew I was close it is was time to go all out and finish strong. With burst of acceleration I changed my pace from 11mins down to 7mins, that was just enough to catch and pass Brenna again, we passed opposite directions we high-fived other each.
With the end right ahead of me, a long year was coming to end, the experience had been a amazing and challenging from start to end. I ran in towards the finish line and finished triumphant, with a finish time of 12 hours, 26 minutes and 59 seconds.
5hrs 54mins (total)
4hr 44mins
Heart Rate
Pace (per mile)
