Ironman Santa Rosa Race Report 2019

Ironman Santa Rosa Race Report

Days Leading Up

Wednesday

I flew into San Francisco on Wed. evening with my parents and we made the no traffic drive up to Windsor as it was late enough in the evening. Settled into my place and sat up chatting with some friends and getting the plan for the next day.

Thursday

Woke up at a decent hour on Thurs. (around 7am) and we got ready to head down to the swim for some course recon. We swam around 1000m and it was awesome. The temp was super warm and the lake was quite calm. It’s a pretty stunning swim location, despite the T1 requirement, more to come on that later. Next I headed into the town of Santa Rosa to get my race package ect. And headed back to our place in Windsor to get my bike together. In the afternoon we dropped into town to run the far end of the run course. I didn’t want to risk any injuries as I’m so prone to it so I ran 3.5km and it felt pretty good. Last bit of the day I headed out with Kyle, who had also just arrived and got his bike together, for a quick 20min ride. This was my first time outside on my bike in 9 months, perks of living in the land of winter, but it felt great and the bike was in good working order. Relaxed the rest of the evening.

Friday

Our whole crew did the same 20min lap (perhaps some of the best roads in the county) and took our bikes up for check in. They went for a run later, but I just stayed in and relaxed, there was nothing to gain from one last run. I felt ready even though my quads had been feeling tired all week. Spent the rest of the day relaxing and getting gear bags organized.

Bike Gear Bag: Cycling Shoes + Helmet

Bike Special Needs Bag: 2x Sudafed, a mars bar, 1x Infinit Bottle

Run Gear Bag: Hat, socks, shoes, 4 gels, run bib

Run Special Needs Bag: Advil, mars bar

Race Day

*Disclaimer* I did not feel like I was fully prepared for this race. My training was scattered and inconsistent. I often only got training in on weekends and maybe 1 bike and no runs during the week. I started the training cycle at my heaviest ever 200lbs and I only got down to 190lbs by race day. By contrast, I was 178lbs at IMC in 2015. I hadn’t ridden outside once all year and never got in more than a 4 hr bike on the trainer. The furthest I swam was about 2200m and my longest run was about 18km. I knew roughly what my nutrition would be, but I hadn’t practiced it or really decided what I would commit to per hour, just what the contents would be. I had to work through knee issues from the beginning and I wasn’t sure how it would play out and if it would have a big impact on my race. Needless to say, I felt incredibly unprepared for this race, BUT, I was showing up in pretty good health and that’s half the battle.

Race Morning

On this day, morning struck at 3:30am and I was up and about. I normally feel quite reluctant when I wake up, a mix of uncertainty and nerves. Today, I felt ready and willing. Four years since I last toed the line at an Ironman and I was definitely eager to really dig in. I had a bagel and banana for breakfast, just what happened to be lying down. Once everyone arrived we piled into the cars and made our way to the swim start. It seems no matter how early I arrive, I’m always rushing down to the start line. I got my bike prepared and shared my pump with a few people. Spent way too much time in a line for a porta-potty which started to cut my time pretty short. I suited up and made my way down to the swim start, nerves no where to be found, just a small smirk, knowing this was going to be a good day.

Swim

Split           Distance          Split Time      Race time            Pace          Division         Gender       Overall   Split Name	Distance	Split Time	Race Time	Pace	Division Rank	Gender Rank	Overall Rank
Total	2.4 mi	01:17:22	01:17:22	02:00/100m	67	487	593

Ironman continues to utilize the rolling start swim so I seeded myself somewhere around the 1:12 mark as best as I could figure. We lined up in rows of five and to my surprise Krista (a friend racing her first Ironman) showed up beside me. It’s always fun to be able to start a race with a friend and as we approached the water, I was extra thankful to have a strong swimmer to try and follow. As I dove into the water to start lap 1/2, I hit the button on my watch, and went on my way. The water was an excellent temp. and there was plenty of room to swim. My goggles fogged up immediately and it ended up being an overcast swim so I did struggle to sight, but managed fine with enough people around me to swim with. I always stick to the inside of the buoys as most cautious swimmers stick further to the outside. I swam the first 1000m with a lady by my side. It was nice to have someone to pace off and keep my focused. As we rounded the corner and made our way back to the boat ramp to start lap two, I started having issues with one of my silicone ear plugs and the water was getting to my ear and making me really uncomfortable. I ended up stopping a few times to sort it out and lost my swim partner. For the next lap and a half I went into cruise mode. I probably could have swam faster if I focused on it, but I was happy to just cruise and have it feel pretty easy. I came in to the swim finish feeling fresh and ready to walk up the absurd hill to T1.

T1: 7:53

There is a fairly steep and long hill to get up to T1, or at least so it seemed when just finishing a swim. My plan was to walk it, but after 100m I managed to get a slow trot in, got my suit stripped off and made my way up to the change tent. I grabbed my bag off the hanging rack (first time using these) and hopped in the tent to get changed. Helmet on, shoes on, and away I went. The bike course starts with a long descent followed by rolling throughout the rest of the course with one small, short hill each lap. I managed through the first 20km quite well and was riding well and felt really good. I decided I would maintain a strong pace and just see where the day took me.

Bike

The bike began by riding over the lake we had just exited. That was followed by a quick 2 mile descent which led into the east rolling roads of the winery, headed South towards Santa Rosa. The roads down the east side are laid out to be pretty quick, but, they are in pretty rough condition, which causes you to sit up a bit and slow more than one would like. It alternated between decent road and pretty rough road for the first while and I found it difficult to get into a good grove, but it was quick so I threw caution to the wind and rode hard. I was feeling good and rode strong for the first two hours, but in that first 40km the bumps took their toll (more on my bike than me). One of my two rear hydration cages came loose, I managed to rotate it so it sat against my bum and continued on my ride, only to have it fly off with a full bottle of nutrition 20min later (guess I’m using the on course Gatorade). Around KM 70 I felt like I was starting to lean to the left while in my aerobars, then I noticed the screws had come loose on my left aerobar and it had rotated so the pad was all the way down to the handlebar, I was definitely leaning. I found some on course staff before turning off the West side road to start my second loop. I fixed the bar and continued on, though I didn’t check where I moved it to and it was now too high, scrunching me together and pushing me to the right, I rode another 20min to the Bike Special Needs stop and fixed it for good, threw down a few Advil and a Mars Bar. The rest of the ride was rather uneventful. I plugged along on my second loop, riding primarily alone and not near anyone. My legs felt strong all the way through to the end, but around KM 150 both my knees started to ache just above the kneecap. It wasn’t debilitating, but it made me not want to push down during any pedal strokes (sort of important). So for the last hour I rode with mild/decent discomfort, but no real issues/injury. I do think I would have come under 6hrs if they weren’t sore, but so the game goes. I rolled into T2 feeling good about the race so far and just hoping I wouldn’t run into any major issues during the run.

T2: 8:51

Off the bike and there is a 200m run to the change tents, not a bad way to find out where the legs are at. I came off the bike and my glutes felt so tight I was waddling towards T2, but I jogged it down and was excited to get out on the run. I had to make a pit stop in the washroom, so another long transition. Gear on and out to the course I went, coming out right behind Mike Ergo with his giant American flag. (Look it up if you don’t know who he is).

Run

Total          26.2 mi          04:53:51        12:30:30                  11:12/mi         63                  472               560

The run is a 3 loop course along a creek with a mix of pavement and trail. I went out running somewhere between 5:40-6 min/km and it was feeling surprisingly good. The legs loosened up and slowly transformed from bike legs to run legs and I started ticking off KM’s feeling confident about how my knees felt and how my legs felt. I made sure to walk aid stations to get nutrition in and get a small mental break. The first lap went by without much to report, I kept running around 6min/km with the odd walk break bring that number up a bit, but I was feeling good and able to run. On the second lap, around Mile 8-10 I ran into two friends from Calgary. One on his second lap and one on his third lap, we were all starting to feel it and ran together for the next several miles. I could feel things start to become an issue around Mile 14 and I knew I was going to be in for quite the grind. Ian, who was on his third lap left Kyle and I and took off as he only had about 3 miles left. Kyle and I ran more or less together for the rest of the race. At times we would run together, then he would get ahead, then I would get ahead. I was really starting to feel it in my quads and hamstrings as we moved through the third lap. I did my best to limit walk breaks that weren’t at the aid stations, but they were becoming more frequent. When I was running I was still running in the low to mid 6min/km. As I neared the last 10KM the wheels were really starting to fall off, but, I WASN’T injured!! For the first time in an Ironman I wasn’t being held by back injuries. I wanted so badly to just walk, but the mantra I had been repeating for more than 20 miles kept creeping into my mind as soon as I started walking. “All you’ve wanted is to not be hurt, and to have the opportunity to dig deep and push.” This thought crossed my mind so many times and I was so grateful my body was allowing this race to be less physical than mental. I wanted to have to be mentally tough and keep running. I wanted the only thing to hold me back be my mind, not my body. I got my wish and powered forward. With 5KM to go, I started looking at time and calculating where I would be coming in. I was very confident Sub 13hrs was locked up and I started thinking about my marathon time. I really wanted to come in under 5hrs and I knew if I walked much I wouldn’t get there. I pushed forward and really worked for the last 5KM and my hamstrings really started to let me know about it. I kept it steady and made it back on the main street, meaning I was less than 1KM from the finish. As I made my way toward the finish shoot, my mind started to consider the day, how grateful I was to be able to do this, have my friends and parents there to support me, and how proud I was on my effort for the day. I made it on to the red carpet and did my best to slow down and get some high fives from the fans and supporters (I did not do this in IMC and had regretted sprinting the red carpet). I crossed the line coming in at 12:30:30 and just under 5 hrs for the marathon. It is a PB of 92min of which I’m very proud. But it also shows me how much room I have to improve. I will be targeting 11:45 at IMC in Penticton 2020. The course will certainly be a bit tougher, but I think with solid and consistent training I will get there.

Ironman Canada 2015

Race morning
Unsurprisingly most people have trouble sleeping the night before a race, but I find I have no trouble before Ironman and I think it's because there is so little to worry about. All the things that usually fill my head are taken care of on Saturday. Transition things, which usually keep me up, are all packed away and set to go, so I don't have to think much about what I'm going to do.
     I woke up around 4:15 and had a shower, got dressed and made my way down for breakfast. Breakfast was a smoothie with oatmeal blended in. I quietly grabbed my bags and made my way over to T2 ands hop on a bus down to T1. Luckily I ran into a friend so I jumped in line with her and boarded a bus bound for T1. It was nice to have someone to chat with on the way down. Once I reached T1 I went about filling my tires and just general pre-race things, getting my bike organized, washroom visit, and getting my wetsuit on, which is now a struggle because I have a proper fitting one. Before I went to the water I found my family, said a last goodbye, and drifted on down to the beach for a quick warm up and some last mental prep for a big, big, day.


Swim 1:16:27 (2min/100m) (53^rd division, 535 gender, and 730^th overall)

Swim Course

3.8km two loop course. Mass start.

For the swim, they line the course with buoys every 100m, but you are only required to go around the outside of the turn buoys, the ones along the way you can be on either side of. Generally the strong aggressive swimmers are up front and swimming in line with these buoys and those that are weaker swimmers generally stay further to the outside. This means they have to swim a bit further, but don’t have to deal with running into a bunch of people.

View of the swim start

Ok, let’s get to my day. I wear silicone earplugs during the swim portion, partly to keep water out as it can be annoying and painful on the bike, but also because it helps me with being less dizzy when exiting the water. I haven’t been dizzy once after a swim when using them, but had before. The only downside is it is hard to hear the announcer countdown to the start. I was still making my way out to the deep water start and spent the last 15 seconds weaving through people (sorry) to try and get to the inside of the swim buoys. This is a strategy I used in IMCDA and it worked really well. So few people swim just to the inside of the buoys and it actually leaves quite a bit of room and is an efficient path to take. The gun went off and so did I..... for about 10m before running into a slew of people which is unfortunately rather common. I have done mass starts before, but never one of this magnitude. As always the first couple hundred meters involve more running into people than actual swimming. I quickly made my way to the clear water on the inside and tried to find a groove.

Exiting the water

For me the first 800m of the swim is the worst. My arms get tired and sore and I just can’t imagine how I’m going to keep going. My longest swim for any given day in training was about 1600m, so I was going to be upping it a bit. And to top it off, my right shoulder had been bothering me in the weeks leading up, but I didn’t notice it at all, which is nice. The first point to note took place around 700m in. I was swimming along nicely and out of nowhere a foot smashed into my left eye/nose (I’ve been slapped and kicked and punched before, but this was a hard shot). It knocked my goggles up, but not off, so I stopped and took a moment before putting the goggles back on. A lady stopped and asked if I was ok, I gave her the nod and we carried on (Lesson #1: Wear your goggle under your swim cap so that if they do get kicked off, they wont disappear into the abyss. All I had to do was pull them back down, easy as). I rounded the first couple turn buoys and began to make my way back to start lap two. This was generally uneventful and my arms fell into that glorious state where they are “comfortably numb,” a term I use to describe still working hard, but not sore or tired, all sensation kind of just disappears and the wheels keep on turning. I checked my watch after the first lap and saw 36min, which I was ok with considering I felt slow and shitty. I knew I’d have a decent second lap and come in around my expected time.  The only point to note for the rest of the swim is peeing, and how peeing would actually become quite the nuisance for the day. By the end of the first lap I had gone once, but the way my wetsuit was so tight around my hip area, it was making it almost impossible to go again and I started to get some stitches and pains. I kept passing pontoons and kayaks thinking I should just stop, grab hold and get this business done with. I kept telling myself to continue until the next one, but finally I just stopped swimming until I could go and did a light breast stroke before getting back it. I finished up the swim and peeled my wetsuit half off before allowing a wonderful volunteer to rip if off for me and headed for the change tent.

T1 5:12min

The weather was calling for rain and low temps, but I was set on wearing just my tri-suit for the entire race and not putting on a coat or anything. Luckily I had purchased arm warmers the day before and I think they were lifesavers. I grabbed my bag, headed into the change tent, which was packed, so I went back outside and donned my helmet, shoes, and arm warmers and bolted for my bike. I could hear my family cheering me on as I ran out to the mount line. Time to ride.

Bike 6:34:51 (27.35km/h avg) (38^th div, 408 gender, and 516^th overall)

The bike has become my favourite, and I think strongest leg of the race and I feel I still have a lot of room to improve. The course consists of two out and back sections from Whistler. There is a decent amount of climbing throughout the course, but that also means there is a fair amount of descending (something I think I am particularly good at).

     The first few KM’s were a bit packed and slower than they would normally be. I think the pouring rain was making everyone, including myself, a bit weary of just tearing down hills and around corners, especially in the first few minutes. The next 25km was an ice cold descent to the bottom of Callaghan Rd where we would begin our 10km climb to the turn around. By this point my entire body was shaking/shivering; I couldn’t feel my feet and my hands barely worked. Luckily they could still grab a water bottle and push the buttons to change gears (damn I love having electronic shifting, it’s glorious). The climb to the top of Callaghan wasn’t nearly as bad as people made it out to be. I enjoyed the bit of warmth it provided, I just put it in low gear and chugged along as easily as I could. As the top neared I had a small feeling of dread. I was finally not shivering anymore, but knew it would all come back as I was about to descend for 10km. This would be sooo fast and fun in nice, dry conditions, but the pouring rain and cold temps made it a little hazardous. My bike is fast and I am not light= I passed a lot of people on the way down, even with them pedaling and me not, I was still cruising by people. I just love going fast. I did have a new experience however, and not a great one; because I was cold and shivering again my front wheel would wobble at high speeds because I couldn’t hold the bike steady with all the shivering. A bit sketchy but I made it down.

Absolutely as cold as it might look

            The next portion of the course was heading back up Whistler, which is mostly uphill, but not too steep at any point. I chugged along between a narrow set of pylons and made sure to avoid the rumble strips that we seemed to continue to cross over. I’m not sure if it’s from not being able to go often in the swim, but I was peeing a lot and it was getting annoying, aside from the warming benefits. Usually I’m a few times per 90km, but I think I went three or four times in the first 70km. It was a bit easier as there are a lot of downhill’s and I was cold, but later on it became a bit of a bother.
    As far as negative thoughts or things I was focusing on, there isn’t much I recall. I don’t think I felt one way or the other, I simply just continued to carry on in a bit of a frozen mindless state. As I made my way past Whistler I saw my family towards the end of town and they gave me a great cheer and got me pumped for the next 35km of descending to come.
     By now it had stopped raining and I knew I would warm up sooner than later. The road also had much less water on it so I knew it was time to push the downhill’s and make up some time. My bike computer was starting to die or restart itself, despite my brand new batteries, but before it shut off for the rest of the bike, I caught that I had made it up to 75km/h on the way down, a new high speed for me.

       At my special needs bag, I grabbed my two other bottles of Infinit and decided to put on a pair of socks I threw in there. It wasn’t so much the cold that was bothering me, but the large amount of water made my feet start to feel like hamburger and I didn’t want really squishy feet to start the run. It was the right choice, although I’m not sure if it made a big difference. I’ve read that many people don’t like the Pemberton flats because they are boring. I had a blast during this section and thought it was beautiful. I wasn’t sure how fast I was going, but felt it was a good pace and about halfway out to the turn around my friend Steph passed me. She is a stronger rider than I am so I was surprised to catch her on the way back into town. We rode together for a while until I stopped to use the washroom, and then she was gone, on a mission (and what a mission, she won her age group and finally got her Kona spot). I have read so many race reports and heard so much about the last 35km climb back into Whistler and it's difficulty. I felt I had done a really good job of keeping my HR low throughout the day and that I had plenty saved up for the climb, despite it not being a strong point of mine.

       The first of the series of climbs was easily the worst for me. I cranked it into my lowest gear and set about easing my way up. By half way up the first one I was sweating, what a novelty this was, and my calves were on fire. This is happened to my calves before and I think it’s just that they weren’t quite ready for this kind of extra effort. After a while I made it up and there was a short reprieve for some recovery. The next hour carried on this way. Up, up , up, and then down. Then up, up, up and down. This carried on until the last 10-15km of the bike, which is much more rolling and allows for more consistent speed. My legs were feeling strong, but my knees were starting to get a bit iffy. I knew I was still ok, but I couldn’t put of the full power available because I didn’t want to over-stress my knees (If you read my IMCDA report you’ll see why.  A bad IT band at mile 85 in that race led to walking the marathon and ultimately a DNF. Not an option today).

            The last bit of the bike took us back into town and through the crowds. I didn’t know exactly how much weaving through town we would be doing, but I just sat up and took it easy and began to focus on the run. I dismounted with feet out of shoes and ran through T2 to the change tent.

Coming into T2

T2 4:29min

I did my best to be quick through here, though based on the time, there is still room for improvement. Pretty basic stuff here, shoes and helmet off; new shoes, race belt and hat on.

Run 6:01:55 (8:34min/km) (52^nd div, 687 gender, and 931 overall) 

I was a bit nervous about how my knee would hold up through the run as it was living on the edge for the last hour of the bike. With the crowd support and energy it’s hard not to run right out of the gate. My family was waiting right at the exit, again cheering me on. I began running down the shoot and about 50m down the outside of my right knee tightened up to the point I had to stop and rub it. This made me very nervous as the last time my knee felt this way it took me four hours to limp the first half of a marathon and led to a DNF. Luckily it loosened up and I was able to carry on. I ran for the first 10km with walking breaks on the uphills and at aid stations. My legs were feeling relatively fresh which is why it became very frustrating when the outside of my right knee hit a point where I couldn’t run anymore. So at 10km the walking began, but this time a had a few things on my side. I had more time, a watch, and a knee that wasn’t completely useless. By time, I mean I still had 7:20hr to do the last 30km, which is definitely doable as I was still able to power walk. In IMCDA I ended up walking 21min/miles which is just way too slow, but here I was able to keep them around 15min miles and that meant I would definitely be able to make it in on time as long as I kept up the pace. Having my Garmin this time around helped me keep my pace under 10min/km and if I started slowing down, I could see it immediately and pick up the pace. The next 20km involved me doing a lot of power walking and eating plenty of chips and pop. I chatted with a few people along the way that were also having tough days and I just made sure to keep my pace under that 10min/km. By the time I was finishing the first lap I knew I would be able to make it in time even if I had to walk slowly.
   Unfortunately the power walking allowed for blisters to start forming on the balls of my feet. Not painful enough to stop me, but just enough to be annoying. I was looking forward to my special needs bag as I put two Advil in there (even though I’ve read it can be dangerous, I thought they might help if I ran into problems). I also had two small strips of K-Tape in case of blisters. I figured I would throw them on my leg and see if they helped my knee at all. I continued on my merry way walking through the village again and then heading on out to Green Lake one last time. Around the 30km mark my knee started to feel a bit better on the outside. I decided to try a run/hobble and see how far I could go, as it wasn’t hurting to walk anymore. At first I managed to run for 15-20 seconds and then I had to walk for a bit. When I say run, I don’t mean my normal run, I mean foot turned out, bent elbow arm swinging hobbles. But, I was pretty excited that I would now be able to move a bit faster. As the KM’s passed I was able to run for longer and longer periods of time. I was keeping a keen eye on the clock and now that I was "running", I noticed sub 14hrs was near by. With about 5km to go, I was at 13:37 on the clock. To run the last 5km in under 25min is not hard for me regularly, but there were quite a few circumstances here that made me think it wasn’t even remotely in the books.

I had been following behind a couple of gals for most of the run and felt determined to beat them as they had stayed just in front of me for the last hour. I kept up my run walk until the 4km mark and realized I had a hope of finishing under if I just ran as fast as I could, a fools hope, but hope none the less. My knee allowed me to start running fairly well so I essentially ran 4:20min/km until I was too tired to run, then I would walk fast for 20-30 seconds, then take off again. I made my way back into Whistler and was easily running faster than anyone. I was running as fast as I could for as long as I could, then my short walk break. The crowd was awesome and so supportive (and a bit impressed). Around the 2km I ran into my dad, who came to see where I was. As I was running I told him he better run his ass back to the finish line because I was running hard. I continued to make my way around the course. For being back in Whistler, the last KM is rather quiet. You skirt your way around the side of the town before the last 500m. The last 500m brings you back through the village. I didn’t realize it would be as far to the finish line as it was so I was running full tilt for a while, but I managed to make it to the final stretch. In my mind I have visualized how I would run down the last 100m and always saw it as me going nice and slow and high-fiving the crowd, but I was running so fast and it was slightly downhill that I don’t think I could have slowed if I wanted. I flew through the last final steps in a moment of perfect silence not hearing the crowd, not hearing my name over the sound system, but hearing the sound of redemption after two long years. I had finally accomplished something that has been a goal of mine for a while now, and it felt damn good.

Overall Time: 14:02:54

52nd division, 688th gender, 932nd Overall

Garmin File: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/869198032#.VdOc-_1lx2M.blogger

Ironman Official Splits: http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/coverage/athlete-tracker.aspx?race=canada&y=2015#axzz3hOyM9Rwj

Post Race

I saw my family almost right after I crossed the line. I gave them a big hug and chatted a bit before heading over to get a quick massage. I think I enjoyed lying down more than the massage itself, but regardless it was so excellent. I had a half piece of pizza and then found my family and headed back to the condo. I had a shower and prepared to head back to the finish line despite some sore knees and bad blisters. After not having gone back to the finish line for the last hour when I DNF’d at IMCDA, I wanted to make sure I was there to cheer in the last remaining athletes. We all headed down and cheered everyone in, pretty awesome to see.

            All in all IMC was an awesome experience and even though I ran into injury trouble again, at no point was I mentally or emotionally at a low. Being cold wasn’t fun, but the day in general was a blast and I can’t wait for the next one. I think I’m looking at 70.3 Calgary next year, and if my body says yes, more redemption at IMCDA as it has moved to August. 

Well, I'm back.

Xterra Canmore Offroad Triathlon 2014

  

Xterra Race Report

Firstly, this submission is well overdue, but I just haven’t been too motivated to write lately so it’s coming out now. Details will be a little hazy, much like my brain for the first hour of the race, but I’ll give it my best go.

The Journey Down

My first point to note, which may or may not be a bit of an excuse, is that I started a new job about 4 weeks before this race and due to the nature of it, I had very little spare time. Basically I’m saying I was a tad unprepared for this race. Also, elevation is a bitch.

                  Anyway, I drove on down to Canmore Friday after work and reached my hostel around 7:45pm. I checked in and asked if there was room to store my bike in a room overnight as leaving it outside was not an option. The girl at the front desk was a bit hesitant, but said I could give it a shot as long as it didn’t take up too much room. I asked one of the guys in my room if it would be a problem and of course no dramas. As I wheeled my bike in, the receptionist was all, “ohhh that’s way too big,” I told her it was all good and wouldn’t be in the way and carried on, of course with no issues to follow. Sometimes people just need to slow their damn roll.

View looking out onto the course, and the finishing meters right in front

 Race Morning

                  It’s been a while since I’ve done a race that hasn’t started really early. A 9:15 swim start meant I didn’t have to get up too early. I was able to get my bike to transition and set up in the morning with plenty of time to spare at the Canmore Nordic Centre. I had some concerns with my bike because the front brake seemed to rub intermittently, but I didn’t have the tools or time to fix it…guess I’d just have to roll with it, or hopefully roll. It was spitting rain throughout the night and into the early morning, but the mountain gods came through about 45min before race start the rain stopped making for perfect temperatures for racing…..and some rather wet trails. One last point to make is that all racers were required to carry bear spray throught the bike and run. I decided to go with my day pack to carry as it is light and I didn’t really have anything else. This ended up being a bonus as I wore the only other shoes I brought I wore down to T1; in the bag they went to be carried throughout the bike.   To make what could be an even longer drawn out story short, I made it down to the perfect, perfect lake and was ready to go.

Swim 500m

I am in the very right of this pic

The swim is probably the only part of the race I actually cared about. I’ve only swam 500m once before in a race and it was slow, I think around 10:30 and I know I’m better than that. I positioned myself at the front on the very right side. The lake is not big, but it is clear and a great temperature, 18ish I think. They sent us off and I went out fast and strong. Before long I was at the first buoy in this one lap triangular shaped swim. I was feeling good and keeping up with the front pack, although I was working very hard and my breathing was quite labored. I pushed on and didn’t start to feel fatigued until about 200m from the finish. I went as fast as I could, but definitely slowed a bit towards the end and could feel it in my shoulders.

Swim Time: 8:43min (1:45min/100m) 13^th Overall  -> Very pleased with this, I thought maybe I could get down to 8:15, but still quite happy.

Pretty sick swim venue

T1

This involved a 250m run uphill towards our bikes. I still haven’t become good at running right out of the swim, especially when I was as labored as I was. I got passed by some folks, but didn’t care as my expectations for the race weren’t high, I just wanted to experience an Xterra and see what it’s all about. I donned my gear, including my “sunglasses” that I put clear lenses on and headed on out.

Just out the water

Bike 14km

This was without a doubt the hardest bike I’ve done, hands down. We came out of T1 onto the highway and rode UP to the Nordic Centre where we entered the trails. The trails of course led, UP, and up and up and up. My legs were nowhere near prepared for this onslaught of climbing, especially so soon after the swim. I had to stop after a few climbs and take of my sunglasses as they were just fogging up like crazy.

 Lesson 1: be wary of sunglasses in an Xterra as you don’t get the same breeze/wind as you do on road bikes to defog them.

 Anyway, I continued to climb very slowly just like everyone around me. I couldn’t get my HR below 170 (which is above a sustainable limit for me) and my legs were just on fire. I had two thoughts on this first ascent, the first was why did I even buy this stupid mountain bike, I should just sell it and buy a new road bike. My second thought was, just keep pedaling because if you pedal any slower, you’ll stop and fall off your bike. Finally I hit a steep and slick slope where people were getting off and walking, I followed suit. It was a nice “break” and my legs were already feeling like jelly, not a good sign. Once I finally made it to the top, I started riding some nice double track that had small ups and downs, finally some relief after the first 45min of the race. I was already not looking forward to coming up that climb on the second lap.

I carried on until I reached my first bit of single track, something I am rather unexperienced with. It went well enough, turning, pedaling and actually having a bit of fun finally. The roots were slippery and I was certainly learning a lot about mountain biking. I struggled climbing in parts but overall I was making progress. I hit an open meadow area and picked up speed cruising on through, my HR was coming down a bit and I was enjoying the scenery. I began to head back down the mountain through a few switchbacks, which I took a bit too much speed into bringing me to my first wipeout. Essentially my front wheel couldn’t gain traction and slipped out and I went down, no major impact, just some sliding on the ground. I got back up, hopped back and carried on. I re-entered the single track only to find myself faced with a steep drop/turn/lots of roots…..definitely outside my comfort zone and maybe outside my skill level. I approached it with hesitancy and paid the price, wiping out two more times.

Some road rash from my first wipe-out

Moving forward I continued to descend the mountain with the odd sharp incline. By this time I was starting to enjoy myself, I can’t even describe the difference of fun levels between ascending and descending. Lap two went much better than lap one. My legs showed up a bit and I was able to climb a bit easier. I managed to make the second lap with no wipe-outs, I took the switchback a bit slower and when I hit the single track that I crashed on twice in lap one, I paused, picked a line and just went for it…..and it worked out.

Bike: 1:18:59 (10.km/h) 41^st Overall. Not surprised by this as I wasn’t sure what to expect and haven’t ever ridden in true mountain terrain. HARD, but FUN!

T2

I arrived into T2 with legs that were shaky at best, but hurried in and out and was on my way for the last part of the race.

Run 5km

I left for the run thinking just enjoy it, you’re not going to win so there isn’t really any point in absolutely crushing yourself. I took off at a quick pace that slowly dwindled down as I entered the trail system. My legs were just not there and I was still breathing quite hard. I was really feeling the effects of my lack of training and the altitude (about double that of what I live and train at). I trudged along running where I could and walked up the hills (I’m not much for running up hills). I was only passed by a couple and found myself gaining on a few. I found this run very very hard and early on acknowledged that I would just try to enjoy it as much as possible, which included running at a comfortable (aka: slow) pace. I caught on fellow that I ran with for a while and chatted with about how hard this race was, it was both of our first times doing an Xterra race. They just aren’t even close to the same type of race as a road triathlon. Just past the halfway point I was passed by an older lady and man, I tried to stick with them for a bit and then just didn’t care and let them go. I exited the trees into the wide open grass area, the last 800m of the run. I thought about making a really strong to push to try and catch a few people but didn’t. There was no one close behind me or in front so I just made a nice strong effort the last 300m, but nothing too strenuous. I rolled across the finish line quite tired, but glad I had done the race.

Run: 33:39 (6:43min/km) 36^th Overall.

Finish Time: 2:01:22 for 42^nd Overall.

Thoughts and Lessons

1)     So glad I decided to do the Sprint distance, I couldn’t imagine putting in another 10km on the bike and 5km on the run.

2)     The bike is SO much more demanding than it is during road triathlons. The climbing is much harder, although the climbs are typically shorter, they are much steeper and there is much less traction.

3)     Descending does not equal resting. On the road, if you have a long descent, you can relax and typically catch your breath. Descending on the trails requires you to still use every muscle in your body to ensure you maintain traction and balance. No recovery there.

4)     STRENGTH. Xterra demands that you be very strong. It is a strength type race; you need good power to deal with all the hills and varying terrain on both the bike and the run.

5)     Racing in altitude that is twice that of which you live and train in will have an effect on you; this entire race I felt like catching my breath was just out of reach; my breath was chasing the proverbial carrot.

6)     To be perfectly honest, I can’t say I really enjoyed the bike, I was just too burnt out; that being said I bought a mountain bike because I wanted to be able to cruise around and do some trails. The Canmore Nordic Centre would be an absolute BLAST to spend a day biking around at, taking breaks when needs and just exploring instead of racing. I can’t wait until next season when I can go out there and spend a day exploring. Great race, great organization, and outstanding venue.

Great White North Race Report

Great White North: The Race that Was!

Disclaimer: I've thought about how to write my race reports and settled on giving you a look into what goes through my mind throughout the day. I'm not so witty and clever like many others I read so you just get to kind of see what happens in my brain throughout the day.

Race Morning/Pre-Race

Alarm goes off at 5am, I lie awake in bed and for a moment, don’t really feel like racing today. I shake off this last moment of doubt and fix up some breakfast: 3 Eggs and a smoothie, my go to light breakfast. I had swum in the lake a week prior to the race and had been feeling off since then. All week I just didn’t feel that well, especially Saturday, almost a hungover stomach feeling, but not much you can do so the day must go on. My goal back in March was to come into this race under 180lbs, something I’ve only been three times since 2004. I thought I would lose weight while in Wainwright, but I was wrong. I came back heavy, at 192lbs, but managed to get it down to 185lbs by race day, it would have to do. This would also be the first time I raced with a HR monitor. I train with one all the time and thought it would be a good way to gauge my effort on race day. Now that I've brokenly described a few lead up things to the race, I'll get on with it.

I grabbed my gear and was on my way, 45min later I arrived down at transition, a little before 7. I began my last preparations for my bike, adding bottles, filling tires, and any last adjustments before race start. I donned my outdated, not perfect fitting wetsuit and went for a quick warm up, just 50-100m, find a couple friends and hang out for 5-10min waiting for the start gun.

Swim
Goal: Under 38min            Actual: 37:08 (1:51min/100m) 108^th Overall

I positioned myself near the front of the swim, something I would have been hesitant to do in the past. With goals of swimming faster, I knew I needed to be on the feet of fast swimmers. The gun went off and so did 600 athletes. As always the first few hundred meters consists bumping into people, feet in the face, hands on legs, and trying to find open water. The swim out to the first buoy was about 900m and for me involved trying to stay on people’s feet, which I found difficult, staying on line and overall just settling in. Around the first buoy and I had 700m to the next one, I felt slow in this leg, but had a lot of space to swim so plugged along. At one point, an athlete attempted to swim through me and pulled my timing chip down from my wetsuit. RANT WARNING: I will never undersatnd why swimmers think they can go through someone. I've had this happen a few times now. I get it, feet will be slapped and even the odd leg, but when I do that to someone, I look for open water and make my next strokes toward it. What possesses people to continue swimming into someone I will never understand, it slows both parties down and usually results in me trying to kick you in the face. Annnnyway, I decided to stop and tuck it back underneath to ensure I didn't lose it. Around the last buoy and I put in a strong effort for the last 400m to the beach. 

Start of the swim

Overall Swim Impression

Very happy with the result of the swim, though I felt slow at times so there is definitely room for improvement, I need to keep focused at all times during the swim, instead of settling in to a comfortable pace and day dreaming a bit. Despite these feelings, I hit my goal times and am very pleased with the start of my race.

T1: 4 minutes

I rushed out of the water, got my wetsuit peeled off with a bit of trouble and headed to my bike. I caught one buddy just leaving and another right behind me. I put my gear on, had my sunglasses fog up and headed on out.

Coming out of the water (Courtesy of Ken Anderson Photography)

Overall T1 Impression

I lost some focus here and cost me a bit of time. I was hoping to keep T1 at 3min or less. I think the key is to really be conscious of what I need to do as I’m coming in from the swim. Also being very simple and succinct. More practice at home as well.

Bike
Goal time: Under 3hrs                         Actual: 2:49 (32.1km/hr) 103^rd Overall

Just starting the bike

The bike begins with a short climb out to the highway. Normally it would seem easy, but coming out of the water this climb makes the legs honest right away. Fortunately the first 5km of the race was basically all downhill with a tailwind, very easy way to get the legs going. I spent this first bit of the race cruising around at 50+km/hr, took an exit ramp and headed into town to start the first of two loops on the bike.

Exiting the lake (Ken Anderson Photography)

         



I would describe this bike as a fast course. A large section of it you are either climbing a longer slight grade, or descending it. My plan for the race was to keep it steady up on the uphills and hammer on the downhills. I came in at 185lbs so I am at a slight disadvantage for the uphills but an advantage for the down. I played hopscotch with a gal for the first 70km of the race. She passed me on every uphill and as soon as we began to descend I would take over. In training I found my steady efforts to have a heart rate of 140 on average and would sometimes get up to 150 when I started pushing it. This was my first race using a HR Monitor and I found that I liked it, I also noticed that my HR would not get under 150, but I didn’t feel like I was pushing too hard so I kept my eye on my HR but kept the pressure on. On the way out we faced a slightly angled headwind, so I pushed hard knowing that the way back involved a long descent into town with a tailwind. Once I had the wind at my back I kept pushing to maxmize on speed, so I guess all day I kept a strong effort on the bike. I took in nutrition as best as I could, but my stomach was not feeling well at all.

           

Round the corner and back out

I completed the first lap and was feeling good aside from the stomach issues. In the past I have found that the last 15-20km I have faded. I noticed around the 2hr mark, roughly 55km or so that I was headed out on lap two into the headwind and I was feeling tired. I also noticed the strap that held my aero bottle in had broke, which meant I’d be holding on to it as I rode the last 40km, a nuisance but not to much of a problem. I took in some sugars and just focused on getting to the top of the hill because I knew that was the only hard part I had left. I did some math along the way and knew I would come in under 3hrs, which I was pleased about. The other thing I noticed was that my body was feeling good with respect to injuries, my hip wasn’t acting up and everything felt good. This was my first time racing and third time riding my new Flo wheels. I must say they performed so well. They are very sturdy in that they like to stay in a straight line, very little movement. They are also excellent at maintaining momentum, once I got them up to a speed it was easy to keep them there. Very pleased with this purchase.

Overall Bike Impression

I knew the course would be relatively fast and I am happy with my result. The last 3-4 weeks my training on the bike faded a bit, I think with a bit more threshold work, I could drop another 5-10min off. I’m happy to have had my HR average 155 and it not be too high for me, something I wouldn’t have guessed during training.

90km done. Ready for running shoes

T2

T2 is pretty cut and dry, come in, put on running shoes and grab hat with 4 gels in it, then go. As I left T2 I went to the portapotty and as I approached a lady said, just take her out. I gave her a quizzical look and was hesitant to open the door, she took action, opened the door and pulled her 4 yr old out with her pants still around her ankles just so I could use the washroom. That was about the only thing that was interesting in T2.

Run
Goal: Under 2hrs            Actual: 2:10:29 (6:11min/km) 237^th Overall

I knew this leg of the race was going to be a challenge in a few different ways:

1)   I have had a relatively small amount of run training through my preparation for this race.

2)   Running has been the biggest issue when it comes to injuries. During training for this race I suffered from left knee IT Band issues, left leg peroneal strain, right achilles issues, right medial knee pain, and right hip flexor tightness/pain.

3)   The training I have been able to do is most slow running, not much for speed=not much for fitness. The longest run I got in during training was 11km.

Fresh out of T2 (Photo credit to Dom Rankel)

To the run, I came out of transition greeted by my dad who gave me some words of encouragement and quickly ran into another friend Dom that made it out with his camera, hence some of the running pictures. The first KM of the race is slightly uphill which brought about a burning/tight feeling through my lower legs. I figured this would disappear eventually and kept on trucking. My goal was to run, at a minimum between aid stations, if not more. I kept this up for basically the first lap, (2x10.5km loops). It took about 40min for my legs to finally come around and feel they were meant for running. My stomach didn’t improve much so I stuck mainly to water and coke and choked down a few gels. Around the 45min mark came some lateral left knee pain, likely IT Band stuff. This is the thing that plagued me during IMCDA and so I was quite nervous when it came on. Luckily it settled at a rather uncomfortable ache and I was able to run as much as possible before taking quick walk breaks.

Last few steps (Ken Anderson Photography)

            A serious lack of run fitness is what cost me here. Despite averaging a HR of 157, I could scarcely keep my pace under 6min/km for my run. NO. RUN. FITNESS. I trucked on for the second lap with little excitement to share and my knee pain even dulled a bit, until about 1.5km to go. I was passing the gentlemen (see pic left) that was walking and I quickly asked how he was getting on. Cramps for him. I gave some encouragement and carried on, no sooner should I carry on than my right calf pulses quickly with a couple cramps of my own. I quickly stretch it on the curb and carry on, running much more cautiously, trying to stay off my toes despite the fact that I always finish hard in races. With about 400m to go I was passed by one person, but was managing to keep 3 or 4 more at bay. I was nervous to have been picking up the pace, as I wasn’t sure if my calf would fully seize up on me. It was holding together and with about 75m to go I heard very heavy breathing. It’s the guy that was cramping so I picked it up and sprint/low ran the last bit to hold him off with my calf almost going on me. Alas, I am finished.

Finish 5:40:36 159^th Overall and 24^th in my Age Group.

Dad and I at the finish line

Overall I am very pleased with my result. It was an extremely difficult training season riddled with one injury or another almost the entire time. I am happy to report a Swim PB by 7:30min and I swam an extra 100m, so very pleased with that result and I feel like I can be faster yet. A bike PB of 28min, on what I would say is a fairly fast course, but again, I have more to give. I set a run PB by 14min for the Half Iron distance, but I don’t count it as a PB as I have run a half marathon faster. What I am most pleased about though, is I finished with far less pain/injury than I expected. To come in with just a little knee pain when I was expecting so much worse was the best part of the day.
            Special thanks to Dom, Josh, and Robbie for coming out and cheering me on and of course to my Dad because none of it would be possible without the support from him and my Ma

 So what’s next? 

Well I just bought a mountain bike, so I might have a go at the Xterra Canmore Offroad Triathlon in August, but the big push will be for the Banff Sprint. I’m changing gears and looking for speed. My goal? To win my age group and qualify for the Age Group World Championships in Chicago next year. If I train hard, I feel I have a shot at it….depending on who shows up of course. Last year I could have won my age group, the year before, not. It’s kind of like a lottery, we will see.