I have that feeling of great fitness after this past week. Did all my scheduled workouts as planned, throwing the hardest ones in at the beginning of the week. This allowed me a bit of rest before the big race yesterday. I even got my new wetsuit, a Nineteen Frequency model which I managed to try on once at an interval session at Fuller Lake on Wednesday. It seemed a bit tighter than my QR suit but felt good in it and allowed me the boyancy I needed to balance me properly in the water. As usual with the wet suit on I felt faster and it gave me the confidence I needed not to worry about this aspect of the triathlon.
Now on with the race report. The day before Saturday was a beautiful day and was hoping for a similar day on Sunday. I was a bit worried about the water temperature but the sunnier days this week should have warmed up the lake a bit more. The previous reconasance race bike course last week was good because I now knew where all the hard spots would be and where I was to take it very easy. It was not a delightful course, as the roads were rough and lots of pot holes. And depending on the traffic could be a bit hazardous. I had never run on that particular trail course so that was a bit of a mystery for me.
The night before, I had packed up all my stuff and put it in the van as I did not want to fool around at 4:00am in the morning to do all that. I went to bed at 9:00pm that night and kept waking up every two hours or so to check the time on my digital clock. I also set a battery powered one just in case of power failure. My clock was set to go off at 4:00am but woke up at 3:45 and decided to get up and make my coffee and have breakfast. I had Vector cereal, a banana and almonds and figured that would suffice me for the 3 hours prior to the swim. I would also have a Gel 1/2 an hour prior to entering the water. At 4:15 I was on the road and on the way to the race. Got there early enough to get a good parking spot, but still to early for body marking therefore I just laid and rested on my mattress in my van listening to calm music and mentally prepared myself going over every aspect of the race for that day.
I had set myself a plan to use this Tri as a training platform for my Ironman and was determined to execute that plan. I did not want to think about placing, time or any kind of medals for that day. I just wanted to experiment with relaxing and slowing it down for the first two disciplined in order to see what I had left in the gas tank for the run. Even the run, I was not going to run at my usual faster pace. I still had weeks of hard training to go before my next half and did not want to blow myself up needing too much wasted time for recovery. The only real thing that I was a bit worried about was shoulder problems that had been plaging me this past year. Old age and arthritis was starting to set in but I was determined to not let that hinder me.
With 45 minutes to go before start time, I went and got myself body marked and to my transition spot to prepare my bike and gear. We had to leave our bikes there overnight from the day before and was crunched up with other bikes with not too much room to assemble my gear. However the transition marshall annouced that we could move our bikes to other empty racks if we wanted to and I quickly took advantage of that in order to find myself the ideal spot right at the end of the rack where I could lay out my gear on the side instead of in front or behind my bike. This strategy would also give me a place to lean or hold on too for balance while I was transitioning. I blew up my tires to the right pressure and donned my wet suit, two swim caps with my goggles and 10 minutes to start time stepped into the water for my pre-swim warm up. Surprisingly the water felt not bad at all and swam back and forth and stretched before the gun went off. Did I say gun??? How about a big howitzer cannon those Army Reserve Guys brought over? Quite the touch AND quite loud.
I positioned myself on the outside edge behind most of the crowd. I was determined not to get thrashed around by other swimmers. Call me chicken but I knew my limitations in the water and like Lisa Bentley, I knew my swim would be the slowest but also very confident that I would more than make up the time in the other two disciplines. My run was my fastest discipline and I would overtake many competitors in that last and most important part of the race. However more importantly was to discipline myself to take it more easily at the beginning of the bike and hydrate, eat and pace myself throughout that whole leg. I must and did not get carried away with the exitement of it all and the adrenalin rush as I tended to do in past races and forget about he effort and hydration.
The Swim:
The gun went off and I took off easily letting the thrashers ahead of me go. Everything was going fine until I got bumped by another swimmer and my right goggle started leaking. In order to fix it, I had to stop for a moment, let the water out reseal my google and I was on my way. But for some reason I swallowed a bit of water and started coughing, I kept control, did not panic and kept swimming and coughing for about two minutes until I got it under control. However when I sighted next, I saw the swimmers ahead of me quite far and holy cow! I had lost a lot of time. But as I kept on swimming, it seemed I was gaining quite rapidly on them....Too fast actually until I had a look around and realized that I was swimming off to the right in the oncoming lane of swimmers heading back to the turnaround point. I looked to my left and they they were, the bunch I WAS suppose to be with. Oh me gosh! I truly had to correct my course and get moving as I had lost a lot of time.The second loop was a bit easier and had gained momentum and finally caught up to a few swimmers that I could draft on the way in. I finally got out of the water and ran to my transition spot unzipping my wet suit on the way. M.y shoulders were a bit sore but did not warrant any Ibuprofen
The Bike
I got out of my suit and changed in about two minutes and off on my bike I went, remembering to relax and get my heart rate down. I knew I was quite a ways behind everyone because of my slow swim, but did not panic and start pedaling too fast. Once my heart rate was stable, I drank and resumed a cadence that was not too hard and kept the speed under control. Pretty soon I was in a rhythm and the first set of hills were ahead of me. I would have 3 more loops after this to do so kept it down a bit not hammering the hills. About 5 km's later, we had this steep long hill to climb that I had to get out of my saddle for. But I kept the cadence easy in my easiest gear and climbed up with no problem. At the top of the hill was the only aid station on the bike course and topped up my aero bottle. Pretty smart of them to position that aid station there as everyone would have slowed down quite a bit making it easier for them to grab gatorade or water and a gel without the helpers having to run after them if they were too fast.
My computer on my bike was also not working properly and could not get a read of how many km's or my speed so went by feel rather that visual indicators. As I got into my rhytm again, I noticed myself starting to pass some bikers. How many I am not sure but maybe about 15 - 20 in the whole race. My friends Julie and Alanna were out running the course for fun that day as well as to support me. It was quite nice seeing them everytime I looped and appreciated their words of encouragement as well as my beloved whom I threw a kiss at evertime I saw her. I was focused, concentrated on my drinking and actually drank 4 complete bottles in the biking component as well as one gel every loop also. So far so good the plan was in action and I was following it with precision. Finally I was approching the transition at the end of the bike and downed the rest of my gatorade before arriving and dismounting. This time I did something I never tried before and that was undoing the velcro strap on my shoes prior to dismounting the bike. Shoud of practised that but it worked well and when I racked my bike did not have to struggle taking off my sockless feet out of my shoes.
The Run:
I heard the voice of Ironman announcer Steve King, and over the loudspeaker found out I was about two minutes behind my first place competition. This guy was from Texas somewhere and for a minute thought he was a hot shot from the states. I decided not to let that bother me, but at the same time knew that this was the stage where I was to test myself out to see if the slower steadier paced bike ride was going to work in my favor. As I took off on the run, I realized my legs seemed like they were still fresh with no sign of cramping at all. Bonus! I said to myself. I steadily increased my pace and no more than two hundred meters in front of me passed a guy that seemed like he was my age. I felt certain of it. As I zoomed by him I heard him mutter something seemed like "Oh well!" I kept on increasing my pace a bit until I was in a fast enough but not breathing too hard pace and tried to maintain that pace. However by now, the sun was out in full force with not too much cloud cover. In addition the trail was somewhat sheltered from any cool breeze. I decided to stop at every aid station and to keep on drinking. I was starting to sweat quite a bit by now because of the heat and cursed myself for not having brought any salt tabs with me. Because of the cold spring, I had not even trained with them yet. That was about to changein the future, I said to myself. As luck would hold out I was running behind this tall guy who had a buddy give him a container of salt tabs and he kindly offered me some as he had noticed my sweat pouring out of my body. The temperarures were quite high by this time and we still had 10k to go, so I took two of them right away hoping these would be sufficient to sustain me until the finish. They were! From 11K to 16K it was an unexpected upward climb on soft sand and this proved to be quite difficult and energy consuming. I definitely could not keep my pace on that section and it seemed like forever until the turnaround came. At this time I had passed quite a few runners and knew that I was still making good time on the run. Some had slowed down and were walking. The second time I ran into whom I thought was my competion, I knew I had gained quite a lot of time on him and knew he was not even a threat anymore as he was running slow, labouring. From 16K to the finish it was a downwards grade where I was able to pick up more speed. I started hearing the announcer and crowds in the distance and knew I was close to the finish. When I got off the trail, for the last 150 meters to the finish line, I poured on a blazing downhill sprint and came across the finish line smiling and not totally exhausted for the first time ever in a triathlon. I got a great appreciative applaude from the crowd and was totally elated. My friends, all came and congratulated me and even my wife who was so proud of me, did not mind getting my sweat on her as she gave me a big hugged.
Conclusion:
I had executed my plan to a tee and it had worked for me. A few hiccups like the goggles and coughing and sighting and of course the salt tabs but mostly everything had went well. I had proven to myself that proper controlled pacing, steady hydration and nutrition could translate to a better feeling run. I was now determined to keep these critical points in my mind in future races. Overall I finished 1'st in my category with a time of 5:32:19. Not bad for a tough island course. I had exited out of the water in 84'th place out of 94 and managed to pick pass 40 competitors in the race to finish 44 overall. I was extremely happy with that. Apart from age, Canadian champion, Lisa Bently and I have a lot more in common with our race strategy. If it is your strongest discipline and have the talent for it, take it all on the run! Four more weeks till the next Half Iron which I hoped to do a bit better in as it a "B" race for me. I am hoping to have my best Half IM of the season at that one. Now twenty four hours later, I feel good, no soreness or stiffness but know there is some internal muscle damage there so will be taking it a bit easier for a while letting myself fully recover. Tonight I am going for a nice easy recovery swim with friends. Man! How I love this sport! Keeps you young, healthy, fully alive, and a zest to keep it up forever!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Week 18 and 19 Strength Phase - Fitness Kicks up a Notch
My week 18 last week was quite busy between training and work and other projects on the go so I did not have time to blog my workouts. But just the same, week 18 went very well. The most significant event of last week was my first open water swim of the season. I had watched my friends Tam and Ivan the previous day go for it and could tell that the water was very cold just by watching them. Their breath was hard to get under control and their swimming a bit eratic due to such low temperatures but I admired their courage to go ahead and try it. They came out of the water with cold extremeties and face. At that moment I had the feeling that it would be quite a while before we would be able to swim there on a regular basis. I had intended to swim with them at the beginning, but with a 125K ride and a two hour run the days prior to left me a bit weak and drained and did not want to risk getting hypothermic and sick in the terribly cold water. It had to be around 10 degrees if that.
That night however after thinking about it, I said I could do this! The next day I said to myself I would go out and attempt it on my own. Which is not a very smart thing to do on my own in a lake with hardly anyone around. But a few fisherman were around to see me if I got into trouble. I was hoping for a bit of warm sunshine but the next day came and it was overcast and cool. I did my workouts that morning of weigths and biking and in the early afternoon headed out to the lake. It was a bit of a chore trying to remember all the gear I needed to bring as it had been over 8 monts since my last open water swim. I almost forgot my goggles but remembered them at the last minute. I was phyching myself out before I even left and did not really want to do this but reminded myself if my newbie friends could do it, I as a more seasoned triathlete should be able to do this also. My early days in the navy I had done quite lot of cold water diving and my instructor had often told me that at the beginning in the first few minutes it was very important to control your breathing and relax as much as possible until we had our bearings and were able to concentrate on the task at hand. I decided to dress in my wet suit at home in case I had problem with the zipper as I was on my own with no one to help. After making a mess with baby powder ll over the floors in my home I headed out for the ten minute drive to the lake.
When I got there, and walked out to the beach I felt very lonely. I donned two swim caps to keep my head and ears warmer. I stepped in the water and stepped right back out. Oh God it was so cold! I decided not to linger on this, set my timer on my watch and dove right in! The cold water suddenly surrounding my whole face was a shock! Don't think...I said and started swimming right away. The cold water slowly seeped throughout my suit. Once my body warmed up the thin layer of water between the suit and skin it was much better. I slowed down my breathing right away eshling long and easy and took long slow graceful strokes. In a minute, my breathing was in a rhythm and I increased my stroke a bit. To be honest it did not feel too bad...So I said to myself. As I slowly circumnavigated the lake I got used to it and it seemed like it was not that cold. In truth, my hands and feet were getting so numb that I was not feeling the cold anymore. I had made up my mind to do the whole lake and did so, not stopping once. Sighting was a bit of a chore as I was breathing more on one side tending to make me swim to the right all the time. I sighted more often to get my bearing and my last 150 meters my shoulders were getting a bit sore and could not feel my hands and feet at all anymore. When I got to shore, it was a chore trying to get my suit off as I had no dexterity in my fingers to peel off my suit. But I did get it off and trotted off to the van to get some warm clothes on and my heater going in the van. The trip up from the beach to the van, I felt like I was walking with stumps as I could not feel my feet hit the ground. It took me a solid two hours after to regain feelings in the heels of my feet as they thawed out. Well now I knew I could do the distance of a Half Iron but the speed would take some work as the form was totally different than the pool. I felt proud of myself for accomplishing this and vowed from now on to get 3 swims in a week no matter what. And I did.
That weekend I met up with friends Julie and Bob and had a great ride up the inland highway to Parksville and back. I felt strong the whole way and we managed a pace averaging 28 kph despite the fierce headwinds on the way back. My trapezoid muscles below my neck on the left side was still getting sore but managed to control the pain with a bit of Ibuprofen, the wonder drug and the only drug that I take nowadays.
The following week I was suppose to go on this bike training camp up to Penticton for whole week, but having missed being at home for my wedding anniversary for the two to three years prior to, I decided to stay home instead and devote a bit of time to my wife. Triathlon training is a very selfish sport and one must take time to ensure family is not ignored for too long. Maybe even indulge in some golfing with her as long as it did not interfere in my training of course. Yes I could do this!....I hoped! Another impulsive thing I did the previous week was sign up for the Half Ironman series. I had to do 3 out of 4 to get this cool looking biking jersey so registered myself for the series with the first one coming up in a bit over a week. "Oh my God! What did I do that for", I said to myself. After rationalising it all, I felt I was very fit and these 1/2 Iron distances would be good training ground for me to practice my nutrition, pacing in early race and transitions. I planned not go all out in these races but would control the whole event from beginning to end. I really wanted to see if self control early in the bike and keeping up the nutrition every ten minutes for drinking and 30 minutes for eating a gel would translate in a better run for me. I would find out next week.
I also dediced to keep up my whole original training plan and finished off the week with a 160k ride on my own which went just great! I even went for a little run after this to see if my legs were ok and so they were. I was in a high cadence with hardly any adjustment and my legs still felt great with no signs of cramping or muscle spasm. I was so elated with my performance that day. Despite being by myself with no benefit of a draft in the winds I still managed a 27.8 kph for the whole ride. The next day the long run of 20K went just as well but was a bit more tired. But this L-Glutamene that I had been taking two to three times a day was working wonders for me helping me with muscle recovery so much faster. I am glad my shipment of this substance that I bought on line arrived in the mail just in time as my original supply was running out.
I also managed to get three more swims in and yesterday for the first time noticed a dramatic increase in temparature out there. I managed to do the whole lake again but this time it was cold but managable and no more freezing of my hands and feet. Yeahhhh! Things were looking up. My buddied Tam and Ivan arrived as I had just finished my swim and they also experience the same warmer water. At least Tam was able to babble without drooling like she came out of the dentist with a frozen jaw as last week. They talked me into going on a 80k bike ride the next day and I agreed as this would allow us to go over the course for the race next week. That day of my swim, the sun was out in full force and the temperature almost 26 outside. Today during our ride, the temperature again was phenonenal with temperatures rising up in the mid 30's. It was quite a ride. Not more than 15 minutes into it, I was taking the lead and coming up to a light and had to slow down. Tammy who was behind me did the same but her hubby Ivan seemed to have misjudged the distance between his front wheel and her back wheel and TTTRRRRRRRRR.....His spokes entered her derailler and down he went! I heard Tam shriek and looked behind me and Ivan was on the ground with mucho traffic on the highway. However after examining the bike and seeing about 4 spokes bent, he decided to try it out as it did not seem to wobble that much. It was ok and we carried on. And how about Ivan, well a bit of a war wound on the outside of one knee but nothing to worry about. He had a quarter size bruise also on his hip which he insisted on pulling down his shorts once in a while for us to see. Tammy of course was embarassed at his shameless exibition in public. Shameless yes. We think he is shameless exabitionist by nature but harmless. HeHe. Cute bum Ivan! But too much information Dude!
The other thing that happened was Tammy lost the cap off her nut at the end of her skewer. Nothing serious. But she was unerved a bit and decided to stay in the rear for a while until she worked up enough courage to take the lead again. I was nervous following Tam who was riding too close to the white line for my comfort level. With ten feet of area from this line to the edge of the pavement it boggled my mind why some people rode that close to the traffic line risking getting hit by vehicles or turbulence from those big monster trucks. Ivan was a bit more conservative however allowing a bit more room so I decided to draft off him instead. When it was my turn to take the lead, I rode way over to the right allowing as much space between me and the heavy traffic at that moment. In the event me and a vehicle ever touched, statistics showed the biker was always the looser. I had experienced many turbulences in the past when the riding area was too thin and was forced to drive close and at times almost got pushed off the road or sucked into the wheels from the turbulence caused by those big 18 wheelers. Over the years, I had seen enough riders who were put out of action with vehicle encounters and was determined not to be one of those statistics. Some of those people will never ride again because of serious injuries and these incidents have left me somewhat wiser and bit more cautious over the years. Once we got to the lake there was no more lines but now we had to be even more cautious as that particular road was narrow and very rough with lots of pot holes. The lead driver had to keep his eyes out and warn the others of impending hazards. The ride went well but still a bit too much traffic for my liking and not a very nice Tri bike course. Every one was out because it was such a beautiful day. We stopped at the transition area and I familiarized Tam and Ivan with the layout and what was what. We also tested the water in the lake with our feet which was cold but not too bad, then headed back to Duncan. On the way back we took some back roads into town which got us out of the heavy trafficked highway and on to some nice quiet solitude and exhaust free roads. We finished the ride with exhilaration as this was their longest ride and the nicest weather day of the whole year so far. I noticed that my friends had come a long way in their fitness and they were so much fun to ride with, laughing and joking the whole way. I have to rate this ride as one of my most pleasurable ride of the year that I will remember for sure.
Now one more week to go before my half Iron race next weekend. The hardest thing for me to do will be to control speed as I know now how very fit I am and will be enticed to go for it. But I must keep with the plan and just go out and cruise this one with no expectations of placing. Just do it right, start slow, hydrate, eat at proper times and keep it all at a cruising speed......Wellll maybe on the run if I have lots of gusto, I will pour it on a bit but not all out. Let's hope for warm weather and very little traffic. Even a reduction in the swim distance would be a bonus due to the unusual crappy Spring weather and the low temperatures in the lake. We shall see.
That night however after thinking about it, I said I could do this! The next day I said to myself I would go out and attempt it on my own. Which is not a very smart thing to do on my own in a lake with hardly anyone around. But a few fisherman were around to see me if I got into trouble. I was hoping for a bit of warm sunshine but the next day came and it was overcast and cool. I did my workouts that morning of weigths and biking and in the early afternoon headed out to the lake. It was a bit of a chore trying to remember all the gear I needed to bring as it had been over 8 monts since my last open water swim. I almost forgot my goggles but remembered them at the last minute. I was phyching myself out before I even left and did not really want to do this but reminded myself if my newbie friends could do it, I as a more seasoned triathlete should be able to do this also. My early days in the navy I had done quite lot of cold water diving and my instructor had often told me that at the beginning in the first few minutes it was very important to control your breathing and relax as much as possible until we had our bearings and were able to concentrate on the task at hand. I decided to dress in my wet suit at home in case I had problem with the zipper as I was on my own with no one to help. After making a mess with baby powder ll over the floors in my home I headed out for the ten minute drive to the lake.
When I got there, and walked out to the beach I felt very lonely. I donned two swim caps to keep my head and ears warmer. I stepped in the water and stepped right back out. Oh God it was so cold! I decided not to linger on this, set my timer on my watch and dove right in! The cold water suddenly surrounding my whole face was a shock! Don't think...I said and started swimming right away. The cold water slowly seeped throughout my suit. Once my body warmed up the thin layer of water between the suit and skin it was much better. I slowed down my breathing right away eshling long and easy and took long slow graceful strokes. In a minute, my breathing was in a rhythm and I increased my stroke a bit. To be honest it did not feel too bad...So I said to myself. As I slowly circumnavigated the lake I got used to it and it seemed like it was not that cold. In truth, my hands and feet were getting so numb that I was not feeling the cold anymore. I had made up my mind to do the whole lake and did so, not stopping once. Sighting was a bit of a chore as I was breathing more on one side tending to make me swim to the right all the time. I sighted more often to get my bearing and my last 150 meters my shoulders were getting a bit sore and could not feel my hands and feet at all anymore. When I got to shore, it was a chore trying to get my suit off as I had no dexterity in my fingers to peel off my suit. But I did get it off and trotted off to the van to get some warm clothes on and my heater going in the van. The trip up from the beach to the van, I felt like I was walking with stumps as I could not feel my feet hit the ground. It took me a solid two hours after to regain feelings in the heels of my feet as they thawed out. Well now I knew I could do the distance of a Half Iron but the speed would take some work as the form was totally different than the pool. I felt proud of myself for accomplishing this and vowed from now on to get 3 swims in a week no matter what. And I did.
That weekend I met up with friends Julie and Bob and had a great ride up the inland highway to Parksville and back. I felt strong the whole way and we managed a pace averaging 28 kph despite the fierce headwinds on the way back. My trapezoid muscles below my neck on the left side was still getting sore but managed to control the pain with a bit of Ibuprofen, the wonder drug and the only drug that I take nowadays.
The following week I was suppose to go on this bike training camp up to Penticton for whole week, but having missed being at home for my wedding anniversary for the two to three years prior to, I decided to stay home instead and devote a bit of time to my wife. Triathlon training is a very selfish sport and one must take time to ensure family is not ignored for too long. Maybe even indulge in some golfing with her as long as it did not interfere in my training of course. Yes I could do this!....I hoped! Another impulsive thing I did the previous week was sign up for the Half Ironman series. I had to do 3 out of 4 to get this cool looking biking jersey so registered myself for the series with the first one coming up in a bit over a week. "Oh my God! What did I do that for", I said to myself. After rationalising it all, I felt I was very fit and these 1/2 Iron distances would be good training ground for me to practice my nutrition, pacing in early race and transitions. I planned not go all out in these races but would control the whole event from beginning to end. I really wanted to see if self control early in the bike and keeping up the nutrition every ten minutes for drinking and 30 minutes for eating a gel would translate in a better run for me. I would find out next week.
I also dediced to keep up my whole original training plan and finished off the week with a 160k ride on my own which went just great! I even went for a little run after this to see if my legs were ok and so they were. I was in a high cadence with hardly any adjustment and my legs still felt great with no signs of cramping or muscle spasm. I was so elated with my performance that day. Despite being by myself with no benefit of a draft in the winds I still managed a 27.8 kph for the whole ride. The next day the long run of 20K went just as well but was a bit more tired. But this L-Glutamene that I had been taking two to three times a day was working wonders for me helping me with muscle recovery so much faster. I am glad my shipment of this substance that I bought on line arrived in the mail just in time as my original supply was running out.
I also managed to get three more swims in and yesterday for the first time noticed a dramatic increase in temparature out there. I managed to do the whole lake again but this time it was cold but managable and no more freezing of my hands and feet. Yeahhhh! Things were looking up. My buddied Tam and Ivan arrived as I had just finished my swim and they also experience the same warmer water. At least Tam was able to babble without drooling like she came out of the dentist with a frozen jaw as last week. They talked me into going on a 80k bike ride the next day and I agreed as this would allow us to go over the course for the race next week. That day of my swim, the sun was out in full force and the temperature almost 26 outside. Today during our ride, the temperature again was phenonenal with temperatures rising up in the mid 30's. It was quite a ride. Not more than 15 minutes into it, I was taking the lead and coming up to a light and had to slow down. Tammy who was behind me did the same but her hubby Ivan seemed to have misjudged the distance between his front wheel and her back wheel and TTTRRRRRRRRR.....His spokes entered her derailler and down he went! I heard Tam shriek and looked behind me and Ivan was on the ground with mucho traffic on the highway. However after examining the bike and seeing about 4 spokes bent, he decided to try it out as it did not seem to wobble that much. It was ok and we carried on. And how about Ivan, well a bit of a war wound on the outside of one knee but nothing to worry about. He had a quarter size bruise also on his hip which he insisted on pulling down his shorts once in a while for us to see. Tammy of course was embarassed at his shameless exibition in public. Shameless yes. We think he is shameless exabitionist by nature but harmless. HeHe. Cute bum Ivan! But too much information Dude!
The other thing that happened was Tammy lost the cap off her nut at the end of her skewer. Nothing serious. But she was unerved a bit and decided to stay in the rear for a while until she worked up enough courage to take the lead again. I was nervous following Tam who was riding too close to the white line for my comfort level. With ten feet of area from this line to the edge of the pavement it boggled my mind why some people rode that close to the traffic line risking getting hit by vehicles or turbulence from those big monster trucks. Ivan was a bit more conservative however allowing a bit more room so I decided to draft off him instead. When it was my turn to take the lead, I rode way over to the right allowing as much space between me and the heavy traffic at that moment. In the event me and a vehicle ever touched, statistics showed the biker was always the looser. I had experienced many turbulences in the past when the riding area was too thin and was forced to drive close and at times almost got pushed off the road or sucked into the wheels from the turbulence caused by those big 18 wheelers. Over the years, I had seen enough riders who were put out of action with vehicle encounters and was determined not to be one of those statistics. Some of those people will never ride again because of serious injuries and these incidents have left me somewhat wiser and bit more cautious over the years. Once we got to the lake there was no more lines but now we had to be even more cautious as that particular road was narrow and very rough with lots of pot holes. The lead driver had to keep his eyes out and warn the others of impending hazards. The ride went well but still a bit too much traffic for my liking and not a very nice Tri bike course. Every one was out because it was such a beautiful day. We stopped at the transition area and I familiarized Tam and Ivan with the layout and what was what. We also tested the water in the lake with our feet which was cold but not too bad, then headed back to Duncan. On the way back we took some back roads into town which got us out of the heavy trafficked highway and on to some nice quiet solitude and exhaust free roads. We finished the ride with exhilaration as this was their longest ride and the nicest weather day of the whole year so far. I noticed that my friends had come a long way in their fitness and they were so much fun to ride with, laughing and joking the whole way. I have to rate this ride as one of my most pleasurable ride of the year that I will remember for sure.
Now one more week to go before my half Iron race next weekend. The hardest thing for me to do will be to control speed as I know now how very fit I am and will be enticed to go for it. But I must keep with the plan and just go out and cruise this one with no expectations of placing. Just do it right, start slow, hydrate, eat at proper times and keep it all at a cruising speed......Wellll maybe on the run if I have lots of gusto, I will pour it on a bit but not all out. Let's hope for warm weather and very little traffic. Even a reduction in the swim distance would be a bonus due to the unusual crappy Spring weather and the low temperatures in the lake. We shall see.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Week 17 Strength Phase - My first Annual Tri
Well this week was not that great as far as weather goes. Darn rain is sure depressing sometimes. But gotta make the best of it and get out there anyway or I would never get my training done. I did not skimp on my training load this week despite the Triathlon I was getting in this weekend. However I planned all my hardest training for the earliest part of the week in order to save a bit of energy for the Saturday event. Out of the whole week however I missed my first long ride in my schedule but would make up for it after the sprint.
We left on the 3pm ferry Friday evening with a confirmed reservation on the new Coastal Renaissance ferry. Very nice fast and modern. I had not slept very well the past 3 days. Don't know why as I am not usually nervous about a triathlon. Anyway I hoped to catch some good Zzzz's tonight at my friends Gerry and Barb's place. We went out to dinner that night and loaded up on some pasta. Then we headed back to the apartment and made sure all our gear was packed and ready for the morning. We would be leaving by 6:00am
The next morning I woke up feeling rested and refreshed. After getting to the centre and registering, I started getting my bike and gear ready. A few things started going wrong just because that's the way it is with the first tri in the season. 1'st, I could not find my race belt and borrowed $20 from Bob to go buy one. But at the last minute I found it stuck in my shoe. Next I was heading for the pool and instead of grabbing my goggles, I grabbled my sunglasses. Duhhhhh! Back to my bike I went to fetch them. From there in was a long wait in the lineup for my swim wave to start. I had put myself down as 16 minutes because that is what I had achieved in training. However due to this weird system they were using, there was 9 swimmers in the lane at all time. As soon as one was finished his 28 laps, another swimmer would jump in to replace him. So I got stuck in the middle of this pact most of the time so just decided to relax and go with the flow. 18+ minutes later I was out. Yuk! I hate pool swimming.
Anyway out I went and ran about 120 meters to the transition area, got into my cycling shoes and helmet, glasses on and off I went. Brrr.... wet and a bit cold at the start but soon I was pedaling 110 rpm's on the bike and warmed up. It was two loops of a 10k loop and at the first turn I went the wrong way. The marshall quickly yelled at me and I did a 180 to get back on track. I got into the aero position and stayed there the whole time with the exeption of a couple of tight turns and up on this overpass. I was riding good and strong on my Varmint tri bike which I had only ridden once since last year.
Back into transition and as I was standing on one foot balancing to get my running shoe on I went ass over tea kettle and fell down. Shit! another couple of seconds lost. However I was quickly changed and off I went on my run. It felt like my legs were pumping up and down at the same cadence as the bike. By this time the weather was quite warm and I picked up some more time. All in all I finished in a fairly good time despite my lousy swim and picked up fourth position in my age group. It was a well put on event and the weather was the greatest. Sun the whole time. I will go back for sure. Well maybe if I can conquer the pool, but I hink not!
Since then I got the results back from my doctor that my pain in my shoulders are caused by a bit of arthritis setting in and will just have to grin and bear it with pain killers once in a while. That is why the swiming is so difficult for me as I seem to be in pain everytime I push it in the pool. But soon I will be in the lake in this new wet suit I got after the race. It is a nineteen suit, top of the line. The day after the race, I managed to get 70K in on a flat course in Vancouver and the weather held off until we got back. Now back to the grind on more intensifying training which will not let up until we do the New Balance Half Iron in about 6-7 weeks from now. But the training is still going well, no sickness, no injury so not too much too complain about except for the darn shoulders joints. Shit!!!! I guess that means I am getting old! Oh well forever young in my mind! Rock On!
We left on the 3pm ferry Friday evening with a confirmed reservation on the new Coastal Renaissance ferry. Very nice fast and modern. I had not slept very well the past 3 days. Don't know why as I am not usually nervous about a triathlon. Anyway I hoped to catch some good Zzzz's tonight at my friends Gerry and Barb's place. We went out to dinner that night and loaded up on some pasta. Then we headed back to the apartment and made sure all our gear was packed and ready for the morning. We would be leaving by 6:00am
The next morning I woke up feeling rested and refreshed. After getting to the centre and registering, I started getting my bike and gear ready. A few things started going wrong just because that's the way it is with the first tri in the season. 1'st, I could not find my race belt and borrowed $20 from Bob to go buy one. But at the last minute I found it stuck in my shoe. Next I was heading for the pool and instead of grabbing my goggles, I grabbled my sunglasses. Duhhhhh! Back to my bike I went to fetch them. From there in was a long wait in the lineup for my swim wave to start. I had put myself down as 16 minutes because that is what I had achieved in training. However due to this weird system they were using, there was 9 swimmers in the lane at all time. As soon as one was finished his 28 laps, another swimmer would jump in to replace him. So I got stuck in the middle of this pact most of the time so just decided to relax and go with the flow. 18+ minutes later I was out. Yuk! I hate pool swimming.
Anyway out I went and ran about 120 meters to the transition area, got into my cycling shoes and helmet, glasses on and off I went. Brrr.... wet and a bit cold at the start but soon I was pedaling 110 rpm's on the bike and warmed up. It was two loops of a 10k loop and at the first turn I went the wrong way. The marshall quickly yelled at me and I did a 180 to get back on track. I got into the aero position and stayed there the whole time with the exeption of a couple of tight turns and up on this overpass. I was riding good and strong on my Varmint tri bike which I had only ridden once since last year.
Back into transition and as I was standing on one foot balancing to get my running shoe on I went ass over tea kettle and fell down. Shit! another couple of seconds lost. However I was quickly changed and off I went on my run. It felt like my legs were pumping up and down at the same cadence as the bike. By this time the weather was quite warm and I picked up some more time. All in all I finished in a fairly good time despite my lousy swim and picked up fourth position in my age group. It was a well put on event and the weather was the greatest. Sun the whole time. I will go back for sure. Well maybe if I can conquer the pool, but I hink not!
Since then I got the results back from my doctor that my pain in my shoulders are caused by a bit of arthritis setting in and will just have to grin and bear it with pain killers once in a while. That is why the swiming is so difficult for me as I seem to be in pain everytime I push it in the pool. But soon I will be in the lake in this new wet suit I got after the race. It is a nineteen suit, top of the line. The day after the race, I managed to get 70K in on a flat course in Vancouver and the weather held off until we got back. Now back to the grind on more intensifying training which will not let up until we do the New Balance Half Iron in about 6-7 weeks from now. But the training is still going well, no sickness, no injury so not too much too complain about except for the darn shoulders joints. Shit!!!! I guess that means I am getting old! Oh well forever young in my mind! Rock On!
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