Week 23 - 24 - Feeling the Pain and Eventual Success!

The increased training in week 23 was having it's effects on my body. I was now starting to feel tired, but that was to be expected. I just had to dig in a bit further, tolerate the pain of exhaustion a bit more and let the training build my fitness even further. What I had to do a bit different this week was to get extra rest and sleep by going to bed much earlier and getting up a bit later. That seemed to work and I was feeling much better for my workouts. The days that I worked, I never used to get home until close to midnight and watch TV for about an hour until going to bed. Now as soon as I got home, I left the TV off and went straight to bed. Hey! Time management is a good tool in training and there are always various ways to increase your training time and rest. It just takes a little prioritizing & a little bit of imagination.

As in previous weeks prior to a 1/2 Ironman event, I decided to get the harder workouts a bit earlier in the week including this week's long 100k bike and 24k run. This would ensure I was a bit more rested going into the race weekend. However I hit a snag at the end of that week. On Sunday, I decided to go swimming with friends instead of going solo as I had been doing. Bad result! These youger friends were much faster in the water than I was and like an idiot, I tried to keep pace with them. With an already bad shoulder, I put too much strain on it and so sore the next couple of days that I could hardly move it and was in mucho of pain. I dedided not to swim for the rest of the week and not even touch any weights even though they were light reps. That and Ibuprofen seemed to help and hoped that I would be alright by the weekend. My running and biking during this past week was a bit reduced for a taper for this race. However, I made another error in judgement. On Wednesday, I had made plans to run to Heart Lake which would be just over an hour and thought that would still be ok. However, we ended up doing the complete Heart Lake/Stocking Lake loop which took us two hours. On top of that, I never expected the very steep climb it would take to reach the top of the mountain and my quads were definitely feeling it from the tempo bike the previous day. After the run, I felt exhausted and felt that I had compromised my chances for a good race. However by Saturday, I was fairly recovered again. . Not the same as a full blown proper taper but good enough to give it a good go anyways.

The Race Report:

Saturday was spent cleaning and adjusting everything on my bike. After a couple of months on the bike with training wheels, I finally put on the deep dish Cane Creek racing wheels with it's own cassette and it's matching chain. I went out for a 4-5K ride just to make sure everything was working fine and shifting right. After a few minor adjustment on the rear de-railler, I got it shifting just right and proceeded assembling the rest of my gear for the next day. I put everything by the door to the garage leaving my gel flasks in the fridge to keep fresh. That evening I went to my work store BBQ where the food was great but not exactly conducive to a pre-race diet and ate fairly light with no alcohol drinks.

I came home around 9:00pm and was in bed by 9:30. I set my clock for 4:00am but was actually up before the alarm. I quicly dressed in my Tri outfit, had my breakfast and was on the road by 4:15am. On the trip down, I going over the race course mentally and almost hit a deer on the road. Close call. A little later I remembered that I had left my nutrition gels in the fridge and cursed myself for my forgetfullness. I would have to go around when I got to the race site to see if I could borrow some from friends. When I got there, I got bodymarked and then went to my bike to organize my gear for transition and inflate my tires. I decide this time to inflate to about 130 psi, 20 pounds over my norm. I figured I needed 7 gels to fuel me for the bike race and after my call out to my friends to help me out, other Triathletes heard my plight and gave me some of their extra gels they carried aside from their race bundle. Triathletes are a great bunch of unselfish people who really care for one another and I was so appreciative of them. I managed to actually get 12 gels through their generosity. In transition I took notice of all my competitors trying to guage their possible fitness shape. One competitor in particular was very muscled and well defined in physique with well pronounced calf muscles. I figured this one I would probably have to pay attention to. I could see everyone else in this group were doing the same thing and checking each other out also. It would have been comical had I been able to hear what they were thinking about in their minds. I figured there were about a dozen people in my age group.

The Swim:

The wind was up and there was a slight chop on the water. I was a bit nervous about that. However on the good side, the water was warmer than what I had been training in at Fuller Lake. That was a good thing. I lined myself up in the middle but at the back to take advantage of the mass draft to pull me a bit. The Army Howithzer blasted off and off we were away. I had decided to take it easy to make sure my shoulder would hold out without straining it again. I had given it a bit of a test run on Friday and everything seemed fine. I got into a rhythm, sighted a lot and kept on course. The chop was a bit difficult but soon found out that by breathing on the opposite side more often, it helped. I just concentrated on relaxing and once in a while finding a swimmer ahead to draft. Finally, I was exiting out of the water and felt pretty good with lots of swimmers still behind me.

The Bike:

I noticed still a lot of bikes in my age group area and felt I was in the first 3 or 4 of these anyway. I transitioned fairly fast omitting the socks inside my cycling shoes. I started biking and relaxed for a while to let my heart rate drop before taking in my first fluids. Soon I was in a rhythm and started doing the hilly section of the course early on in the first of two loops of the course. I held back and decided not to push it too hard yet as it was too early. I drank steady throughout the bike, and passed a couple of people in my age group which I could tell because the age group was marked on the right calf of everyone. After a while I was passing a lot of people and by the end of the first loop, finally caught up with that particular competitor that I had decided to pay attention too with good reason. He was strong and looked relaxed on the bike. I slowly passed him and knew that I would not leave him far behind. Sure enough, 15 minutes later he passed me. We exhanged greetings and kept on passing each other back and forth throughout the whole race. I knew I had it in me to take off and gain some time on him but decided to hold back as I did not want to compromise my run. He was probably thinking the same thing. We were in constant sight of each other and by the end, we came in to transition at the same time. As we were coming in we smiled at each other and I said "I guess in comes down to the run right?" He said "Yes, I hope you are not too good on the run." I said "Ditto Man!" In transition I was changed very quicly and as I was leaving saw him still sitting there putting on his shoes. I had a bit of a head start and on my way out, I wished him good luck. I had a feeling he would not be far behind. I had a bit of a head start but in reality I was at a disadvantage as now, as I would not be able to see him sneak up on me in the winding trails around the heavily treed lake. I started the first of two loops around the lake and was running steadily and conservatively hoping he would not gain on me right away. I soon got into a quick leg turn over right and my legs felt just great. Pretty soon I was in a good stride and was passing person after person. I kept telling myself these were all the people that had gained an advantage on me in the swim and here I was now catching them all in my best discipline. The transition area was coming into sight which marked the end of the 1'st of the two 10K loops and the crowds were there cheering us on. It made me feel so good to get the cheers and support from the crowd of spectators! So far so good, I had held off my competitor for the first half and now if I could just hold on. I felt so good in my legs and my breathing that I decided to try and increase my pace for the second half hoping to gain some time on my competitor. I felt at this time, that I was first and he was second. I had no idea how far behind me he was and that made me a bit nervous. I dared not peek behind me and lose concentration. I just kept up my stride, stopped momentarily at every water station to drink and quickly got going again. With two kilometers to go, I increased my pace yet again and was wondering if he could see me ahead as we were now in a clear section. I resisted the attempt to look behind me and concentrated very hard on keeping my pace hard and steady. Even as I approached the finish line, I put on my hardest sprint and under the finish banner saw the clock and my time of 1:15. I put on a huge smile and lifted up my arms in total elation as this was a Personal Best for me despite the shortened bike course. As I sat down on a chair for one of the volunteers to undo my timing chip, who do I see cross the finish line but my fierce competitor only 15 seconds behind me. Wow! I said to myself. This was the closest competitive race I every had. We had remained within a minute of each other the whole way. We shook hands with respect for each other as we both knew that we had run a hard strategic race and if I had not been that bit faster in the bike to run transition, it very well could have been turned around, and he knew that also.

Conclusion:

I felt the best ever in post race than any Triathlon that I had ever done with no cramping in the legs at all. Just a bit in the feet which is normal. I cooled off my leg muscles in the water just to make sure and was back in time to see my friend Tammy cross the finish line. This was her first Half Ironman which I had talked her into doing and was so damn proud of her accomplishment. I was puzzled however at where her husband Ivan was as I knew he was out of the water way ahead of me and had not seen during the whole course. I concluded that he must have beat me in but later found out he had a lot of bad luck on the bike with flats and derailling the chain and one too many pee stops. I told him as unpleasing as it may sound that he would have learn how to pee on the bike but he laughed and said "Never! I could never do that." As it turned out he had a fantastic race despite despite the few mishaps on his bike. From becoming a non athlete to competing in his first Half in a year was quite formidable. I was so very proud of him for all the gains he had made this past year and the injury he had to deal with. I just hoped that he would keep it up as I think this sport is tailored for him and knew that he could become really good at it. As for me, my results were as follows: Times in each discipline were Swim 1.9Km - 44:04, Bike 87 Km - 2:51:53 and Run 20Km - 1:36:41. I ended up 125 out of 496 Overall, 103/276 OA Men, First of 10 in my age group. I got out of the water in 338'th position, managed to pass 153 athletes by the time the bike portion was finished into 185'th place. Finally in my run I managed to pass another 60 people bring me into 125'th place overall. I might of been weak in my swim but thought I had made up quite a bit of time in my other two disciplines. One of my best friends Barbara Dortch also shared the podium with me in her 1'st place win in the 60 to 64 age group. What a great fantastical day this turned out to be. All that sunshine, the volunteers, the crowds, competitors and to boot, as a prize for my first place win, I won a pair of New Balance running shoes which I needed very badly. My fitness for my goal race of this year's Ironman was increasing and on track for my eventual goal of a sub 12 Ironman race. Barring any injuries or sickness, I was well on my way to achieving this. This was totally my best and happiest day of the year for me so far. On another note, I have been feeling very negative about my swimming lately and my friend Tammy has brought this to my attention. But that doesn't mean that I don't think the swim is just as important even though it is the discipline where you gain the less time. If I can somehow manage to get rid of this shoulder injury which I think is more tendinitious than anything else, I know I could get better and swim faster with the proper training and coaching in this very technical sport. This will be my goal for this next year. Thanks to my Coach Al Shirley, the training plan is definitely working to my advantage so far. I also have my boss Sherry to thank, as she has been very accomodating with regards to my work days and hours so that I could keep up with my arduous training and racing to my eventual goal of Ironman in August. It is creeping up very fast now and I forge ahead to keep improving.

Week 22 - This Week, 2/3's of the Way Mark to My Goal

Having reached this timeline in my training program without sickness or injury leaves me very confident that I will achieve what I have set out to do. This past week certainly has been challenging as the mileage and intensity of week 2 of the build since my 1/2 Ironman two weeks ago, is starting to take it's toll on my energy levels. But I am proceeding ahead without giving in to that tiredness as I know that will benefit me in the real event when I reach those same milestones. Sometimes one just has to toughen it out and let the mind take over to will oneself to go beyond of what he thinks is insurmountable. I have given in to those moments earlier on in my beginning years but now know that when things get tough, I can get tougher if I really persevere and push through the pain, of lactic acid and exhaustion. One just has to focus really hard and keep pushing no matter what amd I am determined to do that.

I am also not letting this awful cold weather we have been subjected to, deter me from completing my scheduled training. My long ride and run this past week were a bit tougher and I definitely am feeling more tired now. I keep thinking of Lance Armstrong and the long cold mountain rides he used to do in the bitter cold rain and that helps. If I can push and make it through this next week, I can look forward to an easier week next week thank God. This hopefully will rest me up just enough to be able to compete decently in my next challenge. I know I will not be at my best due to training right through this but I must keep reminding myself as my coach says, that these are all training grounds to my eventual goal, The Ironman.

The pain in my arthritic shoulders joints in this damp cold weather is also bothering me a lot and affecting my swimming but so far it has been somewhat manageable with a bit of Ibuprofen. The lake this past couple of days have actually gone back to being a bit colder. Crazy temperatures for almost middle of June. But no use worrying about something beyond my control so I must forge ahead. My immediate goal for this next week is trying to maximise the amount of sleep I can get on a daily basis so I can complete the next day's training without feeling too exhausted. This means no TV, Computer surfing or other meaningless wasted time. Sleep - Eat - Shit - Drink - Train - Work and Rest over and over again. The life of an Ironman triahtlete.....It's a tough, selfish and demanding lifestyle, but nescessary to achieve The Goal. Keep smilin!

Week 21 - Still on a High

This past week has been amazing for me. I thought the day after the Half Ironman last week, I would be a bit drained but hardly anything except for a little stiffness in the calves from running in that soft sand. But I decided to be cautious anyway and take the day off except for a small easy recovery swim. On Tuesday, I was going for a short tempo ride but the weather turned really bad with rain so I did a tempo workout on my spin bike. On wednesday I mistakenly read my schedule wrong and went for a Brick workout of 30/10k. but felt really great throughout the whole workout.
On Thursday I decided to do my long bike ride because the weather outlook later on did not look good plus I had to work on my usual long ride day. The ride went really well and I hydrated on time each time and took a gel every half hour. In addition to that I brought along some salt tabs to start practicing with but only took one and forgot the rest. I would have to get used to a whole new routine with these salt tabs. But the weather was a bit cool anyway and did not nescesarily need them. I finished my 110K ride feeling really good after only four days since the half.

The remainer of the week went the much the same way with workout after workout. I just felt super. By Sunday it was time for my long run and and even then, went for an extra 2K for a total of 22. At the end of the run I was starting to tire a bit but overall, I had an absolutely fantastic week of training and was quite pleased with myself. 3 more weeks to go before the next race, the New Balance Half Ironman, my favorite 1/2 IM on the island. Time to kick it up a notch in my training as I must start getting more bike mileage under my belt. I have also decided to drop the Vancouver 1/2 in July in favor of the Cowichan Challenge just so I can race with all my friends and not compromise my training too much. All is going well and according to my amended plan.