Canwi Multisport Coaching

Kyndra Moeller's IMC 2011

2011-09-30T15:06:00.001-07:00

My alarm went off at 4:15am. I drank a smoothie, dressed in my race outfit and, with my bags already packed, headed out.

I arrived downtown, parked, unloaded. My first “This is going to be big!” moment of the day came when I saw the motivating messages written in chalk along the street. I dumped my special needs bags in the appropriate boxes and got body marked. It was just starting to get light out when I entered transition.

My first stop was the porta potties, where there were only a handful of people in line. Next, I put on my bento box on my bike and loaded it up with gel blasts. I added 2 bottles of fluids and one bottle containing my spare tubes, C02 and some other essentials that I hopefully wouldn’t need. I pumped up my tires and gave my bike a quick, last minute once-over. After adding a couple of things to my bike and run bags, I hit the porta potties a second time.

I had just enough time to chill out for a few minutes before I needed to suit up, so I staked out a spot along the fences near the beach, sat down and pulled out my ipod. I had thought I would need this time to de-scatter and get centered, but I had actually been feeling calm and focused all morning.

In the water, I did a quick (read: pitiful) warm-up consisting of dunking up and down a few times to submerge myself and then swimming maybe a dozen strokes before the national anthem started. I alternated between looking back towards the beach at the throngs of spectators and out toward the water, my eyes darting along the buoy line and mapping my intended course. I had thought I would be on the verge of tears and ready to hurl from nerves at that point, but I felt completely on and ready.

I took a deep breath and thought “LET’S DO THIS!” as the cannon went off. I waded out a bit more and then dove into the churning water. I immediately went into two-stroke breathing while I concentrated on settling in and just getting everything under control. I was on the far right- the inside of the buoy line- and not quite midway to the front. There were a few rough and tumble minutes as faster swimmers overtook me, but it didn’t send me into panic mode.

A mere few minutes passed before I settled comfortably into three-stroke breathing with the realization that this was going to be a good swim. Next, I concentrated on finding feet. For the first while, it was slow going. After making it through the worst of the initial jam, I ended up behind a guy with some serious power in his legs. Each time he kicked, it sounded like a sonic boom underwater and I was hit in the face with a wall of bubbles. I opted to just get the hell away from him in order to preserve my hearing and not end up drinking the entirety of Okanagan Lake. I backed off and ended up on the feet of someone in white compression sleeves. Sleevie Wonder pulled me along for a spell and soon I realized I could see the bottom of the lake again. We were already at the first turn. Similarly, the second turn came quickly and we were soon on our way back. Then came a long stretch during which I didn’t have anyone else swimming near me. I hadn’t expected it to be so sparse at any point during the swim, and so this worried me a bit. I kept looking up to sight, expecting to find I was way off, only to see the condos directly ahead of me, an assurance that I was right on course.

In T1, all of the volunteers were busy with other athletes and I had no one to help me with my stuff. I wasn’t too bothered and I just took my time. Alas, when I dumped my bag I was horrified to find I hadn’t put socks in, despite having checked and double checked it before dropping it off the day before. I’ve never cycled sockless before, so I had a decision to make- I could either get the socks from my run bag or just hope that going sockless wouldn’t be completely disastrous. Breaking the cardinal rule of not trying anything new on race day, I chose the latter, since I wanted to have dry socks for the run.

I followed my coach’s advice not to eat or drink anything other than water for the first 20 minutes. My heart rate was nice and low as soon as I got on my bike, so I just focused on soaking up some of the positive energy from the cheering spectators as I wended my way out of town. After that, I started fuelling and hydrating according to my plan- a little bit of food and some water or perform every 10 minutes.

The first portion of the bike was uneventful. Well, for me, at least. I saw plenty of people on the side of the road who had flatted right away. The McLean climb came quickly, as I knew it would, and from there on I was mostly in aero. I recall looking out at the scenery and thinking “We are all so lucky!” Just to have made it to that point, to be able to attempt something of this magnitude. Reflecting on this as I pedaled, I made a point of scattering gratitude along the road with my numerous snot rockets.

One thing that I had been a little apprehensive about was executing bottle grabs. I’m not terribly comfortable riding with my right hand out and I had visions of me crashing and causing a woeful aid station pile-up. My worry was unfounded and I managed to toss and grab bottles with no ensuing calamity.

I was excited when we hit the Osoyoos Husky station, because I knew what was coming. I squealed “Yay Richter!!!” garnering some weird looks and a few chuckles. Just before starting the ascent, a guy told me I had a wrapper stuck in my back wheel. He offered to try to ride up beside me and yank it out. I could see no good coming of someone riding that close to me and lunging for my rear wheel, so I politely declined and got off my bike to remove it. It was a Honeystingers wrapper- not mine.

For the duration of Richter, I just stuck to my plan of attack- spin easy, keep my heart rate down and save my legs. It’s by no means a tough climb, but it’s long and it comes so early in the day that my motto was “When in doubt, ease up.” So I just enjoyed the sights and chatted with a few people. It was pretty humbling watching some of the stronger cyclists go flying past, no labored breathing or visible sheen of sweat.

During training, I had ridden the bike course, omitting the out and back. I honestly thought it wouldn’t be a big deal, distance-wise, and I was taken aback at how long it felt. I was beginning to feel rough at that point, as it was getting hot and I was out of water. I kept expecting special needs to come into view and it just wasn’t materializing. Upon seeing an acquaintance from training camp, I asked “Where the heck is special needs??” with a distinct note of desperation. She agreed that this stretch was feeling pretty long and reassured me that special needs couldn’t be more than 5km away. She rode off as I fell back. It was around this time that I started puking. I was trying to drink the now-warm perform in the absence of any water and my body reacted by regurgitating a pink slurry of half-digested gels blasts and tropical hammer gel. I saw my friend again and remarked “I’ve decided I have a new definition of personal hell. We just keep riding like this forever and we never reach special needs.” 5km had long since passed, we weren’t there yet and I had puked a couple more times. I was not having a grand ol’ time, so I focused my mind on a quote that I revisited multiple times throughout the day: It’s not about denying that a weakness exists, but about denying its right to persist. I acknowledged that I felt like death warmed over (well, death overheated, really), but I reasoned that feeling like crap was probably transient and I wasn’t going to let it be the dominant theme of my day. I bargained with myself that I just needed to get to special needs and I could take a few minutes to get my ducks in a row.

When I reached special needs, I immediately got off my bike, removed my shoes and asked for water. I downed a bottle and then tucked into the stuff in my bag. I had chips, which would usually taste like manna from heaven at 120km into a hot ride. But I had been taking in roughly 500mg of sodium per hour (between salt caps and perform) and that must have been enough because the chips were only mildly appealing. I ate a handful just to get some calories in. I also had a coke in my bag and though it was completely warm and syrupy, the carbonation felt good in my stomach and a few gulps were pretty restorative. I nursed another bottle of water as I did some stretching, reloaded my bento box with more gel blasts and grabbed some more gels. When I asked for yet more water before getting back on my bike, the volunteer in question gave me two bottles. One was half frozen and she mentioned that she had brought it from home for herself but that she thought I should take it. After thanking her profusely, I got back on my bike. With some cold fluids and a good whack of calories in my system, I felt so much better and my previously bleak mood was now upbeat. All told, I lost a good 20 minutes or so at special needs, but I don’t regret it as it undoubtedly allowed me to actually enjoy the rest of my day.

Coming through Keremeos and starting the climb towards Yellow Lake did even more to bolster my mood. I was still going nice and easy, but I had started catching and passing a number of people who had blown by me much earlier. It was hot as Hades and people were clearly fading. As the grade increased, I also started seeing a number of people getting off their bikes and just walking. I pressed on, channelling the strength I had felt while riding that section during training camp.

On that day at training camp, we had a large group riding the IMC course but I had somehow ended up completely alone save for an Ultraman competitor by the time I started heading up to Yellow Lake. We kept leapfrogging, so we had a few opportunities to chat and the guy, Fausto, had some kind and encouraging words for me. He passed me a final time, wished me luck, and I spent the remainder of the climb doing visualizations for race day, which was nearly a month out at that point. When I had reached the end of the climb, his crew gave me a huge cheer and Fausto waved to me as he stepped into the lake to cool his legs. That had been, hands down, my favorite part of the training ride and I was glad I was able to conjure up some of that elation and confidence on that very same stretch during the race.

When I reached Yellow Lake, I was a bit dismayed to find that they only had bottles of flavoured water. I was conscious of the fact that I needed to get a lot of fluids in, since I had just made my first pee stop of the day at around 6 hours into the bike. But more than anything, I was glad to get my hands on some ice, since it was scorching. I took a minute to cram some ice into my helmet and top before setting off on the last portion of the ride.

By now I knew that the hard part was over and I should concentrate on getting lots of calories and fluids in for the run. I did just that, cramming blasts and gels in my mouth and sucking back greedy gulps of fluids every 10 minutes. I doused myself in berry-flavored water and shivered with pleasure from the cooling effect on the long descent that followed. Coming down along Skaha Lake, I had to pee for the second time that day. There were no bushes I’d be able to crouch behind and it quickly became a rather pressing need. So I took a quick look behind me and not seeing anyone, let loose. Yes, I’d become one of “those” people who pees on the bike. I won’t lie . . . it was guiltily exhilarating.

Coming back into town, I did some superspinning to loosen up my legs. Along the final stretch, I reminded myself to take my garmin off my bike and tuck it into one of my tri top pockets before dismounting. Forgetting it on my bike and heading out on the run without it had been an ever-present fear leading up to race day.

In the change tent, an attentive volunteer helped me dump my run bag and get organized. I was glad to find the clean, dry socks I’d packed. My feet hadn’t bothered me much on the ride, aside from some hot spots under the balls of my feet, and I was relieved not to have any blisters to contend with. I tucked gels and salt caps into my pockets, put my run gear on and downed a 5 hour energy shot. I cracked a joke about how foul it tasted and the volunteer said I’d be fine out there considering I was still smiling and joking.

I started running right out of transition and my legs felt great. My plan was to stop at every aid station for something, even if it was just water, and to just keep running a slow, steady pace in between for as long as I could keep it up.

Once we got out of town and started running along the lake, the hills materialized. At some point I realized that looking straight ahead and seeing the hills loom before me really didn’t help my sense of purpose and made me want to walk. I pulled the visor of my hat right down so that I could only see a little ways ahead of me. Weird as it sounds, this worked wonders at just keeping me moving and I think I actually managed to run some of the slight hills in this manner without actually realizing they were hills. I also tried to kill time by musing on what it was going to be like to cross the finish line. But then my eyes would well up with tears, my throat would constrict and I felt at once anaphylactic and ridiculous. I had to employ an old trick of reciting multiplication tables to get my mind off it so I could breathe properly again. I mostly tried to keep the recitations internal, but I think there were a few times where I was gasping, wiping away tears and intoning “6 times 1 is 6, 6 times 2 is 12, 6 times 3 is 18” under my breath..

At the turnaround, I grabbed my special needs bag. I dismissed the spare socks (my feet were faring well- nary a single blister, even though I was running through every sprinkler and hose I could hit and my feet were well soaked), downed my second 5 hour energy shot of the day (in hindsight, that was not such a bright idea) and set off walking with a bag of ketchup chips. Much like on the bike course, I found I wasn’t craving the saltiness of the chips, so after a handful I tossed the bag. I definitely slowed down after the turnaround. My legs weren’t hurting, but I was starting to feel a little fatigued despite the caffeine. I don’t think I was taking in enough calories. Gels had long since ceased to be palatable and I found I only really wanted to take in liquid at the aid stations.

During my first protracted walk break between aid stations, I decided it was a good time to pull out the big guns: a page of motivational quotes that I had stowed in my special needs bag and was saving for when the going got rough. Along with the quote about weakness that had spurred me on earlier in the day, there was another one which felt particularly meaningful at that point: ‘The ironman highway is more than a path to the finish line. It is the road to awareness and self-discovery. It is, in essence, the new you just waiting to be reborn.’ That lit a fire under my ass and I set about running again.

As night fell and we began to lose light, volunteers distributed glowstick necklaces. I passed a group of women walking, wearing their glowsticks around their heads instead of their necks. “You ladies look like angels! Iron angels!” I exclaimed, and they laughed in response. Soon thereafter I found myself alone and started walking again. I wasn’t in any actual pain, but I wasn’t really feeling all there. I suspect the excessive amount of caffeine I’d consumed over the course of the day was having a cumulative effect. I was seeing blue tracers in the near-darkness and when I tried to run, I heard a high-pitched buzzing in both ears. I settled for walking. Awhile later, a South African fellow caught up to me and we ended up sticking together for the rest of the night.

Our conversation made the remaining miles pass quickly in full darkness and when we saw the streetlights leading back into town, we whooped and fist bumped. We had walked a solid chunk of miles and now we threw some running back into the mix. And much too quickly, the final mile was upon us! The energy from the cheering spectators was remarkable. Donovan said it was time to toss our glowstick necklaces so that we wouldn’t be wearing them in the photos, so we threw them into the crowd. Similarly, when I saw some of my family I threw them my hat and shades. As we neared the finish, Donovan told me to go ahead of him. We exchanged thank yous, congratulations and a final fist bump before I took off for the finisher’s chute. There was no trace of fatigue in my body at that point and I picked up the pace for a finish line sprint. I sported an ear-to-ear grin and raised my arm in triumph as I crossed the finish line, at long last an ironman.

Andrew Sinclair's IMC 2011 Race Report

2011-09-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

Pre Race
1. How did your pre race ritual turn out?

Pre race was great, except for having to wait in an unbelievably long line up for the porta potty, which basically meant I had to throw on my wet suit once I got out and head straight for the start line. I could have done without being so rushed, but it was fine.

2. How did you feel pre race?
I felt good pre race. Felt I had put in as much of the work as I could have and was ready to get on with the show.

3. Anything you feel may have helped your pre race?
No line up.

4. Did you feel ready for the race?
I felt as ready as I could have expected to be.

Swim
1. Where did you start?
Almost right up front, well a couple of rows back, more or less in the centre.

2. Did this work for you?

I think it worked out okay. I underestimated how much energy I would use swimming in the pack. I used a ton of energy fighting off everyone (trying not to get swam over, elbowed, basically creating room to swim).

3. How did you feel?
I felt great at the start, then started to get pretty tired about half way and lost the pack I was with. About half to 2/3 through the swim I was ready for it to be over, which I didn’t expect (thought I would have a lot more energy in the water).

4. Any problems?
Everyone always says to get in a pack and draft. I don’t know how it always happens to me, but I never stay in a pack. I always end up swimming on my own, which happened to me about halfway through the swim. The weirdest thing is that I’m always convinced I’m sighting well.

5. Positives
Overall, I thought I would be a bit quicker in the water, but was happy enough with it considering I have never swam that far.

6. How was your sighting ie. were you all over the place?
Per above, I ended up on my own, which may mean I was all over the place, but I thought I was headed exactly where I needed to be….

7. Did you get smacked?
Knocked around quite a bit, but felt fine.

8. Were you drafting efficiently?
No.

9. What was your time?
1:08. I thought I would have been closer to the 1hr mark, say 1:04.

Bike
1. How was your transition from swim to bike?
Good. Took as much time as I needed.

2. How was your nutrition strategy?
My nutrition plan was 300 calories an hour from carbo pro, and an additional 90 calories an hour from shot blocks. Had an orange at special needs and some wafers to shake it up a bit. Also had 3 hammer gels with caffeine throughout the ride, which I liked. Cut back on the carbo pro a bit when I was eating over my calories. I felt my nutrition was bang on on the bike. I felt really good, much better than I had expected.

3. How was your hydration?
Drank water with 3 Thermolytes an hour. Drank at least 1.5 to 2 bottles an hour.

4. Any mechanicals or flat tires?
Front tire acted up coming down the hill into OK falls, but went away. Aside from that nope.

5. How were the climbs?
Felt good.

6. Any problems?
Nope.

7. Positives
Felt super consistent.

8. Any highs and lows in terms of energy?
Not really.

9. Did you know where you were on the course?
Yes.

Run

1. How was your transition from bike to run?
Transition was great. I felt like a million bucks when I came off the bike, and was convinced I was going to hammer through the run.

2. How was your nutrition?
Something became real wrong real quick. Within 10 mins on the run my left leg completely cramped up. I stopped, stretched it out, drank a bottle of water, and ate a few thermolytes. Kept running. Then I started to feel super queasy shortly after, noticed my heart rate was low and started having a really hard time holding any kind of decent pace.

3. How was your hydration?
Drank as much water as I could. Dropped my thermolytes, so started drinking powerbar perform and eating pretzels and a bit of fruit. I didn`t intend to drink the perform or eat the pretzels, but assumed I needed the salt and electrolytes.

4. Any problems?
Within 45 minutes I noticed I stopped sweating. Got sick in a porta potty. Was pretty delirious as well.

5. Positives
I guess pushing through to get to the finish line and consistently running (if you can call it that) with how shitty I felt. Thought I would be done the run in around 4 hrs, but finished in 4hrs, 55mins.

6. Any lows and highs during the run?
The only high was getting off the bike and starting the run. It was pretty much all lows after that, aside from the finish line.

7. How did you feel finishing?
Felt super sick, but obviously happy. It was all I could do to keep control of my body for the last 4 km or so.
Overall how did you feel about your race? Did it reach your expectations? Will you do another one? Any problems with the race at all in terms of organization and execution done by the race organizers?
Overall I am happy with the race. My goal was 12.5 hrs, with a stretch goal of 11.5hrs. I knew I wasn`t going to know whether or not the stretch was achievable until the race. Until the run, I was certain I would get there, then it all kind of unraveled.
My strategy was to just get to the run, because I was confident that once I got to the run I could put it in auto pilot and get to the finish line. I thought my weakest part would be the bike, with the strongest being the run. Not the case. Felt great on the bike and body shut down sick on the run. I gained 10 lbs during the race, which must be water retention as I stopped sweating. Very odd.
I was sick and delirious crossing the line. I spent about 2 hrs in the medical tent. I didn`t have an IV, or get physically sick, but felt horrible. My brain function seemed to be at 50%.
Over the four or five days after the race, I felt better each day. Lots of hydration. It took at least a week to start feeling like myself, but I still feel like I`m recovering. Not a whole lot of energy.
Would definitely do the race again, but don`t know when I`m going to be able to swing it with the time commitment.
Going to do a couple of Olympics and a half next season.
Medals seemed tiny.

Tim Mackie's 2011 IMC Race report

2011-09-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

Pre Race
1. How did your pre race ritual turn out? It went alright I guess. I had a lot of nerves and some trouble sleeping but felt ok race morning.

2. How did you feel pre race? Leading up to the race I was very nervous about the swim and worried that I would have real trouble out there.

3. Anything you feel may have helped your pre race? Nothing comes to mind.

4. Did you feel ready for the race? I definitely felt ready physically. As you know I was having some challenges mentally with the swim but I knew I had done the training to do well if I could over come this. One thing I don’t think I was as well prepared as I could have been was in the area of nutrition – both for the race and during the year of training.

Swim
1. Where did you start? Let almost all of the other swimmers go before starting and then swam out on the inside of the buoys.

2. Did this work for you? It worked very well. I was alone most of the way out to the first buoy and then was in the middle of the pack on the way back in.

3. How did you feel? I felt good…I was calm and comfortable for the most part – probably my best swim all year.

4. Any problems? I think I took in a fair bit of lake water and it may have contributed to the stomach issues I had later on the bike and especially on the run.

5. Positives – great day – great swim for me.

6. How was your sighting ie. were you all over the place? I think I was alright in this area even though I didn’t sight as much as I had in training. I found that there were some many people to my left and right that I trusted I must be on track and it worked out.

7. Did you get smacked? I didn’t really get smacked although I felt really congested with bodies everywhere on the way back in.

8. Were you drafting efficiently? No – I found that I would draft for a little bit but then would need to pass the person I was drafting and never really found any feet I could just sit on. I had never drafted before either so I am not sure I even know what I am doing.

9. What was your time? 1:21:13

Bike
1. How was your transition from swim to bike? I think it was pretty good. I almost missed getting sunscreen. My time was 5:26

2. How was your nutrition strategy? I forgot my bottles so that threw a bit of a wrench into things but thanks to you I had my water bottle and one bottle full of carbo pro. I had to throw the other bottle of carb pro away at the start of the bike because I had no holder for it (it was suppose to go in my special needs bag). I tried to make up the calories (400) I had planned to take in with this bottle.

3. How was your hydration? I started cramping (calves) at the top of yellow lake hill so maybe not as good as I thought it was.

4. Any mechanicals or flat tires? Thank god no

5. How were the climbs? Felt ok

6. Any problems? My stomach was bugging me the first 3 hours – I hit the washroom at the special needs area and felt better the rest of the ride.

7. Positives – I was so high after the swim that I just felt great out there. My time 5:55:30 was good from my perspective and I felt good out there for the most part.

8. Any highs and lows in terms of energy? I was on a real high for the first 2 – 3 hours following the swim and then hit a low spot after the rollers and in the Cawston area. I felt better during the yellow lake climb and coming back into Penticton.

9. Did you know where you were on the course? I had a general idea for the most part after riding the course during the camp weekend in early August

Run
1. How was your transition from bike to run? It was alright – had some trouble getting my compression socks (T1’s ) on. My time was 4:40.

2. How was your nutrition? I took a gel every ½ hour and alternated between water and Perform as I did on the bike but I did get sick of the Perform and stopped taking it half way through the run. I had been taking 1 salt pill every ½ hour on the bike but increased to 2 per ½ hour after talking to Tara – Lee and telling her I was cramping still.

3. How was your hydration? As above – maybe not as good as I thought given the cramping

4. Any problems? I felt good the first 10 km of the run (my time was 53 min) then my stomach really started acting up and I had to hit the washroom every aid station – 6 or 7 times on the way out to OK Falls. I think I only hit the washroom once on the way back in to Penticton. My legs didn’t let me work at a heart rate over around 140 for the most part I think. I felt like aerobically I could do more but the cramping and stomach issues prevented me from going harder.

5. Positives – First 10 k was good and I felt good at the finish.

6. Any lows and highs during the run? Felt like turning around about half way out to OK Falls

7. How did you feel finishing? I felt pretty good – very excited finishing. I wish I would have known how close I was to breaking the 12 hour barrier – I think I had enough in the tank but thought it was out of reach.
Overall how did you feel about your race? Did it reach your expectations? Will you do another one? Any problems with the race at all in terms of organization and execution done by the race organizers?
I felt very good about my race. I had set a goal and thought I could do it in 12 hours and that was exactly where I ended up; however I was in a better position in terms of time at the end of the bike than I expected. When I started the run I felt very confident I could break 12 hours but my run was a bit disappointing for me. I am signed up for next year. No issues with the organization of the race – the volunteers were awesome.

Stevi Williams 2011 IMC Race Report

2011-09-18T11:42:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Thanks for sending out the positive vibes for me last Sunday - I'm sure they were getting through because I had a really, really great day. Lots of you have asked how it all went so I've written my story below. It's longish (but hey, so was the race!) so if you don't want to read the whole thing you just have to know it went even better than I had hoped for and I am feeling so happy about the whole thing. For those of you who want the details, read on...

It all started when the alarm went off at 3:30am. I shut it off and let the feeling of "OMG today is finally here" rush over me. I'd spent the last 8 months training for this; long wet runs in the rain, countless bum-numbing hours on the bike and too many painfully boring swims. Now the waiting, anticipation and oscillating between terror and confidence was coming to the release point when the horn blew and I could just get in the water and GO!

I got up and got dressed, had breakfast and waited for my buds Celeste & Byron, who were also racing, to pick me up. When they arrived at 4:45am, I gathered up my gear bags and off we went to the race start. Now, because it's such a long day Ironman has several spots where you can leave stuff you want later in the day. First there is the transition area where you go from swim to bike (T1) and then bike to run (T2). This is where you leave your helmet, bike shoes etc for T1 and runners, hat etc for T2. There is also something called "Special Needs" (SN) for the bike and the run; this is a spot at 120km on the ride and 21km on the run where you can have a bag dropped off with something you might want at that point (fresh legs would have been great!). There is a huge variety of stuff that people put in their SN bags and it's always fun to see. Celeste likes to have options and had the biggest laundry bag full of stuff ~ we all had the giggles watching her lug that massive bag up to the drop off point in the morning. Especially compared to Byron's SN bags which had all of a water bottle and a chapstick I think. I was somewhere in the middle with some extra gel (food type fuel source) and a light jacket in each bag, just in case. Last year during the race a big rain storm came in and froze everyone half to death. Turns out being cold wasn't going to be an issue for us today.

So we drop off our SN bags and then got our race numbers written on both arms and legs. They also write your age on the back of your left calf ~ this is so when you see someone passing you, you can decide if you need to try and chase them down if they are in your age group. Then into the transition area to put load my bike with my fuel (we don't say "food" in triathlon, we say fuel. This is because it all tastes like crap and would only ever be eaten to stay alive) and water.

Then the 3 of us sat down to watch everyone else rush around pumping tires, loading fuel bottles etc. The face expressions were everything from happy and relaxed to flat out panic stricken. Sometimes I had to look away and recenter my own thoughts if I was picking up too much of the wild energy of the mob.

OK, 6:20am - time to suit up! We all get into our wetsuits, swim caps and goggles and then make our way to the beach entrance. The pro's gun goes off at 6:45 and the huge crowd watching roars. My adrenaline surges and I struggle to reign it in before it turns into scattered, unfocused nervousness. We all flow through the swim exit gate to the beach and knee deep into the lake to get some water into the suit before we start in 5 minutes. No hope for a warm up swim today ~ the water is packed full and standing room only. The 3 of us are grinning and joking; "I guess this means we're really going through with it huh?". We all give each other hugs and say "Good luck!!!" and then HOOOONNNNNNNKKKKK! The horn blows and the largest Ironman Canada race start of 2841 athletes heads into the water together.

The swim was pretty wild ~ that's a lot of people in the tub together you know? I just kept my head down and followed bubbles and feet as much as I could. When people swam on top of me or were crashing into me I just worked on staying relaxed and keeping moving. I've done enough of these races now to expect the punch in the head/face at some point so it was almost a relief when it finally happened and it was a girl ~ the guys can really crack you one sometimes. The course is like a triangle with two long sides and one short one at the far point. At the last turn buoy to head back to the beach we were heading into the sun which made it difficult to sight the course buoys ~ lots of people went off course a bit here. I was stuffed in the middle of a splashy mob the whole time and just stayed with them all the way back. Got to the beach and climbed out of the water to hear my name being called by Damon & the kids who were crushed up at the fence in the crowd ~ AWESOME to see them!!! My swim time was 1:20 which was 3 minutes slower than last time. I was ECSTATIC with this time however since I only did about a 20th of the swim training I did last time (because swimming blows).

Into transition and the strippers rip my suit off my legs and fling it at me as I run to my T1 gear bag. Into the tent to put on my shoes, helmet, sunglasses, race number belt and sunscreen. Out of the tent and get my bike off the rack. Run with it to the Mount Line on the road just outside the transition zone, mount up and start riding through the crowds lined up on both sides of the road behind fence barriers. I really do love this part :)

The ride felt really good to me, this is always my strongest discipline. My bike is sleek and fast and crushes it on the downhills and the flats -woop woop! It might not climb as well as my other bike but I felt strong and kept it steady the whole way. Heat management was critical as it got up to 34C out there in fully exposed roads through rocky desert-like terrain ~ like riding though a blast furnace at times. There are aid stations every 20km on the course and at each one I would grab one of the ice cold bottles of water from the outstretched hand of a volunteer as I rolled through and pour it over my head, back, legs ~ drink some ~ head again and into my shoes. Then I'd grab another bottle of a fuel drink and dump it into my bike's bottle and keep going on the course. D and the kids had driven the back road to get to the Yellow Lake hill (the last major climb on the course) and I got a big jolt of HAPPY when I saw them. I stuck out my hand and got high fives from all of them and several other spectators lining the hill as well (one of them was a little over zealous and slapped my hand so hard it made me wobble on my bike!). I just kept my pace strong and steady until I finished the 180km and got back to transition in 5:54. Last time it took me 6:18 so I was VERY pleased to come in under 6 hours.

I hand my bike to a volunteer (they take it and rack it for us ~ nice!) and run to the gear bags lined up according to race number in T2 ~ bike to run. I grab my bag and head back to the change tent. Off with the helmet and bike shoes, on with the hat, runners and fuel belt. I run to the sunscreen volunteers and am swarmed by 5 of them in blue surgical gloves smearing goop on my legs, arms and face. I leave T2 looking like I've just lost a shaving cream fight.

Out onto the run course. Lots of people cheering us on along most of the way and many of the locals have either put out their sprinklers or are standing there with their hoses ready to spray you if you want it. And I wanted it! It was so stinking hot on that run course ~ it's entirely exposed to the sun the whole way. There wasn't much breeze from the lake either so it just felt like we were being baked alive on the asphalt. My headspace was really good for the run (something I've been working on a lot lately)and I stayed very positive in my thoughts despite the discomfort. I never thought of the run in it's entirety; no "omg a whole marathon" thoughts for me! Instead I just ran from aid station to aid station which were placed at every mile for 26 miles. Once I reached a station I would walk through pouring water over my head, putting ice under my hat and stuffing cold, wet sponges into my jersey. Then back to running to the next station. This worked really well for me; knowing that I could walk at the next station gave me the determination to continue running no matter how steep the hill or how many puking people I was encountering. The run was taking it's toll on a lot of people. There were pukers every where and a some were falling down. A few people wandered off the road to go sit in the lake to cool down and get refocused. It can appear rather bleak at times. Again, D & the kids were there to boost my spirits at the 10km/30km point. A friend of mine's granny lives right there on the run course so Celeste and I had a cheering mob with all the kids, our friends and hubbies, complete with signs, hoses and high fives when we got there. It was such a great thing to look forward to!! I was starting to feel a bit fragile in my tummy for the last 10k of the run. Eventually the body just can't really process the nutrition going in and starts to rebel. I had to find and then constantly readjust the balance point of getting nutrition in but not overwhelm the system. As I got nearer the finish line I left off trying to get calories in and just worked on staying steady with my pace and form with little sips of water.

The Ironman run course has a particularly cruel finish because you have to run right past the finish line, out another half km and then turn around and run back to cross. Going past the finish line for that last 500m is really hard! The next thing you know though, there I am, running the last 500m towards the finish line with mobs of shouting, waving and cheering people lined up both sides. The grin on my face is huge and I just feel an enormous welling of happiness, pride, relief, joy, amazement and triumph wave over me as I cross the finish line in 12:18. 41 minutes faster than before ~ YA HOO BABY!!!! The photographers are snapping my picture as I come across and I hear Damon calling my name to my right. I look over and there are D, Kierney and Chase, all grinning, waving, jumping up and down and yelling "YAY, YOU DID IT!!!".

Two ladies take my arms and start leading me through the finisher's chute. These ladies are called "Catchers" and there are two Catchers for every athlete. They talk to us and make sure we're ok and not going to cross the finish line and fall down puking with no one to help ~ this falling down and puking part happens a lot. So I'm chatting to the ladies as we walk towards the finisher's photo que and I am starting to feel a little crappy. Now that the focus of running/finishing is over my body is starting to reassert itself over my mind and it's not happy with how it's been treated that day, thankyouverymuch!! We get through the photo stop and the Catchers let me go to meet Damon and the kids. I get about 10 steps and feel so drained and nauseas that I stop to sit in one of the chairs for a minute or two to let it pass. It doesn't pass but it doesn't get worse either so I get back up and go to see the family just outside the finisher's chute. Big hugs!! Sweaty kisses!! Yay Mommy!! Honey, you ROCK!! It was a great moment :) but then I need to sit down again as my body again reminds me of how it's time to give back now.

We sit in the grass for a while, watching all the athletes and their families rejoin each other. Again there is a big variety here; some people look like they could go for a nice swim right now while others look like death. I think I'm somewhere in the middle but edging closer to the "look like death" side as I'm getting cold sitting in my wet clothes on the grass. Damon brought my bag of dry clothes to change into but there is only one place to change and it's a nasty, concrete block of a public beach bathroom that has been used by 3000 athletes and their families all weekend. Ewwww! Not much choice though so I head in there. I'm really starting to feel bad now though; my tummy is queasy and I'm really cold and shivering. I get into one of the two stalls to change and look with dismay at the dirty floor and how there isn't a hook to hang my bag. I know, call me a princess but this is definitely one of my "things" ~ I HATE having to touch gross public washroom anythings, let alone the FLOOR!! So there I am, gingerly placing my bag on the floor (gag) and trying to organize a way to get my dry stuff out and wet stuff off without letting anything touch the floor. I am managing ok, I've got my dry shorts on now and flip flops. Bra on, good. Shirt? Whoa, now I suddenly feel like I'm going to pass out - too much bending over and standing back up getting stuff out of the bag on the floor (did I mention how filthy the floor was??). I sit down on the toilet, thinking if I can do that and get my head down between my knees I'll recover and not pass out. Then I wake up with MY FACE ON THAT NASTY FLOOR!!! and two women calling to me to unlock the bathroom door so they can help. I slowly get more vertical and flick the latch on the door as I resume my seat on the toilet. The Wonderful Women (WW) are fussing over me and talking at me but all I can come up with is: " OMG I passed out on THAT FLOOR!!" ~ it was truly gag inducing. Sigh. I get my shirt on, feel the bump on my forehead where I bonked it on my way down, note the bloody knee and then WW help me outside the bathroom to the grass where I promptly have to sit back down because I can feel the tunnel vision coming again. They get my stuff from the bathroom and I ask them to get my husband for me because "…he's really strong and he can just carry me…". Well they can't find him (due mostly to my one word description: he's tall) so they help me get to the medical tent. The docs put me in a bed and cover me with warm packs because I'm really shivering with the cold now and then hook me up to an IV. Someone finds Damon and tells him where I am but he and the kids can't come in the tent because it's crazy busy with athletes coming in. FUN! I know most of you are probably thinking "Wow, where can I sign up for this?!?". After about an hour I'm done my drip of magical IV fluids and feeling MUCH better as I rejoin my family and Celeste who has also finished (and rocked it with a new Personal Best time!!) and have been waiting for me outside the med tent. More hugs and kisses and laughs and then Wade, Celeste's husband, picks us up in the car (because there was no way I was walking the 1.5km back to the house!!) and takes us all home. A quick wash off, then into my compression pants to help my aching legs and then sweet, sweet sleep….ahhhhh.

So that's pretty much how Ironman went for me. It was a crazy, fantastic, brilliant & amazing day. The falling down part at the end doesn't detract from the whole thing for me even one tiny bit (too bad it was in that nasty bathroom but I've since dunked myself in a Detol bath and as of this moment will block the vision of the floor forever from my memory….ah, gone).

Thanks so much for all your encouragement and support for my big day, it meant a lot to know I had people rooting for me!

I'm going to go and eat now (again) and then maybe take a little nap :)
See you all soon,
Stevi

colleen gray-hewitt's 2011 Race Report

2011-09-18T11:32:00.001-07:00

Pre Race
1. How did your pre race ritual turn out?

Pre-race I was staying at friends’ place. Arrived a day ahead of family and just gave myself time to visit the expo, have a massage, which I didn’t get to before leaving, and try to not do too much beyond short swim, bike, run. Partnered up with another athlete to hang out and sound things off of in the days leading up which was really great.

2. How did you feel pre race?
OK overall. I was way more nervouse for Victoria ½ Iron which I’d set as my ‘A’ race for the year. Everything else past that seemed more relaxed and for the experience. I was a little apprehensive of getting nutrition right, the heat, and of running a marathon which was pretty much double the distance I’d ever run.

3. Anything you feel may have helped your pre race?
Best pre-race things were the phone conversation with Sean to go over some nutrition and race strategy, which I adhered to. Training camp to actually swim, ride, run the routes and get my bearings around Penticton was VERY beneficial.

4. Did you feel ready for the race?
As much as I could with minimal time to think (or over think) and to train up to the longer distances. I think I was more relaxed than if I’d signed up the year before.

SWIM:
1. Where did you start?

2nd row approx 100m to the left of the buoys (so basically up front)

2. Did this work for you?

Pretty much. I tend to pull right so I ended up at the buoys by the first 750m and then stuck to that line. I may move in towards the buoys more next time out as I can sight and follow those to keep on line.

3. How did you feel?
I wanted to have a good swim. Some of the jostling that made me stop for a second and look around was a bit of a pain as was the chop created by 3000 people which made me swallow a little too much of the lake, but I felt fine. I don’t mind the craziness of the swim once you settle into a pace group which I did. Managed to follow some feet for a bit too, which was a first.

4. Any problems?
Not really. The last 1800m when it spread out, I found myself off course to right a bit which forced me to sight more than I would have liked, thus not feeling like I was getting long stretches of a smooth stroke.

5. Positives
Found some feet to follow for a few hundred metres! Didn’t get goggles grabbed off or seriously kicked. Decent time out of the water.

6. How was your sighting ie. were you all over the place?
My sighting is fine when I do it all the time. When I try to go a few extra strokes without sighting I end up right.

7. Did you get smacked?
Yes – grabbed and kicked - but not too hard.

8. Were you drafting efficiently?
At one point. Not for most of the race but maybe a ¼ in all.

9. What was your time?
1hr 4 min. It was slow getting out of the water. Shallow for awhile which is tough to muscle through and then everyone is funneled into transition across the timing mat so that part was a bit slow.

BIKE:
1. How was your transition from swim to bike?
OK. I totally missed the strippers though! I ran across the rows of bags and it took them a few seconds to get my bag then into the tent. I was one of only 2 or 3 women in the tent so that was good. My volunteer wasn’t really ready to help me strip off my wetsuit and was a little flustered but that’s OK. I forgot to sunscreen on the way out. Took a salt tab and grabbed water from a transition aid stn when heading out with the bike.

2. How was your nutrition strategy?
Remembered when I was on the bike that I’d forgotten to take a gel pre-swim so my last food was 4:30am breakfast. I had salt tabs in a Nuun bottle in my back pocket which was an experiment (that worked out). I planned to take one thermolyte (180mg sodium) every 20 min and stuck to that. Not sure exactly how many calories I took in but would have been around the 300/hr (maybe a little shy of that) with Carbo Pro (800 cal worth), Clif bloks, 2/3 Bonk Bar at Special Needs and whatever I took in with Perform (not a ton – maybe 300 cal over the whole ride of that)

3. How was your hydration?
I was probably less hydrated than I should have been. I had to pee in the first 90 min but couldn’t get that to work on the bike so just didn’t pee the whole time and never really had to as that feeling went away. I took in water every aid station and topped up my Speedfil so I was drinking constantly. I felt fine in that regard during the ride.

4. Any mechanicals or flat tires?
No thankfully. I paid my due on Richter in the Desert ½ with 2 flats…

5. How were the climbs?
Fine. I kept to a very low gear to try to keep as high a cadence as possible with spinning out the legs. Passed people on the climbs. Was mostly passed on the descents but I actually passed a couple people coming down from Richter which was a miracle.

6. Any problems?
Just some frustrations with the drafting rules as I wanted to push it a bit more in certain sections but couldn’t without having to pass a whole line of cyclists which would have used up too much energy.

7. Positives
Felt strong mentally and energy-wise the entire ride. No bonking or energy sag along Barcelo which was a problem on our training ride (I hadn’t taken in sodium then). All the crowds and volunteers were amazing.

8. Any highs and lows in terms of energy?
Energy felt pretty consistent throughout which I was very happy about. The heat was definitely a factor but I just tried to keep cool with water over the head and knowing that this was going to be better than the run! The lowest point (which was also a high point) was the last portion and the wicked headwind which was a bit demoralizing after coming through everything else so well. But it was still a high as that portion was done and in a time faster than I was expecting.

9. Did you know where you were on the course?
Yes. Riding the whole course once in training camp was awesome. I used my Garmin for time/cadence and heart rate, though heart rate monitor wasn’t working that well.

Run
1. How was your transition from bike to run?
Slow but somewhat unavoidable. Think it was about 5 min. Tent change was fine. Had to get sunscreened as it was hot and sunny and I hadn’t done it pre-ride. Had to use the Johnny and it was an 8hr build up of pee (sorry) so that took a couple minutes as dealing with wet kit with not so functioning hands took a few seconds to get all ready to run for the next 4 hrs.

2. How was your nutrition?
Very so-so. I opted to carry a fuel belt with 2 bottles of coconut water/water mix, salt tabs and some clif blocks and 2 powerbar latte gels. I hate gels so they were for emergency. I took the tabs approx every 25 min. I drank both bottles and replaced them at special needs and drank those as well. Took a piece of banana at two aid stations but wasn’t super keen on that. Watermelon at one but never saw that again. Tried an orange but that was too much work and stuck in the teeth. Block didn’t set right. I did cave and take in 3 powerbar gels in the 2nd half to keep the energy up. I ice watered over my head and body twice per aid station and took in water. Took in cola every 2nd aid station on the way back. I knew I had to take those gels to make it to the finish strongly and I think that did work but I couldn’t have done it 10 times. I’ll work on that.

3. How was your hydration?
See above. I hydrated constantly. My own source and through the aid stations.

4. Any problems?
Nausea for the whole run. I’m easily prone to this. Shin splints that were rearing up in the first half but seemed to settle down in the 2nd half in lieu of other parts feeling the pounding.

5. Positives
Support of friends, coaches on the route. The out and back seeing people running. Managing to run the whole way at a very steady pace and come in just over 4 hrs (I was hoping for under 4:30:00) which included walking through every aid station except the last one on lakeshore. And walking around special needs to replace my bottles and grab one more gel. Having lots of energy and speed to finish strongly. I’m not sure but I’d think I did a negative split of first half/second half which was also a goal.

6. Any lows and highs during the run?
The first stretch from the transition to the start of Skaha, which is a bit uphill. The marathon distance was very daunting to me and I didn’t feel great (nausea-wise) so I was worried about keeping my chosen pace.

7. How did you feel finishing?
Amazing!!!! It was briefly emotional (which I felt as I came onto lakeshore from Main) and exhilarating!!!! What an epic day.
Overall how did you feel about your race? Did it reach your expectations? Will you do another one? Any problems with the race at all in terms of organization and execution done by the race organizers?
I am very happy with my race. I felt that I really hadn’t done enough to come through quite that well, particularly in the run, but that the strategy Sean put forth and keeping a level head about this being a great learning experience and intro to IM (which I was totally not planning to do for a few more years about 6 months ago). I will always put pressure on myself in my head to have a strong day but I was quite prepared for things to be less than perfect and to roll with that. It definitely reached my expectations.

Race strategy: Swim: start up near the front and try to find some feet to draft. Bike: patience game. Spinout and keep it easy through Richter and the rollers and then open it up, which I did and felt good doing that. I think the fact that I was mostly passed by guys made it easier for me to do this as I’m not really competing against guys so I didn’t care if they passed me. Unless it was Bruce MacKenzie and then I would have had to lay down the hammer (kidding). Run: just keep running, save for some walking through the aid stations to get what I needed.
Mantra: Gratitude, Patience, Fun, Fast
I have signed up for Coeur d’Alene 2012. See what that’s all about and hoping it will be warmer than 2011. I have to see if I can continue the momentum started this year and extend that a bit. All things going well (and I do know that every day something could go wrong), I’d like to go under 11 hrs and know that most of that time has to come from the run.

Race itself: found it easy to register, easy to access everything I needed once there. The organization seemed really good to me. I didn’t love the distance from the bike to run bags and then having to go into the change tent and back around but everyone had to do it so that was equalized.

celeste atterton's IMC 2011 race report

2011-09-18T11:17:00.001-07:00

I had a fabulous day at IMC :)

My swim was a little disappointing.... I was in the middle of a pack being dragged along until the way back. The sun was in my eyes and I couldn’t sight the buoys properly. I found myself alone and off course :(..... Made for a longer swim – drag!

But once I got on my bike it was all good. 5 km into my ride my Garmin battery crapped out on me (it’s never done that before), so I had no speed/pace, distance or time for my ride or run – boo! Oh well, didn’t dwell on it. I was very diligent about keeping hydrated & fueled. At every aid station I took the time to douse myself with water & poor ice down my jersey to keep cool. When I made it to Yellow Lake I was thrilled that I still felt so good. I spun up the hill passing everyone. I’ve never done that before in an event and did it ever feel amazing!!!

Made it back into T2 feeling great. Decided to down an Ensure to get some extra calories in for my run. When I started running my legs felt so good & springy I couldn’t believe it! But unfortunately all that spring made the Ensure in my tummy want to spring back up! Had to walk for 5 or so minutes to let it settle. Had some ice at the aid station which I find helps when my tummy is upset (mental noted – no Ensure in transition ever again!). Felt great the rest of the run with a fairly steady pace. Had mostly just water & bananas at the aid stations. In the last kilometer to the finish line I heard Steve King say “1 minute until the 14 hr”.... Unfortunately I couldn’t sprint that 1km in under 1 minute!!! Bummer that my watch died early on.... I’m sure I could have shaved time off to come under the hour. Anyway, I finished strong.... had so much still in my tank that I was a bit annoyed with myself for not going harder! But then again, I had such a positive, euphoric feeling day, that I wouldn’t have wanted to take away from that. All in all I was thrilled with how my IMC day went. I took over 1.5 hrs off of my previous time – woop woop!

Thank you so much for all of your support :)

Cheers,
Celeste

IMC 2011 Run

2011-09-14T12:15:00.001-07:00

IMC 2011 pre race and swim

2011-09-14T11:48:00.001-07:00

gord mathews imc race report

2011-09-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

Pre Race – Going into the race I felt nervous as always. As much as I did not train as I did in the previous year due to weather, Achilles issues, work etc With that being said I decided to focus more on enjoying the race this year rather that trying for a pb as I did not feel I was in the shape I needed to be in. I was also struggling a lot with confidence issues on the bike, for whatever reason I just have not felt very strong on the bike in the past couple of year even though that’s probably the one sport I was most consistent in my training with this year. I felt my meeting with Tara-lee a couple days before the race really helped me settle down and get focused mentally for the race.

Swim- Overall I had a great swim which was quite surprising as I probably only swam about ½ as much as I did last year but I think improved technique gained from my private lessons with Tara-lee helped a lot this year as I was only a minute slower than my swim time last year.

I started in the middle of the pack in line with the buoys and I chose to swim straight on the buoy line. With in about 700 meters I had fairly open water with out a lot of congestion, once I turned the second buoy and started on the way back I had complete open water the whole way back along the buoy line as everybody seemed to be swimming about 10 – 20 meters out from the buoys, at the time I thought the open water was great but given time to think I think it was a poor choice on my part given I got virtually no draft on the way back I think I would have been smarter to stay in the pack and get more of the draft which probably would of given me a quicker swim time.

T1- I had a much quicker transition time than any of my previous Ironman’s so I was very happy with it and I wouldn’t do any thing different next time.

Bike- I did not have the bike I would of liked or what I think I am capable of but I got through it and given the heat I think I did OK.
My first hiccup of the day started when my Garmin for what ever reason decided not to pick up my hr monitor or power meter on the bike so all had was time, distance and speed which was pretty useless as I haven’t looked at my speed all year I’ve gone strictly by my power output and heart rate. So I started out the bike feeling pretty good and had a great ride all the way to Osoyoos. My climb up Richter’s felt quite good and I continued to feel OK all the way to the start of the out and back. Unfortunately it was at this point I think some of my issues started, I was very diligent about mu nutrition and I was doing very well with it taking in about a 20 oz of perform an hour and the same in water until the aid stations started to run out of water. By the time I reached special needs my feet had started to cramp, I was able to deal with the issue by loosening the straps on my shoes, once I hit the highway by the bear I started to get some cramping in my legs and by this time it was very hot with very little wind and the heat totally zapped my energy at that point. Remembering my goal was to just enjoy the day I just kept pushing on and taking in as much perform, thermolite tablets and water when I was able to get it that I could. So I got through the bike, it was not my best ride but given the day I was OK with it.

T2 – Again had a much quicker transition than normal even with taping my Achilles and putting compression socks on the only thing that killed my transition was taking a much needed bathroom break.

Run- Again given my Achilles issues this year my running was very spotty and I really was not in very good running shape compared to the year before and given the heat of the day and the fact I do very poor in the heat I had very low expectations for my run when I started it.
I started the run feeling OK and I was able to run which was a good thing but again I had no hr monitor just time and pace so I decided to go strictly by feel and ignored my Garmin except for checking the time every so often. After about 15 minutes it was obvious I was not going to be able to run straight so I decided to switch to nine and ones. At about the 7k mark about 5 minutes before you at the lake stepped in a pothole and rolled my ankle, which caused me to take a bit of a tumble and of course, it was my right ankle, which is my bad Achilles. I picked myself up and I’m not sure if I really did much damage to my ankle but it did play in my mind the rest of the run and my Achilles seemed to bother me a bit more but again that may of just been in my head. Right after that point I was having a hard time keeping up the nine and ones so they switched to sometime five and ones and some time four and ones etc. I got out to the turn around at OK falls and I wasn’t feeling great but I was still doing OK. At that point the five and one etc were right out the window I was just running when I could and then walking when I couldn’t. I was watching my time a bit as I did want to be my time from 08 but I was trying not to concentrate on it. I made it out to the turn around in 2:45 so I figured I would be slower heading back but I thought if I could make it in under three I would be OK but I wasn’t sure that I would be able to do it so again I just ran what I could and did my best to get back. The funny thing of it all and I have no idea how I did it I had a negative split by about 40 seconds which again I had no clue how I did it. So given how hot the day was and my inconsistent running this year I had an awesome run considering I beat my last years run time by 5 minutes on a much tougher run course and I was in far better shape last year.

Summary – I did not have the race I would of like to have but given my training this year I think I had the best possible race I could of especially given the heat so I was very happy with the way my race turned out and most importantly I enjoyed this one.

It’s funny because my plan was to take a year off of doing Ironman after this one and for a few days after the race I had absolutely no desire to do it for at least two years if not longer. That feeling lasted for maybe about a week because I’ve really had to exercise some self control or I would of signed up to do another one next year even though I know I need to give my body a few months to heal and to get my Achilles back to a 100%.

At this point my plan is to take the next few months to rest and let my body heal a bit. Next year I want to start building my base again and to do 2 – 3 Half Irons and providing everything goes as planned and my body is holding up my goal is to do Ultraman Canada in 2013.
I’m looking at it as three 12 hour training days, I think my biggest challenge is going to be the day 3 double marathon. Again that is my goal at this point but that’s going to depend on how my training goes this year.

Scott Tremblay 9th Overall IMC Race Report

2011-09-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

Being able to race at home is something that fits my life. As I was walking to transition the morning of the race, I was chatting with Jenny Andrews, who is a coach with Canwi Multisport, about my experiences racing at IMCDA. Do not get me wrong here, but there is too much guilt and guile in my house when I leave to do a race. My wife, Sheri, is the most understanding person. My training is consistent throughout the year, 12 months of training. She never questions why I am training or, rarely, asked when I will be home. Granted, I do train early in the morning. Just ask my ex-training partner, Simon Ree. We would be on the road at 4-5 am each session. Got to be home when the cartoons are no longer interesting for the kids and when chaos is no longer a theory. Anyway, as Jenny and I are talking, I proceed to tell her that my life does not allow me to go away and race, much too stressful. My employer simply does not tolerate my triathlete life. I guess what I do is not positive. I will try not to vent too much here. Needless to say, next year I will race locally and race along with my family. No more going to races solo. I must say that I was much more calm than IMCDA. I knew many of the pro's. I also felt positive going into this race. I did the training and I know the course. The swim. A person that I have raced against quite a few times was racing and he swims like me, slow. This person is Dallas Cain. Our styles of racing are similar: ride hard and run hard. We both have the same type of life: family, work, family, and work-- training, repeat. So fitting it all in is quite tough for both of us. The swim went well enough for me. I was actually leading a group of swimmers. The water was choppy so I knew I would be slower this year. I truly try not to let the swim get the best of me psychologically. The bike this year was tough: wind and more wind. I guess that is all part of the day. I will skip through the day here. I often wonder why I want to do this. It is a beautiful day. The sun is shinning. The beaches are, well, beaches. I could be enjoying life for what it is worth. I work full time. I work most of the summer. I have a family. What could Ironman possibly do for me that is more important than just living for living? I guess all endurance athletes ask themselves the same question. I could be content doing short course. But the feeling of detaching simply does not occur when doing Olympic distance triathlon. It may happen at times, but it is truly short lived. What I am talking about is when the mind and body separate. During endurance type sports, the athlete must be able to separate mind and body. The mind must take over. During the marathon this year, I simply allowed my feet to go. I went into a meditative state for about 15 miles. There were no sounds to be heard. I could not talk. I do not know if all endurance athletes feel the same sensation. But the ones that do, they will understand what I am saying. I guess I yearn for that sensation. Do not get me wrong, I love the feeling of being fit. I love the feeling of accomplishment. I love when my children see me doing something positive and good. But the question is why do I have to do an Ironman? The answer lies in the belly of my mind. All people at one time or another want to experience true meditation. I think the answer lies somewhere is that. Back to IMC, second pro race and 9th over-all. I am happy with the result. I must thank my wife for all her understanding and support. She gets why I do this. Even my parents get why I do this. Lorne and Joan were out on the course cheering for their son. It is pretty cool for a 38 year old man having his parents cheering him on. I feel like I am 15 again playing rep soccer for the Chilliwack Lions. Thanks to Sean and Tara for all the support this year. It was also great to have Sean and others who are Canwi athletes cheering me on. Today, I went to the pool and it truly feels like I am starring in the movie, Groundhog Day.” This is not a negative thing; it is a positive start of a new season and a new focus- can’t wait until next year. Take care.

edit**photo's courtesy of van pratt do not use without authorization**

greg mackie imc 2011 race report

2011-09-13T14:16:00.001-07:00

Pre Race
1. How did your pre race ritual turn out? – Ok except I lost my morning bag with my HR monitor
2. How did you feel pre race? – Not great, didn’t sleep more than a few hours, had stomach issues
3. Anything you feel may have helped your pre race? – I wish I had a kitchen vs staying in a hotel
4. Did you feel ready for the race? – physically ready but little sleep and stomach problems going in
Swim
1. Where did you start? – Waited a minute and started on the right side
2. Did this work for you? – Worked fine but got lost after the first turn (detour to the houseboat that wasn’t the next turn) cost me some time
3. How did you feel? – Felt fine but not as good as last year
4. Any problems? – None other than the second turn where I went towards the house boat instead of the buoys
5. Positives – I knew I wasn’t having a great swim while I was out there
6. How was your sighting ie. were you all over the place? – as mentioned, probably cost me a few minutes
7. Did you get smacked? – No
8. Were you drafting efficiently? – nope, Troy drafted me
9. What was your time? – 1:20 and last year I was 1:13
Bike
1. How was your transition from swim to bike? – SLOW, this was when I realized I forgot my HR monitor but I went back to find it in my transition bag then figured out after that I never put it there (10 min transition)
2. How was your nutrition strategy? – I think it was good but I wasn’t feeling great going in
3. How was your hydration? – Tried to have a bottle between every aid station alternating water and perform
4. Any mechanicals or flat tires? - No
5. How were the climbs? – easy spinning
6. Any problems? – not really but no watch so I had to guess a bit on salt pills per hour
7. Positives – rode with Troy most of the day so we chatted lots but I knew I could be riding harder without impacting my run too much however, I decided to take it easy
8. Any highs and lows in terms of energy? – Causton always seems to be my low on that ride
9. Did you know where you were on the course? - Yes
Run
1. How was your transition from bike to run? – Fine, not very fast though
2. How was your nutrition? – Guts started to really hurt here; had trouble eating or drinking
3. How was your hydration? – I should have brought a water bottle with me as I wasn’t able to drink as much as I needed to at the aid stations
4. Any problems? - Major stomach cramping and multiple bathroom stops…it was brutal
5. Positives – Not quitting...haha
6. Any lows and highs during the run? There were no highs on the run
7. How did you feel finishing? – Not good other than being done
Overall how did you feel about your race? Did it reach your expectations? Will you do another one? Any problems with the race at all in terms of organization and execution done by the race organizers?
Overall I hoped for better for sure; I thought that if I had a good day I could be under 12 hours but I had a feeling that morning that it wasn’t going to be my day based on little sleep and stomach issues going in to the race. The HR monitor would have helped my bike as I would have gone harder than I did but I’m not sure it would have mattered too much. Some days you feel great and some days you don’t; the run was a real test for me as I really couldn’t even jog my stomach hurt so much. I was dehydrated for a couple days after while drinking a lot to try and recover. My legs felt great though…guess that’s what happens when you can’t really push it.
I’m taking a year off IM but will focus on some biking as that is what I really enjoy the most. I think I will do it again in 2013. Don’t want that day to be my last IM.
Thanks for all your help!!

quinton jansen's 2011 imc race report

2011-09-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

Pre Race
1. How did your pre race ritual turn out?
- Surpisingly mellow.. Workouts in the morning, lunch then nap. Lots of resting.
- Morning of had more food than I expected to before heading down to transition. Forgot to take water into transition, but found some laying about. Had water in car so could have gone back out to grab it if I had to.
- Munched on more food in transition, couple gels, 700ml water.
- Found Harry and then the rest of the suspects which was good. Chatted until heading out for a 'warmup' swim.

2. How did you feel pre race?
Good. Excited, and a bit nervous.

3. Anything you feel may have helped your pre race?
A slap in the face :) Water from the race organization for T0.

4. Did you feel ready for the race?
There were a couple minutes of doubt, but after reminding myself that I was ready and would cross the finish line no matter what, all was good.
Swim
1. Where did you start?
Right of the buoy line, halfway between buoy line and end of beach

2. Did this work for you?
Apparently..

3. How did you feel?
Dizzy (woke up with a spinning head).. Next time slap me in the face before the start (check goggles are clear first :)
As soon as the race started, all was good

4. Any problems?
Nope.

5. Positives
Finished with goggles on

6. How was your sighting ie. were you all over the place?
Better than expected. Mix of pack swimming and sighting to make sure pack was on the right path

7. Did you get smacked?
Smacked, groopped, elbowed, swam on (up to thighs). Felt hands feeling for balls four times

8. Were you drafting efficiently?
When I was (most of the time), yes

9. What was your time?
1:14 on the results
Bike
1. How was your transition from swim to bike?
A bit slower.. washroom break

2. How was your nutrition strategy?
- Perpetitium (two bottles with 6 scoopes, one bag in special needs with 4 just in case). One bottle ready to go, the other one dry
- Mix in gels, (for solids) cliff bars and bannans.
- Salt and viniger chips in special needs (really needed those)
- Basic plan was to put as much as I could down the hatch as possible.. Still forget to eat enough on the bike in the heat.

3. How was your hydration?
- All over me. Frigging bottle caps kept popping off and spilling all over the show.
- stuck mostly with the perform, had a couple water for change in taste
- different flavours of perform threw me for a loop in the beginning
- perfom tastes like shit when it's hot. Only had one cool drink the entire ride
- passed one aid station that had run out of water, but I still had plenty of fluid on board

4. Any mechanicals or flat tires?
- one thumb tack. Should have changed the tyre, but tried sealant which left me with a slow leak to keep filling up.

5. How were the climbs?
What happened to mcclean creek? Missed that turn somehow.
Richter was OK. Been up that one many times.
Yellow lake was the expected drag. Mainly because I knew I had missed my time target by then

6. Any problems?
Nothing that comes to mind.. quite a bit slower than I had hoped for, but all good.

7. Positives
No rain/sleet/snow.

8. Any highs and lows in terms of energy?
Perhaps the last few minutes, but a bit more food (or was it knowing the end was near) solved that

9. Did you know where you were on the course?
Physically or mentally? Physically yes. The out and back's entra spur is annoying. The end of the out and back is annoylying long :)
Run
1. How was your transition from bike to run?
Considering the bike, OK. Took a bit longer, but again had to pee for a number of minutes. Complete change of cloths, fresh socks. Took a couple minutes in the tent to get my head wrapped around the fact that I had to go stumble for 42km

2. How was your nutrition?
- Way better than expected. Gels were going down again. Had enough (hoped for four hours of eating, planned for five and a half)
- somehow managed to get the gels down and half a bag of chips at the turnaround

3. How was your hydration?
- Much better now that I knew about the ice.
- Filled running bottle with water to make the magic mix of perform from dry powder (some mix that I'd used before). Sucked on ice, and put ice in the bottle
- Started out alternating between water and perform while walking aid stations
- ¼ of the way in started with pepsi (still fuzzy.. coke would have been better).. or was it a bit later. Any ways, alternating between pepsi and perform until after the turnaround. Then pepsi at the aid stations, plus other liquids.
- Kept topping up drinking bottle with liquid (water/perform/ice) and used that between aid stations

4. Any problems?
- Fading daylight
- Quads were just trashed, making hills painful (walked hills and majority of aid stations)
- People calling out my name, and it taking me a minute or so to remember it was on the frigging bib.. had that thought process a number of times..

5. Positives
- first attempt at 42km and got across the line with energy in the legs
- three small blisters on toes, only had two left over the next day to drain
- Had expected the run along the lake to suck as no one would be there watching, but was glad to have peace and quite to void my mind with.

6. Any lows and highs during the run?
- I suspect so, but can't recall.
- Then again, with an official making sure I finished in good order, had to hide the lows. Mind you, a couple of us dragging our heels did take a vote and agreed we did not have to listen to the officials anymore.

7. How did you feel finishing?
- Great. But could not believe it was done.
- Walked straight out with a fresh bottle of plain water.
- skipped dinner (not hungry after the buffet on the run)
Overall how did you feel about your race? Did it reach your expectations? Will you do another one? Any problems with the race at all in terms of organization and execution done by the race organizers?
Loved the race.. Gotta do it again. It left me feeling like there should have been more. The medal kinda blew, but that's a small thing. The swim was great, bike was OK, run was a bit slower (was hoping for under five.. maybe 4:30-4:45 based on Dessert Half). Having smiling faces that I knew at the start line was plesant (still say I should have been slapped back into reality). Tony G. still needs to work on his girlish scream.
Hot drinks on a hot day that are splashed all over you instead of into your bottles makes it hard to drink. Running out of water on the bike was not good (squeeked past that issue).
The mandatory pre-race meeting was a waste of time. Did not cover off any useful information (I skipped the dinner and just went for the meeting.. still had Steve dronning on when I got there for too long) like if we had to wear our race number on the bike course.. saw a mix of results with that as some did not bother wearing them)

Jason Reynen's IMC 2011 Race Report

2011-09-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

Pre Race
1. How did your pre race ritual turn out? Really good wasn’t nervous at all really
2. How did you feel pre race? Good little worried bout my it band. But overall confident forsure
3. Anything you feel may have helped your pre race? No not really everything was good for me.
4. Did you feel ready for the race? yes absolutley
Swim
1. Where did you start? Front right
2. Did this work for you? Worked out really well let the first 10 people take off then started
3. How did you feel? Felt really good
4. Any problems? None really
5. Positives? well my whole swim haha:)
6. How was your sighting ie. were you all over the place? Pretty good tagged feet the whole way
7. Did you get smacked? Yup around the far bouys just swam closed fisted haha.
8. Were you drafting efficiently? Ya whole way in awesome.
9. What was your time? 1hr and7min
Bike
1. How was your transition from swim to bike? good no problems
2. How was your nutrition strategy? really good
3. How was your hydration? No problems
4. Any mechanicals or flat tires? Nope
5. How were the climbs? Just listened to sean and sat down instead of power up hills
6. Any problems?nN probably could have pushed harder on the hills but had a good race
7. Positives? The whole thing
8. Any highs and lows in terms of energy? Nope pretty strong whole way through.
9. Did you know where you were on the course? yup the whole way ;)
Run
1. How was your transition from bike to run? good
2. How was your nutrition? think I was lacking some carbs
3. How was your hydration? it was hard because of the heat but good
4. Any problems? Ya my it forsure
5. Positives ? Ran with a guy who motivated me to a sub 12 all the way from ok falls even with my leg killing
6. Any lows and highs during the run? the whole thing leg was a battle
7. How did you feel finishing? sprinting
8. problems with the race at all in terms of organization and execution done by the race organizers? No was pretty good I heard they had water issues but I had no problems with it:)
9. P.S. thank you guys for all your help was awsome and I look forward to training with you guys in 2013 I think im gonna try to qualify for kona as my goal!!! oh ya haha and my shoe size is 11 and im neutral:)

2011 Oliver Half Ironman Camp Day 2

2011-06-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

2011 Oliver Half Ironman Camp Day 1

2011-06-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

Karine Henrie IMC 2010 Race Report

2010-09-21T07:52:00.001-07:00

IMC 2010
After a year of hard and consistent training with the support of two great coaches (yes, Tara-Lee and Sean), my friends and my family, Ironman Canada is finally here…
On August 29, 2010 I wake up at 4:30am thankful that I actually slept and thinking “Wow, this is the day! This is really happening!” Quick shower, race gear on, try to eat calmly while my friends take pre-race pictures and then off to the start in the dark… While there are large numbers of people everywhere, the darkness makes it a little even more (if that’s possible) surreal. Has this day finally arrived? Am I really about to start Ironman? I stand in line waiting to get ‘body-marked’ and try to use that time to really ‘take it all in’… As the volunteer marks me with my number, she asks me how I’m feeling and how many times I’ve done Ironman. I say: “Well, I’m excited and a little nervous. This is my first Ironman!!” With a beaming smile she says: “You’ll have a great time! Enjoy it! You look really fit, you’ll be fine!” I laugh and thank her for her words of encouragement and for volunteering! In my head, I also think, “Well, if nothing else, at least I look fit” 
Ready to enter transition, I hug my friends once last time and go in! I check on my transition bags, add water bottles to my bike, get the tires pumped, and then start getting my wet suit on! I make my way to the water with two friends and find a fairly open spot close to the front and in the middle. I usually position myself on the outside where there is usually way less people but that was not the case. The sides were crazy packed!! Change of plan then, I guess I’m staying in the middle… The anthem is playing and I’m thankful that I’m not crying in my goggles (sporting event anthems usually trigger tears)! The gun goes and then we all go!
What is the swim like?
People keep on asking me, “Wow, there were almost 3,000 people! What was the swim like?” The swim start was definitely the most anxiety filled moment of the whole race for me. I had to fight the strongest claustrophobic feeling I have ever felt. I had to fight the thoughts urging me to get out of the water, to escape this mass of flailing arms and kicking feet and go back to bed! Change your thoughts I tell myself so I start repeating “I’m calm, I’m calm, I’m calm…” and slowly I start feeling calmer. I still feel like I have to escape this group I’m trapped in but in a ‘move forward positive kind of way’. I’m stuck and I’m stuck in the ‘wrong’ group. So, I decide to view the swim as a game of Tetris or Frogger where, while staying calm, I find an opening that I can move forward to. This seems to be working!  I’m probably missing out on the benefits of drafting but at least I’m calm, I’m positive and one buoy at a time, I’m starting to enjoy this lake swim and am getting closer and closer to my first transition!
So, what does the swim start feel like? It feels like being in a capacity filled elevator where all the occupants have to move in a synchronized way… Oh yeah, and the elevator is full of water!
Yes, my arm warmers and my bike!
So, I’m out of the water and feeling pretty good. Volunteers get my wet suit off pretty quickly so I grab my swim to bike transition bag and head into the changing tent. I sit and breathe for a moment while another helpful volunteer gets my stuff out of my bag. I put my socks on, my shoes, my new Ironman arm warmers (hey, I need something fun to look forward to in transition), my helmet, my sunglasses and I’m off to get my bike. As I cycle the first few hundred meters I know that this is the closest I’ll ever feel to competing in the Tour de France! There are a ridiculously large number of people on both sides of the road cheering so loudly! I wonder if that’s how Andy Schleck feels when he’s climbing in the Alpes – I can only hope so!
I keep on cycling pretty excited to be out of the water and on my bike when I notice that my Garmin is not working? Seriously?! I cautiously move to the side, avoiding rushing cyclists and notice that my wheel sensor needs to be adjusted – easy enough! Two seconds and I’m back on my bike! I see my friends on the side of the road jumping in excitement and I wave and smile as I jet by thinking: “Wow, I am doing an Ironman! Crazy!!” I am a bit concerned when I notice how ‘heavy’ my legs feel though. Seriously, I just started! My legs can’t be heavy already?! Perhaps, it’s all the excitement and anxiety of the morning… I switch to an ‘easier’ gear and try to spin out my legs for a bit before I settle into my groove. As I’m wondering if my legs will start to feel better anytime soon, two deer jump out from the ditch looking extremely distraught as they notice the sea of cyclists on the road. We all brake, slow down, and hope that the deer will turn around and not cross the road! Luckily for all us around at that time, they jump back into the field and it seems like we all breathe a sigh of relief – phew! As for me, my heart rate is through the roof but my legs finally seem to be awake. I guess I have the deer to thank for that!
So, from then on until Osoyoos, I feel pretty good and am able to keep a speed of over 30km/h which is making me really happy! I know that the climbs are coming and, call me crazy, but I am kind of looking forward to it (what can I say, I enjoy climbing)!  As I go up and down I try to enjoy the scenery and keep on hydrating and eating. I’m 100km into the cycle portion and this is where I start to feel tired and somewhat hungry. I am getting really anxious to reach the ‘special needs’ station so I can grab my bag and eat some ‘real’ food. I finally get there, get my bag and stand in line for the washroom (there’s nothing like standing in line during a race). I’m there for about 10 minutes but decide that this ‘break’ will be good for me: I have time to eat my half bagel with peanut butter, drink my Ensure (no, it’s not only for old people) and get a few other treats in. So, as much as the next portion of the bike course was extremely winding, extremely cold and extremely wet, the little ‘break’ and food intake made it more bearable and I was able to keep a positive attitude. I also saw my friends during this portion which was also a great morale booster!!
“It’s the last climb! You can do it! Keep it up!” tons of spectators are saying encouragingly! YAY! Here comes the descent into Penticton. Wow, the bike portion is almost done! Is this for real? I try to enjoy this descent as much as possible and try to spin out my legs to get them ready to run! 
Here come the pink socks!
I reach transition, give my bike to a volunteer, grab my bike to run transition bag and enter the changing tent for the second time that day. Another great volunteer empties my bag as I take off my socks and biking shoes. My hands are cold and my feet are wet – not the perfect combination to put on tight compression socks super quickly! As excited as I am to put on my fun pink socks, I’m thinking that this is starting to be harder than the bike leg I just finished. Finally, with my socks on, my running shoes on, running belt and running hat I start running out of transition to another extremely loud crowd of people. I feel so light on my feet, it’s incredible! I settle into my groove and remind myself to keep it smooth and consistent. I hear Tara-Lee in my head saying: “Keep it consistent girl, just keep it consistent.” That’s what I aim to do! At about the 5km mark I see my friends and quickly stop for a hug: I feel so good and so happy, I have to stop and share this moment with them. I wave goodbye as I leave feeling even more energized.
So, my plan for the run was to keep a consistent pace, walk the aid stations so I could hydrate properly and go at it, one 15 minute portion at a time. I had decided to ‘dedicate’ every 15 minute portion of the run to special people in my life (which is what I did and one of the things that probably kept me sane during the run)! At the turnaround point I was still feeling pretty good and was still on track with my plan and still keeping a pace of over 10km/h. While my legs felt pretty good, I did start to ‘feel’ my quads around the 25km mark. I decided to take that as a sign to stay focused and stay ‘smart’. Walking a hill or two might ‘cost’ me a few minutes but just might allow me to keep this euphoric feeling a bit longer. I wanted that feeling to last! So, for the last 15kms or so, I kept a pretty consistent pace, was okay with walking up two hills and tried to enjoy all the encouragement from the crowd. I was feeling so good it was hard for me to believe!
I’m almost there now… I’m approaching the last 2kms and the crowd is so thick, it’s crazy! I go through a corridor of people screaming the most wonderful words of encouragement – I start to ‘tear up’ a bit but I’m also thinking that since I can’t sing or play any instrument this is probably the closest I will ever be to feeling like a rock star – I smile! After that, I’m not thinking about anything but the fact that this crazy wonderful euphoric day is coming to an end and I’m about to be an ‘Ironman’. I tell myself to enjoy it, to remember this moment and cherish it. I come down the finishing chute, give high fives to people I don’t know and then to my friends just before I cross the finish line with my arms up in the air, 12 hours 35 minutes and 35 seconds after the gun went off that morning! I am truly ecstatic!
So, for all of you out there wondering if you can do an Ironman (or any other goal or dream you might have), you can do it! If Ironman has taught me anything it is to believe in the unbelievable…
Karine Henrie, Ironman finisher 
(12:35:35 - 1:14:44; 6:35:56; 4:31:02)

Martin's 2010 IMC Report

2010-09-17T22:03:00.000-07:00

The week started out kinda interesting as Genevieve our sweet little two year old woke up the monday before the race with a cold...needless to say I quickly packed my gear and escaped to Penticton to quarantine myself...and pass the time focusing on all things important, like how I was going to place my race # on my helmet... alas race morning arrived and the day shawn bright and much warmer and less windy that the previous day, a relief to everyone, I met a few training partners at the entrance to the swim and proceeded to the fence line were my parents and sister had arranged to meet me, they where actually up and left ahead of me in the morning to get to there place! I started in the usual place just left of the markers and awaited the start. not super nervous this time around as I knew I just had to stay calm and hold my position in the water, I cant say I remember how the race started was it the cannon this year? well anyways off we all went, I had a great swim focussing on finding feet to swim on and sighting the markers, the swim went by quickly.. 1:09 on my watch! I was very pleased, I made my way quickly threw transition and to the bike, I had the worst parking spot right at the back of the lot in the grass, well at least all the people in my age group where in the same spot!... out I went onto the bike, up main street, feeling pumped but staying in my zones... man it felt way to easy...fast forward out to osoyoos, I had been issued a penalty for talking to the person next to me! and he rode up beside me! crazy, I had a tough time shaking that one, I was really pissed off, the climb up richter went well as I was focussed on riding relatively easy, threw the rollers and into the out and back I was feeling OK but had difficulty putting the calories in, I just didn't feel like eating or drinking, my stomach was kind of queasy, an all to familiar feeling...at the advice of the nutritionist, AKA karen B. I had planed to pull back on my nutrition and drink water if this happened but it was pretty cold in spots (I wasn't that thirsty)...really cold heading up Yellow lake burrrr.. thankfully I had worn a bike jersey arm warmers and brought news paper to stuff down my shirt, don’t you love it when the weather man gets it right!
poor Tara Lee had to stand there in the freezing cold rain and watch us all go by!!!
dropping down into town from yellow lake I could actually feel the temperature change 10 degrees warmer,I had never felt that before.
I made my way thew transition and headed out on the run feeling pretty great really aside from the fact that my feet where still blocks of ice, I had had what I thought was a very conservative bike, probably 20 min slower than I planed... the 50 km gusting wind in spots didn't help....did anyone happen to notice the draft packs!!!!...I digress.
I probably was running easily 8 min mile pace which I thought I could hold easing off to an 830 pace, yeah that didn't work out so well I ended up easing off to about a 10:30 pace ouch! The hamstrings where really tight as where the hips as I came to the turnaround at OK falls, at this point I was just happy to keep moving forward, I was finally able to get going again at about mile 18 as I was able to get food in , I was actually hungry for the first time!! I tried a orange slice at one of the aid stations and wow heaven! I must have eaten a couple of oranges on my way into town, happy to be running into town now at a decent pace, I focused on seeing my family at the finish line. The run down lakeshore was euphoric...the real reason I do Ironman, a flood of emotion came over me, happiness, pride, relief and a great sense of accomplishment... my 14th Ironman...wow. I felt great at the finish line grabbing my transition bag and even jumping the 7 foot fence to see my family! thats the funny and frustrating thing about Iroman, on paper you may be able to do a 10:30 conservatively but race day is a completely different story, it all really just has to come together.
Thanks to CMS coaching I was well prepared, they provided me with the perfect program for me, I did the work and made the sacrifices, in the end I showed up on race day confident relaxed and perfectly tapered, another great Ironman experience! I’m not sure when or where lucky
#15 will be...!

Vancouver Triathlon Ramsey's Race report 4th overall

2010-09-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Sean,

Race report:
Swim
I started in the front line with all the eventual top placers: Mike, Facundo, Nathan. The start of the swim was very shallow with some rocky outcroppings. When the gun went I was running behind mike. He dived in so I figured it was shallow enough to dive in. I immediately hit a flat rock on the bottom, scratched my hands and my feet and came to a dead stop. By the time I got going I saw the leaders about 10m ahead of me. On the first lap I couldn’t really see where I was placed. I could see some guys ahead of my but I didn’t know how many. My sighting was good and I felt like I made some good inroads by having better lines. By the time I came to the first lap turnaround I saw that I was in a 3 man group with Facundo and one other guy. I swam with them the rest of the way on the second lap and we came on the water together. 5th out of the water in 21:35.

T1
The transition went very smoothly. I found my bike easily and got my wetsuit off without trouble. I beat the other two guys out of the transition zone pretty handily.

Bike

Things got off to a poor start as I found that I couldn’t really feel my feet and my right foot was bleeding. I had my new shoes set up with elastics holding them horizontal. The right foot went in fine but I managed to pull the strap on the left shoe right out. It took me a while to get the strap back into the loop and by the time I got going Facundo had caught up to me. We rode together to the base of the prospect point climb. He was getting a little bit ahead of me but I was staying with him. Once we got over the top he accelerated away from me and by the time we got to the bottom of the hill I couldn’t see him. The rest of the ride was reasonably uneventful. Nathan (eventual 2nd place) caught and passed me at brockton point on lap three. I ended up using my powertap because I thought it would be useful to see what kind of power I am putting out in a race. The results are interesting and I have attached the file. My normalized power was 290W, significantly lower than my FTP of 315. I managed to break it down into the 4 laps and I really noticed where I had my lowest output (other than the downhill) was out and back to brockton point. I realized in retrospect that I was not pushing hard enough out of the corners, down the small hills and straighaways. I think I can make a lot of improvement by working at this. Tell me what you think. 9th fastest bike in 1:05:26.

T2
No issues here. Feet out of the pedals on the bike. Running shoes on with a bit of trouble thanks to the numb feet. Grabbed my watch and race belt and was off in 4th position.

Run
I didn’t make the same mistake as Kelowna and go out too hard. I settled into a rhythm of around 6 min/miles. I had a bit of a stomach cramp that went away but otherwise felt reasonably good. In fact, I might have felt too good. I found myself with a long gap to 5th place and thought it was a long gap to 3rd. I managed to convince myself that 3rd place was out of my reach and I should just continue at my current pace and I would run faster than I did in Kelowna. I finished where I had started the run, in 4th place with a run split of 37:09. I gained 23 seconds on Facundo but he still was 1:48 ahead of me. That is a long gap but I don’t think I was optimistic enough to think that I could close it. The run was hard, but I think I could have pushed the envelop a bit more to close the gap. If I got him within my sights then who knows what would have happened. Still the fastest I have ever run over 10km but I think I can do more.

Finishing time: 2:04:09

Lee Parsons IMC 2010 race report

2010-09-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hi Sean,

I was happy with my race. I had a great day and felt positive the entire race. I had some gastric issues on the bike and worked thru them. I got punched/elbowed in the face on the swim and got my goggles pushed into my nose, nice cut and tensed up at the same time and got a bad cramp in my left calf so lost a bit there. The bike was good, nice rain and hail storm, wet and cold from Bears fruit stand to Penticton, lots of wind, felt like I was going up hill when it was flat, temperature drop was a challenge for leg muscles, all in all good. Run was great, slower than I thought, but considering good, hills were a challenge but it sure felt great to get back into Penticton and go down main street. My transitions were longer than I wanted but I needed to regroup after the swim and I had to get my calf muscles to work after the bike, so definitely room there for improvement.

Kait's 2010 Race report

2010-09-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

Ironman Race Report 2010
I woke up on race morning to the chirp of my alarm, having miraculously slept for five hours. Bleary-eyed, I headed for the kitchen and started downing the oatmeal, bananas and water. I was fortunate enough to spend the previous six days in Penticton, and had started to worry that I hadn’t been feeling particularly anxious about the race. In fact, I think I might have been in a (healthy?) state of denial. Not so on race morning; I woke up feeling happy and excited to finally take on the day. After a last check of my morning to do list, I put on a third layer (including toque and mitts – thanks Aud) and packed myself and several bags into our car. Mikkel dropped me off near Main in the dark and I headed towards body marking and transition.
Pre-race prep went relatively smoothly. Though, I managed to flat my tube trying to get the cap off my extended valves (core came loose). I hope everyone said a big thank you to the bike techs volunteering first thing in the morning. They were so helpful and happy to be there. After a quick fix I was back on my way to setting up. Aside from a nervous stomach, I felt ready to race.
I was lucky to run into friends (Bula, Dalts, Gregg, Karine) getting prepped for the swim and we chatted to kill the time. After finally zipping up the wetsuit I headed for the water, and was happy to find it warm compared to the chilly air. I had planned to seed myself in the thick of things, and was surprised to find that I had plenty of empty water around me on all sides (I was about five rows back lined dead straight up the buoy line??). Everyone else had wandered to the very far left and we could see them packed in like penguins in a documentary. I worried for a minute that maybe I was missing something, but decided to stick with my plan. After the anthem (belted out with a new friend), we made a final check of our goggles, hugged, and got ready. Standing in the water, I felt honored to be part of such an amazing event. Remembering how I had felt the year before watching the swim start, I also imagined how excited (and nervous) my family and friends were likely feeling watching the mass of swimmers begin the race.
I remember worrying that I might feel anxious or even the usual “I hate triathlons and would really prefer to quit right now” grouchiness that I encounter during the first few minutes of a swim. Coach Sean had promised I would feel perfectly calm immediately following the canon fire, and I’ll be damned if he wasn’t right. I consider myself to be a pretty “calm” open water swimmer compared to some of the swim panic I hear friends describe. But, the sense of calm that I felt heading out that morning was unreal. Too bad it only lasted for a few minutes! The initial draft was fabulous – the first group pulled me out and it felt more like surfing than swimming. Unfortunately, the group on the left then started merging with us buoy line folks and things began to get sloppy. I got the usual kicks, punches, and jabs. However, I also got a full on neck grab/drowning pull and really panicked when the guy didn’t let go – enough to make me fully right myself and screech (naturally, no one took notice of the girl screaming in the water). I also found myself stuck in a tight V between big flailing male swimmers a couple of times and ended up using my arms to block elbows vs. stroke. In spite of the “violence,” it was a pretty smooth swim. At the mid point I was pretty sure my watch was wrong because I was at about 34 mins following the second turn. I was aiming for a 1:20 swim, 1:15 tops and was on track for 1:10! All in all, I think the downside to my swim involved me using *way* too much kick. I noticed at the 2/3 mark that my hip flexors were a little sore and hoped it was just some light cramping (this would turn out to be more than some minor cramping…). Out of the water, I was ecstatic when I ran over the mat sub 1:10. Swim: 1:09:42.
The day before the race, I had run through the transition area with another super friendly volunteer (and past competitor). In past races, I have also spent a lot of time using visualization to speed along my transitions. I wish I had done more of that for IMC! My transition to the bike was 6:42. I’m amazed I didn’t unwrap a sandwich or something with that much time! Mental note for next year – don’t let the “helpful” volunteers pull you into a seat in the change tent! Just dump your bag and do your thing.
Off and away onto the bike and I’ll admit all I could think was “I’m doing it! I’m really doing it!!” The crowds out of town were amazing. My family and friends (aka, Kaitlyn’s own personal cheering section) got me so excited I nearly took out a pylon early into the race. Heading out Main I felt great and did well until just shortly after the first climb at McLean Creek. My nagging leg (groin? Hip flexor?) began to feel more like a dull ache and progressed into a burning pain at approximately the 45 minute mark. Turning the wheel over in the aero position (even on the flats) was really hurting and I started to worry (soon followed by panic) that I may not even be able to finish the ride let alone the race. So, what should have been the “pleasant” section of the IMC course was a pretty tough grind for me and I’ll admit to feeling a little hopeless. This was interesting, because I hadn’t anticipated feeling that way until the run (my bike has been a strength for me this year). On top of the leg issue, my stomach was cramped for the first two hours. I eventually figured out that my infinite bike formula, though amazing for training days, was not at all amazing for a race. I guess the old cliff shots and water strategy will be the one I stick with from here on out.
Anyhow – I was feeling pretty demoralized coming up to Richter’s. I decided to take a bathroom break in the hopes of resting my leg for a second and improving my cramped stomach. I was in line for five minutes!!! Terrible timing. Anyhow, I got back on the bike and started the climb wishing for a moment that I was somewhere else. Then, thankfully, I started to feel really great. My legs loosened up and I spun smoothly until the top (great crowds!). From there on out, the pain disappeared and my stomach eased up once I ditched the bottled nutrition. Of course, then I had to stop and shop my special needs bag because I didn’t have enough calories on board which cost me some time. And, even though I rarely ever stopped the bike on training rides and teased training partners mercilessly about their small bladders, I had to make another pit stop on the out and back. All in all, I spent about 10 minutes off the bike during the bike – time to make up next year I guess.
Just when I was starting to feel great on the bike, the heavens opened and it hailed so badly I thought my arms were going to be cut open! The headwind leading up to the out and back section had been a challenge, but the 130k – Yellow Lake section was flat out ridiculous. In fact, the weather was so bad (one pro was later quoted as having raced through a monsoon) that I had no choice but to laugh – it was that ridiculous. I found that spinning out the wind was really effective, and I made up some ground compared to the big guys trying to grind it out. Finally, the climb up to Yellow Lake was upon us. On our training ride, I remembered thinking “this isn’t nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be.” Unfortunately for me, on race day it really did feel that bad. It was a very slow climb, but the crowds were absolutely stellar all the way up and it was impossible to stay grouchy with so many happy and supportive people (also freezing to death) on the roadside. FINALLY the descent!! It was a very chilly ride back into down, but frankly I was so relieved to have survived given the early challenges. I had hoped for a bike time for closer to 6 hours before the race, and had been willing to settle for just finishing, so my time of 6:25:54 was good enough for me.
Into T2, I ran into the same wasted time problem in the tent (6:15). Who’s idea was it to have “options” in my transition bag anyhow? (mine, obviously). I opted not to change and have no idea what on earth I was doing for that entire time, but I am going to blame it on being numb everywhere following the Kamikaze ride back into town. Finally, I was forced to confront a thought that I had been banishing from my mind throughout the day: How on earth am I going to run a marathon now?
The race course setup is a bit strange, but the crowds for the first few KM really get you pumped for the run course. I saw family and friends who re-energized me. I was also pretty excited to have a different liquid calorie source and it was tasting delicious (this would also turn out to be a problem though). I found my single-gear post ride race trot-like pace and off I ran out of town. I had a few difficulties during the run. First, I was ingesting too many calories – I started experiencing the same stomach cramping as I had on the bike. Unfortunately, it took me until the three-hour mark to have the good sense to ditch my bottle and switch to water and gels only. Your brain really does go to mush at Ironman! I felt really good until around the 19k mark, and then started to wonder when the day would be over. When I hit the special needs and turn around, I was SO happy to have packed some licorice and snack mix – anything but the damned poisonous liquid nutrition! Of course, with my brain still in a non-functional gear, I downed 350 calories of licorice in a 45-minute period and surprise, surprise, my stomach cramped again. Two pit stops on the second half helped me feel better, and didn’t add too much time to my marathon. Once I realized my mistake, I threw away all my nutrition and started going from aid station to aid station just using water and a tiny bit of soup and Gatorade. Finally, I started to feel a little better. Running is my weakest discipline, and definitely my least favorite of the day. My race pictures certainly reflect this (very grouchy looking). Throughout the day in spite of the ups and downs I had really enjoyed interacting with the crowds, spotting friends, and cheering on other competitors. During the run, I’m apologizing to all those who said hi or had to call my name five times to get my attention. My “survival zone” lasted from about 22k – 38k and included me counting to approximately 19,000. Yes, call me crazy, but counting my steps really helps me to zone out and keep a high cadence when all I want to do is sit down. I saw a lot of walkers on the course, and even though I felt like it at a few points, I was happy to be able to “run” the entire course. I jogged the aid stations and only stopped on two occasions to walk to and from the bathrooms (boy did it hurt to start running again!!). A big thank you to Coach Tara Lee who gave me the advice – just keep running and maintain a consistent cadence. It really did help, even though it meant I couldn’t stop and visit with too many people on the course. After what felt like running up and down hills forever, we finally made the turn back into town. After a fabulous cheering on from the coaches at around the 4k mark, I felt re-energized. I had realized at the turn around that I was on track for a sub-13 hour day and when we hit the CherryLane Mall, I was thrilled. The run down to the lake was blessedly speedy, and soon we had only the out and back left to conquer. I can’ t tell you how long those last two km feel once you’ve been 50 metres from the finish line. Even though everyone is cheering you on like crazy, I was so tired I actually didn’t want to run any harder (another thing that I found surprising). Who would have expected apathy during the most exciting part of the day? Instead of “oh my god I’m about to be an ironman” all I could think was “how many more of these frigging orange cones can there possibly be?”
Arriving down the finish chute, all the negative thoughts and challenging moments of the day were washed away. It was daylight, it was 12-something on the clock, and I didn’t have a glow stick. My wildest dreams were about to come true. Four years ago, I wouldn’t exactly have called myself a couch potato, but I didn’t believe I could run around the block, let alone 5k. When I crossed the finish line, I couldn’t have been more proud. I let the catchers help me into the arms of my beaming husband and family, and celebrated an amazing year. I couldn’t have completed this amazing journey without the patience and constant support of my wonderful husband. I also owe a lot to my amazing coaches who helped plan a schedule and program that really worked for me. To all my friends and family, thank you SO much for being there in person and in other ways to share in this special day.

Troy Dalton IMC 2010

2010-09-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

Well what a day!! Here we go (lots pictures and video at the end of the post):

3:30 am The alarm is set for 4:30am but I am awake…..4:45am Get out of bed, eat, drink, shoot the before video….5:15am Drive to the start, get marked, drop off special needs bags, pump bike tires, relax ….6:15am Put on HR monitor, wetsuit….6:30am Warm up swim, then stay warm….6:45am Watch the pro’s start, fight the nerves…..7:00am START the race with 3000 other swimmers

SWIM: The start of these races is always exciting–adreneline is pumping and it is important to stay calm and focused. Jon started the race on the left side of the group which is the most direct line on the first length and is busier than the right side which is where I started (and our friend Greg). All of us got kicked and hacked for most of the first 1600m when things start to spread out a bit after the first turn. I drafted a massive guy the whole first leg and he cut a path through everyone for us. After the first turn it is 450m to the next one and 1800m home where I drafted another swimmer the whole way. As you see the two towers of the hotel get closer you realize the swim is almost done and it feels good! Swim Time: Jon 1:06 Troy 1:16 Greg 1:13.

BIKE: After a fast transition (Jon) and slow transition (Troy–I ran into a guy I used to play UBC Hockey with!!) we took off on the 180km bike course. Basically Penticton to Oliver to Osoyoos, to Keremeos and back. Jon is a really strong rider and took off hard passing tons of people, Greg and I started more conservatively wanting to manage our bike to have lots in the tank for the run. The bike this year was one of the hardest on record at the Ironman as we experienced a huge headwind after turning at Keremeos. This combined with rain and hail made for a cold end to the ride. I figure the head wind added half an hour to our bike times. It is important to eat and drink properly along the ride–we all had individual plans for this and stuck to them. At the 120km mark you get a special needs bag which can have what ever you want in it. Mine had oranges, chips, water bottle with Boost, and a peanut butter and a jam sandwhich that I did not touch. From here there is another climb up Yellow Lake and then a decent into Penticton. It is hard to describe to someone the number of people on the bike course cheering you on–it is unbelievable. People screaming and yelling for you everywhere. You also where a race number with your name on it so lots of people call you by your name. It means alot when you are tired to have someone call out to you and urge you on. Bike Times: Jon 5:37 Troy 6:34 Greg 6:36

RUN: The run absolutely destroys some people–a marathon 42km! The key is to manage your bike, nutrition, and hydration properly so you have enough in the tank. After arriving downtown on your bike to a massive crowd you head out on the run; again through the crowd. It takes you to the very end of Skaha Lake (OK Falls) and back. My favorite discipline is the run and I always look forward to it–both Jon and I have the ability to get off the bike and hammer the run. Once you get through town there are less people lining the route and you start to see the really fast people running back–some of them in control and some with pain etched on their faces. About two-thirds of the way to the turn around I saw Jon running back–he passed me some Cliff Shots and looked really strong. At times in later parts of the run it is a mental battle to not stop–I repeated many times: just keep your feet moving. The aid stations are set up every 2km or so and I would mix water, gatorate and coke in with power gels and sponges to keep cool. You really feel like a pro when you pass through one–just yell out what you want and they have it for you. My goal was to not stop running once–some people walk the aid stations–and I achieved this. Near the 35km mark is a long slow incline that sets you up for the big crowds to take you down Main Street to the finish. It is a tough part–your pace drops and HR rises but knowing that once you got through this the end was near definitely motivates you. Once I got past that I knew the corner that all our friends and family would be at just before the finish–I was excited to see them all. As I ran past they were screaming so loud–awesome!!! It is a quick out and back to finish–I got some advice from a 10x Ironman finisher he said: fix your gear, look straight ahead, smile, put your arms up and break the tape. Don`t mess it up you only have once shot!! Run Times: Troy 3:46 Jon 3:48 Greg 4:42

Overall Times Jon 10:41 Troy 11:51 Greg 12:45 Official Results at: Ironman Canada

Ray Miller IMC 2010

2010-09-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

Ironman Canada 2010
Ray Miller - Race Report

The morning was calm, I had all my stuff together, and a nice person carted my gear to the start for me. A little panic for my friends for forgetting some stuff.

Starting with the swim I went in with a 1:30 expectation, and with no plans to push I started at the back, starting with a large pack. We swam together (more or less) all the way, the buoys came quick, and I just counted the numbers on each one. There was only a little bumping and grinding, following the inside track all the way back to the Peach. I was out of the water as they were calling 1:31 very happy with my time.

The bike started well, my plan was to watch my heart rate, take a sip of calories every 10 minutes, and a electrolyte tab every 30 minutes. Plan went perfect, I had a spin up all of the big hills, 12 minutes up McLean Creek, then Stayed on the big ring with a tailwind all the way to Osoyoos passing slower riders the whole way. I slowed briefly in Oliver to wave at the cheering squad in front of our campsite then picked up the pace again.

In Osoyoos I turned to go over Richter pass, and just took it easy all the way to the top. It took me about 28 minutes from the base of the climb, but I am only guessing cause there were so many people cheering all the was up I really can't be sure. After that there were the "Seven Bitches" as they are called, or the seven rollers that can sap all your strength on that part of the ride. Again nothing fancy, easy spin to the top of each one, then a quick decent to the bottom of the next one. All went to plan out to Karemeos and the out and back. By then I was thinking about my Special needs bag at 121km, I wanted some more Chamois butter, it was worth the wait, but I won't fill you in on the details. Out and back was not too hard, koodos to the yahoos on the side of the road wearing clam shell bikinis, they brought a smile to my face. Then back to Keremeos into a 30km headwind to the base of yellow lake. This was the only part of the bike that I felt like I was suffering at all. They actually block a whole lane of traffic for yellow lake which is really nice. As a climb it took me 17 or 18 minutes then stopped and said hi to my friends volunteering at the top. And back to transition with a nice decent into Penticton. On the way on to Main Street about 10 minutes from the end of the ride I switched to run nutrition, had a Gel and a salt tab an started spinning in an easer gear. I finished the rode with a respectable time of 6:16 which is on pace for my practice rides. Very happy with that performance.

Now I had a plan for the run, hold my pace and don't do anything fancy, alternating a Gel and Endurolite every 15 minutes. After walking the Osoyoos Half Iron I planned for a sub 5 hour marathon, I wanted to stay strong for the run and I figured that would give me room to make that happen. I started easy pace and did 10 run walk 1 to keep my pace easy. The plan worked well, I felt good for the whole run, and at 18 miles with 8 to go I picked up the pace. I pushed hard and enjoyed myself holding mid 5 min/km for pacing for the last bit of Skaha Lake and low 5s for the last 3 miles. I visualized Craig Alexander last year at the end of Kona, or Jasper Blake at IMC in 2006, easy stride comfortable cadence. With the kick in the run I managed to pull in a negative split by 2 minutes. I finished the run in 4:33 averaging 10.23 minutes per mile passing people right up to end.

Overall time 12:33:58 which is about an hour faster than I told everyone.

As I write this I feel fully recovered and have since signed up for the Victoria Marathon on 10/10/10, sucker for punishment indeed.

BOO YEAH!
Plan to do this again in 2012...

Bruce Mackenzy 2010 video

2010-09-17T12:22:00.000-07:00

Jon Bula IMC

2010-09-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

Guys

Thanks for the coaching these past few months. I feel like I had a really successful race. Tara the pre race meeting was great. You pushed me to go faster than I had planned and it paid off. Great advice for the swim and the bike (attacking the rollers was awesome).

IM 2008: Swim – 1:22:49, Bike – 5:49:49, Run – 4:17:59

IM 2010 Swim – 1:06:56, Bike – 5:37:50, Run – 3:48:07

Too bad the conditions were the shits as I really think I could have posted a crazy low bike time. By the way I forgot my heart rate monitor so I had to race ‘by feel’. I was pretty rattled for a while in the morning but then I just pushed it out of my head and told myself that people used to race all the time without monitors so don’t be a pussy.

The decent down from Yellow Lake was some of the scariest shit I’ve ever done on a road bike. I started to have some minor mechanical issues (due to the excessive amount of water I’m sure) and I saw three racers go down on corners. At one point I swore at the sky at the top of my lungs saying “Bring it on M….F….,” crazy stuff.

My quads have been really sore (better today) and I’m wondering if either of you experience this after an IM. My quads were getting really sore during the run and I’m wondering if that was because of something I missed in training, hydration, electrolyte balance, or just me. The same thing happened in 2008, but never in a half IM. I felt like I had the energy to run faster, but it was too painful. I was holding 8 min/mile pace for the first 15 miles or so, but then my quads were killing me every step and my pace suffered.

I will have a few new referrals for you guys for next season so at some point we need to talk a little business. My plan for the next year is to race my mountain bike in Portugal at the end of April (1200km in 12 days/stages) and then tackle a few Olympic tri’s and half IM and really try and get fast (love speed).

allison's race report

2010-09-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

Subaru Ironman Canada 2010

August 29th 2010

Time: 11:45:12
Place: 22/77 in W25-29, 741 Overall

Swim: 1:04 (1:42/100m)
Bike: 6:17 (17.8m/hour)
Run: 4:13:15 (9:40/mile)

The morning of the race, was fairly clear, slightly chilly at about 9 degrees as it had been all week. Not the sweltering heat I had been expecting for sure. Breakfast was a bowl of oatmeal and a banana and coffee. We were at the transition just after 5am, although most of my gear and bike had been dropped the day before. I got body marked, checked my bike and transition bags, and went for a quick 10min run and bathroom break in Starbucks. Next, time to get the wetsuit on and swim warm up already – I was sure to get in pretty early around 6:25am! By now the sun was coming up, although the temperatures remained low. As the clock ticked down towards 7am, I had some nervous butterflies that I tried to ignore and just made my way towards the front and centre of the swim, trying to forget that there were 2700 people surrounding me, mostly behind. Soon the bagpipes sent the pro’s on their way, then after an O Canada, it was 3-2-1 go announced by Steve King.

As soon as I started swimming I realized this was going to be like no other swim I had done before, sort of like swimming in a crowded bathtub. With the strategy to go out hard and try to get on the feet, that’s exactly what I did, although I don’t know if I could have avoided being on someone’s feet anyhow with the sheer number of people everywhere! I was kicked, punched, rammed into numerous times, and as I always seem to do when I’m swimming I lost track of time. I tried to count the buoys for a bit, but of course lost count. Eventually I realized I was really sweating inside my wetsuit, which I took as a good sign that I must be swimming hard, because I don’t normally notice that. Finally we got to the houseboat that marked the first turn By this point I was swallowing lots of water too. I did notice it was mostly yellow caps around me (ie. Men,) which I took to be a positive sign. Turning the last houseboat the sun was super bright right into our eyes, making it very difficult to tell what sort of progress I was making towards the swim exit. My only complaint about the course was the big gap between the last marker and the shore that made it very difficult to see if you were swimming in the correct direction. At last I could see the bottom of the lake and knew soon it was time to stand up – and out at last.

My transition was not stellar –at this point I had no idea what my swim time was, but hoped it was a good as I felt. I threw on my ‘gardening gloves’, and arm warmers and hopped on the bike. I thought I paced myself fairly well – taking it pretty chill along MacLean Creek and along the flats to Oosyos. Big packs of people came by providing me with little spurts of draft. The sun was out fully by this time and I tossed the gloves at an aid station. I took care to eat/drink, as was the plan. I was getting really toasty heading up Richter Pass, which I did in a moderate 35min. Then down the hill and through the rollers, I was feeling good even coming into Keremoes – although that’s when the winds come whirling through and seemed to zap and suck my energy. I was happy to turn on to the out and back and the winds calmed slightly on this section. I saw Susie and Shannon here, and got my fresh Cytomax/Carbopro bottle at the Special needs. I took a quick outhouse stop – and getting back on my bike this is where I never seemed to get my groove back. The winds really picked up so they were gusting and pushing against me in a way I hadn’t experienced at this section of the course on previous rides heading up to Yellow Lake. The temperature had dramatically dropped – later I found out to 10 degrees and then the skies opened and drenched us with an icy cold rain to top it all off. Here I was passed by Jen Howitt and Lindsay Byers, and I think I half heartedly tried to stay with them, but soon they were gone ahead of me. I had been so so looking forward to the energy of Yellow Lake, but I was so water logged and cold by the time I got there, all I could think was when is this bike going to be over and how am I ever going to do a marathon after this. Definitely, one of my lowest points of the day. In all the cold, I had forgotten to drink – of course I had kept eating, but not drinking would come back to haunt me a bit later. Seeing Mom, Dad, Kate, and Ramsey (and the Beavers) with signs in Yellow Lake was great. After a cold descent into Penticton, and a long trip up Main Street finally I arrived in at the transition. Yippy!

So another not too speedy transition and I was off on the run. The sun was back out and the crowds were great. I heard lots of comments about my smile, my comfortable pace, and how great I looked….yeah, yeah I was thinking. Out past Skaha, along the lake towards OK falls I headed – passed a few, was passed by a few and was honestly feeling pretty darn good until about 9miles at McClean Creek road where we hit the first real hill. I think it wasn’t long from there that every muscle in my lower legs started cramping – quads, hamstrings, calves, and I knew I was in a bit of trouble. I walked along for a bit at this point – feeling a bit low, wondering if I was going to have a long, long walk home? So half running/stumbling/limping/falling into OK falls I arrived to a group of cheering NSTCers and my parents. I did not look happy I’m sure, and I hope I didn’t give them too many bad looks, but I was really struggling here. I didn’t care anymore about my time – I was not enjoying the pain! I walked/ran out of OK falls and slowly the running started to be more than the walking until I was running aid station to aid station with just short walks in between. I may have ‘drafted’ a bit behind some taller/bigger men because again the winds really started to pick up and were gusting! Slowly, slowly I checked off the miles and really by mile 19, I was feeling ‘good’ if you can say that again. Coming into Skaha, a man chatted with me confident that we would be under 12 hours. I was feeling a bit more positive about myself and the whole experience. I knew I was going to make it now at least! Ramsey met me about 4 miles out on his bike, he cheered me in – and hopefully I didn’t give him too many evil looks (sorry, Honey!). Inching closer and closer I kept imagining what the finish line was going to feel like. Counting down the aid stations. No more walking. As I turned onto Lakeshore I saw my family on the corner and Mom let out a ‘Whoop, whoop!’ with her arm in the air. I felt like a rock star making my way along that blvd. My legs propelling me as smoothly and gracefully (right!) as I could towards the finish. A big grin on my face, I tried to soak in the atmosphere of that moment. I recall hearing something about physiotherapist… first ironman… pumping music and I hit the banner filled with exhilaration!

IM Canada 2010 Race Reports

2010-09-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

Well another IMC and this year was full of weather surprises. Leading up to IMC had been hot and dry..............race day was cold and wet so many people had issues with the cold. Congrats to all finishers:

Dave Willms

OK here is my race report for IMC 2010.

This was my first ironman. I signed up last year in a moment of inspiration having never done a triathlon or marathon or really any kind of competitive endurance race. I did a couple of half irons during the year that gave me a bit of confidence for the IMC.

The swim was crazy with all the people. I didn't get punched in the face or anything but there was a lot of contact. I did a lot more drafting than I had previously and barely sighted at all. I lucked out and followed people who were going in a straight line. I was starving by the end of it so I think I would have a bigger breakfast next time. I ended up with about perfectly double my half iron times. I guess I just have one speed in the water. Too bad it's not super fast.

The bike was pretty rough. I got a flat right away and I think my tire was just slightly low for the rest of the ride. Looking at it after you can see a big hole in it so I'm amazed that it lasted through the rest of the race. Richter pass was no problem and maybe my favorite part of the ride. On the out and back I got stung by a bee who left it's stinger in my knee which was really annoying for about 20 k. There was a little bit of rain and a ridiculous headwind on the flats before yellow lake. I was barely making 19km/hr on the flats. The hill was actually a relief because the wind was less of an issue. I also had to make a few digestive pit stops after the out and back. I definitely should not have eaten a giant cheese cake the night before! it just looked so delicious. A lot of small things added up and became frustrating and my bike time was almost an hour slower that I was gunning for.

The run was what I was most worried about. Coming out of transition was a pretty emotional moment, facing down the prospect of my first marathon. It turned out pretty good though. The weather improved and I just ran it steady. I walked just a few steps each aid station in order to drink smoothly. My stomach was still complaining a bit at the beginning but I started to feel better after about 10 k. My wife Megan and her parents and my parents and a bunch of our friends came out and watched. They made shirts and rude signs a had a great time drinking wine and yelling. Seeing them at the run turnaround was pretty encouraging. Overall my run was about half an hour faster than what I thought I'd do it in. I felt like I was taking it easy for the first half and the last 5 miles or so felt like they were getting steadily harder.

swim 1:14:34, bike 6:38:36, run 4:03:42, total 12:13:14
transitions were about 8 minutes each.

I would have liked to get it done under 12 hours but overall this was a great experience. A challenge met.

-Dave

2010 Winter Olympics

2010-02-28T06:26:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a while since I posted, but here are some pictures from the mens and womens sprint team nordic finals. It was wicked to see Canada doing so well in the nordic events especially the men. They have never really been anywhere near the top, but this olympics we had 4 guys who were super strong. Well done Canada. If you click on gallery on our website you will see a link to Olympics pictures.

Ironman Canada Race Reports

2009-09-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

stefan on sweet bike and bad drafter on his wheel
picture of Cara at finish

Year after year people enjoy reading the reports from those racing IMC this year. Some have great races and learn a lot, while others have very tough races and learn even more. The first report is Wynne Griffith's

Wynn's Race Report.

This was my fourth Ironman and the first one I was able to get up to the race early. I'm not sure that works for me. Too much time on my hands. Like we don't obsess about Ironman enough. Thankfully I was alone most of the time so could not drive my gf crazy.

Does anybody like the swim? I felt good going into the swim and I was able to panic less than in the past. Nothing worse than that panic feeling when you are among 2500+ fellow swimmers. I completed at about 1:07 which is close to my previous best of 1:05:30.

Was that ride to Osoyoos ever fast? (37km/h) I was more or less alone just outside of Oliver when this huge peloton of 50+ riders goes by. I have never seen anything like it in any triathlon. I hate to say it but I joined the masses. I just jumped on the back, started eating and coasted into Osoyoos. I had no problems going up Richter but had to stop for a bathroom break. I'm not above going on the bike but the downhill requires concentration and with that huge group, I was not going to be alone. My fellow bikers appreciated it even if they did not know it.

I was doing fine through the rollers but started to notice a lot of people passing me coming out of the out and back. That wind was tough. It hides the fact it is hot and it takes all your energy.

I got back into town at about 5:40 which was 10 minutes better than my previous IMC bike time.

I tried hard to run slow at the begining. I really thought I was running slow and I did pound out the first 5 miles at about 8 min/mile. Once again, I was ambitious. My legs were not going to cooperate. My quads were exhausted from the ride. The I hate Ironman and I am never doing this again came about 18 miles when I was a steady mix of run/walk. This was great compared to my previous races. Luckily we can block out that part of the race which allows us to sign up for it again.

I finished the marathon in 4:21 which was 24 minutes better than my previous IM best. My total time was 11:15. I took 47 minutes off my previous best from 4 years ago and this year was much tougher and of course, I'm not younger either.

I can't think of anything I could have done differently. I trained well, I ate and drank well and did not kill myself on the bike. I had lots of salt pills and for the first time, I did not suffer muscle cramps which I have had during or after each previous IM. I didn't fall into a ditch and have to walk backwards for an hour(calf cramps 2005), walk for over an hour straight(2006 Idaho) or fall down with calf cramps stepping up a curb (post race Ironman Arizona 2008). By those standards, it was a great race plus a new pb for me.

Thanks Sean and Tara-Lee,

Wynn

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Cara's Report

Thanks! Best day of my life, had fun the whole way (well almost....). Swim was pretty good, lots of jostling around the bouys, definitely couldn't be timid out there. But had lots of bubbles to follow and some "calm" sections.

Definitely the first 60 km of the bike felt easy and smooth. I dropped my salt tablets on main on the way out, which was a bit concerning because I had a left calf cramp and it was still twitchy. But came across my friend kim near the top of richters who had an exta baggie of salt for me which got me to the special needs. Coming down richters was soooooo much fun!

I was a bit concerned that I gave 'er too hard up over yellow lake, buit I got so caought up by the crowd, it was unreal. The home stretch to main was a push because of the head wind.

When I got off the bike I thought I was in trouble as I couldn't fathom running that far, but after the first couple of km I was fine and like I said just kept putting one foot in front of the other. Ran the whole time with a bit of walking through some of the aid stations. At about the 18 km mark stopped for a pee break, and thought the porta potty was falling backwards! Realized it was me and quickly got a gel into me! Coming down main was unreal and when I crossed the finish line, couldn't believe that I had been out there for 11 1/2 hours because the day went by so fast. And I had so many family and friends out there cheering me on!

Today and yesterday my quads are pretty pooched and sore. More tired today then yesterday. Went for a spin and soak in the lake today which was good.

Thanks so much for all your help, tips and advice. Wouldn't have been as successful without you guys.

If I get any good pics I'll send them to you.

Cara

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IMC 2009 Race Report Karen Birkenhead

I had a PB at IMC 2009. Despite the nagging injury (bothers me mostly on the run), I ended up having a good race. When I heard Steve King would be announcing, I had a good feeling. I’ve wanted to race IMC with Steve announcing since I first did IMC and was happy to hear he was back at the finish line.

My swim started as per usual. Me standing waist deep in the water waiting for the start, teeth chattering out of control. I get a little nervous. But, once the gun goes off, I get into the usual rhythm. As in past years, my goal is to aim for the bouys and stick to the inside. Each orange bouy has a number and I count down. # 1, 22 left to go (there are 23 bouys - I think, but I may miss the last one, eager to get to shore – did I mention I love swimming?). Swimming close to the bouys results in a few more kicks and punches, but it does make for the shortest distance. In the end, I touched or practically swam right under the bouys as I went. However, I did get knocked/punched in the head at least 4 or 5 times. As a result I came out with a massive headache…but a PB by almost 4 minutes (1:10:10).

Onto the bike. I’m strongest on the bike, so am always happy to get out there. Unfortunately, the headache got progressively worse as I went. And, to top it all off (note to self: need new race top) I successfully caught both a wasp and a grasshopper in my tri top. The grass hopper was fine, but the wasp stung me (you can imagine where) and I had to stop and get the damn thing out, forgetting that they can only sting once. Overall, despite the wasp and the headache, the bike went well. The frustrating part being the massive pelaton’s I got stuck in on the way out to Osoyoos. At one point I said, screw it, and pulled out to the left, pushed passed the mass, then settled into a pace, but then, lo and behold, the mass caught up and was in it again. I gave up and waited until Richter where I pulled loose (I don’t mind the hills) and broke away.

Richter Pass and the rollers went remarkeably fast. I look forward to Yellow Lake (not for the climb, as I do not enjoy the ride at this point), but to the crowds and, especially, my family and friends. My dad wore his bright blue Hawaiin shirt (my request) so they were easy to spot. Thanks to all of you out there, as the cheers totally help get me over Yellow Lake. I debated telling my family how I was feeling (ie: the massive headache), but I changed my mind. In IMW I was always smiling, but also had a booming headache, which turned out to be a very, very bad sign. If I’d mentioned this to my mom as I passed on the bike, she would have called medical ordering them to pull 2424 from the course. I finished the bike with a PB of 5:38:08 (not by much, as my first IMC was approx 40 sec slower)

As I went out on the run, I said to myself if the headache gets worse, I might have to deal with it and go to medical. I’m cautious of any sign and symptoms, but it did settle down with lots of water and ice on the head and neck. I settled into a slowish pace, but was happy to be able to keep it going as, typically, I have major gut issues that slow the pace. Usually I take gels on the run, but since my gut was not bugging me (hadn’t had any so far), I wasn’t going to chance it and stuck to Gatorade. Thankfully this worked and, though, it wasn’t by much, I PB’d the run too, by about 90 seconds (4:01:58).

I missed a KONA spot by about 5 minutes, but hey, there is always next time…oh, what am I saying. This was my last Ironman… ;-) . Ok, for a while…

Overall a good day. My goal was to finish under 11 hours and although it was not by much, I did it in 10:56: 43. 8th in my age group.

Thanks to everyone for all the cheers and support, it wouldn’t be the same without you. To my sister who is always there at all my races and my number one fan. To Deb, my chauffeur (my turn next time) and all her cheering, coffee making and friendship. to my parents (thanks for being there and for the chalk on the road! And for wearing the bright blue shirt, I couldn’t miss you…) And, to Sean and Tara Lee, thanks for the coaching and all your support. Now, time to rest.
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Jeff Vanderende race report

My race went well, I'm quite happy with my time especially when i take into consideration all that went right and wrong.

First the swim. I placed myself beside Karen at the start, so i could wish her luck as we headed out and because i figured that after a couple of Half Iron starts i had worked out any phobia of crowds. It payed off, i stayed calm and saved myself that extra distance of swimming from the side, giving me a swim 6 minutes faster than i had hoped for. That being said there were a few downsides to that crowd of people, namely being punched and kicked several times in the head and goggles. One hit early on clocked me in the jaw on the left side and made it very hard to chew anything until the start of Yellow Lake.

Swim to bike transition was a bit slow....it didn't occur to me to use a volunteer for my baggage.

The bike was went well for the bulk of the course, i let the crowd do as they pleased and tried to keep my heartrate at a -20 lbp before Rickter, a little higher after and run with the down hill after Yellow. A couple of things hampered my speed though; my left leg I.T. band would flare a bit on the big hills(for lack of a better description), my feet began to numb near the end of Yellow and beyond (until i got into my runners), and halfway up Yellow i had a hell of a flat tire. A huge gash in my tire, a lack of a good insertable patch, poor connection of CO2 to stem left me on the side of the road for almost twenty minutes with no more supplies until a spectating cyclist offered one of her tubes, CO2s and a piece of plastic milk carton which got me back in the game.

My second transition was quicker but still not stellar.

Out on the run now i tried to calm down my heartrate to at least -10 lbp which took a bit of time, but ice under the hat and drenching myself in water seemed to help it come around before Cherry Lane. After that i was holding a good pace, taking in what foods my stomach could handle which turned out to be pepsi, oranges, a gel here or there followed by enough water to satisfy but never make me feel sloshy. At the same time i continued with the ice in the hat as supplies allowed and water showers. But most importantly i took electrolyte tablets. My prerace estimates of how many of these i would need turned out to be short. I had filled my race belt pouch with more than i thought I'd use in the event of dropping or spoiling, but when i started to cramp up at about 5 km before the turn around the thought began to occur that i might be failing. So shortly after the half mark i up the dose from one every water station to two every station and began to see results, my pace returned and while i walked up hills to keep my heart rate low i no longer had the desire to walk in the flat. But doubling that dosage soon depleted my stores and at 30km i was empty and 35km saw the return of the cramps (i tried to use gatorade but it just doesn't seem potent enough for me). With the worst of the hills behind me and the end less than 10km away i ran the end on plain determination, grinding my teeth with each spasms and for the first time looking at what my time would be if i help it together. I knew i had the energy and was sound enough of mind to manage the pain so i went for it.

I crossed the line, stayed standing, drank plenty of liquids, ate some fruit and broth, then collected my bike. Despite some super sore and stiff calves for the last few day, and a weird appetite, I've been fine. I'm quite certain I'll do this again in the near future, just no this coming year, gotta pay the bills and make up for all the time lost to training, but I'll be able to take all I've learnt and use it to improve upon my next race.

I'll get some pics to you soon.

Jeff
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Stefan Jakobsen's question and answer on his race to second place age group position:

1. Was this your first Ironman? What inspired you to sign up for the 2009 Ironman Canada? I like to tell myself that this was my first Ironman but the truth is that I did toe the line at this race in 1997. Back then all I knew was to race hard and hang on! This strategy does not work so well in a race of this distance and I knew that one day I had to get this monkey off my back. It just took 12 years and the knowledge that 14 other Nanaimoites were going to toe the line for me to sign up!

2. Did your training go as planned? What event/s (swim, bike, run) did you feel you needed to focus on the most? Training was good. I was most worried about the bike as it does not matter if you can run a good marathon if you get off the bike shattered and unable to run! I felt good getting off the bike and this was important. I think I was lacking some run miles due to missing 8 weeks of running due to an injury but was overall very happy with how smooth the day went. This is not to say that there was no suffering of course :-)

3. You had a lot of time to think out there... what went through your mind? It is funny, because I think of very little when I am racing outside of racing! Meaning, checking in with my body and taking splits and thinking about fueling etc. Outside of that it was a nice mental refresh every time I saw one of our great friends out on the course cheering us on. That totally made my day and it really helped in getting to that darn finish line!

4. Recovery: what's the plan? I am really looking forward to some down time! Time to spend with Ceri, time to get back in the garden, time to hook up with friends and do the little things that I have been putting on the back burner for the last few months. I am for sure taking a week fully off and then I want to get moving. I probably won't run for two weeks but after a week I will get back on my bike for some fun mountain bike rides, will do a few cyclocross races and get back to some core and pilates with Ceri. Definitely nothing structured for a few months!

5. One piece of advise for the first timer? You need a plan! I had a coaching friend (Sean Clark from Canwi coaching) help me with my training/race nutrition etc., and it really helps to have someone to bounce that information off of. Like anything, we are all novice until we do something for the first time. I had never finished an ironman as I too was a novice even though I had a good idea of what needed to be done. Having a plan just helps solidify the fact you are doing the right thing. But remember, be flexible in racing and training. Plans are only a guide and some times you have to adjust on the fly depending on how you are feeling!
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Jay Inouye
Ironman ‘09 race report.

Ironman Canada 1989 was my first stab at an Ironman so this year marked 20 years since I started this distance.
I usually feel pretty good during the swim without the stress and drama that I felt in the 80s. Now as a vet I’m usually goofy and like to scream at random to break the tension. I lined up with Erin McIlroy, Calla Barras and Harry Woo. It was kinda rough to start and we got separated almost immediately (I like to think so because some of the people who were trying to swim over got the beats). Too bad that we did get separated because it looks like they had pretty good swim times. The first 2 legs were pretty good, the scrum at the start cost me some time since there were people treading water / breast stroking all over the place. The swim home I was swimming next to someone in a 2XU gold striped suit and we merrily swam back at a good pace on the buoys from the first leg. I hate getting the paddle slap on the water from the kayakers telling me to get back on course. I don’t know what your swim course looked like, but mine looked like a reverse question mark. Anyway out of the water in 1:22 with the detour. I got to my T1 bag to see Erin having a picnic by his bag and we had a laugh as I told him I’d see him on the bike.
On the bike I was mentally prepared for my Polar power meter to give me problems as usual. Anything that comes with a DVD for an instruction manual sounds like trouble.

So off on the bike my favorite part of the race. (Maybe that’s why I spend so much time on the course). In my pre-race meeting, Sean told me to keep my wattage lower so I could ‘run’ later. Tara Lee, knowing my scary tummy troubles from last year told me not to try eating until after McLean Creek road. Since I do everything they ever tell me, I followed my instructions to the letter. Employee number 1147 that’s me!
This years nutrition included mochi a Japanese rice and red bean dessert that looks like a soft river stone about 6cm in diameter and 2 cm thick its got about 300 cal and I’m genetically programmed to eat it. Also on the menu: bananas, caffeinated gels, Gatorade with gatorlytes, water and those new powerbar gel dome things. I think if they came with salt on them they would be perfect.
Anyways Erin came rolling by looking strong and later Darcie Young came by right at Richter summit with her tummy troubles. Last year I thought I needed ‘Depends’ all day like an old man and gained 14 lbs on course since the cornerstone of my refueling was Imodium and salt tabs. (Get the visual)… So I could relate. We rode together for a bit and off she went.
Pat Bocking and Denise Roman drove by about then and told me to move my ass. I told them it was jiggling a lot but I don’t think that’s what they meant.
I tried to stay within my self and was feeling great. By the rollers I was thinking PB but before the out ‘n’ back, a layer of haze was rolling down the valley that reminded me of the camp weekend when I had a pretty bad asthma attack. I lost 10 days of peak training and went on prednisone to get it under control. I was planning on not racing / participating if the smoke came back so I was crushed. I huffed on my puffer like it was a bong and kept on going. By the false flats to Yellow Lake you could taste the smoke and visibility was down to about a km. The Yellow Lake gauntlet of supporters seemed too early (I wasn’t feeling that good) and by the end of the crowd I saw Jenny Andrews who yelled the usual encouragements. I asked her if it was the top yet and she said 4 km more. Booooo! There were tons of people stopped and resting / walking up the last pitch to Yellow Lake and I started to soft pedal since I could feel my lungs closing up shop. More meds! I was going so slow I thought I was doing a track stand. Finally at the top I was fairly angry and wanted to get back to either DNF or get he run going. Since I’m fairly to extremely slow I figured that I might be able to run as long as I kept my heart rate low.

My T2 volunteer was my old race pal Jamie Glennon from the old Superstar tri club of the late 80’s we did our first three Ironman Canada’s together back in the day. He told me to get off my ass and get out there so off I went. I saw Dana (my wife) and Hana (my daughter) and our friends Nancy, Joe, and Cathy and Bridget Luff who looked pretty excited so I couldn’t let them down. Later I found out that they were questioning the wisdom of starting a marathon with an asthma attack. So waddle, waddle, and then it felt like running and might have even looked like running but it sure as hell isn’t running. Behold The Ironman shuffle as performed 8 other times. WTF. By Skaha estates, I saw Stevi Williams smiling her happy ass off heading home and Bill Coons who wasn’t racing started to run with me. He is the moron who got me into this crap back in the day. Now after several Ironmans and Ultramans and a shiny new plastic hip he is pacing me for a bit (nothing illegal mind you). So now I have calf cramps and no lungs, but legs and lungs are over rated. Then I saw Erin still looking like he was enjoying his day and Darcie running home. By the time I hit the special needs and turn around I was getting impatient and didn’t want a PW (personal worst) so I started to enjoy less and work more. Sean told me no long walk breaks (so I took tons of little ones.) Employee 1147. In the end I actually did have fun and had to dig more than usual to finish. I think this year took more mental effort during the run and my total time was only 28 seconds off last year’s. My nutrition was about spot on: no hunger, no bonk, no tummy troubles. And my power meter worked like a champ for the first time in 4 years.

Congratulations to all and thank you all for making it a fun two decades.
I am now 8 Ironman finishes for 9 starts.
Jay

Thunderbear Retires

2009-07-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

I met Torbjorn at Ironman Florida in November last year. I had always read about him as he is sponsored by craft as well as argon 18 both of who loved him as a sponsored athlete. Because I was staying with Tom Evans and the other penticton guys and tom had won the race we had a special table at the awards night. Torborn sat at our table. Then we all went to the nightclub where everyone partied.............one of us maybe too much but that's another story. Anyway Torbjorn and I sat and talked for an hour about craft products the ups and downs. He was so involved in the product I was super impressed. Super awesome guy and one of the few professional triathlets that I would sponsor in a heart beat with CASH! He is and was well worth the money invested in him. I have met so many triathletes that all they cared about was a meal card, but Torbjorn was different.

Unfortunately due to a heart problem he has had to retire prematurely. He will be surely missed by me as well as others. Every single poster on slowtwitch was positive about him which is saying something as usually at least one person hates the athlete being spoken about.

Here is his story:

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/Torbjorn_Sindballe_Q_A_Part_1_895.html

Steve Larsen RIP

2009-05-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

While I had never met Steve, his impact that he left on our sport and the sport of mountain biking was immense. I remember him when he was setting bike course records in triathlons and mt biking. He always seemed like a stand up guy, opinionated which I always respect. He left behind 5 kids so I really feel for his family more than anything. 39 years old really makes things come into perspective..........scarey. http://triathlon.competitor.com/blogs/steve-larsen-a-study-in-balance.html

Good ole Coconut

2009-05-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

There are many studies out there saying that eating coconut butter (good stuff not processed) which is high in saturated fats is actually good for you and can increase your metabolism and lower bad cholesterol. Here is an article one of many I read:

The Latest Studies on Coconut Oil
By Mary G. Enig, PhD

One of the very useful oils in the food supply comes from the coconut. Coconut oil has suffered from unjust criticism for more than 30 years in the United States because some of the governmental and food oil organizations, as well as consumer activist organizations such as Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), have claimed that coconut oil as a "saturated fat" is shown to be atherogenic. This is not true.

There is a variety of supportive research published in 2003, 2004, and 2005, which shows the importance of coconut oil. Also, information on coconut oil is currently coming into the research literature from numerous countries, including India, Norway, Iran and the United States.

The following are some of the most recent studies showing the benefits of coconut oil. These studies contradict claims that coconut oil contributes to heart disease and also support earlier research showing an antimicrobial role for the fatty acids in this traditional fat.

BENEFICIAL FOR HEART DISEASE
Recent research contradicts claims that coconut oil causes atherosclerosis and heart disease. In a study published in Clinical Biochemistry, 2004,1 researchers looked at coconut oil as a component of diet in laboratory animals (Sprague-Dawley rats). In this study, virgin coconut oil, which was obtained by wet process, had a beneficial effect in lowering total cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids and low density lipoproteins (LDL). The effects were uniformly beneficial. In serum and tissues, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol levels were lowered and HDL-cholesterol was increased. The polyphenol fraction of virgin coconut oil was also found to prevent in vitro LDL-oxidation. We know that oxidized cholesterol can initiate the process of atherosclerosis—the fatty acids in coconut oil prevent this oxidation. The results in this study were interpreted as due to the biologically active polyphenol components present in the oil.

LOWERS LP(A)
Another study dealing with lipoproteins and cholesterol was carried out in women. Researchers found that coconut oil-based diets lowered post-prandial tissue plasminogen activator and lipoprotein (a).2 Lp(a) is a blood marker that is a much more accurate indication of proneness to heart attack than cholesterol levels. Researchers had believed that levels of Lp(a) were unaffected by various forms of dietary fat intake. However, in this study, Lp(a) was lowered when the subjects consumed a high-saturated fat diet and somewhat lowered when they consumed a slightly lowered-saturated fat diet. The saturated fat used in both of these diets was coconut oil. The control diet was based on a monounsaturated oil.

POISON ANTIDOTE
One of the more interesting uses of coconut oil found in the human toxicology literature involves the beneficial use of coconut oil as a successful treatment for acute aluminium phosphide poisoning. This poison is used to control pests in grain storage facilities where it functions as a poisonous gas, namely phosphine gas, which is a mitochondrial poison. There is no known antidote for aluminium phosphide. The patient described in this case study survived following rapid treatment which included taking baking soda and coconut oil, as well as supportive care, and it was concluded that coconut oil had a significant use as an added part of the treatment protocol in this type of poisoning.3

ANTI-MICROBIAL
A few researchers have known for some time that a derivative of coconut oil, lauric acid and monolaurin, are safe antimicrobial agents that can either kill completely or stop the growth of some of the most dangerous viruses and bacteria. Many bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics but herbal oils such as the oils of oregano and the major fatty acid from coconut oil, lauric acid, which the body turns into the monoglyceride, monolaurin, are showing great promise as anti-bacterial and anti-viral agents. Monolaurin, in particular, is being shown to be useful in the prevention and treatment of severe bacterial infections, especially those that are difficult to treat or are antibiotic resistant. Difficult bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus as well as other bacteria have been studied here in the United States in research groups such as Dr. H.G. Preuss’s group at Georgetown University. They found that monolaurin combined with herbal essential oils inhibited pathogenic bacteria both in the petri dish (in vitro) and also in mice (in vivo).4

REFERENCES

Beneficial effects of virgin coconut oil on lipid parameters and in vitro LDL oxidation. K.G.Nevin and T. Rajamohan, Clinical Biochemistry 37,2004;830-835).
A Diet Rich in Coconut Oil Reduces Diurnal Postprandial Variations in Circulating Plasminogen Activator Antigen and Fasting Lipoprotein (a) Compared with a Diet Rich in Unsaturated Fat in Women. H. Muller, A.S. Lindman, A. Blomfeldt, I. Seljeflot and J.I. Pedersen. Journal of Nutrition. 133:3422-3427, 2003.
Successful treatment of acute aluminium phosphide poisoning: possible benefit of coconut oil. S. Shahin, R. Mojgan, P. Abdolkarim, R. Mmohammad-Hosein, A. Mohammad. Human & Experimental Toxicology, 24:215-218, 2005).
Minimum inhibitory concentrations of herbal essential oils and monolaurin for gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Preuss HG, Echard B, Enig M, Brook I, Elliott TB. Molecular Cell Biochemistry, 2005:272:29-34).

Unbelievable Bike Handling Skills

2009-04-30T08:25:00.000-07:00

Okay I saw this a while back and thought wow, then a client pointed it out again, had another look and said holy shit, then just watched it again and said I need to post that the stuff this guy does on his bike is amazing.

Behind the Scenes with Garmin Chipotle

2009-04-24T20:22:00.001-07:00

Cool video of a day in the life of a professional cyclist. Key's on Canadian Ryder Hesjedal

Montepaschi Eroica - Behind the Scenes with GARMIN Slipstream from Media One Multimedia on Vimeo.

Hardest Ironman Conditions Ever?

2009-04-23T23:23:00.001-07:00

Here is Ironman Hawaii Champion Chris McCormack's comments about ironman china. This guy has done a lot of crazy hard races and he said the heat in IM China last weekend was the worst ever. Here is his race report

Well I am finally back home and cannot be happier about it. The past 5 weeks have been really hectic with a lot of early season racing over some really tough races. The focus for us early in the season was to sort out these hot humid races and get some tough test sets done in a racing environment so we can carry this information across into our World Championships build for Kona.

My first race of the season was a hot and humid 70.3 event in Singapore where I grabbed a solid second place finish. I flew directly to Hawaii from Singapore for a tough Olympic distance race called Lavaman on the big Island and started to find my legs a little for the season winning my first race of the year and breaking the course record.

From Hawaii I flew directly to New Olreans for my 3rd race in as many weeks and another tough Ironman 70.3 event. I was actually feeling a little jaded after two heavy weeks of racing and training and fell apart late in this race to finish second again. I was a little disappointed as I had the win in the bag, but in the hot humid conditions, the fatigue from a heavy few weeks of racing and travel came through and I lost the event in the last few miles of the run.

From the first 3 races of the season we got what we were looking for. Hot events, high humidity and lots of data. I was able to come back to Australia and have 10 easier days before getting on the plane to fly up to China for another Ironman 70.3 event in Haikou. This would be the end of a planned 4 heavy races in 5 weeks and I was looking forward to this last tough race. My form was good and a last hit out in the heat, after a week off racing seemed good to me.

The flight from Australia to China was pretty simple and the time change is only 2 hours. I arrived at the event on Friday before the Sunday race after about 13 hours of total travel time. The weather was good and I had a good look at the course. I was happy to be at this event as one of my main competitors for this years Ironman World Championships in Kona, Rasmus Henning, was racing in the full Ironman race, and I figured I would be able to get a good opportunity to watch how he raced. The Ironman started at 7:00am and the half Ironman guys were set to leave at 9:00am.

Race day dawned and the weather was set to be a scorcher. By Ironman race start time the weather was 30 degrees Celsius (90 degrees) and the humidity was oppressive at a very uncomfortable 85%. I watched the Ironman guys complete the swim and then started getting my head around the tough day I was about to face. I had 2 main guys to really contest with in the event. Ironman Japan and Malaysia champion Luke Mackenzie from Australia and Aussie flyer Paul Mathews. Both were brought up by their sponsor and race event sponsor K-Swiss, to win this event.

By race start for us the heat was incredible. The course was quite simple and flat but there was no shade anywhere and the wind was picking up and very hot. We kicked off the event and I immediately jumped on the feet of Paul Matthews who led most of the swim. By halfway through the swim event, Paul had used the tricky current to his advantage and had gapped both Luke and myself to lead out by about a minute. The water was dark and muddy and very warm.

By the time I ran from the water to my bike, a distance of about 200 meters, I was cooking. The heat was just incredible and the Ironman guys were well and truly on the bike course. We were about to start our 90km bike lap.

I put the hammer down and rode across to Paul Matthews and Luke had tagged me on the bike. We came together as a threesome about 5 miles into the bike race. I assumed that it would stay like this for most of the bike ride as it was a course that was difficult to get away on because of the flat profile and the tricky winds. By 20 miles, Paul began to struggle big time in the heat and dropped off. I immediately put the hammer down and then it was left to Luke and myself. Luke started struggling in the heat around 40 miles and I attacked him and got a gap out to about a minute very quickly. I was feeling good, but my only focus was hydration and being careful. The heat was unbelievable. I cannot describe it. I was watching ambulance after ambulance on the course putting Ironman competitors who could not get through the bike course and were collapsing into the back of them. It was like a war zone.

I got off the bike feeling very controlled. I knew I had been in the sun a long time and was feeling very exposed but I only had a 13 mile run to get through and I would win the event. That was my mindset. I had no idea at this stage my lead on Mackenzie or Matthews and was relieved when I got to the 1 mile marker of the run to see Luke come in. I knew I had a little over 5 minutes at that stage. I was trying to be cautious out there as the mercury was now well over 42 degrees (110) and the ambient temperature from the road was even higher. I was really starting to cook up but my mindset was about keeping a tempo. By 3 miles into the run this entire mindset was gone. It became a simple run for survival. The aid stations were spaced about 2km apart and the heat had melted all the ice. I saw Luke and Paul at about 8km mark and they were in a bad way. I knew that for me I had the race won, but I had to finish. It was so hot that by mile 4 I was honestly thinking that it might not be possible. I wish I could describe this heat. I wish I had better words. It was incredible.

I was walking every aid station and taking the time to drink. I was covering myself in water and carrying as many sponges as I could possibly hold. I would then put my head down and focus on getting to the next aid station which was about 8 minutes of running away each time. Every time I left and aid station I questioned whether I would make it to the next one. It was that big a struggle. I stayed in this mindset and was able to run my way to win this event. I crossed the line in 4:04 which was a real buzz for me. I have never been so happy to see the end of a race in my life. The last 2 miles was really ugly but the huge crowds in the town and the young kids running alongside me got me to the end. I crossed the line so relieved to have finished and my first words to the organizers were, concern for those behind me. I told them they needed to send people out with more aid to help people. I went straight to the medical tent and covered myself in ice and water and tried to cool my body down. The temperature in the shade at the finish line read 44 degrees (120) and the humidity was close to 90 %. I waited for Luke to finish. He was about 22 minutes behind and together we watched others cross the line. In my race only 60 percent of the field finished. It was that tough.

I have raced for 13 years as a professional and almost 20 years in the sport of triathlon. This was without question the toughest triathlon event I have ever done for so many reasons. It was probably one of the hottest days I have ever been in, let alone had to race in. I had great intentions after my event to go and watch the guys finish and complete the Ironman. This went out the door. It was just too hot. I traveled across with 5 mates and only 2 of us made the finish line. To the Ironman guys who raced, you are my new heroes. Rasmus Henning went on to win this race, in the slowest run time to ever win an Ironman. Don't let that fool you. Anybody who got to the finish line of that event is a champion and three of the toughest blokes I know never got to the end. It was a race of survival and trying to deal with an incredible day. I know that different physiologies handle this heat differently and to those that never made it, hold your head up high. This will be an event you can talk about forever. It was in my books the toughest triathlon conditions our sport has ever seen.

I will post in the next few days some photos from the event to give people a view of the day. Sorry for the long post but I needed to get something up. Thanks for all the emails I have received from people. I really appreciate it.

Safe training.

Macca
http://www.ironmanworldchampion.com/

The Man With 3 good Swim drills

2009-04-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

Again here is Dave Scott with 3 swim drills which you can use every workout to enhance your technique.

Cycling and the Economy

2009-04-10T17:46:00.001-07:00

Great article on New York City and how the economy has affected this city's bike industry that is dominated by wall street employees. There's also a bit about how high end trainers are still getting plenty of business. Seems the rich wall street consumers are unwilling to part with their money on things like expensive bikes, but are having no problem paying for trainers charging 150.00 per hour.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/mixed-returns-for-high-end-cycling/?scp=2&sq=Cadence&st=cse

jeanson hammered with 10 years suspension

2009-04-01T12:29:00.001-07:00

This has to be one of the highest degrees of sanction against an athlete for doping (10 years) . Her doctors have also been banned for a life time. I remember her dominating races like nobody has ever done breaking away from competitors with hardly any effort. Very lancesque;) Back then doping wasn't as big a news item and the scary thing was she was using this stuff when she was a minor under the direction of her doctors. Now the question arises, should she be banned so heavily when she was under such influence of her coach at such a young age..........she didn't know any better in my eyes especially that young. There are many stories alleging physical and mental abuse of her coach who was also her only true "friend". Makes you wonder where her parents were during all this......... http://www.velonews.com/article/90109/canada-recommends-bans-for-jeanson-coach-and-doctor

kick drills

2009-03-31T21:18:00.001-07:00

All tri geeks love kicking, so here is a great set of drills from "the man"

Boston Marathon Movie

2009-03-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

Just watched a great flick on a boy coming of age who does the boston marathon. Unrealistic, but great movie. St. Ralph

Exercise and Aging

2009-03-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

Great article on The Science of Sport Website:

Exercise and aging: Growing old gracefully, with speed!

Yesterday we began a series on exercise and aging by looking at the world records across the age categories.

A window of performance? Depends on the performance...

This seems to suggest that individuals have a narrow "window" during which they are able to excel. Bear in mind that "excel" in this case means running faster than any person in history! That's a tough bar to set, so I must make the allowance that the "window" becomes much longer when you start to lower the performance level slightly. That is, someone who is running at say 80% of the world record pace can probably much more accurately work out how their performances should change over time (which is why those calculators that predict your age-equivalent times do have some merit)

Of course, people tend to over-value those equations and formulas that work out what your time at the age of say 60 would be equivalent to if you were 30. While interesting, such predictions can't really be used as "instructive" or to judge your current performance, because you're on your own journey, and the changes over time can't really be accounted for unless you do a massive study that looks at say 500 individuals over the course of 60 years and plots the average decay in performance (and, to the best of my knowledge, that hasn't been done).

The reasons for the decline - age physiology

So now we get to the reasons for the decline. And this is relatively well-known physiology, which I promised yesterday that I'd avoid spending too much time on. However, it's important to understand as we move forward, because the next step will be too look at "Chronological Age vs. Running Age", and so we need to understand Chronological age.

So what can you expect as you get older? (That feels very morbid as I type it..., sorry)

Aging affects numerous physiological systems, including the neuromuscular, hormonal, respiratory, cardiovascular and metabolic systems.

Lean muscle mass and age

Perhaps the most widely known and significant changes that occur with aging are those that affect the muscle, and happen in part because the levels of hormones like testosterone and growth hormone fall over the years. Testosterone is the one everyone knows about because dopers use it so often, and as any body-builder will tell you, is anabolic (as opposed to catabolic), because it builds up tissues in response to stress, and is responsible for muscle growth and development after training.

Testosterone levels peak during adolescence and early adulthood, but somewhere between 30 and 40 years of age, begin to decline progressively. As a result, lean muscle mass declines by as much as 30% between 25 (when peak muscle mass occurs) and 70 years of age. This reduction involves decreases in the total number of muscle fibers and a decrease in the size of the fibers. At the same time, oxidative damage causes further reductions in muscle mass, as does a decline in the number of motor neurons that provide neural “nourishment” to the muscle fibers.

The net effect of the reduction in muscle mass is a loss of muscle strength – as much as 2% per year, so that by the age of 70, strength is reduced by up to 40%, though this depends on the individual and also their activity levels. Training helps prevent these reductions, which is good news, and is the part of the equation that you can control.

One of the more obvious, and upsetting consequences of this change is that your metabolic rate slows down, and so you start to gain weight (fat mass, that is). The common misperception that "muscle turns into fat" is actually the storage of fat that is partly caused by a loss of muscle thanks to aging. It's not that muscle is converted to fat, but rather that fat now tends to be deposited much more easily. If you don't adjust your diet, "middle age spread" is the result!

Injury and adaptation

One of the more frustrating aspects of aging (and the reason you've probably been the butt of some jokes from friends) is that your ability to recover from training is reduced. Pretty much all "moving parts" don't quite recover from sessions the day before, and your body’s ability to adapt to the stress of training is also reduced. You can no longer repair damage by laying down stronger muscle fibers in response to training. One of the big benefits of taking testosterone is that it aids recovery, allowing harder training. Aging is effectively "reverse doping", since testosterone is reduced, and training can't be done to the same level as before. One of the first things people will notice is that they wake up stiff and commonly jokingly say "I must be getting old". Exactly!

Other hormonal changes further contribute to this adaptation barrier – the production of growth hormone decreases steadily from the age of 10, just after puberty, which has much the same effect as the fall in testosterone, as well as some other effects on metabolism. Growth hormone has even been called the “anti-aging” hormone, a popular choice among the Hollywood elite to retain their celebrity looks! We'll return to this hormone again in the future...(thanks to Peter for his input on that one)

Other aging effects

There is also a decrease in the number of capillaries to each muscle fiber, which means that valuable energy and oxygen delivery to muscles is compromised. Stroke volume (the amount pumped per contraction) and heart rate also fall over time, meaning less blood can be pumped to the body as cardiac output falls. Respiratory muscles get weaker, and the resistance in the airways rises, which makes breathing harder work. The ability to get valuable oxygen out of the air into the blood and to the muscles is reduced, not a great outcome for a marathon runners! It doesn't take a degree in exercise physiology to appreciate how these changes in the heart and lungs would make running or any other endurance activity much more difficult.

Inside the muscle, proteins that are important to assist with metabolism are not produced in the same quantities – you therefore become less effective at producing ATP to power muscle contraction. The muscle’s capacity to store and release energy changes with age – less glucose and glycogen can be stored, and the muscle becomes less sensitive to hormones that normally drive metabolism, like adrenaline.

Changes in women - even more pronounced

In women, hormonal changes have even more dramatic effects – menopause and the associated hormonal changes are responsible for many effects, perhaps the most relevant for running being a decrease in bone mineral density that predisposes women to the development of osteopenia, which is a precursor to the more serious osteoporosis, where the risk of fractures is greatly increased.

Here, the excellent news is that running (and other exercise), because it is a weight-bearing exercise, is one of the most effective means of preventing osteoporosis, because it helps elevate the bone mineral density at a young age so that the inevitable age-induced decline does not have potentially disastrous consequences.

The same goes for all the other changes - the body ages, this is as inevitable as death and taxes (as the saying goes). However, regular exercise slows down the rate of decline in many of these systems, or at least reduces the impact of the change. The result is that regardless of what you've read in this post, and the fact that you may be bemoaning lost youth (don't worry, I am too!), if you continue to exercise now, then you'll reap the benefits, in spite of your natural battle against father time!

Chronological age vs running age

Well done if you've managed to read this far. This was a "textbook" physiology post, not my favourite kind, but hopefully I've skimmed through all the important systems and how the years affect them. If you're a scholar or student who just happens to be doing an assignment on this topic, then you're in luck (Please feel free to donate to us through our PayPal link! And don't forget to reference everything you say!)

However, this is all a precursor to the more juicy and exciting discussion to come, probably next week. That's when we'll start looking at the impact of many years of running as compared to many years of living. There is evidence that running age is just as important as chronological age in determining running performance, and that the two interact to properly explain what you will have experienced. And the notion of a "window" of opportunity seems to be borne out.

So let's tackle that next week, when we're all three days older. Hope this was instructive and not too morbid!

McConkey RIP

2009-03-27T21:18:00.001-07:00

I grew up idolizing this guy. He went from just an extreme skier hucking off 100 foot cliffs to base jumping wearing flying squirrel equipment to soar for huge distances. This man rocked and was one of the smoothest skiers I have seen. He died today ski jumping and base jumping (combined) in Italy while filming for Red Bull.

tour de ski

2009-03-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

Cool video from Craft sponsored race in europe

Lance Armstrong Maybe out for Tour With Broken Collarbone?

2009-03-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of the aftermath of the crash...........how often do you see a helicopter stay that focused on someone for that period of time.........only Lance.

http://www.rtve.es/mediateca/videos/20090323/armstrong-cae-abandona-castilla-leon/455839.shtml

Conrad Stoltz is Tarzan

2009-03-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

Awesome pictures of Conrad Stoltz (Xterra world champion) building a lap pool with no electricity in south africa.

http://www.slowtwitch.com/photos/Detailed/37.html

workout for next week's group swim:)

2009-03-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

Okay here is your workout for next week's group swim, you thought last week's was tough?

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/swim-cgi/show_workout.pl?pri_id=10000001241&work_cat=4

New Blogs

2009-03-17T22:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am going to try and keep this updated as much as possible and link from our website to here to keep the front page relatively uncluttered. I can also post great links to video's for interest sake as well as technique stuff for exercises both tri related and non.

Amazing Ozzie

2009-03-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

Okay I saw this on Jonnyo's site and had a look................very cool video, now hopefully I can get this figured out on how to post it