Friday, September 30, 2011
Yoga Mat For Sale
Unashamely stolen from Steve in a Speedo?! Gross!
Yoga mat for sale. Used once at lunch hour class in December 2009. Usage timeline as follows:
11:45a
Register for hot yoga class. Infinite wisdom tells me to commit to 5 class package and purchase a yoga mat. I pay $89.74. Money well spent, I smugly confirm to myself.
11:55a
Open door to yoga room. A gush of hot dry air rushes through and past me. It smells of breath, sweat and hot. Take spot on floor in back of room next to cute blonde. We will date.
11:57a
I feel the need to be as near to naked as possible. This is a problem because of the hot blonde to my left and our pending courtship. She will not be pleased to learn that I need to lose 30 pounds before I propose to her.
11:58a
The shirt and sweats have to come off. I throw caution to the wind and decide to rely on my wit and conditioning to overcome any weight issues my fiancée may take issue with. This will take a lot of wit and conditioning.
11:59a
Begin small talk with my bride to be. She pretends to ignore me but I know how she can be. I allow her to concentrate and stare straight ahead and continue to pretend that I don't exist. As we finish sharing our special moment, I am suddenly aware of a sweat moustache that has formed below my nose. This must be from the all the whispering between us.
12:00p
Instructor enters the room and ascends her special podium at the front of the room. She is a slight, agitated Chinese woman. She introduces me to the class and everyone turns around to greet me just as I decide to aggressively adjust my penis and testes packed in my Under Armor. My bride is notably unfazed.
12:02p
Since I do have experience with Hot Yoga (4 sessions just 5 short years ago) I fully consider that I may be so outstanding and skilled that my instructor may call me out and ask me to guide the class. My wife will look on with a sparkle in her eye. We will make love after class.
12:10p
It is now up to 95 degrees in the room. We have been practicing deep breathing exercises for the last 8 minutes. This would not be a problem if we were all breathing actual, you know, oxygen. Instead, we are breathing each other's body odor, expelled carbon dioxide and other unmentionables. (Don't worry, I'll mention them later.)
12:26p
It is now 100 degrees and I take notice of the humidity, which is hovering at about 90%. I feel the familiar adorning stare of my bride and decide to look back at her. She appears to be nauseated. I then realize that I forgot to brush my teeth prior to attending this class. We bond.
12:33p
It is now 110 degrees and 95% humidity. I am now balancing on one leg with the other leg crossed over the other. My arms are intertwined and I am squatting. The last time I was in this position was 44 years ago in the womb, but I'm in this for the long haul. My wife looks slightly weathered dripping sweat and her eyeliner is streaming down her face. Well, "for better or worse" is what we committed to so we press on.
12:40p
The overweight Hispanic man two spots over has sweat running down his legs. At least I think its sweat. He is holding every position and has not had a sip of water since we walked in. He is making me look bad and I hate him.
12:44p
I consider that if anyone in this room farted that we would all certainly perish.
12:52p
It is now 140 degrees and 100% humidity. I am covered from head to toe in sweat. There is not a square millimeter on my body that is not slippery and sweaty. I am so slimy that I feel like a sea lion or a maybe sea eel. Not even a bear trap could hold me. The sweat is stinging my eyeballs and I can no longer see.
12:55p
This room stinks of asparagus, cloves, tuna and tacos. There is no food in the room. I realize that this is an amalgamation of the body odors of 30 people in a 140 degree room for the last 55 minutes. Seriously, enough with the asparagus, ok?
1:01p
140 degrees and 130% humidity. Look, bitch, I need my space here so don't get all pissy with me if I accidentally sprayed you with sweat as I flipped over. Seriously, is that where this relationship is going? Get over yourself. We need counseling and she needs to be medicated. Stat!
1:09p
150 degrees and cloudy. And hot. I can no longer move my limbs on my own. I have given up on attempting any of the commands this Chinese chick is yelling out at us. I will lay sedentary until the aid unit arrives. I will buy this building and then have it destroyed. I lose consciousness.
1:15p
I have a headache and my wife is being a selfish bitch. I can't really breathe. All I can think about is holding a cup worth of hot sand in my mouth. I cannot remember what an ice cube is and cannot remember what snow looks like. I consider that my only escape might be a crab walk across 15 bodies and then out of the room. I am paralyzed, and may never walk again so the whole crab walk thing is pretty much out.
1:17p
I cannot move at all and cannot reach my water. Is breathing voluntary or involuntary? If it's voluntary, I am screwed. I stopped participating in the class 20 minutes ago. Hey, lady! I paid for this frickin class, ok?! You work for me! Stop yelling at everyone and just tell us a story or something. It's like juice and cracker time, ok?
1:20p
It is now 165 degrees and moisture is dripping from the ceiling. The towel that I am laying on is no longer providing any wicking or drying properties. It is actually placing additional sweat on me as I touch it. My towel reeks. I cannot identify the smell but no way can it be from me. Did someone spray some stank on my towel or something?
1:30p
Torture session is over. I wish hateful things upon the instructor. She graciously allows us to stay and 'cool down' in the room. It is 175 degrees. Who cools down in 175 degrees? A Komodo Dragon? My wife has left the room. Probably to throw up.
1:34p
My opportunity to escape has arrived. I roll over to my stomach and press up to my knees. It is warmer as I rise up from ground level - probably by 15 degrees. So let's conservatively say it's 190. I muster my final energy and slowly rise. One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other. Towards the door. Towards the door.
1:37p
The temperature in the lobby is 72 degrees. Both nipples stiffen to diamond strength and my penis begins to retract into my abdomen from the 100 degree temp swing. I can once again breathe though so I am pleased. I spot my future ex wife in the lobby. We had such a good thing going but I know that no measure of counseling will be able to unravel the day's turmoil and mental scaring.
1:47p
Arrive at Emerald City Smoothie and proceed to order a 32 oz beverage. 402 calories, 0 fat and 14 grams of protein -- effectively negating any caloric burn or benefit from the last 90 minutes. I finish it in 3 minutes and spend the next 2 hours writing this memoir.
3:47p
Create Craigslist ad while burning final 2 grams of protein from Smoothie and before the "shakes" consume my body.
4:29p
Note to self - check car for missing wet yoga towel in am.
Yoga mat for sale. Used once at lunch hour class in December 2009. Usage timeline as follows:
11:45a
Register for hot yoga class. Infinite wisdom tells me to commit to 5 class package and purchase a yoga mat. I pay $89.74. Money well spent, I smugly confirm to myself.
11:55a
Open door to yoga room. A gush of hot dry air rushes through and past me. It smells of breath, sweat and hot. Take spot on floor in back of room next to cute blonde. We will date.
11:57a
I feel the need to be as near to naked as possible. This is a problem because of the hot blonde to my left and our pending courtship. She will not be pleased to learn that I need to lose 30 pounds before I propose to her.
11:58a
The shirt and sweats have to come off. I throw caution to the wind and decide to rely on my wit and conditioning to overcome any weight issues my fiancée may take issue with. This will take a lot of wit and conditioning.
11:59a
Begin small talk with my bride to be. She pretends to ignore me but I know how she can be. I allow her to concentrate and stare straight ahead and continue to pretend that I don't exist. As we finish sharing our special moment, I am suddenly aware of a sweat moustache that has formed below my nose. This must be from the all the whispering between us.
12:00p
Instructor enters the room and ascends her special podium at the front of the room. She is a slight, agitated Chinese woman. She introduces me to the class and everyone turns around to greet me just as I decide to aggressively adjust my penis and testes packed in my Under Armor. My bride is notably unfazed.
12:02p
Since I do have experience with Hot Yoga (4 sessions just 5 short years ago) I fully consider that I may be so outstanding and skilled that my instructor may call me out and ask me to guide the class. My wife will look on with a sparkle in her eye. We will make love after class.
12:10p
It is now up to 95 degrees in the room. We have been practicing deep breathing exercises for the last 8 minutes. This would not be a problem if we were all breathing actual, you know, oxygen. Instead, we are breathing each other's body odor, expelled carbon dioxide and other unmentionables. (Don't worry, I'll mention them later.)
12:26p
It is now 100 degrees and I take notice of the humidity, which is hovering at about 90%. I feel the familiar adorning stare of my bride and decide to look back at her. She appears to be nauseated. I then realize that I forgot to brush my teeth prior to attending this class. We bond.
12:33p
It is now 110 degrees and 95% humidity. I am now balancing on one leg with the other leg crossed over the other. My arms are intertwined and I am squatting. The last time I was in this position was 44 years ago in the womb, but I'm in this for the long haul. My wife looks slightly weathered dripping sweat and her eyeliner is streaming down her face. Well, "for better or worse" is what we committed to so we press on.
12:40p
The overweight Hispanic man two spots over has sweat running down his legs. At least I think its sweat. He is holding every position and has not had a sip of water since we walked in. He is making me look bad and I hate him.
12:44p
I consider that if anyone in this room farted that we would all certainly perish.
12:52p
It is now 140 degrees and 100% humidity. I am covered from head to toe in sweat. There is not a square millimeter on my body that is not slippery and sweaty. I am so slimy that I feel like a sea lion or a maybe sea eel. Not even a bear trap could hold me. The sweat is stinging my eyeballs and I can no longer see.
12:55p
This room stinks of asparagus, cloves, tuna and tacos. There is no food in the room. I realize that this is an amalgamation of the body odors of 30 people in a 140 degree room for the last 55 minutes. Seriously, enough with the asparagus, ok?
1:01p
140 degrees and 130% humidity. Look, bitch, I need my space here so don't get all pissy with me if I accidentally sprayed you with sweat as I flipped over. Seriously, is that where this relationship is going? Get over yourself. We need counseling and she needs to be medicated. Stat!
1:09p
150 degrees and cloudy. And hot. I can no longer move my limbs on my own. I have given up on attempting any of the commands this Chinese chick is yelling out at us. I will lay sedentary until the aid unit arrives. I will buy this building and then have it destroyed. I lose consciousness.
1:15p
I have a headache and my wife is being a selfish bitch. I can't really breathe. All I can think about is holding a cup worth of hot sand in my mouth. I cannot remember what an ice cube is and cannot remember what snow looks like. I consider that my only escape might be a crab walk across 15 bodies and then out of the room. I am paralyzed, and may never walk again so the whole crab walk thing is pretty much out.
1:17p
I cannot move at all and cannot reach my water. Is breathing voluntary or involuntary? If it's voluntary, I am screwed. I stopped participating in the class 20 minutes ago. Hey, lady! I paid for this frickin class, ok?! You work for me! Stop yelling at everyone and just tell us a story or something. It's like juice and cracker time, ok?
1:20p
It is now 165 degrees and moisture is dripping from the ceiling. The towel that I am laying on is no longer providing any wicking or drying properties. It is actually placing additional sweat on me as I touch it. My towel reeks. I cannot identify the smell but no way can it be from me. Did someone spray some stank on my towel or something?
1:30p
Torture session is over. I wish hateful things upon the instructor. She graciously allows us to stay and 'cool down' in the room. It is 175 degrees. Who cools down in 175 degrees? A Komodo Dragon? My wife has left the room. Probably to throw up.
1:34p
My opportunity to escape has arrived. I roll over to my stomach and press up to my knees. It is warmer as I rise up from ground level - probably by 15 degrees. So let's conservatively say it's 190. I muster my final energy and slowly rise. One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other. Towards the door. Towards the door.
1:37p
The temperature in the lobby is 72 degrees. Both nipples stiffen to diamond strength and my penis begins to retract into my abdomen from the 100 degree temp swing. I can once again breathe though so I am pleased. I spot my future ex wife in the lobby. We had such a good thing going but I know that no measure of counseling will be able to unravel the day's turmoil and mental scaring.
1:47p
Arrive at Emerald City Smoothie and proceed to order a 32 oz beverage. 402 calories, 0 fat and 14 grams of protein -- effectively negating any caloric burn or benefit from the last 90 minutes. I finish it in 3 minutes and spend the next 2 hours writing this memoir.
3:47p
Create Craigslist ad while burning final 2 grams of protein from Smoothie and before the "shakes" consume my body.
4:29p
Note to self - check car for missing wet yoga towel in am.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Hello? Can You Pick Me Up?
A couple of years ago as when I started into triathlons, I rode inside on the trainer for several months during the cold winter until finally it was warm enough to ride outside. I had not ridden my bike on the road for many years and never with the clip in shoes. My youngest brother Paul, a three time Ironman finisher, volunteer to come up to my house one early spring morning and join me for my first outdoor ride. We rode for about 30 km but took about 90 minutes for a painful 20 km\hr average speed. It was good as Paul was able to give me little pointers, like clip out before getting to a stop light and things like that.
Fast forward two and half years later, today I went riding with my older brother Don. I rode down to his place in Ajax to meet up with him as ironically he borrowed Paul's wife bike and has just started to getting into riding. He runs, but like me, gets hurt a lot so I been bugging him to start riding in order to minimize the pounding of running on his body. Last month he borrowed Sarah's bike (with $1,600 Mavric rims) and started tooling around. I told him I'd ride down to his house (about 30 km away) and ride with him and Tammy would come down with the kids and pick me up later.
The ride to Don's house was pretty uneventful other than it was down hill almost all the way but into a pretty stiff head wind. My shoulder/back was bugging me when I was in aero position. I arrived at Don's house just after one hour and we headed out but he was complaining that the tires were low on air so we stopped and I used one of my CO2 cartilages to fill up the front tire but his back was a little low as well. I warned him that if you ride with low air pressure in the tires you run the risk of getting a flat. Tammy was coming down with my air pump and he could fill them up after the ride. We headed out south to Lake Ontario and then eastward along a walking path. We couldn't go fast as there were other people on bikes and foot so eventually we got off and went along Lakeshore Road. I started getting tired and mentioned we should turn around and head back as Tammy would be at his house with the kids and probably didn't want to hang around for a long time. We headed north and then west along Bailey. Don was in front as we headed down a small hill with me charging fast when all of a sudden he jammed on the brakes and I almost ran him over. He got a flat tire! Unbelievable and we were so close to his house. I called his house and Tammy had just arrived so she came over and picked us up.
Later we went to a local bike store and picked up some new inner tubes and I showed him how to change a flat tire. What goes around, comes around.
Oh yea. I swapped emails with coach regarding why he didn't bother calling me before Muskoka 70.3 and looks like I'll be looking for a new coach for Ironman Mont Tremblant
Fast forward two and half years later, today I went riding with my older brother Don. I rode down to his place in Ajax to meet up with him as ironically he borrowed Paul's wife bike and has just started to getting into riding. He runs, but like me, gets hurt a lot so I been bugging him to start riding in order to minimize the pounding of running on his body. Last month he borrowed Sarah's bike (with $1,600 Mavric rims) and started tooling around. I told him I'd ride down to his house (about 30 km away) and ride with him and Tammy would come down with the kids and pick me up later.
The ride to Don's house was pretty uneventful other than it was down hill almost all the way but into a pretty stiff head wind. My shoulder/back was bugging me when I was in aero position. I arrived at Don's house just after one hour and we headed out but he was complaining that the tires were low on air so we stopped and I used one of my CO2 cartilages to fill up the front tire but his back was a little low as well. I warned him that if you ride with low air pressure in the tires you run the risk of getting a flat. Tammy was coming down with my air pump and he could fill them up after the ride. We headed out south to Lake Ontario and then eastward along a walking path. We couldn't go fast as there were other people on bikes and foot so eventually we got off and went along Lakeshore Road. I started getting tired and mentioned we should turn around and head back as Tammy would be at his house with the kids and probably didn't want to hang around for a long time. We headed north and then west along Bailey. Don was in front as we headed down a small hill with me charging fast when all of a sudden he jammed on the brakes and I almost ran him over. He got a flat tire! Unbelievable and we were so close to his house. I called his house and Tammy had just arrived so she came over and picked us up.
Later we went to a local bike store and picked up some new inner tubes and I showed him how to change a flat tire. What goes around, comes around.
Oh yea. I swapped emails with coach regarding why he didn't bother calling me before Muskoka 70.3 and looks like I'll be looking for a new coach for Ironman Mont Tremblant
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Muskoka 70.3 Race Report
By returning to Muskoka 70.3, I felt I could do better than last year's result after suffering my chain falling off and then a flat tire. I've always thought my bike was the weakest of all three sports.
Muskoka 70.3 is a tough course where everything ends up hill. The swim has a 300 meter run uphill to T1, the bike is rolling uphill in the last 10 km and the run at the 20.5 km mark is the bottom of a hill. Everything ends in a hill.
We headed up to Deehurst Resort Saturday morning but like a couple of weeks ago when we went up to Orillia, we jumped on Highway 400 only to come to a screeching halt. Traffic was backed up for miles and we turned on the radio only to find out there was a bad traffic accident at 5 am (like 5 hours ago) and the highway was a mess (I really need to get my traffic GPS fixed). We zigged zagged for miles going east, then north, then west to try and get back to the highway only to find traffic was still crawling along. Finally we arrived in Barrie two and half hours later (it should have only taken one hour), we stopped off at Tim Hortons for a pee break and coffee. Traffic cleared up once we got past Barrie and what should have taken about two hours to get to the resort, it took about four hours.
The race is held at the resort so it's a no brainer to stay they especially since we have three young kids and Tammy can take them back to the room or go back to the room while I flounder around on the course for six hours. Last year, the resort had a minimum three night stay but this year it was only two nights so that saved several hundreds of dollars. After checking in, we headed to our room which was on the third floor and had no elevators. There is nothing like walking up three flights of stairs after a race carrying your race gear and bike!
Pre-Race
Seeing all the set up got me going and I was looking forward to this race as it is the first and last triathlon of the year. The weather was very nice but my friend Peter A had told me about his team meeting with NRG at 3 pm and I wanted to sit on it. The meeting was more for first timers and since I did the course last year, I had a pretty good idea what to expect but if I could take away one thing, then it would have been worth it. I've known about NRG for several years as Scobie was coached by Nigel Gray who is a sub 9 hour Ironman finisher and his sister Fiona who is a 10 hour Ironman finisher. In fact, my two younger brothers used to train with Fiona as well as Paul & Cathy S train with NRG. Also Paul D is with Nigel. The briefing was casual and there were three coaches with about 20 athletes. Fiona is one of the coaches who knows my two younger brothers from their Ironman days. The most important thing I did learn was part of the roads at the bottom of a hill was broken up and if you had water bottle cages at the back you might lose your bottles. This is very important as I do have the cages and I usually keep my nutrition in those bottles. It would be a disaster to lose any water bottles during the race but especially those one. I planned to switch those and keep the water in the back so if I did lose them, then not as big as a deal. I also got elastic bands to hold them down as well. After the meeting, we wandered over the to the expo where I ran into Fiona. I introduced myself as originally she thought I was working with one of the other coaches. I explained I was a free loafer but was interesting in talking to her as I knew lots of people that trained with her. She was super friendly (aren't they all when they're talking to a prospect?) and I told her I would contact her in a couple of weeks. Later I introduced myself to her husband who also knew my brothers. Branden works in the same industry and we chatted about how things were going as well as training. I looked at my watch and realized transition was closing and ran out to get my bike set up but found out later they delayed the closure due to the accident on the highway which caused several athletes to be late.
Race Morning
I woke up early as usual and watched a little TV. We rented a suite and I slept on the pull out coach (Oooh my back!) while everyone else slept in the nice comfty beds but at least I can move around without waking everyone up. I was in the seventh and last wave so with six minutes apart, I wasn't going to get swam over by another wave. Lisa was in wave three so she had a 24 minute head start. I figure I'd catch up with her somewhere near the end of the bike or even on the beginning of the run. I went down to transition for the final set up and wondered around for a couple of minutes. There were a lot of people from the Ajax Pickering Tri Club so I asked one guy if Mindy was around. Mindy is a friend of my brother Don knows her from the Running Free store in Pickering. I did the Scotia Half Marathon several years ago with her but she didn't remember me. Back then I could beat her but she's gone hard core into triathlons and can smoke me (also she weighs about 100 pounds less than me and is 20 years younger). I headed over the number marking and then headed back to the room. When I got there, I realized I told them the wrong number and ran back down to get remarked. Doh! First time I've done that.
The Swim 37:21 - 1:53\100m
Seeing that I was in the last wave, I stood around chatting to a couple of people I knew. Peter A was in the wave ahead of me and I ran into blog follower Paul D. We chatted for a bit and then headed for a short warm up swim. The water was warmer than last year but I did see one woman with no wetsuit. She's more of a man than I am because there was no way I'd swim without a wetsuit. I double checked when I was packing the car to make sure I brought it. If I had forgotten it I would have bought a new one at the expo. The race started and we were off.
The start had less crashing than last year but I had a hard time getting my groove. I finally caught on to a pair of feet and was doing ok but they were going a little too fast and time I hit the last buoy about 400 meters back to shore, I was dying. I felt as I was all over the place and in fact strayed too far to the left. The water was very shallow and I actuallly stood up and walked about 10 feet as I was hitting the bottom. As I stumbled out of the water, I looked at my watch and I was 37 minutes which was the same as last year. The wet suit strippers were great and had me out of mine in a flash. Now the hard part was the long 300 meters run uphill after swimming. One of the points in the NRG meeting was not to sprint up the hill which is what I did last year. It killed me and I staggered through T1. This year I jogged up the hill and took my time. Too much time in fact as T1 this year was a brutal 6 minutes.
The Bike 3:23 - 27.8 km\hr
The bike course is a tough 94 km leaving the resort. I hoped to come in around 3:15 as last year I had a flat tire. The first 10 km out is a series of rollers but it gets flatter. I've been having trouble with the Power Tap as it was showing me riding at an average of 170 watts but recently coach changed the batteries and my readings shot up by 25% so I tried to ride conseratitvely but did not know what watts to ride at. The course becomes flatter as we head towards the small town of Dorset where they had a water station and lots of fans. I carried my three bottles and one throwaway water bottle so I slowed down a grabbed a new bottle, some gel and tried to grab a bottle of Ironman Perform but it bounced right out of my hand. I've never tried it nor even seen it sold anywhere. We headed to the next town of Baysville 27 km away. This part the course was on Highway 117 which was nice and smooth but into a stiff headwind. Baysville is roughly two thirds of the way and the roads begin to get a little hillier until the 80 km mark where it starts getting tough. I was playing cat-and-mouse with one girl who kept passing me on the hills as I spun up the hills but would blow by her on the downhills and flats. Eventually she dumped my ass as the course got hillier. At the 80 km mark there was a steep hill and I wanted to use my momentum to carry me up the other side so in aero position I flew down the hill hitting 72 km\hr but at the bottom I hit a small bump and almost fell off my bike. At that speed a crash would have been ugly. As we head back into Deerhurst, we encounter the same hills that we hit coming out and I really begin to tire. I thought my nutrition would be ok as I had two bottles of Hammer Perpetuem for 500 calories but actually I thought they were 500 calories EACH bottle so I knew I had to take in more gels. I figured I had about 10 gels on the bike and was getting sick of them for a total of 1,500 calories plus lots of salt pills. I could feel my legs beginning to cramp up and took more pills each time. Despite all that, I was bagged by the time I reached transition and headed out to the run.
T2 - 1:39
No pee this time. Now is that a good thing or bad thing given how hot it was? I drank almost five bottles of liquid and took in about 20 salt pills and no pee.
The Run - 2:05
In my transition bag I had a throw away bottle of water that I mixed Amino Vital with two salt pills. When I come off the bike, I'm aways thirsty and like to run with my water belt. For this race, I decided to ditch my water belt and run with a throw away water bottle as there were aid stations every two kilometer. That turned out to be a big mistake as I was constantly thirsty and by the 15 km mark I was walking through the aid stations gulping down the water.
I tried to start off the run with a slower pace that would allow for a negative split but every time I looked at my pace watch, I was running around 5:00 to 5:30 min\km pace. Coming out of the resort, the roads are hilly and I struggled in the first 4 km until we hit the highway where the roads are flat. I kept looking for Lisa as I didn't see her on the bike so I catch her on the first part of the run but I never saw her. Just before the turn around I saw John Proc but he was walking???? I yelled at him to keep going and he said something about his stomach. Later on I found out that he was puking on the bike and run. At least he looked good in his IMLP kit! Others I saw on the run were Mindy F (friend of my brother Don and Barb), Doug Stoddard (owner of SEMI and eLoad). Both were way ahead of me and moving fast. I was looking to run down John Proc but never saw him again so he must have ran hard. I finally saw Lisa as I was at the 13 km mark and she was around the 8 km mark. I must have passed her and not noticed. Later I found out that I passed her on the bike as I flew down the big hill at the 80 km.
Up until the 14.5 km mark the course on the road but then cuts into the a rolling hilly trail. Last year I died at the 15 km mark and had to walk the hills and aid stations. This year it was pretty much the same but I did walk less! I was constantly thirsty and drinking heavily at every water stations which were manned by kids. They took great joy in splashing us with water. They did a great job! I think I only walked once on the staright away and that was only for about 30 seconds. I knew if I started walking more, my time would have been toast. I kept checking my watch and I knew it was going to be very close to last year's time. As I hit the last aid station, I knew I wasn't going to make it but I kept going. The 20.5 km mark was at the bottom of the last hill and there were several people walking up it. I swore to myself there was no way I was walking up that hill so I kept going. Finally I reached the top and started to pickup my pace. I kept looking at my watch but I knew I wasn't going to make it. I checked my pace and I was running at 4:30 min\km and by the time I crossed the finish line I was running a 3:35 min\km. Oh well, at least I finished strong.
Total time - 6:13:46
One minute slower than last year's time - boo
Summary
I'm pretty disappointed about my time especially the bike. I thought having a tri-bike with a Power Tap would have given me a better bike split but that wasn't the case. I think my biggest disappointment is with my coach. He never called me before the race and I didn't return his call or email after the race. I basically had to make up my own game plan and nutrition. Sitting in on the NRG meeting was very helpful and I would like to talk to Fiona about Ironman Mont - Tremblant but I think I'll talk to her after I talk to Scobie.
Right now, I'm unhappy with my performance and was looking around for another race. The last triathlon race is this Sunday in London but its completly sold out. Maybe I'll run either the Ajax Half Marathon this month or the Scotiabank Half Marathon next month. Although I don't have any problems with my shin, I'm wondering if running another half marathon might be pushing it?
Oh yea, I finally got to try that Ironman Perform after I crossed the finsih line and it was quite disgusting. I couldn't even drink half the bottle.
Muskoka 70.3 is a tough course where everything ends up hill. The swim has a 300 meter run uphill to T1, the bike is rolling uphill in the last 10 km and the run at the 20.5 km mark is the bottom of a hill. Everything ends in a hill.
We headed up to Deehurst Resort Saturday morning but like a couple of weeks ago when we went up to Orillia, we jumped on Highway 400 only to come to a screeching halt. Traffic was backed up for miles and we turned on the radio only to find out there was a bad traffic accident at 5 am (like 5 hours ago) and the highway was a mess (I really need to get my traffic GPS fixed). We zigged zagged for miles going east, then north, then west to try and get back to the highway only to find traffic was still crawling along. Finally we arrived in Barrie two and half hours later (it should have only taken one hour), we stopped off at Tim Hortons for a pee break and coffee. Traffic cleared up once we got past Barrie and what should have taken about two hours to get to the resort, it took about four hours.
The race is held at the resort so it's a no brainer to stay they especially since we have three young kids and Tammy can take them back to the room or go back to the room while I flounder around on the course for six hours. Last year, the resort had a minimum three night stay but this year it was only two nights so that saved several hundreds of dollars. After checking in, we headed to our room which was on the third floor and had no elevators. There is nothing like walking up three flights of stairs after a race carrying your race gear and bike!
Pre-Race
Seeing all the set up got me going and I was looking forward to this race as it is the first and last triathlon of the year. The weather was very nice but my friend Peter A had told me about his team meeting with NRG at 3 pm and I wanted to sit on it. The meeting was more for first timers and since I did the course last year, I had a pretty good idea what to expect but if I could take away one thing, then it would have been worth it. I've known about NRG for several years as Scobie was coached by Nigel Gray who is a sub 9 hour Ironman finisher and his sister Fiona who is a 10 hour Ironman finisher. In fact, my two younger brothers used to train with Fiona as well as Paul & Cathy S train with NRG. Also Paul D is with Nigel. The briefing was casual and there were three coaches with about 20 athletes. Fiona is one of the coaches who knows my two younger brothers from their Ironman days. The most important thing I did learn was part of the roads at the bottom of a hill was broken up and if you had water bottle cages at the back you might lose your bottles. This is very important as I do have the cages and I usually keep my nutrition in those bottles. It would be a disaster to lose any water bottles during the race but especially those one. I planned to switch those and keep the water in the back so if I did lose them, then not as big as a deal. I also got elastic bands to hold them down as well. After the meeting, we wandered over the to the expo where I ran into Fiona. I introduced myself as originally she thought I was working with one of the other coaches. I explained I was a free loafer but was interesting in talking to her as I knew lots of people that trained with her. She was super friendly (aren't they all when they're talking to a prospect?) and I told her I would contact her in a couple of weeks. Later I introduced myself to her husband who also knew my brothers. Branden works in the same industry and we chatted about how things were going as well as training. I looked at my watch and realized transition was closing and ran out to get my bike set up but found out later they delayed the closure due to the accident on the highway which caused several athletes to be late.
Race Morning
I woke up early as usual and watched a little TV. We rented a suite and I slept on the pull out coach (Oooh my back!) while everyone else slept in the nice comfty beds but at least I can move around without waking everyone up. I was in the seventh and last wave so with six minutes apart, I wasn't going to get swam over by another wave. Lisa was in wave three so she had a 24 minute head start. I figure I'd catch up with her somewhere near the end of the bike or even on the beginning of the run. I went down to transition for the final set up and wondered around for a couple of minutes. There were a lot of people from the Ajax Pickering Tri Club so I asked one guy if Mindy was around. Mindy is a friend of my brother Don knows her from the Running Free store in Pickering. I did the Scotia Half Marathon several years ago with her but she didn't remember me. Back then I could beat her but she's gone hard core into triathlons and can smoke me (also she weighs about 100 pounds less than me and is 20 years younger). I headed over the number marking and then headed back to the room. When I got there, I realized I told them the wrong number and ran back down to get remarked. Doh! First time I've done that.
The Swim 37:21 - 1:53\100m
Seeing that I was in the last wave, I stood around chatting to a couple of people I knew. Peter A was in the wave ahead of me and I ran into blog follower Paul D. We chatted for a bit and then headed for a short warm up swim. The water was warmer than last year but I did see one woman with no wetsuit. She's more of a man than I am because there was no way I'd swim without a wetsuit. I double checked when I was packing the car to make sure I brought it. If I had forgotten it I would have bought a new one at the expo. The race started and we were off.
 |
| Me and Peter A. Do I look fat? |
 |
| Me in the middle with no goggles |
The Bike 3:23 - 27.8 km\hr
The bike course is a tough 94 km leaving the resort. I hoped to come in around 3:15 as last year I had a flat tire. The first 10 km out is a series of rollers but it gets flatter. I've been having trouble with the Power Tap as it was showing me riding at an average of 170 watts but recently coach changed the batteries and my readings shot up by 25% so I tried to ride conseratitvely but did not know what watts to ride at. The course becomes flatter as we head towards the small town of Dorset where they had a water station and lots of fans. I carried my three bottles and one throwaway water bottle so I slowed down a grabbed a new bottle, some gel and tried to grab a bottle of Ironman Perform but it bounced right out of my hand. I've never tried it nor even seen it sold anywhere. We headed to the next town of Baysville 27 km away. This part the course was on Highway 117 which was nice and smooth but into a stiff headwind. Baysville is roughly two thirds of the way and the roads begin to get a little hillier until the 80 km mark where it starts getting tough. I was playing cat-and-mouse with one girl who kept passing me on the hills as I spun up the hills but would blow by her on the downhills and flats. Eventually she dumped my ass as the course got hillier. At the 80 km mark there was a steep hill and I wanted to use my momentum to carry me up the other side so in aero position I flew down the hill hitting 72 km\hr but at the bottom I hit a small bump and almost fell off my bike. At that speed a crash would have been ugly. As we head back into Deerhurst, we encounter the same hills that we hit coming out and I really begin to tire. I thought my nutrition would be ok as I had two bottles of Hammer Perpetuem for 500 calories but actually I thought they were 500 calories EACH bottle so I knew I had to take in more gels. I figured I had about 10 gels on the bike and was getting sick of them for a total of 1,500 calories plus lots of salt pills. I could feel my legs beginning to cramp up and took more pills each time. Despite all that, I was bagged by the time I reached transition and headed out to the run.
T2 - 1:39
No pee this time. Now is that a good thing or bad thing given how hot it was? I drank almost five bottles of liquid and took in about 20 salt pills and no pee.
The Run - 2:05
In my transition bag I had a throw away bottle of water that I mixed Amino Vital with two salt pills. When I come off the bike, I'm aways thirsty and like to run with my water belt. For this race, I decided to ditch my water belt and run with a throw away water bottle as there were aid stations every two kilometer. That turned out to be a big mistake as I was constantly thirsty and by the 15 km mark I was walking through the aid stations gulping down the water.
I tried to start off the run with a slower pace that would allow for a negative split but every time I looked at my pace watch, I was running around 5:00 to 5:30 min\km pace. Coming out of the resort, the roads are hilly and I struggled in the first 4 km until we hit the highway where the roads are flat. I kept looking for Lisa as I didn't see her on the bike so I catch her on the first part of the run but I never saw her. Just before the turn around I saw John Proc but he was walking???? I yelled at him to keep going and he said something about his stomach. Later on I found out that he was puking on the bike and run. At least he looked good in his IMLP kit! Others I saw on the run were Mindy F (friend of my brother Don and Barb), Doug Stoddard (owner of SEMI and eLoad). Both were way ahead of me and moving fast. I was looking to run down John Proc but never saw him again so he must have ran hard. I finally saw Lisa as I was at the 13 km mark and she was around the 8 km mark. I must have passed her and not noticed. Later I found out that I passed her on the bike as I flew down the big hill at the 80 km.
Up until the 14.5 km mark the course on the road but then cuts into the a rolling hilly trail. Last year I died at the 15 km mark and had to walk the hills and aid stations. This year it was pretty much the same but I did walk less! I was constantly thirsty and drinking heavily at every water stations which were manned by kids. They took great joy in splashing us with water. They did a great job! I think I only walked once on the staright away and that was only for about 30 seconds. I knew if I started walking more, my time would have been toast. I kept checking my watch and I knew it was going to be very close to last year's time. As I hit the last aid station, I knew I wasn't going to make it but I kept going. The 20.5 km mark was at the bottom of the last hill and there were several people walking up it. I swore to myself there was no way I was walking up that hill so I kept going. Finally I reached the top and started to pickup my pace. I kept looking at my watch but I knew I wasn't going to make it. I checked my pace and I was running at 4:30 min\km and by the time I crossed the finish line I was running a 3:35 min\km. Oh well, at least I finished strong.
Total time - 6:13:46
One minute slower than last year's time - boo
Summary
I'm pretty disappointed about my time especially the bike. I thought having a tri-bike with a Power Tap would have given me a better bike split but that wasn't the case. I think my biggest disappointment is with my coach. He never called me before the race and I didn't return his call or email after the race. I basically had to make up my own game plan and nutrition. Sitting in on the NRG meeting was very helpful and I would like to talk to Fiona about Ironman Mont - Tremblant but I think I'll talk to her after I talk to Scobie.
Right now, I'm unhappy with my performance and was looking around for another race. The last triathlon race is this Sunday in London but its completly sold out. Maybe I'll run either the Ajax Half Marathon this month or the Scotiabank Half Marathon next month. Although I don't have any problems with my shin, I'm wondering if running another half marathon might be pushing it?
Oh yea, I finally got to try that Ironman Perform after I crossed the finsih line and it was quite disgusting. I couldn't even drink half the bottle.
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| Mihaela & Doru S, John P and me |
Friday, September 9, 2011
Next Up, Muskoka 70.3
To be honest, I thought my race season was over after I got the stress fracture in my shin from the Toronto Marathon. While, I'm glad to be entering my first and only triathlon of 2011, I must admit, I am not pumped up for it. I'm sort of going in with the attitude "well, its only a Half Ironman and I did it last year. No big deal" Not a good attitude.
My Goals
Swim - 1.9 km (Last year's time: 37.43 - 1:54 min/100 m)
I'd be very happy to match last year's swim time
T1 (Last year's time: 5:12) Ok although it is a 400 meter run from the swim exit up a hill to T1, as one of my friends asked me "what, did you stop and do your hair?" I have to do better
Bike - 94 km (Last year's time: 3:23 - 27.7 km/hr )
Last year my chain popped off and then I got a flat tire. My speed has not increased at all so if I can do 3:10 on the bike, that will be ok
T2 (Last year's time: 2:59)
Had to take the longest leak of my life. I tried going on the bike but nada
Run ( Last year's time: 2:03 - 5:50 min/km)
This is the toughest half marathon I've ever run (about 8 half marathons) because of rolling hills in the last six kilometers. My run fitness is nowhere near what it was in the spring. My run times are all over the map and I can't figure out what pace I'll be able to hold.
Goal: Under 6 hours
I'm raising money for Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. Please sponsor me if you can
http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=3130366&Lang=en-CA
Note to our US friends: This is a Canadian charity so you will not be able to use the tax deduction but thanks anyways
My Goals
Swim - 1.9 km (Last year's time: 37.43 - 1:54 min/100 m)
I'd be very happy to match last year's swim time
T1 (Last year's time: 5:12) Ok although it is a 400 meter run from the swim exit up a hill to T1, as one of my friends asked me "what, did you stop and do your hair?" I have to do better
Bike - 94 km (Last year's time: 3:23 - 27.7 km/hr )
Last year my chain popped off and then I got a flat tire. My speed has not increased at all so if I can do 3:10 on the bike, that will be ok
T2 (Last year's time: 2:59)
Had to take the longest leak of my life. I tried going on the bike but nada
Run ( Last year's time: 2:03 - 5:50 min/km)
This is the toughest half marathon I've ever run (about 8 half marathons) because of rolling hills in the last six kilometers. My run fitness is nowhere near what it was in the spring. My run times are all over the map and I can't figure out what pace I'll be able to hold.
Goal: Under 6 hours
I'm raising money for Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. Please sponsor me if you can
http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=3130366&Lang=en-CA
Note to our US friends: This is a Canadian charity so you will not be able to use the tax deduction but thanks anyways
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
BAMF!!
My buddy was racing IMC a couple of weeks ago when he got sideswiped by a SUV on the bike course. He went down hard but got up to finish in 11:48. Not bad for his first IM! BAMF!!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Why You Should Zip Up Your Riding Shirt
So the taper down for Muskoka 70.3 has begun, although it isn't much of a taper as its only one week. Running wise, my shin is ok but does get a little sore after each run but my run times down right suck. I'm probably about one minute per kilometer slower than when I was running in April this year but at least I'm running. I was hopping to smash last year's time of 6:12 (flat tire) but my biking has not improved all that much and I'm going to be hard pressed to beat last year's run time of 2:03. I've tried to incorporate some hill training in my runs, but it just aggravates my shin.
At this time of year, it is getting lighter out later and later. I headed out while it was still dark as we had plans go visit my cousin and hang out at the beach. Last week, while riding with Peter A, we found a nice hill to do some hill repeats. Its straight up Mccowan Road past Aurora Road and in the same area of where the twin hills are except they are off Kennedy Road. One thing that's better than riding the twin hills on Kennedy, is that Mccowan becomes a dead end road so there is no traffic. With Kennedy road, you get the odd car or dump truck that comes racing over the hills. I did the two hill repeats before heading back home. My legs were burning after the second repeat and I'm sure I'll be seeing those hills many times next summer before IMMT. I was zipping down Mccowan coming down a long but not steep hill doing about 50 km\hr when I saw this black thing flying in front of me. Before I had a chance to brush it away, it flew into my shirt and I tried to get it out. It stung me once as I fished around for it. I jammed on the brakes and veered to the left where there was a driveway. I didn't even look behind me as a car just missed me as I turned across the road. I stopped and tried to get the wasp out and it stung me again on my side. I ripped off my helmet and shirt looking for the little bugger but couldn't find it. I guess it could have been worse. One my brothers got stung in the mouth during IMLP.
Coming off the ride, was a 45 minute run. This is the longest brick I've done and it was very humid. The temperature was only 23 degrees but with the humidity it felt like 33 degrees. If I'm going to stand a chance of beating last year's run time of 2:03, I figure the only way I can do it is to run a negative split. I have to hold back on the first half and hammer through those rolling hills on the second half. I took off running and kept checking my pace. I started out at 5:45 min\km (perfect) and then next time I looked, I was running at 5:00 min\km and then 4:50 pace. Ok, this is not how a negative split works. I had lots of trouble running at a slower pace but oddly during my last long run, I had to run faster to maintain my pace. The run was tough with the heat as I ran along Rammerville which has some rolling hills (not much but better than a flat road) and even did one hill repeat. I was bagged after the run and completely soaking wet. I don't think I could have gotten any wetter if I went swimming.
During the last couple of long rides, my Power Tap has conked out during the rides. Last week, it died about 12 minutes into the ride and a couple of weeks ago, it died about 75 minutes into the ride but the weird thing is that for my indoor trainer rides, its worked perfectly. How could it work inside but not outside as its a wired unit so there is no interference. I didn't want to take any chances for Muskoka so I took it up to coach and he replaced the batteries in the unit head as well as the hub. For this ride, it worked perfectly and I didn't have any problems. In fact, my power numbers surged. I normally ride around 175 watts (yes I know this is pathetic) but today's ride I averaged 225 watts. I asked coach and he said it was a) I had a great ride - ummm maybe b) I'm getting stronger - no c) weak batteries in the hub - yea this is probably it. We'll find out for sure over the next couple of rides.
So as we head into the last week of my first and last triathlon of the season, I don't feel as prepared as I did last year. Last year's swim was a PB and I don't know if I can match it. I thought I would be stronger on the bike this year but my numbers at the Peterbough Half Iron Aqua\Bike don't show it and I'm slower and weaker on the run because of all the time I lost from the stress fracture in my shin. I guess I should be happy that I'm able to race at all this year and look at this race as a preview for Ironman Mont-Tremblant. Oh speaking of preview races, how's this for the ultimate warm up race for IMMT? Pretty clever
Following the excitement over the inaugural Ironman Mont-Tremblant next August, World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) announces that it will also offer an Ironman 70.3 event in Mont-Tremblant on June 24, 2012. This will be WTC's first-ever 70.3 event in the province of Quebec.
“We anticipated that registration would fill up quickly but the interest and response from athletes has been beyond our expectations for the inaugural Ironman Mont-Tremblant,” said Mitch Fraser, WTC’s Director of Event Development in Canada. “We are delighted to be able to enhance our calendar by offering athletes the Ironman 70.3 Mont-Tremblant race. Participants registered for the full Ironman in August will have the chance to experience the course in June.” Online registration for Ironman 70.3 Mont-Tremblant will open on Monday, Sept. 19, 2011, at 12 p.m. EDT at www.ironmanmonttremblant.com.
A challenging course
Ironman 70.3 Mont-Tremblant athletes will begin the 1.2-mile swim at the Beach and Tennis Club close to Tremblant’s pedestrian village. The one-loop course will bring them back to the Beach Park, 300 meters from the transition zone, located close to the Quintessence Hotel.
The 56-mile bike course winds mainly through forest and mountains, with the Montée Ryan being the most consistent part of the challenge. At Highway 117 the elevation goes from 200 meters to 310 meters with a six percent slope. On the return route, via Montée Ryan and the Chemin des Voyageurs that crosses Mont Tremblant Resort, the athletes head into the municipality of Lac Supérieur.
The 13.1-mile run leads athletes through the Tremblant pedestrian village, toward Club Intrawest and then to the linear park bike path. The athletes will run through the Old Village sector of Mont-Tremblant before launching on to the final portion on Chemin du Lac Mercier. After having run along Le P’tit Train du Nord, a former railway bed that has been made into a linear park – the longest of its kind in Canada - the athletes will complete the course by again running along the Chemin du Village to end at Mont Tremblant Resort.
Originally from: http://ironman.com/new-event-in-quebec-slated-for-june-24-2012#ixzz1Wytz7Ka6
At this time of year, it is getting lighter out later and later. I headed out while it was still dark as we had plans go visit my cousin and hang out at the beach. Last week, while riding with Peter A, we found a nice hill to do some hill repeats. Its straight up Mccowan Road past Aurora Road and in the same area of where the twin hills are except they are off Kennedy Road. One thing that's better than riding the twin hills on Kennedy, is that Mccowan becomes a dead end road so there is no traffic. With Kennedy road, you get the odd car or dump truck that comes racing over the hills. I did the two hill repeats before heading back home. My legs were burning after the second repeat and I'm sure I'll be seeing those hills many times next summer before IMMT. I was zipping down Mccowan coming down a long but not steep hill doing about 50 km\hr when I saw this black thing flying in front of me. Before I had a chance to brush it away, it flew into my shirt and I tried to get it out. It stung me once as I fished around for it. I jammed on the brakes and veered to the left where there was a driveway. I didn't even look behind me as a car just missed me as I turned across the road. I stopped and tried to get the wasp out and it stung me again on my side. I ripped off my helmet and shirt looking for the little bugger but couldn't find it. I guess it could have been worse. One my brothers got stung in the mouth during IMLP.
Coming off the ride, was a 45 minute run. This is the longest brick I've done and it was very humid. The temperature was only 23 degrees but with the humidity it felt like 33 degrees. If I'm going to stand a chance of beating last year's run time of 2:03, I figure the only way I can do it is to run a negative split. I have to hold back on the first half and hammer through those rolling hills on the second half. I took off running and kept checking my pace. I started out at 5:45 min\km (perfect) and then next time I looked, I was running at 5:00 min\km and then 4:50 pace. Ok, this is not how a negative split works. I had lots of trouble running at a slower pace but oddly during my last long run, I had to run faster to maintain my pace. The run was tough with the heat as I ran along Rammerville which has some rolling hills (not much but better than a flat road) and even did one hill repeat. I was bagged after the run and completely soaking wet. I don't think I could have gotten any wetter if I went swimming.
During the last couple of long rides, my Power Tap has conked out during the rides. Last week, it died about 12 minutes into the ride and a couple of weeks ago, it died about 75 minutes into the ride but the weird thing is that for my indoor trainer rides, its worked perfectly. How could it work inside but not outside as its a wired unit so there is no interference. I didn't want to take any chances for Muskoka so I took it up to coach and he replaced the batteries in the unit head as well as the hub. For this ride, it worked perfectly and I didn't have any problems. In fact, my power numbers surged. I normally ride around 175 watts (yes I know this is pathetic) but today's ride I averaged 225 watts. I asked coach and he said it was a) I had a great ride - ummm maybe b) I'm getting stronger - no c) weak batteries in the hub - yea this is probably it. We'll find out for sure over the next couple of rides.
So as we head into the last week of my first and last triathlon of the season, I don't feel as prepared as I did last year. Last year's swim was a PB and I don't know if I can match it. I thought I would be stronger on the bike this year but my numbers at the Peterbough Half Iron Aqua\Bike don't show it and I'm slower and weaker on the run because of all the time I lost from the stress fracture in my shin. I guess I should be happy that I'm able to race at all this year and look at this race as a preview for Ironman Mont-Tremblant. Oh speaking of preview races, how's this for the ultimate warm up race for IMMT? Pretty clever
WTC Announces Ironman 70.3 Mont-Tremblant
New event in Quebec slated for June 24, 2012
Published Thursday, August 25, 2011
Following the excitement over the inaugural Ironman Mont-Tremblant next August, World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) announces that it will also offer an Ironman 70.3 event in Mont-Tremblant on June 24, 2012. This will be WTC's first-ever 70.3 event in the province of Quebec.A challenging course
Ironman 70.3 Mont-Tremblant athletes will begin the 1.2-mile swim at the Beach and Tennis Club close to Tremblant’s pedestrian village. The one-loop course will bring them back to the Beach Park, 300 meters from the transition zone, located close to the Quintessence Hotel.
The 56-mile bike course winds mainly through forest and mountains, with the Montée Ryan being the most consistent part of the challenge. At Highway 117 the elevation goes from 200 meters to 310 meters with a six percent slope. On the return route, via Montée Ryan and the Chemin des Voyageurs that crosses Mont Tremblant Resort, the athletes head into the municipality of Lac Supérieur.
The 13.1-mile run leads athletes through the Tremblant pedestrian village, toward Club Intrawest and then to the linear park bike path. The athletes will run through the Old Village sector of Mont-Tremblant before launching on to the final portion on Chemin du Lac Mercier. After having run along Le P’tit Train du Nord, a former railway bed that has been made into a linear park – the longest of its kind in Canada - the athletes will complete the course by again running along the Chemin du Village to end at Mont Tremblant Resort.
Originally from: http://ironman.com/new-event-in-quebec-slated-for-june-24-2012#ixzz1Wytz7Ka6
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