Fall Riding

This weekend's weather was totally awesome.  While I was exchanging emails with a buddy, Rommel, he asked me if I wanted to join them on a bike ride this Saturday.  They were meeting at 8:30 am at Angus Glen CC (where I swim) on Saturday so it was an easy 15 minute ride over.  The weather was a little chilly in the morning but I knew it would be hot later in the morning.  Rommel promised it would be an "easy" ride with no hammering it.  The race season was over and it was a short 80 km ride straight up Warden Ave just shy of the southern tip of Lake Simcoe.  I've done this route several times and am familiar with the road as Warden is flat as a pancake for the first 30 km and then goes into some small rollers.  No problem.   There were five other guys and Lisa.  This was the biggest group ride I've ever been part of.  Usually I ride solo or with one other rider.  One of the riders was Roger Hospedales who writes for Ironman.com, Running Free and Multisports Canada.  I've read several of his articles but didn't realize who he was until after he turned back partway through the ride.  He had to get home to report on Kona. 

The pace started out slow but quickly moved up.  Only later did I realize we had a pretty good tail wind.  I checked my heart rate and I was around 150 bps.  I knew I would be able to keep this up but I didn't want to get dropped this early in the ride!  Basically at every interesection, the lead rider would hold up and wait until the last rider reached.  We kept fairly tight together.  Lisa was keeping up pretty good.  We reached the turn around point and pulled off to the side to rest and refuel.  I had three gels but was feeling tired.  This was only the third ride since Muskoka.  Rommel mentioned that several guys knew Coach and we chatted about him for a couple of minutes.  The conversation confirms what I've been thinking about him the last two months.


We started to head back home and directly into a headwind.  This was going to be trouble!  Within a couple of minutes, the line spread out pretty quick and I was struggling to keep up.  When we met up at the next interesection, I told the other guys not to wait up as I would stay back with Lisa.  Needless to say, it was a long ride back home.  By the time we got back to Angus Glen, the other guys had taken off, not that I expected them to wait.  I checked my power tap and saw that I burned about 2,300 calories but only had about 600 for breakfast and 300 in gels during the ride.  Talk about running out of gas.  Rommel suggested we ride with them next spring and summer as many of them are doing Ironman.  Not a bad idea as riding with faster people will make me faster and my bike needs work.  Lots of it.

Sunday I ran for about 90 minutes and it was a disaster.  I think I was still tired from Saturday's ride.  I was using a wooden roller for the bottom of my foot/heel and it killed.  I'm still mulling over running the Angus Glen Half marathon next month.

Holiday Monday (Thanksgiving) was another awesome day but I had a meeting at 9:00 am.  It ran a longer than I thought it would.  I wanted to get another ride in so I bugged my brother Don to go riding.  He made every excuse in the book but I basically told him that the riding season was almost over and there aren't going to be too many days where its sunny and 25 degrees.  He agreed and so I rode down to his place in Ajax and then we tooled around south Ajax for about 45 minutes.  Tammy wasn't too happy about me working on Thanksgiving and then go riding so I agreed we'd all go to Whittamores Farm after she picked me up at Don's house.  It was total chaos but expected for a beautiful holiday Monday. 

Vanessa with a friend

I was tired from the ride but didn't dare complain to Tammy.  It was another beautiful day but sadly days like these are coming to an end.

Toronto 5150

It looks like there is a proposal for the WTC to host a 5150 race in Toronto ala Ironman New York City.  The plan would be to swim would be in Lake Ontario (yuck, I don't know about that), the bike would be on the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway.  This is laughable as they are two of three major highways in Toronto and they are going to shut them down for 1,000-2,000 athletes?  And the run somewhere in the Beaches.  Oddly enough, Toronto city council denied their request.

Last year, soon to be mayor Rob Ford criticized shutting down major streets in Toronto for the Toronto Marathon and the Scotiabank Marathon, although he did have a point as to why there were two major marathons that were only three weeks apart.  Rob Ford said if he were mayor, the marathons would be delegated to the parks.  Yes that's how the New York and Chicago marathons have their courses set up.  Running in circles in a park.  All 40,000 runners.

Speaking of which, it seems that there is a new war breaking out on running races in Toronto.  The Toronto marathon moved from the fall to the spring this year.  The organizers of the Scotiabank Marathon want to set up a new 10 km race in the spring however the Sporting Life 10 km race which has been around for years and attracts over 10,000 runners is also in the spring.  So, they want three races all within one month, running down Yonge Street (a major, major road in Toronto).  That should make Mayor Ford very happy (he's quite overweight).

Going back to the WTC and they're new 5150 series, it seems that they have replaced the Muksoka Long Course (2 km swim, 55 km bike and 13 km run) as the new Muskoka 5150 is on the same weekend as the Long Course is usually scheduled.

On the training front, not much.  This week I started swimming with the Masters swim club and targeting the Angus Glen Half Marathon in November.  I'm eating like a pig and my weight shot up to 178 pounds but drifting back down.

Oink oink or should I say gobble, gobble

Summer Is Over!

As September comes to an end, so does summer.  I ran this morning for 93 minutes and the weather was pretty crappy.  The temperature had dropped to 7 degrees and it was windy (44 km\hr).  I wore long sleeve shirt and pants and used running gloves.   I was just thankful I didn't have to ride in this crap and tomorrow the temperature drops down to 4 degrees.  Doh!

Training has dropped off as I'm only running three times a week.  I'm only riding once a week (outside) but the weather is getting much colder.  I haven't swam since Muskoka 70.3 but did think about going to Stoufville to swim on Friday morning.  Instead I just surfed the net in the morning.  I'm not sure if Masters has started up but I'm debating on joining them now or swim at Centennial on my own for a couple of months (its much cheaper).

I'm targeting the Angus Glen Half Marathon in early November but still worried about my stress fracture in my shin.  So far, so good.  I'm not really shooting for time as I don't want to do any hill training or intervals.  This race is more about something to train for as I can't sit around and do nothing.

Nothing going on with the coaching front.  I'll start interviewing a couple of coaches next month.  The thought of building my own training plan has crossed my mind.

Other than that, there is nothing going on, other than drinking lots of beer and gaining weight.  Oink oink

Oh yea, I played ice hockey this afternoon for the first time since March.  I had my ass handed to me as I was badly out of shape (might have had something to do with running 17 km this morning).  I'll start playing regularly this Tuesday until Christmas and depending on what my new coach says, that could be the end of winter hockey.  This IM training is getting to be a real PITA

Montreal Marathon - What's Wrong With This Picture?

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.

I'm Pretty Sure Alcohol Was Involved!

Yikes!

After the floods in Australia, look what comes crawling out.........

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

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.

Me and Peter A.  Do I look fat?

Me in the middle with no goggles

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.



Mihaela & Doru S, John P and me



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

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!!

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

wse > Home / WTC Announces Ironman 70.3 Mont-Tremblant

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.



 

“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

Now That's Gotta Hurt!

In this image provided by the University Medical Center in Tucson, a CT scan shows a pair of pruning shears embedded in the head of an 86-year-old Green Valley, Ariz., man before it was removed by Medical Center surgeons in Tucson on July 30, 2011. Leroy Luetscher was accidentally impaled through his eye socket after falling on the shears while working in his yard, the handle penetrating his eye socket and reaching down into his neck. He is expected to make a full recovery. (AP Photo/University Medical Center, Tucson, Arizona)

Today's workout is 5:00 am 10 km run followed by a 2.5 hour drive (one way) for a round of golf.  Yup summer is coming to an end.

Sign In Front Of A Pub - Only In Australia

Today was a 90 minute long run for 15 km @  6 min\km pace.  I was worried about my shins and knee but things went ok.  My shin is slightly sore but managable and my knee was a little sore but some ice after the run took care of it.  We should be good to go.......famous last words!

Love Thy Trainer...Not

I switched Thursday's run with Friday's ride as my runs are getting longer (90 minutes tomorrow) and I can't make it to 6:00 am swimming unless I start running at 4:15 am, which is just....stupid.  Today's 45 minute trainer ride was nothing short of pathetic.  I knew going in, it was going to be a tough ride after yesterday's 75 minute ride which went better than I thought it would.  I started watching the Bourne Identity movies with Matt Damon.  Ya gotta love all that action.  It makes the trainer ride a little bit easier.  Within the first 15 minutes I was struggling to keep going and around the 25 minute mark, I grounded to a halt.  A short 20 second rest and getting to the good action scenes helped me make it through the sessions but I dreaded to look at the power tap numbers.

I hopped into the car and headed to the pool.  Lisa went to Mount Tremblant for the weekend to check out the course so I decided to just bang out 2,000 meters.  I was counting every 50 meters and stopped when I reached the 20th 50 meters.  I looked at the clock but only 18 minutes had passed and the lifeguards who switch every 30 minutes, had not changed.  It finally dawned on me that 50 meters times 20 laps is only 1,000 meters so I started to swimming again.  The trainer ride had taken a lot of steam out of me but I finished around 39 minutes.  I was satisfied with that time and headed home to get ready for a round of golf at 9:45 am.  Yes, it was a triathlon of a different sort.  Bike, Swim and Golf.  But golf was a disaster because I was tired and by the fourth hole I really began to fall apart however after the ninth hole (and loading up with sandwiches and beers) my game picked up and I finished half decent.  I only get out 5-6 times a year so my game is pretty much what I expect.

On the injury front, my right knee has begun to ache ever since I started riding inside and my right shin is a little sore.  The same spot where I had the stress fracture.  I guess last week's long run was a bit too much as I threw in a couple of hill repeats.  Scobie warned me about too many people that come back too hard which leads to re-injuries.  This could be trouble as I just registered for Muskoka 70.3 on September 11th and we can not cancel our accommodations.  This triathlon season hasn't gone very well.  We'll see how tomorrow's run goes.

Orillia Race Report - KOS & Duathlon

Kids Of Steel - Saturday

On Saturday we headed up to Orillia (90 minutes north of Toronto) for the Kids Of Steel race.  We thought about going up last year but couldn't get organized as I was racing the following day.  This year, Tammy was racing the Du so we decided to go up and stay overnight.  It sounded like a lot of fun as I knew several families going up.  Peter A (childhood friend), Paul and Cathy S (fellow master swimmers), and Doru.  All of us have kids and all were racing.  Heading up to Orillia was a mess as there was a traffic accident and we were stuck in traffic for a good hour.  For once we left early enough to make it to Orillia before registration closed.  It was fun walking the kids through the process, getting them set up in transition and explaining what they were going to do. We were a little worried about not being able to help the kids out during transition but there were tons of volunteers to help them out.  The race was delayed for about an hour because of the thunder and lightening.  Try telling kids to wait for an hour with nothing to do in the pouring rain but finally lightening ended and they were ready to go!

Pre race jitters

Jake was the first one to start.  He was in the 4-5 age category and the race was 25 meter swim (well water running actually as it was shallow), a 500 meter bike ride and a 100 meter run.  It was pretty chaotic as parents were yelling and screaming at their kids and then started running along the beach to follow them (I was guilty as well). 

I have to pee!

Dad, he said I need a timing chip.  What's a timing chip?

Get outta of my way!

 



 The hardest part was Vanessa who was in the second wave right behind Jake so while I was following Jake, Tammy was watching Vanessa and then all hell broke loose. Jake was on the bike course, Vanessa was coming in to T1 . Tammy followed Vanessa out on the bike while Jake had come in to T2 and started to run and I had to take Rebecca to her swim start. By the time Rebeeca was coming in to T1, Vanessa was still on the bike and Jake had finished his run but neither Tammy and I were there at the finish.  I yelled at Tammy go to the finish line and meet Jake.  All this time, other parents were running around and yelling at their kids.  For an observer, it must have looked war had just broken out with everyone yelling and running all over the place.

Although Rebecca was not yet 8 years old, she had to race in the 8-9 age group as its based on the year you are born (DOH!!  I forgot about that).  She was one of the smallest kids and not the strongest swimmers.  Fortunately, she was allowed to use a swim noodle as she had to swim 100 meters (the water was too deep to walk), ride 5 km (I don't think she's ridden more than 500 meters) and then run one km (nope, never done that before).  By the time she finished the swim, the rain was pouring down and she had to ride but she finished with a smile (which is more than I can say I've ever done)

Run Rebecca Run!!

Finish my first triathlon!!

Vanessa heading into T1

Help with transition

Tammy giving Vanessa directions

All in all, it was an excellent day for the kids to finish their first triathlon.  It was a long and exciting day for everyone and I think its a great way to get the kids active.  I looked around and there must have been over 100 kids which is pretty awesome given the crappy weather.

The Duathlon - Sunday

This was Tammy's longest race and it was my turn to watch the kids for over 2.5 hours.  No problem because Paul and Cathy's three kids would be there and they usually play great together.  The skies were overcast but according to the weather channel, the rain should hold off until noon so that means at some point during the race, we were going to get wet.

Mommy, don't leave me with daddy!

Finishing the first run

Who's kids are these?



A long wait

Tammy did the first run two kilometers in good time and headed out onto to the bike.  This was the longest bike she's ever done (including training).  We rode together on Friday (while the kids were in day camp) and I  told her about gearing down when riding up hills (ie high cadence).  I guess most of her training rides are flat and while Orillia is not a hilly course, it was pretty hilly for her.  She rode the bike faster than I thought she would.

Coming in from Tammy's longest bike (30 km)

The third part was a 7 km run and I knew this was going to be the toughest part for Tammy.  The kids were great but I think they were getting hungry as they've been up for 4 hours and wouldn't eat any breakfast.  I didn't bring any food because I thought the snack bar would be open.  Why any one wouldn't want to open a snack bar when there were about 500 people milling around for a couple of hours, is beyond me.

Tammy's run was a little longer than I figured and we moved down to the finish line after hanging out by transition for most of the time.  It was getting darker and darker and I knew we were going to get wet so at least the finish line area had tents and lots of trees.  While we were waiting by the finish line, I saw a runner come in that looked liked Greg, the guy I bought my wetsuit from several years ago.  Greg has done IMLP a couple of times but was done with racing.  He's semi-retired and moved to Mexico part time but recently rode his motorcycle across Canada.  Later on, I did meet up with him and it was Greg.  We chatted for a couple of minutes and it was good to catch up.

Tammy came in just as the rain start pouring down.  What timing and the kids were really beginning to lose it!!  Here over time was 2:28 which is pretty good and was happy to have finished.

Ok seriously, we need a bike rack.

We need a bike rack







City2Surf - Sydney, Australia

This is too funny



Stolen from Jeff Dangle The Carrot

City2Surf is a 14 km race that attracts over 85,000 runners in Sydney, Australia.  Why a distance of 14 km is beyond me?  Read Jess' race report

Today was a 45 minute trainer ride followed by a 2,500 meter swim.  At 5:00 am it is pitch black and too dark to ride outside.  Summer is coming to an end :(

WHOOOAAAA!!!!

Work has been abolutely brutal last week and I've had no time to blog or read blogs.  I just barely have enough time to train, work and sleep but things are going along with Muskoka 70.3 only a month away.  Last year at this time, I was anxious and this year, its like, ho-hum.  Its ONLY a Half Ironman.  What's the big deal?  Hmmm what a difference a year makes especially considering this is my first, and only, triathlon this summer due to all the injuries.

I was pretty happy with my swimming the previous week when I banged out 3,000 meters and 3,500 meters.  Its amazing how much more energy I have when I don't run 9 km at 5:00 am before I go swimming at 6:00 am however, Tuesday's swim was, uhmmm.....interesting.  The fast lane is a double lane wide and was pretty empty.  I generally don't like swimming in circles rather just swim up and down the lane however if more people join then obviously we have to swim in circles.  Things were ok until near the end of my swim.  My buddy Derek showed up and we chatted for a couple of minutes until he went to the far side of the fast lane while I went to the other side.  I forgot my swim workout so I was just doing things to come up with a 2,000 meter workout.  I was almost done and was heading DOWN the lane when some guy came UP the same lane I was swimming in.  We just missed and it scared the crap out of me as I have been swimming by myself for 45 minutes.  I changed to swimming in circles but didn't say anything as I only had six laps to go.  Several times as we passed each other, he seemed to drift pretty close to me and I looked down to see if I was off line but each time, I was always left of the black line.  I was getting pretty pissed but kept telling myself it wasn't worth getting into an argument but as I finished my last lap, he was right behind me and I stood up and ripped off my goggles and swim cap.  I turned to him and snarled "if you're going to jump in my lane, at least let me know."  He looked surprised and said "it was a free pool and he can swim wherever he wanted to.  Well the conversation degenerate into some name calling and I told him to "learn how to swim" and jumped out of the pool.  I was hoping he would follow me into the showers and we could continue our "discussions." Thankfully he didn't, as I had a pretty good idea, how it would end.

Thursday's run (before swimming) was pretty good as I went the full distance without doing the 10 x 1s.  I ran about 10 km in 53 minutes or so which I was pretty happy but left me totally wiped for the swim.  I bailed after a pathetic 1,400 meters.

Friday's ride was only 45 minutes so I opted to ride the trainer.  Without a doubt, riding inside is a thousand times harder than riding outside but it was pouring so I rode inside.  Comparing the power numbers, it was brutal.  By the end, I was totally drenched and all my numbers were lower than outdoor riding but I'm going to ride once a week inside to start building for the winter riding season.

Saturday's ride was another 100 km ride followed by 20 minute run but I had to be at work by 11 am so that meant I had to out the door by 6 am at the latest.  It was cool and a little dark as summer is coming to an end and the sun is rising later and later.  Boo.  It was an okay ride and fairly uneventful except when I was heading back home, I was flying down a short hill in aero position when a lady started to run across the street except she was looking the wrong way and I yelled WWWWHOOOOAAAA!!!!  She was quite startled as it was only around 8 am and I must have scared the crap out of her.  If I didn't say anything she would have ran right into my path and that would have been a painful crash.  I think I'm finally getting the hang of my nutrition but still don't think I'm taking enough calories on the bike.  I had about 1,000 calories and three salt pills but I burned about 2,000 calories.  I have a tough time taking in more calories and also how to carry more calories.  
The run off the bike was tough as it was humid and I'd be hard pressed going any longer than the 20 minutes I ran.  Sunday morning was a right off as I was so tired after the brick and working five hours.

I left the house this morning around 5:20 am and it was still dark.  The ride was pretty ho hum except I need to get used to riding in the dark as once I'm in the country (10 minutes from my house), there are no street lights and I can't see anything.  The run off the bike was pretty good as I ended up running a 4:15 minute\km pace.  The whole run wasn't at that pace but knowing I could finish at that pace felt good.  My shin only ached a little bit.

I also signed up for Muskoko 70.3 for a mere $334.  What a rip off but hardly unexpected with Ironman Tremblant a steal of a deal for $734 or something like that.

Let's hope I don't get hurt in the next four weeks

PS:  Just to clairfy, I was not annoyed with the guy for jumping in my lane unannounced but rather because he changed the direction of the lane without bother telling me and I already had been in swimming for 45 minutes by myself

Dieting - Epic Fail

The dieting front has not been going very well.  This week I ate at McDonalds twice and felt sick afterwards.  I had the Crispy Chicken sandwich and ended up throwing out half of it.  The second time I ate at McDonalds, even the fries tasted like crap and I love their fries.  I've think I drank beers almost every night this week and even swam last Sunday morning hung over.

On the swimming front, Tuesday's swim was a nice 3,000 meters and today's swim was even a better 3,500 meters.  Both are record distances for myself.  Today, I should have kept swimming to make it a nice Ironman swim of 3,800 meters

On the running front, this week I'll have run three times for about 50 minutes.  I've  used the run 10 minutes and walk one minute twice during each run and skipping the last walk session.  So far, my shin is holding up just fine.

On the Ironman front, Scobie sent me an email about Ironman Melbourne for March 2013.  I asked him if he was trying to get me divorced.  He laughed and said this would help me "love" my trainer.  Somehow, riding on my trainer for 6 hours isn't even remotely funny.

Back to the cupcakes

This Should Make The Swim Interesting

Vineyard Warrior Triathletes Warned To Be On The Lookout For Sharks

By Jim Armstrong, WBZ-TV

July 28, 2011 10:02 PM

athlon


BOSTON (CBS) – Close to 300 people have already signed up for the first-ever Vineyard Warrior triathlon, to be held on Martha’s Vineyard in September.  Participating in such an event is a test of one’s physical and emotional endurance – no less so when the swimming segment of the triathlon is set to take place in waters where shark sightings are being made.


“It’s a big mental game and especially with the news going on lately, it’s really in my head now,” says first-time triathlete Tom Kennedy. “I’m just going to kind of go and shut my eyes, and hopefully I’ll finish. That’s my goal.”

Kennedy’s wife Melissa will be joining him. She’s run marathons before, but acknowledges the preparation is quite different for this type of event – especially when she takes the native wildlife into consideration.  “My e-mail was going crazy with everybody sending me the links about sharks and Martha’s Vineyard and all that going on,” she said. “So I’m just trying not to worry about it as the day gets closer.”


Great white sharks made their annual reappearance in local waters this May, earlier than usual. State officials confirm another half dozen great white sightings off Chatham this weekend alone.
“We have friends who said, ‘you must try it here, it’ll be a great first triathlon for you’”, explained the Kennedys’ friend Mhairi Maclean, who agreed with the suggestion “until I got the news today that apparently I might be an object of desire for a shark.”


The sharks like it here because they feed on gray seals. They tend to stay in the area until September. That’s cutting it a little close for the Warrior event, scheduled for the eleventh.  The Vineyard Warrior will also be Lori Baronian’s inaugural triathlon. She jokes that there is no way a shark will mistake her for a seal.


“I think I will be swimming so slowly they will mistake me for a buoy, so I’ll be totally fine,” she says.  The would-be triathletes can have a little fun with the shark sightings, taking heart from that fact that it’s been 75 years since the last confirmed shark attack in Bay State waters. Besides, they say, it adds to the excitement of the event.  Said Baronian: “I get a thrill out of doing events like this, really challenging you physically and mentally.” Neither she nor any of her friends have plans to skip the event because of the shark sightings. Event organizers say they will do everything in their power to keep participants safe.




In honour of those racing Calgary 70.3 today, i did a cheesy 2,000 meter swim....hung over