Since my last race (Lakeside Tri), I have had a couple of weeks of training with last week being a big mileage week building towards a fall half marathon. I think it may have been my biggest week ever for running so I was certainly feeling my legs suffering towards the weekend. Didn't help that I was also on a business trip in California. Long social events and traveling around the bay area didn't allow for as much sleep as usual but we had a good time, and the meals were very tasty and not on my dollar!
This week is much easier so I have a chance to catch up on some other aspects of life, such as sleep. I have been extra tired coming back from this trip and it has been very tough to get moving after we put the kids down for the night. I am starting to feel more energized today so I hope the weather improves so I can head outside and enjoy the nice, fall air.
As most of us tri/du athletes are aware, this weekend is KONA! It may not be the biggest event for all of us, depending on your race length preference, but it is one that I think we all enjoy checking out. In similar fashion to many other blogs, I will lay down my bet for the fun of it. You may laugh or comment on any of my picks!
Women -
1. Chrissie Wellington - easy choice for a 3 time defending Champ. Racing in Timberman with Chrissie in the field gave me a deeper appreciation for how great she is.
2. Mirinda Carfrae - second last year, may be closer to Chrissie this year but will start the run too far back coming off the bike to actually win the big one.
3. Rebekah Keat - She has been very solid this season and has raced well in Kona in the past. Has the 3rd fastest Ironman time in history among women.
4. Samantha McGlone - got to cheer for the Canadian and hope she has everything ready to show off similar form to 2007, before her injury woes.
5. Julie Dibens - has the swim and bike but needs to improve the run before being a podium threat. She would really have to push the pace early in the race and force the others to blow up to have any chance against Chrissie and Mirinda.
Men -
1. Craig Alexander - I cannot bet against my favourite Ironman athlete. He is too talented and determined to not keep his streak alive. Go Crowie!
2. Rasmus Henning - He will be very tough out there with his overall speed. If he puts together his best race he may upset the defending Champ and be the one to enjoy the Big Island glory.
3. Andy Potts - with another year under his belt at this distance, it is tough to ignore this proven triathlete. Super strong in the water and no slouch on the bike. If he puts in a solid time on the run, he may move up from 9th last year into a podium spot.
4. Chris Lieto - I am a big fan of Chris and hope he pulls of the win but I am not sure he is going to be able to be fast enough on foot to keep the others from taking away his lead coming off the bike. If anyone does dethrone Crowie, this is the man I would like to see on top of the results page.
5. Terenzo Bozzone - I would have Terenzo up higher if he did not race so much this year. I think it may catch up with him in Kona.
Let me know what you think!
So many others that could be on this list, especially in the stacked men's field, but I stopped with the top 5.
*Andreas Raelert
*Chris McCormack
*Marino Vanhoenacker
*Faris Al - Sultan
*Luke McKenzie
*Dirk Bockel
*Pete Jacobs
*Maik Twelseik
*Timo Bracht
*Mathias Hecht
*Eneko Llanos
*Luke Bell
*Cam Brown
*Raynard Tissink
*Normann Stadler
*etc, etc., etc....
Have a great week!
October 5, 2010
September 23, 2010
Lakeside Olympic Tri - Race Report
My final triathlon experience of the season has now passed and the result was a mix of emotions for me. I had a goal time in mind of 2:10 for the Olympic distance event but I was almost ten minutes off that target. Certain portions of the race went well, and I am proud of the effort I placed out on the Lakeside Course, but a few other aspects left me a touch dissatisfied.
The 1.5k swim was a two loop journey in the cool Lakeside Resort waters. My plan was to turn things up a notch and see what I could manage for a time. I had big expectations and would have been happy with anything less than 28 minutes.
Out of the gate, I got my effort up substantially higher than usual for a water start. The water was not very clear so I could not tell how the others were doing around me but I seemed to be moving well and my sighting was bang on so I was not wasting time trying to stay on track. For much of the first lap I was feeling strong and was getting excited about my progress. I was even tempted to stop for a second before starting the second loop to check my split but decided to carry forward.
My second lap seemed even better and I was breaking each side of the rectangular final loop down into small bits to help make it feel like they were shorter little wins. Even on the last stretch to the beach I found more motivation to press harder for the last few hundred metres.
That’s why, when I was able to touch the bottom of the sandy beach, I was instantly dejected when I looked down to see just over 30 minutes had passed during my swim. I could not believe it! For the effort I placed out there, I was sure I was going to see a good time. To make matters worse, I was getting dizzy and could not get my shoulders out of the wetsuit on the slow walk to my bike.
The zipper in the suit had snagged on the flap inside and was only down halfway so the opening was very tiny. The rental was also new and the cuffs at the bottom of the sleeve seemed glued on to my wrist. I was starting to get flustered and even more light headed. I finally wiggled free and took a seat on the grass to catch my balance and throw on some socks for the bike ride.
Getting out to the road, I had a good mount and was off along my way. I was tired at this point and moving up a slight slope was not helping me. I knew this section was not going to be fast but I was hoping to be moving better than I was. It wasn’t until we made the turn around at two kilometres (extra little piece to the east first to make sure we hit 40k) out from transition that I started to find my cycling legs.
This next section was down wind and downhill so I started to fly past many of the other riders. I was making very good time on the field now so I started to feel good about the race again. At the 10k mark, I turned north for 2k which was now uphill with the wind angling into my front, right side. I did not want to give back all the speed I had just built up so I pushed hard on this road knowing the next right hand turn was going to be the toughest stretch of asphalt.
Sure enough, this is where everyone started to give back time as the mighty headwind and uphill battle really hammered the legs. This 16k slugfest was quickly dropping my average speed but I just stuck to the heart rate plan and figured I would eventually enjoy some wind benefit for the last 12k of the race.
After getting through this tough section, I turned south (around 28k area of the bike leg) and started to pick up some high speed but it was short lived as the final 9k heading west were much tougher than expected, even with the assistance of the wind. There were several rolling hills that were not close enough to use the benefit of momentum to keep the speed consistent.
With one final turn south back to the park, I knew I was minutes off my goal for the ride and was sure I was not going to be reaching any pb’s on the day. For the last several kilometres on the bike I was all by myself so I had lots of room to safely dismount and run into transition where I could tell I had still made some movement on the rest of the field. This gave me a little spark to finish the race in style.
The run part of the course I was more familiar with as I raced the Sprint in 2009. The bike course is very different from the Sprint but the running roads are pretty much the same.
The 10k run was two loops on mostly gravel sideroads with some hills thrown in for good measure. One being right at the turn around that was steep and on a loose, rocky running surface. I had moved through the first 2k in pretty solid fashion and was knocking off some more positions. By the time I hit the midway point of this hill, though, my legs were ready to fall off. The last push up was almost a walk to get around the turn indicator before free falling back to the bottom.
While out on the run course, I could see that I was not going to be top five as many of those spots were being filled by familiar faces well ahead of me. I made sure to encourage them as I continued and only hoped that I was hitting a respectable time so that the other Age Groupers (in later waves) were not closing in on my time.
On the second loop, I really dug deep and gave it everything I had. Even the gravel hill near the turn around seemed to flatten out as I cranked things up. Finally, I had made it back to the park and was directed into the finishing chute in 2:19, well off my hopeful race time.
So, although, most of the race did not go as planned, I was still happy to finish 11th overall with the 6th fastest bike time and the 2nd quickest run time on a challenging course. Many said the run course was actually a bit long so this made me feel even better as my run effort was deserving of a quicker pace on paper.
MORE TO COME (DRAFT)
The 1.5k swim was a two loop journey in the cool Lakeside Resort waters. My plan was to turn things up a notch and see what I could manage for a time. I had big expectations and would have been happy with anything less than 28 minutes.
Out of the gate, I got my effort up substantially higher than usual for a water start. The water was not very clear so I could not tell how the others were doing around me but I seemed to be moving well and my sighting was bang on so I was not wasting time trying to stay on track. For much of the first lap I was feeling strong and was getting excited about my progress. I was even tempted to stop for a second before starting the second loop to check my split but decided to carry forward.
My second lap seemed even better and I was breaking each side of the rectangular final loop down into small bits to help make it feel like they were shorter little wins. Even on the last stretch to the beach I found more motivation to press harder for the last few hundred metres.
That’s why, when I was able to touch the bottom of the sandy beach, I was instantly dejected when I looked down to see just over 30 minutes had passed during my swim. I could not believe it! For the effort I placed out there, I was sure I was going to see a good time. To make matters worse, I was getting dizzy and could not get my shoulders out of the wetsuit on the slow walk to my bike.
The zipper in the suit had snagged on the flap inside and was only down halfway so the opening was very tiny. The rental was also new and the cuffs at the bottom of the sleeve seemed glued on to my wrist. I was starting to get flustered and even more light headed. I finally wiggled free and took a seat on the grass to catch my balance and throw on some socks for the bike ride.
Getting out to the road, I had a good mount and was off along my way. I was tired at this point and moving up a slight slope was not helping me. I knew this section was not going to be fast but I was hoping to be moving better than I was. It wasn’t until we made the turn around at two kilometres (extra little piece to the east first to make sure we hit 40k) out from transition that I started to find my cycling legs.
This next section was down wind and downhill so I started to fly past many of the other riders. I was making very good time on the field now so I started to feel good about the race again. At the 10k mark, I turned north for 2k which was now uphill with the wind angling into my front, right side. I did not want to give back all the speed I had just built up so I pushed hard on this road knowing the next right hand turn was going to be the toughest stretch of asphalt.
Sure enough, this is where everyone started to give back time as the mighty headwind and uphill battle really hammered the legs. This 16k slugfest was quickly dropping my average speed but I just stuck to the heart rate plan and figured I would eventually enjoy some wind benefit for the last 12k of the race.
After getting through this tough section, I turned south (around 28k area of the bike leg) and started to pick up some high speed but it was short lived as the final 9k heading west were much tougher than expected, even with the assistance of the wind. There were several rolling hills that were not close enough to use the benefit of momentum to keep the speed consistent.
With one final turn south back to the park, I knew I was minutes off my goal for the ride and was sure I was not going to be reaching any pb’s on the day. For the last several kilometres on the bike I was all by myself so I had lots of room to safely dismount and run into transition where I could tell I had still made some movement on the rest of the field. This gave me a little spark to finish the race in style.
The run part of the course I was more familiar with as I raced the Sprint in 2009. The bike course is very different from the Sprint but the running roads are pretty much the same.
The 10k run was two loops on mostly gravel sideroads with some hills thrown in for good measure. One being right at the turn around that was steep and on a loose, rocky running surface. I had moved through the first 2k in pretty solid fashion and was knocking off some more positions. By the time I hit the midway point of this hill, though, my legs were ready to fall off. The last push up was almost a walk to get around the turn indicator before free falling back to the bottom.
While out on the run course, I could see that I was not going to be top five as many of those spots were being filled by familiar faces well ahead of me. I made sure to encourage them as I continued and only hoped that I was hitting a respectable time so that the other Age Groupers (in later waves) were not closing in on my time.
On the second loop, I really dug deep and gave it everything I had. Even the gravel hill near the turn around seemed to flatten out as I cranked things up. Finally, I had made it back to the park and was directed into the finishing chute in 2:19, well off my hopeful race time.
So, although, most of the race did not go as planned, I was still happy to finish 11th overall with the 6th fastest bike time and the 2nd quickest run time on a challenging course. Many said the run course was actually a bit long so this made me feel even better as my run effort was deserving of a quicker pace on paper.
MORE TO COME (DRAFT)
September 20, 2010
Lakeside 2010 - Oly Tri photos
For the past couple years I have done the Lakeside Triathlon as it is a chance for my Mom to come to one of my events to cheer me on. She lives closer to Sarnia and I do not do too much racing over on that side of the province.
At this race we also set aside some time for her hobby during and after the event. She loves to take pictures and we got some more great shots that you don't usually get from the race pics as they are always shooting head on and miss the side shots of the bike.
Hope you enjoy a few of the shots! I will post more when I have a few extra minutes this week.
At this race we also set aside some time for her hobby during and after the event. She loves to take pictures and we got some more great shots that you don't usually get from the race pics as they are always shooting head on and miss the side shots of the bike.
Hope you enjoy a few of the shots! I will post more when I have a few extra minutes this week.
September 10, 2010
Good Things Happening in our Backyard (Meadowvale)
Hi All,
I have been going to a local gym (McFit in Meadowvale) for a few years now, especially, on the colder days. During those visits, I noticed one gentleman that was a fixture on the treadmill, day after day, always putting in a very solid effort. Being the cautious people we are these days in the big city, I never introduced myself and we just went about our workouts not knowing anything about each other, except we both liked to run.
Well, a few weeks ago I was taking my little guy out for a bike ride on the trails of Meadowvale when we came across a charity walk/run at the Community Centre. It was just wrapping up so most of the organizers were packing up the event and loading the vehicles around the site.
I could tell I had just missed a fun run in my neighbourhood so I finally let my curiousity win over my shy side and asked a lady about the event. She told me that her son had organized the 5k walk/run in support of Team Fox and then she pointed over to him. Right away I recognized the fellow as the runner from the gym so I finally introduced myself. He then told me about his great cause and g.ave me some reading material that I would like to pass along via his website.
If you would like to read on about John Buchanan's story, please visit his site...
http://morethanamarathon.wordpress.com
If you have a little extra to donate, please follow the link to help John reach his fund raising goal in support of the fight to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease.
Thank you so much!
Larry
I have been going to a local gym (McFit in Meadowvale) for a few years now, especially, on the colder days. During those visits, I noticed one gentleman that was a fixture on the treadmill, day after day, always putting in a very solid effort. Being the cautious people we are these days in the big city, I never introduced myself and we just went about our workouts not knowing anything about each other, except we both liked to run.
Well, a few weeks ago I was taking my little guy out for a bike ride on the trails of Meadowvale when we came across a charity walk/run at the Community Centre. It was just wrapping up so most of the organizers were packing up the event and loading the vehicles around the site.
I could tell I had just missed a fun run in my neighbourhood so I finally let my curiousity win over my shy side and asked a lady about the event. She told me that her son had organized the 5k walk/run in support of Team Fox and then she pointed over to him. Right away I recognized the fellow as the runner from the gym so I finally introduced myself. He then told me about his great cause and g.ave me some reading material that I would like to pass along via his website.
If you would like to read on about John Buchanan's story, please visit his site...
http://morethanamarathon.wordpress.com
If you have a little extra to donate, please follow the link to help John reach his fund raising goal in support of the fight to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease.
Thank you so much!
Larry
September 8, 2010
September 7, 2010
Fall Preview - 2010
Coming off a few easy weeks post Timberman, it is time to re-focus and gear up for the fall season. I was going to do the Wasaga Olympic Tri but it did not work into my family schedule so I can wait for Lakeside to take a run at my Olympic Distance Tri debut. This should be interesting as the distance is one I have completed on the duathlon stage many times. I know from last season that my long term goal of sub 2 hours was getting closer to being realized but with the additional swim, I have to re-work the goal.
Sub 2 hours in a triathlon is years away so I would like to push towards a sub 2:10. This is probably a lot to ask at this point of my triathlon life but I like to challenge myself.
With Lakeside taking place on Sept 19th, I am missing out on a large number of events. I am shocked at how many great things are happening on this date. Take a look below for a short list of the interesting happenings, most of them I would have signed up for if they were any other date.
- Terry Fox Run (I really wish I could make this as it is such an amazing event, Worldwide!)
- Centurion 100 (lots of Falcons hitting this event)
- Tour de Mississauga
- Run for the Grapes Half Marathon (want to race a half before it gets too cold)
- FMCT Team TT (thankfully the club changed the date after they saw all the events on Sept 19)
- Greg Stobbart Memorial Ride (Kelso CA, Milton http://kelsoopenwaterswimming.blogspot.com/ )
- etc!!!!
As you can see it is a busy weekend, and that is just the evens close to home. After Lakeside, I would like to take a few shots at running events in the area. I don't want to travel too far and don't want to head downtown Toronto on a busy weekend. Here is a list I have put together and will work with Tyler to come up with a schedule that works for everyone.
*Erin - Sun, Sept 12th (5k or 10k?, might be too much with Tanya's plans this weekend, very close to home)
*Toronto Scotia - Sun, Sept 26th (half marathon, don't want to go right downtown TO, too soon after Lakeside)
*Caledon Kinetico - Sat, Oct 2nd (5k or 10k?, new date and course! works better (was on Sept 19th), free kids run that we did last year)
*Toronto - Sun, Oct 3rd (5k x-country, would love to do one xc before guelph but this may not work with other events)
*Guelph - Mon, Oct 11th (5k, on Thanksgiving so may be tough with family)
*Oakville - Fri, Oct 15th (5k or 10k?, want to do a fast 10k at some point)
*Base Borden - Sat, Oct 16th (half marathon, maybe too far of a drive?)
*Toronto Good Life - Sun, Oct 17th (half marathon, same as Scotia, don't want to go downtown)
*Niagara Falls - Sun, Oct 24th (half marathon, done the marathon here, too far a drive?)
*Oakville - Sun, Oct 24th (5k or 10k?, depends where I pick my half, close to home)
*Waterloo - Sat, Nov 6th (5k or 10k?, want something for early Nov but is this too far of a drive?)
*Hamilton - Sun, Nov 7th (half marathon, too much downhill???)
*Angus Glen - Sun, Nov 7th (half marathon, love the course, may not be as fast as I was looking for)
*Guelph - Sat, Nov 27th (5k X-Country, awesome event, will sell out - sign up early!)
*Terra Cotta - Sun, Dec 12th (10.8k, ran last year and a big Falcon showing, sub 40 this year on those hills?)
Ideally, I would like to race once every two to three weekends as I have not even raced close to the amount this summer, compared to the last few years. I have some lofty goals in mind (when don't I??) for the 5k, 10k and the Half Marathon and I feel as quick as ever these days thanks to Tyler and the track. If I can manage my weight, I am pretty sure I can hit some respectable times for an older dude this fall.
If you are racing, let me know which event and I will see if it works. It is always more fun to make it a social day as well!
Sub 2 hours in a triathlon is years away so I would like to push towards a sub 2:10. This is probably a lot to ask at this point of my triathlon life but I like to challenge myself.
With Lakeside taking place on Sept 19th, I am missing out on a large number of events. I am shocked at how many great things are happening on this date. Take a look below for a short list of the interesting happenings, most of them I would have signed up for if they were any other date.
- Terry Fox Run (I really wish I could make this as it is such an amazing event, Worldwide!)
- Centurion 100 (lots of Falcons hitting this event)
- Tour de Mississauga
- Run for the Grapes Half Marathon (want to race a half before it gets too cold)
- FMCT Team TT (thankfully the club changed the date after they saw all the events on Sept 19)
- Greg Stobbart Memorial Ride (Kelso CA, Milton http://kelsoopenwaterswimming.blogspot.com/ )
- etc!!!!
As you can see it is a busy weekend, and that is just the evens close to home. After Lakeside, I would like to take a few shots at running events in the area. I don't want to travel too far and don't want to head downtown Toronto on a busy weekend. Here is a list I have put together and will work with Tyler to come up with a schedule that works for everyone.
*Erin - Sun, Sept 12th (5k or 10k?, might be too much with Tanya's plans this weekend, very close to home)
*Toronto Scotia - Sun, Sept 26th (half marathon, don't want to go right downtown TO, too soon after Lakeside)
*Caledon Kinetico - Sat, Oct 2nd (5k or 10k?, new date and course! works better (was on Sept 19th), free kids run that we did last year)
*Toronto - Sun, Oct 3rd (5k x-country, would love to do one xc before guelph but this may not work with other events)
*Guelph - Mon, Oct 11th (5k, on Thanksgiving so may be tough with family)
*Oakville - Fri, Oct 15th (5k or 10k?, want to do a fast 10k at some point)
*Base Borden - Sat, Oct 16th (half marathon, maybe too far of a drive?)
*Toronto Good Life - Sun, Oct 17th (half marathon, same as Scotia, don't want to go downtown)
*Niagara Falls - Sun, Oct 24th (half marathon, done the marathon here, too far a drive?)
*Oakville - Sun, Oct 24th (5k or 10k?, depends where I pick my half, close to home)
*Waterloo - Sat, Nov 6th (5k or 10k?, want something for early Nov but is this too far of a drive?)
*Hamilton - Sun, Nov 7th (half marathon, too much downhill???)
*Angus Glen - Sun, Nov 7th (half marathon, love the course, may not be as fast as I was looking for)
*Guelph - Sat, Nov 27th (5k X-Country, awesome event, will sell out - sign up early!)
*Terra Cotta - Sun, Dec 12th (10.8k, ran last year and a big Falcon showing, sub 40 this year on those hills?)
Ideally, I would like to race once every two to three weekends as I have not even raced close to the amount this summer, compared to the last few years. I have some lofty goals in mind (when don't I??) for the 5k, 10k and the Half Marathon and I feel as quick as ever these days thanks to Tyler and the track. If I can manage my weight, I am pretty sure I can hit some respectable times for an older dude this fall.
If you are racing, let me know which event and I will see if it works. It is always more fun to make it a social day as well!
August 30, 2010
August 26, 2010
Timberman 70.3 - Race Report
It was a roller coaster ride leading up to what I had designated as my “A” Race of 2010. I had countless doubts and low moments over the past nine months, since I had purchased my entrance into this Ironman 70.3 event, so when I finally made a full commitment at the start of August, I knew I had to attack the challenge with all my ability.
During the times of indecision, I continued to train as if I would make the trip so I definitely put in the effort to expect a good race but there were a few things (bad races, being away from family, etc.) that had me close to scrapping the idea of traveling more than a few hours for a triathlon. Luckily, I have a lot of amazing people who supported this idea and allowed me to get into the right frame of mind coming down the stretch of this journey.
As most of you know, I enjoy putting my experiences to paper so I could probably roll out a complete novel about this race but I will save that for another day. I just want to get out the highlights at this time before it becomes old news…
With my tight transition spot set up and ready for a number of weather scenarios; I made my way down to the starting area on the beach with Peter Halferty to find the other FMCT Falcons (18 racing this event) and to wait for our age group wave. The 35-39 AG wave was divided into two due to the large volume of athletes so we would be going out with Brian Hastings with Peter Mueller five minutes back. Being in Wave 12 and 13 (of 19), we had a chance to wish many of the other club members the best of luck as they joined the masses in the holding area.
After the four of us put in a quick warm up in the water, we (minus Peter M) moved along through the timing mat to register and entered the shallow water with about two minutes to spare. As the countdown commenced for our group, I picked a spot in the middle of the mob, closer to the back to let the faster swimmers have their space. When the horn sounded many just eased into the race with a walk out to the deeper water (about 75 metres from the start) so my quicker walk/dolphin dive combo ended up moving me into the thick of things.
At this point, I was having some problems finding open water and spent several seconds rolling off the sides of other athletes trying to settle into a clearing. Finally, the stronger swimmers moved through and I picked out some bubbles to follow. I was not sure how fast we were going but was happy with the effort and just focused on staying on the course to save adding extra metres to the 1.9k mapped out for us.
Things continued to move along at this pace for a few minutes before I was joined on both sides by some others from my wave (I could tell by the cap colour) that were surging. As the one to my left moved past, he kicked me in the left eye and knocked my goggles up letting in a bunch of water. It was the first time in my short swim life that I had been the recipient of a kick so I was not sure how to react. The water was coming in both sides now but I did not want to stop so I reminded myself that the water was clean so, although it may have been annoying, it should not affect my eyes like a chlorine pool. Eventually, I got used to the feeling and pushed on around the first corner.
Now heading across the top end of the course, I started to experience the rolls in the water as it was becoming more and more choppy. This was another new race experience that I was determined not to let bother me. Even after a few breaths of water, instead of air, I was still focused to complete the swim to get a chance on the bike.
The top section of the swim was not too long but the waves made sighting a little tough for me so I made sure to take a more peaks to find the course and get to the turn as quickly as possible, hoping the rolls would help me surf into shore. By now, most of my wave was either gone or just behind me so I was working on my own as I turned the second corner to the long side home.
This is where it got tricky as the surf was working but it was also pushing to the side enough to knock me far away from the main path. Every time I looked up I seemed to be swimming farther away from the buoys and heading towards the kayaks that watched over us. I tried to angle back but it was a battle along that whole side to stay close to the course. Thankfully, I was still going forward so it was not totally demoralizing.
When I was around 400 metres from shore a huge pack of Wave 13 pushed by so I really got a feeling how far I was drifting when I saw those caps zoom past. Without going sideways, I knew I would have to just keep an angle approach and work by myself to get through the rest of the swim. And that is what I did, reaching the exit in 37:03 and excited to still have the energy to jog through transition to my bike.
In the transition zone, I did not rush things and just made sure to grab everything I would need. It was overcast at this time so I left the sun glasses and sun screen behind knowing the forecast was for showers on this day. Since there were 2700 athletes registered for the race the bike hold was rather large but the splits in wave times kept the area manageable and I got out to the mount line without any bottleneck. I took a running start to jump on the bike and, after a few little bumps with the shoes in their clips; I was ready to cruise out to the highway through the park entrance.
Once on the open roads, I quickly started my climb through the field as we were greeted by a gentle incline out of the gate. I spun up the hill past several other athletes and then got my feet into the cycling shoes at the crest to complete to change over.
The first portion of the bike course had several long up and downs but I found my target heart rate and stuck to it. I felt very strong after a week of full taper and just made sure not to get caught up in the action around me. For the most part this was not too hard as I seemed to be riding a little quicker than the packs around me.
This held true for most of the ride except one spot, not too far into the 90k, when the course sped me down a rough section of road and I was caught up in the middle of a group that I was attempting to pass. I guess I woke up a couple of the other riders and they started to hang on to me. Having such a long ride ahead, I did not want to get too aggressive and risk a flat on this bumpy patch and I could not lose them. I am not a big fan of being so close in a race, especially when the road is not predictable, so I broke back and let them go as we hit the middle of the hill just to stay safe. It may have cost me a little momentum (and time?) but I reached the bottom in one piece and eventually made my way past many of those guys along the flats that followed.
As I snaked my way around the challenging (yet fair) course, I remained very focused and positive (didn’t even notice the NASCAR track that we apparently went by). Only a few cyclists from the waves behind ended up passing me but I just let them go and stayed with my game plan. I know too well that things can change at this distance so even if you feel amazing at a certain spot, it can all come crashing down just a few miles up the road.
For the most part, I rode solo (cheering the other Falcons that I saw on both sides of the road) without any major disruptions from the other riders. I did have one incident in an intersection as a Police Officer sent through a landscaping vehicle and trailer that brought me to a stop. My yelling was not enough to stop the truck so I had to brake before t-boning the trailer. Not damage done so I just got back to the task at hand and continued on my way.
The only other spot that I could not cruise through was near the end of the steeper hills where I encountered a few congested areas going up the inclines on the back roads. It was disappointing to slow down (I was not going to risk crossing the yellow) as the others suffered up the slope but I stayed calm and then made my move as soon as they slid back to the right of the road.
After I took my 80k gel, I glanced at my wrist watch to check my time. I knew I was making good time out there but I was pleasantly surprised that I had some extra cushion to hit my bike goal of 2:30 on this track. I was very motivated now and the following rollers seemed to flatten out under my wheels. Right after those, I reached a very familiar, flat road (it was along the way to the Resort that held registration and the expo) and I knew the rest of the way was going to fly by.
At the final intersection on the bike course, I also received a great boost from Rick (didn’t expect any of our cheering friends to be out on the bike portion) so I pumped it up from the corner to start my last stretch to transition. It was around this time that the rain started to drop from the clouds above so, as we approached the park entrance, I had to be careful getting into the “No Pass” lane without hitting the ground.
The last couple hundred metres before the turn into the park were downhill and the asphalt was becoming slick. I didn’t want to hang too close to the wheel ahead so I backed off a few feet and made the corner nice and easy and followed the line of triathletes into the park grounds. At the dismount line, I was ready to jump off and run but all the other athletes in front of me stopped dead on the line to clip out so I had to stop my run with the bike before ramming into the back of the slower folks. This was a little frustrating as I was eager to get to the run.
Eventually, the area cleared enough for me to jet over to my rack so I could hang the bike, slip on some socks (didn’t want any blisters today), pop a gel and throw on a hat. Not my fastest transition but I still had a half marathon ahead of me and I wanted to make sure I was set to run. I also had a very lofty goal of running 1:30 for 21.1k and wasn’t sure if this was the run course that I would be able to tackle it on. Before leaving transition, I needed to feel 100% ready to attack this mark.
It was now raining very hard to start the run and I felt bad for all the cyclists still out on the course. For the runners, it felt kind of nice to get all the sticky sports drink and gels washed off. Coming into this run, I wasn’t sure how my back was going to react off the bike. Thank goodness, I had no issues during the bike leg and I crossed my fingers for the same luck for the duration of the race.
After the first five minutes I could tell my wish was granted and I bounced along the first few miles feeling very strong while holding a nice pace. I soon realized that most of the out portion of the run was sloping in our advantage so I had to take the opportunity to grab some time without jeopardizing the rest of it. Watching the pros finish their runs looking fresh and seeing all the FMCT gang all over the course really helped make time fly.
Near the turn around, we were directed through a lively little cottage community that had gone all out to decorate in American colours. The entire neighbourhood was helping hand out liquids, nutrition and wet sponges. They were so into the race that it felt like we were running through a theme park with music, flags, and bubbles. It was amazing to feed off their enthusiasm as we turned back to finish each loop.
As expected, the second half of each loop was more difficult than the first due to the uphill sections. One of those climbs, in the middle of that stretch, was a real burner which I hit too hard on my first attempt. Luckily, after a short flat spot on top, the course headed back down where I got my legs turning over once again. I quickly made note to pace it better on the next go around as there was still more than a mile to the finish and I did not want to kill my time with a walk back to the line.
After getting back up to speed, I curved my way back to the state park where I was directed around the right hand side of the fenced chute to begin my second loop. Having so many racers in the event, we (Falcons) were very fortunate to have a ton of fanfare in the crowd. Most of the support crew that came down with us were gathered around this area so it was very cool to hear them cheering your name as we prepared for our last half of the run.
Hitting the road for the second loop, I was now very confident in completing the course but just wanted to make sure I paced it properly to ensure my best effort possible. My form was still feeling pretty solid on the way out and tried to use the hills to accumulate as much time as I could knowing that the final three miles mostly going uphill were going to be tough.
Sure enough, it was just after the “America Land” turn around where things started to get rough. There was a gradual climb up to the lake view road and this is the spot where my pace began to struggle. As it turns out, Andrew Hanson (fellow Falcon), was just a few feet ahead of me. We made the corner together but I was not able to pull away and Andrew was right on my left shoulder. He then seemed to pick up the pace at this point which got my tempo up as I attempted to stick with him. This helped me regained focus and was off to the races again. Thanks Andrew!
From that moment on, I just looked straight ahead to the finish. When I reached the bottom of that tougher climb, I controlled the pace up leaving lots of energy to power through the final few kilometres of the race. As I arrived at the park, I was so relieved to be directed to the finishing gate that I hammered down the final hundred metres in a full on sprint with a few celebratory fist pumps. When I started the run, I thought 4:40 was going to be my target so to see 4:36:34 on my watch was even more satisfying as this meant a 1:30:38 half marathon finish. Mission Accomplished!
Now that the wraps have been placed on this event, I have had some time to think about the entire journey that lead to the joy at the finish line. I have to thank Tanya and the kids for their understanding. I try not to go away too often for the sport so to be gone for several days meant someone had to work extra hard to pick up my slack. Thank you Tan!
Next, the awesome support from Mom, Cak and the Milton Crew. They take such a big interest in my hobby which makes my little accomplishments feel so big. Thank you all!
After Welland, I was deflated. I owe a lot of thanks to Tyler Lord for putting the plan in place that allowed for such a fast time, beyond my dreams on this course. Getting out with Tyler and Glenn for training rides and runs down the stretch really gave me the confidence to control the race. Now for the swimming! HAHA
To all the amazing Falcons that inspire me in so many ways each and every day, I cannot thank you all enough. You all approach the sport for the right reasons and remind me that it is not the result that matters but the feeling you get from each accomplishment. Congrats to all of you that raced at Timberman 70.3!
A huge thank you must go out to Peter and Maureen Mueller for opening up a spot in their vehicle for the trip to New Hampshire. Maureen, I am sorry that we bored you with triathlon talk for the entire 26 hours of travel in the van. As well, Marko Durbic deserves a big hand for his work on the cottage rental for me and my roommate. Thanks Marko for all the follow ups with the rental people to make it a smooth check in. I owe you. Really!
Also, I am very fortunate to have met so many friends and triathletes through racing, blogging, networking, etc. I am amazed at the notes of support I have received during this season and really appreciate all the positive messages you all have sent. I do have to single out one person though as he was the first to see my passion a few years back when I started out. Thanks Syd! You told me so!
Among those I have met recently through the sport was my roommate at Timberman. A big thank you to Brent Poulsen for being such a great resource in my first Ironman Production experience. Please visit his site to read his take on the race… http://brentpoulsen112882.blogspot.com
Sorry for such a long Race Report! Can you imagine if I put all the pre-race stuff in?
During the times of indecision, I continued to train as if I would make the trip so I definitely put in the effort to expect a good race but there were a few things (bad races, being away from family, etc.) that had me close to scrapping the idea of traveling more than a few hours for a triathlon. Luckily, I have a lot of amazing people who supported this idea and allowed me to get into the right frame of mind coming down the stretch of this journey.
As most of you know, I enjoy putting my experiences to paper so I could probably roll out a complete novel about this race but I will save that for another day. I just want to get out the highlights at this time before it becomes old news…
With my tight transition spot set up and ready for a number of weather scenarios; I made my way down to the starting area on the beach with Peter Halferty to find the other FMCT Falcons (18 racing this event) and to wait for our age group wave. The 35-39 AG wave was divided into two due to the large volume of athletes so we would be going out with Brian Hastings with Peter Mueller five minutes back. Being in Wave 12 and 13 (of 19), we had a chance to wish many of the other club members the best of luck as they joined the masses in the holding area.
After the four of us put in a quick warm up in the water, we (minus Peter M) moved along through the timing mat to register and entered the shallow water with about two minutes to spare. As the countdown commenced for our group, I picked a spot in the middle of the mob, closer to the back to let the faster swimmers have their space. When the horn sounded many just eased into the race with a walk out to the deeper water (about 75 metres from the start) so my quicker walk/dolphin dive combo ended up moving me into the thick of things.
At this point, I was having some problems finding open water and spent several seconds rolling off the sides of other athletes trying to settle into a clearing. Finally, the stronger swimmers moved through and I picked out some bubbles to follow. I was not sure how fast we were going but was happy with the effort and just focused on staying on the course to save adding extra metres to the 1.9k mapped out for us.
Things continued to move along at this pace for a few minutes before I was joined on both sides by some others from my wave (I could tell by the cap colour) that were surging. As the one to my left moved past, he kicked me in the left eye and knocked my goggles up letting in a bunch of water. It was the first time in my short swim life that I had been the recipient of a kick so I was not sure how to react. The water was coming in both sides now but I did not want to stop so I reminded myself that the water was clean so, although it may have been annoying, it should not affect my eyes like a chlorine pool. Eventually, I got used to the feeling and pushed on around the first corner.
Now heading across the top end of the course, I started to experience the rolls in the water as it was becoming more and more choppy. This was another new race experience that I was determined not to let bother me. Even after a few breaths of water, instead of air, I was still focused to complete the swim to get a chance on the bike.
The top section of the swim was not too long but the waves made sighting a little tough for me so I made sure to take a more peaks to find the course and get to the turn as quickly as possible, hoping the rolls would help me surf into shore. By now, most of my wave was either gone or just behind me so I was working on my own as I turned the second corner to the long side home.
This is where it got tricky as the surf was working but it was also pushing to the side enough to knock me far away from the main path. Every time I looked up I seemed to be swimming farther away from the buoys and heading towards the kayaks that watched over us. I tried to angle back but it was a battle along that whole side to stay close to the course. Thankfully, I was still going forward so it was not totally demoralizing.
When I was around 400 metres from shore a huge pack of Wave 13 pushed by so I really got a feeling how far I was drifting when I saw those caps zoom past. Without going sideways, I knew I would have to just keep an angle approach and work by myself to get through the rest of the swim. And that is what I did, reaching the exit in 37:03 and excited to still have the energy to jog through transition to my bike.
In the transition zone, I did not rush things and just made sure to grab everything I would need. It was overcast at this time so I left the sun glasses and sun screen behind knowing the forecast was for showers on this day. Since there were 2700 athletes registered for the race the bike hold was rather large but the splits in wave times kept the area manageable and I got out to the mount line without any bottleneck. I took a running start to jump on the bike and, after a few little bumps with the shoes in their clips; I was ready to cruise out to the highway through the park entrance.
Once on the open roads, I quickly started my climb through the field as we were greeted by a gentle incline out of the gate. I spun up the hill past several other athletes and then got my feet into the cycling shoes at the crest to complete to change over.
The first portion of the bike course had several long up and downs but I found my target heart rate and stuck to it. I felt very strong after a week of full taper and just made sure not to get caught up in the action around me. For the most part this was not too hard as I seemed to be riding a little quicker than the packs around me.
This held true for most of the ride except one spot, not too far into the 90k, when the course sped me down a rough section of road and I was caught up in the middle of a group that I was attempting to pass. I guess I woke up a couple of the other riders and they started to hang on to me. Having such a long ride ahead, I did not want to get too aggressive and risk a flat on this bumpy patch and I could not lose them. I am not a big fan of being so close in a race, especially when the road is not predictable, so I broke back and let them go as we hit the middle of the hill just to stay safe. It may have cost me a little momentum (and time?) but I reached the bottom in one piece and eventually made my way past many of those guys along the flats that followed.
As I snaked my way around the challenging (yet fair) course, I remained very focused and positive (didn’t even notice the NASCAR track that we apparently went by). Only a few cyclists from the waves behind ended up passing me but I just let them go and stayed with my game plan. I know too well that things can change at this distance so even if you feel amazing at a certain spot, it can all come crashing down just a few miles up the road.
For the most part, I rode solo (cheering the other Falcons that I saw on both sides of the road) without any major disruptions from the other riders. I did have one incident in an intersection as a Police Officer sent through a landscaping vehicle and trailer that brought me to a stop. My yelling was not enough to stop the truck so I had to brake before t-boning the trailer. Not damage done so I just got back to the task at hand and continued on my way.
The only other spot that I could not cruise through was near the end of the steeper hills where I encountered a few congested areas going up the inclines on the back roads. It was disappointing to slow down (I was not going to risk crossing the yellow) as the others suffered up the slope but I stayed calm and then made my move as soon as they slid back to the right of the road.
After I took my 80k gel, I glanced at my wrist watch to check my time. I knew I was making good time out there but I was pleasantly surprised that I had some extra cushion to hit my bike goal of 2:30 on this track. I was very motivated now and the following rollers seemed to flatten out under my wheels. Right after those, I reached a very familiar, flat road (it was along the way to the Resort that held registration and the expo) and I knew the rest of the way was going to fly by.
At the final intersection on the bike course, I also received a great boost from Rick (didn’t expect any of our cheering friends to be out on the bike portion) so I pumped it up from the corner to start my last stretch to transition. It was around this time that the rain started to drop from the clouds above so, as we approached the park entrance, I had to be careful getting into the “No Pass” lane without hitting the ground.
The last couple hundred metres before the turn into the park were downhill and the asphalt was becoming slick. I didn’t want to hang too close to the wheel ahead so I backed off a few feet and made the corner nice and easy and followed the line of triathletes into the park grounds. At the dismount line, I was ready to jump off and run but all the other athletes in front of me stopped dead on the line to clip out so I had to stop my run with the bike before ramming into the back of the slower folks. This was a little frustrating as I was eager to get to the run.
Eventually, the area cleared enough for me to jet over to my rack so I could hang the bike, slip on some socks (didn’t want any blisters today), pop a gel and throw on a hat. Not my fastest transition but I still had a half marathon ahead of me and I wanted to make sure I was set to run. I also had a very lofty goal of running 1:30 for 21.1k and wasn’t sure if this was the run course that I would be able to tackle it on. Before leaving transition, I needed to feel 100% ready to attack this mark.
It was now raining very hard to start the run and I felt bad for all the cyclists still out on the course. For the runners, it felt kind of nice to get all the sticky sports drink and gels washed off. Coming into this run, I wasn’t sure how my back was going to react off the bike. Thank goodness, I had no issues during the bike leg and I crossed my fingers for the same luck for the duration of the race.
After the first five minutes I could tell my wish was granted and I bounced along the first few miles feeling very strong while holding a nice pace. I soon realized that most of the out portion of the run was sloping in our advantage so I had to take the opportunity to grab some time without jeopardizing the rest of it. Watching the pros finish their runs looking fresh and seeing all the FMCT gang all over the course really helped make time fly.
Near the turn around, we were directed through a lively little cottage community that had gone all out to decorate in American colours. The entire neighbourhood was helping hand out liquids, nutrition and wet sponges. They were so into the race that it felt like we were running through a theme park with music, flags, and bubbles. It was amazing to feed off their enthusiasm as we turned back to finish each loop.
As expected, the second half of each loop was more difficult than the first due to the uphill sections. One of those climbs, in the middle of that stretch, was a real burner which I hit too hard on my first attempt. Luckily, after a short flat spot on top, the course headed back down where I got my legs turning over once again. I quickly made note to pace it better on the next go around as there was still more than a mile to the finish and I did not want to kill my time with a walk back to the line.
After getting back up to speed, I curved my way back to the state park where I was directed around the right hand side of the fenced chute to begin my second loop. Having so many racers in the event, we (Falcons) were very fortunate to have a ton of fanfare in the crowd. Most of the support crew that came down with us were gathered around this area so it was very cool to hear them cheering your name as we prepared for our last half of the run.
Hitting the road for the second loop, I was now very confident in completing the course but just wanted to make sure I paced it properly to ensure my best effort possible. My form was still feeling pretty solid on the way out and tried to use the hills to accumulate as much time as I could knowing that the final three miles mostly going uphill were going to be tough.
Sure enough, it was just after the “America Land” turn around where things started to get rough. There was a gradual climb up to the lake view road and this is the spot where my pace began to struggle. As it turns out, Andrew Hanson (fellow Falcon), was just a few feet ahead of me. We made the corner together but I was not able to pull away and Andrew was right on my left shoulder. He then seemed to pick up the pace at this point which got my tempo up as I attempted to stick with him. This helped me regained focus and was off to the races again. Thanks Andrew!
From that moment on, I just looked straight ahead to the finish. When I reached the bottom of that tougher climb, I controlled the pace up leaving lots of energy to power through the final few kilometres of the race. As I arrived at the park, I was so relieved to be directed to the finishing gate that I hammered down the final hundred metres in a full on sprint with a few celebratory fist pumps. When I started the run, I thought 4:40 was going to be my target so to see 4:36:34 on my watch was even more satisfying as this meant a 1:30:38 half marathon finish. Mission Accomplished!
Now that the wraps have been placed on this event, I have had some time to think about the entire journey that lead to the joy at the finish line. I have to thank Tanya and the kids for their understanding. I try not to go away too often for the sport so to be gone for several days meant someone had to work extra hard to pick up my slack. Thank you Tan!
Next, the awesome support from Mom, Cak and the Milton Crew. They take such a big interest in my hobby which makes my little accomplishments feel so big. Thank you all!
After Welland, I was deflated. I owe a lot of thanks to Tyler Lord for putting the plan in place that allowed for such a fast time, beyond my dreams on this course. Getting out with Tyler and Glenn for training rides and runs down the stretch really gave me the confidence to control the race. Now for the swimming! HAHA
To all the amazing Falcons that inspire me in so many ways each and every day, I cannot thank you all enough. You all approach the sport for the right reasons and remind me that it is not the result that matters but the feeling you get from each accomplishment. Congrats to all of you that raced at Timberman 70.3!
A huge thank you must go out to Peter and Maureen Mueller for opening up a spot in their vehicle for the trip to New Hampshire. Maureen, I am sorry that we bored you with triathlon talk for the entire 26 hours of travel in the van. As well, Marko Durbic deserves a big hand for his work on the cottage rental for me and my roommate. Thanks Marko for all the follow ups with the rental people to make it a smooth check in. I owe you. Really!
Also, I am very fortunate to have met so many friends and triathletes through racing, blogging, networking, etc. I am amazed at the notes of support I have received during this season and really appreciate all the positive messages you all have sent. I do have to single out one person though as he was the first to see my passion a few years back when I started out. Thanks Syd! You told me so!
Among those I have met recently through the sport was my roommate at Timberman. A big thank you to Brent Poulsen for being such a great resource in my first Ironman Production experience. Please visit his site to read his take on the race… http://brentpoulsen112882.blogspot.com
Sorry for such a long Race Report! Can you imagine if I put all the pre-race stuff in?
August 11, 2010
A little Crazy but tempting in the future...
I have been tempted to race this ever since I ran their spring Endurace series a few years back. They put on a great event in Waterloo and it is usually very affordable.
Check this out as they are just finished stage 3 of the 7 stage (in 8 days) "Tour de France" of Running, The ENDURrun Waterloo...
http://www.endurrun.com/index.html
2010 ENDURrun Stages
Stage 1 - Half marathon road
Stage 2 - 15 km time trial road and trail
Stage 3 - 30 km cross country
Stage 4 - 10 Mile hilly road
Stage 5 - 26.6 km cross country alpine
Stage 6 - 10 km time trial road
Stage 7 - Marathon
Check this out as they are just finished stage 3 of the 7 stage (in 8 days) "Tour de France" of Running, The ENDURrun Waterloo...
http://www.endurrun.com/index.html
2010 ENDURrun Stages
Stage 1 - Half marathon road
Stage 2 - 15 km time trial road and trail
Stage 3 - 30 km cross country
Stage 4 - 10 Mile hilly road
Stage 5 - 26.6 km cross country alpine
Stage 6 - 10 km time trial road
Stage 7 - Marathon
August 10, 2010
Weekly Update - Timberman Lead Up
Less than two weeks before the big event at Timberman 70.3! I am getting pretty excited about this one now and am looking forward to the hype that surrounds an Ironman Production. I have not discussed the exact strategy for the race yet but am sure it will be more of a learning experience for the future when I have the swimming skills to compete with the amazing age groupers that show up to these challenges. Lots to take in on this tough course...
As for my training, I think everything is where it should be at this stage of the block. I am pretty sure I have tried my hardest to prepare, although, I would love to have my swimming stroke a little more efficient at this point of the season. I was very aggressive with my expectations and had to reel things in a touch to realize that it just doesn't work that way for the majority of the population (unless your name is Bruce Bird! HAHA). Luckily, I am still healthy and "young" enough that I can expect to enjoy many more years of triathlon so there's a lot of time to improve and reach my long term goals.
Since the Welland race, I have been working with Tyler Lord and his group to add some structure to my routine. I saw the need to bring in someone to set me up for a successful trip to New Hampshire or I would just blow up out there and waste a lot of time and money on a disasterous experience. Hopefully, the last few months of training will stick in my head while I am on the course and I will resist the urge to push too hard at the wrong time.
I had worked with Syd for a few years in the beginning of my duathlon days but with me in Mississauga and he in Port Perry, we did not get to do the face to face training. Syd has also just started his family (congrats guys!), is highly involved with the Port Perry Triathlon Club and is guiding a very good paratriathlete (Ryan Van Praet) so over the last two seasons, I did not want to add any more to his busy schedule.
After Timberman, I have three Olympic distance races on the plan. Cobourg will be tough one week after the Half Ironman so I hope I can be recovered by then. After that, it is up to Wasaga Beach Tri and then Lakeside Tri. I did the short version of Lakeside last fall and thought the Sunday race was still a sprint. I did not realize it was Olympic until I looked at the website the other day. Doh! I was hoping to swim a little less to hammer the bike and run for one final time this year ;-)
Speaking of bike, I tried to have it fit to my racing needs last week but that did not go so well. These new designs do not leave much room for adjustments, especially, when you buy used and don't have all to kits from the manufacturer. The bike is also too aggressive for my back and not really a great match for my triathlon needs. If you are interested in a quick TT bike or a fast bike for sprint Tri's, please let me know.
Talk soon,
Larry
As for my training, I think everything is where it should be at this stage of the block. I am pretty sure I have tried my hardest to prepare, although, I would love to have my swimming stroke a little more efficient at this point of the season. I was very aggressive with my expectations and had to reel things in a touch to realize that it just doesn't work that way for the majority of the population (unless your name is Bruce Bird! HAHA). Luckily, I am still healthy and "young" enough that I can expect to enjoy many more years of triathlon so there's a lot of time to improve and reach my long term goals.
Since the Welland race, I have been working with Tyler Lord and his group to add some structure to my routine. I saw the need to bring in someone to set me up for a successful trip to New Hampshire or I would just blow up out there and waste a lot of time and money on a disasterous experience. Hopefully, the last few months of training will stick in my head while I am on the course and I will resist the urge to push too hard at the wrong time.
I had worked with Syd for a few years in the beginning of my duathlon days but with me in Mississauga and he in Port Perry, we did not get to do the face to face training. Syd has also just started his family (congrats guys!), is highly involved with the Port Perry Triathlon Club and is guiding a very good paratriathlete (Ryan Van Praet) so over the last two seasons, I did not want to add any more to his busy schedule.
After Timberman, I have three Olympic distance races on the plan. Cobourg will be tough one week after the Half Ironman so I hope I can be recovered by then. After that, it is up to Wasaga Beach Tri and then Lakeside Tri. I did the short version of Lakeside last fall and thought the Sunday race was still a sprint. I did not realize it was Olympic until I looked at the website the other day. Doh! I was hoping to swim a little less to hammer the bike and run for one final time this year ;-)
Speaking of bike, I tried to have it fit to my racing needs last week but that did not go so well. These new designs do not leave much room for adjustments, especially, when you buy used and don't have all to kits from the manufacturer. The bike is also too aggressive for my back and not really a great match for my triathlon needs. If you are interested in a quick TT bike or a fast bike for sprint Tri's, please let me know.
Talk soon,
Larry
July 26, 2010
Muskoka Long Course Tri - 2010
Trying to put a bad performance in Welland behind me, I anxiously looked forward to my next race in Muskoka. The Long Course in Huntsville was the site of two great duathlons for me and I was hoping to bring some of those positive experiences into my race on the triathlon side.
When I arrived at the event, a few hours before the start, it was nice and cool with only a small hint of wind. These were ideal weather conditions for our sport so I was excited to be able to race without having the elements affect the outcome.
After registration I grabbed my bike and headed over to the mechanic to make sure the gears were shifting smoothly after a wheel change I had to make recently. He quickly adjusted the rear derailleur and I felt much better about the sound coming out off the back end so I headed over to rack my ride.
As time ticked closer to the first wave send off, Mark Keating (another former duathlete making a go of it in the tri world) and I made the long walk down to the swim start and jumped into our wetsuits. We were both in the second wave so we headed out together to meet the other baby blue swim caps waiting for horn to commence our 2k journey in the water.
The large starting area thinned out the group of athletes as we waited but once the horn blasted, I seemed to get caught up in many crowded spots. The water was pretty murky and I was having issues seeing around me so I just put my head down and battled through, trying to find some open water. This didn’t take all that long and I soon had some space to myself where I could stretch out my stroke. I really wanted to go under my Welland swim time for this distance and started out more aggressive but still under control.
Once again, the layout of the course seemed so long when you see it on the open water. Even though my perceived effort was much greater than my last race, I was not getting too tired so I continued to work away hoping that I would be able to maintain the pace for the entire swim. As I progressed, I only took quick peeks at the large buoys in the water to keep me on track. I could not see anyone around me at this time so I assumed I was hanging in with the back of my wave and happy the wave behind had not swallowed me up yet.
Being in the open water without distance markers and the ability to see your watch (without stopping) I was going totally on feel. Making my way around the first few turns, I thought I had picked decent lines and don’t think I was off course too much, even though the lack of others around me created some worry now and then.
By the time the course funneled into the river portion, I figured I had to be on track to at least match Welland’s swim time. I now began to see some familiar caps from my wave (with even a few yellow caps from wave 1) and was making my way past several of these swimmers. In this area, you could tell the current was slowing things down but it didn’t feel like a massive struggle. When I finally hit the exit, I got my feet planted and checked out my time. Damn, 42:01 for 2k. This was over 5 minutes slower than Welland even though I had put in a much more confident effort in the water.
As I headed over to transition, I regained my focus. I knew this swim was not going to get me too far up the results page so I did not rush the bike pick up and calmly made my way out to the mount line. There were no issues getting on so I spun my way up the first slope to the main road and smoothly got into my cycling shoes before leaving town. My game plan on the bike was to keep my heart rate in check and to stay consistent with the effort throughout the ride.
It was not long, though, before I received my first challenge of the ride. The night before the race, I adjusted my seat angle down a tiny bit and thought I had everything tightened properly. After hitting the first bumped on the road, the seat pointed down on a 45 degree angle and created a slide for my rear end. I reached down and pulled the nose back up in an attempt to find the balancing point but I could not keep it from dropping every few seconds on the bumpy course. I would have to make the best of the situation as I was not going to end my race early today.
Before long, I got rolling and was making up a lot of spots, although, my speed was not where it was in the past on this course. It may have had a bit to do with the seat but in reality I was lacking my “hammer it out” drive that got me through so many duathlons. Also, I did not attack the hills in my usual way as I thought it would be better to hold some energy for the end of the ride.
Looking back, I am disappointed not to beat my previous times on this bike course. I did manage to keep my heart rate under control for the entire ride but may have been holding back too much as I entered transition feeling more fresh than the previous two years. I was hoping this would pay off on the run and was really looking forward to moving up through the field with a solid run off the bike. Everything seemed to be set up for this so it was time to make hay on the new 13k run course.
Coming out on the run, the course took us up a tiny hill that was not too tough but my back did not seem to like it too much. I started to feel the pain stretch across my lower back and I was not able to get up to speed. As the course flattened out near the first turn around, I tried to run through it but was losing time. After a few more twists and uphill sections (to make things worse), I rounded the second switch back near the 2k marker around 28 seconds over my goal time but was hoping the downhill portion ahead would bring my breathing down enough to rest the pain in my back.
Unfortunately, the pounding on my heels made things even worse and by the time I reached the bottom I was in walk mode. This was tough and I felt like quitting but I promised myself I would finish no matter what. The minutes ticked by as I tried to get back into a jog but it wasn’t happening. Thankfully, Stuart (a friend from my blog) went by and yelled some words of encouragement that got me rolling again.
As I slowly made my way around this incredibly hilly new run course, with a mix of walking and jogging, I finally found a respectable pace coming down a slope towards the start of the second loop. It was here I told myself to finish the last loop in style so I got back up to speed for a good 3k and was feeling much better about my finish. As I came back around towards the arena the pains came back and I watched all the folks I had just passed go by me once again.
Luckily, the triathlon community is so incredibly supportive. These athletes could see that I was not having a great day but so many of them offered up motivation and supplies (gels, salt, etc.) as they made their way around the course. It lifted my spirits again and I blocked out the negative issues and got back into the game. The final 3k was tough with a major climb involved but I dug deep and finished this sucker off for my longest triathlon ever.
After the race, I had the chance to hear so many amazing stories from the day. The people I have met in this sport keep me coming back as I would have moved on to another, easier pastime by now if I did not have the support of these great friends. Congrats to Glenn, Mark, Jackie, Adam, Luke, Speedy, Darcy, Peter, Dianne & Boleslaw (FMCT) on your great performances!
When I arrived at the event, a few hours before the start, it was nice and cool with only a small hint of wind. These were ideal weather conditions for our sport so I was excited to be able to race without having the elements affect the outcome.
After registration I grabbed my bike and headed over to the mechanic to make sure the gears were shifting smoothly after a wheel change I had to make recently. He quickly adjusted the rear derailleur and I felt much better about the sound coming out off the back end so I headed over to rack my ride.
As time ticked closer to the first wave send off, Mark Keating (another former duathlete making a go of it in the tri world) and I made the long walk down to the swim start and jumped into our wetsuits. We were both in the second wave so we headed out together to meet the other baby blue swim caps waiting for horn to commence our 2k journey in the water.
The large starting area thinned out the group of athletes as we waited but once the horn blasted, I seemed to get caught up in many crowded spots. The water was pretty murky and I was having issues seeing around me so I just put my head down and battled through, trying to find some open water. This didn’t take all that long and I soon had some space to myself where I could stretch out my stroke. I really wanted to go under my Welland swim time for this distance and started out more aggressive but still under control.
Once again, the layout of the course seemed so long when you see it on the open water. Even though my perceived effort was much greater than my last race, I was not getting too tired so I continued to work away hoping that I would be able to maintain the pace for the entire swim. As I progressed, I only took quick peeks at the large buoys in the water to keep me on track. I could not see anyone around me at this time so I assumed I was hanging in with the back of my wave and happy the wave behind had not swallowed me up yet.
Being in the open water without distance markers and the ability to see your watch (without stopping) I was going totally on feel. Making my way around the first few turns, I thought I had picked decent lines and don’t think I was off course too much, even though the lack of others around me created some worry now and then.
By the time the course funneled into the river portion, I figured I had to be on track to at least match Welland’s swim time. I now began to see some familiar caps from my wave (with even a few yellow caps from wave 1) and was making my way past several of these swimmers. In this area, you could tell the current was slowing things down but it didn’t feel like a massive struggle. When I finally hit the exit, I got my feet planted and checked out my time. Damn, 42:01 for 2k. This was over 5 minutes slower than Welland even though I had put in a much more confident effort in the water.
As I headed over to transition, I regained my focus. I knew this swim was not going to get me too far up the results page so I did not rush the bike pick up and calmly made my way out to the mount line. There were no issues getting on so I spun my way up the first slope to the main road and smoothly got into my cycling shoes before leaving town. My game plan on the bike was to keep my heart rate in check and to stay consistent with the effort throughout the ride.
It was not long, though, before I received my first challenge of the ride. The night before the race, I adjusted my seat angle down a tiny bit and thought I had everything tightened properly. After hitting the first bumped on the road, the seat pointed down on a 45 degree angle and created a slide for my rear end. I reached down and pulled the nose back up in an attempt to find the balancing point but I could not keep it from dropping every few seconds on the bumpy course. I would have to make the best of the situation as I was not going to end my race early today.
Before long, I got rolling and was making up a lot of spots, although, my speed was not where it was in the past on this course. It may have had a bit to do with the seat but in reality I was lacking my “hammer it out” drive that got me through so many duathlons. Also, I did not attack the hills in my usual way as I thought it would be better to hold some energy for the end of the ride.
Looking back, I am disappointed not to beat my previous times on this bike course. I did manage to keep my heart rate under control for the entire ride but may have been holding back too much as I entered transition feeling more fresh than the previous two years. I was hoping this would pay off on the run and was really looking forward to moving up through the field with a solid run off the bike. Everything seemed to be set up for this so it was time to make hay on the new 13k run course.
Coming out on the run, the course took us up a tiny hill that was not too tough but my back did not seem to like it too much. I started to feel the pain stretch across my lower back and I was not able to get up to speed. As the course flattened out near the first turn around, I tried to run through it but was losing time. After a few more twists and uphill sections (to make things worse), I rounded the second switch back near the 2k marker around 28 seconds over my goal time but was hoping the downhill portion ahead would bring my breathing down enough to rest the pain in my back.
Unfortunately, the pounding on my heels made things even worse and by the time I reached the bottom I was in walk mode. This was tough and I felt like quitting but I promised myself I would finish no matter what. The minutes ticked by as I tried to get back into a jog but it wasn’t happening. Thankfully, Stuart (a friend from my blog) went by and yelled some words of encouragement that got me rolling again.
As I slowly made my way around this incredibly hilly new run course, with a mix of walking and jogging, I finally found a respectable pace coming down a slope towards the start of the second loop. It was here I told myself to finish the last loop in style so I got back up to speed for a good 3k and was feeling much better about my finish. As I came back around towards the arena the pains came back and I watched all the folks I had just passed go by me once again.
Luckily, the triathlon community is so incredibly supportive. These athletes could see that I was not having a great day but so many of them offered up motivation and supplies (gels, salt, etc.) as they made their way around the course. It lifted my spirits again and I blocked out the negative issues and got back into the game. The final 3k was tough with a major climb involved but I dug deep and finished this sucker off for my longest triathlon ever.
After the race, I had the chance to hear so many amazing stories from the day. The people I have met in this sport keep me coming back as I would have moved on to another, easier pastime by now if I did not have the support of these great friends. Congrats to Glenn, Mark, Jackie, Adam, Luke, Speedy, Darcy, Peter, Dianne & Boleslaw (FMCT) on your great performances!
July 16, 2010
Weekly Update
It seems like such a long time since my last race so I am getting the bug to compete. I have decided to take a run at the Muskoka Long Course Triathlon next weekend (it has been a race I have had on and off the calendar so many times this season) so that has put the next race on the map and I look forward to the chance to mix it up with a very strong field.
I have been working very hard, in my opinion (HAHA), over the course of the last few weeks, since Welland, and received some great guidance to make my training organized and meaningful. The program is challenging, but fair, so I have been trying to stick to it as best as possible in order to allow the plan's proven track record to work its magic on me.
A few quick thoughts about this race next Sunday...
-as a duathlete, I raced twice on this course and it was my favourite venue. I was a little disappointed to see them change the run course this season and the distance of the new run is only 13k, as compared to 15k. It now has many turns and twist on smaller side streets so it will take more focus to stay on course. One of my long term goals was to go under 60 minutes for the 15k so it looks like I will not be able to chase this in 2010.
-after Welland, I have the confidence to complete 2k in open water. I am not fast by any means (with this field I will be lucky to leave the water in the top 50%) but I will look forward to getting to the bike on one of the more challenging bike legs in triathlon for this area.
-although, I had some decent cycling splits on this course (compared to the Age Groupers in du and tri fields), I am a little concerned about my bike set up going into the race. With work and some other commitments on the weekends, I have not had a chance to visit a local shop to get the bike fit completed. Last race was a major indication on how important this is and I don't think my personal set up is making the bike reach it's potential. I am not comfortable in the saddle and I feel I am too aggressive and leaving a lot of power behind with an overly closed hip angle. Need to get this done before Timberman for sure.
-the new date of this race due to the G8 Summit has placed it in a very hot and humid time of the year. This will be a huge factor if the weather trends continue into next weekend. I know from a few runs of late that my body is still not ready to perform 100% in these conditions. It has been a few years since we have had consistent high temps and muggy weather.
-lastly, I need to start racing my race and not worry about where I am on the result sheet this year. Mentally, it has been tough to see so many people ahead of me, especially when i get on the bike. In the duathlon, I was always up at the front on the first run and was hitting the bike portion up with the leaders. I have to manage expectations a lot better and swallow my pride until my swimming gets closer to the levels of the top age groupers. Easier said than done with my competitive spirit!
This weekend is the Ontario Duathlon Championships in Gravenhurst. It will be interesting to see how things end up on Saturday morning as it appears many faces from last year will not be racing. I wish Tommy Ferris the best of luck and hope to see him up at the top! He has worked very hard this season at putting himself at the top of the sport so he deserves all the best that comes to him. Also, best wishes to Adam Fitzsimmons (if he is on the starting line) as he has been solid this season and should be up there as well so I hope he has a great race. Roger Hospedales is always up for a Du so I know Rog will be there giving the course hell!
Not sure who else will be up in cottage country for that one but I hope everyone reaches their goals!
Take care,
Larry
I have been working very hard, in my opinion (HAHA), over the course of the last few weeks, since Welland, and received some great guidance to make my training organized and meaningful. The program is challenging, but fair, so I have been trying to stick to it as best as possible in order to allow the plan's proven track record to work its magic on me.
A few quick thoughts about this race next Sunday...
-as a duathlete, I raced twice on this course and it was my favourite venue. I was a little disappointed to see them change the run course this season and the distance of the new run is only 13k, as compared to 15k. It now has many turns and twist on smaller side streets so it will take more focus to stay on course. One of my long term goals was to go under 60 minutes for the 15k so it looks like I will not be able to chase this in 2010.
-after Welland, I have the confidence to complete 2k in open water. I am not fast by any means (with this field I will be lucky to leave the water in the top 50%) but I will look forward to getting to the bike on one of the more challenging bike legs in triathlon for this area.
-although, I had some decent cycling splits on this course (compared to the Age Groupers in du and tri fields), I am a little concerned about my bike set up going into the race. With work and some other commitments on the weekends, I have not had a chance to visit a local shop to get the bike fit completed. Last race was a major indication on how important this is and I don't think my personal set up is making the bike reach it's potential. I am not comfortable in the saddle and I feel I am too aggressive and leaving a lot of power behind with an overly closed hip angle. Need to get this done before Timberman for sure.
-the new date of this race due to the G8 Summit has placed it in a very hot and humid time of the year. This will be a huge factor if the weather trends continue into next weekend. I know from a few runs of late that my body is still not ready to perform 100% in these conditions. It has been a few years since we have had consistent high temps and muggy weather.
-lastly, I need to start racing my race and not worry about where I am on the result sheet this year. Mentally, it has been tough to see so many people ahead of me, especially when i get on the bike. In the duathlon, I was always up at the front on the first run and was hitting the bike portion up with the leaders. I have to manage expectations a lot better and swallow my pride until my swimming gets closer to the levels of the top age groupers. Easier said than done with my competitive spirit!
This weekend is the Ontario Duathlon Championships in Gravenhurst. It will be interesting to see how things end up on Saturday morning as it appears many faces from last year will not be racing. I wish Tommy Ferris the best of luck and hope to see him up at the top! He has worked very hard this season at putting himself at the top of the sport so he deserves all the best that comes to him. Also, best wishes to Adam Fitzsimmons (if he is on the starting line) as he has been solid this season and should be up there as well so I hope he has a great race. Roger Hospedales is always up for a Du so I know Rog will be there giving the course hell!
Not sure who else will be up in cottage country for that one but I hope everyone reaches their goals!
Take care,
Larry
July 7, 2010
FOLLOW MY MULTISPORT CANADA BLOG
Hi Folks! Thanks to a great opportunity from John Salt and Roger Hospedales, I have been blogging on the Multisport Canada website as well. Check it out!
http://www.multisportcanada.com/one-du-tri.html
http://www.multisportcanada.com/one-du-tri.html
June 30, 2010
10 Questions with Brent Poulsen
As my training dipped before last weekend’s race, I found a few extra minutes to add to my interview collection on my blog. I wanted to keep with the Canadian Triathlete theme and one name I see quite a bit on my blog updates, and the Ironman 70.3 stats, is Orillia, Ontario native, Brent Poulsen.
I have actually had the pleasure of seeing Brent in action but really did not know too much about our home grown 70.3 star. I did know, from his blog, that he was getting ready to race the Buffalo Springs 70.3 in his new home state of Texas on the weekend (where he placed a very respectable 8th in a super tough field) so I asked if he could answer a few questions some time after his race.
As with so many of our top athletes, Brent delivered above expectations and completed the online questionaire almost as soon as he crossed the finish line of his grueling race. I realize that I write this very often, but our athletes are the most down to earth people you will meet in the sports world. It is so refreshing to have such approachable leaders to help promote and grow the sport.
Q1- What would you be doing if you were not a professional triathlete?
A1- If I wasn't a professional triathlete; I would have a lot of spare time. I would probably be focused on a career in business and trying to play as many rec sports as I could to stay in shape.
Q2- On your blog it states that you are in Sales (Gymnastics Equipment), how hard was it to find an employer that understood your needs for training and travel (for races)?
A2- Luckily, I work for a family business so there is a bit of flexibility with traveling to races and missing a few hours a week to get in some longer rides. It's a great gymnastics business based out of Ontario and has been in business for 40 years. http://www.sasportonline.com/
Q3- Flipping through the stats sites, it looks like you officially started racing Pro in 2004 after coming up through the competitive junior ranks. Did you have an injury set backs in 2003 (no stats)?
A3- No injuries to-date, knock on wood! I did a lot of ITU racing back during those days, and some Subaru Series races. It wasn't until 2007-2008 that I really started to enjoy longer distance races. Sometimes, results on the internet are a little hard to find, but they are there somewhere.
Q4- Who were a few of the early influences on the Ontario triathlon scene that motivated you during this development stage of your career?
A4- Adele Lemare, Mike Hay, Steve Arsenault. The list goes on of people in Ontario that really helped me develop. I really started to get a bit more serious in the sport, training and racing, with Colin Jenkins. We were roommates at Laurentian University along with Alicia Kaye. They were huge motivators. My parents were also huge motivators for me.
Q5- What is your greatest accomplishment to-date in this sport? Outside of this sport?
A5- It is pretty hard to pin-point an exact accomplishment that I am proud of. I think, as athletes we are usually only as good as our last race so we are always thriving on better results in bigger fields. Outside of the sport will come this September as I will be getting married to my beautiful fiance, Carley. She is a huge motivator for me and has really helped me out with finding balance in the sport.
Q6- For your specialty (Half Ironman, 70.3), many triathletes do not find their calling until they reach their twenties, after they graduate from the Sprints and Olympic distances. That makes it tough to tell who may take this path (longer distance triathlon) but is there any up and coming Canadians on your series that have really impressed you?
A6- I think Canada has a huge amount of talent in the sport. It's pretty hard to pick one individual at that age. People come and go in the sport and in longer racing, it really comes down to putting in the work. Take Ontario, for example, you have C3, a Training Centre in Guelph, a Kids of Steel Program and a few really good racing series'. Victoria has a huge program, as well, developing amazing athletes! As far as long distance racing goes, I think from what I have seen so far, Jeff Symonds will be the man to beat in a few years.
Q7- Is there anything you would like to see introduced to the sport to make it even better?
A7- I can't think of anything I would like to see differently about the sport. Many of the athletes seem to complain about prize money, entry fees or this and that. I think if we step back, and really look at why we enjoy racing, most people would agree that it's a wonderful and healthy sport.
Q8- What workout do you look forward to the most during your weekly training?
A8- Any key session I really look forward to. For the swim, it would be a race simulation set where I get to smash myself. One of my favourites is 3or4x (100 start speed, 2x300 @ race pace, 100 ez). As far as a bike set goes, I really like any workout that makes me focus on the wattage I would like to hold. For example, my Tuesday and Thursday rides usually have some sort of goal. One of my favourite sets is 2x(20 minutes,5 ez,10 minutes,5 ez, 5 minutes) done on the comp trainer at the right wattage can really be a hard set. The run workouts I look forward to are long runs with tempo intervals. Last week was a good hard run session that was 1hr 45minutes, including 5 miles @ 5:30per mile, and 3x1mile @ 5:15 pace, with a long warm up and cool down. I run with some fast training partners so I am usually left spent.
Q9- Do you get nervous before an event? If so, how do you deal with the nervous energy before the horn sounds?
A9- I really don't tend to get too nervous before races, until right before the start. I usually stay really confident and my new coach, Cliff English, really has me doing some solid sessions that leave me confident. I have only started working with Cliff the past month and already I have had a 6th place and an 8th place finish in June (in very competitive fields) with one of the fastest run splits in each race. I think the athlete really needs to believe in what they have done in training and take that confidence to the start line of the race. Red Bull also helps in nervous situations. Even if you can't hang with someone, Red Bull will make you believe you can. :)
Q10- What do you think you will do after your pro racing days have wrapped up? Race local elite, Age Group, coach or try master a new sport?
A10- I am really just starting to get a feel for long distance racing so I have a few years left. I don't think I will race at an age group level but I will most likely participate in some rec sports, or ride my bike. I also enjoy the coaching aspect of the sport and may look further into coaching options.
If you would like to follow Brent on his journey through the Half Ironman ranks, please check out his website (link below). I am sure Brent would appreciate even more support and if you are able to help him out in anyway, there is an email link on the right side of his blog that you may use to contact him.
http://www.brentpoulsen112882.blogspot.com/
Many thanks to Brent for being so kind to grant this interview!
Best of luck!
I have actually had the pleasure of seeing Brent in action but really did not know too much about our home grown 70.3 star. I did know, from his blog, that he was getting ready to race the Buffalo Springs 70.3 in his new home state of Texas on the weekend (where he placed a very respectable 8th in a super tough field) so I asked if he could answer a few questions some time after his race.
As with so many of our top athletes, Brent delivered above expectations and completed the online questionaire almost as soon as he crossed the finish line of his grueling race. I realize that I write this very often, but our athletes are the most down to earth people you will meet in the sports world. It is so refreshing to have such approachable leaders to help promote and grow the sport.
Q1- What would you be doing if you were not a professional triathlete?
A1- If I wasn't a professional triathlete; I would have a lot of spare time. I would probably be focused on a career in business and trying to play as many rec sports as I could to stay in shape.
Q2- On your blog it states that you are in Sales (Gymnastics Equipment), how hard was it to find an employer that understood your needs for training and travel (for races)?
A2- Luckily, I work for a family business so there is a bit of flexibility with traveling to races and missing a few hours a week to get in some longer rides. It's a great gymnastics business based out of Ontario and has been in business for 40 years. http://www.sasportonline.com/
Q3- Flipping through the stats sites, it looks like you officially started racing Pro in 2004 after coming up through the competitive junior ranks. Did you have an injury set backs in 2003 (no stats)?
A3- No injuries to-date, knock on wood! I did a lot of ITU racing back during those days, and some Subaru Series races. It wasn't until 2007-2008 that I really started to enjoy longer distance races. Sometimes, results on the internet are a little hard to find, but they are there somewhere.
Q4- Who were a few of the early influences on the Ontario triathlon scene that motivated you during this development stage of your career?
A4- Adele Lemare, Mike Hay, Steve Arsenault. The list goes on of people in Ontario that really helped me develop. I really started to get a bit more serious in the sport, training and racing, with Colin Jenkins. We were roommates at Laurentian University along with Alicia Kaye. They were huge motivators. My parents were also huge motivators for me.
Q5- What is your greatest accomplishment to-date in this sport? Outside of this sport?
A5- It is pretty hard to pin-point an exact accomplishment that I am proud of. I think, as athletes we are usually only as good as our last race so we are always thriving on better results in bigger fields. Outside of the sport will come this September as I will be getting married to my beautiful fiance, Carley. She is a huge motivator for me and has really helped me out with finding balance in the sport.
Q6- For your specialty (Half Ironman, 70.3), many triathletes do not find their calling until they reach their twenties, after they graduate from the Sprints and Olympic distances. That makes it tough to tell who may take this path (longer distance triathlon) but is there any up and coming Canadians on your series that have really impressed you?
A6- I think Canada has a huge amount of talent in the sport. It's pretty hard to pick one individual at that age. People come and go in the sport and in longer racing, it really comes down to putting in the work. Take Ontario, for example, you have C3, a Training Centre in Guelph, a Kids of Steel Program and a few really good racing series'. Victoria has a huge program, as well, developing amazing athletes! As far as long distance racing goes, I think from what I have seen so far, Jeff Symonds will be the man to beat in a few years.
Q7- Is there anything you would like to see introduced to the sport to make it even better?
A7- I can't think of anything I would like to see differently about the sport. Many of the athletes seem to complain about prize money, entry fees or this and that. I think if we step back, and really look at why we enjoy racing, most people would agree that it's a wonderful and healthy sport.
Q8- What workout do you look forward to the most during your weekly training?
A8- Any key session I really look forward to. For the swim, it would be a race simulation set where I get to smash myself. One of my favourites is 3or4x (100 start speed, 2x300 @ race pace, 100 ez). As far as a bike set goes, I really like any workout that makes me focus on the wattage I would like to hold. For example, my Tuesday and Thursday rides usually have some sort of goal. One of my favourite sets is 2x(20 minutes,5 ez,10 minutes,5 ez, 5 minutes) done on the comp trainer at the right wattage can really be a hard set. The run workouts I look forward to are long runs with tempo intervals. Last week was a good hard run session that was 1hr 45minutes, including 5 miles @ 5:30per mile, and 3x1mile @ 5:15 pace, with a long warm up and cool down. I run with some fast training partners so I am usually left spent.
Q9- Do you get nervous before an event? If so, how do you deal with the nervous energy before the horn sounds?
A9- I really don't tend to get too nervous before races, until right before the start. I usually stay really confident and my new coach, Cliff English, really has me doing some solid sessions that leave me confident. I have only started working with Cliff the past month and already I have had a 6th place and an 8th place finish in June (in very competitive fields) with one of the fastest run splits in each race. I think the athlete really needs to believe in what they have done in training and take that confidence to the start line of the race. Red Bull also helps in nervous situations. Even if you can't hang with someone, Red Bull will make you believe you can. :)
Q10- What do you think you will do after your pro racing days have wrapped up? Race local elite, Age Group, coach or try master a new sport?
A10- I am really just starting to get a feel for long distance racing so I have a few years left. I don't think I will race at an age group level but I will most likely participate in some rec sports, or ride my bike. I also enjoy the coaching aspect of the sport and may look further into coaching options.
If you would like to follow Brent on his journey through the Half Ironman ranks, please check out his website (link below). I am sure Brent would appreciate even more support and if you are able to help him out in anyway, there is an email link on the right side of his blog that you may use to contact him.
http://www.brentpoulsen112882.blogspot.com/
Many thanks to Brent for being so kind to grant this interview!
Best of luck!
June 27, 2010
Welland Half Iron Distance - Race Report
This one will be short and sweet tonight. Just wanted to get some news out there as my stats for this race so the DNF.
I will send out a longer version but here is the short one as I have to take care of a little flooding in the basement. Nice!
My swim went pretty much as expected from an effort point of view. You can tell by the other athletes times that this was a quick swim so for me to better my pre-race goal by around three and a half minutes gives me the feeling that I would have been right around the forty mark in the pool. I was 109th out of the water so I am amazed at how many great swimmers are out there. Awesome job everyone!
The great addition to this swim portion was the timing mat down at the water which helped grab the real time instead of the time plus run up to T1. Great planning Multisport Canada!
On to the bike, I was clipping along at a very repectable pace. I was passing a lot of riders and making my move up the results page averaging around 39km/h aftert thirty kilometres. Even though my speed was pretty near my target, something wasn't right as I could not get comfortable in the saddle. My butt hurt at first, then my front went numb. I started to lose focus and speed just as we approached the only hill on the course. Thankfully, I spun up and started to feel good again. I was back in the race mentally and picking up more spots.
As I got closer to the 45km turn around though, things started to fall apart as my lower back became very tight. I used the turn to get out of aero and try to stretch it. This little slow down allowed three riders that I had just passed to get back in front of me. I tried to pull them back but I was getting more and more stiff and staying aero was becoming very difficult. It finally got to the point where I could not stay tucked for more than one minuted at a time so I waved the two guys chasing me down passed and pulled over to stretch things out.
It took around ten minutes before I could return to the bike but by the time I got back on my upper portions of my legs had seized up now. I had absolutely no power and still could not stay down on the bars. My day was down for sure as I would never be able to run at this rate.
On the way back I passed the crash scene of one of the elite age groupers and this area was chaos with cars all over and cyclists on both side trying to figure what they should be doing. Stopping, going, slowing down, etc. I knew I was not going to be chasing any time so I slowly made my way through the area before continuing down the road.
At this point I would like to wish Richard Pady a quick recovery. I don't know the whole story so I don't want to post any assumptions but I heard he was going to be OK. My hat goes off to Nigel Gray for stopping his race to care for Mr. Pady after the incident. I have never met Nigel but know of him and knew that he was having a very strong race to this point. He would have been very close to top spot if he would have kept going so he showed a whole lot of class with this display of care.
After I returned back to the transition zone, I decided that I would be a lot more useful helping out at home as my wife was holding a dinner for her family. I wanted to stick around and see how everyone faired on this day so I hope nobody thinks I was being a bad sport by leaving early?
I was a little disappointed that I did not get to finish the race but I was actually in good spirits knowing that I tried to compete to my best but my back just was not cooperating. This is the first time in a few years that I have had this issue. I have a few ideas as to why (need a bike fit, not enough hours in the aero position this season because I have been training on road bike, went out too aggressive trying to make up for slower swim, etc.) this happened today but I also know that I need to step up the volume in training.
This is tough with my availalbe training hours but I am going to have to get there if I want to complete a much tougher course in August. I also want to race in this event and see how things pan out. Obviously, two months is not very long so I better get my game plan out asap.
Congrats to all those that raced. I see some super quick times posted even with the humid run that presented itself. Hope to see everyone out on the race couse soon!
I will send out a longer version but here is the short one as I have to take care of a little flooding in the basement. Nice!
My swim went pretty much as expected from an effort point of view. You can tell by the other athletes times that this was a quick swim so for me to better my pre-race goal by around three and a half minutes gives me the feeling that I would have been right around the forty mark in the pool. I was 109th out of the water so I am amazed at how many great swimmers are out there. Awesome job everyone!
The great addition to this swim portion was the timing mat down at the water which helped grab the real time instead of the time plus run up to T1. Great planning Multisport Canada!
On to the bike, I was clipping along at a very repectable pace. I was passing a lot of riders and making my move up the results page averaging around 39km/h aftert thirty kilometres. Even though my speed was pretty near my target, something wasn't right as I could not get comfortable in the saddle. My butt hurt at first, then my front went numb. I started to lose focus and speed just as we approached the only hill on the course. Thankfully, I spun up and started to feel good again. I was back in the race mentally and picking up more spots.
As I got closer to the 45km turn around though, things started to fall apart as my lower back became very tight. I used the turn to get out of aero and try to stretch it. This little slow down allowed three riders that I had just passed to get back in front of me. I tried to pull them back but I was getting more and more stiff and staying aero was becoming very difficult. It finally got to the point where I could not stay tucked for more than one minuted at a time so I waved the two guys chasing me down passed and pulled over to stretch things out.
It took around ten minutes before I could return to the bike but by the time I got back on my upper portions of my legs had seized up now. I had absolutely no power and still could not stay down on the bars. My day was down for sure as I would never be able to run at this rate.
On the way back I passed the crash scene of one of the elite age groupers and this area was chaos with cars all over and cyclists on both side trying to figure what they should be doing. Stopping, going, slowing down, etc. I knew I was not going to be chasing any time so I slowly made my way through the area before continuing down the road.
At this point I would like to wish Richard Pady a quick recovery. I don't know the whole story so I don't want to post any assumptions but I heard he was going to be OK. My hat goes off to Nigel Gray for stopping his race to care for Mr. Pady after the incident. I have never met Nigel but know of him and knew that he was having a very strong race to this point. He would have been very close to top spot if he would have kept going so he showed a whole lot of class with this display of care.
After I returned back to the transition zone, I decided that I would be a lot more useful helping out at home as my wife was holding a dinner for her family. I wanted to stick around and see how everyone faired on this day so I hope nobody thinks I was being a bad sport by leaving early?
I was a little disappointed that I did not get to finish the race but I was actually in good spirits knowing that I tried to compete to my best but my back just was not cooperating. This is the first time in a few years that I have had this issue. I have a few ideas as to why (need a bike fit, not enough hours in the aero position this season because I have been training on road bike, went out too aggressive trying to make up for slower swim, etc.) this happened today but I also know that I need to step up the volume in training.
This is tough with my availalbe training hours but I am going to have to get there if I want to complete a much tougher course in August. I also want to race in this event and see how things pan out. Obviously, two months is not very long so I better get my game plan out asap.
Congrats to all those that raced. I see some super quick times posted even with the humid run that presented itself. Hope to see everyone out on the race couse soon!
June 21, 2010
Welland Half Iron Distance - Pre-Race Report
This weekend will mark my triathlon debut at the Half Iron Distance. I am feeling pretty good thinking about it today but I am sure the nerves will kick up as the date gets a little closer.
This will mainly be a training race to get use to the distance in prep for Timberman 70.3. I am going to take the swim very easy and make sure I get to the bike with enough energy to put in a respectable bike and run combo.
There are a bunch of the area's top triathletes making an appearance in this event so I will have to be satisfied looking down the results page a touch to find my name. It is something I need to be ready for as I have been lucky enough to be competitive in the local duathlon scene over the past few years. The fields were not as big in those races but it was still a nice feeling to be successful.
I knew jumping into the triathlon that I would have to be ready to take a back seat for a few years but it is tough somedays to give up so much time in the starting portion of the race. In the duathlon, the first run was one of my strong sections and I was getting very comfortable reaching the bike in an exhausted state of mind only to find my next wind shortly after the mount line.
With the dangers of the water thrown into the mix, I am not ready to push as hard before making it into transition. This will take some practice so for now it is slow and steady in the swim and then make up time on the bike and run.
In Welland, I will not attempt to burn up the bike and run but I have set some tough goals for these two stages of the event. I know that I could push for faster splits but I think my lack of experience (and the current training distance) at this point of the season would lead to failure so I figure it is best to pace the day and see what is in the tank for the final 8 to 5 km of the run. If I am still feeling energized than maybe I will turn up the pace a little and bring it home in strong fashion.
Wish me luck!
Larry
This will mainly be a training race to get use to the distance in prep for Timberman 70.3. I am going to take the swim very easy and make sure I get to the bike with enough energy to put in a respectable bike and run combo.
There are a bunch of the area's top triathletes making an appearance in this event so I will have to be satisfied looking down the results page a touch to find my name. It is something I need to be ready for as I have been lucky enough to be competitive in the local duathlon scene over the past few years. The fields were not as big in those races but it was still a nice feeling to be successful.
I knew jumping into the triathlon that I would have to be ready to take a back seat for a few years but it is tough somedays to give up so much time in the starting portion of the race. In the duathlon, the first run was one of my strong sections and I was getting very comfortable reaching the bike in an exhausted state of mind only to find my next wind shortly after the mount line.
With the dangers of the water thrown into the mix, I am not ready to push as hard before making it into transition. This will take some practice so for now it is slow and steady in the swim and then make up time on the bike and run.
In Welland, I will not attempt to burn up the bike and run but I have set some tough goals for these two stages of the event. I know that I could push for faster splits but I think my lack of experience (and the current training distance) at this point of the season would lead to failure so I figure it is best to pace the day and see what is in the tank for the final 8 to 5 km of the run. If I am still feeling energized than maybe I will turn up the pace a little and bring it home in strong fashion.
Wish me luck!
Larry
June 14, 2010
Binbrook Sprint Tri - Race Report
Finally got my first triathlon in for this season on Sunday. I raced the Multisport Canada event in Binbrook and had a pretty respectable showing for my first real race with a winter of swimming under my belt.
The conditions were not perfect as we had overcast skies and touches of light rain on and off during the morning. It did not cause any problems but just had you act a little more cautious in the corners on the bike. The run cause on the Conservation Area trails was also muddy and slippery due to the recent damp weather but it made for a more challenging event.
The swim went well as I stayed in freestyle form for the entire 750m, the first time I have been able to hold form in competition. My relaxed approach was not speedy by any means but I saw large improvements and ended up as the 50th person (of 257) out of the water and feeling strong for the bike.
On the bike, I hammered out the best split for the triathletes and duathletes (Wolfgang had a better time but he was in the relay) and averaged, on my computer, 39.5km/h for the distance. I think we ended up a little longer in actual distance compared to the stats page so there is a reporting variance. My computer is usually pretty close so I am pretty certain that I was hitting higher speed than what the results average shows. Not really important but I like to compare to see how close I can get to my TT averages in our weekly club events.
After a good transition, I started to roll on the run through the mud and wet grass. I felt energized and was ready to catch some people ahead to move up the results page. Before the 1km marker on the damn, I had secured two positions and could see the other runners stretched across the other end of the curved water barrier. I had four (plus one from the Wolf's relay team) people ahead of me at this point. At the turnaround, around the two km area, a made it past one more runner but could now see my chasers. There were some strong looking triathletes coming up on my tail so I had to push hard.
By three kilometres one of the younger speedsters caught me and started to create a gap. On this day, I was not going to go down that easy so I stepped it up and his pace pushed me past another athlete into fourth. First and second were well out of reach so I was just trying to stay close with the youthful legs that was a few steps ahead of me.
On the final couple of km's we headed into a forested loop where we stayed in check so I didn't think I was going to have the mustard to get past him but luckily he didn't have the gas on one of the final uphill sections and my strength in this area paid off. As we flattened out, I stepped on the accelerator to push up the pace and he was not able to answer so I made it through the final few hundred metres alone and race up the finishing area in third. I just had to hope that the starting waves behind us were not as fast.
Thankfully, my time held up and I posted the third overall time and first fastest for my AG. Next up is the Welland Half Iron Distance in a few weeks. Should be a good training session for Timberman in a few months so that I can see how 2k in the open water feels.
After the race, I met up with Running Free team members Roger Hospedales, Peter Geering, Steve Good and Karen Gamble and had some time to catch up and share racing stories. Great work everyone!
Also, I had the opportunity to meet a very promising future star, Robbie Chapman. This young racer from the Cornwall area is really dedicated to the sport and dreams to be a top triathlete on the Ironman circuit in a few years. I don't hear or see many inspiring examples from the teenage population everyday so I was very impressed with his outlook on life and hope he sticks with his goals. I realize it is not for everyone but it is so much better to have this influence in their lives to keep them out of trouble.
The conditions were not perfect as we had overcast skies and touches of light rain on and off during the morning. It did not cause any problems but just had you act a little more cautious in the corners on the bike. The run cause on the Conservation Area trails was also muddy and slippery due to the recent damp weather but it made for a more challenging event.
The swim went well as I stayed in freestyle form for the entire 750m, the first time I have been able to hold form in competition. My relaxed approach was not speedy by any means but I saw large improvements and ended up as the 50th person (of 257) out of the water and feeling strong for the bike.
On the bike, I hammered out the best split for the triathletes and duathletes (Wolfgang had a better time but he was in the relay) and averaged, on my computer, 39.5km/h for the distance. I think we ended up a little longer in actual distance compared to the stats page so there is a reporting variance. My computer is usually pretty close so I am pretty certain that I was hitting higher speed than what the results average shows. Not really important but I like to compare to see how close I can get to my TT averages in our weekly club events.
After a good transition, I started to roll on the run through the mud and wet grass. I felt energized and was ready to catch some people ahead to move up the results page. Before the 1km marker on the damn, I had secured two positions and could see the other runners stretched across the other end of the curved water barrier. I had four (plus one from the Wolf's relay team) people ahead of me at this point. At the turnaround, around the two km area, a made it past one more runner but could now see my chasers. There were some strong looking triathletes coming up on my tail so I had to push hard.
By three kilometres one of the younger speedsters caught me and started to create a gap. On this day, I was not going to go down that easy so I stepped it up and his pace pushed me past another athlete into fourth. First and second were well out of reach so I was just trying to stay close with the youthful legs that was a few steps ahead of me.
On the final couple of km's we headed into a forested loop where we stayed in check so I didn't think I was going to have the mustard to get past him but luckily he didn't have the gas on one of the final uphill sections and my strength in this area paid off. As we flattened out, I stepped on the accelerator to push up the pace and he was not able to answer so I made it through the final few hundred metres alone and race up the finishing area in third. I just had to hope that the starting waves behind us were not as fast.
Thankfully, my time held up and I posted the third overall time and first fastest for my AG. Next up is the Welland Half Iron Distance in a few weeks. Should be a good training session for Timberman in a few months so that I can see how 2k in the open water feels.
After the race, I met up with Running Free team members Roger Hospedales, Peter Geering, Steve Good and Karen Gamble and had some time to catch up and share racing stories. Great work everyone!
Also, I had the opportunity to meet a very promising future star, Robbie Chapman. This young racer from the Cornwall area is really dedicated to the sport and dreams to be a top triathlete on the Ironman circuit in a few years. I don't hear or see many inspiring examples from the teenage population everyday so I was very impressed with his outlook on life and hope he sticks with his goals. I realize it is not for everyone but it is so much better to have this influence in their lives to keep them out of trouble.
June 11, 2010
Mid-June Update!
Hey Gang,
Just wanted to promote my new blog that Multisport Canada is carrying on their website. We are trying to keep the material exclusive to their site so if you enjoy my writing, please drop by their site to check things out!
http://www.multisportcanada.com/one-du-tri.html
Have to send out a huge thanks to John Salt and Roger Hospedales for starting up this project! I really appreciate their support and look forward to getting out on the MSC Series to get in a bunch of races this summer.
Carrying on with that theme, I will be heading out to Hamilton this Sunday to put down my first Triathlon of the season at the Binbrook Triathlon. I feel really good these days and expect a fun event as I look to build on my swimming experiences.
I have some goals in mind, especially on the bike and run, where I would love be close to the top of the field for the last two legs, combined. The biggest thing for me is to remind myself to push through into the next gear. Sometimes I get stale or stuck in a pace that is below my real potential, almost afraid to blow up half way through the run. I have to start to trust my training and hit the pace that I am capable of each time I am out there. I hit it a few times near the end of the year but missed it a bunch of other times during 2009. Time to step it up mentally on race day and hammer through the pain!
Have a great weekend!
Larry
Just wanted to promote my new blog that Multisport Canada is carrying on their website. We are trying to keep the material exclusive to their site so if you enjoy my writing, please drop by their site to check things out!
http://www.multisportcanada.com/one-du-tri.html
Have to send out a huge thanks to John Salt and Roger Hospedales for starting up this project! I really appreciate their support and look forward to getting out on the MSC Series to get in a bunch of races this summer.
Carrying on with that theme, I will be heading out to Hamilton this Sunday to put down my first Triathlon of the season at the Binbrook Triathlon. I feel really good these days and expect a fun event as I look to build on my swimming experiences.
I have some goals in mind, especially on the bike and run, where I would love be close to the top of the field for the last two legs, combined. The biggest thing for me is to remind myself to push through into the next gear. Sometimes I get stale or stuck in a pace that is below my real potential, almost afraid to blow up half way through the run. I have to start to trust my training and hit the pace that I am capable of each time I am out there. I hit it a few times near the end of the year but missed it a bunch of other times during 2009. Time to step it up mentally on race day and hammer through the pain!
Have a great weekend!
Larry
June 7, 2010
Looking Forward...
Must stay positive out of this weekend or I will end up blowing an incredible opportunity.
Decided to stay home and not venture into the rain and cold wind on Sunday for the Milton event. From what I have heard from friends, it ended up being a pretty decent day and the guys and gals had some very impressive results. Congrats, your are all very brave souls for making the trip.
That being said, I am now turning my attention to next Sunday and the Binbrook Triathlon near Hamilton, Ontario. It is nice and close to home and is the site to a one of my first duathlons back in 2007 (I have a score to settle with the bike couse). I got to the bike first and actually had the police escort leading out (that was pretty neat to experience) but was soon passed as my rookie cycling skills died in the wind. Lessons learned!
So, it may feel like a long week leading up but I am going to work my butt off to prepare for this weekend, rain or shine!
Wish me luck!
Larry
Decided to stay home and not venture into the rain and cold wind on Sunday for the Milton event. From what I have heard from friends, it ended up being a pretty decent day and the guys and gals had some very impressive results. Congrats, your are all very brave souls for making the trip.
That being said, I am now turning my attention to next Sunday and the Binbrook Triathlon near Hamilton, Ontario. It is nice and close to home and is the site to a one of my first duathlons back in 2007 (I have a score to settle with the bike couse). I got to the bike first and actually had the police escort leading out (that was pretty neat to experience) but was soon passed as my rookie cycling skills died in the wind. Lessons learned!
So, it may feel like a long week leading up but I am going to work my butt off to prepare for this weekend, rain or shine!
Wish me luck!
Larry
June 3, 2010
Milton Sprint Tri - Pre Race Report
This week has been a horrible lead up to a race. One of my worst training weeks in a long time, for sure.
Monday got off to a strong start in the pool as I was swimming well and working on my form. I was then super excited to get a chance to participate in my first FMCT TT this season and made the trip up to Brampton under cloudy skies. The rain stayed in the clouds but my night was cut short by an incident on my bike. The rear skewer came loose on the ride to the start and when I applied the rear brakes it jammed the wheel and the rubber slid along the pavement, popping before reaching the start area. I stayed to helped out but was disappointed in my luck. I then had to make up for the lack of workout by putting in a late night run after I returned home and put the kids to bed.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, I had big work commitments which took away my usual lunch workouts. At night, I was so blasted from the work load that I ended up crashing well before my regular bedtime. With my better half having an early meeting on Wednesday, I could not slip in a training session before work. She then had her sports fun that night so I was on kid duties until she returned from her much deserved post game social. I was thinking about getting to the gym after she returned but I just could not find the energy to pull myself from bed.
So to get myself out of the funk, I slapped on a smaller backpack this morning and set off a little earlier to work. I ended up running 13k on the Meadowvale trails and pushed pretty hard on the final half of the run. I am now hoping to get away from work in time to put in another swim at lunch and then, if all goes to plan, get a ride in tonight.
On Friday, I plan to swim at lunch and then do a short, easy brick workout before taking Saturday off. I have found that, at my age, I feel the effects of even lighter workouts the day before races. I tried them in the past and my results were never what I expected as my legs were always tired and sluggish. A lot of this is mental as I know they could not have been drained too much from those light efforts but in my head I always used it as an excuse for the power outage on race day.
We are about 72 hours out from the first triathlon of the year and I can't wait to see how things play out. I admit that the pressure I felt before the duathlons last season created a heck of a lot more nervous energy. I knew that I would consider the race a failure if I did not finish in the top 3. In the triathlon though, I cannot expect those type of results with the size and calibre of the fields on that side of the multisport event. I guess deep down I would be satisfied with a top 20 placing this weekend and top 5 in my AG. I would love to post a PB on the bike split (the course is always the same and I have been a touch slower every year since my rookie season) and run under four minutes per km on the tough 7.5km run course.
Best of luck to all those racing this weekend! There are plenty of different events taking place so best wishes to everyone in all reaches of the racing world!
Larry
Monday got off to a strong start in the pool as I was swimming well and working on my form. I was then super excited to get a chance to participate in my first FMCT TT this season and made the trip up to Brampton under cloudy skies. The rain stayed in the clouds but my night was cut short by an incident on my bike. The rear skewer came loose on the ride to the start and when I applied the rear brakes it jammed the wheel and the rubber slid along the pavement, popping before reaching the start area. I stayed to helped out but was disappointed in my luck. I then had to make up for the lack of workout by putting in a late night run after I returned home and put the kids to bed.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, I had big work commitments which took away my usual lunch workouts. At night, I was so blasted from the work load that I ended up crashing well before my regular bedtime. With my better half having an early meeting on Wednesday, I could not slip in a training session before work. She then had her sports fun that night so I was on kid duties until she returned from her much deserved post game social. I was thinking about getting to the gym after she returned but I just could not find the energy to pull myself from bed.
So to get myself out of the funk, I slapped on a smaller backpack this morning and set off a little earlier to work. I ended up running 13k on the Meadowvale trails and pushed pretty hard on the final half of the run. I am now hoping to get away from work in time to put in another swim at lunch and then, if all goes to plan, get a ride in tonight.
On Friday, I plan to swim at lunch and then do a short, easy brick workout before taking Saturday off. I have found that, at my age, I feel the effects of even lighter workouts the day before races. I tried them in the past and my results were never what I expected as my legs were always tired and sluggish. A lot of this is mental as I know they could not have been drained too much from those light efforts but in my head I always used it as an excuse for the power outage on race day.
We are about 72 hours out from the first triathlon of the year and I can't wait to see how things play out. I admit that the pressure I felt before the duathlons last season created a heck of a lot more nervous energy. I knew that I would consider the race a failure if I did not finish in the top 3. In the triathlon though, I cannot expect those type of results with the size and calibre of the fields on that side of the multisport event. I guess deep down I would be satisfied with a top 20 placing this weekend and top 5 in my AG. I would love to post a PB on the bike split (the course is always the same and I have been a touch slower every year since my rookie season) and run under four minutes per km on the tough 7.5km run course.
Best of luck to all those racing this weekend! There are plenty of different events taking place so best wishes to everyone in all reaches of the racing world!
Larry
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