The Bluewater "Olympic" Triathlon

Yes - the word "Olympic" gets the quotes... the actual distance of the swim is unknown, but it sure wasn't 1500m. My 22-minute swim time is a guarantee of that. I just don't swim in the 1:30/100m family of paces... trust me. But, the bike and run seemed accurate, so here we go...

The swim was basically point-to-point - we had to walk from transition down to the start. They must have moved it up the beach towards transition from where they originally measured the distance. I'm guessing the swim was roughly 1000m, based on both my time and a conversation I overheard between two of the duathletes -- they said that run #1 was to be 2.3km, instead of the posted 2.8km... the 500m difference certainly jives with my swim time -- and yes, I'm a slow swimmer. The race was a chase format, with the women getting a 16 minute head start over the men, first across the line takes the prize money. My first mass start! Ok, my first start that didn't involve age-group waves. There was probably only about 50 of us... don't know if that qualifies for a "mass" start. It was uneventful, other than not really being able to pass anyone... it seemed like every time I came up behind another swimmer, there would be two more on either side, boxing me in... but when no one was in front of me, no one was beside me, either. Weird. Out of the water and up a very steep embankment along Lake Huron... the stairs weren't really stairs, they were huge slabs of stone... I usually see them being used in fancy landscaped yards. I think my HR was about 560bpm when I finally reached the top.

T1 was horrible -- I somehow managed to get my shirt caught in the zipper of my wetsuit. This has happened before, but it always came out with a little extra effort on the tug, but not this time. The ripping sound I heard was a chunk of my Zoot tri top that remained in the zipper after the wetsuit was finally off. Bad times.

I finally made it out onto the bike course, which was advertised as "flat and fast." It was definitely flat. Fast for me doesn't seem to exist right now on the bike. My running has come a long way, but my biking lags behind. No one to blame but myself, though -- after focusing on a May half marathon, I've continued to knock off great running workouts... speed intervals, tempos, long runs... but my bike rides have been slightly less enthusiastic, and quite unorganized from a training standpoint. So I have to say I'm not surprised that my bike times have been rather pedestrian this year. That is something I look forward to changing this coming off-season -- I'd really like to see some improvement on the bike next year.

Anyway, the 40k came and went... some rain here, some wind there... some more wind there (and there, and there). It wasn't a straight out and back -- it was several smaller sections, so we never really got to take advantage of when the wind was at our backs. But on the good side, we never really had the wind in our face for too long, either. I managed about 30km/h average on the bike, and the second half was definitely faster than the first -- two years ago I would have been thrilled... not so much now. But, I think it's a great starting point for some major improvements later this year and early next.

One other thing about the bike... I think I'm a little timid when it comes to pushing or spinning hard during a race. It's not like I'm soft-pedalling out there, but I'm not exactly mashing it, either. After experiencing some very painful cramping last year at Muskoka 70.3, I seem to be living in fear of a killer cramp that hasn't yet surfaced. It seems that the possibility of cramping on the bike (or later on the run) really has me racing on the conservative side of things from an intensity standpoint. Something else to work on, I guess!

The run was pretty good for me, overall. The rain was pretty steady by that point... nothing hard, though. I was holding about 5:00/km for the first 3-4k, but didn't feel like I was pushing too much. The middle 4k or so actually saw me pick up the pace a little -- certainly not a lot, but it still felt good. The final couple km were the most difficult based on what the clock was saying, but they still actually felt not bad. It was strange -- I tried to pick up the pace at the 8k mark and again at the 9k mark... but they turned out to be the 2 slowest of the race for me. I managed to average about 5:11/km on the run. I was really hoping to be faster, but in my only other Olympic race (Aug/08), I fell apart on the run and it took me an hour to finish the 10k -- so I'm happy with the improvement.

Overall, not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning. I seem to have hit a plateau with my swimming... I'm not getting any faster. Something in my favour -- a local coach I know (who did my FIST bike fit for me) just opened a multi-sport store here in town... they have an endless pool with cameras for training & coaching. Might have to go in for some technique analysis. I know the swim is a very small percentage of the race... but if I could improve my technique, I don't think there would be an easier way of shaving minutes off my overall time while not expending any more energy. Makes sense, right? I'm hoping to get in there soon.

Next up is the Barrie Triathlon on August 9th. This is a last-minute addition to the schedule -- I'll be at a cottage 45 minutes away that weekend, so I figured, why not? My wife, on the other hand, figured, we're on vacation, so... why? (ooops) It's a short course (700m, 20k, 5k) with lots of loops, making it good for spectators and won't take too long to complete -- so I can get back to my vacation quickly. Should be good. As usual, time will tell.

The Barking Frog 5k Race Report

Friday was race 4 of 6 in a summer series put on by the Runner's Choice store here in town. The previous three had been 5k, 10k, and 8k -- the final two will be a half marathon and a 10k. Right now I'm sitting 5th in points... which is hilarious because I've never been anywhere close to 5th place in a race. But, not everyone does every race, so that has allowed me to sneak up on an end-of-season prize of some kind - likely a T-shirt - my wife will be so proud. The top 4 are pretty much established, and they are fast... like Kenya-fast (quite literally in one case... no, seriously, the guy is from Kenya). Anyway, unless they miss the final two races, I'm not advancing higher than 5th. I'm just trying to stay ahead of some fast guys further down the list.

My best 5k time coming in was 22:07, set last fall. I've been questioning the length of that race, thinking that it might have been a little short - especially after running a disappointing 22:53 in the first race of the year, which was Easter weekend. But who knows... when I set the 5k PR I was right at the end of my training for Muskoka 70.3, so maybe I was fit enough to go 22:07 - I don't know.

For this race I really wanted to go under 22 minutes. I'd only have to drop 8 seconds from last fall, but I'd have to drop almost a minute compared to earlier this year. I was feeling confident after my solid mile repeats earlier in the week.

Ok, rant time -- ever since I've regularly been running these races, I try to defer at the starting line to anyone who is faster... which is usually at least 25% of the racers (I do the same thing at the start of a tri). I do this out of respect of their ability, and the fact that it can be tough to pass a bunch of slow runners on a narrow roadway if you're racing for a podium spot (which I am not). I also don't want to get steamrolled by a Kenyan, but that's just me. So why, why, WHY do first-time racers and the rest of the over 40-minute 5k club feel the need to have their toes right on the starting line? I mean, seriously - we've got 450 bodies crammed into one lane on the street, ready for a furious sprint to get position at the first corner... and when the gun goes off you settle right into your 11 minute per mile pace. Bad times. Listen, I know how exciting it can be to do your first race - it is a great accomplishment, and I hope you remain in the sport. I also know that even though you will take 40 minutes to complete it, you paid your entry fee just like I did... I have no special standing in life or in 5k races. But think of it from a safety perspective - it's akin to merging your car onto a 4-lane highway while still doing city speeds... the chance of getting run over from behind is huge. And even if the person directly behind you avoids your rear (and your heels), the danger still remains behind that person, and the next, and so on. It's literally a chain-reaction pile-up behind you, even though you trot away from it chatting with your running partner. Bottom line: get your ass further back in the crowd for the start. Just think of how many more people there will be to chat with. Ok - rant complete.

The gun goes off, and so do I... right into a crowd of 11 minute per mile joggers. I spend the first 30 or 40 seconds avoiding the heels of those in front of me while trying to be polite, smile, nod, and not bump into anyone and get around them as quickly as possible. After what seems like an eternity, I'm finally in some open space and I try to pick it up a little. The first km goes by in about 4:10 - beauty, although likely a little hard to maintain for me. Screw it, only 5k. Push on!

Things thin out a little, and suddenly we're at the 2k marker - about 8:30... slowed a little, but I didn't expect to be able to hold the starting pace. Coming up on the turn-around point, I get a look at the leaders. I always love watching these dudes (and chicks) run. Sooo fast, such perfect form. Dig it! And then they are gone. Ok, this is where the report takes a bit of a sucky turn... I don't know my time at the 3k mark. I can only say it was "12-something." I think. Really close to 13 minutes. Could it have been in the 13's? Sure, I guess. Lame, I know. I don't have a Garmin or any other GPS watch, and the Polar HR monitor I wear doesn't have a lap button to push... I have to go my memory, and I really thought I'd remember.

Things slowed a little between the 3rd and 4th km - due in part to a pair of steepish (but very short) hills, and due in part to me getting damn tired. I hit the 4k marker at about 17:50, and using my highly polished math skills I knew that getting under 22 minutes would be tough... and that really pissed me off. So I started picking it up... I mean really picking it up. I knew from the run out that at least half of the final km would be uphill. Nothing steep... just a very gradual climb that can slow you a little if you're not paying attention. So I planned on pushing through that with pretty much everything I had left... which wasn't much by that point.

But it was enough... I ran the final km in under 4 minutes to cross the line in 21:48 - a new Dan-world record! And then I had a free ice cream bar. Good times.

Next up for me is an Olympic tri this weekend... supposedly a very flat course. But sometimes the swim is cancelled because of high waves. I would think that would make the bike course a little windy, wouldn't you? Wind... my nemesis, at least until the turn-around point... as usual, time will tell.

The need for speed

I'm not a very fast runner. I'm not really very fast at anything, except maybe eating. But this morning I had a small breakthrough on my mile repeats. The running workouts I'm doing for my training these days comes from a half-marathon program where you run 3 days a week - one long, one tempo, and one interval. Perfect for allowing time for other activities (such as swimming and biking... how about that?). I followed this program to run a half marathon in May... it allowed me to knock 6 minutes off my time from last year on the same course.

So this morning I had a short and intense running workout scheduled... after warming up, I was to do 3 x 1 mile repeats, with 2 minutes of active recovery in between each. I had done this workout three times while training for the May half marathon, and each time it hadn't really gone so well. The pace for the repeats is calculated based on your planned finish time in the half - based on my plan of a 1:45 finish (or 8-minute miles), the pace of my intervals was to be 7:15/mile. Not an all-out sprint by any means, but quite fast for someone slow (like myself).

When I had done this workout before, all 3 times my first mile was bang-on 7:15 (I don't have any kind of GPS unit... this was just me winging it). However, the second and third miles each slowed down by 15 seconds... meaning mile #2 was 7:30 and mile #3 was 7:45 - that happened three times during the 10-week program.

Fast-forward to this morning - the first mile was a not-so-encouraging 7:30. I was pissed because when the alarm went at 5:45 I didn't want to get out of bed to run, and this was just adding significance to those thoughts. As I completed the second mile, however, the watch read 7:20. Wait... was that faster than the first mile? What happened... did I get into it 25 seconds before I hit the start button? So I set off on the third mile, and I'm feeling it... the fatigue, that is. Cross the line, look down... 7:10. Whaaaaat? Was that actually faster than the mile before? Sure enough, it was.

So, I'm not really sure what to make of the results from this morning. I like to think that being diligent with my tempo runs and intervals is actually starting to pay off a little. Another thing is that I am biking more now than I was during the prep for the May race - that is probably adding to my overall fitness a little, I would think.

Instead of my usual tempo run this Friday, I've signed up for a local 5k race - I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do there. As usual, time will tell.

Obsessed with Ironman

Every now and then I find myself going through the websites of various IM races here in North America... most notably IM Canada, Lake Placid, and Wisconsin. Canada - I suppose - because, well, the race is in Canada, and so am I. Kind of a national pride deal, I guess. Lake Placid and Wisconsin -- I find myself interested in those because they are both within an 8-10 hour drive from where I live. This would no doubt cut cost and hassle if I were ever to do either race, as opposed to IMC or anywhere else, where flying is almost certainly necessary... increasing both the cost of attending and the chance of logistical nightmares, including losing items of relative importance, like a bike, for example.

Now, I have never done an iron-distance triathlon. The longest in my tri history is a half ironman... Muskoka 70.3. This race absolutely killed me. It beat the crap out of me, took my lunch money and basically told me it would do the same if it ever saw me in those parts again. Well guess what? I will do that race again. Not sure when, but it will happen, and I will win that battle when the time comes (of course, "win" does not mean sprinting past Craig Alexander in the final stretch to take 1st place... it's more of a symbolic thing, as I'm sure you already figured out).

So, why the obsession? Short answer: I really don't know. From a logical point of veiw, it really makes no sense at all. But then again, racing in the water, on a bike, and in running shoes for somewhere between 8 and 17 hours (all in one day) doesn't make any sense either, when you really think about it. The longer answer has to do with setting goals and achieving them, and the feelings that come from accomplishing such things. Or in the very least, kicking the shit out of yourself trying to achieve them... getting up when you're beat down, spitting out some blood, and giving a little "come on" wave with both hands, all with that devil/joker grin on your face. We're not finished yet, buddy. It's the feeling you get when you stand at the water's edge, seconds to go before you sprint in with all those others... knowing you did absolutely everything you could to prepare... and all that's left is to do it. I got a taste of that preparing for and competing in the half IM last year. At the time, I certainly would not have thought this, but I want more. That's right... please sir, may I have another?

And this from a guy with only a single half IM under his belt... I can't imagine what it feels like to veterans of multiple IM races. I want to know.

So why not this year? I made a promise to my wife (who is not a triathlete) and to myself that I would not let it take over my life. So I decided that any long distance triathlons (that's a half IM or longer, according to our definition) will only be done every other year. We made a few sacrifices and I missed out on some good summer fun (mainly involving alcohol, of course) while training for the half IM, and I'm not sure that I can go through that every single year. I'm good with that arrangement, and so this year I'm topping out at the Olympic distance, with a couple of half marathons thrown in for good measure.

In addition to the official websites of the races, I also read a lot of race reports. One of the first IM race reports I ever read was from Eric's blog about his IM Wisconsin experience. Since then I've searched out dozens of reports and soaked them all in... I feel like I know the courses already - I don't think I would even need a map! I'm just waiting for my chance to be the guy who finally gets to write one.

And training plans... I have read a ton of IM training plans, and in my head I have pictured myself doing the work in the water, on the bike, in the running shoes. So far, I like those pictures.

So will it be next year? Right now the answer is certainly yes. The easy thing to do would be to enter into the Canadian Iron Distance 226 in Ottawa next September... full distance tri, a couple hundred people instead of a couple thousand... multiple, small loops for both bike and run, making it better for friends and family to spectate (and for athletes seeing loved ones more often - good for motivation?)... smaller race fees and a shorter distance to travel. Not to mention entry is pretty much guaranteed, regardless of when you sign up. Plus for the first-timer like myself, it's a flat course without a lot of brand-name Ironman hype to be a distraction. Yup, that would be the easy thing. Slightly harder (and what I would really want) would be actually getting into Lake Placid or Wisconsin. IMLP is pretty much out, since I'm not going to be on site to register, and it's unlikely to make it to general entry on the 'net. Wisconsin, I'm not sure of. I don't know if it will make it to general entry or not. I guess I could give it a shot the day after the race this year... and if not, head to Ottawa instead. Unfortunately, money always has to be considered, too. Not being a swingin' single anymore, I can't just drop thousands of dollars on race fees, travel, hotel, food, etc, etc, without considering how it might affect anyone else.

So basically, I just don't know yet.

Another option, and one that I can't get out of my head, is going back to Muskoka for round two. It would be very satisfying if I could kick that course in the balls, as you might have gathered from what I wrote earlier... but although it would be satisfying, it's not the full distance. So all that really does is throw another possibility in there... not sure what I'm going to do with that.

So until things get figured out, I'll continue reading race reports and training plans, and hopefully nail the Olympic in a few weeks. As usual, time will tell.