Barrie Triathlon Rain Report...,um, Race Report

Another tri, another day of totally crappy weather. I hate to bitch, but yeah, I'm going to bitch. Of the 4 tris I have done so far this year, all 4 of them have had sucky weather.

Milton Sprint - I know what you're thinking... it didn't rain in Milton. You're right, it didn't. But the temp climbed all the way up to a non-balmy 6C (that's ~43F for you U.S. folks). I like it cold - I run in the snow every winter - but I couldn't feel my toes after the bike. When I put my running shoes on it felt like something was jammed in there... but nothing was. My feet were just f--ked up from being so cold.

Then we had Guelph Sprint - rain. Sarnia Olympic - rain. Barrie Sprint - rain.

Feel a pattern? In fact, if we include the final race of last year - Muskoka 70.3 - rain. The all day, never let up, single-digit temp, throw some hail in there for emphasis type of rain. Bad times. There's just something really, really shitty about getting to your running shoes in T2 and having to pour the water out before you can put them on. And that's when they're inside a plastic bag. I know I sound like a spoiled princess, here. But hey, this is the sport I chose, right? We just grin and bear it, and hope the blisters aren't too painful from running on wet, soft, mushy feet. There, that feels better.

Now then... Barrie race report. The rain didn't actually start until early on the bike. Not that it would have made a difference during the swim, but at least it held off for a little bit... my wife was still totally soaked by the time I finished. I guess that's the thing... whether it rains for 10 minutes or 2 hours, when you're wet, you're wet. At least it was somewhat warm out. Moving on...

Pre-race: I managed to cut my finger during swim warm-ups. I was on my way back to shore because the first wave was almost ready to go, and as I got to shore my hand brushed the bottom and I got a bit of a slice on the tip of my middle finger. Don't know if it was a rock, or a piece of glass, or what. It was the smallest cut ever, but it would not stop bleeding. So I stood there on the shore waiting for my wave in fear that some blood-phobic person would see my finger and throw a fit about me competing with a bloody hand. Sometimes I get a little worked up over nothing, apparently (my wife would happily confirm this, I'm sure).

Swim - 700m: The course angled out to the left to the first buoy, hung a sharp right, and then had a long out and back parallel to shore. I lost some time at the end of the "out" and the start of the "back" portion. I've never had to make a 180 degree turn like that during a race before, and I ended up taking it very wide. Big mental error - I definitely didn't swim the shortest distance possible. During the swim I tried to sight as little as possible - I noticed in Sarnia that I would swim behind someone, and when I sighted a couple of times they would pull away. I'm a slow swimmer to begin with, but my sighting technique must really take my head and shoulders out of the water to slow me down as much as it does. In the past, I've sighted waaay too often for fear of getting a kick to the face if I was too close to someone else. More work to do, but this race was a definite improvement. I must have been running damn fast out of the water... the guy couldn't even get the camera focused! It's hard to see with it out of focus, but my wetsuit is really too big for me. When I picked it up a couple years back, I was 20-25lbs heavier... so there's a few more folds and wrinkles in it these days. Total time, including run to T1 = 14:22, pace = 2:04/100m (just off my PR of 2:03/100m).

Bike - 20km: The course was 4 loops of a 5k out and back. That's two 180 degree turns per lap, times four laps. Having to slow down that much that often, I knew there would be no PR on this course. The roads were quite slick from the rain, and the volunteers did a great job at each end with the warnings. I didn't see it, but I guess someone from an earlier wave went down pretty hard at one of the turn-arounds. As for me... I'll give up 5 or 10 seconds a lap if it means keeping it tire-side down. With the wave starts and the loop course there were lots of people to pass all over the place. Also, after the first loop it was easy to remember where all the cracks and bumps were in the road... and it was basically flat, with just a slight incline (and decline) as we approached (and rode away from) an intersection. I noticed on the first loop that my cadence dropped ever so slightly at that point. So for the remaining laps I would knock it back a gear as I approached and spin hard, which gave me momentum as I would hit the other side and click it down a couple on the rear to take advantage of the very slight "downhill." I passed a lot of people in that section, which always feels good! Total time, including T1 & T2 = 39:05, avg 30.7 km/h (~19.1 mph). With both transitions in there and so many turnaround points to slow down for (plus the rain!), I'm happy with that average.

Run - 5km: The run was mostly along paved pathways inside a park - basically an out and back with a little loop at the far end that went into a wooded area and circled around a residential street before hooking back up with the path. They had no markers along the course (and I don't own a GPS unit) so I really had no idea what my pace was. No problem - I just ran at a pace I felt was just beyond comfortable, but nowhere near painful. At some point just after the turnaround (maybe 2km to go?) I was passed by a guy in my age group. I thought as a little "self-test" I would see if I could match his pace the rest of the way in. I didn't want to stick right on his shoulder, because I didn't want it to turn into some kind of macho pissing contest. So I let him pass, and picked it up when he was 5 steps in front of me. I was able to match him the rest of the way, and my legs felt good all the way in. I decided to just finish where I was (after a quick glance over the shoulder) and resisted the urge to smoke him at the end... just thought, hey - not exactly going for a Kona spot (or even a podium spot, for that matter) - just testing the body a little. The course felt short, so after I got home I went on Map My Run and did a little GPSing... it looks to measure ~4.8k, not the full 5. Oh well - still a good result for me. Total time = 22:39, pace on Sportstats = 4:32/km (7:18/mile)... pace as a 4.8k race = 4:43/km (7:36/mile). Regardless which is the accurate distance, a big PR for me... first time under 5:00/km in a tri, so I'm quite happy about that. I know this picture looks like I'm pissed off, but I think I'm concentrating on not getting too close to the dude in front of me. I'm also reminded how unflattering it can look when you wear a loose-fitting shirt and have it get soaked by the rain... ugh.

Overall: 1:16:05; OA: 79/244; AG: 20/50

The AG placing is weird, because on Sportstats under my individual results they have me as 10th place for the swim, bike, and run, but 20th at the end. The AG used was 35-44, not my usual 35-39. I also noticed that there was another 10th place swimmer, biker, and runner in my AG. Something isn't right - I'm thinking maybe I was 10th for 35-39, and 20th for 35-44... not sure.

Oh, well... still a great result for me. Now, I think it will be a half marathon on September 6, and maybe a short tri to finish the season on the 19th.

As usual, time will tell.

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.

Guelph Sprint... 2 days out.

Yup, Guelph is this Saturday... and the weather is looking quite poor. Or pour might be a better word to use... as in, it will be pouring all day. Good times. At least the temperature will get up into the teens, not like Muskoka last September when it rained and the temp was single digits.

But - the distance is quite short, so I hope to just power through everything and get some dry clothes on for the trip home.

I don't have a detailed plan for this one, maybe other than to try to enjoy every minute of it, rain or not. I guess I am thinking/planning a little bit about a few things... like, I want to swim the shortest distance possible. That is, I want my sighting to be perfect. I always seem to defer to others when it comes to position in the water... jogging in when everyone else takes off, or staying off the buoy line so that the fastest swimmers from the wave after can easily pass. This usually results in me taking the turns very wide and swimming a longer distance than I'm supposed to. Well you know what? Screw that. Although I will not take off from the front, I am going to start right on the inside... if any fasties from the wave after want to swim over me, they had better be prepared to receive an all-out under water assault. Oh, that's right - I'm no one's whipping boy.

One other thing I've been thinking about is the transitions. I am really, really slow, especially in T1. In the past I've always taken a extra time to try to catch my breath after arriving at my bike, because my heart rate always feels like it is somewhere in the 2750 bpm range. But using the theory of "always moving forward," this time I'm going to keep moving, moving, moving. Once I'm on the bike and away, I can always coast if I need to. I'll still be rolling forward instead of standing still in T1. Also... I've never done it in a race, but I was thinking about starting with my shoes already on the bike. But, with crappy weather here this week, I wasn't able to practice any bike mounts outside at all... so I'll have to see about that one. I mean, rolling forward (even slowly) and doing up your shoes has got to be faster than standing there and doing them up, right?

Mainly I'm just trying to worry about the things that are within my control. The weather is not one of those things, so I'll deal with whatever is thrown my way.

As usual, time will tell.

A lack of consistency.

Ever since the Mother's Day half-marathon, my training has been less than enthusiastic. I guess I could be much more specific by saying my bike training has been less than enthusiastic. This was brought very clearly into focus during the recent Milton Triathlon. The bike course is quite a challenge, with some steep rollers and one massive hill to tackle. It was the biggest hill I'd ever seen, including Muskoka 70.3. I didn't see it at the time, but checking my computer later, I hit more than 74 kph (>46mph) on the way down... and that was not in the aerobars. I was scared shitless. Anyway, I had never seen the course before, and it wrecked me. It was only 30k, but it chewed me up and spit me out, and then kicked me a few times when I was down. I'm pretty sure I also heard it laughing as I was packing my car for the trip home.

Obviously I would have been better off not entering the race, and of course, the responsibility lies with me. I let my bike fitness drop off while training for the half marathon. I had a great race on Mother's Day, but now I'm suffering the consequences. Training-wise, I'm back on track, and I'm hoping that I can build back up to the level I should be at. I'm going to enter a Sprint on June 20 (750m, 20k, 5k) to assess where I'm at, so I'm hoping to hit all my workouts until then and have a solid effort, especially on the bike. I'm already feeling better and more comfortable in the saddle compared to the race, so it seems like things are moving in the right direction.

As usual, time will tell.