What a great swim race. Well done.

Thanks, best tri buddy, it WAS awesome.  I forgot about the 5 min head start that the boys got – so I thought my time was 1:10.  When I saw it was 1:05 (later in the afternoon when I checked the results online) I was really excited.  Were you there for the awards?  I was wondering if I got a ribbon.  I would be proud of that ribbon.  It’s 8 min faster then the last time I swam the Canada Day swim.  Woo hoo!

Race Day morning started really early. 4:30am or 5am or something ridiculous like that. I’m not a fan of the early wakeup. Since it was so early, we decided that it was a dumb idea for Torbin to come with me to the start. It’s tough being a spectator – because you can’t go anywhere I go – and I basically just hang out with my triathlon friend and/or focus on the race. So his plan was to sleep in and then come see me later in the afternoon. Good plan, worked out well, especially since I know that his support is there every day!

Ok, so now we’re at the swim start. I’m a different swimmer now. Much faster, so I wanted to get a spot near the front. I was in the first row… but way out on the side. The strategy worked well. As you can see from the picture, it still was a bit crazy but I was way more comfortable. I like the new one loop course. My time was 34:03 (last year 34:54) – Hmmm, maybe I was a little too comfortable and probably should have gone faster. Oh well, no biggee, it was comfortable.

After the swim, we had a 500m-650m run to transition. It wasn’t too bad… kind of a nice opportunity to get your head back from the swim and get ready for transition. There was one bike gone from my rack, and this helped me to think, “OK, race starts now, let’s get going … catch her on the bike.” I was really ready for this part of the race. Confident, practiced, and really looking forward to putting it out there. My goal was to repeat the 2:55 that I knew I could do from my TT during training camp.

I biked hard, focused on pedaling technique, kept the heart rate up, and felt great during the whole ride. I was disciplined on my nutrition – except for one section second loop of the bike where a pack of drafters moved me into a distracted and annoyed head space. I think that’s something I have to learn… that racing comes with distractions … because I think I paid for this lapse in nutrition on the second half of the run. Previously, I’ve just kind of cruised on the bike. Racing was a real nice change. I’m really proud of how well I did on the bike, but it does come with extra set of distractions that I’m sure some more experience will help me deal with. Oh yeah, and another thing, pretty much every girl that I was riding around had an aero helmet. What’s with that? Shoot, I guess I’m going to have to get a dorky hat.

Official results, 2:50:24, 32.7km/hr average = Awesome! I’m really excited by this new personal world record for race day average speeds. Silly, I know. But I can’t stop smiling. FYI – that’s over 14 min faster then the last time I raced Oliver.

to be continued…

Here’s the pre-race workout from Coach Tracey:
Warm Up:
200 choice
2 x (100 kk, 100 as 25 drill/75 swim, 2 x 50 stroke count descend 2nd 50 by 2 strokes)
Main:
6 x (100 fast on 2:00 then 50 very easy on 1:00)
Cool Down:
100 non free choice
100 kk
100 pull
2000m total*
*crazy conversion factor required

On Friday, I did my own workout in the Penticton pool. OMG, it’s hot in that pool. I guess the old fogies won’t get in if they don’t keep it practically tropical.

Saturday the camp started with a time trial of the Oliver bike course. I drove down with “exactly on time” Calvin so we arrived just in time for my 9:24 start time and his 9:28 start time (riders were sent off every two minutes to simulate race situations). My goal was to ride hard – as close as possible to race effort. Before starting each rider had to weigh in. I have to admit it was a bit tense at the start (simulated race feel worked) so I’m glad that we didn’t spend much time hanging about.

On the course, I rode hard trying to keep the effort up to >155HR. I drank 3 full bottles of gatorade and ate 4 gels. My time was ~2:55 (exact ride details coming). 31km per hour average. I was pleased with that effort. It’s exactly what I’d like to pull off in Oliver. Directly after the ride, they racked our bikes in transition and then sent us off on a 20 min brick run. After the brick, I weighed back in at 2lbs lighter. So even with drinking every 5 min, I still lost 2lbs. I’m surprised by that but glad to know that my nutrition seems to be reasonable. Someone lost 9lbs (whoops!), I’m thinking they need to work on their nutrition.

After the weigh in they had us eating, eating, and more eating. Then ~45min later, we went for a 20min swim in the lake. Lake was cold, but I felt great. The feel of the catching water in the wetsuit is awesome. I’m feeling real strong with the swimming this year. After all that, I went home for ~1hr showered, quick hot-tub and then went back to the Impact Coaching offices for some triathlon school.

It was interesting to hear some of the points about Kevin’s coaching/training philosophy. One particular point about INTENSITY OF FOCUS resonated with me. I think that’s one thing I find really rewarding about training for triathlons… if you are filled with purpose every time you go out and train, the results will come. I like training with this focused intensity.

Ok, so that was just Saturday. Phewph! I was hungry and tired. Real tired, like training for IronMan tired. It’s been a while since I’ve been that beat… and hungry.

On Sunday, I got up early to see my mates start off on the Peach City Half Marathon then I headed off with Calvin, Doug, and the pros for a 2hr run. We ran up on the KVR trail up above Naramata and it’s a beautiful run. After running with the pros for a bit, I settled into my own pace and had a great run. It wasn’t so great physically (basically, my body felt tired, crappy, and achy) but mentally it was an awesome run. I did some great visualization of the running path at Oliver… and realized that my body will still run at it’s rhythm even when its really really tired. I’m in good shape for coming off that bike at Oliver. After the run, I enjoyed coffee and good company at Smith and Co. After eating, eating, and more eating, I biked back into Penticton to join the group for another quick ride out on the Crescent beach loop.

All in all, it was a great weekend of training. I feel ready to kick some serious arse at Oliver.

The worst thing about the Delta triathlon was putting in a personal best race effort that should have placed me 5th place overall – and then getting DQ’d because an error. (A volunteer pulled me out of the swim 4 laps too early. I said “Are you sure?” and they said “Yes, Go!”) I had two ambitious goals for Delta, 1) beating the 1:10 mark and, 2) placing well in the overall standings.  Given the opportunity, I would have met my time goal.  So, I’m going to call it a PB.  As for standings, I will just have to wait to Oliver to prove that I can make an impact in the overall placings of these races.  I’m better at longer distances anyways, so watch out in Oliver everyone! I plan to, “Bring it on!”

swim 7:04 (475m)*
bike 36:08
run 21:33
overall 1:04:44 + ~5min* = 1:09:44
*extrapolated to 700m = 10:25 + 1.5 min to exit = ~12min

Here’s what I’ve learned from this gaff. I was confused, but I followed the instructions. That was the wrong choice in the end. But it’s hard to think fast on your feet when you are trying to put it all out there during a race. You’re on auto-pilot with not even enough time to put a shirt on or do up your laces. How are you supposed to have the presence of mind to stop and have a conversation with some random volunteer who is telling you to do the wrong thing? I’m not sure how you do it, but that’s what you’ve got to do. I guess this is just what you learn as you become a more experienced racer. I’m reminded of the pro-racers at Oliver who went off course on the run course a couple years back because the volunteers hadn’t put down the cone at the turn around point yet. Maybe it’s just that these things happen, and you can’t ever really be ready for them. I wonder what the pros would say? Me, I say we should all practice our clothes to pyjamas transitions more often. [chuckle]

Main Set = Speed Work
1×100m @ 1:45 on 2:10
2×100m @ 1:40 on 2:10
3×100m @ 1:35 on 2:10
1 min rest
3×100m @ 1:30 on 2:30
2×100m @ 1:25 on 2:30
1×100m @ 1:20 or faster

There was also a bunch of warm-up/cool-down stuff in this workout with the total distance up around 2700m. Good stuff for a Friday morning. Now that the school term is over (which means the end of Thursday evening classes), I’m looking forward more energy at these Friday swims.

*luckily, this rant was not recorded anywhere – except perhaps, by poor Torbin who had to listen to me spout off last weekend… but once I let it out, I don’t think it stuck around for too long.

Weekly Totals – Dec 1-7th, 2008

Totals: 5:55 + 1.5h Yoga

Weekly total = 9:25 + 2hrs core/stretch/yoga

On the weekend, some wet mountain biking with Bronwyn and Clayton was in order. On Sunday’s run, I went much longer then I would have by myself thanks to good company. Thanks, Andrew. It was a flat route with perfect running weather, misty and warm. A good solid weekend of training. A couple of naps, and I’m feeling pretty good.

Why is reverse training working so well for me? Over the Winter, I kept up a good base. After IronMan, I kept cycling doing long rides in the winter months. I also swam with Fastlane – a masters swim club, which has definitely improved my swimming fitness. In the early months of this year, I went pretty hard at the training program before jumping into my reverse training program. Reason #1 = A good base is key to the reverse training program.

The second reason that my crazy approach has been working is attitude. After such a serious year of commitment in preparation for IronMan, it’s refreshing to skip workouts and to bring the approach of having more fun to my training. Whenever I do manage to get out for a training session, I can’t stop smiling. I’m like some giddy three year old who is so hyper because they’re finally allowed out to play their favorite game. This weekend was a great example, we went for a bike ride with a great group up to Allouette Lake. I couldn’t stop smiling. I can’t help it, especially on the bike, I just love it out there. Reason #2 = Attitude is everything.

Now, even though I have committed to my ‘reverse’ training program, I do plan on moving back to the regular training program. I find myself sore, and in order to avoid injury, I think it’s time to get back to a more conventional routine.

Easter Sunday
1500m swim time trial
26:11

Saturday – 1:10 run + 30 min walk at Burnaby Lake
Good Friday – 78km ride to Alouette Lake