Alive With Sport

The first half of my Oliver race report is here…

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 Read more »

I caught the 7am ferry over today and rode my bike over to Victoria to cheer for my friends in the Half Iron race. This race holds a special place in my heart – as my first big triathlon. I found a spot at the top of the hill just after McTavish Road. As soon as I was settled, the motorbike for the lead male zipped bye. Perfect timing. I brought my bell, and cheered for all the racers. I had fun cheering for all my friends… and lots of fun cheering for all the rest of the racers. Loads of smiles and good comments came my way. One racer even said, “Wow! You’re exactly where I needed you.” Another comment, “Less Bell, more Push” – from a big guy struggling up the hill. [laugh] It was a good time. I then rode to the Elk Lake to catch up with everyone on the run, and hang out with my friends. We caught the 4pm ferry back home, enjoyed some good laughs, and I had a nice chat with Steve King. Another successful Victoria Half Iron – this time as a spectator.

Here’s a photo of my friend Erin at the finish,

Read more »

Triathletes like to eat…. so I’m posting these awesome pictures from my garden.

I can tell you that food from the garden tastes especially good after riding a bike up Mt. Baker.

I had to get a VISA to enter the US. Cost me $6… The VISA form had a question, “Are you a terrorist?” Yes / No. After paying my $6, getting fingerprinted, and answering all “No’s” to the questionnaire, they let me in.

A great ride with a small crew to Mt Baker. Beautiful scenery, huge trees, lots of climbing, very cold descent, good people, and an excellent wheel home. A recipe for a good ride.

ride stats
3h40 to the top of the hill, 5h49:02 home, 143.7km
24.7kph avg (tons of uphill), 60.1kph max (wet downhill descent so had to take it easy)
141 HR Avg, 164 Max, 3061kcal
81 avg Cad, 107 Max

I had a really good time in Oliver and I’ve got the photos to prove it. For me, racing well is not about my time and/or my placing, it’s about my internal attitude. I’ve talked about this perspective before. I think it’s because after many years in amateur sport, I’m not interested in the pressure to perform. I’m here in sport because I enjoy the experience. Instead of pressure – insert pleasure. When you’re out there enjoying yourself the results seem to come along with you.

Ok, enough waxing all philosophical like. My pre-race prep went well. I drove up Saturday morning. I was going to drive up by myself and do this race weekend thing totally solo but Torbin took pity on me and helped with the driving. Thanks for the support, Love. I had the weirdest taper ever for this race, with a work trip taking me to Colorado 2 weeks out, and a busy work week pre-race that included a 3hr bike ride to Deep Cove on Friday. Yup, the bike ride was for work. Awesome, eh! Probably not the smartest idea for a pre-race taper… but I decided that I’m not that serious about racing so why should I cancel on fun things, just because of an “A” race. Jeez, Louise.

to be continued…

check back later as I do plan to finish this post later today Second half of this race report will have to wait. I got distracted by, well, life.

Torbin and I drove up to Oliver on Saturday (or should I say Torb did most of the driving). We left real early in the morning so we were actually in Summerland by noon. I dropped Torbin off at my Aunt/Uncle’s place and then headed to Oliver for the pre-race prep. I arrived in Oliver, enjoyed some solo focused time visualizing for the race, got all my gear prepared, and did a little test bike ride. I was finished with all the pre-race stuff nice and early so headed to the lake for some quiet time. Quiet confident time before your A-race is a good idea – where you think, “Cool, everything’s done, I’m ready!” I like some time away from the hub bub and nervous energy that often surrounds these events. While hanging out on the beach, I had a nice visit with Jim and then met with the South Delta/SAA group for a very choppy swim. After the swim, I enjoyed some more visiting, went to the pre-race meeting, and then headed home to Summerland.

Great race at Oliver! Personal bests, good friends, and rockin’ bike split. A recipe for a great day. More details later…
results are here
Still in the Okanagon, relaxing with lattes this morning.

I’ve just reviewed my race report from two years ago and I’m starting to think about goals. I’d like to beat that time – 5:27:42 but mostly it’s about the attitude. If I keep a positive & strong head space, just like Oliver run in ’07 & the last stretch of e-Venti this year, the experience will be great!

The plan for the swim. Be aggressive, get a central spot that’s still a bit off to the side. (Watch out for right in the middle – Oliver can be a rough start). Swim hard then visualize technique pulling. Get some toes, like Kelowna ’07. Think strong swim, great start! Sight often.

The plan for the bike. Confidence. You’ve done this TT already. Confidence. Keep those 30+kph speeds up there. Keep the HR around 155. This is where you’re racing today. Drink every 5 min, eat every 30min. Make sure to take on 3rd gatorade bottle at aid station. Pour water on head, if it’s hot. Confidence, do it just like you did it before. This is the race. Big circles, work hard, good cadence.

The plan for the run. Focus on head space & rhythm. Use the visuals of e-venti stretch home to set the rhythm. Cool off at water stations. “Go forever” & “Doing well, baby, doing well!” Eat every 45min, drink every 10min.

I loaded up with sunscreen and headed out for an easy 800m continuous swim at lunch today. Life is good!

I’m Canadian, eh! Which means my pools are 25 meters. Not 22.86 meters. I mean who else in the world – other than you crazy Americans – makes something 22.86 units long. Swimming in the shorty pool does however make you feel like a rock star. I can swim 1:20′s no problem. I knew there was something up when I was still swimming 1:25s by the end of the set. Smile.

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

Regular training is totally out this week because I’m in Fort Collins, Colorado for this conference. It’s a really great meeting — inspiring and exhausting all at the same time. I’ve made many valuable connections to follow up on already and it’s a total change of pace.