Team Tri Life Ironman Canada Training Camp – Day 4

Sunday was our last day at camp and we had only one thing on the agenda – a long run.  The plan was to start at 7 am, we’d run along the marathon course around the east side of Skaha Lake to the turnaround at Okanagan Falls, then turn back.  Total run time would be up to 3 hours.  This run was a bit of an unknown for me.  I had been experiencing hip pain the week before and had barely run.  My left knee wasn’t feeling 100% either.  And it was going to be a hot one out there.  It was already 18C out at 7 am and the temperatures were expected to climb to the mid 30s.  Definitely not temperatures I am used to!

We had a support vehicle carrying ice, water, Coke and Infinit so we’d be able to refill our bottles along the way.  I brought some gels but I’d mostly rely on Infinit’s run formula.

It was a beautiful morning as we set off along Skaha Lake.  Things were feeling great as I started running.  Because I knew it was going to be hot I made a conscious effort to start off slow.  I had started behind the main group as I needed one last trip to the bathrooms and within about a mile I caught up to Kelly.  I wanted to run with her for a bit for some company so I joined her on her 4:1 run/walk intervals.  We ran nice and steadily and I was having so much fun that I wanted to stick with her to the turnaround.  There was another group out running – super nice guys! – and they asked if we needed anything from their sag wagon.  We were okay at the time but they told us it would still be there when we turned back around in case we needed anything.  Thanks guys!

We hit OK Falls feeling great!  Time to turn around.  Some of the hills seem a bit bigger and longer on the way back so we walked a few of them.  I wanted to approach the run the same way I would approach it on race day, and some of those hills I think I’ll be better off walking instead of attempting to power up them and risk tuckering myself out.

I really was having the best run – running with Kelly was great and my body seemed on board with the run.  I had a huge grin on my face.  As we ran back toward Penticton there were more and more runners on the road.  I was thankful that we had started at 7 as most of our way out had been shaded, but as the sun continued to rise there was now no shade to be found.  In the last half hour my knees started to feel a little achy.  I was still with Kelly on the 4:1s but I’d pull ahead a bit on the runs then we’d join up at the walk breaks.  Finally, there we were, 3 hours done!  And I’d had a great run!!!!

And with that, camp was over!  We didn’t make it all the way back to the parking lot so we caught a ride with our support truck, chatted with the group about our day and then slowly but surely folks started dispersing.  I had survived camp…

Day 4 Volumes:
Run – 3 hrs

Total Camp Volumes:
Swim – 1 hr 55 min
Bike – 238.6 km, 10 hr 27 min
Run – 3 hr 36 min
Yoga – 1 hr 30 min
TOTAL – 17 hr 28 min

Team Tri Life Ironman Canada Training Camp – Day 3

At 7 am on Saturday morning we gathered by the Peach in Penticton.  This morning’s plan?  A 4 km open water swim.  It was a beautiful morning out but it was already starting to cook.  My wetsuit has a “performance fit” to it.  That means it fits tight and it takes me about 15 minutes to put on and requires lots of adjusting.  It is a workout in and of itself.  This way I’m not dragging half of Lake Okanagan around with me on the swim though.  I was sweating trying to put the wetsuit on which made it even more difficult.  That, and my left hand wasn’t working so well.  Riding without gloves on my 180K ride resulted in a little swelling on my left hand and my ring and pinkie fingers were not cooperating.

Finally my wetsuit was on, I put my Garmin in a Ziploc under my swim cap and started swimming.  There are buoys that follow the shoreline and from the Peach to S.S. Sicamous and it is about 1 km.  Since I was last in the water it felt like I had the entire lake to myself.  I just swam nice and calmly, staying in a happy place.  The only negative part of the swim was that I couldn’t quite get those fingers on my left hand to cooperate so I wasn’t pulling the water very well on that side.  Swimming back toward the Peach the sun was coming up and sighting was a lot more difficult.  Something to keep in mind on race morning.  After the swim my Garmin said I’d only gone 3250 m and I was feeling a bit bummed that I had somehow managed to short the swim.  Angie didn’t trust my Garmin, and lo and behold, when I uploaded the data to SportTracks mapping indicated I swam 4250 m.  I guess there must have been some loss of signal in the water at some point?

After the swim we all walked over to Smith and Company for coffee.  It was nice to have some downtime to talk, to rehash the swim and look forward to the next activity, as opposed to rush, rush, rush.  If you ever pop in I highly recommend a Zoe’s Heaven – half a bagel topped with egg, cheese, ham, green peppers and banana peppers.  Good stuff!

After coffee we grabbed our bike and run gear and met back at Skaha Beach for a ride.  This was no easy recovery ride we were going on…  We rode out to Okanagan Falls, keeping it in zone 1/2.  It was really warm by the time we made it to OK Falls.  Luckily we had a support truck out there and we went through two bags of ice and a bunch of water after only 35 min of riding.

From OK Falls the real work started – we turned on Green Mountain Road, affectionately known as “the wall.”  There is a 9% grade and several hairpin turns.  Angie wanted us to try and climb to the top and there was no pressure if we couldn’t make it the whole way.  I’ve been up Green Mountain Road before.  In a car.  To get to the winery at the top.  On the bike was a whole new experience!  I made it to the first hair pin turn.  My heart rate hit 183.  I pulled over and unclipped and I had to put my head down on my aerobars for a minute.  My legs were shaking.  I contemplated walking up and trying to then ride a bit further, but when our support truck came driving by I felt pretty comfortable with my effort for the day.

We were going to continue on the road, meet up at Highway 3 and do the descend from Yellow Lake to Penticton again.  The wind was just as ridiculous as the day before and it was way hotter.  Given how quickly we were going through ice and water Angie decided we’d be safer to turn around and ride home.  I made it back to Skaha for a quick 10 min run, which luckily ended right outside of an ice cream shop.  That is a great way to end a workout!  There was more yoga in the evening and luckily I was feeling a bit more flexible.

Day 3 Volumes:
Swim – 4250 meters, 1 hr 38 min
Bike – 38.58 km, 1 hr 43 min
Brick Run – 10 min
Yoga – 1 hr

Team Tri Life Ironman Canada Training Camp – Day 2

Day 2 of camp – Friday – was the biggest and most important day of camp.  We would be riding up to 190 km over the Ironman Canada course.  We were meeting and riding from East Skaha Beach again, cutting off the section of the bike course out from transition and through town.  There is so much stop and go from lights and traffic on the road that there isn’t a lot of value in riding this part of the course at the moment.  In order to bump up the mileage we had the option of doing two loops along McLean Creek Road to Okanagan Falls instead.

There would be two groups going out on the ride – those expected to take more than 6 hours to ride 160 km would leave at 6:15, those expecting to take less than 6 hours would leave at 6:45.  I knew I wouldn’t be in the faster group of riders so I planned to leave early.

We were lucky enough to have two support vehicles so we were able to give them a lot of our nutrition so we would have less to carry.  I made up 6 bottles of Infinit, two peanut butter and jam wraps and I put pretzels in a baggie.  I also had a bottle of Coke waiting for me, post-ride, in a cooler.  It was a beautiful day, but it was already fairly warm as we set out on Lakeshore Road.  Groups of different paces immediately formed.  I was behind my teammate Nola and I pedalled behind her, keeping in my mind that I needed to start out easy as the day would definitely get tougher.  When we got to the turn off for McLean Creek Road there were no police cars today, we were able to ride on through.  As we pedalled up McLean Creek the firefighters were assembling, getting ready to resume fighting the fire.  We wished them well as we rode past them, and luckily they were able to contain the fire. 

The road up McLean Creek has a short, steep winding section.  The first time up the hill it felt tough, but the way down was a lot of fun!  On our way back out to McLean Creek Road for loop number two we saw a deer run across the road in front of us.  As we pulled over and stopped a fawn leaped across the road behind the adult, followed shortly by another fawn!  There was another adult waiting to cross the road and as we watched they went for it too.  Such an amazing sight!As we took our second loop up McLean Creek Road we caught up with the group of faster riders.  Somehow the hill felt easier the second time around?

The ride from Okanagan Falls to Osoyoos was beautiful!  This section of the course is reasonably flat and there are orchards and vineyards on either side of you for much of the way.  Keep in mind that from T1 to Osoyoos is only 1/3 of the course.  It is still early in the day here and you need to be careful not to go too hard on this section or you will pay for it later.  I really watched my heart rate along this stretch, making sure I kept it low.  Along this stretch of road Nola and I just naturally stayed together, riding along and chatting.  Our abilities were well matched and I was happy to have company.  Around this stretch I ate part of my peanut butter and jam wrap, trying to get the calories and protein in while my heart rate was low and I could digest solid food.  Just before we arrived in Osoyoos we rode through some construction on Highway 97.  There was a big puddle of mud that we had to ride through, and as we passed through it I could feel the mud spraying up on my back and it covered my bike and shoes.  It even hit my helmet!  Yuck!  Not much we could do about it though, but my bike definitely looks like it has been off roading.

As soon as we turned on to Highway 3 at Osoyoos we were smacked with wind, right in our faces.  It added an extra challenge on our climb up Richter Pass.  There was a bit of a downhill reprieve on the climb up Richter’s, but because of the wind I had to pedal hard or else I wouldn’t have been moving forward at all.  I made it to the top of Richter all smiles though – my day was going great so far!  Angie was at the top with one of the support trucks, ready with smiles, hugs, pretzels, nutrition and sun block.

Nola and I descended Richter and boy, Nola likes to attack those downhills!  I opened it up a little more than the last time I rode the route in May and just tried to enjoy it.  Then it was time to tackle the seven rollers.  Here the wind was definitely a factor.  It made the climbs up the rollers seem that much harder and the downhills seem like less of reprieve.  It felt like I was going nowhere.  I didn’t want to attack the wind though as I still had a lot of riding to do.  Slowly, slowly through the rollers where I could have sworn I counted ten instead of seven.  On to Keremeos and the out and back.  At this point in time things were starting to feel more uncomfortable.  I had forgotten my bike gloves in my hotel room and my hands were hurting.  Between the pressure of them on the handlebars and the rickety-ness of the road they were in definite pain and my fingers were tingling.  I felt chaffing around my lady bits.  My left foot was getting hot (a common problem as your feet swell in hot weather and nerves get pinched).  And what was up with this wind?  I looked at my Garmin, knew how much of the course we had left to ride and immediately started to get down on myself.  This was going to be an 8 hour ride.

8 hours….really??  Last week I rode 160K (on an admittedly less difficult route) and I did that in less than 6 hours.  What on earth had I gotten myself into??

Nola and I climbed Yellow Lake…up, and up and up.  If you ride Yellow Lake on its own it isn’t that difficult, but coming this late on the course that climb is hard.  A little tip though, as you ride up you notice numbers spray painted on the shoulder.  Those numbers are 0.1 km markings.  The top of Yellow Lake is at the 17.0 km marking (because it is 17 km from Keremeos).  My heart rate was going through the roof at the top of the climb and I was so happy to see Hope and Joanne in the support van at the top.  I wanted to bawl to Joanne….how come it was so slow going???  (Umm, it was the wind…)  She gave me a pep talk and told me I was doing great and I so appreciated her words.  As we were chatting another cyclist was riding past and I heard them call my name to say hi.  Julie, was that you?

From here on out it was mostly downhill back to Penticton.  The wind was ridiculous as we descended Yellow Lake and the shoulder was terrible so I didn’t feel like I could open it up and enjoy the downhill.  Finally we were back at at the Skaha Beach parking lot, 182 km and 8 hours later.  I quickly racked my bike on my car, put my running shoes on and set out on my brick run.  Everyone else was done cycling and was loading up to go home.  As I ran off I started crying, pissed off at myself for being at the back of the pack and that everyone else was done.  Crying quickly turns to hyperventilating when you are running and my heart rate sky rocketed.  Nola caught up and asked if I wanted her to run with me.  Why was I so focused on this number of 8 when I had no time goal?  I rode well within my ability so I could ride strong on the course.  The wind and heat made it a tough day.  I’d had company the entire way with Nola.  Sigh, chalk it up to Ironman emotions I suppose.  As we ran my heart rate stayed in the 170s and whenever we would stop I’d feel lightheaded.  We kept slowing down and finally 25 min in we just walked the rest of the way back to the car.  Talking with Nola helped a lot and I really appreciated having her with me that day. 

Once we made it back to the parking lot I had to hustle back to the hotel room to shower and make it to yoga.  Yoga was a bit of a gong show as I was so tight I couldn’t do any of the poses.  I also hadn’t eaten anything after the ride so I kept getting lightheaded.  Luckily Angie had some grapes and chocolate milk in her car so I could down some nutrition halfway through class.  It was a tough day out there, but one that was full of learning.

Day 2 Volume:
Bike – 182.2 km, 8 hours 4 min
Brick Run – 25 min
Yoga – 30 min of holding some poses and some random stretching when I couldn’t get into other poses

Team Tri Life Ironman Canada Training Camp – Day 1

On Thursday afternoon I arrived in Penticton, ready and raring to go for a weekend of training for Ironman Canada.  We weren’t getting together until 5 pm, so this gave some time to check into the hotel and run to the grocery store for supplies.  Three hungry ladies training for Ironman sure know how to fill a shopping cart…
As we made our way to East Skaha Beach for our 5 pm meeting there were stories on the news about a fire out on McLean Creek Road.  Our plan was a quick shake down ride along the east side of Skaha Lake, up McLean Creek Road and back, but with the fire we weren’t sure how far we would get.  We set off in two groups along the east side of Skaha lake, taking it easy and enjoying the scenery.  Angie warned us that this was not a workout to hammer.  Sometimes people want to race, sometimes there are tears that inevitably seem to come when Ironman emotions take over.  We were just supposed to be out enjoying the scenery.  When we made it to the turn off for McLean Creek Road we ran into a police car diverting traffic and only allowing residents through.  We stood for a few moments, talking and watching the helicopters lower in to the lake to take on water to douse the fire.
We turned back towards Skaha, pedalling nice and easily.  Once we all made it back we were supposed to go for a quick swim.  I don’t think that any of us really wanted to swim as it was cloudy and windy out, but there was no convincing Angie.  We had to get our wetsuits on!  We did a short swim in Skaha Lake, practicing sighting and running off the beach into the water.  Day 1 was over.  Time to grab some dinner, head back to the hotel and prep nutrition for a big day on Friday – a 180 km ride on the IMC bike course.

Day 1 Volume:
Bike – 17.8 km, 40 min
Swim – 17 min

Stomping through the weekend

Wow, what a weekend!  I hope you guys all had great ones!

On Friday I did my longest…swim…ever!  I had a 4000 m swim on tap.  It was a great workout of 3 x 400 m, 3 x 300 m, 3 x 200 m, 3 x 100 m, plus a warm up and cool down.  Having all the little sets broke the swim up and I didn’t feel like it was that long.  The workout called for me to swim at IM pace and take 10 seconds between each 100, 1:00 or rest between each set.  I decided to bag bits of rest and just swim straight through.  The whole swim went really well!

After the swim was over it was time for my one and only Stampede related event of the year – the Oxford Stomp.  The Stomp is a private function that brings in some big named acts and you get a concert, beef on a bun with coleslaw, baked beans and fruit salad.  This year Steven Page (formerly of the Barenaked Ladies) and Blue Rodeo were playing.  I love Blue Rodeo, they truly are an iconic Canadian band.  They put on a great show, plus I even got to meet the lead singer after the show.  Such a fun evening!

Saturday dawned bright and early.  160K ride out in the mountains planned!  Kelly, Tara, Ally and I met up just outside of Canmore in Harvie Heights.  We rode along Highway 1, through the Banff park gates, past Banff, then slipped on to the Bow Valley Parkway toward Lake Louise.  I just swapped out my rear cassette of a 12/25 with a 12/27 earlier this week, so I was keen to see how the hills would feel.  The swap was recommended by my coach to give a couple of easier gears for IMC so my legs don’t get so trashed on the bike.  Swapping out the rear cassette is a much cheaper option than switching out for a compact crank.  I felt great on the hills and I’m definitely glad I made the switch.

I was also trying some new stuff for nutrition.  I had a peanut butter and jam sandwich in the morning for breakfast.  I carried 4 bottles of Infinit with me.  I also had pretzels and a Flat Out Wrap with peanut butter and jam inside.  I brought a banana with me, but I never really felt like eating it.  I think the pretzels and the peanut butter wrap were great and I’m going to continue working with them for nutrition on the bike.

We lucked out with a fantastic day in the mountains.  The weather was beautiful!  We also saw a fox and some big horn sheep along the ride (but unfortunately no pictures of either).  The 160K went really well.  I started feeling a bit uncomfortable around 140K as we pedalled into a headwind, but otherwise I tried to be really mindful of keeping my shoulders down and arms relaxed and it paid off in the end. 

On Sunday I had a long run of sorts to do.  The left leg/hip/knee is feeling better, but there was no way I was going to put it through a 2.5 hour run, especially the day after riding 160K.  I started from the Y and ran a nice 33 minute loop outside and felt great.  Then I popped inside to finish things up with 2 hours on the elliptical.  Wow, that is a long time to be on a stationary piece of equipment!  Have you seen treadmills and ellipticals lately though?  They have come a long way!  The one I was on had a jack to plug your iPod into so you could manage your tunes directly through the elliptical’s screen, plus you can see how your distance equates to you running around a track or an island.

Yes, I am pretty sure the guy next to me thought I was nuts for taking pictures of the screen, but you gotta do what you can to keep yourself entertained!  The 2 hours was mind-numbingly painful and all I could think about for the last hour was how I really wanted a burger when this was all over, but I made it through.  Fingers crossed that I’ll be able to do my long run outside this week for I fear that the novelty of the flashy elliptical screen will wear off soon…

Turn that frown upside down!

My headspace has been a little down lately as I’ve been concerned over the state of my hip.  I’ve been for two ART sessions so far and have been stretching and foam rolling.  There is no pain walking or riding my bike.  Every time I’ve had to hustle across a cross walk I can feel the pain.  But only when I’m trying to move quickly.  What’s up with that?  The original plan for tomorrow was to run for 2.5 hours tomorrow morning but after a hustle for the train this afternoon I knew I couldn’t do it.  The pain starts almost immediately.

I almost wanted to cry while I was on the phone with Angie, but afterward I realized that I needed to focus on what I could do.  And gosh darn it, I could ride!  Luckily Mother Nature was on my side for the first time this week.

Just as a side story about Mother Nature NOT being on my side earlier this week?  We had a crazy hail storm roll through town Monday soon after lunch.  Hail the size of golf balls.  Let’s just say that my car has a new aerodynamic dimply exterior.  And while I am still waiting to hear back from my insurance adjustor apparently dent repair shops are booked through September.  Efffff…..  And on Tuesday it rained and rained and rained….so there was no outdoor riding.

Anyhow, as soon as I made it back home after work I changed into cycling gear and headed out.  My plan was to ride out to Cochrane, get in a few hill repeats up the big hill, then head home.  It is about 16K from my house to the edge of Cochrane.  I spent my time riding out there in aero and feeling good.  Then it was time to tackle the hill!  The hill was repaved over winter and it is in great shape now.  There is still some gravel on the shoulder though, so I had to watch out for that.  I managed to get in three repeats up the hill, about 2K of climbing, and each repeat was pretty evenly paced.  It was then time to head home along 1A.  On my final repeat I was passed up the hill by a guy and I managed to catch him on the flats along the way back.  I am definitely a stronger rider on the flats than I am on hills.  He saw me approaching and he kept looking over his shoulder, seeing how fast I was coming.  When I realized I was almost right on his tail he started getting up and out of his seat to try to gain some power and fend me off.  It didn’t work.  I totally blew past him and chicked him!  It was awesome!  It just goes to prove that flats are indeed my thing…

Anyhow, it was a great ride on a beautiful day out in Calgary.  And I’ll keep doing what I can to make my hip feel better.  In the meantime, I can still focus on cycling and swimming, and I’ll keep my run fitness up with the super fun and exciting elliptical.

Rough Weekend, Part II

We made it to Kelly’s house and popped in for a quick bathroom break.  I wanted to break off on my own and ride home but the girls convinced me to keep riding with them.  As we set off from Kelly’s house Ally wobbled and wound up falling, landing sharply on her elbow.  We were concerned something was broken, but Ally wanted to keep riding.  I would have rather called the ride right there…but we forged on.

As soon as we were back on the highway, right away, I got dropped again.  I was ready to turn my attitude around though, so I got comfortable with being in the back.  I figured I’d just ride along and perhaps make a turn later to take me back to Cochrane then back home.  I did want to get my entire 5 hour ride done. 

As I kept riding I realized that my legs were getting shaky and I was seeing spots.  Classic bonk.  I pulled over and started having a bit of a picnic, having some Infinit, some Fig Newtons and a bike to Honey Stinger bar.  Ally and Kelly saw I had stopped, gave me a call and I rode up to meet them.  I don’t know what happened but I just started crying. 

Apparently, bonk = tears.  According to my coach.

Ally was hurting so we turned back around.  The good news for Ally is that nothing is broken, whew!

But wow, this ride was one heck of a roller coaster of emotions.  I wound up heading home, having lunch with the Boyfriend, and we went for a nice ride nearby.  It was easy and it was fun, just what I needed to fall back in love with my bike.

So, lessons learned?

• My ride is my ride.  I need to worry about my speed only, and not worry about keeping up with my riding buddies.  Not if it is going to affect me so negatively.
• Um, welcome to Ironman training…an emotional roller coaster!
• Calories matter, but so do the type of calories.  I needed to have some protein earlier on in the ride.

Anyhow, time to move on and looking forward to a better week of training this week!

As for my hip?  I saw my ART practitioner today and it isn’t my IT band.  It is just off to the side of my IT band.  It will be fixable…hopefully with my session today and one on Wednesday I’ll be good for my long run this week….let’s keep our fingers crossed!  Walking and riding don’t cause a problem luckily. but hopefully things will be good for running!

Rough Weekend

Wow, this weekend was a rough one.  Really…  I met up with Kelly on Friday for a 90 min long run.  My instructions were to run for 90 min and if I was feeling good and thought it was safe I could push it up to 1:45 or 2:00.  But otherwise take it easy and feel good!  It was a warm one out on Friday and it was nice to be enjoying the sunshine.  We were running nice and easily and running 4:1 intervals.  We ran towards Edworthy and even met up with Tara for a bit.  Around 40 or 45 min we started running at the end of a walk break.  I stepped out with my left foot and all of a sudden there was a shooting pain in my left hip.  I thought it might work itself out as I ran along….maybe I just stepped badly?  It actually got worse so I had to stop and walk.  After walking for a bit it felt like things had loosened up, but as I tried running again it immediately started hurting again.  My gait was terrible trying to compensate for the pain.  That was it, I made it back to the office on a walk, feeling dejected over the pain in my hip, something very new for me.  I had a chat with coach Angie after I got back to my office.  I’m pretty sure it is my IT band, so I have instructions to not run until there is no pain, and to stretch, foam roll and go see my ART provider stat this morning.  Because it came on so suddenly that is generally a good sign (not a chronic injury) and I can tell that things are feeling a lot better in there today on Monday morning than they did on Friday afternoon or even Saturday.

Cut to Sunday, the day of our long ride.  The plan was to ride nice and easy for 5 hours, no distance plan at all.  I had asked if we could start at 8 am so we could get done just a bit earlier.  Somewhere along the way I forgot I said 8 and thought we were meeting at 9.  When I asked Kelly what the weather was like out her way at 8 am, no wonder she was surprised that I wasn’t on my way!  I wasn’t ready to go, I still had nutrition to prep.  I told them to ride on, I’d get ready and ride towards Cochrane and we’d meet up somewhere along the way. 

First downfall of the ride – nutrition.  I had used the last of my Infinit bike formula at Great White North and my new order hadn’t arrived in time.  I substituted with three bottles of my Infinit run formula – made with sugars for a shorter duration workout and no protein.  I also decided to pack along a Honey Stinger protein bar and some Fig Newtons.  I wanted to try out a real food option on the ride.

I felt great riding to Cochrane.  The weather was looking iffy, but I was feeling good.  About an hour in I ran into my riding mates.  From here we waffled on where to ride.  One of the guys in our group didn’t want to ride for 5 hours so he was interested in turning back.  We decided to turn back towards Kelly’s house and ride part of the Calgary 70.3 course.  As soon as we rode south out of Cochrane I was dropped like a hot potato.  This was not an easy pace….  We were also riding into a headwind and I just wasn’t able to pick it up enough to catch up.  Cue the demons in my head and the disappointment over not being able to hang on with the group.

We turned off of Highway 22 and rode east along Springbank Road.  It was lovely and flat and this is where my power is.  I flew down this road, all of a sudden feeling great about my ride and enjoying the scenery.  When we then turned south again the hills picked up and I flew of the back of the group.  As I watched them pedal further and further away I got more and more disappointed.  I thought that maybe I should ride to Kelly’s house and turn around to ride home on my own as this race pace of a ride was not helping me mentally.  My emotions were just as hilly as the course we were riding.  Well, when we made it to Kelly’s house, that is where things got even more interesting….  Stay tuned.

Great White North Half Iron – Race Report

How on earth has Great White North snuck up on me?  Is it really July already?  That means that Ironman is next month!

I had a few goals that I really wanted to meet on this race.  I had such stomach problems at the Chinook Olympic race that I knew I needed a positive race here to take me into IMC.  So with that I decided not to focus on a time goal and instead aim for process goals:

• Swim: To have a happy swim.  I’ve been feeling great on the swim in my last two races this year, so I just wanted to keep that feeling!
• Bike: I wanted to race the bike strong, but not to the point where it might hinder my run.
• Run: Have a strong run by keeping the pace reigned in at the beginning, aiming for a strong second half.  If I experienced any stomach problems at all I needed to address them right away instead of letting it manifest.

Pre-Race:

I got to transition pretty soon after it opened at 6 am.  There was a lot to think about as T1 and T2 are in two different locations.  Prior to the race you bag up whatever you want on the run and drop it off with the helpful volunteers.  The rest of your swim stuff will get bagged up by the wonderful volunteers after everyone leaves T1 and it will be waiting for you in T2.  I took my time getting my gear set up, running through the porta-potty line several times and saying hi to friends.  I was even able to spot Keith!  As the clock ran down to race start I ate a banana, got into my wetsuit, ate my gel, and splashed into the water to check the seal on my goggles.  The water was very nice and warm, a nice change from my last race!  I made a last minute decision to race with my Timex on throughout the race so I could keep track of my overall time.  It was 8 am…go time!

Swim:

The swim is a 2000 meter, double loop course.  I did the same thing I’ve been trying on all my races this year.  Lining up about 3/4 of the way back, toward the outside.  The water was warm, but also pretty silty so you couldn’t see too much of anything.  The ground around the edge of the lake was also pretty soft and there was a quick drop off.  I was in the mix fairly well on the first lap and just stayed in the middle of the pack.  I was feeling good!  Things were pretty cozy on this lap as people really wanted to fight to maintain their position.  As I was on my way back to the beach I figured this was a good time to try peeing.  It took a lot of work…but ahhh…so rewarding!  I hit the beach, ran around the buoy and looked at my watch.  23 minutes and change.  If I could keep this up I’d be poised for a slightly better swim than last year.  As I dove back into the water for lap two I all of a sudden felt very alone.  Where was everybody?  I was confident I was swimming in a straight line and just went with it.  After rounding the first buoy for the second time everyone magically reappeared.  From here on out I felt boxed in.  There was someone on my left, someone on my right and someone in front.  The person in front kept stopping to sight and I felt like I was slowing down so much, but couldn’t get away from the other people around me.  Oh well, just keep swimming, try to empty the bladder again and hang in there.  When I got out of the water I looked at my watch.  48 min.  Wow, I really slowed down on the second lap.  Oops.

2000 meter swim: 48:30
548 out of 627…still apparently not a middle of the pack swimmer yet…

T1:

I ran over to a wetsuit stripper and I was having issues!  My wetsuit didn’t want to come off over my watch or over the massive new timing chips that are being used at races this year.  Finally success (thanks volunteers!) and I ran over to my bike to get ready.  I felt slow….why did I care whether my race belt was right side up or not?  I finally made it out of there in 3:02.

Bike:

I definitely biked too hard at Chinook so my goal was to dial it back here.  I had set up my Garmin so that the largest display was heart rate, and distance and time were teeny tiny.  Unbeknownst to me I had also adjusted the contrast of the display so everything was very faint, making it even harder to see!  I wanted to keep my heart rate below 160 unless I was going up a hill or passing someone.  It was a little congested through town so I was hoping the drafting officials wouldn't be too gung ho out here as there just wasn't enough room for everyone to space out.  Right away my stomach was sore.  Uh oh.  I was feeling super afraid about taking in calories and how my stomach would react.  I sipped a bit of Infinit and grabbed some water from an aid station but it felt like my stomach was locking up.

On the way out we had a headwind but it didn’t feel that bad to me.  I was going back and forth with a couple of guys.  I'd pass them, then later they would pass me.  One of them was a teammate, Lyle.  I was thinking about passing Lyle at one point but some guy was sitting right on his back wheel.  I waited for him to pass but he wasn't moving anywhere.  I decided to go for it and as I passed the this guy I turned to him and called him out for sitting right in Lyle's draft zone.  Despite the wind on the way out I was able to keep the HR down and keep my cadence high and easy.  It was especially fun as soon as I started seeing my teammates coming back toward me.  Everyone looked so great!  The ride back went well, especially once we had a tail wind.  Loved that and I felt so fast!  I was still concerned about my stomach and I wound up taking in about half the calories I had intended to.  Probably around 350?  I was prepared to bike over 3 hours to reach my goal of taking it easy on the bike to set up a great run, but I managed to come in around 2:55, 3 minutes faster than last year.  Average HR on the bike was below 160 and average cadence was about 89?

90K bike: 2:55:55
90K ride + T1 + T2: 3:00:38
358 out of 627

T2:

I had a fantastic volunteer as she ran me to my spot and opened up my run bag.  She said she wasn't supposed to, but she was helping out us TTL folks.  Thank you!!!!  I grabbed my other Garmin, my hat and got out of there!  1:40.

Run:

I carried two Gu with me on the run but after my sore stomach on the bike I was pretty sure I wouldn't be interested in taking gels.  OK, Coke it would be!  I watched my Garmin to make a concerted effort to slow down.  I was feeling great and I was super happy that it was overcast and a comfortable temperature.  As soon as I hit the out and back sections around the pathways I started to see my teammates.  Everyone looked great and I loved seeing them.  This is definitely my favourite thing about this race.  When I hit the aid station around the gazebo I grabbed a coke and a water.  All of that liquid in there started to feel sloshy so it was time to address things right away and take a walk break.  Anytime my stomach would start to feel sloshy, walk break.  Don't let it manifest into full on stomach shut down.  I was feeling good until the 9K mark and then my legs started to get progressively more tired.  Seriously?  I had dialled it back in the early part of the race so I could pick it up and instead I was fading.  Maybe it was calories, maybe it was just fatigue.  I am not good at negative splitting, so who knows.  I saw Kelly just before I hit the turnaround and I was able to catch up with her and run with her for a bit.  Kelly and I try to run together during the week if we both have lunch runs so it was a nice boost to see her and say hi.  When I hit 11K I picked it up as I needed to run my own race so I wished her well.  Sadly I still wasn't able to speed up like I had hoped but I kept forging on.  Finally, 5K left to go and I saw Ally.  She offered to run with me for a bit and I was grateful for the company and the distraction.  I just listened to her talk.  I turned to her at one point and said, "Ally, no matter how I look right now I just really want you to know that I'm having a great day."  And I was!  I was addressing the stomach sloshing when it would come up and I was feeling positive.  I just wasn't keeping the speed up.

When I turned the corner and saw the TTL tent I heard everyone cheering for me.  I felt awful.  I had this knot in my stomach and I was worried I might barf, but I so appreciated the cheers even if I wasn't smiling.  I turned the final corner to the finish and I heard my name.  It was my friend Lori!  I met Lori back in 2001 when we were roommates on a 3 month training course in Tulsa.  I first heard about triathlon from Lori maybe 5 years ago as she started getting into the sport.  She's a super strong athlete and she raced IMC last year, IMNZ this year.  She lives in Bakersfield, CA now, but she just happened to be in Edmonton for the weekend visiting a friend.  Thanks to the wonders of Facebook we realized we were close and she decided to come down to the finish line to cheer me in.  When I spotted her I almost started bawling I was so overwhelmed and happy.

21K run: 2:16:20
456 out of 627

Of course, silly thoughts enter your mind while you are racing and when I got off my bike I had looked at my watch and thought, hmm, if I can just run this fast a half marathon I'd be able to come in around 6 hours.  When that looked like a pipe dream in the final 5K the goal became, try to beat last year's time.  I just wasn’t able to do it and came in 41 second slower than last year.  41 measly seconds on a 6 hour day.  I beat myself up over that a little bit, but then I realized it didn't matter.  My bike/run combo was still 1:30 faster than last year so I can't ask for much more.  And in hindsight my lack of calories over the course of the day, not taking in as much water as I should have, and an average heart rate of 176 on the run (my max is about 182) just made it not possible.  But I didn't have the same stomach issues as past races, I still ran fairly well and didn't hit the wall, and I did have a happy day on the course so I really did hit my goals for the day.

Final Time: 6:05:27
442 out of 627 finishers overall
Women 30-39: 59 out of 87

Thoughts for the end of June

How is it already July??  Let’s see how the end of June played out.

Sunday:

I got together with the girls for an 80K ride out in Kananaskis, starting at the Stoney Nakoda Resort & Casino.  The plan was to ride 40K at race pace.  Our route was pretty hilly and we were riding into the wind on our way out so there were not thoughts of race pace at all.  The way back though?  We were flying!  After the ride we popped into the casino for lunch and I got carded! 

Monday:

My orders for the day were clear – REST HARD!  No problem!

Tuesday:

Our Tuesday night bike ride was out in Bearspaw.  I was feeling a bit dizzy at the end of the work day, but I went home had something to eat and opted to ride out to our meeting point.  I got to the parking lot and I was feeling really dizzy.  As Angie was telling us our workout I was thinking, wow, I cannot handle intervals on the bike!  As people took off for I talked with Angie.  She looked at me and proclaimed that I did not look good and that I needed to go home.  So I rode the few minutes back home and hung out on the couch the rest of the night.  No fever and no real idea of where the dizziness was coming from.

Wednesday:

Oh, what to do!  I still had some moments of dizziness in the morning that luckily went away after breakfast.  I met up with Kelly for a run with the proviso that I could run for 10 minutes, but if I was still feeling off I needed to call it a day and walk it in.  Luckily I felt good on the run and I made it through just over 6K with 4 x :30 hard/1:30 easy.

Thursday:

Canada Day!! 

And with that, it is time to head off north to Great White North.  Half iron on Sunday!