Volunteering at Ironman Canada 2009

Having a chance to volunteer at IMC was an absolutely priceless experience. What an amazing day! I was assigned to transition to help out with gear bags as athletes moved from the swim to the bike. This meant that I got two wristbands, one to let me into transition and one that made sure I could get in first thing in the morning.Although I didn’t have to report until 6:30 am I wanted to get to Penticton early enough to find a half decent parking spot and to try and find my friends racing before they started. I left West Kelowna somewhere around 4:30 am, stopped by Tim Horton’s for the biggest coffee I could buy, and hit the highway to Penticton. Thank goodness Timmy’s drive through is open…possibly 24 hours? Caffeine was the key ingredient for the day given that I had an awful sleep the night before.

In transition I managed to find nearly everyone I knew racing – teammates, Susi, Julie. As we approached the swim start I helped them zip up their wetsuits and give last minute hugs of encouragement. The sight of all of the athletes in the water was amazing…so many people!O Canada was sung and it was go time. A few people take off swimming when the gun goes off, but a lot of folks hung back on the beach and let the fast folks get out ahead.

Once the swim was on it was time to get to work. We ran up and down the rows of gear bags to make sure that everything was in the right order. While the swim was in full gear we heard the announcer call for an ambulance. I got worried, and sadly the outcome was not a good one as a fellow passed away during the swim. Shortly after that we started to see the first few pros come in. All of a sudden it was like panic mode in transition. After the first few pros were in the masses started arriving. They came so fast and furious that unless the wetsuit strippers had a chance to catch their race number we just pointed the athletes in the direction of their bags as it just wasn’t possible to grab bags for everyone. I went to grab a bag for a girl..and…it wasn’t there! She ran off to the change tent in case someone had grabbed her bag by accident and just left it there. I didn’t see her again so I assume she tracked it down.

There was one lady who lost a lens out of her prescription glasses. As transition started to empty we were all looking for it in the grass but never found out. I don’t know if she was able to continue her day at all.

The clock was ticking down and there were still a few athletes in the water. Two were so close to not making the cut off. The announcer, Steve King, instructed the kayakers on the water to come in close to help direct the swimmers in the straightest line possible. The cheering for these two was intense! Steve was saying that if they could just stand up in the water by 9:20 they would likely be allowed to continue. Guy #2 managed to find something in him to surge and they both managed to stand up, barely in time. When those two folks stood up the crowd roared! When they made it into T1 you could tell they had worked hard to make it in time. Sadly there were two or three people that did not make the cut-off. I talked to the first guy to not make the cut-off and I think he was mostly amazed that he just attempted an Ironman. Sad that his day was over though.

Once everyone was out on the bike it was time to start organizing the morning dry gear bags and the swim gear by number. Within an hour of the swim ending we had everything lined up together. They fed us sandwiches, chips and cookies, then it was time for me to go. My parents were picking me up to head down to Oliver for a great lunch at Burrowing Owl winery to celebrate their 40th anniversary. After a lovely lunch, maybe a little bit of wine tasting…they then dropped me off in Penticton as the last few bikers were heading in.
Hmm, that looks like a wee bit of drafting if you ask me… I found a spot at the turnaround on Lakeshore (just before the finish of the run) where I was able to cheer folks in. I managed to see a few of my friends and teammates and even managed to recognize Ray. I would have loved to stay longer, but I needed to get home and try to sleep since I was driving home the next day. What an amazing day though – having a chance to see everyone out on the course was a terrific experience! Once I was home I became “results central.” I was texting back and forth with my teammate Caroline as I tracked half marathon splits. Even though I couldn’t stay until the end I was still thinking of everyone!

Calgary 70.3 – A Spectator’s Perspective

This weekend I volunteered at the inaugural Calgary 70.3 race.  A few folks have asked why I didn’t race this one.  I had actually already picked out the Lake Stevens 70.3 for my A race before they announced the Calgary one.  Lake Stevens fit in well with a possible vacation, culminating in volunteering at Ironman Canada on August 30.  Plus, if you have been following this blog for any length of time, you know I love to travel for my races!

But that didn’t mean I wasn’t interested in being involved in the race somehow.  I volunteered at the expo on Friday evening.  I checked timing chips, making sure that the info for the chip corresponded to the correct athlete and all of the correct information was in the computer.  It was so much fun!  I got to see a bunch of athletes come through (including a few pros).  I also got to chat with the reps from the timing company and learn a few interesting tid bits about timing at races. 

We got some very cool shirts for volunteering: Race day I was volunteering at the finish line.  This was definitely a cool place to be!  The way the course was set up we were able to see the runners three times along the course.  When I parked my car everyone was still on the bike.  Shortly after arriving the first place male was in and out on the run – Tim O’Donnell.  I managed to grab a couple of pictures of the first few pros running by before my camera battery went kaput.  Darn it! 

Tim had a huge lead on everyone in the race, and it was pretty well the same story for Mirinda Carfrae for the women.  She was so strong and totally rocked the race!

I wound up pulling finish line banner duty.  How awesome!!  Wouldn’t you know it, I was holding the banner for Mirinda as she crossed the finish line!!  Total highlight of my day.  This was one interesting place to be.  You saw all kinds out there:
- The super elated and happy.
- The ones who really struggled to the finish line (including one guy who barfed going down the finisher’s chute, then stopped and almost fell over as soon as he hit the timing mat.
- One guy who obviously had a major wipe-out on the bike.  Blood all over his legs, a banged up lip.  We were pretty amazed that he finished the race.  He crossed the line and was then hauled off to medical right away.
- People that try a fancy manoeuvre across the finish line – like a cartwheel.  I wasn’t sure what he was doing and thought he was going to fall over.  A couple guys did a big heel kick over the finish line though.  That was cool!
- The guys who just didn’t want to get chicked…

Other highlights included Lisa Bentley coming around later in the race to offer all of the volunteers pieces of watermelon or peaches…seeing all of my friends racing…relaying the news to Angie…hearing some of my friends get roll down spots for Clearwater (which no one took).

It was a hot day out there!  It was rough just standing around.  I can’t even imagine racing.  Congratulations to everyone out there!

Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment!

T2 – the calm before the storm!  The finisher’s medals (a belt buckle) and the finisher’s shirts.  And the finish line!
Tim O’Donnell leading on the run.
Jamie Whyte, the third place male. 
Kirk Nelson, the fourth place male.
  
Mirinda Carfrae, zooming past!
 
Magali Tisseyre, the second place female.
Lisa Mensink, the fourth place female.
 

12 miles, a girls' night, and then a blogger meet up at a race

Saturday morning I had a 12 mile run scheduled. When I woke up in the morning there was sun peeking through the clouds, but it was still a pretty chilly 53F (12C). I was feeling pretty optimistic and I put on a short sleeve shirt and a skirt, laced up my green 2110s and headed out the door to Baker Park. I tried to pace myself and not start out too fast since I was heading out for 12 miles. I've never run 12 in a training run before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I eased into mile 1, but was confronted with some hills in mile 2 that made things interesting. By mile 3 I found my groove and it was feeling really good. The pathway I was following went along the Bow River and continued into Shouldice Park and Edworthy - two places that I have gone and run a fair bit. I hit the 6 mile mark at Edworthy so I turned around. Things were still good until I hit the second to last mile and hit those hills again. By that point in time my legs were pretty tired but once I got through it I cruised through the last mile to the finish. I didn't run as fast as last week, but I wasn't to far off. The temperature was perfect the entire way throughout the run and definitely nice and sunny.

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Saturday evening was a girls' night for a friend's stagette (also known as a bachelorette or hen party depending on where in the world you hail from). I am happy to report that either I'm wearing the right size shoes or the mileage isn't high enough yet, but I still have all ten toenails. And after the stagette they are looking that much prettier. It was a fun night of jello shooters, apple pie shots and other mayhem....so needless to say it was a short night before my volunteer gig at the Robert Hamilton Memorial 5 and 10 mile run.
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I was at the start site of the Robert Hamilton Memorial run at 7:30 am near Shouldice. It was overcast, threatening rain, and 48F (9C). Brr. I found the volunteer coordinator and was given a pair of socks for my effort. I was going to be working the finish line this time. This wasn't a chip timed race, so every time a runner crossed the finish line I pressed a button so a time was recorded that was later matched up with the racer's number. I ran into Dawn - a blog I read all the time, but a runner I had never met before. I also finally met Karen, another blog I read, and also one of the Calgary Roadrunners who heads up weekly runs. Karen recognized me as the girl who wrote about all the push ups I did! It was neat to finally meet them, and Karen, I promise that when I am back to running on Tuesdays I will be at the Roadrunner group runs. I also recognized Instructor S's husband who was running the 5 mile so I said hello. It was a pretty small race - around 100 people total registered for the events and it was a fast field. The guy who won the 5 mi race was minutes ahead of the 2nd place finisher. People who run that fast truly amaze me. It was a fun morning - after I was done it was time to grab a really big coffee from Starbucks to warm up and I headed out. Otherwise that's about it for the weekend. If any cross training happens outside of the housework variety I'll be sure to let you know.

Going through race withdrawal

My next race is not until September 9 (the Ryka Iron Girl - Seattle - 10K) and I'm getting some itchy feet to run a race again. I haven't been able to find anything that really works well with my training schedule though. The Robert Hamilton Memorial 5 mi and 10 mi road race is on Sunday August 26th is the closest thing coming up, but it still would have required a bit of schedule jiggling. Dawn (aka Pink Chick) suggested volunteering which sounded like a fabulous idea to me. So there we go - I'll be at the race - not sure doing what exactly, but I expressed an interest to help out at the finish line since I've court marshaled and water stopped before. Might as well try something new.

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I did wind up signing up for another race though. The end of October, beginning of November is now going to be race crazy... I have the Nike Women's Half Marathon October 21st. Then the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 13K at Disney World on October 27th. Finally the Banff Winterstart 5 mi night time run caught my eye some time ago, I just wavered on signing up. I actually booked a hotel in Banff in case I wanted to run the race all the way back in early July. Today I decided to take the plunge and sign up since it was starting to fill up and I'm not sure if they cap the race. I am registrant number 731. I will really have to take it easy on this race because I'll have a 15 miler to run the day after. I hear this event in Banff is a lot of fun though so I couldn't pass it up (plus I hear you get beer tickets after the run - which will make that 15 miler feel even better). Wow....two night time races in back to back weekends. Should be interesting!

5 sunny miles, and a volunteer position

Last night I got out for my 5 miler at Shouldice. It was nice and sunny out, a little bit warm, but overall not too bad. The run felt really good, and I was surprised at how speedy my final miles were. Tomorrow I think I'm going to hit the hills again. Tonight I am procrastinating on some weight lifting, but hopefully I'll get to that soon!

I decided to volunteer for the HBC Run for Canada on Canada Day this Sunday. I walked this one with three friends last year at their event in Vancouver. (It was a walk instead of a run since I found out just a few days earlier that I had developed a stress fracture in my right ankle....oops.) I really enjoyed the event and would have loved to participate again this year, but with a 10 miler planned for the weekend, and my half marathon next weekend I wasn't sure that this was the best time to go all out and do a 10K, plus tack on the extra mileage. And I'm sure I would go all out, regardless! So instead I volunteered, because I have certainly appreciated the volunteers on all of my races, and I thought it would be great to give that energy back. I'll be working one of the water stops. And check out the volunteer shirts we get....pretty neat, eh? I figure it is a great way to kick off Canada Day.