Welcome to the first edition of the Aerobic Power Blog. I am a little computer illiterate so stuff like this, although i discover to end up being quite easy normally gets avoided.
I welcome everyone to post interesting training questions, mention great race venues, even start to organize some racer/house swapping in order to be able to get to races farther away.
Kevin Masters, owner and Head Coach of Aerobic Power Training Systems.
60 comments:
Great work by all athletes who raced in Canmore this weekend. it was a pretty tough course and a very cold start. I look forward to cheering on the MIC athletes in person in a few weeks. Taper hard.
Coach Jon
Follow Coach Kevin of Aerobic Power Training Systems and his partner, Calgary native Mark Fewster on their Trans Rockies Run Race Adventure in Colorada, USA.
It is a first time for the both of them. Experienced endurance athletes in triathlon, bike racing and marathoning, but this ultra event will bring them a whole new experience and learnings.
Hey Kevin- we'll be following you in the Trans Rockies Run Race. Go big! Take your Gortex- it snowed there this past weekend! :-)
Hey Kevin,
Thanks for coming out the 5 Peaks trail running race in Terwillegar park last weekend. You had a great run and best luck at Trans Rockies. We hope to see you a more APTS athletes out at the next 5 Peaks race at Blackfoot on September 20th.
Cheers,
Kamren Farr
5 Peaks Race Director
Well with a week to go I am starting to wonder if you actually call it a taper when its a 6 day race?? My partner, Mark and I felt like we needed a jolt though, to much long slow running exploring any trail we could find. We entered the 5 Peaks Trail Run Race which was being held in Terwilliger Park last Saturday. It turned out to be everything we wanted and more. The organizers did a fabulous job turning the park into a very challenging trail run incorporating all the components of a mountainous trail race. Hats off to 5 Peaks for that.
I suggest you look up their event in September, its a very refreshing change from the road and track racing/training.
As far as tapering goes, I thought i would stick to what i know and thats decrease volume but leave some intensity in your taper. So Sunday I cut back from the multi hour long runs and entered the ING 1/2 marathon, another great event drawing all the great runners from around AB and further. I was pleased with how i felt going into it following Saturdays effort, but defintiely finished it feeling tired. At this point i know i should be good for 3 days maybe 4 days in a row, its after that, that you really cant try in training and wont know until race week. The fear of the unknown is part of the adventure in an event like this. Its not the targeting of a goal time that makes you anxouis but instead not having any idea how days 4 to 6 are going to feel or be completed for that matter.
Stay tuned for trying to pack for 6 days of running, where it actually just snowed in the CO rockies. Also coming a brief course description of the 6 stages and maybe a little strategy.
Kevin
Kevin - So what you're saying is you raced a 16K trail race on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday for your taper. Now you're heading off to Colorado to race 20 miles/day for 6 days strait at high altitutes. Have you lost your mind!?
Good luck next week :)
Shannon M
One thing since doing my last IM in o5, i have noticed single discipline racing and to a lesser degree shorter triathlons much less stressful. The biggest thing for me is that there is not as much gear to worry about forgetting and worrying about packing for all the elements. This is especially true on road trips when theres no driving back for a vest or sleeves. Well i have acheived my old levels of anxiety. All you newbies in Aerobic Power that think us coaches dont get as uneasy or nervousas as you going into races, think again. It hit me Thursday, its 4 degrees at one of our stops and i have 1 duffel bag for, race gear, camping clothes,sleeping bag and mattress, a down filled jacket sounds like a nice idea but not likely to fit. And if it wasnt this that flipped my stomach on Thursday it could have been reviewing the updtaed routes sent by race organizers. Check it out at http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/news/?p=32
We fly out tommorrow and i hope to be able to keep the stories going over the course of the week, i am told there is some internet access at some of our overnights.
As a final word i want to thank Fast Trax and Jack for helping out a rookie with fiding the appropriate trail race running gear. The Tech shop for rushing in my Adidas Trail run shoe, this is one great shoe, on any types of trails.Brian Loehr for providing some great training support, namely running the skyline with me in Jasper, without his partnership i would not have been able to attempt some of the key trail runs that i did in training, Phil Villneuve, trail racer extraordinaire, for sharing his experise with Mark and myself, and finally the family for doing without me on a few of those trail running days or weekends.
Until then follow and cheer on your fellow Aerobic Power athletes competing in Ironman Canada Sunday.
Kevin
It is good to know that even the coach gets nervous :)! Have a GREAT race and I can't wait to read more race reports from you!!
First full day in CO. Its about 8000 feet here. We went for a run, unfortuantely there's no trails that don't go up, so up we went. Breathing was laboured, but at this point hopefully its just the mind playing games with us. Its beautiful here in buena Vista, I picture canmore being like this 30 years ago. Its a trail runner, mtn biker, kayaker mecca. Packing didn't get any eaier today. You read about my struggle packing to leave home. Well today we received our TR duffel bags that will transport our stuff. To no fault of the organizers, they were the size of gym bags. Our sleeping bags and matress are to fit in these as well.
Tommorrow is a nice warm up, 13 miles up a gentle climb. This will be good to work out the kinks and get a feel for this whole thing. Tuesday we get into somemore serious climbing with acsents up to 12000 feet. If one is going to get altitude sickness its gonna be here. I hope I don't have that story for you.
Congrats to all you Ironman finishers today, I have been able to see many of the results. Its trying something that has an element of unknown and finishing that amkes it all worthwhile. Never stop testing the unknown.
Kevin"
I'm enjoying reading your race blog Kevin. Hope you're finding a way to stay warm with that tiny gear bag! For anyone curious, there are stage elevation profiles on the Transrockies site:
http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/transrockies/race_route.htm
Good luck at 12K altitude tomorrow!
It was a great start to a long grueling 120 mile event. Sun was out, course was flat,relatively, and partners happy( more on that later).
Our 13 mile route only climbed 800 feet on fire road type terrain. Mark and I stuck to a conservative 7 min/mile. Conservative compared to a road pace of 6min/mile. I have to be honest though, it wasn't a race shattered feeling but it was a lot more fatigue then I would have anticipated for a min of rd racing. Around the finish line area there were a good number expressing there much tougher day then anticipated. Because I ran to 8000 1 or 2 training runs, and felt ok, I did not anticiapte to much difference, maybe its different when you start at 8000 feet and run there :).
After you pull into tent city, tents are all set up, and bags out ready to grab, its a very cool scene here.
I am already noticing the partner dynamics plays a huge role here. Already seeing, or overhearing frusteration on day 1. Its difficult, I see, altitude effects everyone differently and unless you live up high, we don't know how it will hit us. Within a team it can effect one partner more then the other. I think its important that a team talk about the 10 worst things that can happen and how they will deal with it before you get on the trails. We have tried to do that. It helped today, planning our effort for today and the week. It would have been easy to take off with the sprinters but the week is one race and our goal is to negative split our effort over the whole week, not 1 day.
Tommorrows going to be a lot more painful.
Kevin
Our last "short" day today. About 10 miles. It started with a 2 mile warm up and then as the Friendly Giant used to say, " look way up, way up" and in our case another "way up". We then ascended from 9600 feet to about 12600 ft in possibly 3 miles. I am not really sure under normal circumstances if 1000 ft per mile is thought of as hard but with the inability to catch a full breath while hiking, not running, it seemed very difficult. The top was "Hope Pass" and it was actually worth the pain. Prior to race you could see the organizers excited for us to do this. And now I know it wasn't 100 percent to see runner carnage. It was truly amazing up top. What goes up must come down. The downhill wasn't as steep, so it actually made for a cycling fun type of decsent. With a mile to go they also thought it would be fun if they put a waist deep river crossing on our route. It was a refreshing finish. A number of teams are using tow ropes, especially on climbs. It can be a very helpful idea. Although mark is definitely the stronger runner we are close enought, thus far anyway, that we have decided against the towing idea. Tonight tent city is in a big grassy field in Leadville. Leadvill is the highest city in the US. We'll be sleeping at 10500 feet in preperation for our first really long day tommorrow with a route of 25 miles.
Makes me a little nervous. Although I don't feel battered muscle wise, recovery is slower up here and the legs always have a good ache to them. In closing I must say one can't even imagine the organization and the comfort the orgainzers provide all the racers. Entry isn't cheap but when you see everything that goes on for the benfit of the racers, you feel very ok with it. My hat goes off to the whole TR organization team and volunteers. Last night 2 volunteers hiked up to the summit with a mule so we could have an aid station at the top.
Kevin
Wednesday - Ending at Camp Hale
An amazing day today, finishing in 6th place. Our laid back wait and see approach to the first 2 days, and running mostly below 10500 instead of up to 12500 gave us a really good 24 miles. Finishing today at Camp Hale, a dissassembled US Army training area. There's a beautiful lodge that has welcomed the runners graciously. Those of you who have ever watched the tour can imagine the big caravan of vehicles convoying from point to point. There are motor homes, gear transport trucks, big sponsor trucks (solomon, gore-tex etc) and our showers. A huge rig whose trailer has 10 male and 10 female showers, plus a rack that pulls out from underneath with 8 sinks, that follows us from remote stop to remote stop. Its quite a sight.
Kevin
The first half had lots of elevation gain running on a 4x4 road, but it wasn't like the usual fire road we have back home. It was like a single track that had been widened.
If someone could tell me? Jon?
Are the effects exponentially higher from 10500 to 12500 then 8000 to 10500. The difference from yesterday to today in my breathing and overall body feeling was pleasantly much better. That's all I will say on that as you see fast turns in runners health, from one day to the nextand I don't want to jinx things. Elevation, fatigue, and injury can strike any runner at any time.
Tommorrow sounds like it will be like Tuesday. Fooling us into a false sense of comfort with a short 14 mile route but it takes us way up again and then hammer the quads running straight down.
Some of you are curious as to how I am handling the down time in the afternoons. I am managing to not have them drag on. You finish, chat it up around the finish for a while, shower, eat, set up inside tents, many sleep, I have tried but can't. I blend reading with meeting lots of great people. The atmospshere is very friendly. We have been fortunate that the weather has provided a great environment for our racing and relaxing times.
Kevin
Thursday August 28th
Another truly spectacular route. 14 miles with a stiff ascent up to over 11600 feet in the first half of the race. The 360 view cannot be fully appreciated unless you are up there. The really steep sections recquire more hiking then running. When we know we are going to encounter sections like this on the days route, we'll carry poles. They are a really big benefit. You can give the legs a little relief and I think the back doesn't get sore because with poles you are not going to lean fwd as much as you would without them. With enough miles dragging them around you learn to make them work for you on the descents as well.
Running into 4th place today for the stage we continue to feel like we are still building through our week. Although from a little distance, we are close enough to the top 5, and at half way thru the race, we are starting to push ourselves closer to the edge. We went out today knowing we have to make time on the climb, to many good downhillers here. After about 1/2 way there's more down then up, so we pushed ourselves on the up a little bit more then usual hoping we could just roll or fall our way down to the bottom. It paid off passing the Fluffy Bunnies( a team much stronger then name suggests) and a solomon team made up of our friend Phil and Dennis 2 runners we respect very much. They may not have been to happy but it makes you feel like you are doing ok when you pass runners that you consider very good. They'll pay us back Friday I am sure. Mark and I feel tired but not really sore so still anxoius to see what we can do in the last 2 days.
Recovery is such a key to this. Mark and I are careful to eat and drink right up to the end of a stage. Each stage is just a small part of 1 race, so we are preparing for the next day by keeping outselves fed and hydrated right thru the finish line.
At the finish line we drink multiple bottles of water, gatorade, eat some fruit and 1/4 can of tuna. We have been lucky that camp is usually by a very cold river, soaking our legs for 20 plus minutes is what we attribute our lack of soreness to. Following showers we eat a substantial lunch, stretch, and try to keep off the feet. Other recovery ideas that we utilize are compression socks. Most of the runners do actually. We all walk around looking like our dads, home from work cutting the lawn in shorts and dress socks. I also use compression tights on stages with sustained descents, I think that to has kept my legs from turning into hamburger meat. Will see how all this learning pays off over the last 2 very long stages.
Kevin
Its official, we are beat up. Overall the week has felt good all things considered. Today was a 24 mile stage with, surprise an ascent up to 11500 ft again. We climbed all in around the Vail ski resort. It was basically 14 miles up and 10 down or flatter. Were at a point now in the week where the jaw needs to come out(inside joke). Again the event was 14 miles not 24. We had to push to the top if we are going to move up in the standings. We pushed, but it was the worst feeling day for my legs. I had to exert everything I had to mentally and physically move my legs up the mtn. it was a 1/2 marathon though to us hoping we could just let the legs go on the way down. We did that but decents stop being fun after about 5 or so miles. The last 5 felt like all the finishes of my most painful ironmans and marathons combined. BUT we podiumed!!!!! Third place overall on the stage. 3 hours and 30 min for the 24 miler today. I have know idea how we are going to get thru Saturday, but our game plan for the week has paid off up to today anyway. Teams, even the ones above us that took off on stages 1 and 2 are starting to slow or even self destruct. I want to give special mention though to the Fluffy Bunnies, 2 very good runners who we took yesterday but they powered there way up the climb today and probably would have kept ahead on the descent but took a wrong turn and went off course for a while. We are dissapointed for them but still happy with the opprutunity as a small reward for our hard work and preperation.
Mark and I are still enjoying each others company and have matched up well this week. You take turns having highs and lows or just have different strengths but at the end of the day we finish side by side with each of us running to our ability and slightly beyond.
One more day!!??!!!?!!!
Kevin
Hey Kevin & Mark,
Sounds like you guys are putting the hurt to Phil and Dennis. Keep up the good work!! Seriously you guys are doing great.
Talk to you later
Niall
Kevin & Mark
It sounds awesome, what an unbelieveable accomplishment. Way to go!!
MarcM
Mark and Kevin! Way to go! We are so proud you.......I'm having a glass of wine to celebrate! Maybe tomorrow I'll start running! jane.
What a day!!! We woke up in beautiful Vail, CO. Surrounded by mtns and a sunrise that i dont normally take the the time to watch during a "normal" week. Today we had to make our way to Beaver Creek. You would think a nice rolly 10 mile course would be the only reasonable way to finish a 6 day run race covering 110 miles over more mtns then i wish to count. unfortunately the story doesnt have a gentle ending. We left Vail, running through it for a bout 2 miles before climbing for about 8 or 9 miles. for some reason i am feeling better on this last day then Friday. Mark seems to be feeling good for our last big effort as well. Dont be fooled,we are extrememly tired but, maybe being last day, as we started to climb i was very relieved and exicted about the rest of the day. Again we were heading into the final stage with a tiny little cushion on our 3rd place overall that we attained with our third place finish Friday going into Vail. The climb out of Vail was some great single track and more eof it runnable then out as a result of the altitude gain coming over 8 or 9 miles instead of 3 or 4 like on some of the days past. A number of the teams seemed inspired by the finish line as we were in some good company up to the top. Some things to look out for up top, fully camoflaged hunters that rise up out of nowhere with bow in hand, we smiled and quickened the pace. The other potenitally more serious happening is running in sheep dogs. There are herds of sheep kept up there and i guess these 150 + pound dogs will chew you apart if they think you are a risk. A mtn bike racer took over 100 stitches a few weeks ago because of a sheep dog attack. we were now over half way at control station 2 and had a 4 mile descent into Avon. Again some amazing trail, single track with some creek crossing and even some bush wacking. There was a group of 4 of us racing down so pace was pushed, everyone probably running with a little more wreckless abandon then if they were on their own. It was a narrow(8 inch) worn gully for a alot of the trail. I felt like i had size 14 feet. i had more near falls in that one stretch then all week. As for the race we were in good shape, with the biggest concern being the Team Heathons, 9 minutes behind overall but ahead today, and you never know how far ahead other teams are until the finish. They are a super strong team and only a really bad day on their part on Friday allowed us to sneak ahead. 9 days out 10 they are a stronger team which includes a 2:09 marathoner who competed in the Sydney Olympics.The other team of concern of our firends Phil and Dennis with Team Salomon, sitting in 4th overall but were behind us on the day so far. We were moving well, and thats all we could worry about. When we rolled into Avon a next door neighbor to Beaver Creek we had 4 miles left, 3 straight up, and 1 down into the ski resort area. It was hot and the trail was fully exposed. The ascent was up somethig that any skier would consider an extremely steep slope. This is where our story book week got a dose of reality. Our pace slowed on the cliimb, over the week theres lots of hiking due to the grades or altitude, but its always with a little running skip in your stride. These 3 miles up you could feel almost for the the first time in6 days things start to spiral out of our control. We crossed the finish approx 20 minutes behind the Heathons losing third overall by 10 minutes. It was a team that made losing to them not quite as bad. The funniest duo of englishmen you could meet who were fantastic sports and super runners. Team Salomon with our friends Phil and Dennis didnt mess around today either coming in just minutes after us. At this point in the race, runners are exhausted, sore, and maybe even injured in some way. Fitness or ability between teams is no longer a deciding factor in the finish. Only the image of the finish line and mini flashbacks of what you have just been through to get there, get you up and over that last most painful 4 miles of 110.
I think theres definitely an advantage mentally going into this a first time. Not kowing how tired one could get as the days go by, or just how it really feels to run at over 12000 feet all make the saying" ignorance is bliss" all so true.
This is one race that is very unique in that 2 people must be compatible in their ability and both be on their game at the same time. If not compatible in their ability, which many teams know coming in, then they need to come into the race on the same page mentally. Some come for the experience and pace is dictated by the slower runner or some partners may not be equal in ability but come to race none the less and use techniques like towing in order to move the pace to somewhere in between the slower and faster runner. Some teams come in perfectly matched, but either they were not as well matched as they thought, or injury, altitude etc creates gaps. The partner interaction will be the deciding factor in each teams success. Success being not neccesarily placings overall but the attainment of whatever goals that team came in with.
Stay Tuned for my Final Thoughts on what i consider this race and experience one of the most amazing events i have been lucky enough to be part of.
Kevin
Awesome showing Kevin and Mark! You guys have done awesome on an incredible course over 6 days! Good to see you guys giving Phil and Dennis a run for their money too!
We look forward to the stories, and of course the pictures you stopped to take along the run... right?
Look forward to the year end wrap up!
Kevin,
Nice work. Looks like Phil will be asking you for some advice next year.
What an amazing feat! Thanks for letting us experience it vicariously through you with this blog. It's inspiring. I can't imagine 5 marathons in 5 days, let alone up and down mountains. Way to go guys!
Transrockies Run Wrap Up
It was an experience unmatched by any other sporting event I have completed thus far. In part because of the nature of the event and in large part because of the commitment by the TR staff. One would think their mission says" out side of the running we are going to make the runners week as comfortable and supported as absolutely possible. Meals were top restaurant quality including, steaks, great mexican food, pastas and more. And this was always brought to us at our camps. Or hosted in a hall that would be very close by. Although that didn't matter as there were always volunteers driving shuttle vans back and forth to whereever they needed to go. It wasn't on a restricted time schedule either, it was anytime. Little things included setting out pilons from our tent city in Leadville a few blocks to the hall that we ate dinner and breakfast at just to make it easier for the runners to find their way. They also make things as highest quality as possible. When on the road like this one would think that everyone wouldn't mind our slide show and video each night on a white wall understaing hauling a screen thousands of miles would be a big pain. Nope they construct a massive screen every night that they haul from place to place. They also build a stage every night for awards. All these things wouldn't even be missed if we didn't know any better but it goes to show you they go out of there way in every part of the race week.
The atmosphere was a huge part of this experience. 6 days of eating, shuttling and tenting with a group of similar thinking people. And what you notice to is that from the incredible duo that won, to the teams that came to hike the 6 day event everyone are outdoor enthusiasts who consider fitness and health a major part of their livese. So at the end of the day, there were no elites or recreationalists, just a whole group athletes on a long runners high all able to share the same daily war stories. At all large sporting events you always get to meet lots of new people, ( that's part of the draw) but at this event you get to KNOW lots of new people.
The neat thing for me was that I was able to find something new and challenging again. Not to downplay the challenge of ironman, that will always scare me no matter how many I do, but coming into the TransRockies I had no idea really what was going to come of me, our team and ultimately how the heck we were going to get through this 6 day event.
Last night one of the great TR staff told a story( he loves to tell stories), and the story led to a wise piece of advice, "If you never, never go, you never, never know." I encourage everyone reading this to think of something new to try, hopefully fitness related, that kind of scares the heck out of you, but you haven't done it before, and give it a try.
Finally thank you for the replies on the blog, i was not to sure of my writing skills so i was happy to hear that it inspired some and just provied enjoyment for others.
Kevin
Transrockies Racing Tips
This was an extremely physically demanding race. Although I had said that some came to hike, I did not want to give the impression anyone who enjoys hiking could come and complete this going at whatever pace they needed to to make it through the day. Hikers need to be prepared for 7.5 to 9 hour days for 6 days. This will still recquire training and other preperation. Runners completed stages in 2.5 to 6 hours. Obviously the longer times may have begun to incorporate more hiking then running depending on the terrain. The athletes with longer times would have to take their daily preperation more seriously in packing nutrition and clothing recquirements just due to the longer time frames between control(aid) stations and being out there into evening when temperature can drop quickly. There were always at least 2 stations per leg and 3 on the longer ones.
The course included everything running in the wilderness should. On thursday we actually had to run a 1/2 km down a river, not a crossing but with the river.
I would seriously consider using poles. The great power point and google map presentations on the next days route allowed one to mentally prepare well and make neccessary equipment decisions. As a result we could evalauate ahead of time if we needed to carry poles. I think we carried poles on 3 of the 6 days. Get the retractable ones so they are easy to carry when not hiking. Camelbacks were probably the most used support system but second to that was the waist carrying version of camelbacks. In that case usually just for the mandatory equipment and then they carried hand held bottles for hydration. This was usually seen with the quicker runners who could get to control stations in short enough time to successfully stay hydrated. I was initially worried about the length of downtime each afternoon, but you find out that if you carry out the neccessary recovery protocols it is dinner time before you know. I have eluded to this earlier but soaking in the freezing river is the number 1 reason for my legs, joints etc to hold out the way they did. Being prepared with a nutrition recovery plan is essential, not knowing where you'll be from day to day, I had a stock of easy to mix recovery drinks that I made a point of drinking shortly after my inital finish line gorge. There is then the option of a massage. At least a couple through the week is neccessary as a minimum. And then finally you need to get off your feet. Sleep, read, whatever but put the feet up. I think this is also an important lesson on the benefits of recovery when training at home. Quite often we try to train more then we should relative to the time we have for recovery purposes. Look at the benefit of being able to put your feet up. It allowed everyone to string 6 days in a row together not having ever done it before. Try 3 long hard workouts in a row, with work, kids etc in between, its a lot less physically manageable. While putting your feet up you will want to examine them. More days then not there was water to cross. Running through water and then going another 5 miles with wet feet is not possible to avoid. Clean and prepare blisters, and keep nails short. Come stocked with your own set of blister band aids. Have them at all times, take the time to stop if need be on course while the blister is still small and put on some coverage. Always keep in mind its a 6 day event and 5 minutes of TLC maybe, no will be the difference between enjoyment and misery for the rest of the week. Like in any event don't try things for the first time in a race. In leading up to this run through some water and see what happens to your feet. I also knew what socks I was wearing with what shoes. This may be a little extreme, but if I had a long run with no rubbing I noted those socks and shoe combo. With that in mind, you need to run or hike on lots of different terrain, nothing rubs on the flats, but run on a slant for a while and I can sometimes get a blister on the side of my big toes depending on the seem of the socks.
Fortuantely for my, unfortunately for you I can't give much help on clothing in terms of weather preperation. We had the most perfect week. Outside of 2 frost nights and very cool mornings, once the sun came over the mountain tops run t-shirts were always suitable. I am a big fan of compression tights, especially the salomon version. I think on the very long descents that can just turn your quads into mush, and usually does to mine, the compression tight helps keep things supported, and tight possibly( my own speculation) avoiding some of muscle tearing from the eccentric loading. A minmum of 2 pairs of shoes is a must. If its rainy this is obvious but even in dry conditions it takes a good 24 hours for a shoe to regain form after a long run.
I think overall appllying common sense and some smart racing tactics that apply to any type or length of race provided us with a very consistant and progressivley stronger week of racing. I don't think I am to far off to say that possibly 3 of the top 10 teams on day 1 didn't finish in tact at the end of the week because one of the 2 partners couldn't go on after multiple days of running.
In the end there is no fool proof answer for anything, a partnered 6 day event in the wilderness is an exercise in adversity.
I hope everyone could take a little something from our experiences and search out something for yourself that will stretch your physical and mental limits.
Kevin
Kevin & Mark...Congratulations on a great accomplishment!!!
Thanks for taking the time to share your daily "ups and downs" :), not just the physical challenges but your insight into the experiences of having a partner and I especially enjoyed hearing about the friendships shared with those other like minded people who were sharing the journey with you.
Warm regards,
Catherine Buhr
Kevin, Congratulations on an amazing adventure! Thank you for taking the time to share your story. You made us feel a part of it. Vivid, informative and inspiring! Well done, coach!
Very best wishes,
Jim Greenough
Kevin and Mark,
Congratulations on squeezing a remarkable performance out of every single myofibril and alveoli in your bodies. That podium finish must have been exhilarating on Day 5. My hat goes off to you and your supportive families and training communities.
Kyla Hartnell
As the other half of the team, I wanted to share some of my side. I have had such a rewarding 2 weeks since the race sharing my experience with most people I talk to, especially my family who helped me so much in the preparation, and followed the daily race videos as our biggest fans. This race has really got inside me like so few other events. I wrote in my journal on day 1 that I didn’t know if we’d finish 5th or 50th, our intention was (honestly) just to finish and give this type of race the respect it deserves. The altitude was new to both Kevin and I and we’d have no idea of its effect on us, especially when running near threshold. We both entered the race as confident runners with success in our past. We both also entered with fear of the unknown. I think this fear was our best training tool throughout the spring/summer months leading up and the key reason to our success. Our training plans differed alot from Feb – June as I focused on mileage with multiple long runs (2.5-3hr+) every weekend, hill intervals (some steep, some long) and weekly 1.5 hr+ fartleks. The “easy” runs were limited and often skipped in favour of recovery between the key runs of the week. Kevin was training no doubt but scaring me (only somewhat) with his version of a long run (...did you run more than 2hrs during this time? ). His fitness was as high as i’ve ever seen it (in 10years) with crushing success at Triathlon World’s and GWN, making me realize that we were heading in the same direction, just on different roads. We were on similar plans for July and August with several of the long 40+km trail runs together, another key to team success. Although this doesn’t have to be over emphasized – we probably only ran together 3-4 times (although that was 10-15hours). We gelled as a team because we knew each other’s abilities and limitations. After this, our limitations have grown again. I also believed that our non-verbal communication was stronger (and less annoying over the duration) than some communication we witnessed of other teams. Some of the silence in our racing allowed us each to truly get into our own groove...luckily our grooves had a similar pace! We had a clear plan day 1 to negative split our effort over the 6 days and we never wavered from that. I relied on Kevin and he relied on me to keep that plan. Any suffering was obvious and the pace was adjusted, unless the suffering was useful in gaining precious minutes...which only became more telling as the week went on. Kevin was versatile, probably more like stubborn, especially on the hard sections, whether be fast, rocky descents or slow, steep ascents – he would say little and just keep rolling as if there was a tailwind on a paved city path. I rather enjoyed putting Kevin in a rare place of discomfort in the closing miles as we hit the gravel roads towards the line. We ended up losing our 3rd place standing by around 6 minutes at the end of the 16 hour race, ironic compared to our goal to finish as recent as Day 2. And to be so close to that level of success against some of the finest runners I’ve ever met. I should have known that Kevin was silently refocusing his efforts on the podium at the Summit of stage 2 as this was the first and last time he pulled out his camera to have a volunteer snap our photo. Kevin and I were really dialled in for this race, yet not in a way I can compare to the past. The training was done and we were prepared, but we respected that we were at the mercy of the race and the conditions. For us, it was a good week. For others, it was not. There were so many variables each day that worked out in our favour. Thanks Kevin for a great week in the mountains. Looking forward to the next adventure.
Arrived in Kona Hawaii last night with Sue our 7 week old boy Ty and my mother in law. After 3 flights we somehow managed to get all of our luggage the car seat, stroller and thankfully my bike. Got the first scratch on it but that's o.k. I thought for sure it would take another 3 days to get here! I was so excited it arrived last night I was putting it together at 2am to make sure it still worked. Nevermind putting together the playpen and crib I had priorities. Found our condo in the dark which is great as it has lots of room and is 5 minutes from the race start and all the main attractions. Got up this morning at 6am and couldn't believe the heat and wind, I knew it would be hot but at 8am it was already 30c and blowing hard. I wanted to get the full effect of this Kona heat so I waited until 11am to ride and run as my Coach suggested and it was a tad hot!! I rode the mystical Queen K highway for 2 hours. It was nice to finally ride that highway after reading so much about it. The first person I saw out there was the third place overall winner from last year Torbjorn Sindballe. There are 180 pros at this race and everybody is so fit and ready. The crosswind was unbelieveable and it makes it hard to hydrate as you can't take your hands off the handlebars. My legs felt great and I figured out really quick that in order to drink I would just wait for a lava hill on either side of me as that would block the wind for a split second. The other problem and Kevin warned me about this was the temperature of the gatorade, I've never experienced such a warm fluid in my mouth while riding and running. My Transition run was great, I tried out my new racing flats and that always feel good and light. I'm really hoping my heat training and preparation has paid off as it didn't bother me today. If you guys would have seen me the last 3 months of training I have been running with tights, 3 layers of clothes, touque while riding my trainer in the basement. Sue thought I was losing my mind but I seriously tried everything I could to acclimatize to the heat. It may not make a difference at km 30 of the marathon but for now I feel confident. The other bad thing about the Queen K is when you look up the road all you see is heat waves coming off the cement which almost gives you a dizzy feeling. The one good thing is that the pavement is super smooth which makes for a nice ride. Kevin and I are trying some different things for my approach to this race. This could be my last Ironman for awhile so I wanted to push my training to the absolute edge. I am going with a shorter taper and I feel fresh and jumpy. The other area I wanted to work on was my run off the bike. I've done some super long and intense T-runs which are not fun but I think have paid off and I'll find out next Saturday. Tomorrow is my first ocean swim so stay tuned for that.
Day 2 got down to the water at the race start for my first swim and Norman Stadler the 2006 champion was just finishing his swim! That was a little intimidating but really cool. I am trying my new Zoot speed suit as the Kona swim is non wetsuit due to the temperature of the water which is very warm. It's a super thin slick rubber one piece and it just fits over my APTS race outfit perfectly giving me a little bit of buoyancy especially through the hips. Everybody swimming this morning was wearing one of various brands. By the way, every piece of racing equipment around here is top of the line straight from the magazines. Everybody is checking out each others gear and like Kevin said you can cut the intensity with a knife. Nobody makes small talk as all the athletes are so competitive and it doesn't matter which age group you're from you want to place as high as possible overall. The other thing is that there is zero body fat to be found anywhere, Stadler looked even leaner in person than in the magazines. Gatorade has a big tent set up at the swim every morning this week so you drop off your clothes etc. and they watch it for you while you swim. Afterwards they give you a cool Gatorade bike bottle and free Gatorade endurance drinks. The lady at the tent was the only one who talked to me this morning she liked me because I was from Canada so she gave me 4 bottles. The swim was very good, I brought some non drowsy anti nausea medication but decided to go without and it was fine. The water was choppy at the start which I don't mind but as you get further out the swells get pretty intense. Sighting is a bit tricky as it nails you in the face and the taste of salt water in my mouth was a real nuissance. I have to swim with tighter lips to avoid that as it really dries you out and can make you sick. Seeing the bottom of the ocean was interesting as well, there are tons of fish and corral down there the whole way and it really takes your mind off the waves. At least if the swim goes bad on race day I'll have something to look at. I really like the speed suit as well as it gives your shoulders lots of freedom to move and get a nice long stroke. 30 minutes was good for the first day as tomorrow I'll be back again for more. I found the jamba juice down the road which is just like booster juice in Canada so I've been getting my fill of protein shakes and cinnamon pretzels. Easy 30 minute run in the heat today will round out my workouts for the day. Back to the condo to hang out with Ty and give Sue a break so she can get her run and swim done. I'm not nervous for race day yet but by Thursday that will all change. Racing a bit scared has always been good for me. I've always had good results when I don't know exactly what I'm getting into. Mentally it's nice to know that I don't have to qualify for anything because that usually consumed the major part of my past Ironman races event though it shouldn't. I'm trying to take it all in this week as I don't know when I'll be back. When I see Ironman World Championship signs everywhere it reminds of how far I've come in the sport largely due to my family, the APTS Coaches and all of the training partners I've had the past 5 years. It took me 4 Ironman qualifying races to get here after I thought maybe I could get here after one, I was hugely mistaken. Like they say the longer you wait and work towards something the better it feels when you get there.
Best of luck to you Mark, looking forward to hearing about the whole experience.
Anyone interested this weekend Oct 11 is Cyclocross National Championships at the Argyll Park, racing starts at 9am us old guys start at 10 am, could really use the push on the crazy hills. for more info see www.cyclocrossedmonton.com
Day 3 started with another swim and yesterday was good today was very good. I took the anti nausea pills and they were great, I didn't feel the swells at all my energy was great. 20 minutes out and 20 minutes back felt smooth and I kept my stroke as long as possible trying to remember all the tricks that Kate has taught us in the pool. The only annoying problem is the speed suit does cause some bad chafe in the shoulders and back but I just had to borrow some of Ty's Zincofax to sooth that. If my race day swim feels anything like today I will be more than happy! After the swim it was back to the condo to pick up Sue, Ty and grandma as they were coming down with me for the athlete registration. We loaded up went down and like everybody else around here the process was quick and efficent. The 2005 world champ Faris Al-Sultan was in line ahead of me with his usual beard and long hair, not sure how he races like that! The registration bag came complete with Ironman cologne and Ironman granola. The M dot logo really is on everything around here and believe me it sells. Sue and the family managed to find the merchandise tent and bought Ty his first Ironman tshirt. Part of the registration process was also filling out a lengthy form that said they could test everybody for illegal drugs. I hope my Vector cereal is clean! Another cool set up at registration was to volunteer your saliva to the Universtiy of Hawaii for a cardiovascular study so I did my part and spit in a beeker kind of like CSI, with all the fancy machines and computers. Not sure what the result will be but it looked like fast race day spit to me. My afternoon run was a warm up and 1km full out. It felt good but you should have seen the funny looks I was getting from other athletes, they probably thought I stole something or really had to hit the washroom. After a nice cooldown and another liter of gatorade to try and hydrate in this heat it was pool time. Tonight the athletes village opens and there is a parade of nations which shoould be neat. All the athletes gather under their countries flag and walk down a section of Kona. There are very few Canadians here it's mostly Europeans, a lot of Australians and I met a guy from Turkey today. Ty will stay with grandma and Sue and I will head down to check out the evening festivities. Today I feel like I really do belong here and have earned my spot. Sue met a lady and it took her son 8 years to qualify for this race. My confidence is good, my fitness is great and my taper feels super
sharp. The last few days I have been really thinking about my race day nutrition a lot as it doesn't matter how fit you are, if you get dehydrated and cramp in this heat you are done!! Tomorrow is back on the bike which I am looking forward to and a super short run. I'm off to eat a bagel.
MM
Day 4 and I didn't have a swim on my schedule which I missed but it was good for my bad chafe to heal. Today it was time to tackle the Queen K again for an hour ride and 1 km run. As you might have guessed it was windy as ever and 90 degress F. My legs felt fresh and the last 30 minutes were at race pace. I really had to hold back as my body is thanking me for the taper and just wants to go! It's amazing how quickly you drink a bottle of gatorade in these conditions. While I was riding today I remembered my good friend and training partner Craig St. Pierre tell me that I could go as far as I want in this sport as long as I was willing and able to suffer. I've always thought I had a high pain threshold on race day and tough training days. I've really learned how to not fight back against the pain but more to let it take over my body and work with it. I have a simple philosophy if I race faster then I will finish quicker and the pain will be over sooner. Easier said than done but it seems to work. My mom suffered excruciating pain for 6 months before losing her battle to cancer in 2006 so I think one hard day on an Ironman course is nothing. I took some time to figure out the exact run course and ride course. The run comes right by our condo which will be great for my family to watch and cheer, believe me I will be watching for them all day long at various spots. Sue is great at figuring out race courses and she knows my race paces and where I will be, it's great. I read yesterday that the average Ironman time in Kona is 11.5 hours, I won't tell you my goal but it better be faster than that. Went down to the athletes village today and saw Norman Stadler finishing his ride. The big talk around here is that he is riding Scott bikes which are U.S. made. He got an nice big sponsorship deal and dropped Kuota. His new bike is lime green, black and white and looks super fast. He is trying to break the bike split record this year which he holds from 2006 and if he does Scott bike sales will be crazy. Tomorrow is a day off from training and Friday is back to the water. Sue is going to swim with me which will be nice afterall she is a 2 x Ironman Canada finisher. Without her I wouldn't be here today and have reached any of my goals. She is a great wife, mother, manager, nutritionist, travel arranger and the list goes on and on....She's the one that got me involved in this sport when my hockey was over and has encouraged me to race and train as much as I like. It's time to hit the pool with Ty and see what kind of swimmer I have on my hands.
Hey Marc,
Sounds like its all coming together for Sunday.....You've almost convinced me to get back into tri training.....(almost):)
Great philosophy!!! again good luck on Sunday - Give em' Hell!!!
Niall
I'm not sure if mere mortals are meant to post on this blog, but here's a shout out from Denver, Colo., to Kona! Marc, we want to wish you the very best for the race on Saturday. Regardless of what that day holds for you, what you have achieved already is awe-inspiring to us recreational joggers! Your family and friends are very proud of you - as you should be of yourself. And what a great inspiration to that beautiful baby boy of yours. Enjoy your day - we'll be rooting for you and waiting to hear all the details. Lots of love, Tanya, Kevin, Zac & Tayte
Marc, I'm absolutely loving your posts. I especially love the shout out to Sue. Best of luck this weekend!
Shannon Maisano
Day 5 and today feels like the calm before the storm. No training just waiting and trying to get my mind off the big day. We took Ty down to the beach for 15 minutes or so but he was sweating pretty good so that didn't last very long. Then it was down to the athletes village for one last stroll around to check things out and back home. I have been eating a lot of carbohydrates and staying very hydrated this week without gorging or feeling too full but just constantly grazing and keeping topped up. Tonight is the welcome carbo load dinner and we are all going to attend even if it's just for a short time. My race day nutrition is set: 6 bottles of Infinit sports drink which is 850 calories per bottle/60 grams of carbs/600mg of sodium and a few grams of protein on the bike. It's pretty cool stuff as you can custom order the exact mix you want online. Also on the bike I will take in 6 strawberry-kiwi Accel gels. On the run it's going to be 5 Tangerine flavoured Powerbar gels which are high in sodium and packed with caffeine for hopefully a good kick on the run. Coke near the end of the marathon for a final push. Gatorade and a lot of water at the aid stations as well to try and keep as cool as possible. I like to stay away from solids on race day as I find it hard to digest when my heart rate is high. With the wind on the bike course I also want to keep both hands on the handlebars as much as possible and not be unwrapping energy bars. I've read a lot about liquid carbs/energy vs solid and all articles alluded to the fact that it's the same but solids are tougher to digest at race pace. I know my paces for the swim, bike and run so I will try my best to lock in the splits and hold on for as long as I can. The swim always starts fast for everyone and it takes about 15 minutes to find your rhythm and stroke. The bike starts easier and I like to settle in for about 15 minutes and then hit my nutrition as soon as my head clears from the swim. When the run starts you are just so happy to be off the bike seat. Some people run hard off the bike for the first 10 minutes but I like to find my legs and I always make note of the speedsters to see how far they get a that pace. This makes racing fun and there's no better feeling than running people down and holding them off. The problem in Kona is that many can hold a very fast run pace!! I don't fear this Kona course but I do respect it and I think that's important. The elements out there are much stronger than any athlete and if you don't race smart it will be a long day. Nobody really knows how they are going to feel on race day but the more details you cover beforehand the better your chances of succeeding. The one thing I've learned about Ironman racing is that 1 hour you can feel great, 1 hour you can feel terrible and the next 2 hours you can feel good again. Patience is key at this distance. Saturday morning I will enter the unkown and hope that everything falls into place. It's time for a nap as tonight will be later than usual.
MM
Marcus,
Love the blogs.
You are going to rock the house, brother. Kona won't know what hit it. You are more than ready for this race, and I know you will do us all proud. Have fun out there, and make sure to "suffer" like no other.
Peace out,
Craig
BTW....you roll in slower that 11.5 hours and our friendship is over. But unless you lose a leg on race day, I just can't see that happening.
Day 6 and the final day before race day. I really wish I could bottle the nervous energy the day before a race. Sue and I did a 20 minute swim which was great and nice for her to experience the swim course. My 20 minute run was just enough to calm my nerves and get a good sweat going. My bike is ready to go and I have to bring it down to the race start later today and leave it overnight. Ty has an eye infection so Sue brought him in to get checked out and the Doctor said it's probably aggravated from the heat but he'll be fine. The transition area is always a bit nerve wracking with all the bikes and gear everywhere. I really like to make sure I know my route to the bike out of the swim and spend some time walking through it over and over again. I rely on super quick transitions to shave some time off and don't like to be guessing the morning of. My goal tomorrow is to really focus on the task at hand and not get too far ahead of myself. I will race the swim, race the bike and race the run individually and not be thinking about the next before I get there. There's nothing worse for your race then swimming and be thinking about your tough ride ahead etc., I will just take it as it comes. Last night at the dinner banquet they said there's 700 Americans, 230 Germans, 180 Autralians, 140 Canadians, 80 Japanase, 50 French, 20 Italians and a whole load of other countries being represented. My age group(35-39) is the largest 250 athletes. I always enjoy the marathon portion of the race the most but I'm not sure why as it is the toughest, I think it's because it is where most races are won or lost. Your day could be terrible but with a good run split everything just seems to come together. If you have a good swim and bike but bad run your race just doesn't feel complete. I don't claim to know everything about Ironman racing but I really do enjoy the satisfaction of completing such a tough race. Every race seems to teach you a lesson in some way, shape or form. You take something different away from each race and try to build on it. Finishing with Sue and Ty waiting in the family area this year will be super special and something that will keep me pushing hard all day long. The one thing I can guarantee you is that tomorrow when I'm running the marathon portion and finishing on the famous Alii Drive with thousands of screaming fans I will look up to the sky, shed a few tears and thank my mom for helping me get through this journey that began 4 Ironmans ago. She saw me race my first Ironman Canada and I know she will be looking down on me at the finsih in Kona at the World Ironman Championships.
Thanks for reading this week and good luck to Brian T, Kevin, and Niall who are running the Kelowna marathon or half this weekend. I will send out a race report on Sunday.
MM
Marc, we are so proud of you. We knew you would be racing in Kona. All of your hard work and dedication has paid off. Have a great race day - we'll be cheering you on here at home!
Jo
ps - you got grandma and we got grandpa????? How did that work? ha ha
Marc
WAY to GO!!!!!! 9:54:03. Congratulations! Both Kev and I are super excited for you and your family. We all know it's been a long tough road getting to Kona, but you definitely made the journey worth it (you shattered the course!). Kevin phoned me from Kelowna and his enthusiasm and excitement for your spectacular finish just about came through the phone lines. You've been so focused and committed to the race, it's no surprise that you accomplished such a great finish at Kona...not to mention a PB. Awesome work!!! Your blogs have been a pleasure to read and it gives hope to those athletes who aspire to reach beyond themselves. Truly inspirational. Can't wait to hear the play by play back home. Enjoy your accomplishmnet and the rest of your trip!!
Best wishes,
Kate and Kevin and the boys
Wow! By the looks of it, you rocked the course today. Great Job.
Mens!! You rock! Congratulations!! You must be so stoked knowing that you crushed the course!! We are super happy and excited for you! Know that everyone is so proud of you and your amazing accomplishment and we can't wait to hear all the details when you come home! Way to go, Mr. SuperAthlete!!
Lots of Love,
Trish and Stace
Way to Go Bro! You had 21 people at the Thanksgiving dinner cheering for you and we let out a load cheer when we saw the sub-10! AWESOME! We can't wait to see you guys when you get home, hear all the details, and, of course, cuddle with baby Ty!
Lots of Love,
Mo, Todd, Danielle, Annick & Julie
hey marc!!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! what an awesome time! mo just called to tell me.
your mom was with you the whole way :) she would be SO proud of you, and we are too. your dedication and hard work have a been an inspiration. o.k. now i'm getting sappy, sorry...
see you soon - call me for a massage! HI to sue and ty. enjoy kona and happy thanksgiving.
xo
kim (and dave)
Not sure where to begin my race report this morning! First of all I am very overwhelmed by all the awesome emails, voice mails, text messages and blog entries that everybody so graciously sent out. The positive vibes I was getting out on the course from all of you was unbelieveable. Everytime I crossed a timing mat out there I would laugh inside as I could just picture family and friends hitting thir refresh buttons throughout the day. I know a few blogs ago I didn't state what my race time goal was but two weeks ago after a 110km week of running I walked in the door and told Sue that I might be able to go under 10 hours if I could keep my body temperature down. Sue's response was: "You have a wife and son to come home to" but she also said: "I wouldn't put it past you"!! That was the end of the conversation and I just left it at that.
The day started with a very good swim, the worse part was the deep water start and treading water for 15 minutes. Panic was actually setting in for many people and it was a bad scene. The canon went off, I found a good line and held a nice steady pace the whole swim. I checked my watch coming out of the water and was very happy with the start of my day. Whenever I have a good swim at a race I always think of Kate and her tough swim workouts. Kate, I actually think it was a bit quicker than that but I wiped out on the stairs coming out of the water. They told us 100 times not to run up the stairs because they were slippery but what do the organizers know!! Transition distances are the same for everyone, we all have to run the same route for T1 and T2 which makes it fair for everyone. The nice thing is that is doesn't matter where your bike is. Got out on the bike and these guys ere hammering from the start up to the 45km mark which was a 38km/hr average speed. After that the winds were fierce and things just slowed right down. Sue said the announcers on the course said it was the toughest conditions in 3 years. It literally turned into a white knuckle ride and everyone was just holding on for life. This made getting nutrition down very tough. Kevin told me this week to deal with the lows and get through them, believe me this was an all time low. I got to 160km and things weren't much better, the last 20 km felt like forever and to be honest I didn't know what my run would be like. Got off the bike into transition 2 and took a few extra seconds to gather myself, 5 mintues into the run my legs were fine so I knew things would be o.k. My plan for the marathon was to divide it into 4 x 10 km segments and hold about 47 minutes for each. 10km was very good, 20km was very good and then I got ahead of myself a bit and starting thinking sub 10hr day. I got to the energy lab which is the turnaround at about 26km and I really can't figure this place out. It was closed all week to the athletes so I did't have a clue how long the out and back was. For some reason I guess they think it's funny to put a large thermometer on the side of the road which was showing 42C. I figured I would either get through this in one piece or it would be my breaking point. I held steady and just kept pushing. I would slow down at every aid station stuffing the front of my top with cold sponges, cups of ice down the front of my shorts to keep my quads and groins super cold and I would ask the volunteers to throw cold water on me. One cup of gatorade and I was off and running looking like a blimp for 50 meters up the road. Not once did I waver from this system and not once did I feel overheated, that and nutrition was the key to my run. I had 8km to go and my watch was showing 9:15. I kept pushing as I knew it would be close and at 9:45 with 1.5 miles to go a German fellow beside me asked me how much time we had and when I told him he put down the hammer. That was a mistake because a this point I still had some gas in the tank and I wasn't going to back down. I retook the lead, looked at my watch and I was holding 3:45 per km and coming down the homestretch. People were yelling that I had my sub 10 but I wasn't sure so I held my pace and kept pushing. I was now on Alii drive and pushing myself to the limit, this was it, I rounded the corner and with about 200 meters I could see the clock pumped my fist in the air and crossed the line with nobody else around. Sue, Ty and grandma were waiting for me at the finish and we got some great photos. What a day, what a week! I've really enjoyed writing the blogs this week. I look forward to reading other APTS members race stories in the future.
Thanks
MM
A Great Weekend for APTS Athletes!
In addition to Marc's great performance at Kona, a few other APTS athletes raced very well over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Coach Brian Torrance ran his first marathon in Kelowna today and posted a 2:39:55. He placed first overall and APTS athlete Niall McGrath was chasing behind in second with a 2:43:23. Vince Tejada ran a phenomenal 1:33:54 half marathon and Alex Robson won the 70+ age group with a 1:58:38. Caoch Kevin took 3rd in the half marathon with a 1:16:20. Elsewhere in BC...Shannon Maisano ran a 3:17:55 marathon in Victoria. Tessa Hornbeck followed in 3:31:55. Brian Stewart was running in Chicago and finished in 3:31:12. Great work by all!. Congratulations.
Way to go Marc! What an achievement - incroyable! and a great blog to go with it. Thanks for sharing your week with us.
Congrats Marc....unbelievable time. It is awsome to see you perform your best with the very best in the world.
Chris M
Hey Marc. Sorry, it almost took me a week, but I wanted to say "congrats" as well. It was so exciting to read your race report (and every other blog entry before)! What a peak performance when it matters the most! You rock! Hope you had a couple relaxing days with your family after the race!
Next one to write some stories is Margie from her 70.3 World-Championship-Adventure in Clearwater :-)!
Okay, so it's 1:30 am Nov 6th and I'm lying in bed in Clearwater, Florida wondering why I'm awake....wasn't I really tired when I went to bed at 9pm? Didn't I just spend the last 36 hours wearing myself out - packing, doing a swim workout at 6 am, and a run workout after lunch, taking the redeye to Toronto (losing half a night's sleep) then unpacking, registering, putting bike together, grocery shopping, etc. Could it be that I turned the air-conditioner and fan off before I went to bed last night? No? Hmmm ...so why am I awake? (Roll over, strip all clammy bedclothes off, toss over again). Went to bed early? Check. Bladder empty? Check. Fan's on, and feeling cooler? Check. Lie still then....thoughts wander. WWCD? Yeah. What Would Coach Do? .............
Coach?
Oh no! Coach! APTS! ......The blog! I was supposed to blog! Ah, guilt.......that prickly little fiend.
So here I am guys, 2:30 am and blogging. The things we do for love.....
So yes it was a long day. And night. And day. I planned to arrive at the airport early so if there was any hassle with the bike at least I would have time to sort it out. But things being what they are in the Ritchie household, and what with last minute online bills to pay, reminder notes to boys about watering plants/feeding cat and rabbit/emptying litter boxes (oh, and getting distracted by episodic laughter coming from the boys watching "The Office" downloads) I end up arriving at the Air Canada self-check-in counter exactly 1 hour prior to take off. Only to find in the first attempt a) it won't process my brand new credit card to pay for the bike, and in the second attempt b) I don't have my "US address" to enter into machine to complete the check-in process. Remove computer from bag to look up confirmation email....battery dead. Great. Meanwhile 10 minutes has gone past and there are 4 AC service agents chatting behind their desks oblivious of my predicament. I catch one's eye and she comes over. "Oh yes. US customs want you to give the full address of where you're staying." "But I don't have it". "Well you have to have it". Away she continues on her way to a coffee break. I'm beginning to panic. Phone home - they can look it up on line. Another 10 minutes, 2 phone calls and a lot of unnecessarily wasted heartbeats later, I'm checked in. Deep yoga breath. Relax.
The flight to Toronto is a bit of a blur - drifting in and out of that twilight zone of sleep, being suddenly jolted back into the here and now by a windowseat passenger wanting out to go to the bathroom, and stomach telling me it's really hungry at 2 am Edmonton time (what's that about!?). At the TOR connecting-passenger baggage area, I run into a familiar face and fellow triathlete, James Clark. We strategise about how we'll get all our luggage through to the customs officers. (To pay, or not to pay for a cart, that is the question!). Good thing we are not in a hurry as our bags take about an hour from landing to arrive on the conveyor belt. We clear customs and head for the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge - 3 hours to kill. I decide sleep is probably not going to come at this point, so have a coffee and grab a bite to eat. The woman at the lounge counter told us there were showers here, so I indulge. It's a huge softly-lit tiled room, with all amenities - towels, shampoo, soap, conditioner and a hairdryer. I'm set - a lovely hot shower later and I feel like I can face anything. Bring on Ironman! Having just met James at the APTS Open House 2 days ago, we get acquainted, and compare training notes as we wait.
Tampa is overcast as we land; all luggage arrives safely so I go off to collect my rental car. James has a ride with a friend, so we make a plan to catch up with each other after settling into our accommodation. Gotta love these Americans - turns out a compact-sized car is actually a full-sized SUV! Bike box slides in across the back seat, and I disappear behind the steering wheel. The drive to Clearwater Beach is straight west and I marvel at all the birdlife - pelicans, eagles and herons, as I drive across the causeway. Every second street light along the causeway has a raptor perched atop it, either keeping a beady eye out for a meal, or actually tearing into freshly-caught fish. Note to self - do not park car under street lights. As I figure out what 40mph actually means speedwise and keep to the right lane - the slower lane, I notice a black shadow flip itself up and over in the flat expanse of the bay. What marine life was that - a seal? A small whale? A shark? I am suddenly reminded about why I don't particularly like swimming in the ocean. (Like, why am I competing in this ocean-swimming race?). A few miles on a signpost advertising that dolphins are protected in the area (ah, that's what it was) puts my mind somewhat more at ease. But the reminder, that it's the great unknown out, there is now in my consciousness. I had conveniently put it out of my mind up till now. How did I cope with it in Vancouver? Oh right. No self-respecting shark would be found in 11°C water!
On that cheery note, I am going to retire back to my bed and try to get some more shuteye!
The condo I am staying at is distinctly on the "wrong side" of Clearwater Beach - not a lot of people in this area and the "good beaches" and busy hotel/motel areas are further south, although what constitutes good vs other when it comes to the beaches is very hard to make out - they certainly look the same to me! It's a great condo though, with over 1000 sq feet, nicely appointed, air conditioning, a pool 2 steps from my door and always a spot outside for the car! Couldn't ask for more.
After registering yesterday (a very streamlined process) I did an open water swim on part of the course. It's basically a long thin rectangle out to sea, next to a large pier (Pier 60) on Clearwater Beach. The water is murky - I could not even see my hands in front of me - probably from the very fine white sand on the beaches around here. It was a short swim, just to get a taste (literally!) of the ocean: very salty: similar to Puerto de Mayo in Mallorca, whereas Vancouver in June was pleasantly not very salty. Salt + wetsuit meant it felt like my feet were catching air when I tried to kick.
This morning I walked down to the beach to catch an earlier morning swim. The sun is rising at about 6:30am down here, and as my wave starts at 6:55 I wanted to see what it would be like on the home stretch with the sun in my eyes. The first person I saw was an older woman pulling on a wetsuit, and needing some assistance with doing it up. Turns out it was Sister Madonna Bruder, one of the oldest female triathletes at these races, who was also at my qualifying race at Lake Stevens WA. She headed into the water while I waited to meet up with fellow APTS athletes Mia and James Clark and Laura and Brad McKay. Just as she approached the second buoy about 30m out, a pod of 15-20 dolphins swam by her, noiselessly breaching out in 2's and 3's. They swam parallel to the shore for over a kilometre - pretty special for this wildlife lover.
Of course, being the 70.3 World Championships there are folk from all over the world congregating here and a lot with their families - young and old. What I find quite different from any of the other World Championships I have been to is that there are no "Team Canada" or "Team USA's" etc - no uniforms or country identifiers. It has a completely different feel about it, like being an orphan and not part of a family!
Temps above 25°C today - clear blue sky. Tropical. Now I understand those snowbirds. Despite the humidity dropping from over 90% at night to 50% at midday most days, sweat was pouring down my face at 11am as I went for a short jog, a reminder to drink, drink, drink on the bike before we hit the asphalt in the warmer part of the day. The bike is flat and open, and most of the run has no shade. The part over the causeway is on white light-reflecting concrete: with a warm sunny day predicted for tomorrow I will be slathering on the sunscreen - I already have a sunburn from an hour outside today.
At bike check-in I was lucky enough to have a volunteer with some experience at triathlons. He didn't just point out "you come in there and go out here" as many others were getting from their personal volunteer guide, but walked me through each part of the two transitions: bag pick-up, change tents, looking for landmarks etc. I had already figured out some of these things, but as many of you know, the race site can appear different from day to day leading up to a race, with some chosen "landmarks" disappearing, and new fences going up in places you don't expect, so I found this very helpful. A sea of bikes: around 1500 crammed on to the racks (I have a small bike and it was impossible to hang it on the rack without hooking my back wheel under one neighbour's drops, or my drops on the other neighbour's wheel. A sea of carbon wheels and high end frames - A lot of money has been spent on these machines!
I have a rather early start tomorrow ;-) and I am starting to fade, so I am off to bed.
Great day Margie! I was very impressed with your race. Nice to read your blog as well, hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.
MM
So it has taken me a little time to get my head around writing about the race 3 days ago. I didn't say in my last blog how I was feeling a bit bummed out on going to bed the night before the race. I was a bit depressed firstly by inadvertantly aiding in the demise of a small paraplegic (that's a whole other chapter!) lizard earlier in the afternoon and secondly as I was getting ready to go to bike check-in, I found that my spare tubular tyre did not hold air despite checking it in Edmonton before going. I have been kindly lent some Mavic Cosmic Carbone 650 wheels for my bike by Dr Jose Magathan (many thanks go to Andy T. too for lending his Quintana Roo to try out before I went - I was just not confident enough to try out a new bike with such a long run after the bike) so this was my first experience with tubular tyres. I decided that I would just not have a spare, and hope for good luck! and no flats (besides where would I get a 650c tubular spare from?), but as the night went on I started thinking that it would be silly to have come all this way, spent all this money! and not finish the race just because I didn't have a spare tyre. So race plan A was now race plan B - arrive earlier at transition and see if I could get one from the bike technical assistance tent.
I was up at 4:30am, tried to eat some cereal, but it didn't go down well (really unusual for me - I love my food and can eat at any time). Set off with bags in hand to walk the kilometre to transition in the dark. It was surprisingly warm for 5:15am. Technical assistance DID have a 650 tubular ! so after taping that to the bike, attaching bike shoes and filling the bento box, I took my bag to check-in, donned wetsuit and set off for a good warm up in the ocean. The sun still not up....Not a lot of people were in the water. It was one of the few pre-race tips that had made a lot of sense to me - get in, do some good drills to focus the mind, warm up the muscles and jog their memory! and then do some good easy swimming, followed by some short faster intervals. I felt good, and the water felt good - not too cold, not too warm, and relatively calm.
It was a bit of a hunt trying to find the correct corral for the swim start - weaving one's way in and out of a maze of fenced corrals. It was getting a little lighter, but still no sun above the horizon. I chatted with a few other swimmers, one from Canada - another newbie at this like me. Then the Pro men were off, followed by the Pro women. Now us. Head for the beach - line drawn in the sand with an official trying to get us all to "take a step back from the line!" I found a spot in the middle, away from the cannon blast of the starting gun that I'd been warned about. Then we were off - I ran, and ran, and ran....others were swimming by now, but I kept on running as I had been told the day before - run till you can't! Then dolphin dive. One dive later and I was off - not too fast, steady then pick up the speed a little. There weren't a lot of us (?111) so it thinned out quite quickly. I seemed to keep drifting away from the closer buoys, so I know I swam quite a bit more than 1.9k. "Reach, high elbow, hip switch. Catch that water!" I wasn't too far behind the front of the pack by half way out, but on the way back I seemed to be miles out from the buoy line. I sighted on the buoys that were closer to the beach, decided to "head for the sun!" and kept pushing. This is a race! Move! I kicked harder as the beach came closer, although I couldn't see much into the sun. I think I used my legs more in this race than I have ever done before. My coach Brad's kicking tips put into action....faster! The sea was now choppy with a swell, enough that there were big surges on the crests of some waves, but never a loss of water to catch. Thoughts in my head about "this will soon be over, and you'll be on dry land" "I can catch that person! Strong! Pull! Oh, she's faster than I thought, but she doesn't look it. Oh well, keep going. Do your own thing." Coming into the beach (it seemed to take forever) I kept swimming to the last possible moment - 3 or 4 sand touches by the hands, and I stood. About 10m of ocean to the beach - running wasn't easy, so I waded for some, then up the beach, wetsuit top down. Look at stopwatch - 0:00:00. It never started when I pushed the button at the beginning. Through the water sprayers and then to the strippers - down onto the back. Vroom! Off it comes as 2 young men yank in unison. That was easy! Grab and go. Run to bag, pull it off hook and run to the tent. Empty bag, socks on, racebelt on, then grab helmet. Helper saying "Go, go - I'll put your stuff in the bag!" Off I run, pass a few others, to my bike. Ooops - on other side of rack. Stuff banana in pocket - won't stay, so onto the aerobars it goes.
Out - run past others trying to get on at mount line; they're in the way, faster to run than stop and be in their wobbly path. Ten feet past I jump on bike and off I go, feet on top of shoes. Uh-oh, something's wrong. Brakes rubbing. Pull calipers sideways and wonder if I should stop and adjust them. Fiddle about with them some more, and they seem okay, but I can't really tell anymore. The route goes out immediately to a small humped bridge - hardly enough time to get the blood moving in the legs before they have to push hard. Then a long stretch along the causeway to the main hill - a steep 12% climb up a bridge to the "mainland" and downtown Clearwater. My legs initially feel like weights, so I keep the spin tempo high - "stay aerobic, or you'll have a meltdown later". So off I go, watching the watts every now and then (hmmm, shouldn't they be higher!?) and wondering why this feels so hard after all that training.
At this point I have passed one person - an AWAD athlete on a handbike. This is the last person I will pass for the next 3 hours!! Oh, except for one woman I pass about half way through, who then promptly passes me again. This is what it feels like from the other side of the fence! "How can they go so fast? Maybe they're going out too fast....I'll just do MY thing..... I guess I'm not strong on the bike. This isn't my distance!" I'm glad that I drove some of the course, so I sort of know where I am at this point, but then it takes a few turns I didn't get to, and I lose my sense of direction. There is a constant drip from my chin - by 50 minutes into the race I realise this is NOT water still dripping from my wet hair, but sweat, so I better get drinking even though I just don't feel like it. I munch on the banana that was bumping around on my aerobars - I get banana mush all over my hands, which then turns to stickiness and it's all over the aerobars. Now what do I do with the slimy skin? I rest it on the aerobars but it keeps slipping, so eventually, I have to admit, I dropped it to the side of the road ($100 fine for littering in Clearwater!). My SRM powermeter reads some crazy duration, and the distance numbers are hard to read, so I decide to concentrate on watts instead. They don't look so great.
This bike becomes a bit of a 3-hour blurr. Watching people pass, watching PACKS of people pass - none of whom are trying to not draft. Packs of men mostly (there are 800 men and 400 women in this race) but packs of men with women in them too. They told me about this. They warned us at the athlete orientation, and almost begged people not to. Warned about the penalties. I haven't seen one official on a motorbike yet. Ha! I couldn't draft even if I wanted to! I'm too slow to keep up. I watch them zoom past, group after group. I yell at one "Hey come on guys! Follow the rules!" My voice is lost in their draft. Oh well, at least I'm legal. The bike course is right through the middle of Clearwater and several other towns that abutt it and goes along some of the main 6-lane motorways. I can't believe the numbers of cop cars they have out (there must have been over 300) stationed at every intersection and every side street to stop or direct traffic. It's early Saturday morning, and people are starting to move about the city. We racers usually have one lane on the big roads, marked off by pylons. Cars are whizzing by in the other lanes - quite off-putting at times. There's little wind, and the sun is out. Some one yells out "Way to go Margaret" as they pass by - how did he know my name? Of course, it's on my race number on my back. Nice of him to take the time. I then realise how important all those little encouragements are to people who get passed. Just an acknowledgement that you are in this race with them was great - someone not so self-focussed that they don't notice others. I must say this was the most inwardly focussed race I have ever done - of course there's a lot of time out there alone on the bike to self-reflect! I usually notice everything around me, and try to encourage others. So, knowing there was no hope of being "up there" with the medallers, I plodded along and started to shout encouragements at those passing me. I did notice a small lake to the side of the road at one point, with a beautiful great blue heron standing knee deep in the water, and further on a white egret. Then there's something large and brown lying on the road ahead....what IS that? Oh - an armadillo! Wow...that's a first!
Another pack goes by - then a few more stragglers. An official motorbike pulls up beside me, pillion passenger with pen to paper and squinting at the numbers on the two cyclists in front of me. I yell to them to catch the mob that just passed us. I pass the next penalty tent a few moments later and there is one person in it.
I can't believe how long a mile is - it is so much easier to watch the kilometres pass by than the miles, but this race seems to go on forever. I daren't look at my watch to see how long this has taken. But I do - I'm doing about the same time as Lake Stevens. This is depressing. There were so many hills on that course! (Perhaps I make up a lot of time on the downhills?) So much for having aero wheels!
Heading back into Clearwater I am overtaken by more packs of young men. About 10 minutes later I approach an intersection where there is an ambulance parked across 2 lanes of the route, flashers going and 2 traffic cops trying to direct him. Cars are backed up in all directions. I swerve around the back end of the ambulance to find 4 guys lying and groaning on the road, bikes in all directions. Fortunately the whole road ahead is free of cars, and there is enough room to manoeuvre around them. I guess that's the price you pay when you are in a pack of people you don't know, who probably don't care about you, and may not even know how to ride in a group. I'm happy to be on my own. There are spectators all along this part of the course, trying to get shade under the trees at the sides of the roads. As I approach one group I ham a double-take at a sign they are standing next to. "Oh, a garage sale!" I pretend to veer off course, and get a little laugh from them. I ring my bell (yes, I have a bell) at people who are waving at us as we pass.
Heading back into transition area, we go over the bridge and causeway again. I will be so glad to get off this bike! I see people trudging up the bridge on their run - wonder how many are on their second lap already! Feet out of shoes... After dismount I hand off my bike to a volunteer, and head to my next bag-on-a-peg. Legs feel okay - I can run! Into the tent, and dump contents. Shoes, hat, and bottle belt. Sunscreen sprayed all over by volunteer - I'll sure need this!
Out I go, across the mat, and onto the course. Just keep the feet moving - high turnover. Hey, I'm passing people! A woman goes by me. She's huffing and puffing like at lactate threshold. Yeah, I could probably keep up with her, but probably not a good idea. I wonder if she's on her second lap and feeling good (she better be or she won't be doing that for long). We go over the small hump of a bridge and then head out towards the looming 12% grade bridge. I don't feel good. It's sooo hot. My stomach is queasy. OMG I have to run half a marathon now! This is nuts. I consider having a DNF....I could just stop here; maybe I could just do one lap? No. Just keep going.... think of this as a training run. You don't have to break any records. One foot after the other. Thank goodness for the water stations every mile - cold sponges and water are welcomed at each one. I have to take a pitstop at the second tent; in and out in record time. I feel much better. A smile crosses my face. On through the heat, then the route takes a turn through a lovely ritzy residential area and shade! Keep the turnover going. Lean forward. Try not to slap the ground! (Thanks for the reminders and timely article Bryan L! ). I recognize this area - I rode this part of the course on my bike. What? The turnaround already! This was a cinch. I can do this. I am passing people, lots of people. Feelin' good, da-na-na-na da-na-na. Well, not quite, but I think I am going to finish the race. I'm not going to push this though. I decide that I don't need to carry almost a kilo of water and empty out my bottle on the ground: there's enough aid stations. The bridge doesn't seem as steep - I fall in step with a fellow and we chat. Turns out he is from Ottawa. On the downhill he says he can't keep up, so I continue on. More water stations - I am stopping and walking at each one now, taking in as much of the water as I can and using lots of sponges. I have never walked so much in a race before. One sponge is tucked into the back of my tri top, in the manner of someone else I saw doing it. Great idea! There is a big screen coming up and music blaring. My name appears with "Way to go! Margaret". The woman with the microphone tells us this is the dance portion of the race so I give a little wiggle and a jive.
On to the second lap. That didn't seem so long, but I am really tired now. And this heat is a killer. I make it over the large bridge again and there is huffer lady - she must have come out of transition with me because she is bent over now with a volunteer supporting her. Wow. Thank goodness I didn't try to stay with her! Lap 2 is hotter. After the turn around a woman comes flying by me at lightspeed. I turn to the person beside me and ask her if she thinks she is in the same race as us! She was moving! I see the home stretch, envision the parts of the route I have to cover, and remind myself that there are quite a few curves till the turnoff to the finish. I am ready to be DONE. Keep the focus. Keep the turnover. There's the banner and the mat. 20 metres to go. No. That is not the finish. It's 20m more. The clock says 5:29:09. I laugh to myself. Exactly the same time as Lake Stevens. Oh well - at least I am consistent. I cross the mat, and later realise that I didn't even look up and smile. Thank goodness that is over! That was TOUGH. I don't think I like 70.3's....
After receiving my finisher's medal, hat and towel, I plonked in the shade of a wall. It was only then that I realised that the time on the clock was not my time, but the time since the Pro men started. I could probably take 10 mins off for my time. That's not so bad! At least I might be able to say I have improved!
After a small stretch, and gathering of energy and thoughts, I head off to get my free massage, then grab something to eat. Pizza and oreos do not seem like good post-race food so I stick to bagels and fruit. I don't know anyone, so I sit in the shade next to some S Americans and listen to their babble. I text hubby Bruce to say it was over, and he phones back to tell me they watched me cross the finish on the internet, and he thinks I got 13th in my division; that I was 8th in the swim, and that I improved in all three parts of my race! Wow. How about that. He just made my day!
5:19:18 13/36
Just goes to show you - Never give up. Listen to your body. Have some fun along the way!
And you Ironpeople - my hat's off to you!
Hi Margie,
Just finally read your race report, very entertaining. Congrats on a good race - sounded like you fought your way through it...Being 10min faster than the first Half you did sounds like you are improving lots...so, I think you'll do it again (even if you say you don't like it that much) :-)!
Annett
Hi everyone,
I didn't mean to drop off of the face of the earth so suddenly, it's just been hectic. In fact, Tyla and i have already flown home once and driven a car back down to mexico. Hopefully i will have more tie available with internet soon to fill everyone in on how things are down here and send some awesome pictures.
Coach BL
Congratulations to all the APTS athletes who competed in the 2009 Great White North Half Ironman. Some spectacular finishes for many of our group. Thanks to all those athletes not competing, but still out along the course to support those racing. It makes a huge difference knowing you'll see lots of familiar faces on the sidelines.
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