Milton Try-a-Tri and Guelph Lakes Weekend

Well, it's been an eventful start to the tri season. I started off easy with the Milton try a tri. Wow was it cold. I had to go into the water to stay warm...that's how windy and cold it was. I was feeling pretty confident, assuming all my training would come in handy...especially in the swim. Well, this is apparently the year of the body check swim portion. This was a very physical swim (easy tho compared to Guelph...more on that later), and apparently my time was slow. However, having the timing mat a fair distance from the water didn't help. Apparently I have lost :10 from last year's swim pace. I'm going to have to fix that. Once I was out of the water, I did my usual 'balls out on the bike' method and moved up into 10th overall after the bike. I had a quick transition, and went out on the run feeling fresh (it was only a try-a-tri). It was a very hilly course, and it was all off-road, and with it being a wet day, it was muddy and slippery.

I finished strong at a 4:44 pace, 9th overall and 2nd in my age group. Felt good...a nice easy start to the season, but I know I have to improve my swim.

On to Guelph. This was going to be a busy weekend with the Sprint scheduled for Saturday afternoon, and the Olympic Swim/Bike scheduled for Sunday morning.

The Sprint...SUCKED! The swim was slower than normal, and again very physical. It was tight and I couldn't get into a bilateral breathing rhythm out of fear that I would get kicked or elbowed. I exited the water slow, but Guelph has a stupid long/uphill run to the tranisition area. I wasn't too distressed tho, because I figured that I'd just put in my usual strong bike, and I had hoped for a 4:45/4:40 pace on the run. Boy, was I WAY OFF! the weather was hot and stale, and, unbeknownst to me, my rear brake was pinned to my tire. I knew something was up because I felt like I was dragging the bike tire...I actually thought that I had a flat at one point. Pulling the whole time killed my legs, and with the dry heat, my breathing and hydration was effed. I finished my bike horribly, averaging about a 2:01 pace. I knew I'd have to do something special on the run, but with the heat, that would prove futile.

The run felt long, it was a dry heat with no wind and the temp definitely reached the 'feels like 36' point. I ran about 4:45 for about 750m, but then crashed. When the air dried up, my chest/stomach clenched and I had trouble breathing. At one point I stopped to control it, but all that did was get me through the run. I ended up averaging 5:14 pace, which I was very disappointed with, but no one ran by me, and it turned out that all runners were having the same difficulties with the run. But, even though everyone else was having the same issues, I was still very disappointed with my results. Specifically the bike, as I had spent all week fixing, re-fixing, the re-re-fixing my brakes.

Finally, the end of a long but productive weekend, the Olympic Swim/Bike. I was nervous because this was the first time that I would ever be swimming 1500m. To add to that, the organizers decided to do a mass-start of ALL PARTICIPANTS!!! They organized the swim caps based on individual prospective swim times, but still, all 670 competitors started at the same time. The noise of the water was louder than Niagara Falls, and there was NEVER any space. I had to breathe every other stroke with my head going straight up to ensure I wasn't in danger. Add to that people stopping at the turning buoy, it was a silly swim. One lap down, I was at at 16:35...:10 faster than the pool time from Tuesday. The second lap loosened up a little, but still quite physical as I caught up to people that didn't seed themselves properly. I exited the water at 34:45, and I was very happy with that considering the physical circumstances, and the fact that it was my first 1500m swim. I exited the water, ran up the hill to transition, and began the bike.

I opened up the rear brakes so that they would be as far from the tire as possible, but still function. This made a HUGE difference as I was able to smoothly pedal into a strong head wind for the first half of the bike course. This made me feel good, yet frustrated because I didn't have this smoothness during the sprint, which probably cost me about 5 minutes on my total race time.

I played cat and mouse with a few people, saw some baydogs on the prowl, and enjoyed racing for the full 40KM, which I had never done either. The bike was very smooth, with an average pace of 1:54 and a total time of 1:15. Nathan Brooks (fellow Baydog) caught up to me near the end, and we chatted for a bit, then went our separate ways...him to the run and me to food tent!

In the end, I finished 8th overall (out of 36), and 3rd in my age group. Very productive day/weekend. I wanted to bump up to the full Olympic tri, but I was worried about my legs (I've had a nagging Quad injury for about 1.5 weeks now), so I stuck with the Swim/Bike, and I'm glad I did. After a crappy race on Saturday, the positive results on Sunday made me feel a lot better.

Now I have 4 weeks off. I'm going to be very light/non-existant training this week, go light next week, hard week 3, and then taper week 4 for Gravenhurst Olympic...my first full Olympic. Should be fun!! I get to jump off a boat!

Mississauga Half Marathon and a new P.B.

Untitled by douce77 at Garmin Connect - Details

First off...this was a great race! Great venue, beautiful course, fantastic weather...if I hadn't ran a P.B., I would have still had a great time. But I did run a P.B.! So that made it even better!

All winter long I had been working on my endurance training, so that I could avoid bonking at the 18KM mark. I spent a couple of months (Feb and March) running 15 - 18 KM per week doing the 10:1 method, and did a route that had a lot of hills and a lot of head wind. This was really helpful mentally more than physically I think...because some of the days I was running felt like the worst possible weather ever. Plus I ran with the Baydogs every Tuesday night for 8KM, which helped me with some speed and endurance.

So I went to Mississauga feeling strong and confident, but I was still afraid that I would not be "as good" as I had hoped, and set myself up for a disappointing season. I didn't want to press myself and go too hard, but I still wanted to improve upon my times from the two half marathons last fall. My ultimate goal for a half marathon is a sub 1:40, but I knew that that would more than likely not happen because I hadn't really worked on my speed, just endurance.

I started well...running just below a 5:00 pace, but knew that I would have to push below 5 to make up for the 1:00 rests. My 2nd 10:00 interval was way too fast...as I caught myself running sub 4:40 and forced myself to slow down, but couldn't get slower than 4:45. I was really afraid that this would burn me out later in the race. The hardest part was watching people run ahead of me, and being worried that I wouldn't catch up to them later.

I felt strong throughout the race, knowing that I would get to walk for a minute after pushing myself hard for 10:00. The hills were good...nothing compared to what I was used to training on. The wind off the water was refreshing as it really started to heat up. All in all, the race progressed smoothly. Except for the fact that I had to go to the washroom, but I didn't want to give up time by pulling over to pee.

I was running strong until I came to my wall that is the 16 - 18KM mark. For some reason, no matter what, I hit the wall at this point. On this day, it was the 19KM marker. The good news was that when I hit it, I knew that I had a minute rest coming soon, so I ran it out, walked my minute, then ran hard for the last 1.1 KM.

So I crossed the line with fists in the air; proud of my accomplishment. I beat my former P.B. (1:49 set at Toronto Half), felt great the whole race (except for a little blip where the wall jumped out at me to say hi), I got to meet up with some good Baydog friends in the finish corral, went out with them to Boston Pizza for a great burger and a beer, and went home tired, but very, very happy. My legs and feet may not be so happy today, but I feel great!

Race Season Quickly Approaching!

This time next week I will be enjoying a cold beverage, eating a barbecued steak, and thinking about how well, or how poor, I did in my first race of the season. I'm starting off with the Mississauga half marathon, and I'm planning for it to be my fasted to date (granted, to date is only the 2 I did last fall). I've done a lot of running this winter, more running then I've ever done, and I'm feeling pretty strong. I don't know about the longevity of my pace, but at training last Tuesday night, I was able to push myself pretty strong, running the last couple KMs in the low 4:00s.

My goal for next Sunday is the same goal I've set for myself at Scotiabank Waterfront, and Toronto half marathon - 1:45. This time, I think I can do it. I almost had it at the Toronto half. I've done a lot of long runs this winter, so I'm sure that I can be strong for the whole course. I plan on using all the appropriate pacing tools: Garmin, wristband, bunnies. I'm also going to try the 10 & 1 method of running.

I haven't done a long run in a while, battling a busy coaching schedule, so-so weather, and a general fatigue that has left me drained of a will to train. I've been running every Tuesday night, but that's about it. I also haven't biked in a while because of brake issues and May snow storms.

So, all that being said, here's to the 2010 schedule! Everything I do this year is to get me ready for Muskoka 70.3. I'm not really resting too much before Mississauga (which could prove FATAL!), running and biking this week. In fact, I'm doing a 40+KM bike on Saturday morning, the day before the race. I figure that I need to train my body to bounce back fast, which is why I want to do a long bike before the half, and I'm planning to do the whole Guelph Lake I weekend (Sprint on Saturday, Olympic on Sunday) so that I can learn how to adjust my body when it's fatigued and still perform to the best of my ability.

Hopefully it pays off!

Nice Riding Weather!

Oh if only Mother Nature would smile for us Canadians!! The weather this past week has been fantastic, getting everyone outdoors and breathing in the fresh air. It's been a rather dry winter, and not really that cold, so I was able to get out and run a lot more than I ever have (actually, if I'd gone out once, I would've been out more than I ever have), and now that the roads are dry and the sun is shining with temps in the teens, it's time to bust out the road bike and go for a ride. It was a great day for that, with some wind but nothing serious. The route I normally take out of Barrie is into Innisfil and that normally has me going into the wind or getting a cross wind. It can be tiring, but it is also nice because I can get a good workout from that. I then rode west on cty rd 21 to 56 with a little head wind. Once I turned onto 56 there was no wind and it was smooth sailing. I made my return turn onto the 25th sideroad where there are a lot of rolling hills (really no clear flat stretch at all on the 25th) and like most bike rides that I do, I turned north on cty rd 27 and turn up Mapleton Ave to ride up the Mapleton Hill (1 km up, 11% grade...nice hill to bike up if you want to work on hills). All in all, it was a great day for my first ride of the year, and I hope that the weather stays somewhat nice so that I can get out more often...oh, and the city gets the sweepers out to clean things up a bit!

It's Been Awhile...

I haven't written on here in awhile...so long so that I forgot my password! Here's a quick update on how the winter training is going:

I'm doing a lot more running this winter than I have ever done in any season. This is good news as my running as been a weak point of my triathlons, and I have always hated running as a part of training, going too hard, too fast to try and get the run over with, which then makes me not want to run. I'm working on pacing at the start so that I can finish strong, rather than starting fast and fading at the end.

My swimming has also been a focus of my winter training, although I find it hard to get in the pool on my own when it is cold out. I know that the pool is inside and will be warm, but for some reason, I hate the cold blast that the showers give, and that ends up scaring me away from swimming. I have, however, shaven about 7 seconds off of my avg 100 m pace (was at 2:10, now at around 2:03). That makes me feel good and when the weather gets warmer, I'll be in a better mood to swim (I know, it's funny that I have no problem running outside in whatever temperature, but will not swim inside). I was told of a really good website that will help me do more swimming on my own. It is www.swimplan.com where you can create personalized swim workouts that are geared to your pace and needs.

My bike, surprisingly, has not been a focus this winter. I love cycling, and when I work out I typically only do exercises that I like, but this winter I'm having difficulty getting on my bike. It's just once I'm at home I'm just too tired or lazy to do anything. I did just get the GSC 10 speed/cadence sensor for my bike so that will help motivate me to get on my bike, and also show me how well I am working out, so that's going to help.

All in all, the winter is going well. I have given up drinking beer because it made me too sluggish and was adding some pounds to my winter weight (although I still drink wine, but only a glass every few days). March will be when I really pick up the pace. I'm going to start doing the speed workouts with Kevin O'Neil, and I'll be adding a Monday night spin class to my workout. My biggest fear was over exercising and burning out this winter, but I think I have paced myself well, ensuring that each workout is beneficial, and not just a workout. I've seen overall improvement, so it should be interesting to see how the times improve this summer (which, I expect, there to be a significant improvement).

Cheers for now!

Garmin Forerunner 310XT

The ultimate Garmin for triathletes! I went to the store looking for the Forerunner 305, figuring that was all I need, but gosh darn it, Running Room sold me the 310XT. Not that I'm complaining. So far, I love it. I went for a quick run today despite feeling really crappy (sore throat, runny nose, the whole head cold thing).

So I love the Garmin. I always wondered why people would need one, but the information that you get from it is invaluable. I know when the weather gets nice and I start getting more into running, it is going to really pay off (I hope so...it's freakin' expensive!!). Plus, I can also measure my cycling cadence and power output which is really what I want because I love to bike.

Here is the information that I can get from my new toy:
Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for
short run

down time / R & R

It's weird not doing any serious training, or planning and taking part in races. I just want to keep going strong, but I know my history of over training, and I don't want to burn out in January. I still do a little bit of training to keep myself active (swim a couple of times a week, some indoor cycling, a light run and some weights), but nothing serious. It's nice to just relax and think about the past season, and make plans for the upcoming season. I'm excited about Muskoka 70.3 which I have signed up for, the 3 1/2 marathons I plan to do, trying Olympic distance races, and revisiting all the races I did last year to see how much I can improve from last year. My current (unofficial) schedule for next year is as such:

MAY 16 - MISSISSAUGA 1/2 MARATHON

JUNE 6 - MILTON GIVE-IT-A-TRY (as a warm up for the season)

JUNE 20 - GUELPH OLYMPIC DISTANCE

JULY 4 - HURONIA SPRINT

JULY 17 - GRAVENHURST OLYMPIC DISTANCE

JULY 25 - MUSKOKA LONG COURSE

AUG 8 - BARRIE SPRINT

AUG 22 - ORILLIA SPRINT

SEPT 4 - GUELPH II SPRINT

SEPT 12 - MUSKOKA 70.3

SEPT 26 - WATERFRONT 1/2 MARATHON

OCT 17 - TORONTO 1/2 MARATHON

yup, probably biting off more than I can chew. My goal is to go hard these next few years leading up to my first Ironman, and then after that, just settle in to a routine of races and a 70.3 and Ironman once or every other year.