Friday, May 25, 2012
Portland Rock and Roll Half Marathon
A couple months ago, I was asked if I wanted to do a half marathon and I said, sure, what the heck. Its only 13.1 miles, how hard could it be? I mean, I'm an Ironman, twice over, I should be able to knock out a few less miles, right? Unfortunately, I had been training for sprint distance triathlons so my run volume was a little lacking. I managed to slip in a few longer runs during my training week but the longest was 8 miles and that included many potty stops for my dog; he has a big bladder.
Race day came up quicker than I anticipated and before I knew it, I was picking up my race packet. I met with the folks from Team Refuel they gave me my running shirt....."What's your after?" was on the front. The first thing that comes to mind for after a race is a burger. My body craves protein after a hard effort and all the latest research has shown that chocolate milk is one of the best recovery foods out there and that is what Team Refuel is all about. I learned a little more about the combination of protein and carbohydrates that chocolate mile offers and how it helps to replenish the glycogen your body uses for energy. Sounds easy, its tasty and refreshing, so from my view point, its a slam dunk.
During my trek through the expo, I met another athlete wearing a similar brace to mine. I recognized her from the home page of my brace manufacturer, Allard USA. She has foot drop like I do but she runs a lot faster. Anyway, she was very excited to meet me as she is on a US tour of 20 Rock'n Roll Half Marathons to raise awareness for people with our disability. I immediately identified with her and her plight and offered to help in any way I can. Here is a link to her blog: http://getbackuptoday.blogspot.com/p/about-beth.html
Sunday at oh-dark-thirty, I was up and at 'em, ready to rock (and roll). I parked at Lloyd Center (joking I could always bail in the last two miles and drive to the finish) then rode the Max with a bunch of other athletes. I was wearing my Challenged Athletes Foundation sweatshirt and hat and with my massive blue brace, I had a few people looking at me. One guy asked what the brace was for and being the smart ass I am, I said it was a shin guard because people always kick me...... I did tell him the truth after the look on his face said he actually believed my answer. Sometimes explaining my injury gets old so I will just say I have an ankle injury or something simple. At the 9 mile mark, a guy asked if I had "bad shin splints" and I said, no, I'm disabled and the brace helps me from falling on my face. He said "you don't look disabled" to which I replied, "yeah, I get that a lot", then I upped my pace so I didn't have to answer more questions. At that point in the race, around the 2 hour mark, I had no desire to explain anymore. Its not that I was trying to be a jerk to him but sometimes I get emotional when I talk about it, particularly when I'm two hours into a race with a ways to go.
Things went very well. I was pacing myself to run at least 10K before I walked at all, however, the long, gradual hill on Hawthorne was a little much so I walked sooner than I wanted. I had a salt packet and foolishly (oxygen debt?) I ingested some before I got to the next water station. I won't do that again. I probably didn't need it but I did not want to cramp as I had a goal to meet. The bands along the way were great, although the DJ at the top of Hawthorne probably didn't need to have his music that loud, my ears still hurt. It was a great course and running along the Hawthorne and Steel Bridges was very cool. The finishing straight was LONG. I walked for a minute or so after getting off the bridge because I wanted to save some energy for running the final 1K. I looked at my watch and figured I had time to make my goal but I think the world starting spinning faster because before I knew it, my goal time was there. I upped my pace, ignoring the pain in my big toe and my shin (my AFO brace rubs on it), and crossed the line. I forgot to stop my watch right away but when I did, it read 2:47.
My goal for the race was 2:45. I was with the pace guy for the 2:30 group for 6 miles but with the long trek up Hawthorne, I lost him. I came in at 2:46.10 but I am going to say I had 2:44 and change due to the fact that I was stopped twice by the PD while they let some cars go across the course and the minute or so I talked to the paramedics, trying to get some Vaseline for my sensitive, chafed non-runner nipples. Either way, my time was a PR for me. Although I had never done the distance as a stand alone run, but I had done 3 half iron distance events in the past, the fastest 13.1 being 3:10, the slowest was 4:06 which was 2 years to the day after my injury, so I was very happy with the time.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Triathlon Canada High Performance Paratri Training Camp, 2012
I was lucky enough to be invited to the first training camp of its kind for Tri Canada, the winter paratriathlon training camp in Clermont FL. We were sent the schedule a couple of weeks prior to the camp and the volume was huge. Approximately 33 hours of training for me, over 7.5 days, including 30,000 yards of swimming, 15+ hours of riding, and 4.5 hours of running. I was very excited about attending the camp and spending my time doing all the training with no other distractions.
I arrived at the Orlando airport the night before camp was to start and after a night at the Kissimmee FL Ho Jo's, I was picked up by our coach Vince, and a representative from Tri Canada, Larry McMahon. Larry's son, Brent, is one of Canada's elite triathletes and may be representing Canada at the London games this year.
We stopped at Panda Express because the boys were hungry. We had a run scheduled later in the day and I needed some calories so I joined in. I shouldn't have. We stopped at Walmart, shopped for the basics of food, got to our rental, unloaded then suited up for a run.
We were only scheduled for 30-40 minutes easy but we got talking and I ended up going out a lot faster than I was used to and as I said earlier, I shouldn't have eaten at Panda. My gut started acting up about 2 miles in and I stopped a couple of times because I thought I was going to barf..... TMI? Anyway, our time was about 35 minutes but that included a little walking to shake the feeling I had.
After the run, we had dinner, talked a little about the camp, and then headed to bed. Another athlete came in later that night, Grant, an above the knee amputee, who I have known since my first World Championships in 2008.
Day 2 was a late start due to Grant's late arrival. We were on the slate to swim in the morning and ride in the afternoon. We checked into the National Training Center in Clermont and did a 3000m long course swim. I had not been in a 50m pool for many years and I was really looking forward to it. At least I was until mid way through the swim when I started getting very fatigued. My longest swim in a couple of years was 2000m and usually I do a main set of 3-4x250m with a warm up and cool down. This swim was 800m warm up, 800m drills (I learned a few things about my stroke that were very helpful), 8x100m, and 400m cool down. Arms were BEAT! Shoulders a little sore but nothing really bad.
After swim we had lunch, loaded up our bikes, and headed to Lake Lousia State park. The roads there are very quiet and we were able to do 45km doing 5 laps. It has a couple of hills but very short and not very steep but it was a good first time out for Grant and Vince, neither of who had an out door ride for a while.
We had a great dinner courtesy of Vince and a glass of wine to celebrate the first full day of camp. Afterwards I regretted having the wine because I did not sleep very well considering the workouts we had for the day.
Day 3 was an early start as we had 3 workouts scheduled. We were on our bikes at the NTC by 845am and headed to Lake Minneola. We had about 35 minutes on the road before we started our intervals. 10 x 1 minute with 1 minute rest. After that, we had about a 10 minute rest and did 6 more intervals. That took a lot out of me and we had a steady 5-7 minute climb to finish off to get back to the NTC. As soon as we were off the bikes, we headed in for another 3000m swim. This one was painful for me. It took the entire warm up for my shoulders to loosen up. I do not ever recall feeling this bad from swimming. Our swim set today, 800m warm up with 300m easy, 100m hard times 2. Our main set today, 40x50m. 16x50m on 55 seconds, 3 easy, 1 hard. 12x50m on 60 seconds, 2 easy, 1 hard. 8x50m 1 easy 1 hard. 4x50m all hard. Ouch. My 200m cool down was almost entirely on my back kicking as my arms had nothing left. After an extra long shower we went home for lunch and waited for the arrival of our last athlete, Jenny, from Ottawa. We had a couple hours off before our run which was an easy 40 min with 6x100m strides at the end.
I made it through day 3 and am looking forward to tomorrow: Swim in the morning, 3500m, a track run session for 55 minutes, then an hour on the bike to cool down. I have never done a track workout before so this should be fun.
As my boy Vince says, 'a demain'. Until tomorrow.
I arrived at the Orlando airport the night before camp was to start and after a night at the Kissimmee FL Ho Jo's, I was picked up by our coach Vince, and a representative from Tri Canada, Larry McMahon. Larry's son, Brent, is one of Canada's elite triathletes and may be representing Canada at the London games this year.
We stopped at Panda Express because the boys were hungry. We had a run scheduled later in the day and I needed some calories so I joined in. I shouldn't have. We stopped at Walmart, shopped for the basics of food, got to our rental, unloaded then suited up for a run.
We were only scheduled for 30-40 minutes easy but we got talking and I ended up going out a lot faster than I was used to and as I said earlier, I shouldn't have eaten at Panda. My gut started acting up about 2 miles in and I stopped a couple of times because I thought I was going to barf..... TMI? Anyway, our time was about 35 minutes but that included a little walking to shake the feeling I had.
After the run, we had dinner, talked a little about the camp, and then headed to bed. Another athlete came in later that night, Grant, an above the knee amputee, who I have known since my first World Championships in 2008.
Day 2 was a late start due to Grant's late arrival. We were on the slate to swim in the morning and ride in the afternoon. We checked into the National Training Center in Clermont and did a 3000m long course swim. I had not been in a 50m pool for many years and I was really looking forward to it. At least I was until mid way through the swim when I started getting very fatigued. My longest swim in a couple of years was 2000m and usually I do a main set of 3-4x250m with a warm up and cool down. This swim was 800m warm up, 800m drills (I learned a few things about my stroke that were very helpful), 8x100m, and 400m cool down. Arms were BEAT! Shoulders a little sore but nothing really bad.
After swim we had lunch, loaded up our bikes, and headed to Lake Lousia State park. The roads there are very quiet and we were able to do 45km doing 5 laps. It has a couple of hills but very short and not very steep but it was a good first time out for Grant and Vince, neither of who had an out door ride for a while.
We had a great dinner courtesy of Vince and a glass of wine to celebrate the first full day of camp. Afterwards I regretted having the wine because I did not sleep very well considering the workouts we had for the day.
Day 3 was an early start as we had 3 workouts scheduled. We were on our bikes at the NTC by 845am and headed to Lake Minneola. We had about 35 minutes on the road before we started our intervals. 10 x 1 minute with 1 minute rest. After that, we had about a 10 minute rest and did 6 more intervals. That took a lot out of me and we had a steady 5-7 minute climb to finish off to get back to the NTC. As soon as we were off the bikes, we headed in for another 3000m swim. This one was painful for me. It took the entire warm up for my shoulders to loosen up. I do not ever recall feeling this bad from swimming. Our swim set today, 800m warm up with 300m easy, 100m hard times 2. Our main set today, 40x50m. 16x50m on 55 seconds, 3 easy, 1 hard. 12x50m on 60 seconds, 2 easy, 1 hard. 8x50m 1 easy 1 hard. 4x50m all hard. Ouch. My 200m cool down was almost entirely on my back kicking as my arms had nothing left. After an extra long shower we went home for lunch and waited for the arrival of our last athlete, Jenny, from Ottawa. We had a couple hours off before our run which was an easy 40 min with 6x100m strides at the end.
I made it through day 3 and am looking forward to tomorrow: Swim in the morning, 3500m, a track run session for 55 minutes, then an hour on the bike to cool down. I have never done a track workout before so this should be fun.
As my boy Vince says, 'a demain'. Until tomorrow.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Canadian Para-Cycling Nationals 2011
Every year I say I will update more often.....It doesn't happen so here is one from last season.
My first experience in Paracycling at the national level was an eye opener. There are some very good cyclists out there with varying disabilities and it was an honour to compete with them.
The time trial was a new experience. I looked at the course before I registered and I knew I was in for a hilly course. I opted not to bring my TT bike and figured I would fair better with my road bike and clip on aero bars. I knew I was going to have a different seat position for the TT as there are UCI standards with regards to seat/bottom bracket measurements but I did not know about aero bar standards. Lesson number 1 was learning that the aero bars had to be lower than the saddle. When I arrived at the TT area, the CCA referees were available to do a bike check. My saddle was within the rules but my aero bars were quite far above the saddle level. They are the hockey stick bend type and stuck up at least 3 inches beyond the legal limit. Thankfully I had almost 2 hours before I was off so I tried flipping my stem and went back for another measurement. They were still about an inch above the legal limit. I was running out of time so I just yanked them off and did my warm up. I talked to Steve Burke, a coach out of Calgary, and he said with what I had, I should be about as aero as I could be in the drops versus the aero bars the way I had it set up anyway. I rolled up to the start line and found out I was going to have at least 20 minutes as they were behind. I could have used that time to work out the aero bar situation but I used it instead to warm up.
I felt good, I felt ready, I had an aero helmet, a disk, and an aero front wheel so I had all I needed minus the aero bars. They juggled the order and before I knew it I was off. They had a start house with a ramp. Something I had not used before but as a mountain biker, coming down a hill wasn’t a problem. Seconds before I started I realized I was in my small ring but it was too late. I hit the ramp, rubber met the road, and I was off. 10 meters from the ramp, a guy walked in front of me, looking up the road, and I screamed at him, “coming through, move, move”. He didn’t even flinch, just went about his business. I went past him and went about the task at hand.
After the start, it’s at least a 2km climb, stair stepping up between 2-4%. I saw my 1 minute guy and said, “That’s my carrot”. I hit a big bump in the road and felt the nose of my saddle tilt down. Since I was still climbing, it was not bad enough to distract me so I left it.
After the first climb, it was rolling downhill, not very steep but I managed to maintain a decent speed. I had to stop pedaling a couple of times to pull the front of the saddle up but each time I leaned forward to try and get more aero, it would tilt down again.. As I hit the first turn, I was concentrating on catching the next rider in front of me. Around half way to the next turn (it was a rectangle), I was passed by the guy that started a minute behind me. I tried to chase him down but on the rolling terrain, I was unable to maintain the same speed as him and he pulled away. I managed to catch and pass my minute guy just before the second turn. As soon as I made that turn, the course went up and seemed to go up for a long time.
I heard a disk wheel coming up behind me, nothing else that sounds like that. A Quebec rider went past me like I was standing still. I didn’t know him but he had all his limbs so I figured he was their one C5 rider, not in my category. The climb kicked up and my pace slowed down and the rider I had passed came around me. I upped my pace again and went to go around him but he seemed to speed up and I was unable to pass him on the climb. I didn’t want to get a drafting penalty so I backed off and settled in 5 meters behind, off to the side.
The saddle kept moving and seemed to be tilting down easier. I finally gave up on pulling it back to level. I wanted to up my cadence so I shifted from my big chain ring to the small on one of the steeper pitches and my chain locked up. I still had momentum so I was able to try and work the cranks but I quickly had to stop and unclick from the pedals and get my chain back on. When you’re in the middle of a race and you have stopped for a mechanical, time seems to go faster. I don’t know how much time I lost but at the end of the day/race, I don’t know that it would have moved me up to 3rd.
I got going again and up over the last part of the steepest section of the climb and spotted my carrot again. He was on a flat section and I upped my pace again to make the pass. With about 2 km to go, I went by and kept my speed high all the way through the finish line.
By the finish line, my saddle was pointing so far down I wasn’t able to sit on it. I heard the race announcer say my time, 28:55. I was pleased with it but knew I would have been faster without mechanicals but that’s racing. Anything can happen and well, to me, it did. No sense crying over spilled milk, I had another race to get ready for. The road race was two days away.
Road Race
The day after the TT I went out for a couple of laps on the road course and do some openers. The course was a rectangle like the TT course but flat for the most part. On the back straight it was a false flat but it was very slight.
On race day, I went out a couple of hours early and went for a few miles with some others from Team BC. We talked a little strategy since it was us three against the three from Quebec. No other provinces were represented. It was going to be tough. Two of the three QC riders were already on the national team and had done this dance before at World Cup events and the World Championships. We were supposed to get matching jersey’s for our BC riders but the jersey was too small for me so I was able to wear my Project London kit.
The race was started late because the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) hadn’t shown up yet. This seemed to be the way things were going with the event so far. I wondered if the elites and U23’s had issues the week before.
The tandems were off five minutes or so before us, then it was our turn to start our 72km. Right away, the pace was pretty high. One of my BC teammates was pushing the pace til he realized no one else was behind him then he slowed. About half way through the first lap, one of the QC riders tried a break but I think it was just a test to see the reaction. Each QC rider was sitting on one of us. If they saw no reaction, the rest would take off. This is how it went for about 20km.
Just before the start/finish line, the pace went up to the 27-28mph range. I tried to get on the last guy’s wheel but I wasn’t able to hold it and I got gapped. It wasn’t substantial at first but it was enough, into the headwind, that I slowly fell further behind. I waved the referee and neutral cars past me. When the neutral car got alongside, it was the CCA development coach, and he told me I would catch back on, so I tried to swing around behind him for a draft but he wasn’t having any of that, and I was again caught out in the wind.
We turned the corner and I could see them slowing. We rounded corner two, and I was sure I was going to get back on but luck was having a laugh that day and it was not meant to be. My steering felt kind of funny and I looked down to find a flat front tire. I got off, quickly removed the wheel and held it up (saw that on the Tour de France, I thought I was so pro) as the next set of riders, the men’s tandems, went by me. I didn’t even get a second look from their neutral support, they went flying by. The second group of tandems, the women’s field, went by and I got a shoulder shrug from their neutral support guy. Finally, at least 7 minutes after I had stopped, the C1-3 group went by and my old buddy, Steve Burke from Calgary went by as the neutral driver. He went by but realized it was me and he jammed on his brakes and reversed, ran out and got me a wheel. I looked at my watch and figured I was about 13 minutes down and I would get lapped within a short time and be pulled anyway, so I threw my bike in the back and got in the van.
Sure enough, after I was dropped at the start/finish, my group rolled through only a few minutes later. I felt lousy for my DNF but it was a learning experience. Yes, I could have taken the wheel and stayed out there, likely on my own for 53km but my reason for being there was to try and take home a win or at least podium and that wasn’t going to happen after my flat. I still have a lot to learn about bike racing. There are times when I think that if I had to swim before a bike race, I would do better (that’s the tri-geek in me). You can’t prevent mechanical problems and sometimes stuff just happens but I’m going to make sure I do all I can to ensure it happens less often or not at all in the future.
Thank you to Project London, Rubicon Orbea, Speedplay Pedals, Chamois Butt’r, First Endurance, 2XU, and Challenged Athletes Foundation, for helping me get to Toronto so I could compete at Nationals. Without you, this journey would be a whole lot tougher.
My first experience in Paracycling at the national level was an eye opener. There are some very good cyclists out there with varying disabilities and it was an honour to compete with them.
The time trial was a new experience. I looked at the course before I registered and I knew I was in for a hilly course. I opted not to bring my TT bike and figured I would fair better with my road bike and clip on aero bars. I knew I was going to have a different seat position for the TT as there are UCI standards with regards to seat/bottom bracket measurements but I did not know about aero bar standards. Lesson number 1 was learning that the aero bars had to be lower than the saddle. When I arrived at the TT area, the CCA referees were available to do a bike check. My saddle was within the rules but my aero bars were quite far above the saddle level. They are the hockey stick bend type and stuck up at least 3 inches beyond the legal limit. Thankfully I had almost 2 hours before I was off so I tried flipping my stem and went back for another measurement. They were still about an inch above the legal limit. I was running out of time so I just yanked them off and did my warm up. I talked to Steve Burke, a coach out of Calgary, and he said with what I had, I should be about as aero as I could be in the drops versus the aero bars the way I had it set up anyway. I rolled up to the start line and found out I was going to have at least 20 minutes as they were behind. I could have used that time to work out the aero bar situation but I used it instead to warm up.
I felt good, I felt ready, I had an aero helmet, a disk, and an aero front wheel so I had all I needed minus the aero bars. They juggled the order and before I knew it I was off. They had a start house with a ramp. Something I had not used before but as a mountain biker, coming down a hill wasn’t a problem. Seconds before I started I realized I was in my small ring but it was too late. I hit the ramp, rubber met the road, and I was off. 10 meters from the ramp, a guy walked in front of me, looking up the road, and I screamed at him, “coming through, move, move”. He didn’t even flinch, just went about his business. I went past him and went about the task at hand.
After the start, it’s at least a 2km climb, stair stepping up between 2-4%. I saw my 1 minute guy and said, “That’s my carrot”. I hit a big bump in the road and felt the nose of my saddle tilt down. Since I was still climbing, it was not bad enough to distract me so I left it.
After the first climb, it was rolling downhill, not very steep but I managed to maintain a decent speed. I had to stop pedaling a couple of times to pull the front of the saddle up but each time I leaned forward to try and get more aero, it would tilt down again.. As I hit the first turn, I was concentrating on catching the next rider in front of me. Around half way to the next turn (it was a rectangle), I was passed by the guy that started a minute behind me. I tried to chase him down but on the rolling terrain, I was unable to maintain the same speed as him and he pulled away. I managed to catch and pass my minute guy just before the second turn. As soon as I made that turn, the course went up and seemed to go up for a long time.
I heard a disk wheel coming up behind me, nothing else that sounds like that. A Quebec rider went past me like I was standing still. I didn’t know him but he had all his limbs so I figured he was their one C5 rider, not in my category. The climb kicked up and my pace slowed down and the rider I had passed came around me. I upped my pace again and went to go around him but he seemed to speed up and I was unable to pass him on the climb. I didn’t want to get a drafting penalty so I backed off and settled in 5 meters behind, off to the side.
The saddle kept moving and seemed to be tilting down easier. I finally gave up on pulling it back to level. I wanted to up my cadence so I shifted from my big chain ring to the small on one of the steeper pitches and my chain locked up. I still had momentum so I was able to try and work the cranks but I quickly had to stop and unclick from the pedals and get my chain back on. When you’re in the middle of a race and you have stopped for a mechanical, time seems to go faster. I don’t know how much time I lost but at the end of the day/race, I don’t know that it would have moved me up to 3rd.
I got going again and up over the last part of the steepest section of the climb and spotted my carrot again. He was on a flat section and I upped my pace again to make the pass. With about 2 km to go, I went by and kept my speed high all the way through the finish line.
By the finish line, my saddle was pointing so far down I wasn’t able to sit on it. I heard the race announcer say my time, 28:55. I was pleased with it but knew I would have been faster without mechanicals but that’s racing. Anything can happen and well, to me, it did. No sense crying over spilled milk, I had another race to get ready for. The road race was two days away.
Road Race
The day after the TT I went out for a couple of laps on the road course and do some openers. The course was a rectangle like the TT course but flat for the most part. On the back straight it was a false flat but it was very slight.
On race day, I went out a couple of hours early and went for a few miles with some others from Team BC. We talked a little strategy since it was us three against the three from Quebec. No other provinces were represented. It was going to be tough. Two of the three QC riders were already on the national team and had done this dance before at World Cup events and the World Championships. We were supposed to get matching jersey’s for our BC riders but the jersey was too small for me so I was able to wear my Project London kit.
The race was started late because the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) hadn’t shown up yet. This seemed to be the way things were going with the event so far. I wondered if the elites and U23’s had issues the week before.
The tandems were off five minutes or so before us, then it was our turn to start our 72km. Right away, the pace was pretty high. One of my BC teammates was pushing the pace til he realized no one else was behind him then he slowed. About half way through the first lap, one of the QC riders tried a break but I think it was just a test to see the reaction. Each QC rider was sitting on one of us. If they saw no reaction, the rest would take off. This is how it went for about 20km.
Just before the start/finish line, the pace went up to the 27-28mph range. I tried to get on the last guy’s wheel but I wasn’t able to hold it and I got gapped. It wasn’t substantial at first but it was enough, into the headwind, that I slowly fell further behind. I waved the referee and neutral cars past me. When the neutral car got alongside, it was the CCA development coach, and he told me I would catch back on, so I tried to swing around behind him for a draft but he wasn’t having any of that, and I was again caught out in the wind.
We turned the corner and I could see them slowing. We rounded corner two, and I was sure I was going to get back on but luck was having a laugh that day and it was not meant to be. My steering felt kind of funny and I looked down to find a flat front tire. I got off, quickly removed the wheel and held it up (saw that on the Tour de France, I thought I was so pro) as the next set of riders, the men’s tandems, went by me. I didn’t even get a second look from their neutral support, they went flying by. The second group of tandems, the women’s field, went by and I got a shoulder shrug from their neutral support guy. Finally, at least 7 minutes after I had stopped, the C1-3 group went by and my old buddy, Steve Burke from Calgary went by as the neutral driver. He went by but realized it was me and he jammed on his brakes and reversed, ran out and got me a wheel. I looked at my watch and figured I was about 13 minutes down and I would get lapped within a short time and be pulled anyway, so I threw my bike in the back and got in the van.
Sure enough, after I was dropped at the start/finish, my group rolled through only a few minutes later. I felt lousy for my DNF but it was a learning experience. Yes, I could have taken the wheel and stayed out there, likely on my own for 53km but my reason for being there was to try and take home a win or at least podium and that wasn’t going to happen after my flat. I still have a lot to learn about bike racing. There are times when I think that if I had to swim before a bike race, I would do better (that’s the tri-geek in me). You can’t prevent mechanical problems and sometimes stuff just happens but I’m going to make sure I do all I can to ensure it happens less often or not at all in the future.
Thank you to Project London, Rubicon Orbea, Speedplay Pedals, Chamois Butt’r, First Endurance, 2XU, and Challenged Athletes Foundation, for helping me get to Toronto so I could compete at Nationals. Without you, this journey would be a whole lot tougher.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Defi Sportif 2011
In the weeks before my first UCI race, I went from nervous to calm and back to nervous again. I knew that some of the athletes I would be competing against race Cat 2 on the road. I knew there were some National and World Champs in the mix. After reassuring myself, knowing I had a great coach who had prepared me well, and the fact that I have a decent pedigree in triathlon, I felt better.
TT Race day: I arrived at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal about 5 hours before my race. I wanted to get an idea of what I was in for. I took a few easy laps and felt great. The course had a long straight section with a wicked headwind. As race time got closer, the butterflies came back. I chatted with a few people as they arrived, ate my lunch, and checked in for the race. As I wandered around, I ran into a few familiar faces. Two of the guys I knew are paratriathletes from Quebec that I went to Budapest with. They were also doing the TT but on their handcycles. I saw one of the few UCI classifiers in the world who happens to be from my home province of BC. She was going to do my technical evaluation while I did my TT. I also met a couple of the US National Paracycling Team that I knew via Twitter. Social media is awesome!
I was hanging out by the registration tent and a guy rolls up in a Guinness kit. The only place I had seen that kit was Portland, so I introduced myself. Turns out Mark Gyulafia is from Portland, is a Cat 2, and works at River City Bicycles. I had no idea there was another paracyclist in Portland. Looks like we might be doing some rides together.
Anyway, race time rolls around, with riders off every minute. I started right behind a Colombian, an above the elbow amputee, and right in front of a fellow Canuck. My two minute guy was US National Team member, Sam Kavanagh. He is in my paracycling category, C4, but he's a Cat 2 (I'm a Cat 5). I had two goals, not to get passed by my one minute guy, and catch the guy in front of me. I achieved both goals, however, I was passed by Sam towards the end of my last lap. The headwind on the long straight had turned into a tailwind which made my first lap approximately 7 minutes. The headwind caught up with us at the only elevation on the course. My speed never dropped below 20mph which was another small goal of mine. It turns out, during my first lap, I took the wrong lane, and it might have been a little longer than it should have been since my second lap was 6:30.
I was very happy with my performance. I finished the 17.6 KM in 26:53, averaging 39.27 kph, which is 97.68% of the national standard. All of the times were compared to the national standard and listed on the results in the order of highest percentage instead of the time. I finished 6th in my category, 18th overall, which was not where I wanted to be but not much I could do, I had the road race to think about. The winner was Sam, who started two minutes behind me. He's a fast kid.
The road race was a little more stressful for me as I had not done many prior to this. All 23 riders, regardless of classification, were racing together. The C1, 2, and 3's were doing 11 laps and the 4's and 5's had to do 15 laps. The first lap was pretty slow and we only hit 20 mph because of a tail wind. The next five laps were like a typical Tuesday night 4/5 race at PIR. Every time someone took a flyer, everyone would chase it down. The peleton yo-yo'd every time but I hung on. The advice from Coach Abers was to stay at the front so when the accelerations came, i could drift back but still have wheels to follow, then make my way closer to the front again. The US National team worked well together and every time I tried to grab a wheel belonging to a red, white, and blue jersey, i would lose it because they would open up a spot for that person to come in. At the end of lap 8, after going around the 180 degree turn near the start finish, the speed went from 15 mph up to 32 mph. I was caught without a wheel to follow and was quickly gapped. I tried to chase but even at 30mph, I couldn't get back on. I slowed to a more manageable speed and was able to catch another rider that was dropped and we worked together for the next two laps. Since he was a C2, he had to do less laps than I did but I did get him for one extra lap as the officials forgot to pull him after his 11th lap. I did the last two laps on my own and finished with an average of 23 mph.
Overall, I was happy with my performances on the weekend. I had a PR for my TT average speed and I felt that I did well in the road race, considering I had not done any road races other than PIR. I had a good chat with the National Team Development Coach, and I know what I need to do to achieve my goal of being a team member. With the coach I have and my desire to succeed, I think my chances are good.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
"The first-a rule of Italian driving........
.........what's-a behind me, is not important". My favourite line from the movie, The Gumball Rally (1976). Right as he is saying that, the driver rips the rear-view mirror off and tosses it out the window.
I was-a thinking about that as I was taking my first ride with my new coach, Brian. We were talking about training, his philosophies, power meters, etc, and he said, you can have all that data (ie looking in the rear-view mirror) but the only important thing is when you cross the finish line. It's not whats on the computer on your bars or stem. It's not how many watts you're putting out. It's not how many beats per minute your heart is pumping. It is only about when you cross the finish line compared to the other guys.
It is not that he is against having that data, actually, he would like as much input as possible, its just that he feels there are more important things on race day. Having said that, I cannot wait to get a power meter. I'm anxious to find out how many watts I actually put out during a 20k TT or triathlon. I feel like I'm hammering, putting out huge numbers but I am betting that its not as big as I think. I am working on a product sponsorship or pro deal from one of the companies that makes power meters but as of yet, no answer. Worst case scenario, I borrow one for a few rides to find out what my 1.5 legs are capable of.
We are working on some strength training ideas too. When I did my initial evaluation with the strength coach, my leg strength and balance were not that great. I'm a little worried about lifting on my own without a spotter, especially with the squat. The overhead press and dead-lifts should not be too bad though.
I'm in for a wild ride for the next few months. I know I will make some positive changes in my riding. The first TT of the season will be Jack Frost in February, somewhere between 20-24KM. This will give me an idea of how well my training is going. Usually when I do Jack Frost TT, I am not as prepared as I plan on being for the 2011 edition. After that, my next test will be at the end of April in Montreal, at Defi Sportif. There will be a road race, a TT, and a crit, and this will be my first time competing in paracycling and my first opportunity to obtain UCI points.
I'm very excited and nervous about the upcoming season. I know I'm not getting any younger but I'm determined to work hard. Although I have represented Canada in international competition, my goal is to be fitter, stronger, and faster as a paracyclist than I have been as a paratriathlete, and proudly represent the red and white in London in 2012.
I was-a thinking about that as I was taking my first ride with my new coach, Brian. We were talking about training, his philosophies, power meters, etc, and he said, you can have all that data (ie looking in the rear-view mirror) but the only important thing is when you cross the finish line. It's not whats on the computer on your bars or stem. It's not how many watts you're putting out. It's not how many beats per minute your heart is pumping. It is only about when you cross the finish line compared to the other guys.
It is not that he is against having that data, actually, he would like as much input as possible, its just that he feels there are more important things on race day. Having said that, I cannot wait to get a power meter. I'm anxious to find out how many watts I actually put out during a 20k TT or triathlon. I feel like I'm hammering, putting out huge numbers but I am betting that its not as big as I think. I am working on a product sponsorship or pro deal from one of the companies that makes power meters but as of yet, no answer. Worst case scenario, I borrow one for a few rides to find out what my 1.5 legs are capable of.
We are working on some strength training ideas too. When I did my initial evaluation with the strength coach, my leg strength and balance were not that great. I'm a little worried about lifting on my own without a spotter, especially with the squat. The overhead press and dead-lifts should not be too bad though.
I'm in for a wild ride for the next few months. I know I will make some positive changes in my riding. The first TT of the season will be Jack Frost in February, somewhere between 20-24KM. This will give me an idea of how well my training is going. Usually when I do Jack Frost TT, I am not as prepared as I plan on being for the 2011 edition. After that, my next test will be at the end of April in Montreal, at Defi Sportif. There will be a road race, a TT, and a crit, and this will be my first time competing in paracycling and my first opportunity to obtain UCI points.
I'm very excited and nervous about the upcoming season. I know I'm not getting any younger but I'm determined to work hard. Although I have represented Canada in international competition, my goal is to be fitter, stronger, and faster as a paracyclist than I have been as a paratriathlete, and proudly represent the red and white in London in 2012.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Budapest World Championships Race Report
Budapest World Championships Race Report
After a short training camp with some very cool and inspirational people, all with different stories, I was very ready to race on Sept. 11, 2010.
My alarm was set for 0400 but I was awake at 0300. I lay in bed thinking about what I had to do. I was pretty much finished my preparation and only needed to mix my morning breakfast drink and get my kit on.
We met in the lobby at 0445 and had cabs waiting for us. When we got outside, it was drizzling a little. Enough to be called rain I suppose but what could we do, it was race day and as I have been saying, “it is what it is”. We were dropped off right at the entrance to the Expo/transition area and had a 200m walk to the main transition area.
Wandering through massive puddles and muddy grass, we finally arrived at our bikes and began the prep to get our T1 and T2 gear ready. I brought two large bags from the hotel and they were very handy. I asked the nearest ITU person if my ‘handler’ would be able to get my gear out of my bag for me after I finished each leg of my race and was told normally no, but today, yes. By this time it was full on pouring too, making our wet transition area even soupier.
I could not find my handler, MC, who said she would be at the TZ by 0530. I was getting antsy so I asked our coach, Carly, to help me find someone. I feel bad that I cannot remember his name but he was an ex-pat Brit. I told him my needs and everything was in order. I only needed him to yank off my wetsuit and then pull my gear out of the plastic bag so I could transition with somewhat drier gear. There’s nothing like pulling on wet shoes.
I was already soaked so I just got my wetsuit on and put my jacket and shirt into a plastic bag and began the 100m trek to the start of the swim. My helper was right next to me the whole way. I looked at my watch to see that I had only 15 minutes to the start and I debated making a short trip to the porta-potty. I quickly decided that it was probably a good idea and I ran over, unzipped my wetsuit, and did what I needed. As I was walking back toward the start, I pulled my wetsuit zipper up on my own (before, my helper did it for me). This would come back to bite me as I exited the water.
I went down to the pontoon for the start. We would have a deep water start so I was kind of bummed that we couldn’t dive in but I guess some of the para’s wouldn't be able to. I sat down next to my team mate, Kimberly, gave her a hug, wished her luck, and slipped into the water……DAMN it was cold! I only had a short sleeve suit. I had been in colder water with that suit but I knew it was going to be a torturous 13-15 minutes.
They counted us down from 2 minutes every 30 seconds or so and before I knew it, 87 paratriathletes were off. Man, there are some fast swimmers in the paratriathlete division. A couple times I felt someone pulling on my thigh and hitting my feet, probably trying to draft me, but either they went around me or I dropped them. Either way, after the first turn, I had free water.
I finished the swim in under 14 minutes but by the time I cleared the water and hit the timing mat, it was an even 14. I was happy with that but not ecstatic. I sort of “gorilla hopped” (to me, somewhat sideways with my weak leg to the back) to T1. As I was running, I was attempting to undo my wetsuit zipper. Apparently, my tri-top zipper lanyard was stuck in my wetsuit zipper and it was not going well and my transition time was slower than I would have liked.
By the time I got to my bike, I had undone the zipper and had it off my hips just in time for my helper to yank it off me. I quickly dried my feet and put my shoes and helmet on and I was running out of the TZ.
Running in the wet grass with road shoes wasn’t too bad however, we also had a 50m run on pavement. With the grass and mud plus the pebbles on the pavement it made for a difficult time clipping into my pedals. On the way out, I almost got hit by a handcycle and while I was trying to get started, two others passed me, one guy in my category.
By the time I was clipped in and up to speed, I had caught one of the guys and was gaining on the other. Within five minutes, we were at the first 180 degree turn. I got to the turn immediately after the guy directly in front of me and I stood up and powered out of the turn, passing him and never looking back. My next mission was the handcycle but man, those guys are FAST!!!
I picked off him and 5 other handcycles before the next U-turn and passed numerous others. I got passed by two tandems but otherwise, held my own. Coaches Carly and Vincent later told me I looked great on the bike and was flying which made me feel pretty good.
On my last lap, with about 2km to go, my buddy Joel from Portland passed me and I didn’t see him again til the finish. He did well but there were a lot of fast guys in the arm injury/TRI4 category. He said he was happy with his bike and run but said his swim and transition put him back a bit.
By T2 the rain had all but stopped. I got to my chair and my helper had all my run gear out, ready for me to have a fast transition. I'm not sure how long it took but I felt that I had a quick transition. As I left T2, I was passed by 2-3 others, one I know was in my category. Charles and Jody passed me around 2km and Pierre rolled by at 3km. A few others passed me, mostly people in other categories but there were at least two TRI5’s as well. I felt great for the first 3.5km or so then I started to fade but after I got on to the bridge leading to the finish, I upped my pace and had a very good last 750m.
As I was on the downhill portion of the bridge, I looked back and saw a few age groupers coming up behind me. I wanted to beat them to the line so I picked up my pace again. There was a 180 degree turn around 75m from the finish and when I made the turn I all but sprinted as only a 1.6 legged man can sprint, very awkwardly.
I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch. I was too exhausted to look at it. I was given my finisher medal and wandered out of the finish area to find my friends that had already finished. I found Joel, Craig, Jody, and Devin. No one knew where they had placed but most people were happy with their performance. Devin said he cramped on the bike but he felt good overall.
I finally looked at my watch…..1:27:20. Wow. I had started my watch around 20 seconds before the swim so I figured I was sub 1:27. I had never gone that fast before, even before my injury. I beat my Nationals time from 3 weeks before by 8 minutes and my previous PR was 1:31:58 at Blue Lake in 2002.
Overall: 1:27:01
Swim – 14:00
T1 – 2:19
Bike – 34:22
T2 – 3:45
Run – 32:36
I cannot complain too much. I had a good race and even if I was classified as a TRI3/Les Autre, I would have come in 6th. I need to re-read the rules and see if I can get classed as a TRI3 for next time. While I might have quicker transitions than most of the BK amputees, I surely cannot keep up with them on the run as most of them (warning, stereotype ahead) have strength all the way to their stump, including their knee and hip muscles while I have some weakness there.
The description of the lower limb categories are not those of amputations but rather “moderate” or “severe” leg impairment. Given that I have weakness in my hip flexors, knee flexors, and knee extensors, I feel I fit in with the AK’s more so than the BK athletes. My run and bike seems to be more on par with those guys.
Anyway, as I said, I'm happy with myself and my performance, I believe I did my best and represented my country well.
I hope to post some pics later so if you are reading this and want to see some, check back at a later date.
After a short training camp with some very cool and inspirational people, all with different stories, I was very ready to race on Sept. 11, 2010.
My alarm was set for 0400 but I was awake at 0300. I lay in bed thinking about what I had to do. I was pretty much finished my preparation and only needed to mix my morning breakfast drink and get my kit on.
We met in the lobby at 0445 and had cabs waiting for us. When we got outside, it was drizzling a little. Enough to be called rain I suppose but what could we do, it was race day and as I have been saying, “it is what it is”. We were dropped off right at the entrance to the Expo/transition area and had a 200m walk to the main transition area.
Wandering through massive puddles and muddy grass, we finally arrived at our bikes and began the prep to get our T1 and T2 gear ready. I brought two large bags from the hotel and they were very handy. I asked the nearest ITU person if my ‘handler’ would be able to get my gear out of my bag for me after I finished each leg of my race and was told normally no, but today, yes. By this time it was full on pouring too, making our wet transition area even soupier.
I could not find my handler, MC, who said she would be at the TZ by 0530. I was getting antsy so I asked our coach, Carly, to help me find someone. I feel bad that I cannot remember his name but he was an ex-pat Brit. I told him my needs and everything was in order. I only needed him to yank off my wetsuit and then pull my gear out of the plastic bag so I could transition with somewhat drier gear. There’s nothing like pulling on wet shoes.
I was already soaked so I just got my wetsuit on and put my jacket and shirt into a plastic bag and began the 100m trek to the start of the swim. My helper was right next to me the whole way. I looked at my watch to see that I had only 15 minutes to the start and I debated making a short trip to the porta-potty. I quickly decided that it was probably a good idea and I ran over, unzipped my wetsuit, and did what I needed. As I was walking back toward the start, I pulled my wetsuit zipper up on my own (before, my helper did it for me). This would come back to bite me as I exited the water.
I went down to the pontoon for the start. We would have a deep water start so I was kind of bummed that we couldn’t dive in but I guess some of the para’s wouldn't be able to. I sat down next to my team mate, Kimberly, gave her a hug, wished her luck, and slipped into the water……DAMN it was cold! I only had a short sleeve suit. I had been in colder water with that suit but I knew it was going to be a torturous 13-15 minutes.
They counted us down from 2 minutes every 30 seconds or so and before I knew it, 87 paratriathletes were off. Man, there are some fast swimmers in the paratriathlete division. A couple times I felt someone pulling on my thigh and hitting my feet, probably trying to draft me, but either they went around me or I dropped them. Either way, after the first turn, I had free water.
I finished the swim in under 14 minutes but by the time I cleared the water and hit the timing mat, it was an even 14. I was happy with that but not ecstatic. I sort of “gorilla hopped” (to me, somewhat sideways with my weak leg to the back) to T1. As I was running, I was attempting to undo my wetsuit zipper. Apparently, my tri-top zipper lanyard was stuck in my wetsuit zipper and it was not going well and my transition time was slower than I would have liked.
By the time I got to my bike, I had undone the zipper and had it off my hips just in time for my helper to yank it off me. I quickly dried my feet and put my shoes and helmet on and I was running out of the TZ.
Running in the wet grass with road shoes wasn’t too bad however, we also had a 50m run on pavement. With the grass and mud plus the pebbles on the pavement it made for a difficult time clipping into my pedals. On the way out, I almost got hit by a handcycle and while I was trying to get started, two others passed me, one guy in my category.
By the time I was clipped in and up to speed, I had caught one of the guys and was gaining on the other. Within five minutes, we were at the first 180 degree turn. I got to the turn immediately after the guy directly in front of me and I stood up and powered out of the turn, passing him and never looking back. My next mission was the handcycle but man, those guys are FAST!!!
I picked off him and 5 other handcycles before the next U-turn and passed numerous others. I got passed by two tandems but otherwise, held my own. Coaches Carly and Vincent later told me I looked great on the bike and was flying which made me feel pretty good.
On my last lap, with about 2km to go, my buddy Joel from Portland passed me and I didn’t see him again til the finish. He did well but there were a lot of fast guys in the arm injury/TRI4 category. He said he was happy with his bike and run but said his swim and transition put him back a bit.
By T2 the rain had all but stopped. I got to my chair and my helper had all my run gear out, ready for me to have a fast transition. I'm not sure how long it took but I felt that I had a quick transition. As I left T2, I was passed by 2-3 others, one I know was in my category. Charles and Jody passed me around 2km and Pierre rolled by at 3km. A few others passed me, mostly people in other categories but there were at least two TRI5’s as well. I felt great for the first 3.5km or so then I started to fade but after I got on to the bridge leading to the finish, I upped my pace and had a very good last 750m.
As I was on the downhill portion of the bridge, I looked back and saw a few age groupers coming up behind me. I wanted to beat them to the line so I picked up my pace again. There was a 180 degree turn around 75m from the finish and when I made the turn I all but sprinted as only a 1.6 legged man can sprint, very awkwardly.
I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch. I was too exhausted to look at it. I was given my finisher medal and wandered out of the finish area to find my friends that had already finished. I found Joel, Craig, Jody, and Devin. No one knew where they had placed but most people were happy with their performance. Devin said he cramped on the bike but he felt good overall.
I finally looked at my watch…..1:27:20. Wow. I had started my watch around 20 seconds before the swim so I figured I was sub 1:27. I had never gone that fast before, even before my injury. I beat my Nationals time from 3 weeks before by 8 minutes and my previous PR was 1:31:58 at Blue Lake in 2002.
Overall: 1:27:01
Swim – 14:00
T1 – 2:19
Bike – 34:22
T2 – 3:45
Run – 32:36
I cannot complain too much. I had a good race and even if I was classified as a TRI3/Les Autre, I would have come in 6th. I need to re-read the rules and see if I can get classed as a TRI3 for next time. While I might have quicker transitions than most of the BK amputees, I surely cannot keep up with them on the run as most of them (warning, stereotype ahead) have strength all the way to their stump, including their knee and hip muscles while I have some weakness there.
The description of the lower limb categories are not those of amputations but rather “moderate” or “severe” leg impairment. Given that I have weakness in my hip flexors, knee flexors, and knee extensors, I feel I fit in with the AK’s more so than the BK athletes. My run and bike seems to be more on par with those guys.
Anyway, as I said, I'm happy with myself and my performance, I believe I did my best and represented my country well.
I hope to post some pics later so if you are reading this and want to see some, check back at a later date.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Budapest 2010 ITU World Championships
After a long flight and then a 6hr wait in Heathrow but I made it to
We had a meeting at 9am to head out to swim. The pool was very interesting. It was not very obvious what we were supposed to do. Most people don’t speak any English and none of us speak any Hungarian. When we finally got to go inside, the change room was co-ed but with individual stalls. Our pool was outside and the place was so huge that we had a difficult time finding a 50m pool, hard to believe I know. We had rented 4 lanes plus had to pay for each of us and the bill was somewhere around 20,000HuF which is around $100. Nothing is cheap here, especially food. Afterwards, myself and a team old timer went walking around. I got a few pics of some of the old buildings and some of the scenery. Lunch consisted of a bun, some yogurt, some almonds and some water. We were supposed to have a meeting to talk about some mental skills but I got a message from a friend about lending me his spare pedals. I figured that was much more important.
I asked my hotel front desk where the Marriott was and they gave me directions and I decided to walk. It was a little longer than I expected and my hip was starting to bug me. I got to the Marriott and found out it was the wrong one. I got directions to the next one but I decided to cab it. I was able to run in, grab the pedals, and get in the same cab, and get back to my hotel, right around the tune of 5000HuF. That was one less thing I had to worry about.
In the later PM, we had a one on one session with our coaches, Vincent and Carlie. We talked about our goals for this event and our camp. We also discussed any help I might need in transition or any motivational cheering along the race course. I am pretty self-sufficient so I really don’t need anything but I always love a little cheering.
We had a great team dinner that night and it was nice to get to know my fellow team mates. Towards the end of dinner I was starting to fade due to the face that I just arrived at 1am and had 6hr of sleep in the past 48hr. When I got to my room, however, I turned on my computer and watched some videos til almost midnight.
Wednesday was supposed to be an 8AM bike to run transition practice but at dinner the night before, we decided to ride at 6AM as there are fewer cars on the road at that time. We rescheduled the T2 practice to mid afternoon. The ride down to the TZ took a little longer than normal due to the hand cyclists and some of the obstacles we had to go around to get there.
Three of us went on our own way mostly due to the fact that we lost the others. We met up again at the TZ and looked around. We rode part of the bike course but the traffic was starting to pick up so we headed back.
After breakfast, a group of us went back to the event expo. I found everything to be much more than I was willing to spend on an event tee shirt so I went home empty handed. We were able to watch the men’s 40+ Aquathon and one of the competitors took almost 45 minutes to do the 1000m swim so we stayed at the swim exit to cheer him on as he exited the water. I think all of us knew what it was like to finish dead last at least one time since our prospective challenged athletic career so it meant a lot to us to be there for him. He was an Aussie and he made a point of smiling and thanking us as he went to his run transition.
Afterwards, I went back to the hotel for nap time and a 6PM mental skills session.
Most of the others had eaten before that but I wasn’t hungry so I went afterwards. The mental skills session included visualization practice. I had not done this since I attended UVIC in 1987 and I remember how well it worked.
I went back to dinner at the same place as Tuesday night. I brought my lap top but it was for not as they had no wireless. I ate a great dinner called “paprikash” which was veal in a spicy sauce and what looked and tasted like the German pasta type dish, spatzle. The dinner was great but it seems that everyone in this town smokes. Two ladies next to me at the restaurant lit up as soon as they sat down and continued to do so all throughout my meal. It was kind of disgusting but I guess we are lucky at home where it is not allowed in bars and restaurants anymore.
When I was done, it was pouring out. Luckily there were many overhanging ledges that offered a little protection from the rain but I was essentially soaked when I walked the 3 blocks back to the hotel. I watched more videos and then had a great sleep.
More to come.....
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
XTERRA Vashon Island, July 2010
This was my favourite race of last season and i was really looking forward to it this year. I went up early and got to the transition area in time to pick up my race packet and kit up for a pre-ride of the bike course. I figured it would be the same as last season but wanted to be sure. I met up with my friend Alexia and we headed out. I was convinced I could ride the first section no problem but alas, it was not to be. I hit the first switch back and pulled my front end off the ground, then hit the ground. My bike landed on the drive side and after a few minutes of trying to put my chain back on the crank, I realized my rear derailleur was stuck in my spokes. This would have been a good discovery before I reefed on my crank to get what I thought was a stuck chain.
Anyway, some new road rash to add to my already dinged up legs. I walked the rest of the way up the hill which was some pretty fun single track and went I went to ride again, I realized either my derailleur was bent or the hanger was bent, either way, it was skipping a lot when I went into granny gear and the next two so I ended up walking again. I tried to fix it but my mechanical ability is limited. I was able to get it to the point where I could pedal in some easy gears but the course leveled out and there was limited climbing after that.
I fell again, not sure why, but I suggested Alexia and our other companion go on without me and I would just see them at the camp site but they said they were cool with a slower pace. Anyway, two falls, and 45 minutes of riding later, we go back to the cars. I wanted to scope out my camp site so I headed straight to the ranch, paid my fee, and then went back into Vashon for some food. I met up with a few friends and ate with them.
When I got back to the campsite, I ran into another buddy that is a bike mechanic and I talked him into checking my bike over and seeing if he could fix it. As I was taking it off the car, I found my rear tire was flat. If its not one thing its another. I had a spare tube but then I wouldn't have one for the race so I borrowed one from one of Alexia's MelRad team mates, Jo. Jeff was able to sort out my shifting problem pretty easily but he did say I needed a new bike.....I concurred since my beloved Rocky is 15 yrs old but its just not in the budget this year.
I didn't get much sleep in the back of a Passat wagon and I was up and rolling at 530am. I didn't have much to do so I went to the transition zone and got the best parking spot for a speedy getaway. I got everything set up and went for a short ride with Alexia. I had seen a guy with a BK amputation and wondered if he was in the race. I lost track of him but after the ride I was able to talk to him only to find out he was just pulling his boat out of the water. I was disappointed because I had hopes that I would not be the only PC athlete in the race.
At the pre race briefing, I found out I would be racing with the clydesdales and the over 40 men. Everyone made their way out to the dock where we would be starting. I dove in and swam around to where the start was, probably around 150m warm up. The first wave left just as I got there and I floated around for a bit.
My swim was uneventful, but save for the long run out of the water to T1, I had a good time. the long run to transition was very muddy as the tide was out, and it had heaps of shells embedded.
I had a very slow T1 which has been the case lately, I'm not sure why. Unlike XTERRA Solstice, I didn't forget my amelback this time but I did neglect my gloves which would come back to haunt me later.
I got out of transition and immediately dismounted for the switchback climbs section. I tried to run up but my HR went up into the 180's so I walked. By the time I hit the top of the climb, I was out of breath and immediately felt the need to stop and rest but kept on. I rode more of the course after that first section than I had in the past couple of years. I used my wicked cyclocross skills to mount my bike after walking and made a little bit of time up vs walking those sections. My shifting was working OK but I was unable to get into a few of the top gears and this only came into play during climbing.
I love the single track sections of this course, lots of roots and stumps to make it more challenging. After the first single track section, there is an old road section. This is where the gloves would have come in handy. It was warm and I was sweating a lot. I kept wiping my hands on my shorts but obviously, they were still wet so it was for not. Since I was on a "road" I went to grab a gel packet that was taped to my stem. In the middle of it, I changed my mind and started to grab my handle bar but in the blink of an eye, my bars went sideways and I hit the ground. My front tire went deep into a sandy pothole. I think if I had my gloves on, this wouldn't have happened but alas, that wasn't the case and I sat on the ground, stunned.
I got up and immediately felt a sharp pain in my knee. I looked down and was bleeding profusely around my knee cap. I got on my bike again and started riding the somewhat flat section but as soon as I hit the and increase in elevation, the knee pain became very intense. Thankfully, there wasn't much of it and I made it through the rest of the lap, spinning at a higher cadence than I would normally to see if I could get over the knee pain......I dont know why I thought this but it must have worked because when I got to the paved section that wound around to the beginning of the next lap, I stood up to test it again and the pain was gone. Endorphins?
Anyway, I rolled through the next two laps with no further incidents but really regretted not having my gloves. I got to T2 a little more tired than I should have been and while walking through the TZ, I heard a rubbing sound. I looked closely at my front brake and noticed the rotor was bent. That would explain my increased fatigue. I guess I rode the remaining 2.5 laps after my crash with a rubbing brake. Oh well, no time to worry about it, time to run.
I had forgotten about my knee as I left T2, thinking only of my stupidity for crashing unnecessarily but one of the volunteers asked if I was OK. She had a very pained look on her face as she looked at my knee. I looked down and my shin to my sock was bloody and dirty. Hmmm, I thought, that doesn't look good. Oh well, Im fine, I said, thanks for asking, and I went about the business at hand, getting up this hill to the flatter section of the run course.
I felt pretty darn good, impressed with myself as I ran slowly up the hill to the single track. I actually passed another runner. That made me feel very good as I don't often pass anyone during this part of triathlon. More than one volunteer asked if I needed help when they saw my knee but I was just happy to be still running after my bike mishap and riding with a rubbing brake.
The run course wasn't as dusty as I remembered it from 2009. There were a couple of sections that I recall sliding down, through a bit of deep loose dirt but they were not that bad this year. I ran down the hill, onto the pavement, across the road to the trail and through the finish line. I can't explain how great it felt as I saw my time, quite a bit faster than 2009.
I went directly through the transition area to the back of the ambulance that was sitting there. I asked if the medic could clean up my wound. He said, and this part blew me away, "if I work on you I have to do a bunch of paperwork". I then asked if they could give me some thing to clean it with. He then said, "they should have something over at the race trailer". I kept standing there, stunned, looking at this guy thinking he was kidding. Apparently, he was dead serious and I walked away. I had my own wet wipes and water in the car.
I went to my transition area, packed up my gear, and left. I drove straight to the ferry and cleaned myself during the short ride to the mainland. My wound was not as serious as all the blood may have indicated but I did have a pretty good sized gash just under my knee cap. Not enough to require stitching but it would have been nice to have a surgical brush to get the dirt and rocks out of it.
Overall, other than the crash, I had a great race. Forgetting my gloves was a negative as was crashing while pre-riding (and bending my rear derailleur) as well as during the race but everything else was a positive. Looking back, the only thing I would have changed was staying around after the race and talked to the race director about the lack of medical care. I understand that the medics were likely there for emergencies but a lot of races have a medic to take care of things like road rash and other non-life threatening issues and have an ambulance on standby. I also would have been able get my award. They ended up mailing it to me. One of my favourite awards to date. A home made trophy with a cassette cog embedded in a piece of 2x4 and a chunk of chain with an engraved plate. Very cool trophy.
I love the single track sections of this course, lots of roots and stumps to make it more challenging. After the first single track section, there is an old road section. This is where the gloves would have come in handy. It was warm and I was sweating a lot. I kept wiping my hands on my shorts but obviously, they were still wet so it was for not. Since I was on a "road" I went to grab a gel packet that was taped to my stem. In the middle of it, I changed my mind and started to grab my handle bar but in the blink of an eye, my bars went sideways and I hit the ground. My front tire went deep into a sandy pothole. I think if I had my gloves on, this wouldn't have happened but alas, that wasn't the case and I sat on the ground, stunned.
I got up and immediately felt a sharp pain in my knee. I looked down and was bleeding profusely around my knee cap. I got on my bike again and started riding the somewhat flat section but as soon as I hit the and increase in elevation, the knee pain became very intense. Thankfully, there wasn't much of it and I made it through the rest of the lap, spinning at a higher cadence than I would normally to see if I could get over the knee pain......I dont know why I thought this but it must have worked because when I got to the paved section that wound around to the beginning of the next lap, I stood up to test it again and the pain was gone. Endorphins?
Anyway, I rolled through the next two laps with no further incidents but really regretted not having my gloves. I got to T2 a little more tired than I should have been and while walking through the TZ, I heard a rubbing sound. I looked closely at my front brake and noticed the rotor was bent. That would explain my increased fatigue. I guess I rode the remaining 2.5 laps after my crash with a rubbing brake. Oh well, no time to worry about it, time to run.
I had forgotten about my knee as I left T2, thinking only of my stupidity for crashing unnecessarily but one of the volunteers asked if I was OK. She had a very pained look on her face as she looked at my knee. I looked down and my shin to my sock was bloody and dirty. Hmmm, I thought, that doesn't look good. Oh well, Im fine, I said, thanks for asking, and I went about the business at hand, getting up this hill to the flatter section of the run course.
I felt pretty darn good, impressed with myself as I ran slowly up the hill to the single track. I actually passed another runner. That made me feel very good as I don't often pass anyone during this part of triathlon. More than one volunteer asked if I needed help when they saw my knee but I was just happy to be still running after my bike mishap and riding with a rubbing brake.
The run course wasn't as dusty as I remembered it from 2009. There were a couple of sections that I recall sliding down, through a bit of deep loose dirt but they were not that bad this year. I ran down the hill, onto the pavement, across the road to the trail and through the finish line. I can't explain how great it felt as I saw my time, quite a bit faster than 2009.
I went directly through the transition area to the back of the ambulance that was sitting there. I asked if the medic could clean up my wound. He said, and this part blew me away, "if I work on you I have to do a bunch of paperwork". I then asked if they could give me some thing to clean it with. He then said, "they should have something over at the race trailer". I kept standing there, stunned, looking at this guy thinking he was kidding. Apparently, he was dead serious and I walked away. I had my own wet wipes and water in the car.
I went to my transition area, packed up my gear, and left. I drove straight to the ferry and cleaned myself during the short ride to the mainland. My wound was not as serious as all the blood may have indicated but I did have a pretty good sized gash just under my knee cap. Not enough to require stitching but it would have been nice to have a surgical brush to get the dirt and rocks out of it.
Overall, other than the crash, I had a great race. Forgetting my gloves was a negative as was crashing while pre-riding (and bending my rear derailleur) as well as during the race but everything else was a positive. Looking back, the only thing I would have changed was staying around after the race and talked to the race director about the lack of medical care. I understand that the medics were likely there for emergencies but a lot of races have a medic to take care of things like road rash and other non-life threatening issues and have an ambulance on standby. I also would have been able get my award. They ended up mailing it to me. One of my favourite awards to date. A home made trophy with a cassette cog embedded in a piece of 2x4 and a chunk of chain with an engraved plate. Very cool trophy.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
XTERRA Solstice, June 19, 2010
This was a race that I was intimidated by for the past three years. I always wanted to do it but there was always some excuse. The website for the race let you know that it is not an easy race and there are always DNF's and the course is not for the faint of heart. Lots of ankle breaking rocks along the run course, a steep downhill called "Suicide" hill, and a swim that will take your breath away, mostly because its so cold.
I signed up on the Monday before the race and just so I wouldn't wimp out, I posted on Facebook that I was doing it.
I talked to a couple of pro guys that wanted to do it so we ended up car pooling together. They had just done Boise the weekend before and I was surprised that they wanted to do this one. We got to La Grande around 4pm and went to pick up our race packets. This was the first time I had ever done packet pick up in the garage of someones home. I thought that was very cool.
After a quick stop at Safeway, we headed up a very steep road to Morgan Lake. I was intimidated AGAIN. If the climbs were anything like this on the bike course, I was in for a very long day.
We found a spot to camp and rode a little of the course. We ran into a few others that Damian knew from Bellingham. We went to town for dinner then back up the long, scary hill to our campsite. I got all my things together for the next day but realized I only had a little water. The guys wanted to head into town for hot coffee in the morning anyway, so I figured I was safe. Our start time was 9am. We would have time.
I set up my gear in the back of my truck and packed it in for the night. I read for a bit but mostly just thought about long, steep hills. I finally got to sleep but was woken up a few times by some people partying on the other side of the lake.
I set my phone for a wake up call but didn't really need it. I was wide awake at 5AM. I got the rest of my gear ready then we got coffee. We still had almost 2 hr before the start when we got back and that time was spent setting up transition and chatting with people about how cold it was and whether I should bring my arm warmers and long sleeve jersey.
the last thing I did before locking up the truck and finishing up transition was fill my Camel Back with water. I had a very concentrated bottle of First Endurance EFS, Grape flavour. My plan was to have my calories in that bottle and dilute it by drinking from my Camel Back.
Keep that tid bit in mind for later
I got into my wetsuit and wandered into the very cold water. I heard it was 54F but I'm not sure of the official water temp. It didn't matter, I was wearing a very nice Blue70 wetsuit provided by my team sponsor, Athlete's Lounge. I had borrowed a neoprene cap from Scott at AL but didn't end up wearing it as it was a little small and was choking me. I went for about 20m out and back again then stood on top of a large rock with only my lower half under water. I heard them say we had to line up between the two buoys behind me so I went over and chatted with Damian and Chris. I jumped on top of the buoy and floated for a while til they said 1 minute to go.
I heard what was probably an air horn but it sounded more like a sick elk, then we were off!
My swim was uneventful, I concentrated on a steady stroke and was under my goal time of 20minutes, 19:15. I believe that at least 1-2 minutes of that was me trying to stumble my way out of the water, tripping over rocks and other athletes, but they didn't mark my time til i was completely out of the water.
I got to transition, easily shed my wetsuit, and sat down to put on my socks and bike shoes. On the road, I rarely wear socks but because of the mud and the fact that my MTB shoes are a hair big, I chose socks for this race. Unfortunately, some thoughtful person had dumped their wetsuit on top of my shoes and one of my socks was already soaked. Thankfully I had another pair for the run and grabbed them.
I grabbed my lid, my glasses, and forced my bike out from between two others and took off. I pulled my gloves on with my teeth as I was riding down the easiest part of the course; the first 400m. I was about 2km into the ride when I saw someone go by me with a Camel Back and it was then I realized I had forgotten mine. I wasn't sure where the aid stations were but i was hoping that it wasn't very far away. My new plan included drinking my First Endurance EFS and then topping off with water at the first aid station I came to. This didn't happen either. I am very impressed with the FE electrolyte drink. Even though it was very concentrated, I didn't get any GI distress. When I came to the aid station and just grabbed a couple cups of water and it was perfect.
There was about a 1K stretch where we went on some single track, a bit of road and a wicked downhill section called the "pipeline". I found that out on the way back when I had to climb back up it. Anyway, after the long downhill, there was a 5K section of uphill. It was probably average of 6-8% but had a few short steep sections. The dirt road was fairly well maintained til the top section but overall, it was better than some roads I have raced on. After the road came an uphill section of single track which was pretty tough in sections due to the ruts and rocks on the path but I cleared most of it on the bike. Only when I let someone go past me did I have to unclip.
I was keeping my eye out for a section called "suicide hill"; a treacherous bit of downhill that I was not particularly looking forward to. It certainly lived up to its reputation. I got to the top and as I was beginning the descent, I decided that I wanted to live. I walked it down which was no easy feat either. There was an ATV at the midway point and he said that I was about 1/3 of the way through the bike course and about half way down the hill but I just did the hard part...... um, not from where i was standing it wasn't. There was still a lot of loose steep downhill left. I came across a photographer and i was bummed because I wanted to be on my bike when she took the photo, which I told her, but then I said I was just going to flex for the camera. Right after I passed her, I got on my bike and rode the rest of it. The downhill was still tough but not as steep.
For the next few miles i rode with another gal, Robin from Bellingham. I let her get ahead of me for the single track ahead. We wound around a little meadow, over a cattle fence, through a lot of rocky sections, and out to an uphill section. We both walked up it, I walked faster, and figured she would catch me later. I hit the road section that we came up and went down it as fast as I could. I tried to use that section to rest but it wasn't much of a rest. I hit the pipeline climb and just decided trying to ride up it wasn't worth it. I started walking it. I turned around and Robin was riding up behind me but after we hit a steep pitch, she was walking too.
There was a gal in front of us, I watched her leave the trail. I figured she was just going to find some privacy to attend to the call of nature but when i got up to where she left the course, I saw her walking up the hill. She had cut the switch back section of the course, missing about 200m of it. I pointed her out to Robin and we both were wondering why she would do that. The climb she did may have taken less distance but it was much harder than the switch back section she cut. Oh well, we just pushed on.
robin ended up passing me walking up the steepest section and I said bye. At the top of "pipeline" it was only a short ride back to T2, going back in the same way we came out. There were also runners on that section. I didn't get slowed down by any, some of these guys were pretty fast and they maneuvered that section faster than I could ride it. I thought about trying to catch Robin so I wouldn't have the slowest bike time but I felt I needed all the energy I could muster for the run.
T2 was slow for me. I sat down and washed off my left leg so my ankle brace didn't have too much grit to grind into my skin. I hit T2 at 3hr on the nose and 4 minutes later, I was on the run course. I ran past the truck where Damian and Chris were getting cleaned up. I ran past them, they wished me good luck and asked if I needed anything but I was all set.
I looked at my watch and with a plan of run/walking at a 2min/2min ratio, I started walking. It was mostly a gradual uphill all the way out of the Lake area and I got to the first water station. I filled up my water bottle and started running again. I ran most of the way down a steep road and then had to walk again. I settled in to walking and figured I would run any down hill or flat sections. I was pretty tired. I had 2 gel packets with me and a water bottle. I ate at 630AM so I was starting to get hungry by this time.
I passed the second water station and passed through without stopping. The road went down the side of a hill and sort of degraded into a barely used cart path. I was looking around at where the trail might go, foolishly, and rolled my left ankle. Without my ankle brace I'm sure i would have hurt it to the point where I would not have been able to continue. I didn't stop because I knew the pain would subside in a few minutes. I started walking with my left leg rotated outwards so it would be more difficult to roll it again. At the bottom of the hill was a jeep and a guy wearing a skirt, a wig, and holding pom poms. He cheered me on and warned me about the next section which was basically a path made by one of the ATV's and the 60+ athletes ahead of me. He also told me I was OTB which really sucked but hey, I was out here and I was going to finish. I think on the day, there were 4 DNF's, not sure why but I knew I wasn't going to be one of them.
The man/machine made trail had a few sections of mud, lots of rocks, and I passed an elk rack, or half a rack actually, a leg and hoof, likely off some sort of deer or elk, which was stripped clean, and a large snake which slithered across the trail in front of me. I didn't see much of the snake but it was bigger than any type of snake we have near our house. Do they have rattlers in La Grande?
It seemed to be longer than 10K but then again, I had not done 10K since the US Championships in September. I climbed up some switch backs, got onto a road, and got back to the water station I had passed almost an hour before. They refilled my water bottle and I took a gel, said thank you and started jogging down the slight hill towards the BIG hill I had come down.
After the last aid station, I jogged again to the trail that led back to the TZ. I walked most of the single track trail section and when I got to where I could see the finish line, I started running again.
the announcer saw me and I was cheered in by all the folks that stuck around for the awards. Damian and Chris were right there and after I crossed the finish line, they helped me back to the truck with all my gear. They said they had calculated how long after I left T2 and when they would come and find me should I not be at the finish by a certain time. Just as they were about to venture out to rescue me, I came in. Good guys to travel with!
I finished the run in 1:46, longer than any 10K I had ever done, and overall, just under 5 hours. I was satisfied that I had finished given my limited MTB training but it just served to show me how much more I need to train for XTERRA Nationals in Sept.
It was a fun race and I look forward to doing it again in the future. Thanks to Mary Ellen and the XTERRA Solstice crew of volunteers for a great but tiring day.
I signed up on the Monday before the race and just so I wouldn't wimp out, I posted on Facebook that I was doing it.
I talked to a couple of pro guys that wanted to do it so we ended up car pooling together. They had just done Boise the weekend before and I was surprised that they wanted to do this one. We got to La Grande around 4pm and went to pick up our race packets. This was the first time I had ever done packet pick up in the garage of someones home. I thought that was very cool.
After a quick stop at Safeway, we headed up a very steep road to Morgan Lake. I was intimidated AGAIN. If the climbs were anything like this on the bike course, I was in for a very long day.
We found a spot to camp and rode a little of the course. We ran into a few others that Damian knew from Bellingham. We went to town for dinner then back up the long, scary hill to our campsite. I got all my things together for the next day but realized I only had a little water. The guys wanted to head into town for hot coffee in the morning anyway, so I figured I was safe. Our start time was 9am. We would have time.
I set up my gear in the back of my truck and packed it in for the night. I read for a bit but mostly just thought about long, steep hills. I finally got to sleep but was woken up a few times by some people partying on the other side of the lake.
I set my phone for a wake up call but didn't really need it. I was wide awake at 5AM. I got the rest of my gear ready then we got coffee. We still had almost 2 hr before the start when we got back and that time was spent setting up transition and chatting with people about how cold it was and whether I should bring my arm warmers and long sleeve jersey.
the last thing I did before locking up the truck and finishing up transition was fill my Camel Back with water. I had a very concentrated bottle of First Endurance EFS, Grape flavour. My plan was to have my calories in that bottle and dilute it by drinking from my Camel Back.
Keep that tid bit in mind for later
I got into my wetsuit and wandered into the very cold water. I heard it was 54F but I'm not sure of the official water temp. It didn't matter, I was wearing a very nice Blue70 wetsuit provided by my team sponsor, Athlete's Lounge. I had borrowed a neoprene cap from Scott at AL but didn't end up wearing it as it was a little small and was choking me. I went for about 20m out and back again then stood on top of a large rock with only my lower half under water. I heard them say we had to line up between the two buoys behind me so I went over and chatted with Damian and Chris. I jumped on top of the buoy and floated for a while til they said 1 minute to go.
I heard what was probably an air horn but it sounded more like a sick elk, then we were off!
My swim was uneventful, I concentrated on a steady stroke and was under my goal time of 20minutes, 19:15. I believe that at least 1-2 minutes of that was me trying to stumble my way out of the water, tripping over rocks and other athletes, but they didn't mark my time til i was completely out of the water.
I got to transition, easily shed my wetsuit, and sat down to put on my socks and bike shoes. On the road, I rarely wear socks but because of the mud and the fact that my MTB shoes are a hair big, I chose socks for this race. Unfortunately, some thoughtful person had dumped their wetsuit on top of my shoes and one of my socks was already soaked. Thankfully I had another pair for the run and grabbed them.
I grabbed my lid, my glasses, and forced my bike out from between two others and took off. I pulled my gloves on with my teeth as I was riding down the easiest part of the course; the first 400m. I was about 2km into the ride when I saw someone go by me with a Camel Back and it was then I realized I had forgotten mine. I wasn't sure where the aid stations were but i was hoping that it wasn't very far away. My new plan included drinking my First Endurance EFS and then topping off with water at the first aid station I came to. This didn't happen either. I am very impressed with the FE electrolyte drink. Even though it was very concentrated, I didn't get any GI distress. When I came to the aid station and just grabbed a couple cups of water and it was perfect.
There was about a 1K stretch where we went on some single track, a bit of road and a wicked downhill section called the "pipeline". I found that out on the way back when I had to climb back up it. Anyway, after the long downhill, there was a 5K section of uphill. It was probably average of 6-8% but had a few short steep sections. The dirt road was fairly well maintained til the top section but overall, it was better than some roads I have raced on. After the road came an uphill section of single track which was pretty tough in sections due to the ruts and rocks on the path but I cleared most of it on the bike. Only when I let someone go past me did I have to unclip.
I was keeping my eye out for a section called "suicide hill"; a treacherous bit of downhill that I was not particularly looking forward to. It certainly lived up to its reputation. I got to the top and as I was beginning the descent, I decided that I wanted to live. I walked it down which was no easy feat either. There was an ATV at the midway point and he said that I was about 1/3 of the way through the bike course and about half way down the hill but I just did the hard part...... um, not from where i was standing it wasn't. There was still a lot of loose steep downhill left. I came across a photographer and i was bummed because I wanted to be on my bike when she took the photo, which I told her, but then I said I was just going to flex for the camera. Right after I passed her, I got on my bike and rode the rest of it. The downhill was still tough but not as steep.
For the next few miles i rode with another gal, Robin from Bellingham. I let her get ahead of me for the single track ahead. We wound around a little meadow, over a cattle fence, through a lot of rocky sections, and out to an uphill section. We both walked up it, I walked faster, and figured she would catch me later. I hit the road section that we came up and went down it as fast as I could. I tried to use that section to rest but it wasn't much of a rest. I hit the pipeline climb and just decided trying to ride up it wasn't worth it. I started walking it. I turned around and Robin was riding up behind me but after we hit a steep pitch, she was walking too.
There was a gal in front of us, I watched her leave the trail. I figured she was just going to find some privacy to attend to the call of nature but when i got up to where she left the course, I saw her walking up the hill. She had cut the switch back section of the course, missing about 200m of it. I pointed her out to Robin and we both were wondering why she would do that. The climb she did may have taken less distance but it was much harder than the switch back section she cut. Oh well, we just pushed on.
robin ended up passing me walking up the steepest section and I said bye. At the top of "pipeline" it was only a short ride back to T2, going back in the same way we came out. There were also runners on that section. I didn't get slowed down by any, some of these guys were pretty fast and they maneuvered that section faster than I could ride it. I thought about trying to catch Robin so I wouldn't have the slowest bike time but I felt I needed all the energy I could muster for the run.
T2 was slow for me. I sat down and washed off my left leg so my ankle brace didn't have too much grit to grind into my skin. I hit T2 at 3hr on the nose and 4 minutes later, I was on the run course. I ran past the truck where Damian and Chris were getting cleaned up. I ran past them, they wished me good luck and asked if I needed anything but I was all set.
I looked at my watch and with a plan of run/walking at a 2min/2min ratio, I started walking. It was mostly a gradual uphill all the way out of the Lake area and I got to the first water station. I filled up my water bottle and started running again. I ran most of the way down a steep road and then had to walk again. I settled in to walking and figured I would run any down hill or flat sections. I was pretty tired. I had 2 gel packets with me and a water bottle. I ate at 630AM so I was starting to get hungry by this time.
I passed the second water station and passed through without stopping. The road went down the side of a hill and sort of degraded into a barely used cart path. I was looking around at where the trail might go, foolishly, and rolled my left ankle. Without my ankle brace I'm sure i would have hurt it to the point where I would not have been able to continue. I didn't stop because I knew the pain would subside in a few minutes. I started walking with my left leg rotated outwards so it would be more difficult to roll it again. At the bottom of the hill was a jeep and a guy wearing a skirt, a wig, and holding pom poms. He cheered me on and warned me about the next section which was basically a path made by one of the ATV's and the 60+ athletes ahead of me. He also told me I was OTB which really sucked but hey, I was out here and I was going to finish. I think on the day, there were 4 DNF's, not sure why but I knew I wasn't going to be one of them.
The man/machine made trail had a few sections of mud, lots of rocks, and I passed an elk rack, or half a rack actually, a leg and hoof, likely off some sort of deer or elk, which was stripped clean, and a large snake which slithered across the trail in front of me. I didn't see much of the snake but it was bigger than any type of snake we have near our house. Do they have rattlers in La Grande?
It seemed to be longer than 10K but then again, I had not done 10K since the US Championships in September. I climbed up some switch backs, got onto a road, and got back to the water station I had passed almost an hour before. They refilled my water bottle and I took a gel, said thank you and started jogging down the slight hill towards the BIG hill I had come down.
After the last aid station, I jogged again to the trail that led back to the TZ. I walked most of the single track trail section and when I got to where I could see the finish line, I started running again.
the announcer saw me and I was cheered in by all the folks that stuck around for the awards. Damian and Chris were right there and after I crossed the finish line, they helped me back to the truck with all my gear. They said they had calculated how long after I left T2 and when they would come and find me should I not be at the finish by a certain time. Just as they were about to venture out to rescue me, I came in. Good guys to travel with!
I finished the run in 1:46, longer than any 10K I had ever done, and overall, just under 5 hours. I was satisfied that I had finished given my limited MTB training but it just served to show me how much more I need to train for XTERRA Nationals in Sept.
It was a fun race and I look forward to doing it again in the future. Thanks to Mary Ellen and the XTERRA Solstice crew of volunteers for a great but tiring day.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Classification 101
Today is my classification evaluation. To let you all know, its only an examination on where to place me in the paracycling classification.
I have been previously classified in triathlon as "les autre" which basically means they dont know where else to put me. Unless you are an amputee or in a wheel chair they have a category that puts spinal cord injuries (SCI) with athtletes that have MS, CP, and things like that. With
Cycling its a little different. Even more different than last year. This year they have 6 total categories (except hand cyclists) for all disabilities. Last year they had 2 sub with four sub categories each. I used to be very familiar with the categories and had a good idea where they would place me but now, Im not so sure.
Depending on the outcome of this evaluation, I will have a rough idea of the minimum standards that are necessary to become part of the paracycling national team and with this new information, I will be able to figure out if those times are within my grasp.
I usually dont let a little thing like meeting a goal stand in my way but Im 44 now and things like dropping 20 seconds MINIMUM off my kilo time might be tougher than it sounds. Not that Im not going to try but those are things I have to contemplate whilst working on my new practice and training. I have a wealth of experts around me that I can consult with to help me attain such goals but first, I need to finish this eval.
Hope that clarifies the classification process for you. Have a great day.
PS I love being in Canada while the Olympic games are getting started, there is a huge amount of patriotism, flags on cars, people clad in Team Canada jerseys and this will go a long way to making me strive to meet my next challenge.
I have been previously classified in triathlon as "les autre" which basically means they dont know where else to put me. Unless you are an amputee or in a wheel chair they have a category that puts spinal cord injuries (SCI) with athtletes that have MS, CP, and things like that. With
Cycling its a little different. Even more different than last year. This year they have 6 total categories (except hand cyclists) for all disabilities. Last year they had 2 sub with four sub categories each. I used to be very familiar with the categories and had a good idea where they would place me but now, Im not so sure.
Depending on the outcome of this evaluation, I will have a rough idea of the minimum standards that are necessary to become part of the paracycling national team and with this new information, I will be able to figure out if those times are within my grasp.
I usually dont let a little thing like meeting a goal stand in my way but Im 44 now and things like dropping 20 seconds MINIMUM off my kilo time might be tougher than it sounds. Not that Im not going to try but those are things I have to contemplate whilst working on my new practice and training. I have a wealth of experts around me that I can consult with to help me attain such goals but first, I need to finish this eval.
Hope that clarifies the classification process for you. Have a great day.
PS I love being in Canada while the Olympic games are getting started, there is a huge amount of patriotism, flags on cars, people clad in Team Canada jerseys and this will go a long way to making me strive to meet my next challenge.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
One step closer
Just before Christmas, I had a meeting with one of the tri coaches I am contemplating working with. I told her of my tri goals and by the end of it, we both thought we could work well together. Just before we departed company, I talked to her about my other cycling goals and how I had little luck getting in touch with people at Canadian Cycling via email and she asked if I had called them.....um, I never thought about that. In the electronic age, I have always relied on email.
So, when I returned to the office after lunch, I called the person that would probably be classifying me. I spoke to her for about 20 minutes and while I was on the phone with her, I sent her an email, and she sent one back and by the end of the day, we talked about my coming up in January. So, hopefully my next update will be about my quick trip up to Vancouver and have an official classification for cycling. Wish me luck.
Merry Christmas to all.
So, when I returned to the office after lunch, I called the person that would probably be classifying me. I spoke to her for about 20 minutes and while I was on the phone with her, I sent her an email, and she sent one back and by the end of the day, we talked about my coming up in January. So, hopefully my next update will be about my quick trip up to Vancouver and have an official classification for cycling. Wish me luck.
Merry Christmas to all.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
2010 Goals, what are they?
I have been researching races for next year and trying to figure out my focus so I can have my training peak at appropriate times......hehehe, Im laughing as I write that, I can honestly say, I am not sure I have ever peaked at any time, let alone appropriate times. So, with the comic relief out of the way, I truly want to do well this year but Im not sure where I want to do all this peaking. I want to do XTerra, I want to race on the track, I want to PR at a 70.3 race, I want to PR my 20 and 40km TT's, and I would like to go to World's for ITU Olympic distance as well as XTERRA World's.
To accomplish any or all of these items, I require TOTALLY different training. Power training for the track, a maximum race time of 1:25minutes, endurance training for 70.3, a maximum race time of 7 hours (hoping for 6.5hr), a mixture of the two for XTERRA races, average race time of 4 hours, and I would like to get my TT times to around 31min for the 20km and 1:03 for the 40km.
I dont think I can do all of it.....well, I CAN do all of it but something is going to suffer. If I can get classified sometime late this year or early next year, I will have a goal time to make for the track and I will most likely just focus on that and making the paracycling team. If I cannot, I suppose I will more than likely work on the Oly distance/Xterra races, which in turn will help my TT speed (my thoughts, not one of a coach, perhaps I can be schooled on why or why not that is a good idea). The 70.3 would probably be a June race so if I choose to peak for that, there are also a couple of XTERRA races around that time that i might be able to do one as a training race. Im waiting for the XTERRA CUP schedule to come out sometime in the next thrity days to finalize my decisions.
I have been told that if I am going to be a kilo track rider, I need to focus on nothing but however I am a challenged athlete and I can do more, just need the direction first. If any of this makes sense, great, Im still confused, hasta la vista baby.
Happy American Thanksgiving to all my peeps south of Canada, gobble gobble.
DS out
To accomplish any or all of these items, I require TOTALLY different training. Power training for the track, a maximum race time of 1:25minutes, endurance training for 70.3, a maximum race time of 7 hours (hoping for 6.5hr), a mixture of the two for XTERRA races, average race time of 4 hours, and I would like to get my TT times to around 31min for the 20km and 1:03 for the 40km.
I dont think I can do all of it.....well, I CAN do all of it but something is going to suffer. If I can get classified sometime late this year or early next year, I will have a goal time to make for the track and I will most likely just focus on that and making the paracycling team. If I cannot, I suppose I will more than likely work on the Oly distance/Xterra races, which in turn will help my TT speed (my thoughts, not one of a coach, perhaps I can be schooled on why or why not that is a good idea). The 70.3 would probably be a June race so if I choose to peak for that, there are also a couple of XTERRA races around that time that i might be able to do one as a training race. Im waiting for the XTERRA CUP schedule to come out sometime in the next thrity days to finalize my decisions.
I have been told that if I am going to be a kilo track rider, I need to focus on nothing but however I am a challenged athlete and I can do more, just need the direction first. If any of this makes sense, great, Im still confused, hasta la vista baby.
Happy American Thanksgiving to all my peeps south of Canada, gobble gobble.
DS out
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Cross Crusade at PIR
What I did on my bike today was not as much fun as looking forward to it. Like all 43 year old boys, I love play in the mud and today was a perfect day for it. It rained almost an inch over the last 24 hours so the course at Portland International Raceway was soaked and muddy. I had forgotten to pick my cross bike up at the shop yesterday and didn't think I would be able to race but thanks to Twitter, my good friend Gary from Athletes Lounge let me know he would be there early.
I picked up my bike around 820am and made my way to PIR. I got dressed, signed in, paid my money, and did a little warming up then lined up to race. Because of my number I started in the back. This suited me fine as I wasn't feeling all that great about my fitness anyway. The horn sounded and we were off. Around 55 heavy weights rumbled out of the starting chute and onto the course. Each lap was 2.5 miles and pretty flat. There were two or three run ups, depending on your bike skills, but that was it for hills.
My legs were tired quickly due to the amount of mud that made up the course. There was a nice puddle section which got deeper and deeper each successive lap. I tried to ride that section on the bank of the puddle but I ended up riding through the thick mud.
Upon starting the second lap, I began to realize that I was DFL, dead freakin last, and I wasn't even half way through that lap when I got lapped. I was having a lot of trouble getting back into my pedals when I had to remount after clipping out. I have ridden with these pedals a lot but have not raced with them until today. I also had not been on my new bike in a race yet either.
Upon trying to remount after a short run up, I tweaked my ankle again, rolling it on the soft surface. I got on again but wasn't able to clip in on the left but I did manage to swing my crank around, smacking my tibia with it. I started walking again, along the course but kept rolling my ankle.
I decided to pack it in and walked across the course in time to see the finish of the race.
On the drive home, I was thinking if I should even be doing this. I have fun, to a degree, but its no picnic. I enjoy the time on the bike but not so much the getting on/off all the time. Too bad Stacey isn't taller, i would just give her my bike and I would stick to events that I don't have to mount/dismount as part of the course.
Falling asleep, guess that means I should sign off. Not too exciting and I know I had more to say but for now, that's it.
I picked up my bike around 820am and made my way to PIR. I got dressed, signed in, paid my money, and did a little warming up then lined up to race. Because of my number I started in the back. This suited me fine as I wasn't feeling all that great about my fitness anyway. The horn sounded and we were off. Around 55 heavy weights rumbled out of the starting chute and onto the course. Each lap was 2.5 miles and pretty flat. There were two or three run ups, depending on your bike skills, but that was it for hills.
My legs were tired quickly due to the amount of mud that made up the course. There was a nice puddle section which got deeper and deeper each successive lap. I tried to ride that section on the bank of the puddle but I ended up riding through the thick mud.
Upon starting the second lap, I began to realize that I was DFL, dead freakin last, and I wasn't even half way through that lap when I got lapped. I was having a lot of trouble getting back into my pedals when I had to remount after clipping out. I have ridden with these pedals a lot but have not raced with them until today. I also had not been on my new bike in a race yet either.
Upon trying to remount after a short run up, I tweaked my ankle again, rolling it on the soft surface. I got on again but wasn't able to clip in on the left but I did manage to swing my crank around, smacking my tibia with it. I started walking again, along the course but kept rolling my ankle.
I decided to pack it in and walked across the course in time to see the finish of the race.
On the drive home, I was thinking if I should even be doing this. I have fun, to a degree, but its no picnic. I enjoy the time on the bike but not so much the getting on/off all the time. Too bad Stacey isn't taller, i would just give her my bike and I would stick to events that I don't have to mount/dismount as part of the course.
Falling asleep, guess that means I should sign off. Not too exciting and I know I had more to say but for now, that's it.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Cross Crusade Series, Races 1 and 2
Last year, after finishing a long season of training, I hung up my bike. I really didnt want to get on it again after Ironman Canada. I did, however, continue running and I thought I might attempt a marathon (without having to swim and bike beforehand, what a concept!). After a couple of weeks of that, I decided I didnt want to continue with that either.
Sooooooooo, at the beginning of October 2008, I got this great idea of stripping my rain bike of its fenders, the bottle cages, and computer and putting cyclocross tires on it with the intention of doing some of the Cross Crusade races. Cyclocross is very popular in the NW and the kids at Cross Crusade put on a great show. I posted an email on the Oregon Bike Racing list asking what category I should race in: Beginners, Clydesdale, C, or Masters C. Various people said Beginners so I signed up for the Alpenrose race as a Beginner, took my converted steed out for a couple rides on the trail near my house, and decided I was ready to race.
My first ever race was Alpenrose, Cross Crusade #1 of the season. It was a 2.1 mile loop around the velodrome and other parts of the dairy. It was also the biggest turn out of all time at a CC race, something 12oo riders all day and over 130 beginners. I finished around 80th, had a blast but after I saw the clydesdales racing, I decided I wanted to ride with the heavy horse!
I did 3 races last year and didnt train a lick between each race. It was not a good idea but doing a 35-45 minute race at very close to my AT took a lot out of me considering how many years I had been doing road triathlon and not going much near AT.
Fast forward a year. October 4, 2009. I revisited Alpenrose Dairy for the 2009 Cross Crusade series. This time, I felt better prepared. Only two short weeks before, I had raced XTerra USA Championships and had been mountain biking most of the summer. Something a little closer to cross racing than Ironman training had been plus I wasnt burnt out from riding my TT bike for hours on end.
This time I entered the Clydesdale class. Last year we max'd out at around 40 guys, this year at Alpenrose, we ended up with 58 starters. I finished in the mid 40's, one lap down from the leaders but I felt great and was passing guys on the last lap. It was a great course for me with a lot of flats and some technical stuff but not a whole lot of climbing.
I was excited because I felt so good and of course I wanted a cross bike afterwards. I had a busy week after that and didnt get to train much. I had one road ride and one 5 km run as well as a stress test that I had to run on the treadmill.
Yesterday I paid for not training. The CC#2 was at Rainer High School and it had a few hills. I dragged Taggy out of bed at 630am and we did some racing. My race lasted 3 laps and after getting passed by the leading Clydesdale, I packed it in. I thought they would give me a DNF but they scored me as dead last (except for the one DNF) and gave me 3 laps (winner had 4).
Taggy and I waited around for his race, ate some fries, watched some racing, and talked to some peeps. He finished his fries, wiped the ketchup from his face, jumped on his bike and did some laps of the kids course. He was having trouble with the barrier given that his bike was abouut 25lb but he was dismounting and getting back on like a champ. When the time came for his race, the kids were given the choice to do a lap of the adult course or a few laps of the kiddie cross circuit. He chose to do a full lap.....
I tried to keep up with him, running alongside but I was beat from my race and I didnt have my ankle brace so I tried to cut the course and see him along the way. I got a video of him coming down a hill and then I ran over to the start/finish so I could help him through the second section of hills. I saw him coming out of the trees, he had a bit of a pout on his face and I could see him covered in dust. I asked him if he crashed, he nodded, almost crying, but then I asked him if he wanted to continue and he nodded again. So, I jogged next to him, helped him over the two barriers, and encouraged him along.
It was time to start the next wave of adults so they had us cut the course, missing the last climbing section, and turned the rest of the kids towards the finish. I gave him a big hug, told him how proud of him I was, and took his picture. One of the adults that was helping out, came over to me and said he had crashed HARD but he got up and finished off. They said he got 10/10 for his crash and that made him smile a little.
Afterwards, we went over to the area he went down and he described his crash. Apparently, a rock got in his way and he washed out his front tire. Right abouut that time, the B's came through and I could see how easy it would be for Taggy to go down right there as it was loose and rocky as well as downhill with a turn at the bottom.
He is looking forward to next week as am I. Oh, and Im getting a new Scott CX Team cross bike next week, so excited.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
XTerra USA Championships, Sept 26, 2009
"You can quit, and nobody else will care, but you will always know"
John Collins, Ironman creator.
I read that quote about a week after I finished one of the hardest races of my life. I had thought about packing it in many times during that race but although I had never seen those words, I had the same feeling, no one would probably think less of me but I would always know that I DNF'd.
I felt prepared for the US Championships as I got into Coach Grant's SUV and settled in for the long ride to Ogden Utah. My training had gone well in the weeks leading up to the race and I felt that I would have a good showing. We stopped for the night in Boise and thanks to Dr. and Mrs Folske, we departed the next morning well rested and very well fed. My other two traveling companions were Rob Jackson and Justin Bernard, the race directors for XTerra Portland.
We got to Ogden, checked into our hotel, and I went for a short run. Ogden is a pretty cool little town and I was able to check out some restaurants for later. Dinner, TV, bed. Not all that exciting but it was a Thursday.
Friday morning, Grant and I went up to Snow Basin to ride part of the course. This was when I realized just how much climbing I would be doing on Saturday. The single track at the base of the mountain was a lot of fun but it was basically all uphill. We rode for 30 minutes, went down to the reservoir to check out the swim area, then hit this bike store for some supplies. It also had a cafe attached to it and I had an awesome lunch.
That night was the "Night of Champions" dinner and along with 158 others, Justin and I were honoured as NW Regional Champions of our respective divisions. We were lei'd and got a shirt with our new title on it. After dinner, I finished preparing my gear and nutrition bottles and watched TV til around 11pm.
As usual on race eve, I didn't sleep well but felt pretty good when I got up. I changed my tri kit 2 or 3 times. I wanted to wear my Challenged Athletes Foundation kit but having just received it, and it being a little tight, I didn't want to chance some major chafing during the swim. In hindsight, I should have worn it anyway as I chafed something fierce from my wetsuit and it was nothing to do with my choice of jersey.
We headed up to T2, left our run gear, then drove down to T1. I had not done a point to point race before and I was nervous that I had not left something that I may have wanted later. Oh well, too late. I didn't end up needing anything extra but I hate that feeling .
Race time was 9am so I went for a short warm up ride around 815am. I got back and someone had taken my spot on the bike rack. Once I pointed out that my swim stuff was right there, he left.....no one takes my spot on the rack, no one.
I got suited up and realized I left my body glide in Grant's truck. We were told we had to put all our swim gear and any other items into a bag before we left T1 so I put everything I didn't need for swimming or biking away.... another reason I am not enjoying point to point racing. I borrowed some glide and went down to have a swim warm up. I ran into a couple of the other PC athletes, Andy May and Megan, both are BK amputees. The water was cool but just fine for a short sleeve wetsuit.
At 9am, the horn blew and everyone, including the pro's, were off. All the pro women were wearing pink caps so I guess for the first time in my triathlon career, I was responsible for ripping someones goggles off. Sorry for that pro woman triathlete, I didn't mean to do it.
I was feeling great physically and after checking my time right as I got out of the water, it read 27:20. There were no timing chips in this race and they included T1 in my swim time so I officially had a 34 minute swim. We had to run up a long boat ramp and part of the parking lot to get to the TZ and that obviously took me a while. I was happy to see people I knew coming out of the water behind me and shouting encouragement because on a point to point, I wasn't likely to see them again.
I got out of the TZ, jumped on my bike, and departed on what turned out to be a very long day in the saddle. They teased me with a mile on the flats, then we entered Wheeler Canyon and began to climb, climb, climb, climb, and did I mention climb??? Holy crap, it was tough on me. I think I still hear "on your left" or some derivative of that in my sleep. I think I can honestly say I climbed for 1.5 hours before I hit the first of only two downhill sections. The first downhill was fun but my body was so tired I almost cooked a few of the turns a little too hot. After that downhill section, the course climbed up to Snow Basin Lodge parking lot and turned into a cool single track section that Grant and I had done the day before. After that, unbeknownst to me, the course went up the ski hill, following part of the chair lift. I was exhausted and I didn't want to go on especially after the previous 2 hours of hell I had just experienced.
This is where my day got longer. I hit a very steep pitch and got off and started pushing my bike up the hill all the while trying to dodge the top age groupers that were flying down the hill on their way to finishing the run. Through the haze, I spotted an Ironhead jersey steaming full speed towards me. I high five'd Matt as he ran his way to a 3rd place finish.
I pushed myself harder, still hiking uphill, and crested the steep part of the climb and I sat down, stared downhill and for the second time, I talked myself out of quitting. While I was sitting there, one of the XTerraTV guys ran up to me with his camera. "How tough is this course?" he asked to which I replied, "a lot tougher than Vegas"....WTF I said that for, I will never know. I was so exhausted, I had nothing better to tell him.
Right after I embarrassed myself on XTerraTV, I got up and pushed on. I got on my bike, granny geared up, and slowly climbed the next pitch of about 6-7% (last climb was at least 18-20%, I'm sure of it!). Justin's dad passed me on his bike, giving me words of encouragement, Rob passed me, running on his way back to the finish, asking if I was OK. I smiled, gave them big props and stopped again. I stopped again, leaned on my bike, looked down the hill towards the finish line, and slowly my vision went bright white and I felt like I was going to fall over. I closed my eyes, took some deep breaths, drank some water, and waited for my sight to return. It seemed to take forever but it came back.
I wandered slowly to the medical tent at the top of the hill and told them of my symptoms but they just told me to walk around a bit. They didn't seem to concerned. I was actually hoping they would pull me from the course for medical reasons but I'm glad they didn't.
I got on my bike again for the last bit of climbing, looking forward to going downhill again. The rest of the bike ride was uneventful. I loved the downhill except for the fact that I was so exhausted, I almost bit it on some of the switchbacks.
I rolled into T2 after about 3:10 on the bike, convinced that I was going to pack it in. I got my running gear on and walked out of transition. I stopped at the timing area and asked where the medical tent was. I was pointed in two different directions. I started up the hill towards the run course and I looked over and saw the med tent. I walked over to it and stood there for a couple of minutes before someone asked if I needed anything. I again, told them my symptoms but no one seemed concerned. If someone wandered into my med tent at a soccer tourney telling me they were dizzy, seeing stars or other visual disturbances, or any other heat injury type symptoms, I would have had them sitting down and getting some ice on them and some water or IV or other electrolytes into them. I almost had to guide them to what I thought was wrong with me. I wont bore you with details but eventually I just got up and walked out (something else i would not have let someone do).
While I was in the med tent, I heard them announce the other 3 PC athletes finishing. I walked over, congratulated them, and told them I hadn't even started the run yet. I also saw Grant, Kaytee, Matt, and Rob in the food line. I told them I wasn't sure I was going to finish and without hesitating, Grant said no one would think any less of me if I DNF'd because of the toughness of the course. That was all I needed to push me on, I knew I was NOT going to DNF after that. I saw Justin while I wandered towards the run course, he said "its not that bad". I had doubts again..... I found a shady spot, sat down, put my head in my hands, stared at the cones that marked the run course, and cried (yes, I did, call me what you will but that's the kind of day I was having). I told myself that if I didn't finish, I didn't deserve to wear the Regional Champ shirt I won the night before so after getting control of myself, I got up and walked up the hill.
Most of the course volunteers were coming down the hill. I got a couple cramps on the way up the steep section but otherwise, I must have gotten my second wind, because I felt pretty damn good. About the 5km mark, I ran out of water and food. My stomach was growling and I was wondering where the next aid station was. A volunteer on a MTB came towards me and said the aid station was only a quarter mile away. I believed him but HE LIED!!! By my calculations, it was at least a mile but it was something to look forward to.
I got to the downhill section, the way home! I walked down the steep part and I could hear Whit announcing winners from the Sport race. He said there would be a 5 minute break and then they would present the pro winners and AG winners from the USA Champs. When I heard that, I broke into a jog. I really wanted to come across the line before he started announcing again.
I came into the finishing chute and Whit spotted me and it was really cool. He had the whole crowd up and cheering for me. It was very emotional, not because of the crowd so much but for the few members of the crowd that came to the finish line to greet me. All the other PC athletes were there, Andy, Craig, and Megan, all my Portland peeps, Grant, Justin, Rob, Matt, and Phil. It was so awesome. I timed my run at 1:50, but with all the messing around in the TZ and the med tent, my official time was 2:15.
I have to say, I will never attempt that course again. Its just too much climbing for me, my size, and my weak leg. I learned from this course and will benefit from doing it. Next season, I hope to win a Maui spot in Vegas so I don't have to try and make it on points plus I can skip the USA Championships which will be in Utah again.
Almost three weeks later, I am still sporting the sunburned arm tattoo of my number so I have something else, besides pain, to remember the race by.
Cyclocross season in full effect! Having fun at that, Im wondering if I will ever grow up.
John Collins, Ironman creator.
I read that quote about a week after I finished one of the hardest races of my life. I had thought about packing it in many times during that race but although I had never seen those words, I had the same feeling, no one would probably think less of me but I would always know that I DNF'd.
I felt prepared for the US Championships as I got into Coach Grant's SUV and settled in for the long ride to Ogden Utah. My training had gone well in the weeks leading up to the race and I felt that I would have a good showing. We stopped for the night in Boise and thanks to Dr. and Mrs Folske, we departed the next morning well rested and very well fed. My other two traveling companions were Rob Jackson and Justin Bernard, the race directors for XTerra Portland.
We got to Ogden, checked into our hotel, and I went for a short run. Ogden is a pretty cool little town and I was able to check out some restaurants for later. Dinner, TV, bed. Not all that exciting but it was a Thursday.
Friday morning, Grant and I went up to Snow Basin to ride part of the course. This was when I realized just how much climbing I would be doing on Saturday. The single track at the base of the mountain was a lot of fun but it was basically all uphill. We rode for 30 minutes, went down to the reservoir to check out the swim area, then hit this bike store for some supplies. It also had a cafe attached to it and I had an awesome lunch.
That night was the "Night of Champions" dinner and along with 158 others, Justin and I were honoured as NW Regional Champions of our respective divisions. We were lei'd and got a shirt with our new title on it. After dinner, I finished preparing my gear and nutrition bottles and watched TV til around 11pm.
As usual on race eve, I didn't sleep well but felt pretty good when I got up. I changed my tri kit 2 or 3 times. I wanted to wear my Challenged Athletes Foundation kit but having just received it, and it being a little tight, I didn't want to chance some major chafing during the swim. In hindsight, I should have worn it anyway as I chafed something fierce from my wetsuit and it was nothing to do with my choice of jersey.
We headed up to T2, left our run gear, then drove down to T1. I had not done a point to point race before and I was nervous that I had not left something that I may have wanted later. Oh well, too late. I didn't end up needing anything extra but I hate that feeling .
Race time was 9am so I went for a short warm up ride around 815am. I got back and someone had taken my spot on the bike rack. Once I pointed out that my swim stuff was right there, he left.....no one takes my spot on the rack, no one.
I got suited up and realized I left my body glide in Grant's truck. We were told we had to put all our swim gear and any other items into a bag before we left T1 so I put everything I didn't need for swimming or biking away.... another reason I am not enjoying point to point racing. I borrowed some glide and went down to have a swim warm up. I ran into a couple of the other PC athletes, Andy May and Megan, both are BK amputees. The water was cool but just fine for a short sleeve wetsuit.
At 9am, the horn blew and everyone, including the pro's, were off. All the pro women were wearing pink caps so I guess for the first time in my triathlon career, I was responsible for ripping someones goggles off. Sorry for that pro woman triathlete, I didn't mean to do it.
I was feeling great physically and after checking my time right as I got out of the water, it read 27:20. There were no timing chips in this race and they included T1 in my swim time so I officially had a 34 minute swim. We had to run up a long boat ramp and part of the parking lot to get to the TZ and that obviously took me a while. I was happy to see people I knew coming out of the water behind me and shouting encouragement because on a point to point, I wasn't likely to see them again.
I got out of the TZ, jumped on my bike, and departed on what turned out to be a very long day in the saddle. They teased me with a mile on the flats, then we entered Wheeler Canyon and began to climb, climb, climb, climb, and did I mention climb??? Holy crap, it was tough on me. I think I still hear "on your left" or some derivative of that in my sleep. I think I can honestly say I climbed for 1.5 hours before I hit the first of only two downhill sections. The first downhill was fun but my body was so tired I almost cooked a few of the turns a little too hot. After that downhill section, the course climbed up to Snow Basin Lodge parking lot and turned into a cool single track section that Grant and I had done the day before. After that, unbeknownst to me, the course went up the ski hill, following part of the chair lift. I was exhausted and I didn't want to go on especially after the previous 2 hours of hell I had just experienced.
This is where my day got longer. I hit a very steep pitch and got off and started pushing my bike up the hill all the while trying to dodge the top age groupers that were flying down the hill on their way to finishing the run. Through the haze, I spotted an Ironhead jersey steaming full speed towards me. I high five'd Matt as he ran his way to a 3rd place finish.
I pushed myself harder, still hiking uphill, and crested the steep part of the climb and I sat down, stared downhill and for the second time, I talked myself out of quitting. While I was sitting there, one of the XTerraTV guys ran up to me with his camera. "How tough is this course?" he asked to which I replied, "a lot tougher than Vegas"....WTF I said that for, I will never know. I was so exhausted, I had nothing better to tell him.
Right after I embarrassed myself on XTerraTV, I got up and pushed on. I got on my bike, granny geared up, and slowly climbed the next pitch of about 6-7% (last climb was at least 18-20%, I'm sure of it!). Justin's dad passed me on his bike, giving me words of encouragement, Rob passed me, running on his way back to the finish, asking if I was OK. I smiled, gave them big props and stopped again. I stopped again, leaned on my bike, looked down the hill towards the finish line, and slowly my vision went bright white and I felt like I was going to fall over. I closed my eyes, took some deep breaths, drank some water, and waited for my sight to return. It seemed to take forever but it came back.
I wandered slowly to the medical tent at the top of the hill and told them of my symptoms but they just told me to walk around a bit. They didn't seem to concerned. I was actually hoping they would pull me from the course for medical reasons but I'm glad they didn't.
I got on my bike again for the last bit of climbing, looking forward to going downhill again. The rest of the bike ride was uneventful. I loved the downhill except for the fact that I was so exhausted, I almost bit it on some of the switchbacks.
I rolled into T2 after about 3:10 on the bike, convinced that I was going to pack it in. I got my running gear on and walked out of transition. I stopped at the timing area and asked where the medical tent was. I was pointed in two different directions. I started up the hill towards the run course and I looked over and saw the med tent. I walked over to it and stood there for a couple of minutes before someone asked if I needed anything. I again, told them my symptoms but no one seemed concerned. If someone wandered into my med tent at a soccer tourney telling me they were dizzy, seeing stars or other visual disturbances, or any other heat injury type symptoms, I would have had them sitting down and getting some ice on them and some water or IV or other electrolytes into them. I almost had to guide them to what I thought was wrong with me. I wont bore you with details but eventually I just got up and walked out (something else i would not have let someone do).
While I was in the med tent, I heard them announce the other 3 PC athletes finishing. I walked over, congratulated them, and told them I hadn't even started the run yet. I also saw Grant, Kaytee, Matt, and Rob in the food line. I told them I wasn't sure I was going to finish and without hesitating, Grant said no one would think any less of me if I DNF'd because of the toughness of the course. That was all I needed to push me on, I knew I was NOT going to DNF after that. I saw Justin while I wandered towards the run course, he said "its not that bad". I had doubts again..... I found a shady spot, sat down, put my head in my hands, stared at the cones that marked the run course, and cried (yes, I did, call me what you will but that's the kind of day I was having). I told myself that if I didn't finish, I didn't deserve to wear the Regional Champ shirt I won the night before so after getting control of myself, I got up and walked up the hill.
Most of the course volunteers were coming down the hill. I got a couple cramps on the way up the steep section but otherwise, I must have gotten my second wind, because I felt pretty damn good. About the 5km mark, I ran out of water and food. My stomach was growling and I was wondering where the next aid station was. A volunteer on a MTB came towards me and said the aid station was only a quarter mile away. I believed him but HE LIED!!! By my calculations, it was at least a mile but it was something to look forward to.
I got to the downhill section, the way home! I walked down the steep part and I could hear Whit announcing winners from the Sport race. He said there would be a 5 minute break and then they would present the pro winners and AG winners from the USA Champs. When I heard that, I broke into a jog. I really wanted to come across the line before he started announcing again.
I came into the finishing chute and Whit spotted me and it was really cool. He had the whole crowd up and cheering for me. It was very emotional, not because of the crowd so much but for the few members of the crowd that came to the finish line to greet me. All the other PC athletes were there, Andy, Craig, and Megan, all my Portland peeps, Grant, Justin, Rob, Matt, and Phil. It was so awesome. I timed my run at 1:50, but with all the messing around in the TZ and the med tent, my official time was 2:15.
I have to say, I will never attempt that course again. Its just too much climbing for me, my size, and my weak leg. I learned from this course and will benefit from doing it. Next season, I hope to win a Maui spot in Vegas so I don't have to try and make it on points plus I can skip the USA Championships which will be in Utah again.
Almost three weeks later, I am still sporting the sunburned arm tattoo of my number so I have something else, besides pain, to remember the race by.
Cyclocross season in full effect! Having fun at that, Im wondering if I will ever grow up.
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