This is my training log from Feb 1, 2009 to July 26, 2009. Ironman USA - Lake Placid New York.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Ironman USA July 26, 2009

Bryan, Willem and I arranged for a condo in town last year when we all signed up for Ironman. Lynne and I arrived in Lake Placid on Tuesday. Bryan and Willem on Wednesday. Kathryn and Steve joined us on Wednesday also, but they didn’t arrive until late in the evening. We all had a blast!

We’d joined up with Linda, Kathie, Miles and John for dinner at their cottage on Wednesday night. Swam Thursday morning (and collected our free Gatorade water bottles). We pretty much hung out checking the weather every 10 minutes until race day morning.

We’d all taken our bikes over and checked them in on Saturday afternoon. Saturday night, Bryan, Willem and I sat around the dining room table trying to figure out how to repair a broken chain. (apparently, it can’t be done!) Sunday morning we were up at 4:00, eat breakfast, checked the bags one more time and headed over to body marking at 5:00. We got split up at that point. Everyone was nervous, tired and excited. I walked my special needs bags up to the drop off, came back and got my wetsuit on and headed over to the water. I found David and his wife and Steven under a tree trying to stay dry. It had started raining about 6:30. I saw Simon, Bern Steve and Sid on my way to the water. I saw Gavin for a minute and then finally found Michelle and Lynne just before I got into the water.

I warmed up for a little bit just after the pro’s left at 6:50 and then found Bryan about 6:57. We got ourselves lined up right behind the line of buoys, about 25 feet back from the front of the line. The cannon went and we were off. I think we crossed the line within 20 – 30 seconds. It was a huge fight all the way to the far buoy, about 900 meters I think. I kept looking up for clear water, dodging behind folks to try to get to it, but it would be packed each time I got there. Yup – like swimming in a washing machine. Kicked, punched, rolled over, dragged down, did I mention punched? I got hit in the head so many times I thought I was going to look like Rocky when I finished. Someone almost knocked my goggles off. I’m glad I had the strap under my swim cap. By the first turn things had started to clear up a bit, but of course everyone converges at that corner so, the fight was back on. The 100 – 150 meters or so at the turn around at the far end of the lake was still a fight, but not too bad. At the next turn, now heading back to the beach again, I went inside the line and found clear water there. The swim back to the line from there on went pretty smoothly. I’d swam that course in 37 minutes a few times in training, but the clock showed 39:46 when I hit the shore and started the 2nd loop. I figured I’d lost time fighting the crowd and the slow start, so I wasn’t too worried. I was hoping to knock some time off of my last race, but, overall, a few minutes in the lake doesn’t make that much difference by the end of the day! The second loop went better. I felt more relaxed and for the most part, was able to follow that line 5 feet below the water that stretches from buoy to buoy around the course. I finished that lap in 39:14 – a 32 second negative split. I think that’s my first negative split ever! My final swim time was 1:19:00 – 2:08 better than last time!

I tore up and out of the water, over to the peelers who ripped my wetsuit off for me and headed up and around over to the transition area. I saw Mike Dunbar on the rail at one point cheering for me, and then Lynne, Michelle and Gavin a little further along. I was confused when I got into T1 where I was to pickup my bike bag. I grabbed the bag and continued on and into the far end of the men’s change tent. I found a chair and sat down a took a breath for a5-6 seconds before I started on opening the bag. There was a knot in the strings. I struggled with that for a bit then decided to rip the bag open. As soon as I started to do that, and saw the bike helmet inside, and realized “that’s not my helmet”., I figured out that I’d grabbed the wrong bag. I had to run back to change it. Luckily the guy who owned that bag wasn’t there yet. All I could think of was what it would have been like for this poor guy to finish his swim and then find his bike stuff missing!

I grabbed my bag, got back to the tent, got dried off, changed and ran out as quickly as I could. So much for the time I’d saved in the swim! T1 took me 12:19. Not a good time, but better than the 13:16 I’d done a couple of years earlier!

One of the fabulous volunteers passed my bike to me as I got to the bike racks. I ran up to the mount line and headed out. I didn’t see anyone I knew as I headed out on the bike course. I tore down those first few blocks and headed out of town. The first 10k or so seem to be a slight uphill grind. I watched my powertap and didn’t worry about all the folks passing me. I finally got to that hill into the town of Keene. 9k of downhill sweeping though the woods. I love that hill. It makes all the pain from the rest of the day, and the years of training before that, worthwhile. There ended up being four of us in a group blasting down that hill. I had to feather the break a couple of times for fear of hitting one or another of them It’d great when you pass about the 50 kph mark and there is no point in peddling anymore. I put my head down so that it was just a touch off the bike stem, blinked hard to try to push the tears out of my eyes that the wind was causing and hung on for dear life as the bike shakes to the point I worry that it’s just going to break apart. Down and around all the curves in the road, flying through the forest on either side, streaking past some poor sap who is doing this for the first time and has braked for fear of dying by skidding off the road. The four of us, whoever they were, stuck pretty close all the way down, hooting and hollering like drunken cowboys. It was GREAT. I think I cruised most of that ride at about 67 – 68 kph. For me, that ride is always the same at the bottom. A smile from ear to ear, ears full of water that the wind pushed around your head, and then finally relaxing my butt, being somewhat surprised at how hard I’d squeezed my ass cheeks together, happy to find that I am able to get the bike seat back out of there!

The four of us that had gone down together were cheering and yelling still as we turned the corner out of Keen and on our way to Jay. I guess we absentmindedly had grouped ourselves together and were blocking the road. Someone passed and yelled over that we shouldn’t be blocking. I looked over to yell back, and saw that it was Simon. I sped away from the gang I was with to catch up to him. When I got to him I called over and said if you’re going to yell at me, you could at least use my name. We both laughed and rode off together for a bit. Luckily for me, Simon was sticking to a lower zone than usual, so I was able to keep up for a bit. We chatted a bit. He told me he’d finished his second bottle of water already. I was only half way through my first bottle. I knew I’d blown the nutrition stuff on the bike 2 years earlier doing this race, so I picked up the drinking pace from that point on. 2 years ago I think I only drank 2 bottle on each loop on the bike. I got all 4 back each loop this time. Eventually I dropped back and watched Simon head out over the horizon. I can’t remember the order in which everyone passed me, but slowly but surely, Sid, Steve, Bern and Kathie all passed me. I saw Bryan and then Willem heading out from the out and back as I was heading in. It was nice now that I had a perspective on where just about everyone was on the course. The out and back, just like the hill into Keene had been freshly paved a few weeks before the race. We flew through there. I was a bit disappointed to see that the folks in Hazelton hadn’t decorated the town the way they had before when we turned, but they were out cheering in full force, which was the most important thing.

Out of the Out and Back, past the gorge, up the 2 Cherry’s and the 3 Bear hills and I was back in town again. I stopped at special needs and swapped out my 4 empty bottles of E-Load and Fly for 4 new ones and headed on out again. I saw Michele and Gavin and then Lynne John and Joni in front of our condo just past Station Street. I stopped to hug Lynne and say a quick hello of Joni and John. My foot hit a water bottle as I got off the bike but I didn’t pay any attention to it. I was off again quickly and heading out of town again for the second 90k loop. I’d done the first loop in 3:29:00 – 1 minute quicker than I was shooting for.

The second loop on the bike is the worst part of the race for me. It’s noon. The rain had poured down during the swim, but stopped when we got out. The clouds blocked the sun for most of the morning but by noon the sun was beating down. I knew my shoulders, neck and back were getting burned. Another grind out of town and then a great run down into Keene. I was on my own this time and I peddled as quickly as I could for as long as it did any good and then hunched down as low as I could get. I was on my own, so I didn’t have to worry about anyone else on the road. 73.3 turned out to be my high speed going down this time. Gosh I LOVE that hill!! Most of the rest of ride was uneventful. I got to the out and back with is about half way around the course and reached back for my third water bottle only to find it wasn’t there. I had no idea until after the race that I’d knocked it off the bike when I stopped to see Lynne. Someone gave it to Lynne after I’d headed out and said they saw me knock it off. It would have been nice if they’d have hollered at the time. I was now 2 hours out and had enough water for 1 hour. I picked up water at the next station and switched to one swallow of regular water and then a swig from my remaining E-Load / Fly mix. It got me through OK. The out and back went quickly and it was around there that I realized I’d slowed down. Linda passed me. I caught up for a bit, but didn’t have the energy to keep with her. She pulled away oh so slowly, but very steadily! I was tired of doing this. I was hot and my legs, feet and back were hurting. I was cognizant that this would be the last time I’d ever be on these roads. That thought allowed me to pick it up a bit anyway. The hills into town felt longer and steeper again, but I was used to that feeling. Riding through town is great because of the cheering crowds, but looking at all the runners who were finishing their first loop was a bit of a downer for me.

I blasted through town and into T2. My total bike time was 7:19:43. I’d been hoping for 7:00:00. I was 9 minutes quicker than in 2007. Someone took my bike. I grabbed my bag, the right one this time, and headed into the tent to get changed again. I took a couple of minutes to cool down. I know I hadn’t wanted to do that from the onset, but at this point in the day, I didn’t care anymore. I got changed slowly and checked on the guy in the chair beside me. He hadn’t moved a muscle all the time I’d been there. When I spoke to him, he started to tell me that he’d be throwing up for a while, but jumped up and just got out of the door at the other side of me as he tossed his cookies again! I felt bad for him, but realized although I was tired and a bit unmotivated to get going, I could have been in a lot worse shape!

As I headed out to start the 26.2 mile marathon, I heard the announcer talking about Tereza and the fact that she was down to the last could of k of the run and she was the first place women. Tereza is our assistant swim coach. I’ve gone to a few of her 3 on one training classes also. She’s an amazing swimmer, a great coach, and a ton of fun.

I saw Lynne, Joni and John again on my way out on the run. I was carrying my Nathan belt with 4 bottles of E-Load and Fly mix along with a half dozen or so Gu gels. I ran all of the first loop except for the three hills coming back into town. I kept wanting to stop and walk, but I kept repeating to myself that my’ slowest run is quicker than my fastest walk” . I also pretended that I wasn’t running a marathon after a 180k bike ride after a 3.8k swim, I was just out running a long slow run like Nadia and I did so often on a Sunday morning. We’d go out for hours at a nice slow pace, just filling in the time, not worrying about speed, or pace or anything. Somehow, those two thought made the run easier. Manageable anyway! I finished the first half in 2:43:07.

When I headed out for the second half, Lynne told me that Derek was just a bit ahead and he was walking. He’d blasted past me on the bike. At this point in the day, I thought I’d just keep joggling slowly until I caught him and then walk in to the finish with him. I wasn’t going to get my sub 14 hours (I never really thought I would, but it made for a good goal!) . Away I went again. I found myself walking on most of the up hills, regardless of size on this leg. I’d catch myself and push on through, but I knew I was losing time and ground from my first loop. It was late. The sun was going down. I didn’t really care. I fought to care, but it felt like I was losing the fight. I couldn’t find Derek. I thought that Lynne isn’t very experienced and when she told me he was just a ‘little’ ahead, she may not have realized that 15minutes or so isn’t a ‘little’! Our I went past the out and back turn. I saw Kathryn, Derek’s wife. She came over to me all sort of bent, but I thought she was fooling around. I gave her a quick hug and away we went. I didn’t know that she was moments away from being pulled off the course and rushed to the medical tent because of nausea and dehydration. Poor Kathryn was sick, and I was stupid!

A few minutes later I saw Derek, running towards the turn I was at about 10 minutes earlier. We figured later that he must have been in a port-a-potty when I passed him. I stuck two those two thoughts and played a bit with catching up to some guys who were walking, walking with them for a minute and then switching to slow and easy jog and was always amazed at how quickly I’d pull away from them. Back into town I was getting encouraged by the number of folks who leaned over to tell me they thought I had a great pace. I started to think maybe I did have a good pace. I was passing a lot of walkers anyway. Into the center of town, around the corner to the final out and back. One more Gu, one more bit of water and I could feel myself pick up the pace all the way out and still all the way back in. Finally I was back in the oval. I saw Michelle as I rounded the last corner and could see the finish line. I could see the time was just a few seconds past 14:29:00. The thought of breaking 14:30 gave me an extra little boost in speed. I tossed my hat high in the air and ran with all I had left. I heard my name called again. I think we’ll all remember the sound of hearing your name and “You are an Ironman” until the day we die. I’d finished the second loop of the run in 2:43:16 – only 9 seconds longer than the first loop. My total time was 14:29:46 – 38 minutes quicker than 2007.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sunday - Final Big Workout

So, that’s it. A 50k bike out and around Muscleman Lake, back along Vivian Sideroad and then a 45 minute run. I did my usual 5k run from the house and then looped around and did that 2.5 k loop.

I’d stayed in bed longer than usual this morning before heading out though. I woke at 4:00 and though about how in 7 days I’d be eating breakfast. I fell asleep again for a bit and woke at 5:00 and though - we’ll be getting our numbers written non our arms and legs this time next week. I woke again about 6:55 and thought the pros will be leaving now, and then I watched the clock countdown to 7:00 and thought about treading water, looking for friends, picking my starting spot and then finally starting. I’ve been looking at the clock all day imagining where I’ll be ‘this tem next week’! Right about now I hope to be near Upper Jay for the second time. That wonderful 9k downhill into Keene will be history!

Eventually I got my butt out of bed and got going. Cold and overcast, looking like it’s going to rain again. What a familiar sight that is!
I did a lot of reminiscing today while I was out. I did a lot of thinking about the first time I biked to such and such a spot, or the first time we ran in the dead of winter along Vandorf to Hwy 48 and back. The first trip around Muscleman Lake. Stopping at the top of that hill expecting my heart to jump out of my chest onto the ground! Lots of great memories. The run was fun doing my usual 5k and then the 2.5 loop right afterwards. I thought of stopping at Vicki’s along the way, but God forbid I would ever stop during a run. I was sorry I hadn’t thought ahead and asked Vicki to come do this last workout with me. We’d done a lot together in that first year.

And so it ends. No more big training days. Off tomorrow. Drive to Lake Placid Tuesday. A bit of light workouts I guess every day that we’re there, but really just to keep limber I guess. I feel like I’m in a good head space for the race. I’d like to finish as close to 14 hours as I can, but who knows how the day will unfold. If I take a bit longer, but have a great time, that’s just fine too! It’s going to be fun with Lynne, Bryan and Willem at our condo. I don’t know Steve and Kathryn very much, but I’m looking forward to getting to know them. Almost every other athlete I know is racing Lake Placid this year. The days before the race are going to be a blast!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Saturday 1 Hour Easy Brick

Today called for a nice simple workout. A 45 minute easy bike and a 15 minute easy run. The weather forecast was calling for rain when I went to bed last night and it was pouring out then. This morning it was beautiful outside.

I went down Yonge Street, past Bob and Nancy’s place then around the lake. There were only a couple of people swimming, but the south parking lot was pretty full of cars and a good number of cyclists. I cycled back around the club and out Industrial Parkway. Some old drunk in a truck took offense to the fact that I didn’t stop at a stop sign but cut around the corner behind him quickly. We exchanged greetings and admiration for each other. I suggested a few way that he could have sex with himself. I don’t really think he’ll run me over the next time he sees me!

A quick 15 minute run around the short block at home and it’s over for another day. Back to packing I guess!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Friday - 4k Swim

Another beautiful swim this morning in Lake Wilcox. I don’t know why folks don’t like that lake. If you get a shower quickly enough after you get out, the water doesn’t have time to dry on your body and turn all crusty!

I got there a little before 5:00 and made it out and about half way back before the sun was up. It’s so easy sighting that early in the morning. Once the sun comes up, it’s light trying to sight when there’s a 150 watt light bulb hanging before your eyes!

I got back to the dock at about 5:45. No sign of Willem or Bryan. I got out and went to the parking lot to see if they were there. I’d parked at the canoe club so I wanted to make sure they didn’t see my car, decide I wasn’t there, and left. No sign of them. I got back into the water. It was cold in the early morning air. Willem drove up just as I was getting back in. We headed off to the far end. He was out of my sight in no time. I was about ¾ of the way to the far end when he passed me going the other way! We wanted to do more than the 2k. I turned at the far end without stopping and swam back to the dock. Willem passed me again before I got back. I’d timed myself. This was my 3rd and 4th k of the morning. I’d done it in 43:21 – which I think is just about bang on my time for the second loop of Placid a couple of years ago. I wonder if I can break 1:15 this year? We’ll see. I really don’t care too much. If I do the same swim time as before, I’ll still be happy! I’m looking forward to getting going with this!

I phoned Bryan when I got back home and out of the shower. He was still in bed!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Thursday Brick

And so, it slowly winds down. I’m still working out. I’m too scared at this point to miss anything on my training plan! The email flying around between everyone who is doing Lake Placid is great. Firstly, there’s tons of it. Some is thoughtful, some is excited, some is just nits, but all of it is adding to the buildup of excitement. With all of the other stuff going on around this house these days, Ironman was just one more of those things we had to get through, but as the days get closer, it’s starting to be really fun.

Today was probably the last Computrainer ride. 75 minutes of mixed cadence speeds and wattages. I blew it with a couple for 1 minute drills though. I was supposed to be in low zone 4 (180 watts) at 60 rpm. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I dialed up low zone 5 (235 watts) by mistake. It was impossible for me to finish the minute, but when I figured out my mistake, I felt a little better about it.

I went for a quick 15 minute run off the bike. 5 minutes easy, 5 medium and 5 hard. I usually blow it with how I’m supposed to run. I seem to look at the details after I finished. Good thing there is a week and a half left and NOW I finally get it right!

I’m heading to the lake in the morning. If I hear from anyone joining in, I’ll go at 6:00, if not, I think I’ll go do that 4:45 thing again . . . or . . . better still, if anyone wants to join me, bend my way this time and meet me at the canoe club dock at 4:40!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Wednesday Tri

It feels like it’s been months since I made it for a swim at the pool. I guess this was an non-swim day for most. The pool was practically empty. It was a pleasure to get into clean water for a change! As usual it’s imposable for me to catch Kathie except with paddle and pull. There’s a line to be had there, but it’s too easy!

I enjoyed the swim. We did a couple of 500m sets that we were supposed to time. I screwed up the time of the first one. The second one was 13:22. I guess with all the turns at each end that’s about on par with my 1:21 in Lake Placid a couple of years ago.

Home again and out for a 40 minute bike and a 20 minute run. Both were supposed to just be easy. I kind of enjoyed both. Taking it easy, enjoying the scenery, not big push anywhere. I got back from the bike and my average speed was 26.2 – my quickest ride this year. Go figure!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Monday & Tuesday Taper

It's midnight on Monday night. I can't sleep. Too much going on these days I guess with getting ready to move Jordan off to university, Ironman in 12 days, the house closing 10 days after that and the eventual move to Panama. Humm, now that I've written that, I can see why I'm having trouble sleeping!

It's great to ahve a couple of 'off' days from training. It looks like I only have one more big training day coming up this weekend with a 50k bike an d 45 minute run. I guess that should sound like a lot, but at this point and time, it doesn't seem like all that much.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Sunday - Last Huge Brick

Willem and I are the luckiest guys. We rode together this morning and it was the nicest weather so far this year. Sunny, but still cool with very little wind. Perfect . . . for a change!

We met up at Bayview and Vandorf and headed out around Muscleman Lake then back to Aurora via Aurora Road. Over to Bathurst, up and through Kettleby and over to Weston Road. We then went south on Weston to King Road, over to Jane, north to 17th, over to Keele, south again to 15th Sideroad , over to Dufferin and north again. Got to LOVE those hills. (I think it’s a rule someone wrote. I’m not sure why we love them and, to be honest, they aren’t my favorite!) Willem was great company and he stuck with me for most of the ride, even though when he felt the need for speed, he left me like I was sitting still! He cut off at Aurora Road, but I still had to put in another 15k to make up the 100. I went back up to Lloydtown/Aurora and looped around Keele before heading back to town. I ended up doing 100.5 in 4:08. That’s an average speed of 24.3kph. Slow for an average ride, but I think that was OK considering we did a total ascent of 991m on those hills! One other nice thing about a ride like that is the fact that I burned a bit over 3800 calories. That means I can eat EVERYTHING I can see for the rest of the day!

I got back home and headed out for my 2 hour run. I ran my usual 5k route from the house, but did it 4 times. That let me check my time for a negative split, and gave me the opportunity to not carry water, but grab a quick drink at the house every time I went by. Being able to wipe my face with a cool facecloth was an extra bonus for sure. 29:22, 29:51, 28:46 and 28:21 were my splits. I was pretty happy with that.

I tried eating bits of Power Bar along with the 4 bottles of water I drank on the bike and the bottle of water and a Red Bull I had on the run along with the 5 gel’s I eat. I was really tired at the end of it all, but, all things considered, I didn’t feel a beat up as I expected to feel. I think I’ll take some Power Bars along for the ride in Placid in . . . . less than2 weeks!

Saturday Easy Brick

That was a nice easy workout. A quick 45 minute bike ride from the house to the club, around Lake Wilcox and back home again. Then an easy 15’ run from the house. I wonder hopw long after Ironman, an hour is going to feel like a good workout as opposed to a simple little nothing workout?

I’ve got a killer 100k bike ride around Muscleman Lake and back and then 4 trips up and down Weston Road, Jane, Keele and Dufferin Street, and then a 2 hour run Sunday for what I expect will be my last big workout.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Friday Swim

That was one of the nicest swims I’ve done in a long, long time. The air temperature was about 14 degrees. I don’t know water temperature, but the lake was warmer than the pool usually is. I got into the late at 4:45. The moon was full a couple of days ago, but it was still pretty full. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky so the moonlight was bright. There was absolutely no wind. The surface of the lake was just like glass, from one end to the other. The far end is often like that, but it’s very unusual to see the entire lake that way. There wasn’t a soul around. The only thing breaking the silence was the occasional duck quacking.

I started off slowly towards the far (west) end of the lake. I stopped a few times as I was getting warmed up. At one point I realized I woke the birds up that sleep n the lake. I flipped over on my back at watched what looked like a thousand birds circling overhead against the dark grey sky. It was beautiful. I was able to sight off of the moon, catching it just ahead when I was pushing my head back in the water after taking a breath to the left. As long as I just caught a glimmer of it as my head went in the water again, I was on course. It was pretty interesting having something in the sky to sight off of for a change.

I took my usual 26 – 27 minutes to get to the far end of the lake. I couldn’t tell for sure. It was too dark for me to read my watch clearly! I stopped for a minute and then headed back. The sun had not broken the horizon yet. The lights on the side of the canoe club were very easy to see all the way back. As the sun started to come up, a whisper of a cloud steak turned bright red. It ended just over the canoe club, almost like an arrow pointing the way. Amazing!

I got back in my usual 1300 stroke in 22 minutes! I drove over to Timberlane to get a steam and a shower there for a change. I found it amusing that when I was driving back from my swim, the rest of the NYAC gang still had 5 minutes before their swim started. I saw a few of the old gang at Timberlane, but I guess Christine and Nadia were out running somewhere. I couldn’t find them before or after my shower.

I’ve got a pretty easy 45 minute bike and a lazy 15 minute run tomorrow morning. Resting up for the 100k of hills followed by a 2 hour run Sunday. I’m guessing that will be the last big workout before the 26th.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Thursday Bike and Run

I started the day with a 90 minute Computrainer ride. I usually start with a bowl of cereal, a glass of mild and some Yogurt, but we were out of mild. I decided to just get at it. I had a gel and a bottle of E-Load and Fly. I listened to the Stones in Twickenham Stadium, London and went about the workout. It was a great mix of high and low wattage, some sitting and some standing. It made for a good, interesting ride. I got to a point where I had to go aero for 5 minutes in zone 4. I don’t have aero bars, so I went into the drops and bent as far as I could. It killed me. I had to do it three times, but couldn’t do it. I passed on aero for the third set and got through it. I guess this old back still doesn’t want to bend too much!

I dried off and went out for my 5k run. I took my time and ended up taking a couple of minutes more time than I usually do. I got a great surprise when I got home and weighed myself. I haven’t seen 163 lbs in many years. The bad news was, I was passing out from lack of energy. A quick E-Mend, before my shower. Lynne went and got milk. Two bowls of cereal later I felt OK. I checked again. I was hoping to run Ironman this year at about 167. I’m good with the 165 post cereal weight! Now I have to put a bit more energy into eating properly for the next couple of weeks for sure. If I can get energy levels up and keep the weight at 165. I’ll be a pretty happy guy!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Wednesday Training Tri

It was back to training business as usual today. I got to Lake Wilcox for a 2k swim at 6:00. I wished I’d gone earlier to have been in the water with the full moon, but I’ll try to catch that again on Friday. I took 27 minutes going out and my standard 22 coming back. I saw two other folks heading out from the far shore when I was finishing, but other than that, the lake was empty. No wind or rain so the surface was like glass again.

I came home and changed into some bike clothes and went out for 45 minutes at Zone 2. I did a loop from home to Bathurst to Bloomington to Bayview and then cut past the club and through the neighborhood to get home again. I guess the new chain is OK. It popped off once, but slid back on again when I changed the gear.

Back to the house again for a slow 15 minute run and today’s tri is over. The rest of the week looks pretty easy also until Sunday. 100k bike and a 2 hour run. I’m sure that’ll be the end of the big workouts.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Sunday - Peterborough Half - That Sucked!

I was looking forward to the race in Peterborough yesterday. When I’d done it a couple of years ago, and Adam had me not finish the run (too close to the upcoming Ironman race) I ended up with a DNF for the race. I don’t DNF, so that always drove me crazy. This year, I had it beat though. I’d have a friend run. We’d do it as a relay.

Nadia and I headed off to Peterborough at about 5:00 in the morning. We got to there about 6:20. Lots of time to park, fill up water bottles, rack the bike and lay everything out, and still have time to find friends and chat a bit. I guess I chatted a bit too much. I ended up with only about a 5 minute warm up before the swim. I needed about 10 or 15 minutes!

The swim was . . . . interesting. Adam told me to ‘mix it up a bit’ with the other swimmers in the beginning so I charged on ahead into the middle of the pack. I got the crap kicked, punched and slapped out of me of course. I did remember to put an extra set of goggles inside my wetsuit, just in case I lost my good set, but I didn’t need them.

The water was warm enough, but the weeds for the first 200 meters of so were incredible. I felt like I was harvesting crops a lot of the way. I had seaweed tangled in my goggles, around my hands and feet. Crazy!

For some reason, I couldn’t get my breath properly and my heart was racing. I stopped a few times trying to get relaxed. I was on my way back to shore before I got comfortable at all. I’d glanced back and realized there weren’t too many people behind me.

I thought “Oh well. It is what it is. I’ll just settle into a grove and see what happens”. That thought seems to work for me. I concentrated on long easy full strokes and soon was catching up to folks ahead of me. I wish I had time splits for each of the loops. I’m sure I was 5 minutes quicker on the second loop than the first. A two and a half minute transition and I was off on the bike. This was going to be a once in a lifetime bike ride for me. Because I wasn’t doing the run, I was going to be able to give it my all. I was really hoping to get as close to an overall average speed of 30kph for the first time.

Oh well. “Best made plans . . . . “ The first hill was at the 5k mark. I’d gone into it in a little heavier gear than I should have, but I wanted to stretch my legs a bit, so I stood and peddled a few times. I say back down, eased up on the peddles as I geared up a bit. I felt the gears change, but the second I put more pressure on the peddles, BANG, and the chain was gone! I’m glad I was sitting at the time. The boys and I were fine!

I looked around a bit for my chain and thought about what to do. I’d actually had my chain tool in my hand earlier in the week but I’d thought that, well, I haven’t used it since that one lesson about 4 years ago, and it’s heavy, so . . . I didn’t bring it. I found the chin, walked over to the other side of the road and started to walk back. Simon, Cathie and a few others asked if I was OK. I was shocked that apparently, at that point anyway, I’d been a bit ahead of them. That was unusual to say the least!

A farmer eventually picked me up and gave me a ride back to town. I handed in my chip and went to meet Nadia who was sleeping in he sunshine at the bike rack. I’ve never been the first guy in from the bike! It sure is easy to rack the bike when the racks are empty like that :-) .

Nadia and I found my buddy Allan finishing his bike ride. He was doing the Sprint Duathlon. We ran a bit with him and cheered him on to the finish line then headed back to the bike finish to watch for the rest of the gang. I’m useless at picking out friends on the bike. We saw Cathie and Linda finish. I talked to John for a bit. He was waiting for Cathie and Linda too to go out and bike a second loop.

I never found anyone else. We left the part about 12:30 or so.

I’ll be interested in seeing what Bike Sports in Newmarket do about the chain. I think I may pick up a spare link and carry that tool in Lake Placid also!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Saturday - Bike and Run

We get spoiled in this sport. Maybe the correct word it twisted, or deranged. I’m not sure! Anyway. It struck me as odd this morning when I got up and checked my training schedule and saw that today called for a 45 minute easy bike and a 45 minute easy run. My immediate thought was, “Is that it? It’s hardly worth getting the clothes all sweaty for just those times. It wasn’t that long ago that the thought of an hour and a half of training seemed daunting.

I didn’t feel like unhooking the bike from the Computrainer and doing ‘all that’ this morning so, the bike consisted of another Rolling Stones concert on the computer and 45 minutes of easy spinning. A quick towel down and change of clothes and out I went for my run. I did my usual 5k route out along Wellington to Bathurst and back on Kennedy but kept going across Yonge to the next street that ran parallel to Yonge. North to Wellington and back home again. Darn, home too early. Another loop around my block, then back out to Kennedy and back. I must look like an idiot to any of the neighbors looking out their windows when I’m filling in time with these silly little loops and add on bits. What am I thinking. I forget how silly we must look to everyone outside of this sport as we charge off around our neighborhoods in spandex everything!

Peterborough is going to be a blast tomorrow. The weather forecast looks good. 17 degrees, sunny and 10k of wind out of the west. Yup – It’s going to be a good one!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Friday Swim and Bike

WOW – Is that it? IS today the final day of the final two week build before the final Ironman? I think it is. We’re racing Peterborough this weekend and then I’m guessing I’ll have a couple of good workouts maybe next weekend, but that’s probably it. I’m undecided if I’m happy about that or not. I’ve found it a bit of a struggle this year getting ready for Ironman. There’s way too much going on in our lives right now so, although I’ve done about 98% of all my workouts for the last year, I don’t feel the excitement that I did the first time. Maybe it’s like getting laid. The first time is amazing, although it sure didn’t take 15 hours, the rest are trying to get back to that excitement! I expect the excitement will grow again with we get to Lake Placid again in a couple of weeks.

It was a bit cool outside this morning when Willem, Sid and I met at Lake Wilcox. It was a nice surprise to see Sid. I didn’t know he was coming. He also didn’t swim as quickly as Willem, so I had someone sort of close . . . well . . . . within sight anyway for the trip across the lake and back! The cooler air temperature just made the water feel that much warmer. It was a good swim. I managed about 22 minutes each way. I’m usually considerably slower heading out than coming back. I think early morning swims in that lake will stay with me for years as one of the really enjoyable parts of Ironman training. I hope the memory of the smell though disappears fairly quickly. That lake is just a bit too ‘ripe’ this year!

We did one out and back and then headed for the cars. I got home, changed into bike clothes and headed down to the Computrainer for a one hour workout. It was pretty much all zone 2 except for 3 x 5 minutes at 170 watts, which is in between zone 2 and 3 for me.

I’m looking forward to not training so much when this is all over. It will be great to watch late night television again. I hear David Letterman is still on TV! This last 4 years though has been a great experience. I’ve met and trained with some really interesting, fine folks. I’m going to have to figure out a way to convince them that training in Panama in the winter is a GREAT idea!

The Peterborough race is this weekend. I’ll swim and bike. Nadia is going to do the run. Alan is there doing the sprint. A few of the gang are doing various parts of the ½. It should be a fun weekend. This will be the only time that I can peddle my ass off, not worrying about keeping anything for the run. I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been a bit slower on the bike this year, but I’m going to try my best to break an average speed of 30kph this weekend. The section between Millbrook and Pontypool is pretty hilly, but the rest s pretty level and the roads for the most part are in good condition.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Wednesday - Canada Day Brick

I got up and did the one hour bike ride on the Computrainer. I could have unhooked it all and dragged it outside, but I was too lazy. It had been a while since I watched that Rolling Stones concert anyway! The hour went by quickly. It was nice to just relax, set it for mid zone 2 and go until the time was up.

I toweled down , changed and got out the door pretty quickly. The sky looked pretty ominous but the weather forecast read that it shouldn’t start raining until this afternoon. Nadia told me that she and Christine, Jen and a few others were going to be at the G.W. Williams track doing speed work so I headed over that way. I had 3 hours to do and couldn’t really decide where I wanted to head to.
Nobody at the school. So I guess they were at the club. I ran over there but didn’t see the cars. Vandorf to Leslie is pretty hilly, so I headed out that way. I was thinking of doing the Kennedy Wellington loop again, but past Leslie it’s relatively flat. I headed south on Leslie to Stouffville Sideroad and then north on Bayview. There were some good hills along that stretch of road. I looped up to the lake to see if anyone was swimming. There was one person way out and a couple of other folks getting out at the south east corner of the lake. I can’t figure out why they do that. It’s so difficult to get in there as opposed to going in from the canoe club. I ran back down along the south end of the lake and out to Yonge Street. I took King out to Bathurst up to Kennedy and back to my house.

The run ended up being 31k in 3:11, a 6:11 pace. My average heart rate was 121, just about smack on mid zone 2, and . . . . the rainy weather held off for me. A Canada present from God to me I guess!