Another new/old year to begin

On the verge of starting another year (and another decade). This will be another Ironyear, the second. It's always a little daunting to realize the workload required to complete that task, and to hopefully complete it without injury and as before, "upright and smiling". That was the goal for Lake Placid in 2007 and that'll be the goal for Canada in 2010. We'll be shying away from putting any time goals out in public for quite some time.

The rest of the 2010 schedule will follow in some time, but I'd say that's the grand-daddy, wouldn't you?

I'll also be looking for training partners. If anyone's looking for a little extra motivation to get out for the runs/rides in the not-so-perfect weather, let me know and I'd be happy to do the same for someone.

Day one really started today: got in a good ride this morning, even on the trainer in the basement. Hey, it is Canada after all.

240 days to go. Happy New Year to all.

Peace.

Good times

It's always been a bit of a challenge to get some training in over the holidays, especially on this day, Xmas day, where the sworn goal (after remaining conscious when the kids wake everybody up at 5:30 a.m.) is to remain in my pajamas all day. However, after persevering through those challenges I managed to get in a good 90-minute spin today the day after a solid two-hour run. Nice, very nice. The run was outside and the ride was inside (it's raining today - poo!) but otherwise good. Now all I need is for the pools to open up again and to get back into that routine. Less than six weeks to the Alton Half, and 247 days to IMC. It's time to think about it being time to get going.

Peace - and happy holidays to you all.

Uno, dos, tres

Three days in a row. I can't even remember the last time I hit the pool three days in a row, but today marked the third day in a row in the water. Team Ironhead is starting to complain that I smell like chlorine all the time. The hardest part is actually getting to the pool. Oh, that and keeping myself afloat, as I swim like a rock. But it's baby steps, or is that baby strokes back to the Ironswim. Too bad that I can't make it out to the swimdorks show this weekend. I'm sure Darren and those dudes are going to rock the pentathlon.

Getting ready, though. No date has been announced but I'm sure the planning committee is kicking around dates for the third annual Alton Half. Can't be any more than 6-8 weeks away. After that I'm in for revenge on the Chilly Half, and possibly ATB this year.

Followed up today's solid swim with a 90 minute ride in the basement on the trainer.

Good day - a good day all around. Happy birthday, Ironbella!

Peace.

August 29, 2010

...is next year's target date. If all goes well, and even if it doesn't I'll be treading water at the start line of Ironman Canada, where it all started (continentally speaking, of course). This will be the second iron distance race of my life.

Right now I'm easing my way into building the base. A longish easy run yesterday, a long swim today followed hopefully by an easy December spin tonight. A little too much to start, you might say? Well, here's the thing. For the next three months I'm on assignment at work on the continental shift (yet another use for that word). This week is the "two working days" week so I'm piling it on a bit. Next week will be made up of five twelve-hour work days, leaving very little time for training. This is going to be a bit of a funky training cycle.

Anyway, I'm looking for training partners in the GTA or so. Targeting IMC would be ideal although Louisville, Lake Placid or Wisconsin would work as well. Drop me a comment with a reply address and hopefully we can set something up.

Peace.

Back in the saddle again

Well, it's been a while, but I'm back in the saddle again. I took some (unscheduled) time off after limping through a rather disappointing half-iron in Muskoka this year. Two months of physio to repair the damage as a result of taking on the distance when significantly undertrained to do so. Live and learn.

Now, it's time to start up the base build again. Went out this morning for an easy 90-minute run and put in just over 19km. Just building the base back up. It's time to start laying the foundation for next year's big enchilada - Ironman Canada in August. Woo-hoo!

More to come.

Peace.

Muskoka 70.3, the second time.

This is a little late in coming out, partly because I've been busy and partly because I didn't really want to relive the results.

I took a beating. The course absolutely beat me up in all three phases of the race. That's what happens when you're seriously undertrained and you try to fake your way through a very, very tough course.

Swim - 41:03. Terrible, and the strange thing was, it didn't really feel that bad. I had some sense that it was slow and seemed to be taking a while, but I was surprised by this. Again, this is what happens when one is underprepared.

Bike - 2:59:18. Again, just couldn't get it going - didn't have the strength or the endurance to put up a better showing. I also had my left IT band start to complain mid-way through the bike and I had to carefully make my way through. It did subside though and I thought I was through the bad stuff. Big mistake.

Run - 2:07:06. And herein it all fell apart. At the 4k mark on the run my left calf seized up - the end result of the whole ITB thing. I tried to massage it and stretch it and nurse it carefully but I basically couldn't run uphill without stabbing pain. If you're familiar with the course, you might understand that this would be a big problem. I spent the rest of the afternoon stopping to stretch and massage the knot in my calf every 10-15 minutes and walking up all the hills.

Overall, 5:53:54, a very disappointing time, but I have nobody to blame for this but myself. I want revenge on this course but this is where it gets a little tricky. I managed to get myself entered in IM Canada for next summer (online!) and these two are two weeks apart. This will need some serious thought over the off-season.

Now, the off-season. Actually, I went for a nice easy spin through the countryside today which was okay. Only two hours, but that felt about right. No aches or pains and hopefully in a couple more weeks all the rest of the aches and pains from M70.3 and the physio resulting from it will be over.

Peace.

Epic camping weekend!

Fish. Rain. Hail. Rain. Frogs. More rain. Canoes. And yet more rain.

If I told you that you could go camping with your friends, their wives and kids numbering twenty-four in all, and you'd have to drive over four hours to get there including an hour deep into Algonquin Park, AND it would rain every day AND you'd go fishing for your kids, who would throw one line in the water then give it all up to catch frogs, how'd you like to take that trip?

Epic. Camping. Weekend.

We didn't see anything exciting like this - at least not while we were there. I was told however that the early arrivers (night before) did have one trample through the campsite "next door". That seems to really be the "wildlife" spot, and not in a "go clubbing until 2 a.m." wildlife spot. Last year we were informed that the rangers had set up a bear trap on that very spot in hopes of catching and moving a pesky black bear. The bear never returned, but apparently Junior the Moose came back to say hello this year again.

I had plans for some open-water swimming and a trail run while up in the park. The rain and the temperature scotched those plans - it rained steadily, including hailstones (!!) on the first day and was eight degrees C (47F) when I woke up the next day. Couldn't convince anyone to canoe out and "ride shotgun" on the lake in the rain. Made for a great euchre tournament, however.

Fishing is not really my thing but I did catch the only thing anyone caught - a clam! I've never heard of anyone hooking a clam before.

All in all, not exactly the weekend you would draw up in the planning stage, but memorable nonetheless.

Peace.

Peterborough race report '09....

Or, some things you just can't explain.

I can't explain this result. Rather than breaking it down by sport I'll just throw it down on the board and try to figure it out afterward.

Total - 4:56:05, 81st overall (of 459)

Swim 36:36 (35/63 ag) @ 1:50/100m

Bike 2:36:00 (20/63 ag) @ 32.7 km/h

Run 1:40:35 (18/63 ag) @ 4:47 km/h

I really have no explanation for this time. I understood at the start that the run course was going to be officially shorter than 90km due to roadwork (THAT wasn't in the pre-race newsletter!) but a reputable source of mine had it on his computer at 88km, so it wasn't that much shorter - "official" race distance listed it at 85 km.

Due to the training I had put in before this day (that is to say, not much) I really thought I'd be well over 5:30, in the area of the 5:45 range. My only goal was to keep it reined in and to get through the day alive. I think keeping the power output controlled on the day was a big factor - I didn't try to gun it at any time, just kept it even and consistent. The temperature on the day was also cool and the mega wind that was threatened never really materialized.

Not sure what I was doing licking the fingers?

I knew something was up after the first lap of the swim - PBO is two 1km laps - when I came out of the water in 17:37. I was shooting for a 20-minute 1km and had "seeded" myself in that pack. I remember thinking that time was ridiculous and also that I felt great - relaxed, not over-exerted or anything. Coming out of the water 2-3 minutes ahead of where I thought I would be was to be an omen for the rest of the day.

Heading out, almost missed the cameras...went by too soon!

The bike course, with the exception of one monster 3km climb at the 28km mark (and really, who needs that partway through the day?!?) actually seemed easier to me than the original course. The traditional course had a lot more rolling sections that really interrupted the overall flow. Also I'm sure that keeping the climbs under control and spinning up the hills rather than mashing had a lot to do with it this year. I also managed to finish the ride with dropping my chain like a moron or launching any bottles.

I did learn a couple of things on the run. #1 - the race, that is to say the work, really starts at 16km on the run. At that point I was trying to keep moving, and to stop thinking about the second thing I learned, which was: #2 - I can run about 16km sockless with no problems. After that I have one blister per km to prove that I still need to work on that, and that I'll never be running a sockless marathon.

A big shout-out to my peeps: Tyler, Darren, Cliff, Francisco and Stephen, who also kicked it at PBO on Sunday and again to Francisco who's heading on to Lake Placid in less than two weeks.

After the race Team Ironhead went directly into vacation mode, driving four hours from PBO to the beach house for a well-deserved va-cay. Once again, thanks to the team, who made the day possible. Oi!

Peace.

Guelph Lake race report - life lessons

Did you ever have a day when you felt like Ben Stiller? Not the dorky one in Meet the Fockers, or the mildly androgynous one in Zoolander. Thank the lord, definitely not the "franks and beans" Ben Stiller in There's something about Mary.

No, I mean the security guard in A Night at the Museum, the one referred to as "Dum-Dum". That more or less describes how my day went at Guelph Lake this weekend, but let's get on to the race report.

The day opened cold and raining. It wasn't very cold, and the rain was intermittent, but it was definitely enough to affect your thinking on the bike course. It was essential to slow down on the turns and the corners to stay vertical and keep the rubber on the road. I didn't have any big plans for the day. I wanted to pay specific attention to my transitions to try and get some free time back there.

Swim - 750m - 15:40 (2:06/100m)
The first clue here should be this - 14th in age group and 90th overall at that snail-like pace. The sprint was on Saturday - the "headliner", the Olympic distance was on Sunday. And I was out of the water in 14 minutes flat - still not fast but better than 15:40 - the difference is in running up the hill and all the way around the transition area to the timing mat at the back (?!) but a 1:19 in T1 is not bad at all, for me.

Bike - 20km - 33:52 (33.7 km/hr) 6th ag, 29th overall
Here's where the weather definitely slowed this race down. First of all Guelph Lake is a short course with a switchback out of the park and a bike course that is a three-sided square after that. With all the cornering in that weather the times really drop as taking a corner too fast can result in a nasty spill. I know - I saw one, and was very nearly involved in it. The guy in front of me slowed down (I thought appropriately) at the 10k turnaround and went horizontal. Now, you'd be thinking a scuffed leg and maybe a forearm, but it wasn't just that. He shredded his back all the way across both shoulders. I know this because he rode mad after that and we leap-frogged each other most of the way back to T2, until he dropped me when I made noob mistake #2 - shifting to the small chainring on an uphill. Drop goes the chain, costing me probably a minute of chain repair and ramp back up time. Didn't help at all that I had to restart on an uphill. 0:46 in T2, though. I will definitely take that.

Run - 21:12 (4:15/km) 5th in ag, 24th overall.
Again with most of the big guns holding out for the better weather on Sunday this wasn't bad. I got out on the run, felt good and proceeded to pick people off including Mr. Road Rash (#37 Andrew Appleton, whose hand I shook afterward for gutting it out). Here's where noob mistake #1, the key mistake of the day bit me in the butt. I got passed by exactly one guy on the run at about the 4k mark. I decided to let him go. After all, I had plenty of time to reel him in. I was feeling good and I had another 3.5km to go get him, only here's the thing. I didn't have another 3.5km. I had one more km. The run course was 5km. I had some thought that this was a 7.5km run, or at least that I had to hold something back. I do remember running this course one year where the run used to pass transition and the finishing chute going the other way, then loop around another little footpath down in the valley. That year I came up the hill going full guns, then saw the run kept on going. That year I blew up early, so deep down my memory didn't want to let me do that again. So when this guy went by, I let him go - he happened to be the guy who finished 5th in my age group, a scant 20 seconds ahead. Hence, dum-dum.

Final: 1:12:46, 6/44 ag, 24th overall - missed the podium by 20 seconds.

I had no vision of making a podium beforehand so no worries there. And the transition times look much better so at least that's progress. Due to the couple of noob mistakes, I probably left 60-90 seconds out on the course.

Here's the worrying part: there's this nagging little problem in my right calf. It started a couple weeks ago running hills in Neyagawa (I blame Tyler for this :) ). I thought it had quieted down, but it came back with a vengeance on the weekend, to the point where a flight of stairs was an adventure. It's better today, but I think I'm going to have to go get it checked out. Peterborough is two weeks away and I'm not looking to set any records, least of all a "personal worst".

PS. I still love this game. Even in the rain, cold and mud there's something about hanging around transition, or the finish line and watching the long-timers and first-timers come rolling in- soaked to the skin, covered in mud (or blood) but grinning from ear to ear and their cheering sections go nuts. Just something about that.

Peace.

Wouldn't you rather...

This weekend is/was the world famous Muskoka Chase. It's a long-course triathlon where the hook is that the pros race each other, women vs. men. The women get a head-start, based on the winning times from last year. If the women win, the head start gets shorter - if the men win, longer.

It's a short drive up the road from here and it's always also attended by an enormous number of "regular folk" age-groupers hoping for qualifying spots for an Ironman, this year Ironman Canada.

I've always wanted to do the Chase, also known as the long course - 2km swim, 55 km bike, 15 km run.

This weekend was way more fun. I got to pull out the old dishwasher and install a new one. Didn't flood the kitchen or anything.

Now tell me, who had more fun today? Huh? Huh?

Milton Tri

I love this game.

This race has always been the sign that the season is "open for business" for me.  The fact that this year is the first time I've managed to do it just speaks to my own organization level at this time of year.  Milton is always the trigger after which I say, "oh yeah, I better get to signing up for a few races".  This year I got there on time.

Chapter 1:  the weather

Holy crap, was it cold.  Race time temperature was 8 degrees Celsius (47 degrees F, for you southerners), and there was probably a 10-15 km/h wind blowing in off the lake.  One of the few races I've been to where it was warmer to get in the water rather than stand around on land waiting for the horn to go off.  I had a new wetsuit to try out this year and it got top marks - I may just have to buy it after all.  The real downside to the weather was the effect it had on my T1 time (2:42 - ugh!)  One of my goals going in was to focus on my transition, which have always been rather, um, leisurely.  That T1 time in better weather could have been half that - I had to stop to put on a second top layer and gloves. 

Chapter 2:  Bloodfoot the swim - (750m) -15:22 - 2:03/100m, 32 in ag, 195th overall.

Look, the swim is what it is.  I've been at about that pace (1:52 - 2:00/100m) for five years.  I haven't really put a lot of focus on it, so it hasn't changed.  I'll take it for what it is right now.  I will say that I've never had another swim where I've come out of the water with a bleeding toe.  I didn't step on glass or anything like that.  I must have stubbed my toe on a rock getting out and the cold just numbed my foot so much that I didn't feel it.  Really, I didn't feel it at all.  I saw it getting out of the water and felt it later as a squish in the shoe on the run.

Chapter 3:  Bike (bottle rockets the sequel) - 30km - 54:35, 33.0 km/h, 20th in ag, 90th overall

On this course, with the training I've put in, I was pretty pleased with that time.  I did make an effort to rein it in going up "the Monster" in order to keep something in the tank for the rest of the course and I think that paid off.  Of course the 15 km/h tailwind also helped on the second half of the bike.  Of course on a flat, bump-free section of the ride where I wasn't passing anyone or changing gears, I launched YET ANOTHER BOTTLE!!!  xlab is CRAPOLA!!!  I'm throwing that piece o' junk out the window - that's it, it's over the wedding's off.

T2 0:56 (much better, but could still use some work).

Chapter 4:  the Run - 32:22, 4:19/km pace (10th in ag, 68th overall)

The run course covers paths through the park (Kelso Glen) then up Appleby to Halton Falls where it winds through trees and over mountain bike paths - NO CARS!  What an awesome run course.  I didn't know where I was in the season so I held it in until about the 4k mark and then decided to crank it up.  A great course - definitely forces you to pay attention to where you're stepping.

Overall results

1:45:44 - 17/79 in a.g., 87th overall.

I must say I'll take it.  I didn't really have a solid goal going in but I thought 1:45 was realistic.  I gave all that away in transitions.

And even with the squishy bloodfoot, I've still got the happy feet.

Epilogue:  circle of (tri)life

It just so happens that one of my old university roommates pulled off his first tri in the try-a-tri at Milton this weekend.  I saw him go off and come back in on the swim and I cheered him on.

This is the guy who used to come downstairs in his ratty blue bathrobe, pour a bowl of cheerios and watch CNN coverage of Operation Desert Storm while the rest of us went to class, labs et al. (well actually, none of the rest of those dudes went to labs - I was the only one).  Twelve years later he ran a half-marathon for one of our friends who was suffering from (and later succumbed to) leukemia.  At the time I figured, "look if he can run a half-marathon, so can I!"  I decided to go him one step better and the next fall, I ran my first marathon, the 2004 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront.  I also broke my tri virginity that summer.  So, in a neat little circle of life turnaround the student (me) became the grizzled veteran teacher this weekend to my buddy Richard A., who has joined the tri circle of weirdos.  Welcome, Stash!

Post script:  to top off the whole weekend, my son went to his first ever rep baseball tryouts.  Although his batting was "average" (in part because his father the assistant coach was pitching to him) his defence and throwing arm, in the words of the other coaches were "outstanding".  He's made his first-ever rep team!

Peace.

Barefoot running

I've been reading Born to Run.

It's really interesting, about the Tarahumara Indians living in the Copper Canyons of Mexico and how they are arguably the greatest distance running culture in the world.  Anyway, to make a long story short there's a section in the book that extolls the virtues of barefoot running, listing it as the magic bullet that will solve all running-related injuries, make you faster, make you taller and grow your hair back if it has left for greener pastures - okay so the last item is not completely true but all the rest is there.

This morning was my long run and I decided to build in a segment of barefoot running, just to try it.  I figured I'd throw in 2k on a nearby highschool track, after finishing 18-20k or so and just before heading for home.

IT HURTS!

Running barefoot is not easy if you've spent your whole life in big, heavy, clonky "motion-control" thumper shoes.  It takes some time to build up the outer sole toughness to be able to run barefoot.  I managed to get in 2k (but not without slowing down a bit by the end) and my feet are still "crackly" at the end of the day.  I also feel some muscle pain in the arch.  Logically this is where the benefits are supposed to be felt.  After all if the arch of the foot is fully supported every time you run then that muscle doesn't get worked at all.  With no shoes the foot muscles have to do all the work.  In the long run (no pun intended) this is supposed to strengthen the foot, improve form, economy and posture, eliminate all those pesky runner's injuries (ITB, PFS, etc.)  As well, the elimination of injuries and their associated downtime and the improved form is supposed to make the runner FASTER, which is the ultimate goal.

What they don't do, is make your feet any prettier, and mine were bad enough to begin with.  There will be no pictures posted of feet here, but I think I'm going to keep giving this a try.  We'll see what comes of this.

Six days to Milton - opening of the season!

Peace.

Open water swimming

Read this in jono's blog the other day and it got me interested in some open water swimming.  I just might give this a go on one weekend this summer.  This is interesting to me, since the swim is the leg of the race that  I find the hardest to get out and train for and the most work on race day.  I used to be a semi-competitive swimmer, but perhaps the fifteen years' downtime in between events caused me to lose the edge somewhat?  Nonetheless, it is not like riding a bike (well, duh).  I found a few open water event listings for this summer.  I'm giving this some thought, and considering working it into the schedule.

And two last shout-outs to my man Cliff who blazed the Mississauga half today in a PB 1:38 - woot!  And to my other sometime training partner Darren, who I guess has put a little more work into his run since the Chilly - double woot!

Welland - under the four bridges

Buckhorn

Other open water swims 

Peace.

Bottle rockets and speeding tickets

What a beauty of a day.  Warm, sunny and permission slip signed to go off on a monster ride.  Turned out to be the first 100+ km ride of the year (111 to be exact) with only one "where the  frig am I?" moment.

So bottle rockets?  Yep, I'm seriously peed at this (maintaining the PG rating here).  I launched my bottles three separate times today.  Twice I heard them - the third I was stopped at a traffic light where I was saved by a guy in a truck who informed me one was gone.

Three?  Seriously?  I need a new method here.  It's tough to stay aero when you're constantly reaching back to make sure your bottles are still there, to say nothing of drinking from bottles that drop and roll through the muddy brown shmuck on the back country roads still defrosting from the frozen winter just ended.

I also got in some excellent climbs today - the escarpment is great for that, no matter what part of it you're on.  Up Main/Wilson into Ancaster is a beaut - 10-12 minute climb, helped out today by "the unknown roadie" who happened out of a side street and proceeded to pull me all the way up the hill.  I meant to take a turn, but he just kept on going and going and going.  Going down the same street is way better - under 5 minutes.

Lastly, since my wife occasionally reads this, we won't talk about the adventure with the black pick-up truck and apparently no turn signal whatsoever in Waterdown.  Jack@$$.

Peace.

After 30-plus years of dysfunctionality...

Last weekend was a mini-family reunion, and it was actually, surprisingly very enjoyable.   It's not always automatically the case when talking about family events, but seeing so many of the cousins, and now their generation of kids was a great time.  I saw cousin Jamie, who I believe was seven years old last time I saw her and looked like a seven-year old boy.  Now, she's a very pretty nineteen year old young woman (?!?).  I can't say these things to her face - she'll just plick my ear again (after forty-five or fifty ear plicks, it starts to hurt a little).

I saw cousin Vanessa (Jamie's sister) who was patient enough to let my two-year old nephew Cameron roam around the house taking pictures with her digital camera.  She ended up with over seven hundred pictures in one day.  I bet at least six hundred and eighty of them are of knees, butts, ankles, coffee tables and Cameron's thumb (hey he's two after all).

I saw Kelly and Kerry and all the rest of their kids, and Jenn and Pam and Trevor, and my brother and sister and all the rest.

The stinkeye goes out to the cousins who didn't make it, even those with four daughters.  Yes, you know who you are.

Not so much training info in this post.  This weekend was more about mental health training. Everything is now A-okay on that.

More training info tomorrow, after I finish my taxes.  Yes, it's that time of year - BOHICA.

Peace

Once again....

I didn't win the lottery.  No Kona for me this year.

I mean, come on, how could my tear-jerking, made-for-NBC-and-Al-Trautwig-story have been any better?  Okay, so granted I'm not recovering from any terminal disease (that I know of).  I haven't fought in any wars, foreign or otherwise.  I have all my original limbs and appendages.  All my direct family members are still alive, and I'm not going to push any of them in a float/jogging stroller/tandem bike or anything like that.  I've never been a famous professional athlete in any other sport.

Sheesh, is it too much to ask for one little birthday present?

Guess so.  I guess now I'll just have to work for it like any other whacko in this sport.  Oh well, by the time it rolls around to land on my birthdate again, I might just......

....yeah, sure.  Never mind.

Peace.

The humble inner tube, or getting tied up

So I've finally managed to get back into the pool semi-regularly.  That statement may not on the surface have anything to do with the title of this post, but it does.  I have learned of a use for the pile of flat inner tubes in my garage.  They are great swimming aids, if cut to the right length.  A 1-to-2 foot length, tied in a loop and looped around the ankles is a great support for pull sets.

This is not new.  I've read this advice before, and I'm sure others have as well, but until you try it you have no idea how much of a difference this makes in swimming.  Before this, I am ashamed to say, I was a cheater!!!  I must have been.  It's the only explanation for the sudden lack of flotation in my, ahem, posterior.  Cheater!  Cheater!  Cheater!  Now, no more.  I must pull harder to keep the junk in the trunk near the surface.

Getting back to the actual cycling role for the inner tube, check out the seven deadly spins.  Another beauty brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Chuckie.  These look like beauties.  They'll be getting worked into my schedule.

Now, back to the pool.

Peace.

Return

Well, it's been some time since I last posted anything. The tri scene has been a little scrambly, but I'm happy to report the plans for the year have more or less been ironed out. Of course, there's always room for a little tweaking here and there, but the end goal for the seasons is the Canadian Iron in September. Now of course you may recall that I had entered the lottery for IM Hawaii. I do believe the draw is this week. Realistically, I'm not holding my breath so Ottawa it is. Between now and then there'll be Peterborough for the half and probably a few sprints or Olympic sprinkled in. The newest job seems to have settled down (somewhat) although just by saying that I'm sure I've jinxed it.

More news? In the meantime I've joined the Fighting Koalas Tri team. This should make for a slightly different year in terms of training and race day so we'll see.

Not much else to say right now, even with all the time passed since last we posted. Delays, yes, but look on the bright side. It's not Chinese Democracy-like delays.

Peace.

Hmph

before

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

-George Santayana

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

-Albert Einstein

Well, here's the good news. It wasn't as cold today as predicted, and although the wind did threaten once or twice it really wasn't as big as deal as it could have been. As for the rest of the day, let's get the facts out of the way early.

1:30:14 (chip time) - one minute slower than last year, and it was an ugly minute too. Look 1:30 is not a bad time - it probably stung as much to get passed in the finish chute by one of my Sunday morning running duo dudes, who had cleverly camouflaged himself in a different coat - I didn't realize he had gone by until I heard the announcer call his name. So, not a really, really bad time. Just not what I had hoped for. I'm going to guess that going out too hard probably cost me 1.5 - 2 minutes down the backstretch, where I was trying to hold it all together.

What happened? Easy to diagnose, in retrospect. Pacing, pacing, pacing and training training training. Number 1: pacing is killer and if you go out too hard it will be killer. After saying at the start the last thing we wanted to do was to go out on an 18 minute 5K start and torch out early where were we (the "we" being myself and Darren)? 3:46, 3:59, 3:54, 4:03 and 4:01 for a sub-20 minute first 5K.

Lesson #1: you must train at race pace, at least some of the time. Or, put another way, you can't race at a faster-than-training pace and expect to hold it over a long distance. You'd think I would have gotten this message before. Oh well, better to get it out of the way early in the season.

Lesson #2 is related to lesson #1 and it is this. Long runs do not make you faster. I had put in some good quality miles on the long runs on the weekends, but had been a little hit-and-miss getting in the speed sessions and tempo sessions. This burned me today.

after

This is the after picture. The more astute among you will have noticed that there were not 21 matches in the matchbook.

Live and learn. I'm hoping this lesson sinks in this time.

Peace.

Chilly review preview

So here we are, four sleeps away. It's time to preview, but first a review of my four-year history of the Chilly Half.

2005 - 1:59:25 (630th)
2006 - 1:44:00*(341st)
2007 - 1:37:55* (180th)
2008 - 1:29:16 (63rd)

*the official results list the times above for 2006 and 2007 in reverse. I have to think they've got them backwards.

Now, on to this year. Since the organizers of the race have jacked up the entries allowed by 50%, from 2000 to 3000 starters, they've also decided to add in a new starting feature (new to me anyway) - starting corrals. The start will be divided into three corrals: "elite" (sub 1:30), 1:30 - 2:00 and over 2:00. I've never considered myself an elite runner before, but there it is now in blue and white. Weather conditions for Sunday are supposed to be a little colder than recent years past. -5 degrees with a windchill of -16, although this will have warmed up a little by the 10:00 a.m. start time. Training-wise, I haven't been completely unscathed but I have made it through the early spring mostly healthy and getting in the good long runs with the Sunday morning group/duo.

Hmm, hmm, hmm...so what does that mean?

I don't know. I do remember that last year's 1:29 was nearly a complete surprise. I expected to maybe stretch to a 1:32 or so. Now with some regular long-run mileage and repeat hill workouts built in, I don't know. Hill work is fine and all, but this course is flat like Sally Field. The added bonus of the expected wind on Sunday makes prediction a tricky game.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, enough stalling around. I can already hear Skeezix yelling, "less talk, more work? Make the call!"

I don't know what to predict. I do know that you never really know if you've pushed the envelope until you bust through the other side. You can never know the limit until you push beyond it.

1:27? Maybe.

1:24? 4-minute kms? Perhaps a stretch.

Let's see.

Peace.

Consistency

As I was rolling through the last of my long runs before the Chilly Half with the Sunday morning long run duo (now up to three today) the topic of consistency came up. One of the three of us said, "since the beginning of November when we started this, I'm the only one that's been out consistently every Sunday". Although strictly speaking this statement was technically true in fact while being untrue in spirit (go ahead and figure that out) it did bring up the topic of consistency, a subject I may have opined upon before.



Others wiser than me have held forth on the subject of consistency. One of my favourites, since I'm results- and data-based and also a visual learner is borrowed from Alan Couzens:

Without going into the entire explanation - you can read that yourself here and I highly recommend it, there are several different interpretations of this data. On the left are finishing times of IM athletes. On the right are their cumulative training hours for the year. The boiled-down truth at least as relates to this posting is that one must be pretty consistent in training if one wants to see results. Disclaimer - this is out-of-context from the topic of the original post but related enough to be included here.

So what's the point? In training as in life consistency is one of the cornerstones that yields results. It doesn't necessarily mean consistently doing the same thing every day, but doing something every day. Getting up in the morning and ignoring the snooze button, one of the most oxymoronic inventions dreamt up by the human race. Getting moving. Having a plan and sticking to it.

The other two "cornerstones" patience and frequency are just as important. But they weren't the topics today, so they're not included in the discussion.

This weekend upcoming is the Chilly Half - let's see how consistent I've actually been. Preview to follow.

Thanks Mats for thirteen good years.

Peace.

Lottery

I've heard a lot of talk about athletes who win the "genetic lottery", who seem to be naturally gifted and who flow through their chosen events seemingly expending minimum effort. Mario Lemieux was one (for those of us above a certain latitude) who always seemed to be a stride ahead of everyone else and didn't seem to be burning any energy at all to do it. For a more current example, how about Craig Alexander. Or perhaps Chrissie Wellington, so far ahead of her contemporaries that she can drop ten minutes to a flat tire and still crush the field by ten minutes at the line?

Bunkum, I say.

This is hard work. Success in this sport, no matter how you define it, is a direct measure of how much you're willing to work for it. There is a direct correlation between how much work is done in practice and how natural the effort appears when it's "game time". Case in point: the swim leg of my particular triathlon. I swim like a brick. It will always be that way, but with practice I can become more hydrodynamic brick. And it's not just practice. Think of the quote often attributed to Vince Lombardi, "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." This couldn't be more true in swimming. Practicing bad form or technique in the water doesn't make you faster. Because of the higher energy expenditure it just makes the thrashing around in the water worse. Check my swim times if you need any more evidence of that statement.

Conversely, running more actually can will improve efficiency - as time and mileage increase the body will find a way to move less, improving form at least until fatigue becomes so much that form completely disintegrates.

Speaking of lotteries the local lottery (the "6/49") has the biggest jackpot in its history this weekend - $48 million. People are freaking out. It's the only topic of conversation in the office. So why not - I threw in $2. Segueing from lottery to lottery, the Ironman Hawaii lottery is on right now as well. The deadline for entry is February 28. So, what the hey - I threw in on that one as well. It'd be a few years before I could "earn" a slot in that prize.

$48 million or a slot in Kona - which one would you take?

It's baaaaack....

Whether you get your weather forecast from a broadcaster, the sky, a rodent, or a rodent's entrails the simple fact is that winter is back.  In fact it never actually left.  Oh, it teased for awhile - hid around the corner and pretended it was gone, but it's back today.

All the roads and sidewalks are covered in ice.  It's not slush or snow, dirt or hard-pack.  It's actual ice.  Yesterday was snow in the morning that turned to rainish-sleet through the day and then froze on the surface overnight so that all surfaces are ice-covered.  Running outside is  very treacherous right now.  Riding, unless you did it early last week or live here, is out of the question for the time being.

So back to the basement the bike goes.  Not yet time to take it to the streets.  The run is still on - just over a week to go to the season-opener, the Chilly Half.  It's the first outing of the year, so I'm not committing out loud to any finish times (although I'm sure Darren is going to try and wrench one out of me).

And a minor, minor setback:  event #2 on the schedule, ATB (oldest road race in North America) sold out before I registered.  D'oh!  There are still charity slots open, so I may still choose to go that route.

Not much more news.

Peace.

Whittling down

If I turn my head just the right way, I can now see my neighbour's yard again. The snowbanks have been whittled down by the unseasonably warm spell for this time of year.

I am not fooled. It is February. This is Canada. Nobody in Canada puts away their snowshovels in February. In most years, February is the time of year where you go out to buy a second because the first has died of structural fatigue. Okay, so that's a bit of an exaggeration, but still, the point is, it's too early to be writing the eulogy on this winter just yet. I have, however seen a few hardy cycling souls out on two wheels. Last week and this weekend would have been the time for it - it was just about worth it.

Speaking of "whittling down", my group of Sunday morning run yahoos once boasted six regulars and has on at least one occasion swollen to ten, is now down to two(!). The group has split into three splinters, and two of those splinter groups now have decided to run on Saturdays leaving for now only two of us remaining for Sunday. We went out this weekend for a brisk 26k. Since I've noticed last years achilles tendon starting to "tune up the band" this year, I took it really easy. I've also made some physio appointments and have continued to stretch semi-regularly. After all the "season" kicks off with the Chilly Half, now in less than two weeks. Gotta be ready for that.

Peace.

2nd annual Alton Caledon half - report

The 2nd annual is in the books, and not without a few curveballs thrown. A couple days out we were notified (ALL IN CAPS TO REPRESENT SHOUTING!!!) that the 2nd annual was cancelled, due to the untimely illness of the founding father. At this point divine providence stepped in. Gary volunteered to set up the bike zone and map out the run route from his command centre deep in Caledon. Thus, the event went on.





7:00 a.m. Arrive at pool. Meet Gary for the first time.


7:02 a.m. Phone rings. Cliff has just woken up. He'll be skipping the swim and joining us for the bike portion of the event (making history - the first Alton Caledon duathlon).



7:05 a.m. Aaron and Gary hit the pool for an easy warmup and a 40 minute timed swim. Gary passes me several times.





7:50 a.m. Out of the water, heading up the road to the bike command centre.





8:05 a.m. Bike setup in the under renovation, garage-turned-bathroom-and-unidentified-family-type-room in the house





8:15 a.m. Bike portion begins. On tap - 2008 IM Kona, 2007 Muskoka chase, 2005 IM St. Croix.




8:45 a.m. Gary's family - wife and two daughters - vacate the house. I don't blame them. It was pretty loud in there, and the smell was only going to get worse. (Side note: three women in the house explain the need for the renovation and creation of second bathroom as noted above.)

11:30 a.m. Bike portion finishes. On we go to the run.

Allow me to digress here for just one moment to state the obvious. We are in a gear-heavy sport, beyond just shorts, goggles, bikes and bike shoes and shorts (hopefully) and run shoes. This is never made more obvious than when one tries to pack all the required stuff up and move it to another location for a mega-training day, especially if it's done after dark when the family is all sleeping. Three trips to the car, and it was inevitable that something was going to be forgotten. However, when it's -8C with a -18C windchill and that one something is the winter running jacket, that could be a problem. Gary saved the day again. Not only did he come up with a spare jacket, but after the first lap he pulled out scarves, balaclavas, dickies and extra toques. He probably could have come up with a dead Taun-taun to hide in, if asked.

The run course was here. Three laps of a moderately hilly track (I don't think there's a flat one anywhere in Caledon) for a total of just a shade over 19km. The course map doesn't show the wind that blew enough snow over the road in a couple of spots to erase the pavement.

Just after 1:00 p.m. The run portion of the day finishes and we're all happy to get inside. After having promised the kids a toboggan run later in the afternoon I have to leave before the pasta portion of the day's festivities.

Again, big props to Gary for keeping the dream alive and to Cliff for joining in as well. The 2nd annual Oakville Half follows in the spring, date TBD.

One last big cheer for the founding father, still recuperating at home and probably just p##^&* that he had to miss this one.

Peace.

Sometimes the equipment doesn't match the goal

Thursday was a, ahem, "cross-training" day.  I went out with some of the old-time homies to play hockey on Thursday night.  These are the same guys I played with last year every Thursday.  At the beginning of this year I gracefully withdrew since I was driving half-way across the southern end of the province to get to work and back.

Anyway, last week they called me back needing an emergency goalie and since I hadn't played since the end of last year I figured I'd at least be good for padding everybody's stats.

So as usual I remember five minutes before sho

oting out the door to work that I haven't loaded the equipment bag in the car.  Eek!  I barrel down the stairs throw everything into the bag, throw out my daughter's skates (I think) and fly out the door.

Later that same day (this is where the eerie music starts) I show up to the rink and get ready to play.  Small problem, and yes the pun is definitely intended.  I've packed one size eleven skate and one size twelve skate.  Doesn't sound so bad, does it?  I mean, maybe you can pack an extra sock into it and make it work.  Hmmm - not so much:

Yep, this is what you get for rushing your "preparation".  Two white skates yes, but that's about where the similarity ends.

So funny story, but it's not over.  I'm packing up to leave when one of the guys says he has an extra pair of skates and since their size 9.5 I should be close enough to good.  I've already driven all the way there so I give them a try.  By the time the zamboni hits the second turn I can't feel my toes anymore.  I spend most of the game on my knees keeping off my feet (cross training be jiggered).  Afterwards, as the pins and needles are shaking themselves out of my numb feet and my pinkie toes are pushing themselves out of their coccoons, the truth comes out - the skates are size 8.

At the time I had a clever lesson to be passed on about prerace preparation and making your checklists and checking it twice and so on and so forth but that was all erased by the numbness in my feet on the way home.

************************************************************************

This weekend was pretty solid for training:  a nasty three-hour trainer ride in the basement, burning through nearly two full X-men movies and this morning's piece de resistance.  24km over the hills.  At 7 a.m. this morning it was -16 degrees (3 degrees F) with a wind chill of -26 C.  In the group this morning (and the fact that it was a group tells you all you need to know about the relative sanities) I saw three balaclavas, two frozen bottles of Gatorade and a scarf wrapped around a frosted face (but no partridge in a pear tree - sing it to the tune if you like).  

The moral of the story is in the title.  Figure skates are not meant for hockey.  Basements are not meant for three-hour rides, and if you're going for a long run in the cold weather you'd better make sure you have the right insulation for the fingers, toes, noses and frank and beans.

Six days to the Alton Half.

Peace.

History

I'm not American. I never have been and have never had any great desire to become, not because there's anything wrong with that. I just happen to be happy with the snow (even with the shoveling) the maple syrup and beer (sometimes even together).

Today however was a day that just once, just one little weeny teeny little bit deep down inside wanted to be American, just to feel as though I was part of history. One day this will be remembered as one of those "location" moments, as in, "where were you when.....?"

I mean, when a Canadian third-grade class skips science today to explain what "inauguration" means and to explain the significance of it all to a room full of eight-year olds that's a big deal. And then again, when it's the only topic of conversation at dinner, it's at least memorable.

Yes, we can? I don't know. But I'll sure be watching with much more interest than I have for about seven years.

The gift that keeps giving (or taking away)...

This morning was a killer run. 22km over the fabled Northshore hills. The Sunday morning running group has decided it's time to get serious about training with the Chilly Half now less than 2 months away and ATB just over two months out.

Now, I like hills as much as the next guy (or maybe that should be as little). The real killer this morning was running through the slushy unplowed roads. The course goes out through town and into a fairly quiet part of town where the hills start. As an aside, this morning's route passes one golf course and three (!!!) cemeteries. Coincidence? Actually the route stops at the base of a hill with a cemetery at the top, but close enough.

My feet are killing. It's not the "ups" that do it. I think it's the "downs" and the careful picking of foot positions to avoid ice, puddles and general overall shmuck. I must say however I did pull one nice aerial jumping over the splash from an oncoming car that changed lanes a little too close to us. Jumped the splash, and stuck the landing too.

This was preceded yesterday by a three-hour ride in the basement. Warmed up on the trainer to the end of some Premier League football game (ew - yeah I know, any port in a storm) and then plugged in "Gladiator" Still a great flick, but doesn't really work so well on the trainer.

So, the gift that keeps on taking? Well, after shoveling the driveway today (again, but I won't talk about it) I had to go to my least favourite place on earth.......




the mall.



Not only did I have to go to the mall to return a sweater that was gifted and did not fit I was bounced around to three different malls to find the right size. It was even worse when one store said "we don't have it but store X does" and then store X has taken the wrong item off the shelf, so they don't have it either. At least they agreed to find it and send it in, only calling me when it's received.

Oh well. I'm off to soak my toes.

Peace.

Hackin' but still livin'

I've been fighting through a nasty hacking cough for the past week or so. Actually if you ask the rest of Team Ironhead it's been more like a month (following the Truly Male Credo that "if you ignore it, perhaps it will go away on its own"). Normally, I'm the last to be stricken down. The junior members of Team Ironhead bring something home from school and it circulates around the premises from November to May. This year, they've been relatively healthy. Anyway it seems as though the worst has finally passed with the help of some prescription-but-questionably-approved-by-WADA medication and I may just be able to get down to some relatively consistent work, and just in time: the 2009 2nd Annual Alton Half Brought to You by Pancakes is on the calendar for this year. It's still early, but it looks like registration numbers are up 33% over last year, making this event a smashing success. I do remember the run course being a killer last year, knocking me out after two laps of a three-lap course. There is some question as to whether there will be an available pool for the race weekend. We may have to build some flexibility into the proceedings. Ah, but the smoothies.....

Time to get back to "work".

Peace.

New year, new look

Or so I hope.

So I'm out for a run the other night and as I turn the corner off my street I hear, "mind if I join you?"  Another guy has run up behind me.  Turns out he lives a couple blocks away and he's training for Ironman Lake Placid.  He did a couple of short-course races this summer past, and the half-iron at Peterborough on three weeks training.  

We got into a conversation about training and Ironman and a bunch of other things.  Now I'm by no means an expert on training, but after one Ironman race everyone else seems to think so?  He says he needs to work on his nutrition (in January?  For a race in July?) because sometimes he forgets to eat.  We  talked about fueling during racing, or as much as I know on the topic, which isn't much.  I related my experience in finding out what my intake limit is on the run - two 300-calorie Powerbars, three gels, two bottles of Gatorade and a bottle of water on a 30km run is too much, unless you like lying down on the couch afterward begging the room to stop spinning.

Anyway, one good thing that came out of this run?  I've decided that I'm targeting Lake Placid this year.  It was about 90% confirmed up to now, but now it's solid.  The catch?  Oh yeah, little thing like registration's closed.  So is the community fund.  The only other option now is to qualify through one of the qualifying races.  The closest to here is the Muskoka Long Course, so that gets added to the schedule.

Another good thing?  Now I have another training partner, and local to boot.  I'll just have to work on getting him off his four-week training program - a long run of three hours every weekend is eventually going to catch up to this guy.  PS - I looked up his results at Peterborough - at least I beat him there.

Peace.