The end?

Recently I saw an article claiming that 90% of people who try triathlon become "hooked for life". That article is here.

On the surface that seems to make some sense. After all even a sprint tri, the shortest distance requires something between one and two hours of continual exertion. This is not baseball or hockey, where the action is intermittent, broken up by longer rest periods. And, this is the kind of sport that would seem to attract those with "extreme" personalities -the over-determined, goal-oriented, personalities.

Having said all that, I just recently talked to one of my long-time tri buddies who is announcing his retirement. It's been pretty clear from his emails and communications this year that he's got a massive case of burnout. He's married-with-no-kids in an age group just above mine and he has basically dedicated his life to this sport. In his six-year career he's acquired three bikes, a CompuTrainer and has turned himself into something of an authority on swimming and bike training. He has three Ironmans on his resume, multiple halfs and Olympics and at the half-iron distance he's regularly within ten minutes of the four-hour mark. To put it simply, he's an absolute monster on the race course. Now that hasn't come without issues. He readily admits to gastrointestinal issues at the Iron and more recently the half-iron distance. I always figured him for a guy who, once he got the nutrition dialed in, would be an absolute lock for a Kona slot whenever he decided he wanted one.

And now, it looks like all that is on hiatus. In his last communication to me he says he "just doesn't have the interest anymore".

I got started in this sport about six years ago, around the same time as my buddy, although I didn't know him then. I meandered my way through short races and half- and full marathons, including of course IronMan Lake Placid three years ago and IM Canada this year (no really, look at my race times - I really just meandered). I've gone through multiple IT band incidents and other incidents. I bordered on some GI issues at IMC this year, going through a spell of dizziness on the run that resulted in a 10-15 minute walking spell to clear that up. I also spent most of the first half of the marathon asking myself, "okay, should I just force myself to throw up or not?" It was about that severe.

I've had days (sometimes weeks) when training becomes work, when it's a chore to get to the pool in the morning. Sometimes it's too much of a chore to be bothered, and that day slot on the training log gets left blank.

But I'm still here. Going into IMC this year, my hope was to just finish uninjured. The base work just hadn't been there this year. I didn't think I had "respected the distance". After finishing I'm almost 100% certain I'll do the distance again. Certainly not next year - I don't think I'll ever ask Team Ironhead to support an Ironman-per-year habit. But, there will be at least one, and probably a few more.

Why? I don't know the answer. I know that my support crew is awesome. I know they support this on race day, even though they roll their eyes at me throughout the training season. I know my bud has an excellent support crew as well. Pancakes and smoothies are not uncommon after long race days. I think part of the difference is balance. This is not the only thing I do - the kids and their stuff see to that, as well as do my other actiivities - you know, the whole "earning a living" thing. I also think that perhaps I'm a little more relaxed on the course than my pal - he goes full out from the gun, while at the longer distances I'm just keeping it under control.

Maybe he needs to gear down on the course. Maybe a race or two without a stopwatch, or split times would help reset the compass. I don't know. I just hope the dude comes back. I don't know if I'm expecting him next season, but I know that season is still a long way away.

Come on back, D. Whenever you're ready. You know you want to.

Peace.

Back in the saddle...er, shoes again

Well, today was the first day of the end of the off-season. I slacked off big-time after Ironman Canada, and today was the first tippy-toe, dip the running shoe back into the asphalt-and-trails in a long time.

I went out for a 10k run, on a nice sunny day with just the perfect hint of a breeze. Now I've got just the slightest hint of the "good pain" going on. Don't have a plan, don't have a goal or even an objective right now. Just getting back out the door with the objective of just getting out the door. I haven't even put the pedals back on my bike after retrieving it from its shipment.

Well, there was one other thing. I booked the appointment for the IMC tattoo today. I went out expecting to have to wait a month or thereabouts. Not so - I have an appointment for Wednesday evening this week. Pictures to follow.

Peace.

Ironman Canada -race report deluxe

You expect a lot of things a week after an Ironman. You expect to still be hurting somewhere. You expect to not want to see Gatorade, Clif Bars or anything similar for quite some time. You expect to be very happy to not be sitting on your bike saddle, and you expect to not be thinking about exercise for quite some time.

I didn't expect that not many of these statements would be true (figure out that sentence).

I went into the start at Penticton with extremely modest rules for myself:

1. You must expect to get kicked in the face on the swim, probably several times.

2. You must stay relaxed in the water - don't burn out in the first hour of the race.

3. You must keep the heart rate low on the bike and the wattage in the area of 200 - 220 watts.

4. You MUST NOT CHASE THE BREAKAWAY.

5. You must have no expectations for the run.

One week later, I've gone back and looked at this year's Ironman vs. the 2007 Ironman Lake Placid splits. Further proof that I just don't seem to understand this sport.

In 2007 I was in awe of this sport. Perhaps more accurately, I had a healthy respect for the distance and what it could do to someone if they went in unprepared. I was fully trained, had joined a masters swimming group, rode my bike to work, often got up (okay, occasionally got up) at 4 a.m. to ride long, and hardly ever missed a workout.

This year, with the employment fluctuations I was very well-trained, up to about the beginning of July when the new job started. Longest swim was 3600m, not continuous and not in open water. Longest ride was 5.25 hours for ~155 km. Longest run was 24km. I expected to go into this year and have the course hand me my bike shorts for lunch.

A split comparison:

2007 swim: 1:15:34

2010 swim: 1:14:34

I can't explain this. I must have drafted somebody somewhere, but I don't remember consciously doing it and I was never really that close to another set of feet to do so.

2007 bike: 6:12:01

2010 bike: 6:06:57

Admittedly the bike courses are different, and I rode a different bike but Lake Placid doesn't have anything that compares to Richter Pass or Yellow Lake, and that includes a one-minute stop to chow down the Pringles in my special needs bag at 120km.

2007 transitions: T1 7:16, T2 5:51

2010 transitions: T1 6:08, T2 5:23

Even here, I wasn't rushed. I moved with purpose, calmly. I sat down to catch my breath and to get slathered up in sunscreen.

2007 run: 4:28:43

2010 run: 4:51:09

Okay, here's where the difference was. I didn't have the run base, and I don't think I had the nutrition completely figured out either. I was dizzy and nauseous through the first half of the marathon, but around the half-way point all that had just about disappeared. I was taking in everything salty at the aid stations (coke, chicken soup and pretzels) and that seemed to do the trick.

Overall 2010: 12:24:08 (1150 overall, 183/328 in age group)

Overall 2007: 12:09:23 (616 overall, 143/415 in age group)

With any run base I could have broken 12 hr.

All that by the way, is not enough to convince my wife for a "do-over" to come back to Penticton next year, even though the race is still open for registration on-line.

A few shout-outs: to the house crew: Warren, Ellen and her mom and the Moogs. And to the world's greatest Ironcrew, Team Ironhead who once again hung out all day waiting for daddy to finish his foolishness. They are the best crew, and without them I wouldn't be able to do any of this crazy stuff.

PS. A 5/8" wrench in your carry-on at the airport is good for "special" conversation, good for inspection and good for getting to know the security crew. Not good for the people lined up behind you, as they'll be lined up for quite awhile as your bag is exhumed for inspection.

Peace.

Ironman Canada race report lite

Real report to follow:

12:24:08 - given the absence of structured training, not bad. Sometimes I really wonder what I could do in this sport if I had the time and discipline to stick to it.

Full report to follow.

Cheers.

3rd annual Alton Half

From humble beginnings the Alton Half has rolled on, now through it's third anniversary. The Half has endured through snowstorms, windstorms, last-minute flu/illness that moved it to a temporary site in Caledon. This year's enrollment was up 67% over last year's, showing remarkable growth for a third-year enterprise. Time to issue the IPO!

This year the half returned to its original home base in Alton, home of hills, hills and more hills. The morning started in the pool at 7 a.m. in two separate groups - Darren, and everybody else. After watching him churn up the water, nobody wanted to get in the same lane with Darren for fear of being swamped. The rest of us - Larry and I - set up in a vacant lane and went about our longish set - 5 x 400's on 20-30s rest. Little did we realize that we had moved into what later became the "breast stroke and floaties" lane. We were requested to move by the kindly guard. In the second lane it quickly became apparent that we were the only ones who knew how to signal lane changes in the pool, necessitating another quick lane change. Three different lanes to finish what ended up being a brisk 2100m.

After the swim we headed up the road to Alton base camp. On the way the snow began to fall, a harbinger of the run yet to come. The group grew to five at base camp with Geoff and Daryl joining in. All five racked up and rolled out for 2 - 2.5 hr of spinning/mashing in the basement. Fueled by gatorade, trail mix, raspberry chewy cookies, gels, pretzels and lots of water the ride passed uneventfully.

On to the run. The course really needs no description. Three laps of a 7 km course with 100 m elevation increase in the first 1.5 km definitely gets the blood flowing, and early. For interest's sake the route is linked here. Making the turn at the 2k mark takes runners into the teeth of the wind. The earlier harbinger of snow turned into horizontal flakes at this point. Running three laps called into question the very sanity of the participants only three of whom finished the trifecta. In keeping with the belief that no matter how dumb/determined/dedicated you are, there is someone else out there who's worse we saw a dude balaclava'd up mountain biking up the road as we made the turn on the third lap.

Returning to base camp we were greeted by hot showers, smoothies, pancakes, bacon, sausage, oranges and possibly the best muffins to ever pass through Alton.

Once again, cheers to the Alton Base camp crew - Sally rocks! To Daryl, Larry and Geoff who gutted it out with the rest of us. To Darren for setting this up one more time. And to Team Ironhead, who turned me loose for the day to participate in the madness without the slightest complaint. Awesome!

Peace.

ps. 210 days to go.

Day 7

The new work schedule is not really helping the training schedule at all. It's a constant juggle to keep up some semblance of training while jumping back and forth between day and night shifts. This will be the last training post for a few days as I get ready to go in on night shift over the weekend.

Wednesday: good run, 4 X 1 mile - repeats at 6:30/mile.

Thursday - long swim, 7 X 500m with rest enough to keep the form good. Could barely lift my arms at the end of that mashfest.

Friday - planned to swim again this morning, but barely got in 1500m before I could hardly move - I guess the long day yesterday took more out of today's early season arms than I thought. Also doubled up this afternoon - 90 min spin, with 2-3 5 minute sessions in 53x12 gear standing. Good leg burn, although I'm not sure how wise this was right before a 12-hour shift.

233 days to go.

Peace.

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.