Kona 2015 - My 24th and Final Ironman

My journey in triathlon started by watching Julie Moss crawling across the Kona finish line in 1982, and it's only fitting that my Ironman journey ends on these same hallowed grounds.  

It certainly wasn't my best race ever, but it was by far the best experience I've ever had at an Ironman. 

Going into this 24th and final Ironman, I was not expecting much in terms of performance. It's been an injury plagued year, but when you get a ticket to Kona, you don't pass it up.

I was all set to train hard, and I had all my coaching lined up to make this final Ironman a great one. However, my right shoulder (which has dislocated often at recent Ironman swims) is at it's all time worst (you can hear my shoulder making crunching noises each time I rotate my shoulder). And my arthritic foot that doesn't allow me to do runs longer than 90 minutes. Normally, I'd be racing 8-10 duathlons during the summer but I shut down all running after the Gravenhurst Duathlon where that run was super painful. I just raced a bunch Swim/Bike events, and saved the running for Ironman Mont-Tremblant and Kona. So the preparation for this was far from ideal. Not being able to race like I want to is big reason why I decided to close the book of this Ironman chapter in my life, but to also dedicate more time to my daughter as she hits her key formative years.

So with those parameters, the goal was simply to finish and enjoy the whole Kona experience. I estimated I was in 13.5 hr shape, but Kona is a different animal, and I knew the conditions would not be favourable to me, but I'd give it my best shot. 

Race Morning

Got up at 4am, had 2 tasty Bonk Breaker Salted Caramel Bars (it came in the race goody bag so why not), some water and sports drink. Then changed into my gear - so much easier not to worry about carrying around a wetsuit. Just before heading out the door, my daughter woke up and said she wanted to give me a hug to "pass on her energy to me to use for the race."  How about that to start your day? My father in law drove me over to grab the athlete shuttle into town (that way he could head back home and chill out for a bit before heading into town the the rest of the crew. The shuttle dropped us off at the Ironman Village/Expo area and from there I made the walk to the pier. This was a nice way to burn off some nervous energy. I must admit that I felt like it was my first one all over again as I sat on that shuttle. I took that as a good sign. I was calm but excited to start the day. 

It is quite the operation at Kona. You are funnelled around the King Kam Hotel with the first stop being body marking. With lots of volunteers ready to place the race tattoo numbers on you. From there it is the weigh in, and then off to transition to do final bike and transition bag prep. Of note is the fact that you are provided with an escort to get to your transition bags. It only makes sense as it eliminates the opportunity for someone to tamper with your bag whether intentional or not. The day before, the same applied when doing bike drop off. 

After taking care of some bike business and to drop off my chilled itsthenerve (Check the link to find out more about the product. It's a new way to help athletes with cramping issues and I've been a test subject for a few months. Kona conditions tend to stimulate cramping for me so I was glad have it available to me) bottles in my bags, I headed over to the King Kam beach area to prep for the swim. Dropped off my Pre-swim bag (after the volunteer reminded me I still had flip flops on), then went over to the pier to check out the swim start. 

SWIM (2.4 miles/3.86km):

I watched the pros go off, which was pretty cool to experience it in person and not while watching it online or the NBC broadcast. The anthem, traditional Hawaiian blessing, Red Bull parachutists driving down from the sky, and of course the blast of the start cannon. The atmosphere built right to the age group men start at 6:55 am.

I had a bottle of #itsthenerve right after the pro women went off at 6:30am - I cramped while getting out of the water after a practice swim earlier in the week, and the product representatives suggested a dosing schedule for me to follow, starting with that first bottle 30 minutes prior to my swim start.

I applied Vaseline to my underarms (to prevent chaffing), then made my way down to the water. I must say, Kona is probably the safest swim you'll ever do. The course is blanketed with water safety crew the entire way - no so excuses Lindsay :)  I started at the back, the cannon went off and so did I. I swam easy and solid for the first half, I made the turn to head back home at 47 minutes. This is slow for me but given my shoulder deterioration over the past year, I was gladly accepting that. However, soon afterwards, my right shoulder blew apart and I could not muster up any propulsion from that side. It was painful before, but even more so now. 

From that point on, I swam one armed the rest of the way. Man is it so much fun to do one armed drills for close to half of the ironman swim :) My left shoulder wasn't liking it that much either, especially with an unfavourable current that was making things a bit more challenging on the way back. 

I glanced at my watch an knew it would be my slowest swim ever, so once I reached the pier, I tried to enjoy and remember that final stretch as much as I could before making the exit and up those steps into transition. 

With an epically slow 1:57 and change, I walked up the stairs and sucked in the moment I've seen many times on tv, knowing I'd never do it again. It hosed off all the salt water at the rinsing station, realizing that my tongue and lips were shrivelled and wrinkled from being in the salt water for so long. And not to be gross, but to be helpful, you might want to consider applying Vaseline to your "rear", that can get all affected by the salt water too. It bugged me all day and post race. 

Mostly straight, but also mostly slow. The positive - no more Ironman swims for me. Yahoo!

T1:

Made a full change. I swam in Tri shorts, so I took that off and put on my Ignition Fitness Tri top, cycling shorts, cooling arm sleeves, socks, HR monitor, cycling shoes, and made the long run around transition to get my bike. It's all carpeted so it does not beat of the cleats of your cycling shoes. No surprise, with my stellar swim, my bike was the last one on the 45-49 rack. 

BIKE (112 miles/180km):

Aside from a few brief test rides, this was my first ride on the QR PR5, which Quintana Roo provided for me and saved me from the hassle of packing, unpacking, and shipping. You can do the same with their rental program. The PR5 is a great bike, it's just too bad I wasn't able to take full advantage of it. 

I rode an easy and controlled effort. It was already smoking hot and I drank all of my fluids (aero bottle and bottle on my downtube) by the 10 mile mark. 

Thanks to sponsor and new Ignition Fitness partner PowerTap, and Product Manager (Justin Henkel) in particular, for getting the new and high in demand PowerTap P1 pedals pedals to me a few days before the race (easiest setup ever), I planned to ride an easy and manageable 155-165w. I put them to good use until the cramps began.

My first hurdle of the day was a flat tire at just before the 50km mark. I actually rode with it for a while, thinking I could make it to the next aid station, but I was just pushing too hard and going nowhere. So I pulled off to the side, and got the front wheel off and got on with changing the tube. I got everything going and was ready to do a final check of the tire when tech support drove up. He asked if I checked the tire for any cuts and as he did, he found a piece of metal embedded into the tire. He then told me to pack up my repair kit, have a drink and he'll take care of the rest. It made for a convenient time to have a second bottle of itsthenerve.

At each aid station, I refilled on Orange Gatorade Endurance (I decided to use the on course nutrition rather than my usual own preferred formulation), sipped on water and used the water to douse my arm sleeves to keep cool, along with dumping it all over my head, front and back. I also picked up GU Gels, and chews along the way. I periodically stopped off to get some cold Red Bull and mixed some in with the Gatorade in the aero bottle for some extra kick. 

As expected the ride along the Queen K is not particularly tough on the way out. The only real challenge is the heat and wind and making sure you are managing the effort so you can get through the later part of the ride and then the marathon. 

The ride up to Hawi is a kicker and where the fun begins. It seems never ending and just keeps going up and the headwinds pick up during this section. The positive, is that you'll be flying back down all that climbing but will have to deal with those legendary crosswinds. Thanks to the slow swim and flat delay, I was heading out to Hawi in some serious heat.

I pulled off at the last aid station before Hawi and had my third bottle of #itsthenerve, with the heat and sweat rate increasing, I could sense some cramping coming on if I didn't moderate my effort and take care of my nutrition. It was crazy hot, with breathing being quite a chore and even a bit painful with the sensation of my ribs digging into my sides. The awesome volunteers hooked me up with , Red Bull, cold water to pour all over me, and one insisted I have some Gu Chews for energy and did a dance to show what it was doing for her all day. Quite funny and lifted my spirits.  

It was such a tough slog to get to Hawi with all that climbing, wind and heat. So close, yet seemed so far. 10 miles seemed like forever. But I knew on the way back, I'd be flying with the wind at my back and all that downhill. But this is where you encounter the crosswinds too, so I was careful to not just carelessly fly down at top speed. I took the time to stretch and shake out the legs. However, to no avail, after finishing the downhill the cramps attacked in relentless fashion.

The first cramp came at 104 km, then I had some more at 109, 142, 150, and 155km. With each cramp, I one legged pedalled until that side cramped too (or until the other leg cramped so hard that it was unsafe to keep going) and then dismounted to shake the legs out, stretch, and take some backup salt tablets I had stashed just in case the #itsthenerve didn't work. Plus, I only packed two bottles if #itsthenerve for a planned dosage of one bottle at 60km and another at 120 km. 

The headwinds heading back to Kailua were horrible. That's the problem when you clock a slow swim time, and have some difficulties on the bike. You get caught in the windier conditions heading back home and into those wonderful steady inclines and building headwinds. The pros don't face these conditions plus they are faster (lucky buggers), but the mid to back of the packers get slammed. I feel for those older athletes like Lew Hollander.

The cramps also put a halt to my wattage goals. Maintaining even 155w was hiking heart rate and would bring on cramping so it was simply a ride easy plan to make sure they wouldn't come back. I developed a bit of camaraderie with the whole group I was riding with. I'd cramp, get off my bike, they'd come by and ask if I was ok, then I'd recover, re-pass, and meet up at the next aid station where we'd all stop and douse ourselves with ice water to get cool in the searing heat of the day - record heat for this race and it was like an oven all week. The volunteers were prepared for us and were quite awesome all day. Plus, they all thought I was a local boy so I got extra special treatment. With the flat, aid station stops, and cramps, my Garmin indicated close to 45 minutes of stop time. I clearly was not breaking any records today.

I managed to cheer on a few athletes on the run, while riding back into town, like the great Jim Sunners. He is a true inspiration for every age grouper. The guy kicks butt at the age of 53 and he's just keeps getting faster. 

T2:

Dismounted and a volunteer took my bike away. I took off my cycling shoes and ran in my socks on the carpeted surface and right into transition. 

There were not much dudes in the change tent by the time I got there. And I had one on one service from one of the volunteers - these guys were there from when we got out of the swim and now at the end of the bike. Talk about dedication and they were incredible as well. 

I immediately opened my bag and drank a bottle of #itsthenerve. It has a peppery and slight burning sensation when you drink it (the cayenne pepper) so it's good to have it get into the system while you are doing other stuff so it is settled by the time you are ready to run. All was going well until it was time to put on my socks. As I put on socks on my right side, my left side began to cramp. But with some modifications (Like not bending over so much or straightening it out) I could keep them away. The volunteer asked if I wanted to get medical over to massage it out but I said no and that I would be fine. However, as soon as I tried putting on my left sock, a major cramp hit and the volunteer ran off to flag down medical staff. Meanwhile, he gave me a cool cup of Lemon Lime Gatorade Endurance to drink immediately, and one filled with ice cubes to sip on. At that point, I drank another bottle of #itsthenerve (my fifth of the day) which I was saving for the 10 mile mark of the run. It clearly didn't work for me throughout the day, but I figured I might was well drink that last one so I can provide detailed feedback to the makers of the product.

A doctor came over and did some ART on me for 10 minutes and got the cramp right out of there. I could bring them back on with certain positions, but I said I'd be okay and that I better get going since this could very well be a long marathon and I'd need all the time I could get. I quick lube of all chaffable parts, some sunscreen, and I was on my way after a 20 minute pit stop. Maybe I should have had a sandwich and fries while there eh?

RUN (26.2 miles/42.2km):

I ran easy and got into a groove. With all those people out there on Ali'i Drive, I am glad I was able to run steady and not suffer a major crampfest in front of them. 

I took in a steady diet of Coke, Red Bull with ice (sucking on the ice cubes the whole way to get in some water), gels and chews. The run felt easy, and I was managing my foot with 1 minute walk breaks every 10 minutes. At that point I was even thinking I'd be able to run in the 4:50 range after such a horrible rest of the day. But with my lack of long runs, knew that the wheels could come off at any time. I could feel that point coming on just before the climb up Palani, and I tried to stave them off by rubbing my thighs and hamstrings with ice for the two aid stations leading into it. 

I've seen that famous Palani climb year after year and I was not going to walk it. Once I got there, I ran up that sucker. Not like Jan Frodeno or Jeff Symonds to be sure, but a run nonetheless. Once I got out of town, I soon realized how darn tough this run is, and the pros are running this blistering fast in the severe heat. I've got a new appreciation for them. It's a mostly gradual steady grade right out to the Energy Lab. Even in the desolate darkness of night, it was still hot out there and I was thankful I was not running it in the full heat of the day. A lot of the athletes were prepared and running with headlamps. I was not expecting to be out there that late so I was the invisible man all in black, until I got my glow stick upon exiting the energy lab. 

My quads were seizing up, and my right foot pain kicked in so it was mostly a walkfest until the Energy Lab. I also had a goal to run that epic section so I saved up an effort for that and gave it a go. Not the same vibe as the daytime but a unique one at night where it's pitch black and all you can see are lights off in the distance and athlete headlamps.

I did a mix of run/walk (mostly walk when the quads screamed at me and punching them and saying "shut up legs" no longer worked). With 5km to go, I started feeling decent again and started "running", I decided to save a bit of energy once I hit that final incline before the Palani downhill, and once I hit the top of that (roughly 1 mile to go), I let it fly. I finished with a 10:50/mile (my fastest mile of the day - that says it all right there, but it felt like I was running a 6 minute mile). All the crowd support and cheering felt awesome, and I sucked in all of the final section along Ali'i. I high fived everyone I could coming down that finish chute (one of those being my wife although I didn't know it at the time) and once I crossed the finish line I jumped and yelled out with joy, and soon after shook the hand of Mike Reilly. A perfect ending and at approximately the same point where I got inspired to get into this sport by Julie Moss back in 1982.

Post-race:

A couple of volunteers soon grabbed me and put a lei on me, wrapped me in a towel, and walked me to the finish area behind the King Kam. I told them I'd be fine on my own, and continued on to get my finisher shirt, hat and medal. Which they had organized by bib number. Where upon checking in, you'd get your morning clothes bag and a bag with the finisher swag. Once again a smooth and first class operation.

Food was next if you were so inclined. Pizza, ice cream, chocolate milk, pulled pork sliders, and fries. 

Massages were available too but I was fortunate that my wife was crafty enough to get back to me and we got my transition bags quickly to get out of there (she already picked up my bike earlier and got it back to QR, saving us from doing so the next morning). So a smart tip would be to establish a meeting point with your family post race. Or you can pack your cell phone in your morning clothes bag if you feel good with that. I didn't and left it at home. I also had use of the Time One GPS+ where I could text from the device so I didn't really need it. I also made use of it so my family and friends could track me live throughout the run and send message -- Thanks for all those notes of encouragement, it was all read by me but I could not reply at the time. Thanks to everyone who sent well wishes before the event too. Much appreciated.

Final Notes:

It would be easy to be disappointed with my finish time but I was grateful and thankful for the opportunity to race at this esteemed event, and just having seen first hand and to be inspired by people like Hector Picard, Alex Zanardi, Lew Hollander, and many others in this event and many others around the world, I have deep gratitude for having the ability to get out there to complete this race. There are a lot more things to life than a crappy finish time. 

Lew Hollander and I hanging out pre-race. He is an interesting guy and still more than with it at 85 years of age.

If you've race Ironman before, you know how these things can go. You try to show up on the start line as well prepared as possible, and try to get through those inevitable rough patches as best as you can. There is no guarantee that you'll finish an Ironman. There are so many things that can happen. Injuries, technical and equipment issues, medical intervention, accidents, or even just making it to the start line. There were any few times during the race I doubted that a finish would be possible. But I am not one to quit a race, and especially not Kona. Pride might make it tempting to bail because the day was not going according to expectations and what people might think, but for me pride kept me going. I wanted to respect my position on the start line and the thousands of triathletes that would love the opportunity to race here.

I wanted to enjoy the entire Kona experience because I knew it would be my last and I knew my body was not ready to throw down a fast time. But as I said earlier, you show up on the start line as best you can and play whatever cards you've got. I did that.

I had an incredible 2 weeks in Kona with my family and I will be forever embedded in my memory. Having the opportunity to share all of this with them was more valuable than anything and all of the post-race time made for the perfect end to my 24th and final Ironman.

I am truly blessed to have a super supportive and loving wife and daughter. Unfortunately for them, the end of Ironman racing means they will see more of me. No more long training days or Daddy putting in hours of trainer time in the basement. It's now my daughter's time, who knows, maybe I've planted the seed for her to aspire to race in Kona too someday. Major thanks goes out to the greatest in-laws that you can possibly have. They've always been supportive, and once they found out I was going to Kona, they did not hesitate to make plans to be there. Thanks to my parents for holding down the fort at home while we were away.

I wish all of my triathlon pals could have been here in Kona. It was truly a mind blowing experience and you would love it. I hope you all have the chance to experience it. It really does live up to the hype. The race is first class all the way, and all of the activities surrounding the race are not to be missed. Thanks to all of you who sent messages prior to and after the race. It meant a great deal to me and I won't forget any of them. I am privileged to have such great friends and supporters.

As I stated, this will be my last Ironman. Unless of course, my daughter wants to do one. Only that would top this experience. Luckily, I have 14+ years to prepare for that one if it happens.

You can look up the all the race stats if you want, but there is nothing much to look at. For me, it was all about the finish. 

This note by the knowledgeable, classy, and simply great guy, John Salt, hit the mark and my heart. Thanks again John.

"Ironman on race day is a crap shoot at the best of times, what with weather, nutrition or mechanicals all playing a part. Some people may look at an athlete's time and wonder what happened. I see a time being posted by a tough and smart competitor who went into his race having been injured for much of the most important of training and still being ready to take on this beast of a race because of his dream. It looks like you had an incredibly tough day and you should be proud of staying in there and giving it everything you had. I am proud of you Roger!"

Thanks for reading this far. Here is a bit more, as the purpose of this post is to both tell you what happened out there, and to provide some useful information for your own racing.

Some advice if you are going to Kona for the Ironman:

Get in some swims from Dig Me Beach. Any time of day is fine, but early mornings is where you can do some people watching and where most show up. The Gatorade Bag Check is there too until 9am. 

Do the Underpants Run. Don't be a spectator. It is a lot of fun and get the whole family to join you.

If you've got kids, make sure they do the Ironkids race. $10 for a great race and race kit well worth more than that or even better than most race kits offer adults. 

March in the Parade of Nations. It was a great experience and I got to march and represent Canada with fellow Raptor fan Jeff Symonds who had an epic race day of his own. If he can march in the parade and still run 2:50 on race day even after one legged pedaling for 30km due to a broken crank, you can march in the parade too. He will win Kona one day. He is a great guy and tough as nails.

The Expo is a bit of a walk from the pier but it's well worth going to. A nice selection of vendors and lots of giveaways and deals. I picked up my race kit and went there afterwards. It was stuffed by the time I got out of there. 

If you like raw fish, eat lots of poke. I've got lots of restaurant recommendations too for both poke and other type of food.

Visit the other parts of the island. There are lots of places to discover like Volcanoes National Park, Hilo, etc.

If you are serious about performing well here, come to Kona to train on the course in the heat and wind. Or get in some similar training at another location if you can't get here. Even then, nothing is like Kona.

I've definitely made a bunch of mental notes about every aspect of that course. I plan to share that info to the athletes I coach and the rest of the Ignition Fitness crew who I know will get there someday.

I've used my Ironman racing to raise money for charity in the past, and did so again this but without soliciting anyone. Just my own personal challenge. But now, I'll make you aware of Kiva. With this organization, you can lend people around the world, money that they need and will pay back to you so you can then fund another person in need. Your investment just keeps helping people over and over again. Do me a favour and check it out.

Thanks to my sponsors Running Free, QR/Litespeed - both have been there since 2006, PowerTap, Honeymaxx, and of course my great partners at Ignition Fitness.

Tommy and Paolina threw me a Kona party a few weeks before I headed off and this trophy I received from Tommy's daughter will be right there with the rest of my Kona paraphernalia. I felt like a winner before I even got on the plane.

Tommy and Paolina are the best in every way, and I look forward to achieving bigger and better things with them at Ignition Fitness as we continue to take our athletes to the next level.

Season opener at Woodstock

With my right foot acting up with sharp pains with every step, at stellar open to the 2015 season was not about to happen. If I had no race to do and had to do an training run, I'd would have selected to rest, recover, and take an off day. But of course, I headed down to Woodstock to race.

The Stats from my Garmin except for the total time (since race stats were missing all splits):

5km - 24:38 --- 168 bpm avg

- Considered pulling the plug at 1km. Every step elicited a sharp pain on the side of my right foot. But I kept at it and found a way to modify my stride to minimize the pain. 

T1 - 1:17

- Long run from the bike rack to the dismount line at Woodstock.

20 km Bike - 36:21, 169 avg hr, 194w avg, 210w NP

- Despite my 18 minute warm up, I did not feel right on the bike. The wind seem to come from every direction. This was my first ride on the Qr Illicito since August of last year and it took until the 7 km for my body to feel ready but once I got there, I ended with a decent ride. Not what I am capable of though.

T2 - 54:09

2.5 km run -12:10, 172 avg hr

- Less pain in the foot this time, but I wanted to get it over with asap so ran hard to close out the day.

Starting the final run

Total time: 1:05:05 - last year I did it in 1:16:07.

The highlight of the day: Darren Cooney just keeps getting faster. 9th last year and this year 3rd.

Oh yeah, a few hours after the race, I got into the lake for my first swim of the year. The first 10 minutes felt horrible. I thought my shoulders were going to fall out. But all felt better on the way back to the start. Thanks to the Cass family for swimming with me.

Spring check in 2015

For all those who are still regularly checking in, thanks for doing so.

As I've said before in previous posts, I'll try to regularly blog but all the "extra" time I used to have to produce blogs, now go towards other things like dedicating time more time on the home front, helping my athletes at Ignition Fitness, and of course trying to fit in my own training, amongst a host of other things.

Here are a few things floating around in my mind that I wanted to make note of:

1. Ignition Fitness. We have an exciting year ahead and we have a great group of athletes at a variety of levels. My particular group is kicking tail already and we've still got most of the year to go. If you are interested in training for the Barrelman, we have an affordable program.

2. I am honoured to be back with Team Running Free for my ninth year. Running Free is the place to stock up on your shoes and gear. Owned and staffed by top drawer people too.

3. The Garmin 920xt is a near perfect device..........when it's working properly. I was all set to write a glowing review then after a month, the automatic wifi uploads stopped working (a huge reason why I got it), and with no wifi, you can't update the device. There is no apparent fix. There are a few solutions posted online --- it is a common problem, but none have worked for me. When things take a turn for the better, I'll write something. Aside from that issue though, it has a ton of features I love. Another big one of those is being able to use it every day as a watch and daily activity tracker (steps, sleep). You'd want to spend extra to get the HR monitor strap option. The strap allows you to run indoors without the use of a footpod, it track ground contact, etc. All the features are here.

Thanks to the demand of this new device, you can pick up the 910xt for cheap (as low as $150). Pick up one of those if you can get your hands on one. I had zero issues with that device. I just could not wear it as an everyday watch.

4. Octane Zero Runner. I used it exclusively during the winter and it saved me a ton of impact. It took almost one week to transition to running outside again to get used to all the impact/shock once again. But I noticed immediately that my flexibility improved. My run stride was complete (heels coming up and not just Ironman shuffling around), and my hamstring strength improved. I can definitely conclude that you can't 100% replace real running with the Zero Runner, but you can effectively mix it in with real running to help with recovery, and to get in some extra run movements without all the impact. With it being a new machine, there are a few growing pains. I had to replace the display on the console, there is a noise issue with the dampers (major moveable part of the machine). A full review to come. For now, a fellow Running Free teammate and very fast dude, Mike Bosch provides this demo.



5. Pacing - I just paced the Yonge St 10km and had a lot of fun. The Canada Running Series always puts on top notch events and this was no different. You should not hesitate to do any one of their events. Next up for pacing is the Goodlife Half Marathon.

6. Racing - I'll be very active with MultiSport Canada and Ironman. See you at the races.

7. Twitter. I am a lot more active on Twitter these days. It's a lot quicker and easier for me to share thoughts on there. Check out the banner on the right and follow.

That's all for now. I hope to check in again soon.

What's your Big League?

No particular reason, just one of the greatest songs ever written by Tom Cochrane, and 100% Canadian.

Whatever your "Big League" is, stick to your dreams and go after it.

As we say at Running Free - "Believe It, Achieve It!"

No running for me at Rose City

A total of 40 competitors took part in the Welland Half Swim/Bike on June 15th, and as always is the case with this race, a few Elites and top age groupers show up to get in a good hard workout without beating themselves up with a run – mostly done as a final tune-up for another upcoming race.

Even though my main race is a few months away, I was in the boat too. I logged a fairly heavy run week so I didn’t need to do another 21.1 km. Plus, skipping on that run means I can get right back into training the following week.

Last year I swam a pathetic 50 minutes thanks to zero swim training. I’ve been swimming somewhat regularly during the winter and getting back to my old abilities. However, a pool shutdown due to yearly maintenance and some other things in life have messed with my regular routine since May and I hadn’t swam in three weeks. So a big reason to do this race was to get in an open water swim and see where I was at and how bad I could get after missing three weeks of swimming.

2 km Swim – 43:55 – 2:12/100 m — Worst swimmer in the Welland Canal

I got in the water 5 minutes before the race start and got in a few strokes to warm up. The new wetsuit I was wearing felt more buoyant and flexible in the arms so I had good thoughts of pulling off a good swim……that didn’t happen.

My stroke felt all over the place, and I kept drifting left. Then after about 15 minutes, my left side started getting numb and my left deltoid started to get achy. My navigation issues continued for most of the race, and I tried ramping up the effort during the final stretch because I wanted out of that water. Officially I was out un 43:55. I was not happy with that given what I’ve been doing in training (40 minutes should have been my max swim time), but it also showed me that I need to keep the swimming going if I want to swim to my potential.

Once out, I ran to my Crocs that I set aside so I didn’t have to run in barefeet for that long run to T1. I also took of my wetsuit by seconds after and then ran to T1.

T1 – 1:22 (includes the long run up from the water)

With the wetsuit already off and my Ignition Fitness Tri top and Running Free Bike Shorts on, I quickly put on my socks, helmet, grabbed my arm warmers and ran out with my bike quickly to make up for that horrible swim.

90 km Bike – 2:27:07 – 36.7 km/hr — 5th best bike

I spent the first few minutes getting my feet in the shoes, and mainly in getting my armwarmers on the go. Once I got going I started reeling people in and was not passed by anyone all day – thanks again cruddy swim time.

The first 30 km went ok. For whatever reason I did not feel like riding my bike. My legs felt tired and achy. However, thanks to some tailwind I was able to cover 30 km in just over 48 minutes. That provided some motivation that I needed at that moment. I did the math in my head and realized I had a shot at riding sub 2:30. I really wasn’t riding close to my abilities so surely I could ensure 60 km of harder riding?

I still did not pump out my goal wattages (the changing winds had a lot to do with that), so I ditched looking and riding to wattage and simply just rode hard and tried to pass as many people as possible.

I battled a stiff wind in the final 15 km and but having that carrot of sub 2:30 helped a ton, I let it all go for that stretch. During that time, I almost rear ended a car after a vehicle decided to go a few feet and then suddenly stop after a policeman had waved him through. Why he stopped, I’ll never know, but I am glad the policeman yelled at him to keep coming through. I had my hand on my brakes anyway since I sensed something weird was going to happen, but I was protecting myself from a possible left turn into me.

I got into T2 and crossed the timing mat to end my race.

* I was running low on Honeymaxx so I only had 240 calories split into two bottles. I consumed both of those, plus a bottle of water on course from an aid station, and grabbed a Hammer Gel at the final aid station for the last push home. That extra bit of sugar was a nice little treat.

Some Bike stats:

Time: 2:26:58 / Avg Speed: 36.4 km/h / Avg HR: 159 bpm / Avg Power: 193 W / Max Avg Power (20 min): 203 W

Normalized Power (NP): 195 W

Last year

Time: 2:33:53 / Avg Speed: 35.1 km/hr / Avg HR: 156 bpm / Max HR: 171 bpm / Avg Power: 189 W / Max Avg Power (20 min): 212 W

Normalized Power (NP): 192 W

Total Time – 3:15:31 — 9th overall, 3rd among men 40+

I was fairly happy with my bike ride, knowing that I have it in me to go faster. But the swim definitely bothered me. The good thing is that it will encourage me to not neglect my swimming for the rest of the season. Congrats to fellow Ignition Fitness teammate Shawn Marshall who edged me out by 16 seconds, and to all the Ignition and Team Running Free athletes that competed on the weekend. Once again the MultiSport Canada crew pulled off anther outstanding race.

Equipment: QR Illicito (it felt speedy today), Shimano TR60 shoes (my first ride in them and they felt great), Ignition Fitness Tri top, and Running Free – Bike Shorts, Arm warmers, and Calf sleeves.

Nutrition: Pre-race: 1 bottle of Boost+ in the morning, plus some black coffee on the drive to the race. During the race: Honeymaxx in my Profile Aero HC System. Both available at Running Free. Make sure to use the code 11296 if you are shopping there. It will save you a few dollars.

Post-race: 500mL of Chocolate Milk courtesy of the Recharge With Milk Recovery Zone, and 2 slices of Pizza.

* Thanks to MultiSport Canada and MySportsShooter for all the images – all free this year when you race in the series.

Binbrook Duathlon 2014

The race for me can be summed up as: two solid slightly faster than my goal IM pace runs and a good bike ride.

As with all these races I do this year, I will be going into them with heavy ironman training. I will treat these shorter events as bonus speed work. So some days will go great and some no so much. Race day performance all depends on how the legs will respond to all that training stress built up during the week.

I did some intense run intervals the day before and the week was laden with a lot of big wattage rides. So the legs had some sting in them to begin with but sometimes the legs are fine with this, sometimes not.

First run - 5km (25:37 - 5:08/km officially) -- my Garmin measured 5.24km - 4:53/km pace.
I could feel that my legs were not there today, so during the first run I went into cruise mode and tried not to fall too far behind the leaders (figuring I'd make up time during the bike). At Woodstock all felt easy for the given effort, today I was fighting it a bit. Still, to challenge myself, I made an on the fly goal to maintain a pace just under 5:00/km pace. I did so according to the Garmin. The run at Binbrook is a combo of trail/grass (approximately 1.1 km to start, then out to the road, and 1.1+km back to T1 or the finish line.

T1 - 50 sec

30 km Bike - 49:57 (36 km/hr, 221w avg)
The bike started well. I was maintaining 240w for the first 10 minutes but the effort got disrupted when a pickup truck made a left turn onto the course just in front of me. I was trapped behind the truck for a few minutes and I must give the driver credit because they tried to get out of the way as soon as they could without compromising our safety. Still, it took a while for him to get a clear and down the road. I got back on my way and kept making ground and through the field. As I got to the pointy end of the race. I was finding less riders to pass. The fatigue from the week started taking its toll and pain began to infiltrate my legs. The avg. wattage dropped slowly but I did my best to prevent the decrease as much as I could. I got behind a two cars during the last stretch on the way back into the park that delayed me some 20-30 seconds but I still ended up having the 4th best ride.

T2 - 46 seconds

The final 5 km run (26:32 - 5:19/km) officially. The Garmin measured 5.29km  - 5:01/km pace
The final run went great. The legs felt tired after the ride but they bounced by quickly for the run. I was hoping to catch some folks during the ride but with it being that flat and fast, it is tough to make up huge ground unless I push that first run more. I was running well but I was too far behind to catch those on front (not worth the effort and residual recovery to try and run 4:00 and change to do it), and no one behind was going to catch me so I just cruised in for a solid finish. Added note: I was a hot one out there and I could feel my right hamstring wanting to cramp during that final km.

Total time: 1:43:39 - 12th overall, 5th M40-49

Nutrition:
Pre-race: 1/2 of a Boost+ in the morning, plus some black coffee on the drive to the race.
During the race: Honeymaxx in my Profile Aero HC System. Both available at Running Free. Make sure to use the code 11296 if you are shopping there. It will save you a few dollars.
Post-race: 500mL of Chocolate Milk courtesy of the Recharge With Milk Recovery Zone. No white milk this week

And because I was missing out on a long ride today with my Markham Tri Crew and I had a busy day tomorrow, as soon as I got home after the race and clocked a 1 hr 45 minute ride. That was mentally tough. I actually took in a few doses of plain honey during the ride to get me through since it was a long day and I finished the ride at 7pm. This Ironman racing thing is such a pain :)

The best part of the day for me was witnessing Ignition Fitness athlete Darren Cooney throw down a wicked performance on a day he wasn't even 100%. Darren continues to rise up the ranks and finished third overall. Congrats buddy! This is only the beginning.

All the best in all your racing and training.
RH

The season opener at Woodstock

Woodstock Race Report - Sunday May 25, 2014

I was excited to get the season started especially after such a brutal winter we experienced the past few months. It turned out to be a beautiful opening day (the best we’ve had in Ontario thus far) to the MultiSport Canada Triathlon/Duathlon Series, and I was looking forward to putting my fitness to the test and seeing my “Summer Family” again.

Pre-race: After some chatting with a bunch of folks, I got set up in transition, and got in my pre-race ride warmup. All felt great and the equipment was working well, at least for those 20 minutes - more on that later. The problem with doing a ride warmup is on occasion, late comers see a gap in the bike racks and assume there’s a nice spot waiting for them, despite the fact that I clearly laid out my stuff to indicate that someone was there already. That did not matter, someone jammed their stuff right in there and now there was no more room for me. Instead of making issue out of it, I saw an extra rack that was practically empty and set up there. I keep thinking about making a sign that says “This spot is taken. I am out doing a warmup ride.” to hang up on the rack while I am gone. It may be time to put that in action. So for those of you reading this, when you get to a race and are looking for a spot in transition, be mindful and look for clues that someone might be in a spot already (run and swim gear laid out but no bike stuff) or just ask any athletes set up in that area.

Gear:

Ignition Fitness team kit, Running Free visor, arm warmers, and jacket.

QR Illicito, LG Aero helmet, K-Swiss Blade running shoes.

First run (5 km) - 24:56 (5:00/km)

This run was actually 36 seconds than what was officially stated. Why? I was out doing run warmup and PRP (pre-race pee) and the race started without me. The published start was 9am, but obviously there was a morning change and the start was 8:55am. Anyway, I was making my way back to the start and heard “30 seconds”, I knew what that meant and ran full on to the start and while the race was going one way, I was going in the other. The race photos show this along with John Salt and some of spectators having fun with me. I believe John said, “He just wants to give everyone a head start.” I replied, “At least now I fully know where I started and can make my way through.”

I ran a bit faster than I wanted during the first kilometre to make up that gap, then settled into a comfy pace. The plan was to keep it in that 5:00/km range - which is like speed work for me since my current training is all geared towards Ironman and I am rarely running anywhere near that. But all felt great and the pace felt comfortable and not overreaching so I went with it and given my late start, I was running just under 5:00/km pace. I gladly accepted that and it gave me a good indication that my Ironman run training is coming along nicely. Another indication that you don’t have to run fast or do a bunch of speedwork to go fast.

T1 - 1:01

Nothing spectacular here. It is a long run up the grass to the mount line and that is where most of my time was accumulated. I definitely could have trimmed a few more seconds off.

Bike (20 km) - 37:17 (32.2 km/hr)

I climbed strong out of the park and as soon as I made the right turn and got off my seat to crank up the pace I heard some weird noises and felt some wobbling from my wheels. My immediate thoughts were it must be a brake rub, flat or even worse a busted wheel. I got off the bike, check and discovered that the tire was going flat. However, for some reason it was still holding some air in there (probably 60 psi at that point) so I made the decision to keep riding until I felt the rim. I was extra careful with each corner (the noises and wobble that came when the brake was applied reminded me to do that), and just keep on going. I was definitely fighting the extra resistance from the wheel but keep on plugging away. By the time I hit the 10 km turnaround, I thought I’d have to pack it it because the noise and wobble was at an all-time high. I checked the tire and it was still holding some air so again I set off to continue riding until I felt the rim. I made it back to the park, was extra careful on the downhill, and headed to T2. For those that care, avg power was 211w, and NP 224w - below what I expected due to obvious reasons.

T2 - 0:54

Did a quick change and was out of there.

Second run (2.5 km) - 12:01 (4:49/km)

I love the second runs in duathlon (most of the time ;), I felt super strong today and just went with it. I did not want to go too crazy and have unnecessary extra soreness to affect my training the following week but I wanted to stay away from some faster runners coming from behind. I ran strong and surprised myself with the pace I was able to maintain.

Total time - 1:16:07 - 25th overall out of 106, 7th out of 17 in 40-49 age group

Nutrition intake:

Pre-race: Boost in the morning, plus a giant coffee on the drive to the race.

During the race: Honeymaxx in my Profile Aero HC System. Both available at Running Free. Make sure to use the code 11296 if you are shopping there. It will save you a few dollars.

Post-race: 500mL of 2% White Milk courtesy of the Recharge With Milk Recovery Zone.

Final thoughts:

A decent start to the year. Looking forward to showing what I can do on the bike at the next race.

Kudos to my fellow Ignition Fitness athletes on their podium placings - especially Darren (you are knocking off PB's left and right, awesome!). And of course my fellow Team Running Free members on their races. Catch you at the next one.