“This race is the longest course in our series, so you guys are all bad-ass for finishing!”said Erin Dasher (I’m paraphrasing at best) during the awards presentation at the 5 Peaks Heart Lake Trail Run Race and she wasn’t kidding. When I put the Enduro race at this event on my race calendar, I was expecting a 14 km course. I didn’t sign up till the last minute, and we found out less than 24 hours before the race it was going to be… 16 km thanks to a detour. Oh boy. The pre-race bulletin said to get there early since there would be a line-up to pay the park entrance fee, but we were able to drive straight in. We were coming in from the parking lot when we ran into our friend Steve, who we last saw at the Lakeside Triathlon. We also ran into our friend Peter, and were glad to find out I might have some company at the Barrelman Triathlon in September. We grabbed our respective bibs (this would be Shark Boy’s first timed race) and posed for our obligatory pre-race pose.
The biggest prize in the pre-race swag was either a cool coffee mug that said “I eat mountains for breakfast” or this flexible cup good for insulating hot or cold beverages that is basically unbreakable. We have too many coffee cups at home, so I took it.
Shark Boy seemed cool with the idea of not only going long (3 km) but running on his own (the rule is for adults to stay off the course during the race, though some alongside running is expected), and I didn’t want to step on that with my own nervousness on his behalf, but I still thought it might be a good idea to scout out the first part of the course with him and show him the orange flags he’d have to follow as well as signs for direction. The timed kids’ races on the 5 Peaks series vary from 2 to 3 km, so at 3 km, Erin’s quote above applies to the kids too.
Shark Boy attentively listening to pre-race instructions.
Pre-race instructions were given (including a check to see if everyone knew their right from left, which is why he has his hand up in the picture). I positioned myself at a fence about 25 m from the starting line to cheer him on. Ready, set, go! He took off with the other kids at a good clip, and it didn’t seem to chaotic as all the racers gave each other safe space. I took a short-cut path down the shore of Heart Lake to see him go by.
The little guy toward the back is Shark Boy
Then there was nothing left but to go back to the starting line and wait nervously for a while. The Lightning Kid had been eagerly chanting “GO! GO! GO!… FASSSST!” for probably the last 24 hours, and was taking practice runs from the starting line. Of course, no 5 Peaks race is complete without saying hi to Buffy the Tiger.
When I saw the first of the 3 km racers cross the finish line, I figured I’d head back to the shore and see how Shark Boy was coming along. I had to wait a bit, but sure enough, I saw him, completely red-faced, huffing and puffing and giving it his all.
He’s nearly spent
I cheered him on, and got him to give what we call in German an Endspurt; that burst of energy and speed you get when you’re nearly finished. I ran ahead to let my wife know he was closing in for extra photo opportunities, and he finished the race strong – probably one of the youngest racers in the timed race.
In spite of all that effort, Shark Boy wanted to join in on the 1 km ‘Fun Run’ for younger ones that he’d done at the other 5 Peaks races; he said he wanted to help his younger brother. As much as I’m proud of Shark Boy’s grit, determination, athleticism and sense of adventure, his generous heart is his best quality. I’ve seen these Kids’ Fun Runs vary from 600 to 800 m; today, of course, it was going to be a whole kilometre. Again, every racer on that day was a bad-ass, even the little Lightning Kid. I managed to get this great video of him running in the beginning.
He did start to flag after a bit; I’ve found with both boys that they start to lose interest in going as fast as they can without a reward – keeping up the distance running is more of a question of mental focus than physical fitness. All it took though, was a reminder to “GO! GO! GO!… FASSSST!” and he’d break into a run again. It definitely helped having Shark Boy there for encouragement.
Toward the end, I had Shark Boy take the same short-cut that I had used in his race to get back to the finish line and warn his mother that we were on final approach. We crossed the finish line to loud cheers; in fact, they cheered loudly for Shark Boy on his finish too. It’s always a super-supportive vibe at the 5 Peaks races.
If the splash pad had been open, my wife might have kept the kids at the park while I raced, but we had made a last minute plan that would let Shark Boy attend his dance lesson (for those keeping score at home, that’s a 3 km race, a 1 km race and a dance lesson on those little 5 year-old legs!), and I could pace myself without worrying. To try to force myself to take it easy in the beginning, I seeded myself in the fourth wave, but I couldn’t help but try to get to the front.
The race starts downhill, and though I knew it was going to be a long run, I couldn’t contain my excitement and went a little fast; the first kilometre was my fastest. I tried to watch my heart rate the entire race and keep it in Zone 2 (with exceptions for some hills and stuff). As we went by the shoreline of Heart Lake, I noticed how chummy and chatty my little pack of runners was; we talked about how beautiful (yet hot) the weather was, and when the guy behind me saw me jump a log (rather than go around it) he joked it was “the scenic route”. I answered that you have to have some fun on these things.
Shark Boy had told me that his race involved a “forest tunnel”, and I chalked it up to his overactive imagination, but they did make a few features with logs and fallen trees that put a ceiling over your head. The “maze” he also mentioned did prove to be part of his imagination though. The nice part about an Enduro race is when I see things I want to take pictures of, but I’m not sure whether I want to sacrifice the time to stop, I know I’ll probably be begging for a rest on the second loop, so all I do is take a mental note on the first loop.
The 4 km mark had an aid station in a sunny clearing. I didn’t need water since I had it in my pack, but I sipped some (what they were calling) Gatorade for the calories, and prepared to be on my way. I saw a woman dump water on her head, and remembered that was something you could do. A relief, but not one that lasted.
After being in the shade for another 2 km, the 6 km mark came as we entered another stretch of sun-exposed terrain. I noticed my legs felt heavy; and promptly tried to un-notice that. 6 km is not long enough to have any real signs of fatigue yet; you are in better shape than that! I told myself. Despite being bad at meditation or any other kind of more passive mental activity, I did forget about my legs for a while. On the last kilometre of the first loop, I even picked up some speed for a bit and passed a slower runner. Before that loop was over, she passed me again while I took a walk break and encouraged me to pick up the pace as it was “almost over”. I didn’t correct her, but I did laugh about it with another Enduro course runner as we took the right-hand fork away from the finish line and onto the second loop.
“That’s the nice part about the Enduro,” he said, “On the second loop you can run your own race and not have anybody nipping at your heels.” He’s not wrong, but by the time I had cleared 9 km, I couldn’t help but notice how lonely and quiet things got. My mind wandered in the worst way, and I lost track of how long my walk breaks got, or what kind of pace I was really keeping. After neither catching anybody for a while nor being passed, I began to wonder if I was in last place, and all kinds of other negative self-talk. My entire lower body began to complain, checking in one muscle group at a time: hamstrings, glutes, calves, quads, even hips and lower back. The complaints went from screams to whines to whimpers as they competed for my attention and drowned each other out. Also, my hydration pack was empty; the first time that had ever happened, in fact, I used to wonder if I was wasting effort carrying so much on my back.
A few showers came and went which was a nice way to cool off, but they didn’t put any real fuel back in the engine, so the trudging continued.
When I reached the 4 km aid station from before (for a total of 12 km), the volunteer told me that the finish line could be reached just a few hundred meters away if I wanted. I hope he was just trying to light a fire under me (which he kind of did) because I’d hate to think anyone in my position would take him up on the offer and quit. I told him I knew, because I could hear the music and P.A. system, but I wasn’t ready to stop yet. I told myself I could simply watch the kilometers tick off as I went along… 13, 14, 15 and done. Of course, I also reminded myself that same distance had seemingly taken forever on the second loop already. Still, I saw my Garmin distance numbers go up (by half-kilometres in intervals that felt like they should be whole integer kilometres) all the same. I even picked up the pace to real running for the last 2 kilometres, and crossed the finish line to loud cheering (some of that might have been for the awards ceremony which had already started).
I had barely crossed the finish line when I saw my family, returned from the dance lesson and a trip to Tim Horton’s. With the kids crowding me, I barely got a chance to get any post-race treats. Not that I minded, I didn’t have that big an appetite somehow, I even turned down a cookie Shark Boy offered me. I found a shady spot on an embankment near the parking lot and collapse; they had to come find me because I hadn’t even said where I was going – I wasn’t feeling too talkative. I think everyone suffered in that heat, but Peter managed to come in at 1:43 (to my 1:54) and Steve killed it at 1:36 or so. I didn’t know then, but my friend Paul had an even worse race.
I tried to look at it as a net positive from a training perspective. I had put some real strength and staying power into my legs that day, and even more importantly, I got to visit the dark places where I’m sure I’ll be during the Half-Iron race, and learned a little bit about how to get myself out of them. And before I could wallow in it too much, I got an ambush hug from the Lightning Kid.
Shortly after that, the thunder rolled in, and we had a good laugh at our hurried retreat back to the car. I secretly suspect the Lightning Kid had something to do with it by living up to his namesake – he even took the time for one of his trademark wild hairstyles!
Though the race was a visit to the pain cave for me, the 5 Peaks events are always a great experience for the whole family, and I’ll always come back.
So I’m doing the Barrelman Half-Iron distance triathlon. I’ve been doing triathlons for 7 years now, but it’s my first half-iron. For the most part, the only new thing is simply going longer in all three disciplines, but transition is really, really different. I’m a member of several Facebook groups that revolve around triathlon, and there’s many other ways to access the online triathlon community, but to be honest, this post is a little rushed, so I figured rather than crowdsource and research, then write up my findings here and make an informative post, I’d simply put my questions on this very page, and let it become the forum for discussion… that’s what blogging is all about, right?
Should I/Can I change clothes? In sprint and Olympic distance, my tri kit is on me from when I leave home to when I get home after the race. Everything has to work in the water, on the bike and while running, every second spent in transition counts. On the full distance (Iron) scale, you’re not often worrying about the lost minute you spend getting into the most comfortable pair of bike shorts (which would have been terrible in the water, but will literally save your butt on the bike), because being a little more comfortable for several hours in the saddle is worth it. What about the Half-Iron distance though? Is it worth the time? Is it even plausible or is there no opportunity to do it without being arrested for indecent exposure?
Can I use my triathlon bag? At the Lakeside Tri, I was told by an official that my bag was not allowed in the transition area. The bag not only carries my gear efficiently, but folds out into a mat and helps me lay out everything I need to race. In a longer race, I’m only going to need more gels, liquids, gear and accessories, and the need to keep it organized is going to be greater. I can’t see that happening if stuff is just laying willy-nilly on the ground. In the Course Details they seem to mention Swim To Bike Gear bags that are provided by the race. They are numbered and used to transport wetsuits and other swim gear to the finish, so I guess that’s one question answered, but my worries about a chaotic transition area are not allayed.
What kind of problems is having 2 different transition areas going to bring about? I’ll need to think about items as being ‘only for the run’ or ‘only for the bike’, I can’t take anything for granted!
Will I ever spell ‘Transition’ properly the first time? I think I’ve written ‘transistion’ about a dozen times now.
The C3 Kinetico Kids of Steel Triathlon took place on Sunday, May 24th, and in a refreshing change from so many endurance events, it didn’t start first thing in the morning, leaving us time to get organized (or even get a couple of hours on the bike trainer before breakfast, in my case). Thanks to steady stream of emails from Barrie Shepley, we knew exactly when Shark Boy’s race would start, and how much time we should leave ourselves for race kit pick-up and transition set-up.
We pulled into the parking lot of Mayfield Secondary School which is right on the border of Brampton and Caledon and unloaded. There was a nice volunteer who offered to give us a ride to the race site in his golf cart. It really wasn’t far, but the kids were thrilled to take a ride, and it made getting the bike there easier, since I didn’t want Shark Boy riding in the parking lot and walking a bike is always tedious.
We arrived at the main race site to see festivities in full swing. Shark Boy’s favourite song ‘Paradise’ by Coldplay (also a fave of my wife and I) was playing, and the Bouncy Castle/Wall/Slide drew the boys attention right away.
First things first though, we found the transition area and got his bike and helmet in the proper place. I was already in a swimsuit, anticipating that I’d be getting in the water with Shark Boy. I let him keep his shoes on for safety, and brought them to transition a few minutes before the race start, and we opted to go sockless for the sake of speed. I had a last minute dilemma about putting him in the 6-7 age category; he’s 5 now, but triathlon rules (and body marking) goes by what age you’ll be at the end of the calendar year. I knew he could handle it physically, but I worried a little about putting him in a higher pressure situation, and that race started a whole hour later. The fact was that we had registered for the 3-5 year-old race, which is non-timed, so that’s where we stayed.
Then, with some time to spare before opening ceremonies and the race start, off we went to the inflatable slide. Shark Boy knew what to do, and so did the Lightning Kid, except the whole, ‘wait your turn’ thing. What nobody expected him to do, is climb the thing unassisted! I think he made a few sets of teeth sweat, but he always made it to the top where a volunteer assisted kids in getting over making sure they all stayed safe and didn’t land on one another.
Either the heat or pre-race nerves started to get to Shark Boy, because he couldn’t wait to get into the pool, and was not happy with waiting for any process or procedure that might keep a race like this organized and free of chaos. He was even less enthused about sitting through speeches for the opening ceremonies, but luckily, his mood improved once we entered the rec complex – the swim portion took place in an indoor pool.
Each wave had only a few athletes, and it was generally one or two athletes (plus their parent/guardian) per lane, so everything was comfortable. They had us inch up to an imaginary line where a lifeguard chair was, and wait for the start. Hilariously, the kids’ nervousness and uncertainty seemed to spread to the parents, as several people started to ask if there would be a signal to start; as if there might not be and we could just go whenever! That signal came, and off we went.
Thanks to a waterproof case for my phone, I got a few snaps in the pool as he was swimming. As far as I could tell, he was the only one swimming without a life preserver (I had to turn down several offers). I think we were first or second to the end of the pool, and some volunteers helped him out while I hoisted myself onto the deck.
We headed outside, and although I had reminded him of where his bike was in the transition area, he still hesitated and had trouble finding it. Still, once he did, we got shoes on and helmet (of course) before he picked up his bike and we headed to the mounting area, but not before another wrong turn (this time it was my fault).
I’ve experienced how fast Shark Boy is on the bike so I made sure I sprinted ahead. I tried to get pictures, but wet fingers don’t work well on touch screens, so I missed out and figured there would be some official race photos (more on that in a bit). The bike course was very short, once around the parking lot, and the volunteers took our bike at the dismount point.
I later heard from my wife, who was struggling (along with the Lightning Kid) to keep up with the race progression visually, that Shark Boy’s name kept being announced over the speakers, as he busted through each leg of the triathlon; out of the water, out of the pool, out of transition 1, into transition 2, across the finish line.
He really got the idea of going as fast as possible, because he didn’t bother to take off his helmet, much to the amusement of the race announcer. I asked, and he said he was OK running with it on. We did a loop around the grass, and through the finish gate. First place for Shark Boy!
He wasn’t interested in bananas or oranges (he’s a bit of a picky eater), so we came round and found my wife and the Lightning Kid who hadn’t been able to see much after the swim because it went by so fast!
The finisher’s picture we took makes it look like triathlon is something we force him into against his will, but I promise you he’s all smiles during the race; he just doesn’t like having his picture taken and it didn’t help that the race took place during the lunch hour.
I wish we had more pictures to show, and I acknowledge that this is a nit-pick, but the race photographers seemed to manage to get several shots of almost every kid (especially our nearest neighbours in the race), but none of the one who completed the race without physical aid from his parent, nor a life preserver, nor training wheels. And again, he came in first place. I’d feel bad for dwelling on the win, but really, how often do you get first place in life (assuming you aren’t Chrissie Wellington)? We even noticed a drone taking either aerial photos or video, but I don’t know when or where they’ll be available.
We celebrated the win with a free toy that Shark Boy picked out of a box (a giant bubble wand), balloons, and hot dogs. The C3 Kinetico Kids of Steel Triathlon is a welcoming, inclusive event, because every one asked if the Lightning Kid was racing this year, or if he would next year (it’ll be soon, with a little improvement on the bike). When we floated the idea of him being the first athlete with Down syndrome in the race next year, we found out there was a girl with Down syndrome doing this year’s race. Like I said, being the first is a rare opportunity in this world!
The Victoria Day Long Weekend is traditionally when Cottaging season starts. Having a cottage (or access to one) can be a real boon to the training triathlete. First and most of all, it’s a way to access open water swimming. Bike and run training can be done too, though often it takes a form of cross-training since the roads can be a little rough; mountain biking and/or trail running are great, and I’m proud to say I got both of those done this long weekend.
My training schedule, however, had me down for a strength training session on Monday. I’m in the Specific Preparation Phase 3 of the plan, where the strength training profile is specifically geared to “Power Endurance” with explosive and plyometric type exercises. Moreover, they focus very much on triathlon specific muscle groups and functional movements that mimic swim, bike and run.
The workouts call for 8 types of exercise:
Hip extension (squat, leg press or step-up)
Standing bent-arm lat pull down (bent at the same angle as during freestyle swimming)
Chest press or push ups
Seated row
Abdominal curls (core body work)
Back extensions (core body work)
#3 has been substituted with a “personal weakness” in most workouts in the book. I still like putting in some work on my chest for the sake of balance though. The question is, how was I going to get in a strength workout at the cottage, far from any gym, never mind one so specific?
Well, I’ll tell you. I started off doing push-ups on the dock. I still use the 100 Push-Ups app to give me structured sets.
Then I found a stump to do step-ups. I had considered box jumps, but it had rained, and you should generally do box jumps onto something very stable, so the stump might not have been a good idea even if it had been dry. For a weight, I used the Lightning Kid, and moved up to a heavy rock on my third set. (10 reps per leg, per set).
Instead of a seated row, I used the kids’ swing to do TRX-style inverted row (3 sets of 12-15 reps).
I don’t like the Standing bent-arm lat pull-down, as it seems to put my shoulders at risk. Most recently I’ve been using medicine ball slams as a substitute, but at the cottage, I chose to split some wood – same motion, same downward stroke to help the shoulders power my swim.
I’m not going to lie, I didn’t finish that workout that day, at least not before lunch was ready. I had scoped out a bench we use sometimes and tested it out for doing Dolphin Kicks as shown below (from this article on Daily Burn); it would have also been handy to do lying leg raises which would have fulfilled the core/ab exercise for #5.
I’m looking forward to using the cottage environment to supplement my training for the rest of the summer.
Do you have ways of turning your cottage or home into a gym in unexpected ways?
I’ve been training hard, and eating (fairly) well, maintaining my weight etc. They say you shouldn’t reward these efforts (or the goals they produce) with food, as it’s kind of counter-productive. Let’s pretend, for the sake of this post, that I’ve been following that advice and have rewarded myself with a more ‘retail’ type set of gifts.
The first item is from Manpacks. (Full disclosure, that’s a referral link. You can use it to save $10 off your first purchase, and I get $10 credit if you do). Manpacks has grooming goods, underwear and other consumables that busy men don’t seem to get around to shopping for themselves. A pack arrives every 3 months, so I find it manageable to change the order to stuff I actually need. This item, Brode Electrolyte Vitamin is supposed to help you stay hydrated by providing the needed electrolytes before you get dehydrated. It’s aimed at travellers (long plane rides with that recycled air), hikers and athletes. Obviously keeping water with you is the best option, but I have found that a lunchtime run (or runch) after a morning of coffee drinking is hard on my system (I have often said that I only exist in two states: Under-caffeinated or Dehydrated) and I often don’t pack a water bottle and belt or hydration pack, so I was curious to try these. I will say that they seemed a little hard on my stomach and I experience some mild cramping and discomfort immediately after swallowing them, but I think I could notice the effect on some of my runs, especially since the weather has been getting warmer than I am used to.
I’m not exactly Mr. Compression, but with an aggressive training schedule, I’m open to trying things that will help me recover better and stay injury-free. I have a few pairs of compression socks (most of which are lousy and ineffective), and a pair of calf sleeves from 2XU. Those are all focussed on lower body, obviously, but that’s where the work is principally done for your average triathlete (like me!). Still, I took advantage of a guest sale at the Reebok/Adidas corporate store to pick up a few items, including this TechFit T-Shirt. It’s the first time I’ve had compression on my upper body, and I wore it under a work shirt after a tough strength workout (in the ‘Specific Preparation Phase 2’ part of my training program, the strength workouts are primed for ‘Maximum Strength’). I was hoping it would aid recovery so I’d be primed for a benchmark swim the next day – frankly, it felt weird. Not necessarily bad, but weird, and I kept it on for about an hour and a half. It might be better to wear it during the workout; like I said, I’m not Mr. Compression, and this stuff confuses me a little. The official description says: “techfit® focuses your muscles’ energy to generate maximum explosive power, acceleration and long-term endurance” and the next phase of the program (starting next week) focusses on Power Endurance which combines strength with velocity (including plyometric work), so we’ll see.
As evidenced by our outfits at the Spring Into Action 10k, I’m liking the combination of red and black. I also like hoods (it goes with the whole ‘Rogue’ theme), but I don’t really need any more warm red hooded sweatshirts, so at the same sale, I picked up this long sleeved top with a hood. It’s Crossfit branded, but that doesn’t bother me; with the warmer weather, I’m not sure how much more use I’ll get out of it till autumn, maybe for some early morning workouts.
I’m on a bit of a Saucony kick right now. My Saucony ISO Triumphs continue to serve me well, and provide the cushioning I like on the road. I’m happy enough with them that I got Saucony’s for trail running too. They kept me on the trail in the very muddy 5 Peaks Terra Cotta run and I can’t wait to get more mileage on them. Heck, even my wife is on the Saucony bandwagon…
Another product I scored from Manpacks is this Everyman Jack Face Moisturiser. I needed something for the post-shave, and I’m not looking any younger, so one way to keep the face protected is with some sunscreen (which I also like for preventing melanoma of course). I always like killing two birds with one stone when I can.
Any new stuff that you’ve treated yourself (or been treated to)? Moms out there probably have Mother’s Day Wishlists….
This was our second time running in the Spring Into Action 10 km run. After last time, I knew we weren’t going to run with both boys in the Chariot; they’re getting bigger and packed like sardines in there, and they seem to be struggling with the behavioural skill of “keep your hands to yourself” (to say nothing of feet). So this year we brought along my mother-in-law to watch Shark Boy near the starting area while my wife and I pushed the Lightning Kid (who still seems to like this sort of thing) on the run.
Spring Into Action had a convenient ‘Family’ registration package that saved me time and money. Getting extra bibs for everyone took a little extra time and effort so that I missed the yoga warm-up, but luckily, the rest of the family got to participate.
I got Shark Boy a tag and bib, because I could imagine what the outcome would be if he was excluded from the bling, even if he was happy to not run the race.
I got a chance to say hi to Barry Samuel (the organizer of the race), beforehand, and he asked a few of the families in attendance to come on stage and kick the event up with the National Anthem. If my off-key singing hurt anyone’s ears, I apologize!
We got Shark Boy to start the race with us for kicks, but as soon as he touched the starting line archway, he headed back to go play. I hope you don’t mind me skipping to the end to tell you he had a great time playing in the surrounding woods, engaging in the kind of old fashioned outdoor play that you think kids don’t know how to do anymore.
It was a beautiful day for a run and the spring colours were in full effect in Sunnybrook park.
At the 2.5 km mark the volunteers had the 5k runners turn around to complete their out and back. Last year there had been some trouble with people getting lost or off of the 10k course, and Barry had mentioned to me that they were going to do better this year. Just after the 2.5 km mark we veered up one of the biggest, steepest hills I can imagine on a run. At the top was the 3 km mark, where they had us turn around again. I was a little puzzled since I knew heading back to the start wasn’t going to add up to 10 km, and if getting 10 km was simply a matter of doing the 5 km course twice, why did we have to go up that big hill to 3 km?
All would become clear to me soon enough, because at the 1 km mark on the way back, we turned back again. At that point we had run 5 km, running another 2 back to the top of the hill and 3 till the starting point gives us a total of 10 km. A little confusing, but I have to say it was much easier to stay on the course and not get lost. This run has to compete with the Mississauga Marathon and the Toronto Goodlife Marathon for participants and volunteers so you have to appreciate that it’s a little smaller. What the volunteers lacked in numbers, they made up for in cheer and enthusiasm. With 2 km left to run, the Lightning Kid was eager to get out of the Chariot, going to the point of trying to bluff a bathroom break. 2 km is a little far for his little legs, but once the finish line was within sight, we took him out and he ran his heart out. I can tell you he wore the medal he earned for it the rest of the day. There was a post race barbecue with hamburgers (and veggie burgers and hotdogs. The buns were provided by Cobb’s Bread, who also gave out vouchers and various buns and scones (like delicious cinnamon scones which Shark Boy and I stuffed ourselves with). There was also lemonade for sale (basically for a voluntary donation to a Diabetes cause); lemonade cannot taste better than on a hot day after a run.
There was a DJ playing some nice remixes of older tunes and a clown doing face painting. Shark Boy asked for a cheetah (his favourite animal – no, I’m not changing his nickname), and the results are below.
Before leaving, we grabbed a group shot with Barry and thanked him for a day of fun, run in the sun!
Having skipped out on the Yonge Street 10K in favour of watching the kids and cheering on the runners, this last weekend was my chance to get a bib on and race. It’s the first race of the 5 Peaks Ontario Trail Racing season and I was pumped – pumped to try my legs out (especially while carrying less weight) on a new trail and push them as fast as they could go, pumped to get the kids running around their fun run, pumped to see friends.
We arrived at Terra Cotta Conservation area around 9:30 AM with plenty of time to park, pick up and our race bibs. I was pleasantly surprised to see we got some swag before the race, because I’ve missed out in the past when they’ve handed it out well afterwards, and I’ve already long since gone home.
I got to see Janice from Fitness Cheerleader finish the competitive 3 km kids race with her eldest daughter. I found Krysten from The Misadventures of a Darwinian Fail (and her husband) as well as Paul from Paul’s Inane Ramblings Then it was time for the 1 km (or 600 m in this case) fun run for kids of any age. My wife wasn’t feeling too well that morning, so we opted to encourage Shark Boy to run it on his own, while I stuck with the Lightning Kid. Shark Boy seemed a little upset at not being near the front of the starting crowd, but knowing how he dislikes standing around waiting, there was nothing for it except to encourage him to nudge his way forward before the official “1,2,3 GO!”
The Lightning Kid has been getting faster and faster and I’d already noticed in the past few months, so I was glad to see him put that to use now. I’d experienced this phenomena with Shark Boy a few years ago, but when racing with a 3 year-old, the limit isn’t so much their fitness, but their attention span. He’d stop to see who was coming up behind him, glad-hand with new-found fans (a repeat of last year at Albion Hills), and generally smell the roses. I’d be cheering and chanting “Come on! Go, Go, Go! Faster” the entire way.
Those are actually snow pants. The morning was not warm.
We were well on our way to the turn-around point (a small loop around a pond) when we saw Shark Boy already on his way back. He was smiling and really moving, so I knew he was managing the course fine, and having a good time doing it.
Then, a few minutes later, we saw him again! He had done an extra loop, and I don’t think it was exactly by accident, because I saw him try and avoid the final stretch back to the finish line only to be corrected by some marshals. Apparently he asked “Is that all?” when he crossed the finish line, so I think it might be time to enrol him in the competitive Kids’ 3k next time. I got the Lightning Kid to run the final stretch with the promise of seeing Mama and there were smiles and high-fives aplenty.
After that nice little warm-up it was time for the main event. I seeded myself at the back of the third wave and listened to the final instructions. The course was going to be a muddy one thanks to the rain and cold temperatures we’ve been having, and they asked everyone to stick to the trail and not try to go around which would widen the existing trail and erode the very forest that the area is trying to conserve. It was generally pitched as, “don’t be afraid to get dirty” and you shouldn’t if you’re trail running, but the thing is that deep mud can actually suck the shoes right off your feet (as nearly happened to a woman right behind me) and your shoes start to get really heavy as they get clogged up with mud. I still stuck to the trail, as instructed, but I found myself doing the Remo Williams run (see this video around 3:13, then watch what happens to the guy following Remo) whenever I encountered deeper mud.
Terra Cotta seems like it’s going to be a flat course, but there are definitely some hills, enough of them were wide enough to allow me to pass when other runners wanted to walk up the hills (and I didn’t, which wasn’t necessarily every time). There were a few boardwalks which the more clever runners used to scuff off the soles of their shoes as they went along and lose some of the mud weight (not to mention regain the traction provided by their treads that had been hidden by a layer of mud).
I finished the first lap of approximately 5 km feeling strong with a smile on my face. I took a gel and was determined to negative split the race. As it turns out, I did the second lap all of 3 seconds slower, and I know I really pushed myself on the last kilometre, so I’m not entirely sure what happened.
Shark Boy wouldn’t let me rest until I had seen the play area he’d discovered (which amounted to a dug out area of clay/earth), then I helped myself to snacks like Clif bars, chocolate chip cookies, potato chips and bananas. I also managed to catch up a little with Jessica from Laces and Lattes (who not only pulled a 3:15 Boston Marathon the Monday before this race, and did the Enduro course, but also did Paris to Ancaster the next day!) as well as my friend Mark Sawh, a great Toronto community runner. My official finish time was 1:09:52 with an average pace of 6:29, which I think I’m happy with. The other runners seem to set the bar pretty high, as I was the 101st man to finish and ranked 34/47 in my age category.
As always, 5 Peaks put on a fun day of running for the whole family, and though I thought we wouldn’t necessarily be able to make it to another race, we are currently pushing things around our schedule to be able to make it to the Heart Lake race on May 30th. Hope to see you there!
Following a structured swim workout can be complicated. I could probably do an entire series on swim terminology that I don’t quite have a handle on. Even when you look the terms up, it can still be a little intimidating (this is one of the better resources I’ve found so far). One of the things do understand is the idea of doing a set, like the following example:
4×100 Descending
So that’s doing 100m (4 lengths in most pools) 4 times. Each of those 100m intervals are supposed to be done successively faster. If you’re like me (and congratulations if you’re not), it’s hard to get those paces right; how do you do it, beyond just
Not too fast
A little faster
A little faster still
Fast as you can! (assuming you have anything left).
Trying progressively harder hasn’t yielded times that decrease for me when doing sets like this, but I did stumble across a way to gradually get faster and have different degradation of effort that I can mentally separate. I even gave them one word nicknames that can double as mantras, if that’s your kind of thing.
Stroll: the pace/effort of a walk in the park. You’re swimming casually, and without much concern for form (though don’t be purposely sloppy) or pace or anything.
Elegant: Make every stroke as perfect as possible. Anything you’ve been working on remembering to do in drills should be found here. You really concentrate on the best form you can manage to do for the entire interval; it takes some concentration
Mash: This feels like a hill climb on the bike (or maybe even the run); every stroke should feel like it has a lot of resistance. Push hard on every stroke, feel the power, like you would if you had hand paddles on.
Quick: This one is almost the opposite. Rather than trying to push every stroke hard, you’re trying to get every stroke over with quickly, and focus on the quickest arm turnover possible.
This shows the resulting times for 4x100m and 4x200m. Usually about 15 seconds rest between intervals.
The first time I tried this, I actually had #3 and #4 reversed, since I expected that would give me descending times (i.e. go faster). Quick seems to outpace mash for me, it may be different for you.
Disclaimer: I am not a triathlon coach, or even a particularly good triathlete. If you have one of these in your life telling you differently, more power to you – I am merely a busy cheapskate with a DIY ethic (at least in triathlon training) who likes to share his ideas and discoveries.
First things first! The winner of the free entry to the 5 Peaks Terra Cotta Trail Run is Casey Barreto! I’ll be contacting Casey via twitter/email to send her the code.
I’m participating in the #MotivateMe Monday link-up being run by Fitness Cheerleader and Running Rachel; the link-up is “a place for us to share goals, plans, successes and have each other to pick us up to keep moving forward.”
While I don’t like writing posts simply for the purpose of journaling my training for any given week, I’ve been on the Half-Iron Training Plan for 5 weeks now, and this gives me a chance to put some of it under the microscope, share some of the details and logistics with you, and crunch some numbers (math makes everything more fun, right?). It also gives me a chance to turn my Instagram into a kind of highlight reel.
Monday
I used my Dumbbell Doubles Workout for the most part, though I’m extending to 3 sets of most exercises. After that I try to address my quads since the Skulpt Aim says they’re weaker than the rest of my legs; while I don’t like using machines, I end up using the leg extension and leg press because otherwise my hamstrings get recruited too, and stay ahead of the quads in terms of strength.
Tuesday
Though Plan A was to get up at 5AM to fit in a run, we had a rough night with the Lightning Kid’s wake-ups, so I didn’t get up for that. I thought I could fit a swim in at lunch and run at night after my wife got home (I was watching the kids for the evening). I am simply not a night time exerciser, I like to wind down before I go to sleep. So no “TwoferTuesday” for me, but I did get 1800m done in the pool (or 42 minutes, since the training plan counts time).
Wednesday
Strength training days are Mondays and Wednesdays, but with an eye to regaining my lost run, I did a Burbathlon workout; that’s trail running, jumping on/over logs and obstacles, plus bodyweight strength exercises on whatever structures I come across. See the instagram video for some of what I got up to.
While TwoferTuesday didn’t happen, TwoferThursday certainly did! But, oof… this day. I had an alarm set for 5:00 AM, but the Lightning Kid beat it by 5 minutes. I got him back down, only to hear the cat throwing up at various locations through the house. By the time I was done cleaning that up, it was 5:45, and I got out of there before something else could go wrong. The result is fasted cardio; I hadn’t had any fuel prior to the run, so I resolved to take it easy. Still, I felt good, and the right tunes came on and I ended up with a pace I’m pretty happy with. I think taking some weight off has helped my speed, which was the plan all along.
What I wanted for a bike ride on friday was to do a 40 minute spin class, then tack on another 20 minutes on a stationary bike solo, while watching some Netflix. I finally finished Season 3 of House of Cards (a little disappointing, to be honest), and I was stoked to be starting Marvel’s Daredevil (who has always been my favourite superhero – and early reviews of the show are very, very favourable). I got interrupted by a very important phone call (which I really did have to take) before the spin class was over, and by the time I was done with that, I could only afford another 15 minutes of solo spin/TV watching. Still, I loved what I saw so far and can’t wait for more.
Saturday
This is the day I’m most proud of; I had to get the Lightning Kid to his soccer lessons but I wanted over an hour of running too, so I took him in the Chariot. By the time I had everything organized to go, I was running a little behind, luckily, I caught nothing by green lights, and really pushed myself. Of course, that meant by the time I’d helped him score goals and go through drills, and with a significant headwind, there was no way to do a negative split for the run home.
This was a proud moment for me, because I think the days of Stroller running are coming to a close. Shark Boy no longer has the patience for it, and at age 5, he’s doing most of his own running and biking anyway. The Lightning Kid isn’t far behind him, but the nostalgia and whatnot are making it hard to let go… in fact, I’ll be participating in #StrollerRun15… National Stroller Running Day 2015 is on May 31st! See Mom’s Little Running Buddy for more details soon.
Ideally I’d have gone to the gym and put him in the daycare to get my swim in that day; in fact, that’s exactly what I tried to do in the afternoon, only to remember too late that the gym daycare isn’t open in the afternoon. What I should have done was head there right after my run, but of course, I was a little tired. Instead, I took the Lightning Kid to the park, where I got a little bit of my own exercise in 😉
On Sunday, my wife ran the Yonge Street 10k, and we planned to take the boys with us to the starting line, see her off, ride the subway and then the streetcar to the finish line. It was a great way to spend the morning except for the fact that we were a little unprepared for how cold it was. Still, I’m proud of how well behaved the boys were, because wrangling the two of them through the public transit system and with a lot of walking to boot was an intimidating task that I wasn’t sure I could pull off. We got to see some friends who run as the “Justice League Runners” raising money for The Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, and the kids always get a big kick out of the costumes. We had a nice brunch post-race, but unfortunately, I spent the rest of the afternoon and night feeling nauseated, so I never got my final bike ride for the week in.
Totals For The Week
Strength
Planned: 2:45
Done: 2:00
The plan is a 1:15 workout for Monday and a 1:30 Workout for Wednesday. I’m past the initial ‘Anatomical Adaptation’ phase of the training plan and into ‘Muscle Stamina’. Obviously I came up short, but I do wonder what you can accomplish in 1:30 that you can’t accomplish in 0:45 if you use a more efficient, circuit based system.
Swim
Planned: 3:15
Done: 1:32
If you miss a whole day’s workout, you’re going to come up short, but again, with individual workouts of over an hour, it seems excessive. I get over 2000m done in less than an hour, but a half-iron distance swim is 1900m. I know I’m not swimming the 2000m continuously in the pool, but still, I guess I don’t get why the workouts have to be quite that long. I’m hoping that being fairly consistent and trying to keep the quality up with structured sets will be enough for me.
Bike
Planned: 2:15
Done: 0:43
Oof. The book says that in the Specific Preparation phases of the plan, 40 minute spin classes are an acceptable substitute for an hour’s ride, but missing a day due to illness really killed this goal. Bike remains my weakest discipline.
Run
Planned: 2:15
Done: 2:59
I actually exceeded the goal here, which might set off alarm bells for overtraining if I hadn’t shorted everything else. Running is still my favourite, the easiest to get done, and the most fun to keep doing once you start.
Total
Planned: 10:30
Done: 6:26
Just for kicks, I’ve also run my distances (with a best estimate of my bike) through my friend Dan’s points system. For every 10,000 yards of swimming you get a point, for every mile on the bike you get a point and for every quarter mile you run you get a point. He was nice enough to make a metric version with a spreadsheet and everything for me, but I found it easiest to just total up my meters and kilometers, then convert to imperial and calculate my points.
According to Dan, a Half-Iron training plan should get you to around 200 points a week, and I totalled 120 (42 for swimming, 16 for bike, 62 for running), so by this measure, (again) I need to step it up.
How was your week? What do you think… am I in trouble training-wise already?
The trail running season starts on Saturday April 25th, at Terra Cotta Conservation Area, and the entire Iron Rogue clan will be there. Unless you’re new around here, you should be no stranger to the 5 Peaks Race series (recaps: here, here, here, here, here and here). They’re a fun event, and super family friendly. Let me break it down for you…
They are friendly to beginners. There are two course lengths, Enduro and Sport which are 10.8 and 5.4 km respectively. If you feel you’re a slower runner, or are intimidated, you can simply seed yourself in one of the last waves, and then you don’t have to worry about being passed.
They have Clif Bars and Kicking Horse coffee on site.
Terra Cotta is a beautiful conservation area, but not as well known as some in the Greater Toronto Area. Running this race affords all kinds of ‘Terra Cotta Warrior’ puns/jokes.
Kids can run the competitive 3km race or the fun 1km race.
You will get a free high-five from the Lightning Kid
Trail running is the purest form of running; you’re closer to nature than when you’re on a sidewalk or road, and ditching the headphones means tuning into the experience of finding out what your body can do.
Thanks to me, you get a discount on your registration! Use the code AxelsTrailPals when registering online.
Not good enough? What about a free entry? One random winner will receive a discount code. You can put several entries in and the winner will be announced on Monday April 20th.
So… do you want to give trail running a try with me?
