Category: race

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Toronto Yonge Street 10K Race Recap

With the summer being dominated by my triathlon season, in the past it’s been nice for us as a couple for me to support my wife in running races in the spring.  Two years ago, she ran the Yonge St 10K and the Sporting Life 10K which used to be the same event.  After mixing the two up last year, she found she preferred the Yonge St 10K and wanted to do it again this year.

April 2012 – Human Totem Pole waiting for Mama… the Lightning Kid is around 6 months old in this pic

When she found out that there was a stroller division this year, she asked me if we should do it as a family.  While Shark Boy hasn’t been too keen on sitting in the Chariot during runs anymore, we thought we could make it work, and got excited at the prospect of running a 10K as a family.  I started doing more runs on my lunch hour (perfect timing since the run club just started at work) and we got one ‘dry run’ as a family 2 weeks before race day – 8 km, with the Chariot and everything.  What we learned is that managing the boys would be as big a challenge as pushing the stroller, or dragging our butts across the finish line.

 I also put out a few feelers prior to race day to see who was doing the Yonge Street 10k.  There were people I met through my outing with Tribe Fitness, as well as some of my favourite local fitness bloggers (who I’d met last year at the May Tweet-Up) like The Athletarian, Eat Spin Run Repeat, Work It Wear It Eat It, Robyn Baldwin, ElleSeeFit and Darwinian Fail… so many awesome people in one place.  Krysten (a.k.a Darwinian Fail) let me know that she was meeting people at a Starbucks at 8:30.


The problem?  Our corral (the stroller division) wouldn’t be starting till 9:20 and I knew trying to keep the boys still in a crowded area for a long time was a recipe for disaster.  We ended up at the starting area sometime after 9:00 and I’m sure everyone who wasn’t right at the back was in their corral chomping at the bit.  So…  a missed social opportunity, but at least there was no Amber Alert situation right?

Before the Start

My wife preferred the Yonge Street 10k to the Sporting Life 10k due to better organization, and boy does it show.  The stroller division/purple corral started at 9:20 on the dot.  And I mean, on the dot – (a nerd alert shouldn’t be necessary here,  but maybe it’s your first time on this blog, so… NERD ALERT!) My watch syncs nightly to an atomic clock with the exact official time, and it had just ticked over to 9:20:00 when they said go.  That’s how on the dot, I mean.

We really enjoyed the run.  We got a lot of positive attention for having two handsome little boys along for the ride and people got a real kick out of Shark Boy’s singing as we rolled along.  We also got a few laughs for having to do parenting/management mid run e.g. “No Fighting you two!”  The smart thing we had done was pack a ton of snacks, because it’s hard to whine or complain with a mouthful of goldfish crackers.
I skipped the port-a-potties at 4 km, but by 5 km, I was regretting that decision a little.  I told my wife I was going to use them at the 7 km water station and when it got within sight, I let her push the stroller and ran ahead so she wouldn’t have to wait as long.  Here’s where things went off the rails – I thought she’d wait by the port-a-potties or maybe the water station, she thought she’d give me a chance to run at my normal pace by going ahead and letting me catch up.

 When I got out, I couldn’t see them anywhere; I back tracked till I could see Dundas St, where I’d left them – no sign of them.  I ran back (or more accurately, forward) to the water/aid station and couldn’t see them there either.  I hesitated, then ran forwards for a while, at a near sprint.  When the route turned West on Richmond, I described them to a volunteer who said they’d seen them, so I kept sprinting.  I sprinted for nearly a kilometre and I still hadn’t seen them anywhere.  My cell phone was in the back of the stroller, but a medical volunteer (from the Ski Patrol) offered me his.  They’d gotten just past the 9 km mark, but we still had a chance to finish the race together!  I’d been running around with the ‘Baby Stroller’ bib on my back, but no baby stroller, so I was relieved to ‘take the wheel’ again, so to speak.

 We finished the race in a pitiful 1:31:22, and the MapMyFitness tracker shows the 10k route (with a bunch of waiting around near the end):
Yet with all the back tracking I did, as far as I can tell, I did about 14km.


We were still all smiles to be together as a family, and Shark Boy got his wish to run across the finish line (in fact he did the last 500 m or so); holding his mother’s hand.

Done!


We chowed down on all kinds of snacks and drink samples, and I think one of the highlights was meeting a group (including Mark Sawh and Steve Layton) who decided to run the race as superheroes while raising money for the Hospital For Sick Children.  Shark Boy was thrilled to meet his heroes, and the heroes seemed just as thrilled!

They were taking down the festivities as we left to catch the very last shuttle back to the starting area.  Once we were back on Yonge, we opened patio season (sort of – we were near an open window at least) with a pub lunch.  Fulfilling our promise of ice cream was surprisingly trickier, but that was also a treat.

When I got home, I found my toes felt bruised.  It took me a while to figure out, but with the race’s net downhill, I had spent a good deal of the course putting on the brakes trying to keep the stroller from running away on us, thus jamming my toes into the front of the shoe repeatedly!

 All in all, a great day, and the Canada Running Series should be congratulated for running a great event.  It left us thirsty for more family 10k runs!

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#YearOfRunning13

Miss Zippy did a great post inviting the audience to review their year of running.  I’m late to the game but here goes nothing!

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What was your:
  • Best race experience?
I would have to say the Bracebridge Triathlon.  The course was fun, the race was well organized, the weather was just about perfect, and I carried the Lightning Kid across the finish line.  Maybe it’s cheating to put a triathlon in a running post… but I’m a rogue, OK?!

  • Best run?
Maybe it’s too fresh in my memory, but we have a quarterly race for the run club organized by the corporate wellness centre.  I hadn’t joined the run club this season, and in fact, I hadn’t been doing much running overall, so I was reluctant to join the race at all.  While I normally do the 10k, I opted to do the 5k for lack of conditioning and general laziness… but at least I was getting out there right?  I ended up winning the race with a hard effort (only by 10-15 seconds).  It did a lot to boost my (running) self-esteem… maybe I gotten that bad!
  • Best new piece of gear?
I had to go back over my gear posts to see what I’d acquired this year… nothing really blew me away, so I’ll say the sweet technical jacket I got from the Chilly Half-Marathon.
  • Best piece of running advice you received?
Something along the lines of “Just Come Out!” to the aforementioned 5km.  A nice simple kick in the pants to get me outside and running again and not looking for other ways to train.
  • Most inspirational runner?
Krysten from Darwinian Fail.  Since I’ve started reading her blog, she’s conquered the marathon, and jumped into triathlon and now she’s about to overtake me (on my left! 😉 ) by doing a Half-Iron next year… did I mention she had surgery and lost her father all this year while this was going on?  She models the ideal character for the endurance athlete: strongest on the inside, with a warm and welcoming heart.

I have to give an honourable mention to the Pavement Runner.  He is “That Kind of Crazy” having done a half and full marathon in the same day along with many other accomplishments this year.  He’s also warm and welcoming and is all about the running community… I know he’ll be the first one to give me a thumbs up for nominating Krysten, in fact.
  • If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be?
I don’t know if I’m ready to confront this or not… I used to think my swim was strong, my bike weak, and my run fairly good, but I’m seeing more and more that my run is probably on a par with my bike.  I’ve found my old benchmarks for running have been slipping and slipping, and I think I know that following a real structured program would be the cure… I’m not sure if my life and current priorities are compatible with that.  Answers aren’t going to come to me magically just because it’s December, in fact, quite the opposite.  My running, along with the rest of my life is a work in progress of course.

How are you looking back on running in 2013?

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A September of Family Races Part 3: Shark Boy’s Second Duathlon

We closed off our September of Family Races with the Family Fun Fit Beaches Best KOS Duathlon for Shark Boy (with me acting as coach and chaperone).  We had a lot of fun doing this event last year, and for days afterwards, he was asking when he could do a ‘triaflon’ again (still working on swimming, and apparently the distinction between ‘tri-’ and ‘du-’).  The big step up this year was that he was riding a real bike rather than a glider; in fact, someone saw him riding his bike with skill that they referred to as ‘Amazing’ which happens to be the adjective used to describe Spider-Man, who adorns both his bike and helmet.


The race was to start at 8:30 AM.  Two bits of bad news this year were that 1.) it was pouring rain on Saturday and 2.) the Gardiner Expressway was closed.  The former meant getting wet, and the latter meant spending a lot of time in traffic, even that early in the morning.  We arrived with enough time to spare for race kit pickup, pinning the bib onto the jacket, and setting up the bike in the transition area as well as strap on the timing chip.  The event is sanctioned by Triathlon Canada, and though it’s a fun/kids event, it’s nice to see that they want the rules of transition (i.e. no riding your bike in transition area, helmets on before taking the bike) enforced, pay attention to safety (more in a bit), and start on time.  


The 3-5 age group was split into two heats/waves to avoid crowding on the trail and the first heat started at 8:30 sharp.  Spectators were ushered off the racecourse and  immediate vicinity well before the start, but athletes and their guardians were able to hang out near the starting line; Shark Boy and I took turns holding an umbrella, so I got a little more wet than I strictly needed to.  They didn’t start the second wave until the bike course was completely clear – while this meant waiting in the rain (and who likes that?) I have to appreciate them making safety the highest priority.

Quick side note: before we got to race I saw the first athlete to cross the finish line and it was a little girl (in fact the overall fastest in kids aged 3-5). I don’t know when the sexist notions about getting ‘chicked’ start, but it’s clearly more of an adult-invented concept. For the kids, fastest is fastest, and parents with daughters should take note – get your girls to shoot for the moon in sports.

We got into position in the starting line, a little behind the very first row.  While I did want Shark Boy to run fast, I know I have a little trouble coaxing him to really let loose when the distractions of other kids racing are around, plus I didn’t want him to get winded too soon like during the 5 Peaks race. I ran ahead of him and coaxed him to follow me, and I think he did a great job of pacing himself and staying pretty focused. The first run leg was 50 meters, and we completed the loop, rounded the corner into transition and found the bike. Before the race I tried to show him where we had parked it, looking from the angle of the transition area entrance. He almost got on the bike right away, but not only did I catch him as he was throwing his leg over the bike, but so did a volunteer! We jogged the bike toward the mount line, but he still got on a few feet too early. Oh well.

Once he started pedalling, I was very glad I wore running shoes and track pants, because I needed to run full-tilt to keep up with him. He blazed by every kid we saw for the first half of the course which felt good in two ways: one, I was proud of him, two, it was nice seeing the other side of the coin on the bike course – normally I’m the one getting passed.

At the top of the biggest downhill on the course (not much of a hill, but enough for kids to pick up a lot of speed) I could see a little girl had fallen near the bottom which also was a turn to the left. Shark Boy judiciously applied the brake and handled the bike beautifully to avoid any further accident. Unfortunately, this put him neck-and-neck with another girl and for a few seconds there, I feared a Ben-Hur chariot race type scenario, with the two kids potentially side-swiping each other. I coaxed a little more ‘oomph’ from him on the pedals, and we pulled ahead. There was an uphill climb just before transition and I’m proud to say he went up it without getting off the bike… he just pushed those pedals and up he went!


He dismounted and jogged his bike back to its spot. I asked him if he wanted to keep the helmet on.
“UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM…” The clock was still ticking so I took it off and we started the run. He’d been looking forward to hearing cheers (especially ‘WOOO’) all morning, so I’m betting this was his favourite part. The final leg was a loop of 100 m. I kept him motivated not only by cheering but reminding him that snacks awaited. I tried to run far enough ahead to snap a picture of him crossing the finish line, but I wasn’t fast enough. Luckily my wife was able to grab the shots you see with her phone – as for the blurriness, Blame It On the Rain.


Normally I wouldn’t let my kids drink Gatorade, but I was so proud I had to make an exception. We all snacked on cookies and crackers (some from the race, some that we had packed) and decided to head home – the rain wasn’t making us any more comfortable. We were pretty sure that Shark Boy wouldn’t get an award (make the top 3 podium), so we were happy getting the finisher’s medal, certificate and most importantly to him, lollipop (in the race kit). When we looked up the results online, we found he got 8th in kids 3-5 (5th place Boys).

I’m super proud of my eldest son, and for next year, I’m hoping we can get him in a full Triathlon (with swimming) while the Lightning Kid tackles this event or one like it if he can manage a glider bike by then.

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A September of Family Races Part Twofer: 5 Peaks Trail Run & Terry Fox Run

The folks at 5 Peaks were nice enough to let me transfer my race entry for the cancelled Yeti Snowshoe race in February to a race much later in the season.  I picked the Heart Lake event (at the Heart Lake Conservation Area); this was the first year they had used this venue.


What turned out to be a beautiful day was a little tough to dress for, as the day started near single digit temperatures (in Celsius), but the sun ended up beating down to a degree that mid-way through the race I was wishing I had worn shorts.   More on my race later; first, we got both Shark Boy and the Lightning Kid to run the “Children’s Challenge” which was a 1 km fun run for the little ones which took place after a timed kids event (probably for slightly older children).

The boys are both #1!

The announcer explained the course and the parents held the kids back until it was time to ready, set, go!  I ran alongside Shark Boy to keep him motivated and running the best pace he could manage, and my wife ran with the Lightning Kid to keep him out of trouble.  The course went out under the start/finish arch, across a field for a bit, then down a big hill to a clearing they called ‘the bowl’, where we did a small loop and headed back the same way.

Shark Boy descends the hill into the bowl.

We’ve got a little more work to do about teaching Shark Boy how to pace himself for distance, and he’s a chip off the old block for not threatening the front runners for their podium positions, but he gave it a great effort and finished strong and out of breath and I couldn’t be prouder.

Shark Boy just before the finish line.

The Lightning Kid just before the finish line.

What can I say about the Lightning Kid? He got some help from his mom on the big hill, but I don’t think anyone had ever seen anyone that young and little finish a race like that, never mind with his gusto and enthusiasm.  We have Special Olympics aspirations for this one, but we’d also like him to attend as many sporting events for ‘typical’ kids as possible.

The brothers with their finishers’ medals.

There was about a half hour break between the end of the Children’s Challenge and the main race which was a Sport course (7.5 km) and an Enduro (15 km); the latter being two laps of the former.  Racers were asked to self seed themselves in waves, with the first wave being people who had a sincere chance of making top 3 overall.  From the numbers it was clear that some overestimated their abilities (or underestimated the competition), but the race announcers’ hinting and chiding had little effect on cutting down the size of that first wave.  In fact, with all the joking around I somehow got it into my head that there would only be two waves, and I would be fine in the back.  After the race was over, I chatted with a guy who was keeping a similar pace than me (and identified himself as more of a ‘hobby’ runner – like me – than a ‘serious’ runner – like most of the racers).  Luckily I stood at the back of the second wave so I wasn’t as big an impedance as I would have been in the front.

 After the first 50 m, the trail narrowed significantly for big downhill drop and the race turned into standing in line at the movies.  We had been forewarned of this and everyone was good-natured about it – it was too soon to have any real effect on anyone’s race.  Once the trail opened up a little bit, I started getting passed and as I checked my heart rate on my Garmin, I could see I needed to slow down the pace a bit.  The thing about trail races is they don’t give your heart rate much of a break unless you’re willing to slow down to a walk.

There were some fun ‘obstacles’ like logs to jump over including one you had to climb or vault (a hop would not suffice) especially early on – I loved it, but I think they still kept it within sane ranges unlike these obstacle course races that are practically masochistic in nature.  I kept getting passed though, and I began to wonder if I was in dead last when I stopped seeing people behind me for a bit.  It happens to me a little on the bike in triathlon so I don’t stress out about it too much.  In fact, I had passed one or two people too.  I took a little video of the trail, if you’d like to get a feel for what the race was like.


I had noticed that the kilometre markers came earlier than my Garmin was claiming, so when 6 km was done, I decided I could try and risk it a little more and really started pushing the pace; driving my heart rate well north of 90% of max.  I passed 3 people who had a similar pace than me, but were making it look easier.  I had a feeling they could and would catch me again before the finish line… and that was when I encountered a bit of funny luck.

The trail veered left and suddenly we were basically facing a wall of dirt.  Imagine the steepest hill you could theoretically climb on foot.  I think the others just stopped and laughed and resigned themselves to walking up carefully.  I, on the other hand, have daily conversations with Shark Boy about Spider-Man, so I hustled up using hands and feet like the wall-crawler himself, and you know what? I wasn’t passed again before the end of the race, even though there was another gut-busting climb out of that same bowl we used in the Children’s Challenge.  I crossed the finish line with lungs burning in just under 45 minutes.  I had projected an hour to my wife – I think both the course was a little easier than the last time I did a trail race, and maybe I’m in a little better shape.

5 Peaks always has great post-race snacks including bagels, bananas, apples, orange wedges, chunks of power bar (I think), cookies and kettle corn.  The Vega tent also gave out free samples of plant-based recovery drink – I’m glad turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties, but it’s not something I’d normally put in a drink… They also have Kicking Horse coffee, but I’m never ready to drink coffee immediately after a race, and by the time I get ready, it’s all gone. One of the costs of being a back of the pack (14/18 in Men 30-39 which I qualify as for another 3 days) athlete I guess.

And that was our Saturday… on to Sunday!
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 We got the kids packed up to do the Terry Fox Run at West Deane Park after a pancake breakfast.  I knew I was going to treat the day as ‘active recovery’ – nothing too strenuous, just jogging.  Unfortunately, I found I had tweaked a weird muscle the day before.  I don’t know which muscle it is, but let’s just say I’m not willing to put ice there.  It was going to be a little more challenging than I thought!

 The Terry Fox run is such a great event for families; there’s a bouncy castle, live music, a hot air balloon (that takes you only a little bit up and down, but still), fire engines for the kids to look at, a barbecue, and a great playground.  We were joined by my father-in-law and his wife.

They ended up taking the kids for the most part, while my wife and I did the run according to the planned route.  We did not break any speed records but proceeded north at a friendly pace while stopping to read Terry Fox quotes that were written in chalk on the path.

(I know that one’s not in chalk, I should have taken pics of the other ones as we encountered them).  The northern turn around point was only about 2 km out from the start, so I knew we’d end up with less than 5 km if we stopped at the start/finish line.  It turns out the kids and Opa and his wife had taken the southern arm of the route, so we went to meet them, but I confess we did a lot of walking as there was fatigue build up for both of us.


 By the time we met them, I had gotten a bit of a second wind, and I wanted to burn off a little extra energy, so I went ahead with Shark Boy to finish the route at a run (with him on his bike). He had wanted to get off the bike and run, but I convinced him to stay on it since it was a little far for him.  Keeping up with him on a bike is speed work (as I learned in Germany), and we had fun racing each other.  Before next week I have to teach him that filling his bike with pretend gas isn’t a great idea during a race, though.  With only a few hundred metres left, I could hear the band, and I said I’d carry the bike and helmet so he could cross the finish line on foot.  He doesn’t know it, but he did a brick workout!  Bring on next week’s duathlon.  

We all met again later and the kids had some good playground time and snacks.  I’m really happy to make this an annual tradition and we even raised a little money for cancer research.

Because we are crazy and insatiable, the kids had swimming lessons that afternoon too.  Our family is what my friend the Pavement Runner calls “That Kind of Crazy“.

Did you grow up in a crazy active family?  If not, do you wish you had?



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A September of Family Races Part 1: Levac Attack 2013

It was the day we had long been waiting for; now an annual tradition for the whole family – the 2013 Levac Attack!  We saw both the weather forecast and the sky itself, and managed to throw a bit of rain gear in along with our Chariot, a bike and helmet for Shark Boy, camera & tripod as well as a boom-box that would play the special “Levac Attack Playlist” I had put together the night before.  What we didn’t pack were dry clothes…

On the way to Brampton it was pretty clear that this would be a rainy day; no hope of sun peeking out or clearer skies anywhere in our future.  I pulled up to John and Lorna’s house to drop everybody off; luckily they have some big trees in their front yard in addition to the tent set up on the driveway so they could stay dry while I went and parked.  Of course, that meant I’d be putting the Chariot together in the rain, along with gathering together the rest of our gear.


Final registrations were done, and we got our fabulous Race t-shirts and bibs on.  It seemed like everybody was eager to get going (or at least get it over with!) and the door prizes were quickly drawn.  The horn sounded and they were off! Between setting up the stroller and herding 3 generations, we always start last, but I suppose that keeps us from having to get passed by everyone (though getting lapped is common on this course anyway).

I had tried to impress upon Shark Boy the importance of finishing the race you set out to do, and that I wanted to see him finish 2 complete laps (for 5.6 km) on his bike.  There is an even more important lesson for him though, and that’s to stick by your family and respect your elders.  Since his Omi was walking the course and it was pouring so hard, I don’t think they got the complete ‘Soft Taco’ course done, but I’m glad they stuck together.

Speaking of sticking together, in spite of her protests that she was in no shape to complete the 11.2 km ‘Hard Taco’ course (due to missed training runs), and also in spite of the miserable weather, my wife kept up the run for the entire four laps, and I couldn’t be more proud to cross the finish line with her at my side (and the Lightning Kid was in the Chariot too, of course!)

You can see some video of our race below.  Sorry about the raindrops on the lens, but, you know, the weather is out of my control.






I was surprised and pleased to see what the finisher’s “medal’ was…. something snazzy and useful, though I waited till I was home to take my modelling pic…
Sweet Visor…
The usual awesome post-race food included fajitas, hot dogs, but I was especially impressed by some of the desserts… one was very tasty, but I don’t know how to describe it… the other was a red velvet cookie with white chocolate chips.  Yum!

As an event, we raised close to $30,000 for Mount Sinai’s Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Health Complex for Women and Infants’ Health.  You can find out more about the cause and event at LevacAttack.com.

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Race Recap: Bracebridge Olympic Triathlon

After last year’s no-show, I was eager to sink my teeth into this course.  I had an English muffin with Nutella for breakfast, and I decided to go with something a little extra: there was Cinnamon Toast Crunch on the kitchen counter and I had a bowl of that too.


I drove to Annie Williams Park with my wife, mother-in-law and the Lightning Kid in tow.  I was a little surprised to see how small the transition and race area seeemed; the Sprint Triathlon had taken place the day before, so I guess it was only a fraction of the usual field of athletes I see at these events.  I hadn’t gotten there much before the official start time, but everything was so nicely contained that I had lots of time to organize my transition area and get my wet-suit on after getting my bib and race kit yet before the pre-race briefing.



Swim

The swim was in the Muskoka river, and the water was quite warm and pleasant.  It was my first time experiencing the time-trial start.  Athletes lined up by bib number along the dock and started 5 seconds apart.  The crew did a fantastic job calling bib number blocks (about 50 at a time) and getting them organized.  It was a little anti-climactic realizing the race had already started when I saw about 20 swimmers in the water (I was #128), but it was such a smooth way to go to see the people in front of you take off one at a time and have a little space of your own to start your swim in.

The course started going with the current – apparently, I have to say the current seemed negligible to me, in fact, I had to look up which part was upriver and which one was downriver on the Multisport Canada website.  I did end up with a little physical contact with other swimmers occasionally, especially on the turns, but it’s nothing compared to a normal mass swim.  I honestly felt like I was keeping up a pretty good clip, and with a little sprint to the swim exit, I was out of the water in my fastest swim time for the Olympic distance.

Time: 28:07

Transition 1

Oof.  This part was not the greatest.  I like wearing my Garmin on the swim because I like knowing swim metrics, and I get little alerts for every 100 m I swim which helps keep me motivated, but I have to wear it on the outside of the wet-suit.  That means I should remove it before trying to take off the wet-suit – that is not what I did.  I ended up struggling with getting my right sleeve off.

Problem two: I didn’t wear a one piece tri-suit.  I simply feel more comfortable in my tri-shirt, but it’s too loose to wear under the wet-suit without causing bunching and chafing on the back of my neck, so I have to put it on my wet torso in transition and that’s always another tangle.  The gels I had put in the pockets fell out and I had to pick them up.

Last but not least, based on a good riding experience the week before, I had decided to put on compression socks.  I should have gotten body-marked on the back of my knee, because the socks hid my age (not that I mind that much), and there’s no fast way to put on compression socks, at least not correctly.  I simply had to eat that time cost.

The good news was I managed my Garmin correctly (although I hit the timers a little late in transition) and every leg got measured.

Time: 4:08

Bike

Exiting the park, I saw one fallen rider and one with mechanical problems, which should have been a bad omen, but wasn’t (at least for me).  In spite of there being a construction problem with a bridge in the first kilometer or two of the course, triathletes were able to cross the bridge unimpeded thanks to great co-operation between the race organizers, the provincial police, the district of Muskoka and most importantly the drivers who had to wait held up at the bridge (my thanks to all of you!).

Muskoka is notoriously hilly in general, but I found this course to have a few really good flat sections where you could really work up a good head of steam.  I was seeing speeds over 30 km/h a lot more often than I usually do.  Which is not to say there weren’t leg-busting hills…. there were times where there was no choice but to stand on the pedals in the lowest possible gear.

 I had someone call my name on the bike, it was the guy from TriMuskoka (whose name I can’t recall – sorry buddy!).  He told me he liked the blog posts – then passed me.  Still, I get passed by lots of people without an attaboy for my writing, so I appreciated that.

I still struggle with maintaining focus and the right effort/pace in the middle parts of the course.  I tried rolling through a few different mantras: Seek The Hard, Attah!  I also thought about how much the Lightning Kid has grown and learned in spite of the fact that he’s been dealt a hand that makes such things a little harder… I don’t mind telling you I got a little misty on the bike course, but I tried to use that as a little inspiration.

I figured that it was my last triathlon of the season, and I should leave it all on the course and imagined completely destroying myself and being reborn from the ashes like a phoenix.  That thought was a little melodramatic for my tastes and needed to be dialed back, but you get the idea.

There were some sharp 90 degree turns that made my teeth sweat a little, but if I’m honest I probably like a little excitement like that during the bike course.  On the last 3 km or so, I made sure to really keep the effort level high, and after dismounting, I ran my bike into transition.  I saw my family and started an ATTAH! chant which went over gang-busters with the crowd, but not with the Lightning Kid himself.


Here’s a sample of what I was looking for:



Time: 1:26:06

Transition 2

I wanted to make up any uneccessary time lost in T1 here; racked the bike, took off the helmet and bike shoes, slipped on my Zoot triathlon racing flats (no laces) and I was off.  I put on my hat as I exited transition.

Time: 1:14

Run

I like a simple out-and-back; no keeping track of laps, and you get two cracks at every aid station.  This course didn’t have that much to look at (for Muskoka), but it was pretty flat, and better yet, there was plenty of shade.  I had so much more strength when it wasn’t being sapped by blistering heat.  I really think it was the perfect weather that day; I had noticed headwinds on the bike sometimes, but it was worth it to get a cooling breeze on the run.

I got a chance to see a friend from high school on the run.  He’s a marathoner who did his first Sprint Tri the day before and volunteered to hand out water on the run with his son.  The volunteers were super on the race all around.

I did a lot of checking my Garmin on the run and my pace on the way out was looking good for maybe even a PB, but it kept spiking over 90% on the way back even at paces too slow to make that grade.

With a little over a kilometer left, I checked my overall time. 2:49… not enough to beat 2:53 (what I thought was my PB – it’s actually 2:52:38) – I wasn’t going to make a 4 minute kilometer at that stage, but getting under 3 hours (and thus better than my last 3 Olympic distance races) was nicely within reached.  I took a little walk break to make sure I had my best for the finish line and went for it.  When I could see the end I started another ATTAH chant, picked up the Lighting Kid and carried him (a little bewildered) across the finish line.

Time: 57:57

Overall


Overall Time: 2:57:29

My best time since 2010, and a smidgen better than Muskoka 5150 which I called a stepping stone to this one.  I was hurting after the finish line and I knew I did what I set out to do in terms of nearly destroying myself… I had to lie down, and couldn’t really muster a good stretch.

I remember feeling similarly at Wasaga last time.  The post race rewards of Hero Burgers and Chocolate Milk are a big draw for me, but I felt too lousy to really enjoy them… this time, after enough of a recovery break, I really savoured both, and the chocolate milk was one of the greatest things I’ve ever tasted….

The Multisport Canada series races are always friendly and I found this locale especially good with local support and manageable terrain.  I think I’d put in my Top 5 races.
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Race Preview: Bracebridge Olympic Tri 2013

I had said that this was going to be my redemption race.  I had said I was going to work on hills, put in more distance on the bike, and work on my transitions.  Let’s see what happened in terms of cycling mileage…

OOPS

Not exactly Olympic Triathlon type volume there.  What happened? Let me break down my biking blues…

Bike Blues

On July 1st, a week after completing the Muskoka 5150, for a first training ride, I got a flat tire. Which cut that ride short.  I tried to fix that tire, but when I packed my bike for the next weekend, I noticed another flat; so much for my repair job.

 I opted to get the tube replacement done professionally and bought a set of new tires as part of it.  Things were looking good.  I have an adjustable goose-neck (a.k.a headset) that lets me have my handlebars a little higher which is easier on my neck when I’m in aero-position.  I had lowered it a few weeks ago to improve how aerodynamically I can ride.  We were invited to my father-in-law’s place for dinner, so I opted to take my bike for what should have been a 13km ride.  I found that the handlebars kept dropping every time I hit a bump – I could pull them back up to a reasonable position, but all this would do is wear out the threads on the adjustable goose-neck.  I cut the ride short before I flew over the handlebars and called for a pick-up.

I tried to fix this problem by re-installing the original headset, but I must have gotten things wrong, because I ended up with handlebars that wouldn’t turn.  Another stop at another bike shop.  

 All set up to make my final pre-race ride, right? Wrong.  After 8km on Saturday, the skies opened up and drenched me, and Papa won’t risk skidding out on the road a week before the race.  I ended up making that one up the next day, but Plan A of having both a ride and a brick on the same long weekend was ruined.


I haven’t done any transition practice either.  I may play a little with getting my bike shoes on and off and mentally re-hearse/visualize my T1 steps this week.  My final open-water swim didn’t feel particularly strong, but the numbers actually looked pretty good over 2km.  Getting the wet-suit on and off wasn’t as bad as I remembered either.


Preview: Swim

The Bracebridge Olympic Triathlon swim is a single loop in the Muskoka river.  Though the 5150 swim course has some current, I don’t consider myself an experienced river swimmer.  I might try and compensate for the current when crossing the river, but overall I hope the challenges give the rest of my age-group more problems than me, and I come out a little ahead.; that’s the best I can hope for.


Preview: Bike

The bike course looks like it comprises a few tricky turns that I hope everyone respects and some of the classic Muskoka hills to climb…
The big hill on my last ride.  To get a sense of scale, look for the car in the pic.
I wore compression socks for the first time while riding (I haven’t loved them for running yet) this past weekend, and I could swear they made me feel a little stronger.  Putting them on for race day will make for a slow T1, so I’m not too sure whether or not I’ll wear them.  I’m not really bad on hills altogether, I think my bigger problem is staying focused and maintaining the right pace after 30 km or so.

The ride promises to be scenic, which can enhance my enjoyment, and I’m glad to see it’s keeping us away from Highway 11 and its bridges/ramps.


Preview: Run

I managed to do a brick (bike/run) using my Merrell Trail Gloves without damaging my Achilles’ tendons.  This course doesn’t seem to have any trail components, so wearing my Salomons might be overkill and maybe I can get away with my Zoot racing flats.  On the other hand, having some cushioning generally lets me be a little more reckless in my pacing.  I’ll bring both and follow my gut on race day.


Overall

As an official ‘Redemption Race’ to make up for not making it to the starting line last year, things are looking bleak – any sort of PB is pretty unlikely here.  Trying to be positive means going to the race site, grateful for the fact that I can do this kind of thing at all, and have fun while I’m out there.  I’m going to channel my inner Phaedra from Blisters and Black Toenails while on the course; she’s been killing it and racking up age-group podium spots all season.  I don’t have to have that result to have that spirit, do I?


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New Page: Race Day Checklist

A while back, I wrote up my own race day checklist so that I wouldn’t forget anything on race day; though packing it all the night before is advisable.  I found it easiest to organize by event, so that I could visualize what I was doing and what I’d need.  

The list in its original form is available on the page accessible from the tabs above, or you can click here: Race Day Checklist.  It’s not up-to-date for me since I now wear my Garmin in the water, and sometimes I race without socks, but it should be a good starting resource.  I’ve left a few blank lines that you could fill in your own special needs for, and there’s the possibility of downloading a PDF for prettier printing (link at the bottom of the page).



Have a great race!

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Race Recap: Muskoka 5150 (2013)

The day of the race I got out of bed at 5:30.  My wife and I had discussed several options about me getting to the race and her and the kids cheering me on, and in the end, given that 1.) I am an insufferable ball of nerves on race day and 2.) 3-ish hours is a long time to keep the kids reined in and safe at just about any location, I opted to take my mother’s car to the race site.  I had a plan to really, really fuel for this race to see if I could squeeze a little more performance out of the old body, so I had a whole-grain bagel with chia seeds and peanut butter for breakfast (I took a pic of it, but it turned out too blurry – sorry, foodies).



I was also trying a new one-piece suit for the first time. That was a little risky, but the worst pre-race news was that I had left my heart-rate monitor sensor strap at home. My race checklist has ‘Garmin’ on it, but that item has two parts, and one got missed. This was going to go one of two ways: either not knowing my heart rate would make me less conservative and really let me swing for the fences for better time, or I would blow up for lack of being able to keep my pace in check.

There was a lot of fog on the way to Huntsville, but the very latest weather forecast was substituting the threats of thunderstorms for threats of sweltering heat, and I figured (correctly) that the fog would burn off and never be a factor.

I found plenty of space on the Men’s 40-44 rack to place my bike and transition bag; at the time I figured I was at the race site earlier than I usually was, but afterwards I noted my age group only had 22 participants.  I didn’t do any transition setup at first, I just wanted to drop my stuff off before picking up the race kit.  They used to have all that inside the Muskoka Summit Centre’s Arena, but this year it was around the back of the building.  Still, the various steps of race kit pickup (look up your number, sign the waiver, pick-up the kit, pick-up the t-shirt, then race-chip anklet and body marking) were all clearly delineated which is not only beginner-friendly but also good for experience triathletes who are still nervous with cluttered brains like me.  Unfortunately they were out of large size in the technical t-shirts, but they offered to send me one afterwards or I could take a cotton t-shirt that day.  My old Muskoka triathlon t-shirts (from the ‘Muskoka Chase’ days, i.e. pre 5150 branding) are wearing out with holes etc. and I have plenty of technical t-shirts so I opted for the cotton.

Back in the transition area, I started my setup.  I got right with my equipment placement and took a picture, then I realized I had forgot something, and took another picture…. lather, rinse repeat.   Two new things to me would be wearing my Garmin in the swim – meaning I’d have to strap it on outside the wetsuit, and take it off to remove the wetsuit – and bringing some leftover Clifshots (courtesy of DarwinianFail) to the swim start for energy on the swim.  I did some shoulder mobility exercises with an old belt and ate a banana before heading to the swim start.

The swim start is 800 m down a gravelly road from transition; you can either have friends/family along to take your shoes from you when you get in the water, or give them to a volunteer to tag and bag so that they’ll be brought back to transition.  I should have chose the latter since I was on my own, and I meant to ask if I could include my camera in that deal, but race-day nerves ruled again and I forgot the whole thing and I made my way barefoot.  I wasn’t the only one, and it was do-able, just slow as you had to pick your way carefully.

At the swim start I pulled on my wet-suit on my own, and I’m proud to say I probably did a better job of that than I ever had before.  I did some more stretching, then with my Clifshots under my swim cap, entered the water.  I only had a few minutes to do a few warm-up strokes before the race started – my wave wouldn’t start until about 10 minutes after the pros and elites started, which was 8AM sharp.

Swim

I stuck to one side so that I’d be on the outside of the turn and be able to take it at a more gradual angle and so that I wouldn’t be in the middle of the crowd. I still ended up being boxed in between two other guys with a similar pace than me. I took a quick burst of speed with the hopes of putting them on my feet and giving myself some space, but they caught me again after a few hundred meters, so I did the opposite and let them both go by.

I noticed my technique was a little wonky and felt a little guilty about it, but I was sighting often and I knew I was staying on course, so at least that was efficient. I made the first two turns and I was on my way out of the bay and into the channel when my Garmin buzzed its first 500 m alert. Feeling good so far, one third of the swim done. Making your way up the channel is confusing for some people because they don’t know what side to put the buoys on (the race directions to tell you, but it’s easy to miss in the pre-race excitement when you have plugs and/or water in your ears) – the secret is, it doesn’t matter. The buoys just mark the way up the channel, so you can just follow the way and go to either side of them, and I know this from previous years.

Moving up the channel is when the current starts. Swimming against the current is weird because it doesn’t actually feel that slow at first. When you have the wind against you on land, you notice the slow-down because you use the land as a frame of reference for how fast you’re going. When you swim, you don’t get that good a look at the shoreline going by, but you see particles in the water flying by somewhat quickly and it makes it seem like you’re flying through the water. This part of the swim just takes patience, and soon the next 500 m alert went off. I kept plugging away and approached the bend in the river which always messes with your brain, because you can see the Summit Centre and transition so you think you’re nearly done; you still have a bit to go after you turn the corner. Strangely ,the third alert went off shortly thereafter – there were clearly 200-300 m left to swim and Garmin is telling me I’m done my 1500 m. Still, I pushed on with a minor final burst and exited the water.


Official swim time: 34:50


Transition 1

I was still messing around with the Garmin as I exited the water while I should have been pulling my wet-suit off. I was walking not running; I said in the pre-race that I didn’t feel my transitions needed much improvement, but I wound up having to sit down to take off the suit, and everything was just a little more awkward than I would have liked. I looked at the winner of the race’s T1 time and it’s less than 30 seconds! Something to work on after all.

Official T1 time: 03:11

Bike

I mounted the bike cleanly and clipped in without problems. I spun the pedals for a few kilometers when I noticed I hadn’t brought the Garmin from my wrist to the quick release bike mount. I figured I could do it while riding; risky, but I wanted the convenience. I managed it without crashing the bike or anything, but I had accidentally hit the ‘Lap’ button which signalled the Garmin that I was done biking and had entered T2; I was 3 km into my ride. I managed to reset everything and start tracking the bike as a stand-alone event (which is why the end result below shows 37 km). I also noticed the cadence sensor wasn’t working, which meant I only had my speed to guide me in terms of how I was doing. At 8 km in 19:33 I knew I was going about 24 km/h – a lot less than the 30 km/h I’ve always dreamed of.


The water bottle I used was less that optimal. It had a twist top that I had to unscrew and juggle the lid in the aero position. Tricky as heck; I found 3 tops and 2 bottoms to various water bottles I’ve collected over the years, but I had no good ones available on race day, so I went with what I had. Luckily (again) I didn’t crash the bike with my multi-tasking shenanigans.


Lots of climbing, not much else to say about the course. I’m simply undertrained for hills; not just in terms of strength and conditioning, but I found myself in too light a gear and over-spinning as I’d crest many hills. In other words, I need to work on the skill parts too. I took a gel 22 minutes into my revised time when I wanted to take it 15 minutes into the overall ride.

The turnaround point in Port Sydney is preceded by a stretch that is not only pretty, but pleasantly flat and really can put a smile on your face. After the turn-around, I found myself whistling ‘Bobby McGee’ – which I’d heard on the radio on the way to the race. The way back is more downhill than the way there, but still plenty of climbing. I took a Gu Roctane at the 1 hour mark, and though the package was orange, I swear it tasted like chocolate. I got out of the saddle a fair bit for the last kilometer or two to make sure nothing was too cramped up in my legs.




I dismounted and stopped the Garmin. It showed 1:25:13, which was already more than the 1:22 I wanted to beat, and I had no idea how long those first 3 (wasted) km had taken me.


Official Time: 1:31:00

Transition 2

I racked the bike, took off my helmet, and switched shoes. One last sip of water, and monkeying with the Garmin to switch to running, and I was off. I had a sun-visor packed but not set out in transition so I opted not to go digging for it.

 Official Time: 2:27

Run

It was starting to get hot, and I was expecting it. Luckily there were plenty of aid stations with water and Gatorade, and some were placed near turning points like the high school track you had to make a lap of, so you passed it twice within a couple of minutes of each other. I dumped anywhere from one to one and a half cups of water over my head at every single aid station. The 10 km course was two laps of a 5 km loop. The first loop I felt strong. I took a gel, so I was fueled, I felt hydrated, not thirsty (I usually have the opposite problem when you have too much liquid in you…), and I was doing everything I could to stay cool. The route was, you guessed it, hilly. I averaged a pace of 5:32 per km on the first loop, but as I closed it off, I saw my mom who gave me a big cheer, yet I was starting to weaken. I saw my wife and kids as I completed the first loop and shouted out that I loved them, and started on loop 2.


I’m not quite sure what happened as it was nothing as straightforward as bonking, or injury or being dehydrated or even overheated. My muscles simply weren’t firing all the way anymore. I’m sad to report I had a lot of negative self-talk when I saw my chances of beating last year’s time slipping away “It’s too hard… I need to slow down.” There was a more positive voice in my head arguing back, but I’m still a little shocked because I don’t think of myself as having that kind of negative attitude most of the time. There was one guy, who grunted and moaned whenever he found the terrain a little difficult (there’s a gravelly trail downhill section just before the 3 or 8 km mark, for example), and I found myself wanting to get away from him and the negative vibes he was giving off. Unfortunately, he had an average pace much like mine so I kept seeing Grunty McWhinerson around every turn. I actually had thoughts about outright quitting the race, but that kind of pain only kicked in around 9.2 km and it was frankly easier to just finish. I did speed up for the final half kilometre, and since I knew a personal record for the course was no longer in reach, I grabbed up Shark Boy and carried him across the finish line to give him a taste of that thrill (I kind of wanted to carry both kids, but I was a little tired by that point).






The Good

I could complain about the heat, but when it comes to weather, you can have storms cancelling the swim (or more), heavy winds ruin your bike ride, and I simply don’t like being rained on. It was a beautiful day.

The race was well run, and I never wanted for anything, they even handed out gels at the aid stations. The volunteers were fantastic, smiling, and always doing their thing energetically.

I finished, my family was proud of me and I had fun.

The Bad

I got to meet my inner coward, I think. I had the Garmin blues too, and didn’t get the kind of data I want to have not only in real-time, but for afterwards. It looks like I have to investigate my cadence sensor and buy yet another water bottle.

The Ugly

Nothing to see here; it’s Triathlete Bodies in Muskoka, what do you expect?

Lessons Learned and the Way Forward (it’s the Training, Stupid).

The difference between the race I wanted and the race I got is simply putting more time and distance in, especially in Muskoka-type terrain. I expect Bracebridge won’t be that different in August, so it’s going to be hills, hills and transition practice for me until then.