Done and done!

Well, I can't say I'm too happy with the outcome of today's race... I can't even say I gave it everything I had b/c I sort of gave up on myself near the end.
This morning I raced the 5k of the Toronto Marathon weekend starting and finishing at Queen's Pk. The race was out and back down University Ave., about 2.4k to the TA, and then back.

I saw a few fast guys warming up and thought maybe I'll have some help in getting a decent time.
I started off conservative as a bunch of younger runners bolted off the front. I was in about 10th place for the first minute before I slowly started picking them off and moved to 5th place. The order was a Kenyan way in front after 1km, maybe as fast as 2:45-47, then Bruce Raymer, and then Kyle Smith was leading a group of 3(which I was in). At this point Kyle had maybe 2-3sec on me, I passed the km in 3:00 and said "wow, couldn't every km feel that smooth". By the next few min, Kyle slowly started inching his way to the 2 guys in front while I stayed right on the tail of the 4th place guy. We passed 2k in 6:12 so it was still ahead of the pace I wanted to run, so I was happy with that(the wind was in our favor for the first half anyway). At the TA, I saw the leader was 7:07... by the time I went around I was 7:32 still in 5th place, with no one behind me that I could see as a possible threat. I still went behind the 4th place guy but was starting to suffer a bit. We were both at 9:35 at 3k, so that is right on 15:59pace, but the fact I was slowing was not a good sign. The cold temperature was getting to me as well... just not used to the breathing considering I ran all my HARD sessions over the past 3wks on the indoor track at York. Although the sessions may have been distance specific, they certainly weren't condition-specific, and really took me by surprise late in the race. I can't say too much about the last 2km because the marker was off(my split was at 12:20 which I know is not right, considering I've never run a 2:47km in my life). The only thing I can say is that the 4th place guy stated to slowly drop me at 4k.
It sucked... all these tough workouts, all these "harden the fuck up" chants in practice which definitely made me persevere when faced with adversity... and it's like I forgot what I was capable of. I pretty much gave a tempo effort to the line, still finishing 5th, in around 16:36.(the 4th place guy was 16:15, so in the last km alone he gained 21sec on me).

         1   15:27.2  3:06   15:27.2 13192 SMITH, KYLE                SCARBOROUGH       1/930    1/231  M24&-          
       2   15:36.0  3:08   15:36.0 12519 RAYMER, BRUCE              TORONTO           2/930    1/106  M35-39         
       3   15:46.9  3:10   15:46.9 11787 WAINAINA, JOSEPH           TORONTO           3/930    2/231  M24&-          
       4   16:15.4  3:16   16:15.4 12547 LABRANCHE, JEAN-DANIEL     ST-JOACHIM, QU�   4/930    3/231  M24&-          
       5   16:36.1  3:20   16:36.1 12696 BREGIN, PAUL               NORTH YORK        5/930    1/135  M25-29         

The smartest runner was by far Kyle Smith. I still can't believe I was as close to him for 1-1.5k as I was... even still within 10sec by the TA. But he ran even, conservative, and slowly picked up runners overtaking the lead with under 1km to go and not looking back.

I'd love to have been able to hang with a guy like that... and given how I felt in that first km. I feel my speed is adequate to run a 15:30, but my speed endurance is not(in general alot of my endurance, even aerobic endurance has suffered this yr). I don't want to point back to the summer and say those 9wks off running killed my strength, but to a certain extent it did. And then coming back I still had end of season TRI races, so I wasn't doing any hills either.

So despite the disappointment, I am rather excited that racing for the next few months is over, and I can literally start focusing on my strength development... I've got all kinds of plans in terms of exercises specific to the legs, core/full-body, as well as the aforementioned hill training. I've always responded well to hill training, but I haven't done it in ages. The last time I truly did hill training was 2005. By 06 I was getting my leg symptoms seizing up whenever the pace was medium to high(later finding out it was due to the narrowing in my external iliac artery). So 07 I did a few tri races, but the runs were all flat(Drummondville, Orillia, Owen Sound, Montreal). I had my surgery in Jan2008, so I spent the better part of the early season resting/healing from that, and only after the 08 season did I start doing a few hill sessions while already in teachers college. This is what got me strong last Oct-Dec as my very first track session after Christmas was that 12x400 workout where I avg'd 1:10s... whereas 11 days ago after about 2.5wks of track sessions I was only avging 1:11. Doesn't seem to be a huge difference, but you can definitely feel it.

With better strength, and consistent week-in-week-out training, I know I'll be able to crush the 09 version of myself. Next outdoor track will probably be a 5k in March, and the Sportinglife 10k in May.

Cheers!
PB

PS. I just came across Craig Taylors latest post on the PTC blog... I couldn't agree more about attitude/consistency starting now will dictate how you do next season. Here's to a successfull 09-10 training campaign.

Last bit of track before off-season/base.

I am rather looking forward to off-season... not so much to rest(I've rested enough with my 9wk summer layoff), but to actually start building the volume base, and strength(hills) that I unfortunately wasn't able to do all year due to injury at various points.

Right after Muskoka 70.3 I still wanted to race a few running events, so I didn't want to stop my season right there. My ankle sprain healed rather quick so I picked the Toronto Marathon 5k event on Oct 18 as a potential last race of the year. Even though I had about 4wks to prep, it would be tough to run a PB(at one point I had envisioned 15:30ish as a possible goal, but that quickly went away as I knew my strength just wasn't sufficient to hold 3:06-07s yet). That being said, I did the best I could the past few weeks, tried to be as consistent as possible, and gave myself every possible chance to reach race speeds and beyond in preparation for this race. Although this 4wk buildup was rather rushed, and not 100% ideal in that I had to complete most of my workouts after long days at work, it still ended up decent.

Since my last post I have had 3 track sessions as well as one off-road.
Last Monday I ran 12x400m on 3:00 with Tom and it was a good effort on a day when we were both ready to just pack it in. We both eased into it, and it actually turned out better than expected.
MS:
1:13.4, 1:11.8, 1:13.3, 1:11.1
1:13.4, 1:12.4, 1:11.8, 1:11.7
1:11.5, 1:11.2, 1:08.8, 1:07.9

Although I avg'ed close to 1:10 flat in the same workout last January, I was still glad to be reaching 1:11s.

Then 3 days later came the indicator workout: 3x1600m with 3min rests. I honestly wanted close to 5min miles and went for it. I don't want to make excuses... I went for it, but crashed and burned on the last one. It wasn't pretty. I went 5:03, 5:04, and 5:?? I am too embarassed to even post the last one, but it was a spectacular collapse. Lets just say I almost could have lapped myself by the end of the mile had I been racing against my 5:00 flat self. At least I gave it a shot and learned a little about myself... such as not having the strength to maintain that pace for the full distance(yet).

Lastly, just yesterday I had my last workout before the race this weekend. It was 6k worth of intervals. 5x800m on 5:00, and 5x400m on 3:00. My pre-workout goals were to avg 2:30s and then 1:12s.

I went(with my split after 400m)
2:31.4(1:16)
2:29.8(1:13)
2:31.6(1:16)
2:31.7(1:16)
2:29.4(1:15)

Then 1:13.4, 1:12.2, 1:11.6, 1:10.8, 1:09.1

So, overall, happy with the effort... hopefully when rested, and with decent weather, I'd be good for 16:00. I tried to be as smooth as possible, but towards the end it was getting pretty tough.

Again, worst case scenario is that I race, and get a good workout in even if I don't achieve my time. 15:45 would be ideal, but that's probably going to come in a few months.

Pavel Bure Tribute

(this probably isn't the best time to write a hockey post, given the start the Canucks have had, but I know things will pick up soon. Can't wait for the Leafs/Canucks game on the 24th)



Early October is always one of my favorite times of the year because it marks the beginning of a new hockey season. It has become a yearly tradition for me to start counting down the days a few months before the season even starts. One year I started the countdown literally the day the Canucks were eliminated from the playoffs. Even though I live in Toronto, I've been a huge Canucks fan for as long as I can remember.

I started watching hockey during the 1994 playoffs when the Leafs were playing the Canucks in the conference finals. Although I still didn't understand off-sides or icing fully, I loved how there was one player that just got me out of my seat every time he touched the puck. Perhaps it was the fact we shared the same initials at first that got me to like him, but from the first game I watched intensely, Pavel Bure became my childhood idol. This is way back before the Simon Whitfields, and Carol Montgomerys or the world became influential people in my life.



Hockey is different nowadays. We are oversaturated by the media in terms of sports availability, many channels to watch literally every game, the internet gives us 24hr/day access to any stats, pics, videos etc that we want... so perhaps being able to watch a game on TV now is not that big of a deal. If you miss it, you can always see it again somewhere.

But this was not the case for me growing up. As a 10-11yr old, with my dad prohibiting me from watching sports, it was tough to be able to watch a game in peace(heck, I couldn't even watch the 7am morning Sportsdesk highlites, so I'd sometimes stay up, listening to the fan590 or 680news for sports updates every 15/20min til about 2am so that I'd be able to sneak out of my room and be able to watch the highlites then 2am edition of sportsdesk, way back still with Michael Landsberg). And if I was ever fortunate enough to be alone on a day the Canucks game was broadcast live on CBC or TSN(there weren't any other channels, and at the time we only had 1 TV) it was a real treat to watch the Canucks and Bure. Back then all I had were my hockey card collection, a library book about Bure, and perhaps the odd newspaper article about the Canucks... not much compared to what is available now.

Whenever the leafs played the Canucks I'd always have to stand tall behind my team when all my elementary school buddies would ridicule me and the Canucks(in the rare occurance if the leafs had won). They'd say all these jokes about how Mogilny was gay, then I'd say something about Potvin... and wouldn't you know it... a few yrs later, they'd both change teams anyway.

The Canucks may have lost the 94 cup final, but those mid-90s teams will always be my favorites. Trevor Linden, Geoff/Russ Courtnall, Cliff Ronning, Kirk McLean, Lumme, Hedican, Babych... even my least favorites like Kay Whitmore... I still remember vividly.

It was heartbreaking to see Bure traded away back in 98-99... but he still dominated for a few yrs with the Panthers, and then even the Rangers. I remember reading The Hockey News in 1999, an article on Gretzky and his retirement, how he paid Pavel a compliment stating: "Had I had the opportunity to play with Pavel Bure, I may have considered extending my career by a year or two". Boy, wouldn't have have been something. Too bad it didn't happen a few years earlier b/c Bure eventually did play with the Rangers.

Unfortunately 02-03 was his last yr, and only 39games. Man, we was just as injury prone as I was... now if only I had his speed! He scored 50+ goals every year that he played 70games or more.(5x). And had he been able to play in todays NHL with the current rules on hooking and others, he'd re-write the NHL record books.

I guess you can see parts of Bure in Ovechkin and Kovalchuk... but it's just not the same without him. So here we go again with season #6 without Bure(not counting the 04-05 lockout of course).

Back on TRACK

So, one month of teaching is in the books... only 9 more to go. But I am definitely enjoying myself along the way. There are definitely busy and stressful times, and will be in the future, but also very fun and entertaining times as well. The Jr. Boys soccer team kicked off their season this past Thursday, and we lead 1-0 well into the second half, til an unfortunate bounce ended up wit ha penalty shot for the visitors, and they added the heartbreaking winning goal with just minutes to go, so we had to take the 2-1 loss. My first time coaching anything non-triathlon related... not a bad showing considering we were playing a 'soccer school'.

In terms of training, the swim-biking is very minimal right now... just trying to get out a few times a week in each. Running is somewhat the focus(but it's tough doing intensity workouts after a full day of standing). If training goes well, I'll attempt a 5k in Toronto on Oct 18, otherwise, I'll train another 2-3wks after that and hope to find another 5k race around.

This past week I spent the first few days recovering from the HALF(25k total last Sunday which is like half my volume, so even if not all of it was run hard, the pounding added up). I thought I'd be able to have a session on TUE but had to settle for 45min EZ. Then finally on WED, I did show up at the track, but knew I still wasn't fully recovered as my quads and hams were still sore when doing my ABC's + other mobility exercises. I still wanted to do something so I did 8x600m on 3:00. I knew I wasn't ready to run all of them hard, so I decided to descend 1-3.
It felt ok and went like this: 1:57, 1:54, 1:51, 1:56, 1:53, 1:49, 1:56, 1:49. I had to do this on the indoor track b/c I think they aren't allowing anyone on the outdoor track for the remainder of the year. Sucks.

FRI(1 day after the soccer game) I was back at York, hoping to do the "Tim Don Special"(32x200m). I came straight from the dentist where I had to have 3 anaesthetic injections in my jaw for me not to feel any pain. This definitely made my jaw sore, but thought nothing of it in it affecting my workout.
Legs felt a little bit better, but still not there yet(unless I am just way off from where I was back in Feb-Mar). I have done this session 3 times last winter and it is quickly becoming one of my favorites. The workout is 8 rounds of (3x200m on 1:00, 1x200m on 1:30).
Me and my friends call the reps on 1:00 the SLOW ones, and the reps on 1:30 the FAST ones. I think my best to date was holding 35-high for the SLOW, and 32-low for the entire set. I set this as my goals for the workout but quickly found out my leg speed is lacking. Also, I started getting a little bit dizzy by the 4th-5th round so I decided to finish one more round for a total of 24x200m... 75% of the TDS. I(t went like this)
WU: I did 3x200 in 37-36-35 w 30s rest, then put flats on and started the MS.

36.9, 35.7, 36.0, 32.4
36.1, 35.7, 35.8, 33.3
36.4, 35.6, 35.8, 33.0
36.0, 35.5, 35.4, 33.2
36.6, 36.0, 36.1, 33.2
35.7, 35.6, 35.3, 31.8

Got a lot of work to do to get back to where I was, but at least I'm back running. The fact I had zero running base due to those 9wks off running in the summer is probably responsible for alot of the struggles I'm having. But just looking back at where I was 6wks ago I can't complain with how quickly things have progressed(even with the 70.3 ankle sprain mishap).

Up next this week is 5x800 + 5x400 maybe Mon or TUE, and then 3-4x 1600m as the second workout. I've already set specific target times I want to reach, which will ultimately determine if I race on the 18th or not.

I'm certainly glad I don't have to focus on the bike anymore for the next month or so... I just came back from a 2:15hr ride this morning, and I struggled bigtime. Maybe just leg fatigue from the run sessions perhaps, but it was certainly a humbling experience to be riding so slow yet feeling it in my legs. But not to worry. For next yr I plan on enrolling in the "Bruce Bird Cycling Academy" which will almost definitely make me a fast biker next yr.

Training and racing while sick

So, it's been 2 whole weeks since my last post about Muskoka 70.3. I forgot to mention that the 8.2k off the bike was the longest distance I ran in any race this yr(sad, but true). And with the sprained ankle, my hopes of racing well at Scotiabank Half Marathon on Sept 27 were greatly diminished.

However, alot of icing in the first 2-3days post-injury made for a speedy recovery. By the end of the week I ran my first workout at the York U track with Tom and Houston. We decided on 15x400m on 2:00(2 steady, 1 hard). I had just finished teaching about 1.5hrs before, and standing all day really stiffens out the legs. I started so slow, yet I got extremely comfortable and in a rhythm once in the middle of the set. The results of the workout were:

1:20.9, 1:18.0, 1:13.3
1:19.5, 1:17.5, 1:12.4
1:18.4, 1:15.9, 1:11.0
1:16.3, 1:14.5, 1:09.7
1:16.3, 1:14.3, 1:07.9

Originally our goals were 1:18-1:20 for the slow, and maybe 1:15 for the HARD... yet by the middle, the slow was turning into the fast. The ankle was still a little stiff/sore, but managed to hold up ok.
Then this past week, Tom and I were planning on doing 6x1k on 5:00 on WED evening. Tom had registered for the Scotia Half just the previous day and was excited about it. Plan was nothing crazy for him, just closer to race pace, while I wanted to at least hit 5k pace. However, again, my legs were tired from standing all day(I might spend 2-3min max at my desk during the 3 periods that I teach, the rest in almost all the front of the class). I had intentions of doing all sub3:10s, but the days humidity, as well as the wind from one side really affected the pace both I and Tom had planned on maintaining. So I just went by feel. And since we were all soaking wet just after the WU, we shortened the workout to 5x1k.
I went 3:17.9, 3:15.7, 3:14.7, 3:14.1, 3:06.2.
The first 4 were all at least 8-10sec slower than what I thought I should be able to do. But on this day(it was 34 degrees with the humidity), 1:18-19/lap is what felt comfortable. The last one I had to work for. If sub 15:30 is my goal, I gotta get my act together and be able to run those 3:06s smooth.

Approaching this weekend, I got word from Tom that he was sick, and getting worse... I myself found myself with sinus issues, and a massive headache by Friday afternoon, so I certainly had no intentions of racing Sunday. However, Tom did pay $84 for the Half, so I figured if anything, I can run it for him with his bib/chip, and not feel guilty for being a race bandit.

So, that was this morning, and I have to say, that given my soar throat, and sinus issues, I still made the mistake of going out a little too fast. I wasn't running for any specific time since I really was out of my league in this distance, and the low running volume that I had to incure this past year does not lend itself to being able to produce a fast performance over 21.1km.
I started slower than last yr(3:17), but it was still too quick, even though at the time it felt effortless. I ran with the lead women til about 5-6k and then started following another runner, Tim Moran.
1k 3:25
3k 10:31 (7:06 for 2k)
5k 17:45 (7:13 for 2k) and shortly after started running more of my own pace.
6k 21:41 (3:56)
7k 25:29 (3:48)
8k 29:18 (3:48)
9k 33:14 (3:55)
10k 36:58 (3:43)
11k 40:46 (3:48)
12k 44:35 (3:49) up until the 12.2k TA, I tucked in behind Tim, so that I could shield myself from the wind)
13k 48:25 (3:50)
14k 52:14 (3:49)
15k 56:04 (3:50)
16k 59:55 (3:51) I could still see Megan Brown running will just ahead, but I just couldn't allow myself to breathe any harder, and scare my lungs any more than what I had over the previous 2 days.
17k 1:03:59 (4:04) ... at this point I knew I had gotten in a decent training run, but was not ready to race at this distance. Moreover, racing while sick is pointless. Training while sick is still somewhat tolerable. So I pretty much started my CD with 4k to go.
18k 1:08:45 (4:46) A woman in her 50s passed me around this time... after checking the results, it was former olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson... wow, still going strong)
19k 1:13:30 (4:45) (This is what my HALF time should be when trained and healthy!) :)
missed the 20k split
21.1k 1:23:28 at the finish.

It was a tough thing to swallow... being out on the race course, but going slow... not even breathing hard. But I knew had I done anymore, I probably would be even more sick and on the sidelines some more. I've already had a lifetimes worth of setbacks, and don't need anymore.

But the positives are that I still got a decent training run in.
Recovery from this will only be 1-2days, and I'll be back on the track by TUE or WED.
And I didn't exacerbate my sickness in anyway. Although next time I'm just staying home.

My season isn't done yet... I do have plans for one last 5k in 3-5wks depending on how training goes. I love that distance so much more, and my training is much more conducive to being able to race hard for 5k, and not 21.1k. (at 40-50km/wk, on a good week, it is tough to get the necessary volume in to have the staying power in a long race)

Does anyone know where my cycling legs are?

What a season... what a year... best be forgotten, although I've definitely learned many things along the way.

(I seemed to have lost my cycling legs somewhere. Anyone let me know if you find them. Am thinking of just purchasing a new pair. I hear the ptichelaar500's are pretty good... they let you put in 500watt surges during your 40k TT's. Not bad, although as a first yr teacher I probably can't afford this...yet. lol)

I've learned that hard work does pay off(regarding the consistent training I had from Jan-Mar).
Using worn out shoes one too many times may lead to a metatarsal stress fracture, or close to it(ie. me having to miss 5wks after March break).
Internship + taking courses at teachers college(in May) severely limit your ability to train properly, and sleep.
A small injury such as a broken little toe can take an agonizingly long time to heal(9wks in my case, from Jun14-Aug16).
Having to resort to a bike training in the summer is one of the harshest punishments. The only thing harsher is not being able to run for 9wks.
A leg injury really enables you to focus your efforts on swimming(I've had a few solid 30k weeks in the pool leading up to my 18:44 1500m PB)
The Helix is fast(first noticed at IMLP)
Run base fitness can actually be maintained fairly well with swim-bike training. Does not apply to speed unfortunately.
You need to train fast to race fast... this refers to my lack of quality BIKE work starting in Aug which ultimately made my weak event even weaker.

But from all these points the biggest thing I take away is Consistency is the key. I've had quite a few ups and downs this year, but I've got some great training ideas for the upcoming year that I am eager to try out, and am motivated by my failures to become better.

Onto the race report. MUSKOKA 70.3
This was my last race of the year. Due to having an express pass, I actually competed 11x this summer, but only finished 4Tri's and 1Du... so 5DNF's which I knew ahead of time. I really had no expectations going in since I've never raced this distance, and didn't want to do anything stupid.

I went up with Bruce Bird on SAT afternoon. Saturday was uneventful, but we were able to check out the bike course driving back to our motel in Bracebridge, and I did some visualization. I knew from many of my friends to respect this course, and that is exactly how I approached this race. On Sun morning, Bruce and I unfortunately took a wrong turn Northbound for a while, so by the time we backtracked, we got to the race site around 7:30am... just enough time to set up in transition. Forget about not having a bike warmup... this race I had zero WU. But Bruce had even less time than me as he had to park the car.

Due to starting in the 4th wave(yellow caps) I did manage to get some swim strokes in before starting. The first AG wave(3rd, red caps) started at 8:09, with mine 6min later. I started off conservative and noticed 2 guys right in front of me. I realized it was going to be us 3 the rest of the way. I sat on one guys feet the entire time. At times I did feel we were going a little slower, but I was satisfied with the pace as long as I was saving energy drafting. We must have passed all but 10-15 of the 200-300ppl in the previous wave. Lots of zig-zagging, although this time it was necessary. I finished the swim in 27:48, and felt great... left the 2 other guys behind after getting my wetsuit off. I timed myself at 1:45ish running uphill to transition(although being slow putting racebelt on, helmet and other stuff, my T1 time wasn't as impressive as it could have been).

Onto the bike, I started off rather slow. Ming Chang Tsai, fellow UofT tri club member(although I am no longer) passed me at 1k which indicated to me that I had made up at least 6min on him since he was in the 3rd wave. I felt good about that, and started thinking about keeping him in my sights. On all the hills I shifted down and spun, in the saddle, and didn't overexert myself. At 25-30k I was thinking "man ,this is gonna be a long race"... however, after about 40k the km's just started ticking away. A few times I thought I dropped Ming but he was always nearby. Bruce Bird passed me at 62k, like I wasn't even moving. This guy is a cycling powerhouse, and only in his first yr of triathlon.(I know when we speak of rookies like Sydney Crosby and from a young age call them phenoms... well, Bruce definitely would have been a phenom had he started endurance sports earlier than in his late 30s. In one year his swimming improved dramatically, and having only been cycling for 3years, he's already the strongest AG cycling-triathlete in Ontario and perhaps Canada. I know that I was asked to mentor Bruce during the 08-09 year at UofT particularly in his swimming. On our ride back home I was asking if he'd be willing to mentor me during 09-10. lol)

Back to the race... Ming repassed me at 70k when the hills started back again. Due to no leg WU, my adductor muscles/upper groin muscles were hurting bigtime(first time those in particular were so sore), that I started getting out of the saddle on all the hills. I made the mistake of shifting down too quick in the middle of a steep hill section and dropped my chain. I cursed a bit as I watched Ming ride away into the distance. After a few creative mounts I somehow managed to maintain my balance on one and kept riding. However, I was passed by more people... my momentum seemingly gone, I started to focus on the run. (Ming ended up putting 2-2.5min on me in those last 19-20k). Bike was 2:46:13 I believe.

Onto the run I started feeling decent. My plan was go by feel for 10-15min to establish a pace, so I couldn't believe I was running as fast as I was and feeling great. I ran 3:45, and then ran past Lisa Bentley at 2k in 7:33. I slowed down a little cause I knew I had to get at least til the 10.5k TA before attempting anything hard(given I was in unfamiliar territory). I passed more people, for another 6k, and then disaster struck yet again. The shoulder of the road was gravel/some rock chips which met the paved road, and at one particular spot it was slanted and I stepped into it with a rolled ankle and put all my weight on. I couldn't believe my luck. This was around 8.2k. My splits up to that point were:
1k 3:45
2k 7:33(3:48)
3k 11:30(3:57)
4k 15:27(3:57)
5k 19:17(3:50)
6k 23:11(3:54)
7k 27:09(3:58)
8k 31:01(3:52)

So, based on how I felt, I was thinking I had a 1:21-1:22ish half marathon in me. I couldn't believe that a possible DNF awaited me again(this time not pre-planned). I tried 15x to start/stop while approaching the 9k mark. I got there 11min later and knew I should just sit and wait to be taken back to transition cause putting pressure on it didn't feel great.

It was a great venue, great race(to that point), great weather, great volunteers, and great results by many of my friends(as well as all the great spectators that came by to support all the racers... thanks).

Congrats to Aussie Craig Alek-zandah for absolutely demolishing his previous course record, and going under 4hrs on this course. Not only was the bike course 4k longer, it wasn't EZ, yet he still pulled it off. Also congrats to Bruce Bird as first AG athlete(all the more impressive considering his rookie triathlete status). And the women were unbelieveable as well. Miranda Carfrea looked smokin hot running passed me around 7k(would be 14-15k for her) enroute to a 1:18 half marathon. Very humbling. I can't believe chicks can go that fast! lol

All in all, I wasn't that upset about registering in this event. I'll definitely give the 70.3 another shot, when more fit and healthy. But I do think my body is more suited to the 1-2hr race volume, given I haven't mastered the nutrition element. I have many short course goals that I wish to attain before moving up to the longer stuff.
Not sure if I'll be able to run a half marathon this fall(depends how long I won't be able to run on this ankle) but if things progress quickly I might be back sooner rather than later.

Cheers!
PB

Helix is For Real!

So after waiting 7 agonizing days to finally make my blueseventy helix debut(due to the swim cancellations last week), weather conditions were perfect at Guelph Lake Conservation Area. I was pretty excited about this race mainly for my swim, but not so much about my deteriorating bike fitness. And once again, I couldn't get enough time for a bike warm up(Orillia and Cobourg had no bike WU's and were my 2 worst bikes of the yr), so I knew it wasn't going to be great time trialing today.

After asking James Loaring to help zip up my suit, his wife Breanne stepped up and did the job after James failed several times by himself. Once in the water, I only swam about 5min, but right away I knew the helix is the real deal. You get the buoyancy factor of a wetsuit, without any constraints in the shoulder area. The arms of the suit are separated from the body of the suit by the thin blue panels, and the shoulder area is so thin that you don't have to fight the suit to swim your natural stroke. I was so happy to finally be able to swim my own natural stroke.

SWIM- started off near the middle of the front pack and was actually able to keep up without feeling overly tired. At last I was able to swim my own race. I put my head down and hammered a bit, but realized I started going off course. I re-oriented myself again, and made up some more ground towards the swimmers in front of me. However, I probably didn't sight frequently enough as I probably swam off course about 4-5times. If anyone was following me, they must have been super pissed to have chosen my feet to draft off of. On the backstretch a girl just got in front of me by about a foot, but we went stroke for stroke until the buoy and turn for the swim exit. It had to have been either Dorelle Hinton or Angela Quick(2 great swimmers, neither of which I was ever able to match in the water before). Both girls ended up swimming 20-30sec faster than me, meaning I again zigzagged my way towards the beach, rather than swimming straight. It's annoying cause I definitely swam faster than my time indicated. Why is this important? Adrian Del Monte swam 11:15... I ended up swimming 11:31. So my goal of outswimming him was foiled. And I know I won't have another chance for another 10months.
But at least I know the suit definitely helped. All I need is to learn to swim straight, or focus only on those triathlons which have a white cable at the bottom(connecting all the buoys) so I can just put my head down and hammer. Races like the Montreal Esprit, where the swim is in a rowing basin with the white cables readily visible underneath the surface. Or even IMLP... this is probably the other main reason I had a pretty fast swim when I demo'd the Helix... the fact that all my energy was put towards going forward.

T1- this actually proved a little challenging... I had some issues getting my feet out of the suit... didn't practice enough... so I lost a good 10-15sec on most of the leaders in front of me.

BIKE- I passed Dorelle and Angela within the first 4k, but also got passed by two good cyclists, Darren Walton and Mark Linseman. Both ended up having some of the days fastest splits. As with my previous two races, my legs just had a tough time getting going. I think I need the bike WU more for neuro-muscular stimulation, cause my run WU does a decent job of loosening my body up. I biked a little better than last week, but nowhere near what I am capable of. After looking at the results, I was surrendering 3-4min to some of the guys who passed me. Fellow UofT tri club member Ming Chang Tsai, as well as James Corcoran passed me at 20k, and then Peter Buehlow at 25k.

T2- happy with this transition, not perfect but I can live with it.

RUN- onto the run I knew at least 4-5guys were in front of me and were capable of being caught. My legs were heavy, but I tried to get my legs going as quickly as possible. I made sure to run past Craig Taylor(standing about 200m away from transition) very quickly(just to appear to be running fast) before settling into a more appropriate pace for me at this time. Run training has been ok, but I am definitely feeling the effects of having to miss over 2months of running. The base just isn't there, and the speed will take some time to get back. First k was in 3:29 which enabled me to pull right next to Peter. I passed him, then Ming and James by 2k. However, I was laboring... breathing heavier than normal(perhaps due to swallowing some water earlier in the swim) which felt like it was scarring my throat. I managed to maintain pace til about 2.5k at which the wheels fell off. I lost touch with the 3:30 pace(24:30 for 7k) and started slowing. Luckily all the guys I passed were running slower, so they never passed me back. I saw Adrian before I was at the TA, and he was a little bit too ahead of me to catch up. Ran the rest of the race alone without catching anyone else. Adrian was 6th, I finished 7th overall 48seconds behind him. (my bonus goal was to outrun Adrian, which I did. But my bike has been losing more races for me than I can count).
SPLITS
1k 3:29
2k 6:56(3:27)
3k 10:31(3:35)
4k 14:19(3:48)
5k 17:57(3:38)
6k 21:37(3:40)
7k 25:19(3:42)

So now, re-analizing this, had I run exactly 3:30 pace I would have finished 49sec faster, beating Adrian by 1second. I know there will be some nights where I won't be able to sleep because of this! lol

But the race is over. I have other things to worry about, like starting teaching on TUE, or the Muskoka 70.3 next Sunday. I honestly will be happy finishing, as my nutrition strategy is unproven/not-thoroughly tested out, my run mileage is inadequate, and my lacking biking fitness is surely going to be exposed on the hilly 94k route. So it will be a training day for me. My only goal is in the swim. It's tough to set a time goal for an open water swim, but if I swim straight I know I'll have a decent time.