Ironman Canada– August 26

Canadawas supposed to be my “A” race for the season.  Hah!  I t’s funny how things work ou twhen you don’ t expec tthem (S t. George) and don’ t work ou twhen you plan for them to (Canada).  My nu tri tion definitely did not work ou t for the firs ttime this season.  My blood sugar felt like it was all over the map.  A couple days af ter the race, I was sick.  Maybe tha thad some thing to do wi th i t.  Or maybe I jus twen t ou ttoo hard on the bike.  I caught Matt Russell early on during the bike, which might signal that I was pressing the early flat section to Osoyoos too hard.  Following that, I battled weird blood sugar from mile 56 to 112, and even into the marathon, and watched the race gradually slip away.  I was unsure if I would even be able to finish the marathon as a foot injury showed up just days before the event.  Passing by the house I was staying at (mile 5) during the marathon was the hardest part.  I felt so weak and would have loved to just stop and eat a burger right then and there!  My foot hurt with every step.  Fortunately, Nathan Killam caught me soon after and we ran together from mile 2 to 18 which substantially killed the pain.  As we were approaching the turnaround, we heard that several athletes were walking, and also saw some of our competition was in distress as they headed the other direction.  That kept us encouraged and I think I ran the fastest last 10k of an Ironman that I have ever.  I was totally surprised to run into a good placing after bumbling through most of the 2^nd half of the race.  I guess this experience further underscores the most important Ironman principle: just keep going!

There are many positives to note here, even though it was a “B” quality race on my part.  I still came in with a 6^th place, had an Ironman PR of 9:09, took home a little cash, and enjoyed an amazing time in Penticton.  I think this course deserves a little more respect, which I will certainly show it if I return next year for Challenge Canada, as the race will continue but under the race organization Family Challenge instead of Ironman.

Leadman is an odd dis tance – 5km swim, 137 mile bike, finishing wi th a half-mara thon.  I really liked the low-key na ture of this even t, even while i t had some quali ty competition.  The loca tion is amazingly beau tiful, probably the bes ttria thlon scenery I have experienced so far; the alpine lake is super clear, the bike has very low traffic, good roads, and moun tain views.

Woodinville Bicycle helped me get some last minute equipment taken care of (they have bailed me out more times than I can count!), and I was on my way to Bend, conveniently camping at the race venue, Cultus Lake.

This could have been my bes t race of  the season.  I wen t 1:02 for  the supposed 5km swim (obviously shor t), 6:05 for  the 137 mile bike, which included 2  times up Moun t Bachelor, and 1:25 for  the very difficul t Half-Mara thon (did I men tion i t was af ter a 137 mile ride?).  I hi t  the fas tes t run spli t of  the day, ou tpacing Rapps tar by 1:15 and  the res t of  the pro field by 5-6 minu tes.  Trying  to chase down Karl Bordine in 5 ^th gave me some ex tra mo tiva tion! I  think I blasted a 5 minu te mile a t  the end  to ca tch Oli Piggin a t  the 12.9 mile mark, bu t was s till 2 minu tes off of  the las t “money spo t” in  the end.  Overall a very consis ten t day for 6 ^th overall!  I was really encouraged  to see my bike spli t up wi th some really good cyclis ts; consis tency was  the key as I paced myself very evenly.

Pain in the Poconos – September 29

Following Leadman, I knew I had one more good race in the tank of the season.  A tthe same time, I really didn’ t wan tto ex tend my season un til November like las tyear!  A door opened up for me to do 70.3 Pocono Moun tainsin Pennsylvania and I took it.  Besides, at the end of the season it is a good time to take a couple risks and see how your body reacts.

Once in PA, I thought maybe I had been a little overoptimistic.  Friday morning my heart rate was around 60, up from the usual 42.  Obviously, I had not recovered from Leadman!  Ooops!

Still, I managed a PR (4:08:40) and a top-ten placing.  The swim went really well, 26:00 for 1.2 miles, which was theoretically a 2.5 minute swim PR, but probably was short.  I was passing people the entire time, jumping up from one group to the next.  The bike was net downhill which contributed to the fast average speeds.  I rode consistently but lacked the fire and tenacity that I have when riding fresh, which showed on the bumpy and hilly sections approaching Stroudsburg.  The run really showed the lack of recovery; the course was a lot harder than I expected and I couldn’t push myself very hard.  I think I felt good for about 10 minutes during the bike and 5 minutes during the run; kind of like how you feel the day after a long bike-run combo.  Still, I was happy to close out the season with a PR, especially with only 1 week recovery following Leadman (which was an 8.5 hour race).  Perhaps more importantly, this race had me thinking differently about 2013 as I was in striking distance of the lead group on the bike.  Is it possible that if I work on my swim over the winter that I will be in the lead pack in 2013?

The best part of this race was getting to hang with my friends from the Great White North, namely the Ottawacrew (Ryan Cain, Ryan Grant, and Jamie Stephenson) and Tennille Hoogland.  Hoogland had a decisive victory in the women’s race –  I am so proud of her improvement this year!

As an added bonus, I scored some much needed KPR points for next year.  But, did I get 10^th or 9^th?  I will let you decide that.  I was passed by a guy during the latter portion of the run who didn’t serve a time penalty, but I did not see that he got Dq’d for that.