A growth opportunity - again!

So finished up the Great White North Triathlon yesterday.  Unfortunately, it was not a personal best that I was hoping for nor was it a sub-6 hour performance.  As was the case last year I was challenged - even more substantially this time - on the run. 

Things started well enough with the swim.  Weather was quite agreeable and, for a lake swim with the weather we have had this year, I would even call the water warm!  What I noticed this year versus last year is that the chaos of the start did not seem to dissipate as early as it seemed to last year.  I have to believe that was in direct relation to a greater number of participants in the event versus last year.  Ultimately, I didn't feel that I really got into proper swim rhythm until well into the 2nd lap of the swim.  I should have know I was in for a challenging day when I experienced some feelings of pre-cramping in my legs.  Nevertheless finished the 2k swim in 42 minutes - 1 minute faster than last year.

On to transition.  I don't know if anyone else has had this experience, but I have found that after a reasonably lengthy swim that my coordination becomes challenged!  In my mind it seemed like I was struggling mightily to do simple tasks like putting on my socks!  Don't know what kind of time I wasted in transition - probably around 8 minutes - but even when I started moving my bike out to the beginning of the bike course I realized I hadn't secured one my bike shoes and then (just like last year) almost fell on my ass as I tried to mount my bike.

The bike gave me some of the same experience as the swim.  In the first number of kilometres on the bike, my legs felt quite tight and I really felt that one wrong move would send me into cramp mode.  So there is likely some nutritional nugget in there that I have yet failed to grasp.  In addition, I'm thinking it's back to getting IMS and leg massage on a more regular basis in the next couple of months before Ironman Canada.  In my pre-race plan I was targetting a 32.5 km average speed which would bring me comfortably under 3 hours on the 90 km course.  I had little wind to contend with throughout the course.  Unfortunately, what little there was seemed to always be a headwind - coming or going!  At the end of the day I was disappointed with the marginal improvement I made over last year's performance, shaving only 3 minutes off of last year's time to get in at just under 3 hours on the bike.

The transition to run went smoothly but from then on it was really painful.  Don't know if my asthma or still lack of conditioning played a factor but within the first kilometre I was experiencing (right side) chest pain which at that point I tried to chalk up to a too tight heart rate strap.  Took it right off at that point but to no avail.  Ultimately I experienced almost continuous pain in upper right chest and lower back which I chalked up to lungs/diaphragm.  Regretably, that helped me to an even worse performance on the run than last year.  And I knew that was where the most hope for improved end time would come.

So marginal improvements on swim and bike in this race taken away by more significant fall off on the run. 

So what does that mean now?  Well as of today 54 days to Ironman Canada.  Less than for real training.  Real concern for my run performance at this point.  Not as much progress on the bike as I would have hoped.  Lingering questions about nutritional intake.  And the irony of all is that my swim - the element I most fear in the triathlon - continues to be my best element!  Ooi!

Great White North 2011 Coming Up!

Well the next big test is this coming Sunday.  The Great White North Triathlon on July 3rd.  Half-Ironman - 2 km swim, 90 km bike and 21 km run.  Last year I finished the race in 6 hours, 8 minutes.  The goal this year is to finish under 6 hours.  I believe it is doable.  I think the real key will be to be stronger on the bike.  I hope for my swim to be at least what it was last year and with any luck a bit better.  But we are talking only a few minutes if there is to be improvement.  Run I do hope to do better on.  Last year finished in 2 hours, 23 minutes whereas in a standalone 1/2 marathon I've done just over 2 hours.  So let's try to get in at 2:15.  Bike - really hoping to be in at less than 3 hours.

So far weather conditions look better than for the race last year.  Some forecasts have even said possible high of 28 degrees.  Seems set for a cold swim regardless with overnight low of 10-12 degrees.  Oh well - cold water and aggressive competitors should keep away my fear of drowning!  Of course the biggest factor is going to be wind during the bike portion.  Hoping for light!

My only other worries at this point are some dizzy spells I've been getting in the last few weeks and some nether region discomfort that has also flared up in the past week.  Good thing it's only a 90 km bike ride!

Watch for an update on Sunday night!

Rain, rain, go away...

I thought a pic of Martin Sheen rising out of a rive/swamp in Apocalypse Now might be appropriate to describe the type of weather and outdoor training opportunities we've had here in Alberta of late.  For a summer that was touted as going to be above average temps by both the Farmer's Alamana and Environment Canada we sure haven't seen much sun, never mind heat.  At this point, I can pretty much count on one hand the number of quality, outdoor bike rides I've been able to take part in.  Couple of hill repeat sessions on a Thursday night and a couple of longer Saturday rides and that's about all. 

At this point, only 2 weeks to go to the next big event - Great White North on July 3, 2011, which is a half-marathon.  I'm feeling pretty confident for that race coming up despite not getting in a lot of outdoor activity.  However, I'm becoming more and more concerned about my readiness for the big event at the end of August - Ironman Canada.  I have visions of an over 7 hour bike ride just like last year and I want to do better than my performance in my 1st event in 2010. 

So to that end going to try to orchestrate two big rides in July/very early August.  Tour de Alberta at 185 km on July 24th is looking like a for sure bet.  Don't know what the terrain is like but the good thing (I've heard) is that it is very well supported.  The other option being contemplated, with Heidi, is the Edson/Hinton and back again route.  Evidently 180 km bike ride as well.  So hoping to instill some pain and confidence in my ride before Penticton. 

Only time will tell!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

So this past week of workouts was a story of the good, the bad and the ugly.  Weather continues to be a bit of hit and miss but I can't really use that as an excuse.  On the Good side, went out with Heidi and Rick and did a strong ride on a good part of the Great White North course.  When we started the temp was relatively low and there was a reasonable breeze.  This was further compounded by a lot of smoke floating in from the wildfires in northern Alberta.  So there was a lot of "discussion" amongst the three of us about how seriously we wanted to undertake the ride but eventually no one had the guts to call off the ride.  At the end of the ride we were all good with the decision to go.

When we first started Rick scared me with the strength of the start.  It made me worried that I was completely behind the 8-ball with my Ironman prep.  Heidi was even more worried having even had less opportunity to train than I have.  As my legs warmed up, however, things got better and I had a really strong ride out to the Genesee power plant.  The only problems that I really had was with my Timex watch which continuously kicked back into regular time mode versus workout mode.  So I'll have to see what I can do to that.  I probably biked in a mostly Zone 3 level, hoping at lower Zone 3. 

On the way back in we really hit up against the headwind, especially when we turned south.  However, I still managed to make about 80 km in 2 hours, 45 minutes.  Heidi did very well for her first outdoor ride in many a year with probably a 60 km ride.

The rest of the weekend and the start of the new week was a bit more challenging with family in town and variety of other excuses. So didn't get in my weekend run as was part of the plan. 

And as for the ugly, not sure if it was my strong outdoor ride in adverse conditions (e.g., cold, smoky) that did it, but later Sunday and into this week I have now developed a head and chest cold that is impacting my aerobic capacity and my ability to sleep!  And, of course, work is a gong show this week with meetings set it seems from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on too many days.  And then again we have a U2 concert on June 1 as well!!

So now only about 8-10 weeks of workouts left before the big day at the end of August!!  Next big test is Great White North at beginning of July!

First Race of the 2011!

Well started to test my mettle in a formal sense yesterday with my first race of the year - the Edmonton Police Service Half Marathon - and did OK.  Heidi and I both raced yesterday in one of the windiest days we have seen in Edmonton in a while. 

At least I can say that it was warmer for this year's half-marathon than last year!  I still wore my winter running pants but quite frankly found myself more than comfortable (and not overheated) and certainly more comfortable than starting with shorts in the cooler start to the day.  I have to say that I felt stronger in the start of this year's race than last year's which I hope is a function of a full year of competition and training.  Heidi and I were able to start out together for the first bit of the run but we did eventually part company and I had to try to find some new pace bunnies in the pack.  I did manage to do that with various people and found it helpful to "tag on" to others to try to push myself along.  Still found the hills of Keillor Road and Laurier Heights to be a challenge.  Note to self - more hill repeats in the next few months are in order!

At about the 17 or 18 km point I did experience some dizzy spells but was able to push through.  Again felt I had good pace for most of the race and was hoping for a good outcome.  Even had one of the docs at the Misericordia who was also entered give me a bit of an inspirational speech at about 18 or 19 km saying that if we pushed it we could end up finishing in under 2 hours.  Unfortunately that didn't happen.  Was able to knock a couple of minutes off last year's time but didn't make my goal of being under 2 hours.  Regretably, neither did the doc who made the speech. 

However, it was good to get a little improvement on last year.  I say that because I don't feel that my training has been as intense or as frequent as I would have liked it to have been so far this year.  In addition, in the week leading up to this race I was in Denver at a conference with Jon Popowich - eating too much and probably exercising too little!  This was probably only the 3rd attempt at this distance so far this year, so good to know that I can actually do it under race conditions.  I also came off the race in good shape - one blister and some sore muscles but otherwise no injuries of note.

Next up is the Great White North Half Ironman slated for July 3rd.  Reasonably confident at this point about a 6 hour time there.  Would like to get in under 6 hours which means perhaps a little better than 43 minutes in the swim, hopefully just under 3 hours on the bike, and try to get in a 2:15 or less run.  Keep training and get the nutrition in on race day!

Run, Homer, Run...

Another relatively good week of workouts.  Got in the first outdoor runs of the year with a hill repeat set on Good Friday and a long 20 k run on Easter Sunday.  The weather finally cooperated and getting out in short sleeves and shorts seems a far cry from just a week ago when any type of outdoor exercise still seemed a distant memory.  Legs feel it a bit today and the Monday morning swim lacked a little intensity but looking forward to getting outside on a consistent basis from this point forward. 

The team had it's first outdoor bike this past Saturday as well, but couldn't get out due to family\home obligations so did another indoor spin.  That was fine and the legs certainly felt a lot better than the previous week.  Problem for me is that I hadn't been in for any IMS or massage on my legs that I had become quite tight through the calves, quads, and hamstrings.  Needless to say my first IMS in a while ended up being quite a "jumpy" experience.  Did some massage late last week and back in for IMS this week so hopefully get myself a bit looser. Certainly felt the tightness as a challenge on the bike - could never seem to warm up into the routine which led to some frustrating experiences.

On-call for my work this week starting on Tuesday so that limits outdoor experience yet again.  Not like I want to be an hour out from home, getting a page, and trying to solve a problem by the side of a road with a distinct lack of options to do so!  So another week of indoor work - I'll make it work! 

Then only about another week before I head off to Denver for a conference/presentation so that my final week before my first race is going to be a challenge as well.  Will try to get outdoors for runs but expect that there may be a reasonable amount of hotel workouts going on.  Good thing that the first race is only a half-marathon.  Nevertheless I hope to do better than last by at least 10 minutes.  Hope springs eternal!

A good week!

It was a good week of workouts this past week.  In total, about 12.5 hours of total workouts including a 21 km easy pace run to conclude the week.  The only things I came up short on was one swim and one set of weights due to work obligations - damn work.

As I think I have said before, I feel that I am in a stronger position this time of the year than I was at the same time last year.  I think that can be said with some confidence as it relates to my swim and my run.  On the swim, I'm already pacing at levels that I would be comfortable entering the water for my half-ironman in July.  I think it can get better.  On the run, at this time last year I would not have even done this distance for another month.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that this may be only the 4th time I've run 21 km at one time other than at Ironman, Great White North and the EPS half-marathon.  Hope that truly bodes well and isn't delusional.  My endurance on swim feels good and my endurance and heart rate on the run also look good.

Just my bike that continues to challenge my confidence - and that stretch of road between Richter's Pass and Yellow Lake!