Wednesday 26 October 2011

STARRT Indoor cycling class

I drafted up an e-mail the other day and had it sent out to the STARRT (St Albert Road Runners and Triathlon) Club members the other day gauging the interest of the members towards a weekly indoor cycling class over the cold winter months here in St Albert. The results have been extremely positive. Looks like I'll have to get myself in gear and develop a training plan for January through April. I am very excited to be able to organize something like this and give back to the club in this manner. It'll also give me an oppertunity to connect with more of the club members. The intent of the weekly cycling class will be to assist the participants in building their aerobic base. We'll start at about 1h15 minutes and work up to over 2hrs.

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Monday 10 October 2011

Okanagan(Kelowna) 1/2 Marathon

So we packed the car and headed for Kelowna from St Albert on Friday. It was a very uneventful drive, the kids were great, and the scenery was fantastic. Eleven hours later we arrived in West Kelowna at my relatives.
On Saturday morning we drove into Kelowna to City Park to pick-up my race kit and check-out the start / finish area. No issues picking up kit as the process was quite streamlined and the volunteers were extremely helpful.
We headed back home and had some lunch and then I saddled up and headed out for a light ride to Summerland. A little under 3hrs and 80+kms later I returned. My legs were feeling good and I was getting a bit anxious for my race. It would be the first time I was racing a 1/2 Marathon in almost a year. I had managed to get a good deal of running in during my deployment but had focused almost completely on my base. I wasn't sure what type of pace I could hold but I thought a 1:20 should be in reach. The remainder of the day I relaxed around the house and mentally prepared for the race the next day.
I managed to get to bed shortly after 2100hrs but of course I tossed and turned for a few hours. I awoke at 0500hrs eager to get some breakfast down range and anxious to race. I had a bowl of oatmeal, two eggs, and two cups of coffee for breakfast. We headed to City Park at 0630hrs parked and then walked to City Park. It was the first time completing this race so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
I warmed up for 10-15 minutes with a few pickups hit the washroom for the last time and then went to the start coral for 0735 (the race started at 0745). I move near up to the front, about the second or third row back and anxiously awaited the start. The countdown started and then we were off. I started out much quicker than I wanted at about a 3:30 pace and quickly tried to dial in the pace. I always find it takes a kilometre or two to really settle into the pace. By the end of the second kilometre I had the pace dial back to about 3:50/km and was feeling really strong. I had watched 4 athletes move ahead from the start so new that I was sitting in 5th place. My intent was to run my race and not focus on the competition. By kilometre eight two of the athletes just ahead of me were struggling to hold their pace, or that is what it appeared to me. I didn’t really want to up my pace at this point but I knew that similarly I didn’t really want to have a couple athletes hanging just behind me. I moved up and made my pass. I could hear the other two athletes working to hang with me, but I didn’t surge yet. Fortunately, we were going through City Park again by this point and a group of athletes running the Marathon (all congested around a pace bunny) were just ahead blocking most of the path. It was at this point I seized my opportunity dropped the hammer and opened up a gap with the two other athletes. My pace was up and I knew it was now time to sustain it…3:45/km here we go for another 10+kms.
I continued to hold my pace around 3:45/km until I caught the second place athlete around 12-13kms. He looked to still be cruising at a good pace but my rate of closure was quick so I figured another definitive pass was in order. I completed the pass upped the pace slightly and continued to push. I knew that I had no choice but to hold the pace to the finish. The kilometres quickly passed by and I couldn’t wait to see City Park and the finish line. Finally there it was I pushed a little looked up at the clock and saw 1:18:5X something and new that I was not going to break 1:19 but I was certainly under 1:20. I crossed the line in 1:19:08 (gun time) a little weak and wobbly but excited with the results. I congratulated the winner David Matheson who had run a sub 1:18 despite having added an additional 400m to his race but missing a turn earlier in the race. I had lost sight of David at around kilometre 5 or 6 so had no idea how much further up the road he was.
My race gear selection included my Brooks ST5s, Brooks Shorts, Under Armour Base 1.0 Long Sleeve shirt, Wigwam Ironman Flash Pro, and of course my Polar S725X for pacing and HR data.
I was very pleased with my results. Looks like my base training this past seven months has really paid off. If I can continue the focus and add some speed work I should be in good shape to run a 2:45 at the Rock n’Roll Las Vegas Marathon in December.