IM 70.3 WC Race Report - Solid Execution

So I’ve finally managed to sit down and write out my race report from the Ironman 70.3 WC that occurred in Mont Tremblant, QC on 7 Sep 14. Yes, yes I know I am a little behind.

So this year was a little different as the Canadian Armed Forces(CAF) had started a Long Course Triathlon Team and those of us who qualified on our own got to race supported by the CAF. There were five of us racing. Dave, Alex, Nick, Robert, and myself. In addition to the athletes we had Michel looking after us for the weekend. Claudia and I flew into Ottawa on Wednesday and spent the night at my parents in Ottawa. On Thursday morning we hit the road early and made the ~2hr drive to Tremblant. We settled in at the Chalet and then headed into town for athlete check-in and a light swim for me. We had rented this amazing chalet about 10km from Tremblant as my parents and oldest sister were also coming down to watch the race.

Our amazing home for the wknd!

Thursday – I hit the water early for a light swim and then followed that up with a light ride later in the day. I mostly tried to stay off my feet and get some rest.

Friday –I did a light swim and then took it easy for the remainder of the day. In the evening we had the athlete dinner and all the CAF athletes got to sit in the VIP area together which was quite nice.

These folks paid us a few visits at the Chalet.

Saturday – I did the typical D-1 race prep but due to the rain I changed it up a bit. I did a light swim in the morning and directly followed that with a run. Once the rain had subsided in the early afternoon I did a light ride and then proceeded to bike check-in.

Hanging out with my amazingly supportive wife before the race!

Race morning was quite uneventful and we were thankful for the bus transportation to the race start. I was in the first AG to start and we hit the water at 08:12.

Swim 29:33. The swim start was chaotic to say the least and I managed to get kicked multiple times and had to fix my goggles a few times within the opening 200m. By the time we hit the first turn buoy the field had spread out enough that there was a little room to manoeuvre. I was able to get a good draft for a good portion of the course and was happy to be exiting the water in under 30 minutes and now have a new PB of 29:33.

Thankfully the fog dispersed before the start.

After the long transition (which took almost 5 minutes) I was onto the bike.

Bike 2:20:33 

I thought the bike would be cold but it was quite comfortable. I was able to settle into a solid pace and quickly noticed athletes bunching (drafting) instead of riding legally. I didn't realize the extent of drafting until shortly before the turn around on the highway. Shortly before the turn around a group of 40 or so riders was heading back the other way. I was pretty frustrated with the blatant drafting but pushed my frustration aside to focus on my own race. The last section of the course was by far the hardest. VI of 1.03. First Half: 239W Avg, 247W NP. Second Half: 236W Avg, 246W Avg. This was by far my best executed ride of the year.

The last descent before the hardest section of the course!

Run 1:21:50 I knew the run would be tough, but didn't realize how tough it was going to be. The hills were pretty much relentless, though thankfully most of them were just rollers...that is with the exception of the section in town. I was able to hold a strong pace throughout and averaged 3:50/km on the first loop and 3:51/km on the second loop. Though this was not the fastest run of the year it was the most consistent.

Heading out for the best part of any race...the run!

Overall 4:17:37. 130^th overall, 19^th in M30-34 and top 100 amateur. Totally satisfied with the result. 

Post Race Pic w/ the Awesome Trevor Wurtele

Overall this was a first quality race and it was by far my best executed race of the season. I look forward to racing this course again next year…presuming the CAF is provide slots.

Others highlights of the weekend (besides hanging out with the wife, my parents, and oldest sister) was checking in with the crew from A-1 Imports (Cdn Distributor for Compressport) and of course checking out the 2015 Argon 18 E-118 at the Argon 18 booth at the Expo!

A hectic August!

So it has been a bit of a hectic past three weeks. It started with being the Bike Course Captain for the STARRT Triathlon in St Albert on 10 Aug, then it was racing in the Apple Triathlon in Kelowna on 17 Aug, and it was capped off with running the Edm ½ Marathon this morning. Oh, and besides all that there was the normal work and training routine. 

Medals from a busy month! (L to R: St Albert Triathlon 25th Anniversary Medal, Apple Triathlon 3rd Place Medal (M30-34), Edm 1/2 Marathon finisher medal, Edm 1/2 Marthon M30-39 1st place medal)

The 25^th Edition of the St. Albert Triathlon (put on by STARRT) was awesome. The race director, James Dean, pours his heart and soul into the race and it clearly shows. I was happy to be able to contribute in a small way and look after the bike course for James. As a token of apprecation the race director gave each of his captains a commemorative 25th Anniversary medal as a souvenir.

The Apple Triathlon was a great opportunity to visit family, my Aunt and Uncle in West Kelowna, put some quality training in, and test my fitness. It is a great race and the race director and his team put on a first class race. It was the first time that I went into a race just looking to have fun. No pressure, just have a solid couple hours of training and enjoy the opportunity to race. I had a good race with splits of 24:17, 1:02:38, and 36:21 and an overall time of 2:05:58. Biggest take away from the race was solid bike power output on all four laps of the bike course. My effort on the day was good enough for 4^th OA, and 3^rd in 30-34. And as a positive note I claimed a spot to the 2015 ITU World Championships in Chicago. 

Exiting the swim in Kelowna!

Heading to the finish!

And then this morning I ran the Edm ½ Marathon. I had put in a very solid week of trg which was capped off with a hard HIM/IM brick on Friday. I knew I would be carrying a little fatigue into the half-marathon but had intended to use the race as a gauge for my fitness. The race seems to draw a strong field so I figured it was a good way to put a hard tempo run in before the 70.3 WC. I had a very solid opening 10km, and then had to mentally battle to hold it together on the back half as I battled the fatigue from a hard week of trg. I was happy with a 1:14:11 which was just off my PB of 1:13:42 from last year, and significantly better than my result at Ottawa Race Wknd in May. I was 12^th OA, 2^nd Amatuer, and 1^st in M30-39.

Glad to be through that but the next few weeks won’t be much different. Volunteering at the ITU World Championship in Edm next weekend (Fri, Sun, Mon) as a bike course Marshall. Yes, I’m selfish I didn’t volunteer Saturday as I need a big trg day - Ironman Race Sim. Then it’s off to Mont Tremblant for the Ironman 70.3 WC, then a trip to Borden, ON for a two week course, to Ottawa on the 21^st for the Army Run and then it’ll be back home for just shy of two weeks before heading to Kona! Thankfully my wife is gracious enough to put up with the ridiculous schedule. Yes, I admitted it – I might have gotten a tad obsessive this year.

Calgary 70.3 Race Report - 2014 Edition

Well seeing as I have been lazy the last couple months and missed blogging about the 4 Wg Community Run in May (I won the half-marathon), missed the 5150 in Saskatoon due to the move, and missed blogging about the Cdn Armed Forces Triathlon Championships in July (I finished 6th in the military and 8th overall) I figured it was time to get off my butt and do some writing.

So Calgary 70.3 was a no pressure race for me. It was an opportunity to just get out and enjoy racing. I had thrown it into the schedule to ensure I had two shots at qualifying for the 2014 70.3 World Championships in Mont Tremblant, QC. Seeing as I had already obtained my slot earlier in the year at St George 70.3, the Calgary race was essentially just an opportunity to test my fitness without any specific prep. Everything at this point of the year is focused on having a good race in Mt Tremblant and an even better race in Kona.

So the Calgary 70.3 has undergone a few significant changes since the last time I did it. Compliments of the floods in 2013, the swim venue moved into the city, with the most recent edition being held at Auburn Bay (South-East Calgary). As a result, the bike course is also significantly changed and now uses a good portion of the Chinook Course heading out of town on H22X and now returns to Glenmoore Reservoir on H8. For all intents of purposes it is a hard 40-50km out of town (compliments of a few good climbs and the wind) and then a blazing fast bike back into town. The run course however has remained unchanged.

I really had no expectations going into the race. I had reviewed the results from last year and was pretty confident that I should be below 4:20 and perhaps as fast as 4:10 if everything was perfect (it never is). I was counting on a ~32min swim, ~2:20-30 bike, and a ~1:20-25 run.

Pre-race with Mark Telang

Race morning was a breeze. I woke at 04:05 to the sound of James (my son) falling out of the hotel bed. Thankfully he was no worse for wear and fell back asleep. I had set the alarm for 04:15 so figured there was no point going back to sleep (unfortunately despite going to bed at 2100hrs I had tossed and turned till well after midnight). Despite the limited sleep I felt great. I had a coffee, two packets of oatmeal, and a banana. We headed down to Auburn Bay at around 0515hrs and arrived there shortly before 0545hrs. There was lots of parking available in the community which made walking to transition a breeze. I setup my bike and then started the mental prep. Said hi to a few other athletes I knew and then had time for a quick chat with Mark Telang. We had met Mark and Kristin Telang while we were down in Texas staying with Adam and Jen Coutee.

 

The Swim was rather uneventful except for the last minute instructions which had everyone in a bit of confusion. Due to the small size of Auburn Lake, the course was a bit odd and the last buoy you turned at to head back to shore was the first buoy you sighted off at the start. Anyways, the start was relatively clean and after a couple hard hundred meters the field quickly spread out. I just focused on swimming a straight line and a strong pull. I jumped on a set of feet here and there but for the most part I didn’t like the pace and just forged on myself. I was shocked to see 29:54 on my watch as I excited the swim. I figured at first the swim must have been short but after the race I checked my Garmin 910xt and it read as 1.92km (so close enough). I think I just needed a kick in the butt and the STARRT morning swim group has given me just that since moving back from Cold Lake.

Through transition and onto the bike without any issues. I was almost instantly surprised that I wasn’t freezing on the bike. It was chilly but definitely manageable in a wet trisuit. My quads were sore from the onset and it’s something I have been noticing the last couple races. I just feel flat on the bike after the swim and struggle to push wattage that I can normally hold with ease. Rather than fight it I just accepted the effort I could apply and rolled with it. The out portion of the bike was quite tough but the return portion was very rewarding. I was happy with 2:18:42 on the bike and excited to start the run. Power on the bike was 213W avg or 218W NP. (To put things in perspective my power at St George 70.3 was 211W avg and 222W NP)

Heading out on the Run!

I made a quick porta potty stop as I excited transition and then I was off and running. The opening km was way too fast and by the third km I had my pace in check. I find the Calgary course a bit of a mental challenge as it’s relatively flat but has a couple nasty climbs which really inflict the quads with pain. I watched my pace for the opening five kilometers and then went by feel for the remainder. The middle seven kilometers were a bit of an oblivion and I struggled to keep myself mentally engaged. Once I climbed the big hill for the last 5ish kms I was able to reengage and push the pace to the finish. I managed to catch 3^rd in the M30-34 but just missed catching the 2^nd place by 5 seconds. Run 1:22:26. One of these days I’ll hopefully break 1:20 on the run.

Overall I was happy with the race and very ecstatic with a new HIM PB of 4:16:00. I was 19^th OA (20^th OA including team), top ten amateur, and 3^rd in M30-30. I was perhaps the most satisfied to have broken 30min for the 1.9km swim.

Post-race treat with Ruth and James!

I gotta say this was a great race, well organized, well executed, and overall an amazing atmosphere. The volunteers and the RCMP/Calgary Police/ and other police services were outstanding in their contributions to ensuring a safe race.

And of course no trip to Calgary would be complete without a trip to the zoo!

The kidos hanging out at the zoo!

 

CAF Running Championships!

So another edition of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Running Championships is in the books and I was thankfully able to capture the Gold Medal in the Half-Marathon. My performance on the day was nothing stellar, however the observations you make from subpar performances are often those that truly shape you as an athlete. So to be perfectly honest you never know what to expect racing a week after an Ironman. Last year I did the same thing and managed to pull off a new PB of 1:13:42 at the half-marathon. This year I was only able to run a 1:17:13 which still placed me first in the CAF, 5th in M30-34 and 9th OA (out of 12,000 runners).

Heading to the finish!

The CAF Running Championships are always a great opportunity to meet new CAF runners, catch-up with old friends, and for me it's a great oppertunity to spend some time with the family. The national sports office always does a fantastic job setting up the event and the support from the crowds in Ottawa is always so positive towards the CAF runners. This year was no exception.

The Half-Marathon and Marathon crowd at CAF Champsionships!

I started the run right at the front and quickly settled into a ~3:30/km pace with about a group of ten other athletes. The pace felt comfortable from a fitness perspective, but muscularly my legs were a wreck. I felt the deep fatigue from having raced Ironman Texas eight days ago and I realized early that this run was going to be a mental battle. My right quad was extremely stiff and even the slightest hill made the quad feel as if it was going to seize up. A small gap started to open up and I knew I wouldn't be able to continue at that pace (despite knowing that is what I held last year). I let the lead group of ~six go. I had thoughts of just pulling the plug after a couple kms, but I knew the right choice was just continue at my best effort. Throughout the race I was able to draw strength from reminding myself of Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I was also thankful for the amazing support of the crowds and as I received that support I reminded myself that the CAF had lost one of our leaders LCol Daniel Bobbitt earlier in the week following a training accident: a tragic loss for our community.

Receiving the Gold Medal from BGen Pelletier, the CAF Patron of Running!

Onwards and upwards!

Kona Bound!!! Ironman Texas Race Report 2014!

The Coutee and Maley Support Crews hanging out for a picture! (minus the ladies)

So really Ironman Texas was all about my poor race in Kona last year. I had no clue what had happened on the run and was really after a little redemption. I had originally planned to stop racing Ironman after Kona last year as I felt I was at a point in my life where I needed to spend more time with the kids. Don’t get me wrong I was still planning on racing Half-Ironmans and dabble in some short course racing.

My wife was of course gracious enough to allow me another year of racing. As we had enjoyed ourselves immensely last year in Texas we decided that we’d give Ironman Texas another go. That coupled with the fact that we had friends, Adam and Jen Coutee, living in Spring, TX. It would be Adam’s first Ironman so being here with him was also an added bonus. 

We drove (approx 3400kms) from Cold Lake, AB to Spring, TX starting on Friday and arrived shortly after lunch on Monday. I had come down with a nasty cold or something on the Friday before we had left and was not feeling great for most of the day. Regardless of that fact, I figured I would take it easy early in the week and give the body a chance for a little recovery. As the week progressed I started to feel a bit better but I couldn’t shake the cold. 

Part way through the week I realized that the race was going to be wetsuit legal. I had looked at my Nineteen Rogue while I was packing and had said to myself that there was no point packing my wetsuit as IM Texas is always a non-wetsuit swim. Well, thankfully Devashish Paul was still at home in Ottawa and he graciously offered to bring me a suit. When Dev showed up on Thursday, he gave me Brandon Marsh’s old Rocket Science Sport Wetsuit which fit perfectly. I was so extremely grateful for Dev and the other slowtwitchers who reached out to help, despite my poor planning.

Race day came quickly and I was up and ready to go by 0400hrs. Seeing as Adam was also racing, we were able to drive to the start together which allowed our wives and kids to get a little extra sleep. I checked into T1 and then headed to North Shore Park. Once there, I realized that I had forgotton to put my cut-up bonk breakers and salt tablets in my Bento Box on the bike. I knew I could get by without the Bonk Breakers (they would be provided at the aid stations), but I figured the salt tablets were probably a necessity. So thanks to the race being wetsuit legal I was able to put the items in my back pocket and then zip up my wetsuit. 

The start was frantic and I was quickly in and out of contact. I just tried to find a little open water and get into a good rhythm.  I managed to get my goggles knocked off a couple times, but felt very strong throughout the swim. The waterway to T1 is always a neat experience as the banks are lined with people cheering you on. I was happy to exit the water and see 1:05 on my watch. A swim PB of 4min is always a great way to start off the race. Ok, well I figured it was coming as I haven’t done a wetsuit IM swim since IM CdA in 2012 and thanks to my old coach, Brian Grasky, my swim had improved immensely over that period of time. 

It was onto the bike and a portion of the race that I always enjoy, well, enjoy for at least the first couple hours. I was aiming for about ~200W on the bike, but wanted to take it smart given my meltdown in Kona last year. I took it a little easy for the first 30min to an hour on the bike and watched as my average power started in the low 190s and crept up to just over 200W. As the race progressed that number only dipped slightly and for the first time in an Ironman I felt like I still had a little left at the end of the bike portion. Bike time was 4:50 and my power was 196W Avg or 198W NP. The bike was a couple minutes slower than last year, but I was satisfied with the result.

Running through North Shore Park

Onto the run and into my favourite discipline of the sport. I quickly settled into what I thought was a comfortable pace of ~4:08/km. My stomach didn’t feel great so I just took water for the first couple aid stations. Once it settled a bit then I started to work in a little Gu Energy Gel (Salted Caramel) from my flask. Just before I finished the first lap, I passed Jordan Rapp (who was one lap ahead of me). I was hoping that I could run with him, but he was clearly having a rough day on the run and I skirted past him. I was happy to go through North Shore Park again where I saw Claudia and the kids. Shortly thereafter my pace started to drop. One km I was running 4:08/km and the next I was doing my best to run 4:18/km.  Late in the second lap, Matthew Russell who had now moved into second overall place passed me on the run. (He was also a lap ahead of me). I decided to try and pick-up my pace and then was successfully able to run with Matt for a couple kilometers. The last lap was rough but I knew I just needed to stay strong.

Heading to the finish!

I was thankful to finally be at the finish and seeing 9:20 on the clock(clock was set for the Pros who had started 15min ahead of the Age Groupers) as I crossed meant I had just set a new Ironman PB of 9:05.  My run split was a respectable 3:03, which would turn out to be the fastest age group run split of the day.

As I crossed the line and tried to walk a little I was completely spent and for the first time ever in an Ironman I found myself in a wheel chair headed for the medical tent. Everyone in the medical tent was great. They checked my vitals and provided a nice cool place to lie down. I felt ok, just very weak. After a few minutes, I convinced them that I was feeling ok and I was able to get released. 

F30-34 and M30-34 Podium

It was another overall great race experience and finishing 24OA, 4^th Amateur, and 2^nd in M30-34 was icing on the cake. With the result, I was able to obtain a coveted Kona slot for the 3^rd year in a row.

A big congratulations to my friend, Adam Coutee, who completed his first Ironman in a time of 11:25. And a huge congrats to first year Pro Matt Hanson on his 6^th OA placing and his insanely fast run split of 2:41.