Sheila Thirlwell

Back in Sept of 2008, I had dinner with Rob Thirlwell and his wife Sheila. We discussed me getting involved in Cops for Cancer team and the possibility of doing and Ironman race.  In 2009 we went to Penticton volunteered together at the race and registered for the 2010 race. We went on wine tours and generally had a great time.  Shortly after that Sheila was diagnosed with cancer and started chemotherapy treatments to fight the desease. On Dec 20 2010 Shelia Thrilwell died of cancer.  She was a great inspiration to me, I will miss her positive outlook and wonderful personality.

Back to the dreadmill

Grey cup is over and it is time to get back to a healthy lifestyle. Oh no!!! The weather has turned to sub zero temperatures and I do not feel like running outside. So I turn to the Dreadmill. The dreaded treadmill. It is so boring compared to running outside. I really like going for a run, but now faced with putting time in on this moving carpet I was not looking forward to spending my time running on the spot. I ran for a half hour and had some tunes going. It felt pretty good actually It remember that when I started running I used the treadmill all the time. It is fast and convenient and kind of fun.  OK I am back at it, Happy to be running again... even if it is on the "dreadmill".

We cleared a hole in the tables and chairs

First indoor spin of the year.  October and the weather has not been much above zero so we headed inside for a spin session. We were lucky enough to get to use some space in the cafeteria at a local high school for our ride. A dozen or so teammates cleared a hole in the tables and chairs and we set up in a circle. Dwight lead the team through a 1 hour and 20 minute series of drills and sets of cycling endurance type of exercises.  I really look forward to doing these spins as it is a great chance to see the team and I tend to train a little bit harder when I work in a group.

The fun begins all over again.

First day of snow for the year. This is definitely the off season. It is really hard to get motivated to run when it looks and feels cold out.  Last week I went for a bike ride and had to get booties to go over the bike shoes and this week it is snowing.



  I think it is important to keep up the training this time of year and the Dallas marathon date is ever looming.  I decided to go out for a 10K run  after work and I felt pretty good.  The team is going to start indoor spin training this weekend and the fun begins all over again.

A running partner that wants to go fast.

Beautiful fall day and I was able to get out for a run.  Actually, Pixel and I went out for a very fast run. Not too long of a run, a very quick pace out to Fort Edmonton and back. I had to work all weekend so I missed out on the team rides. Today's run was focused on speed rather than distance, and I just happen to have a running partner that wants to go fast and pee on every fire hydrant that we pass.

Finally, out for a run.

Finally, I am out for a run. I started out towards the power line trail. I have not had a quality run since the Ironman race.  Since I was feeling pretty good I thought I would go for a short 45 min. run.  It seems I was feeling great and pushed on to run a 10K.  It was a nice fall day and it is definitely time to get back at it. The motivation of having a marathon in 11 weeks is a good way to get me out the door.

A toque under my helmet.

Saturday morning and it is cool out. Today is a team ride and tailgate party at Ardrossan.  I put on three layers plus leggings, gloves and a toque under my helmet for the ride. We did an easy ride out to Antler lake and back. It was great fun to catch up with everybody about their Ironman race and it felt great to be spinning the legs again. This was the official end of the season wrap up and the official start to the next year. I hope we can get in a lot more rides before the weather turns too cold and the indoor spins begin.

Back in the pool.

Back in the pool today. It seems like it has been forever but really is hasn't even been three weeks. I went to ths southside YMCA and did some drills, some kicking and worked on my bilateral breathing.  I feel really good and I am definitely ready for more of everything.  Tomorrow I will hit the road again on the bike.

Should be fun.

Time to start it over again. I am feeling pretty good and ready to get started on working out again.  I  have been going to a hot yoga class and now I feel the need to do something more strenuous.  I signed up for a marathon in December in Dallas, Texas and I have registered to race in the Great White North Triathlon in July. Should be fun.

The Road to Penticton video project.

This is a video of the race week that was shot and edited by my wife Deborah Forst.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. She tells this story better than I ever could and I thank her for this and appreciate her support more than she could ever know.
For higher resolution you can go to http://vimeo.com/15108134 and watch it there.

An amazing day!

I had an amazing day!
After a great sleep I woke up 2 minutes before my alarm. I was refreshed and ready to go.  I had a bowl of cereal, some yogurt and a piece of toast with jam. Deb and I drove down to the starting line to drop off the needs bags and get the body marking done.  It was still dark as I headed into the transition area to get set up for the race. I spent a bit of time pumping up bike tires and waiting in line for the port-a-potty before putting on the wetsuit and heading out to the water.

The sun was just coming up over a very calm lake and the string of buoys seemed to go on forever.
As I waited for the start of this very long day I chatted with some of my teammates about the excitement and nerves of things to come.

It is a mass start race so 2800 people all start at the same time.  My plan was to wait a minute until the first wave of swimmers started out and then get going.

The first 400 meters and I was feeling fine. 600 meters and still going. 800 meters and I noticed that I was still surrounded by other swimmers.  Wait a minute, I think I am going to do this! I seem to be swimming as fast as the rest of these guys!  I past the first house boat at 48 minutes, the second at 1 hour.  I am now turned and heading back to shore. 1800 meters to go.  I bump into other swimmers and keep going. I put my head down and my bum up and keep swimming. At one point a kayaker tells me to steer more to the right.  I correct my direction and soon I could see the bottom again.

When I arrive at the beach I had to stand up on some slippery rocks but I made it! I had finished the swim. All the training and days and nighs of going to the pool had paid off. It was a tremendous feeling. 
Deb, Karen and Garnet were on the shore cheering and clapping as I ran out of the water and on to the first transition.

It took me 9 minutes to get changed and ready for the bike. first the wetsuit strippers then grab the gear bag with my helmet and shoes.  Some volunteers threw on a splash of sunscreen and I am off on the bike.

I rode past the crowds on the streets and I saw my name in chalk in the middle of the road.
It said "Yay Ricky B!"  How fun.

I felt good and kept a steady pace. My plan was to save some energy for later on.
The first real climb happens about 15 kms on the McLean Creek Road. This was the first test of my climbing legs and thing went well until I reached the crest of the hill where I miss a shift and derailed my chain.

I had to stop and get off to reset the chain on the gears and start up again. All the time gained on a strong climb was lost to a bad shift. With greasy fingers I continued.
The ride out through Oliver and Osoyous was great. Past the orchards and vineyards along the highway. I kept spinning away and conserved energy waiting for the climb at Richters Pass.

The weather was holding as I started my ascent.  I worked my way up the hill slowly passing riders and bikes. There were a lot of people out cheering on the racers and it was sort of a carnival atmosphere. The wind picked up a bit at the top of the pass but it still felt great to put that hill behind me.  Now the race begins!

Up and down the seven rollers and on to the out and back where a special needs bag was packed for me. 120 kms done and now refreshed with a peanut butter and banana sandwich, I head back up the road and on to Yellow Lake.

I hit a bit of rain on the next part of the ride. At the turn off to Apex Ski resort there was a gauntlet of spectators along the climb that were right up close and cheering on the riders. For a moment I thought I was in the Tour de France.  Flying down the hill and towards Penticton I was having a blast. I rode past spectators along the road that were cheering and clapping and it is a feeling I will never forget, An emotional moment for me was when I past a woman who was sitting at the edge of the road and she was sitting in a lawn chair all by herself clapping and cheering for ever rider that went by.  She look like she had some physical challenges so she would never be able to compete in this event and yet she would still spend her day sitting out in the rain, giving encouragement to those of us who were lucky enough to pass by. 

As I rode into town and onto main street, I was feeling strong, so I picked up my pace a bit.  I saw Deb and Garnet and Karen waiting along the street near the Husky. It was so fantastic to see them and knowing that they were out there cheering me on gave me an extra boost.

It was a very cool feeling to ride down Main Street pass the spectators along the fences and on to the second transition.

I handed my bike to a volunteer and ran to pick up my T2 bag. There was another volunteer there that was there to hand me my bag and I jog in my bike shoes into the change tent to get ready for the run.
9 minutes later I emerged ready to go. I am not sure what took me so long, but I do know I need to pick it up a bit.

As I ran along the Lakeshore Drive, a hugh wind storm blew in from the lake and was whipping sand across the road and at the spectators. The wind seemed to be over 40 kms and I was glad to be off the bike.
I wasn't sure if I would be able to run a full marathon at this point, but I knew I can run a half marathon so I just had to get to the halfway point at Okanagan Falls. It was 4 o'clock and I am on the run.  I saw Deb, Karen and Garnet near the edge of town so I ran up to them I asked " Has the Nun passed by here yet?".  She hadn't.

The sun came out and it was very pleasant along running along the lake. I first saw Brent Draker who is the fastest on the Cops for Cancer Ironteam. Since the run is an out and back, I would run past all the members of the team and that made for a pretty entertaining run.

I made it to Okanagan Falls where I saw Byron and he said "Looking strong, Your going to have a good time" as I went by.  That was very encouraging.
I got my special need bag and drank some Ensure and tried to eat a Banana dog but I did not feel like eating much.
Hung on to my shirt and vest just in case I got cool later. As I ran out of town I thought, I now just need to run a half marathon to bring it home.
I managed to be able to keep pushing up the hills and I would take a short walk as I took a drink at the aid stations.
The people along the run were fantastic. As I passed by spectators along the road I would hear things like "Go Cops for Cancer" or "I'm a cancer survivor thank you"  and the one that made me a bit emotional was "  Cops for Cancer... you guys are great".  Not because we are great but I think because of the charitable work we do as a team. I  am very proud to be a part of this team and proud of the work we have all done to raise money for the Cancer Society.
As I ran past the 25KM sign I thought only 15 kms to go anybody can run 15k.  then 10k to go heck that is just a training run. I thought of my runs past Fort Edmonton and up Keillor road. I thought I can keep it going.

I made the turn on to Lakeshore Drive and I saw Deb at the corner. 3K to go and I was still at full stride, (or at least it felt like it).  The sun had just set and it was now dark. I ran into the finish area to the crowds, lights  and crossed the line at 13:48:24 hours after the starting gun.

It was an amazing day!

The night before the race.

It is the night before the race.  I have my bike checked in and my gear bags together I am fed, watered and ready to go. I have been watching the weather all week and it looks like it will be perfect for racing.
We had a nice BBQ at our hotel with Garnet and Karen and watched the Eskimos play the Riders.
Now with less than 10 hours until the start I am going to settle in for a good nights sleep.  I need to get up at 4AM.
Deb has done so much work and preparation to make sure I have everything I need. I really can't thank her enough for all of her help... but I will try to.
 There is a sign on the door of our room that says,
"It is not about the time you get, it is about the time you have."

Breakfast is ready, all of my stuff is ready and I am ready.

We are on the road to Penticton!

Today we packed up the bikes, dogs and all the gear. We are on the road to Penticton! The time has flown by this summer and I am surprised how quickly race day is approaching. Getting ready this morning, checking the lists, packing the car, it all seems like it is not really happening yet I know it is.
This is it. All the training and preparation is leading me down this road. I feel good and ready to go. I am sure I could have trained harder and tried to be even more prepared. How can I know if I have done enough? Race day will answer that question.  I feel calm and relaxed today and Deb drove most of the 800 kilometer drive to Kamloops.  We will head into Penticton in the morning and settle into our hotel for the rest of the week. If the race was tomorrow I feel ready to go. I just need to keep my nerves in check for the rest of the week, remember to relax and enjoy the journey.

Ironman 2010 Master List


Day Before
Bike check in
Bike
Bento box
Spare tube
2 Air cans

Race morning breakfast
Kashi go lean & skim milk
Peach yogurt
Coffee with sweetener and skim.
Toast with PB and jelly
OJ

Race morning to the starting line:
Bike pump
3 bottles Gatorade for bike
1 water bottle
Sweats
Hoodie
Sandles

Swim Start
Tri top
Bathing suit
Goggles
Swim cap
Wet suit
Timex HR strap
Timex watch

T1 - Swim to Bike
Small towel
Bike shorts
Bike shirt
Sunglasses
Helmet
Bike shoes
1 Banana Dog
4 bars
4 gels



Bike Special Needs bag
Spare tube
2 Air cans
Kleenex
2 bottles Gatorade
Ensure
Power bars
Cliff bars
4 gels
Baby carrot
Band aids
Nibs
Salt tablets
Advil

T2 Bike to Run
Socks
Running shoes
Hat
Tri shorts
Garmin watch (GPS OFF)
Garmin HR Strap
Nathan Belt stocked with
Salt
Kleenex
Gatorade
3 Gels
1 Powerbar

Run Special Needs bag
Long sleeve shirt
Banana dog
Gatorade
2 Powerbars
4 gels
Advil
Moleskin or tape
Nibs
Slice of Pizza

Finish line
Chocolate milk
Big Turk
Hoodie and Sweats

The last ride

 Deb is running a half marathon tomorrow so we went and picked up her race package. I seems like it would be a fun race to do but it is too close to IMC. for me to do it.  We were concerned that the smoke was going to hamper the race but it seems to be dissipating.  I went out for a nice bike ride. As I rode west from Devon for a few hours, I was feeling pretty good and the smoke didn't bother me at all.  This is the last weekend before the big race and most likely the last ride at home before we head to Penticton.
I hope I have done enough.

Avoid strenuous outdoor exercise.

Tapering this week has been tricky. I feel like I really want to go.  I was out of town for a few days and so I did not do too much except work crazy long days. Wednesday I went to the pool and get in a really good swim.  Smoke from forest fires in Northern BC have caused the air quality in Edmonton to be very poor. The City Health department was recommending people stay indoors and avoid strenuous outdoor exercise. 
I decided to scrap the idea of a long run and go to the YMCA and hit the pool, followed by a 40 min. run on (gasp!) the treadmill.

One more long run.

Today I got up early. I finally have a day to do do nothing but train.
7:15 at the pool for a full up 3.8 K swim.

10Am back home and out on the bike for a 100k ride. I went west all the way to St Francis.

The fields are changing colour and it is starting to look more like the end of summer.

Back home for a very tough 10k run. A great workout and I needed that.
If I can get in one more long run this week, then I think I will be ready to taper.

A great run!

One of the runs I did was to run from my house in Riverbend through the river valley up to the LRT bridge and back! A fun 23km run. I even ran back across the Quensel bridge even while it is still under construction.

Just a delay

Some days it is tough to get going.  I have a lot of excuses but none of them will matter. I have been slammed with work the past few weeks so I have had to juggle me workout schedule quite a bit.  I have not been able to get out with the team so I have had to do the workouts on my own.

I missed the long ride with the team on Saturday so I wanted to get in a long ride on Sunday after I finished work. There are only a few weeks of hard training to do before I start to taper for the big race.
When I went to head out for a ride and as I was putting more air in my tires, I pulled the stem off the tube. Not a big problem just a delay.  I managed to get in a great 90K ride to the west of the towards Telfordville.

Swim Swim Swim!  On Thursday I did an open water swim with the team at Lake Summerside. It was great fun. I swam with the team back and forth, 4 times and I felt quite comfortable in the water.
  I had to work Saturday and so Sunday I went for my long swim and I did it! I swam 3.8K! Sure it was in a pool. but this was the first time I have ever swam the Ironman distance ever.  I counted out the lengths and as I swam at the YMCA pool I ended up swimming 152 lengths of the pool in 2:05 which would put me in a finishing the swim portion of the race on time.

The most important workouts

I really needed to get in some miles.  I have been working a lot of weekends and not able to get out for the team rides.  I was working the Indy race and then up to Ft. MacMurray for a few days so I was missing the most important workouts leading up to the Ironman race. Right now I should be getting in the long distance sessions to be ready for the race.

The climb up Keilor road is always tough.

The long run for this week is planned to be a 2 and a half hour run. Since I was traveling yesterday I chose to do the run today.

I put together three gatoraide and one water bottle and set out for the run.  Today the Iphone came along for the ride to shoot a few video segments to help demonstrate the run. Some times it does not flip around properly so I apologize for the orientation on some of the clips. I think they are still worthwhile.

It had been raining all morning, but right now, the weather is great.



As I continue along on a trail beside the North Saskatchewan. It is time for a drink.

The climb up Keilor road is always tough.

It was going pretty good as I crossed through the University farm property.

I ran South towards 23rd Ave. and then back along a path just north of 23rd Ave. still feeling pretty good.

The run finished after the scheduled 2 and a half hour and I burned about 3700 calories.

I hope you have enjoyed going for a run with me. Now it is time to make some dinner.

Not even a stop sign...or a curve.

I set out to do a 4 hour ride.  Now that it is getting closer to the "A" race the long distance training is becoming more important than the technique training.  My goal for this weekend's ride is to do a 4-5 hour endurance ride. I am still in Swift Current and I know a lot of my teammates are up and at it early in Edmonton for a long ride. I felt the importance of getting this workout in, so I had no intrepidation getting on the road.

I woke early and quickly picked my gels and power bars for the ride after a quick breakfast of Kashi cereal with skim milk (not sure that I need to worry about low fat milk but that is what I usually have).

South out of town on highway #4 towards Cadillac.  I was flying along pretty good and it seemed like a pretty nice day.

Coming on to two hours and 50K I decided to that was far enough and turned to head back.
I thought it was a cross wind but when I turned around it seems that it was a norwester.   About 25km norwester that was a bit of extra work for me coming home.

My GPS watch battery died after the first hour and 20 minutes but I had the bike speedometer and it registered 101 K and  4:15 for the trip.

The fun part was that it was easy to get in a good, long ride without any interruptions.
Not a one, not even a stop sign...or a curve.  You gotta love Saskatchewan.

It was a crosswind from the West.

Today I am in Swift Current, SK and I brought out my bike to get in some training while I am here.  I rode out of town to the North, up the hill past the TV Station and to the tree. The idea of the ride was for a hill training session and did I ever get a surprise.  There were 56 kph wind gusts that tried to blow me off the road. It was a crosswind from the West that helped me as I was climbing the hill. I road up to the tree and stopped to enjoy the view.
I parked my bike under the tree so you can see the scale of it.

I road the hill a couple of times but it was so windy I couldn't stay down in my aero bars. I was going slower downhill than I did on the climb up! Deb and Darlene were out for a drive and grabbed these shots of me in action.

Later in the day, I went for a swim at the outdoor pool. I was cold, wet and raining.  The good thing was that once in the pool, I was pretty comfortable. The rest of the week I will be doing my swim workouts at this pool. It was kind of different and kind of fun.

People would look at me funny because of the snorkel

Today's schedule has a swim, run and bike on the plan. I got out to the YMCA and put in an hour at the pool. I mainly worked on my technique using the swim snorkel and a pull bouy.  People would look at me funny because of the snorkel, but it was a good workout and I swam a pretty good distance.

I felt tired from the swim and I was not really excited about an hour and half endurance run. I headed out and ran towards the river valley, past Ft. Edmonton park and up Keilor road.  It was a tough run. Even though is was tough I actually enjoyed it. I pushed extra hard and took on some big hills that were not part of the program.  The other part of the day was suposed to be a half hour bike ride but it was not in the cards for today. The run wore me down and I will have to get in the bike another day.

My own private hiway.

Eight weeks to go to IMC and I need to get in every scheduled workout.  I was working out of town for a few days so when I arrived home later today I needed to fit in a three hour bike ride. I didn't really feel like going out and I wasn't sure where I should go.

About 5 PM I headed South and West towards Devon. I took some country side roads and then headed straight West past Devon on to a very quiet and well paved road that is really just a township road and not even a hiway.

It turned out to be a great ride and I rode past a lot of canola fields in bloom.  After an hour and a half I turned around and headed home. I was riding where they held the Canadian cycling championships time trials last week. The chalk markings were still visible on the road. It is always fun to go out exploring on the bike. The great thing was a new road and after burning up 4000 calories, I am ready for some dinner.

You are going to need shoes if you are going to run a half marathon

Wow! What a day! My first half iron distance race!
The day started with Deb and I meeting up with Rob Thirlwell at Stony Plain and heading out to the the start of the swim course at Hubbles Lake.  As we arrived at the lake, there were a lot of people arriving and Deb asked, "What would people have in those plastic bags?"  I said those are for the second transition and they would have their run....  I forgot my running shoes. OMG!

We parked and checked with the organizers and it was OK if Deb went home and picked up my running stuff and brought it to the second transition zone for me. She saved the day!
OK I need a check list.
It was all set to go and I left my running bag sitting at home. (it is the white plastic bag that I showed in my previous entry).
I need to do a check list and use it.





The swim started,  I kept to the outside of the course and that allowed me to make sure I had swimmers on my right hand side. I was able to stay pretty straight and felt good in the water. Not that fast, but I was feeling comfortable.  After 49 minutes and 18 seconds I ran across the beach and into transition 1.




They had a volunteer there to help me off with my wetsuit. I sat down and he pull it off the suit with one mighty swoosh. I was up and running to find my bike in a maze of 650 bikes. The harsh reality is that 562 of the bikes had already left and were on the way to the finish line. I slipped on my bike shoes, helmet and ran to the red line where I could hop on the bike.

I passed Deb as I climbed the hill from the lake, she was headed home to get my runners. I figured she had about three hours to get home and back, otherwise I would be showing up at the next transition and my race would be in jeopardy.

As I made the turn onto HWY 16 I was surprised that as I started to ride I was passing a whole bunch of people. Hmm.  OK, I was being very careful not to draft as there was a motor bike marshal watching for drafting and as I was passing I would be sure to pass in the allowed 15 second window. There was a pretty strong head wind as I headed West towards the turn around point 45 kms away.

 I saw Deb at the side of the road as I turned the last corner, I was heading for T2. Feeling pretty good, but not pushing too hard, I finished the bike in 3:03:48.   When I arrived, I had my run bag waiting for me. Whew!

My run went pretty good as I was able to keep a steady pace going.  Along the run course there were a lot of team mates that kept shouting out encouraging comments. We would call out to each other as we passed and would cheer on each others efforts.

As I headed toward the finish line I saw Deb waiting for me and when I crossed at 5:54:10 a lot of my team mates were there,  cheers and high fives followed. It was a great feeling.

My final stats:
390th place out of 646
44 of 82 in my M50-59 group.
562 in the swim
397 in the bike
301 in the run

Swim, bike, run,  love it!


Now to do double that... I think I'll make a check list.

The day before the Great White North

Tomorrow is a big race I feel good and ready I picked up my race package and I am ready to go.

Watch the video to see about the race package.  Later today I went to the first transition area and dropped off my bike.  8AM tomorrow I start on my first half Ironman distance race.

I inhaled a big piece of fluff

It has been two weeks since my last blog.  What can I say? It has been a great few weeks of training.  Lots of swimming and biking and running, unbelievable really.   I am preparing for a half iron distance triathlon in Stony Plain called the "Great White North Triathlon".  I registered last year and I rolled over my entry to this year because I was not ready to do the swim.
I now feel I am ready.
Yesterday there was a kids triathlon that I volunteered at where the kids would swim 50 meters then get on their bikes (some with training wheels) and run 100 meters.
It was outstanding!
After the kids race, a big group of the team went for a run through the river valley.  I ran with the team from the Kinsmen field house to Ft. Edmonton and back.  23kms with lots of up an downs. This time of year the poplar trees are seeding and they release a white fluff that can be very thick at time and collect along the sides of the trails. I was running along the trail when I inhaled, what seemed like, a giant bit of fluff.

Straight into the the wind pipe... yep sucked it straight in.  I was running back to the Kinsmen center about 14k into my run and as I am running along Keillor road and a big pice of fluff is lodged in my wind pipe.

The fluff was so thick at times it collected at the side of the trail and looked like snow.  Anyway, I learned a lesson about running this time of year. Keep your mouth shut! I hacked and wheezed for a while but eventually got it cleared so I had a great run back to my car.

As I head into a build week of training and I am feeling healthy and strong.

I am looking forward to it all.

Lake Summerside Triathlon

This is my first Olympic distance triathlon. It is in Edmonton at Lake Summerside and it involves a 1500 meter swim in the lake, 44Km run, 10km run. 

This was my first race in open water. The water was pretty cold. Earlier in the week the organizers had considered shortening the swim if the water temperature had not come up a few degrees.

Getting in was cold on the feet and I got a tip to wear two swim caps to keep my head warmer.  

 

The Race started and it was kind of fun. My wetsuit was great and kept me pretty warm. I put my head down and started to swim to the first buoy. Lots of people were trying to find their position so I just kept swimming and swimming and swimming. Before I knew it I was making the first turn. Everything seemed to be going OK. I thought I should do some sighting to make sure I was going the right direction. I swam the first of two laps and I did the crawl all the way. When I ran up on shore to start my second lap I saw Deb and Garnet and Karen standing on the beach cheering me on. I jumped back in and swam the next lap without too much trouble. It was longest swim I had ever done and as I found out later (by looking at my GPS watch that I zig zagged all over the course and ended up swimming an extra 500 meters. My swim time was 32:25.

 

The transition was pretty smooth and I rode out on the bike course without much trouble. It was a two loop out and back,  I had a gel snack at the turn around point and did the ride in 1:20:52

The run was 2.5k x four lap course. It was pretty flat and I ran a 55:07.

My total time was 2:48:22 and I finished 6 out of 11 in my age group and 52nd out of 93 overall.
This was not a big race in size, but it was a big race for me as I was able to complete the swim and this will give a lot of confidence and something to build on for my next race. 

Mike Cooper from my team finished first in his age group in the sprint race and Chris from next door placed first overall in the Duathlon. Thanks to Deb for these great pictures.

A lot of hill climbing

Last night I went hill climbing at Cloverdale road.  There was 6 of us from the team, going up and down, back and forth for over an hour. I felt a lot better than when I did this last year. I was able to stay seated and grind it up all the way. The IM Canada race is going to require a lot of hill climbing so I need to do this exercise as much as possible. I am also considering a new rear cassette that will give me a bit of better chance on the hills I currently have a 11-27 cassette and I can get a 12 - 28. Which means I will not be able to go as fast on the down hill, but it will be slightly easier to keep my rpms up on the climbs.

Ideally I would be spinning at 90 rpms. When the hills get too steep the rpms slow to 70 and that will burn out your legs.

Another race!

I found another race. I am now entered in the Summerside Olympic distance Triathlon that happens this Sunday June 6th. It take place at the Summerside lake in South Edmonton. It has a 1500m open water swim and a 40 km bike followed up with a 10km run. Should be fun if the weather warms the lake up a bit.

Shorter socks for a training run.

I thought that I would wear some shorter socks for a training run. While I was running a nice 15K run along a trail that takes me across the river over to Cameron Heights and back I started to feel a bit of an issue with my right foot. I was wearing some "Ironman" brand socks that I picked up at the running room and I thought these socks would be great because of the special design. I don't have anything else with this brand on it other than the pedals on my bike.  They are much shorter than most socks so they seemed to cause some friction between my shoe and my ankle. It was a good chance to see that this type of sock is not a good style for me to be wearing.

It is only 2c outside.

When I wake up Sunday morning it is still snowing. I get my gear together and head out to the race course to see what is going on . After I set up my bike and sorted out my gear in the transition area. I go and check in and get number 178 painted on my arm and leg.
A race official tells me that there is a delay and some concern about the swim to bike transition since it is only 2c outside.
It turns out that they canceled the bike portion of the event due to dangerous conditions so I decided it was more important to go to work and make some money instead of doing this race. I will race another day.

I hope I can sleep.

Tomorrow morning is the 26th Coronation triathlon. I registered for it months ago and I am quite looking forward to racing in it. Here is my dilemma.  It is 1AM and snowing. I am not sure if the triathlon is happening. I am registered to start at 8:40.  The forecast for race time is for 2c and rain.

I could work tomorrow and I would hate to give up a payday for nothing if the race is canceled.  I decided I will prepared to race and I am going to go out if the race is on. I am not sure what the organizers do if there is bad weather. I figure if Deb can go camping with girl guides in this weather then I can race in it too.

I have packed a kit bag full of layers and extra gear and I will have to figure out what to wear when the time comes. OK It is now 1:30 and I need to be up at 6AM .  I hope I can sleep.

May training camp

On the May long weekend the Ironteam leaders organize a training camp in Penticton to give us a chance to try out some of the Ironman course before the big event. It is promoted as a fun atmosphere with some riding thrown in. The cost is supposed to be 10 dollars (for beer). 

More than 20 of us made the trip and we all stayed at a nice place on the end of town called the Rivershore Motel.  It was nice and clean and had a courtyard where we could hang out and discuss the days activities.











Friday afternoon we went on a 40k ride thru the Naramata bench area.  It was fast and fun with a few good climbs and a nice warm up.

The big ride was on Saturday the goal was the Ironman course from Okanogan Falls to Osoyoos and then up the Richter pass over the seven rollers and up to the highest point of the Ironman bike course the Yellow Lake Summit. Deb drove the SAG wagon so everyone could put extra water and supplies in the car and she took these great shots.
It was about 120 kms with a strong wind that made for a difficult day.  It felt very good to get this ride under my belt.

On Sunday morning it was raining so we hung out at a local coffee shop until noon. When the rain stopped we did an easier ride, the first part of the Ironman course from Penticton to OK Falls and back. Not too many climbs and up McLean Creek road, past some vineyards and ranches, very nice.

After the ride, some of us went to Oliver for an open water swim.  Up to this point I had never done an open water swim in a wet suit before. It was a cooler day and there seemed to be some concern about the water temperature and how cold it was going to be. We changed into our wetsuits right on the beach and jumped in. It was a bit cool but the suit did its job and kept me warm and with it I was able to swim about just fine. What a great feeling!

The Monday most people left early to head home.  Deb had a great idea for me. She suggested that run the last half of the marathon course. So in the morning she dropped me off at the halfway point of the Ironman run at Okanogan Falls and I ran back to Penticton, through town and to the finish line.

I ran great and loved the experience.