Calgary 70.3 2012 is officially in the books. My best ½ ironman to date. I would have broken 5 hours if the bike course wasn’t 4 km long. My time was 5:03. I only decided to do this race after I didn’t get an Ironman Canada slot in the Desert Half. But get this, during the warm up iconic tri announcer Steve King announced that this year’s IMC might be a wetsuit ILLegal swim. Apparently the temps have been so warm that the water temp is also high. Man...I don’t do non-wetsuit swims (w/out wetsuit floatation not only would I be slow, I’d be scared of drowning!). Good thing I didn’t get that slot!
I’d done the Calgary 70.3 the innaugural year (2009) and the next year, 2010. So my challenge was to see if I could get better. My swim was 1 minute slower. You never know with the courses though, they tend to vary so much. The Ghost Lake is so cold! Fortunately I have a neoprene beany to go with my wetsuit. It makes the 16C water so much bearable. A swimmer actually drowned just 1 week to the day before the race. He’d jumped off the bridge we swim under, but probably due to the cold water was unable to make it to shore. A sad thing for sure.
After the swim I jumped on the bike hoping for a little improvement from the previous year. I was 6 minutes faster. My tubeless clinchers really performed well on the rougher roads. I wouldn’t doubt if the better rolling resistance accounted for some of that improvement. Even though 90km is pretty long, the km’s just seemed to fly by. I love the bike!
Onto the run. After burning a good couple of minutes draining my bladder in the porta potty in t2 it was off to the races. The day turned out kinda hot, but nothing like the 38C I’d encountered earlier this year in Osyoos. My pace seemed good, but my body wanted to go faster, but every time I dialed it up I felt a little "bonky". My energy stores seemed right on the edge, so I tried to be conservative. With about 5 km to go though it was time to rip. There was a lot still in the tank so it was fun to finish fast.
The last 8km or so I ran with a 55 year old guy that set a record this day for his age group. I ended up dropping him. As I passed and began a long surge I reminded him that I wasn’t in his age group. He sounded relieved that he didn’t have to fight me off. He made an interesting comment earlier in our running together though. He said that he was going faster in triathlon than when he was 31. The improvement curve was still on the upward trend. That’s kinda cool. So is mine!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
THE LONG DAY
Last Saturday I did one of my favorite rides... Canmore to Calgary via the Highwood Pass. It’s a long one. I didn’t have my cycle computer, but as I rode I tallied up the road signs and figured it was about 275km’s. The Highwood pass route takes you up pretty high into the alpine. There was still snow up there and evidence of a very recent, very large avalanche. When you turn off the highway into K country it seems like about a 3 hour climb up to the top of the pass.
Ironically, the toughest part of the day seemed to be the 1 hour downhill descent from the pass. It took about 4 hours to get up there and my usual stop is at Highwood crossing, another hour from the top. It’s funny that when you anticipate a break or even the end of a journey it seems to take forever. Such was the case from hour 4 to 5 in this long 10 hour ride. Though it was all downhill I kept looking for the junction where I’d take a short break and have some lunch. When it finally came and I took a short 15 min stop I realized I was just over ½ way done. That thought seemed a little intimidating.
This ride takes you through many eco-zones. From mountain valley (where I live), up to the high alpine, then down into dry foothills and grasslands. It’s an amazing journey. When you’re on the final leg, you look way off into the distance to the west and see the mountains that you had ridden to the top of and they look so far off! It’s quite a thought that you dwell on the fact that earlier in the day that’s where you were. Sometimes I find it astonishing that a body and a bike can traverse over so much distance in a day.
From the Highwood junction there’s a gradual downhill for 44 km’s and though I had a small head wind, this section went fast. When I reached Longview and the prairie I still had a ways to go, but calculated that I’d ridden the equivalent of an Ironman bike leg 180km’s.
As I made my way along the long roller ups and downs I was caught from behind by a somewhat studly looking rider who was visiting from Danmark. He said I was flying and he had to work hard to catch me. I told him I found that hard to believe since I felt like I was in survival mode. On the long downhills though, in my aero tuck and with my tubeless tires I would really pull away from him, so perhaps I was going better than I thought.
As I made my way gradually into the city it was a great feeling to feel actually pretty fresh knowing how many k’s I’d put in. The most frustrating part of the day was when I finally reached the city limits. Finding my way through town trying to avoid the major arteries was tough. I criss-crossed going much farther than needed just trying to safely get to my destination.
Man what a feeling when it’s all done. This is one of the epic rides I wanted to do this year. The other is Revy to Canmore in a single day, a 300km ride. With my not doing an Ironman now, we’ll see if the long rides are still in the plan, but they sure are a fun way to train!
Ironically, the toughest part of the day seemed to be the 1 hour downhill descent from the pass. It took about 4 hours to get up there and my usual stop is at Highwood crossing, another hour from the top. It’s funny that when you anticipate a break or even the end of a journey it seems to take forever. Such was the case from hour 4 to 5 in this long 10 hour ride. Though it was all downhill I kept looking for the junction where I’d take a short break and have some lunch. When it finally came and I took a short 15 min stop I realized I was just over ½ way done. That thought seemed a little intimidating.
This ride takes you through many eco-zones. From mountain valley (where I live), up to the high alpine, then down into dry foothills and grasslands. It’s an amazing journey. When you’re on the final leg, you look way off into the distance to the west and see the mountains that you had ridden to the top of and they look so far off! It’s quite a thought that you dwell on the fact that earlier in the day that’s where you were. Sometimes I find it astonishing that a body and a bike can traverse over so much distance in a day.
From the Highwood junction there’s a gradual downhill for 44 km’s and though I had a small head wind, this section went fast. When I reached Longview and the prairie I still had a ways to go, but calculated that I’d ridden the equivalent of an Ironman bike leg 180km’s.
As I made my way along the long roller ups and downs I was caught from behind by a somewhat studly looking rider who was visiting from Danmark. He said I was flying and he had to work hard to catch me. I told him I found that hard to believe since I felt like I was in survival mode. On the long downhills though, in my aero tuck and with my tubeless tires I would really pull away from him, so perhaps I was going better than I thought.
As I made my way gradually into the city it was a great feeling to feel actually pretty fresh knowing how many k’s I’d put in. The most frustrating part of the day was when I finally reached the city limits. Finding my way through town trying to avoid the major arteries was tough. I criss-crossed going much farther than needed just trying to safely get to my destination.
Man what a feeling when it’s all done. This is one of the epic rides I wanted to do this year. The other is Revy to Canmore in a single day, a 300km ride. With my not doing an Ironman now, we’ll see if the long rides are still in the plan, but they sure are a fun way to train!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Rough 70.3 Day in the Desert
The Osoyoos Desert ½ tri was supposed to be my qualifier for doing another ironman this summer; however it wasn’t meant to be. The race was fine (explained below), but the advertised Ironman Canada slots didn’t materialize. Last year they had 30 slots, this year 12. Of the 9 guys vying for these 12 I was one of the 3 left out. Yet, as I walked out of the meeting to decide who got them I was totally at peace. I’d earlier decided to do an Ironman to "up" my fitness level so as to be maximally fit for skimo worlds next Feb. This strategy has really worked for me in the past, most recently last year. However; I was considering doing more skimo specific training instead, but in the end decided to go with what historically has worked. But as you can see a higher plan overrulled.
My alternative plan immediately kicked in. That is, to do Calgary 70.3 ½, trying for a p.b. Last time I did this I actually came in 3rd in my age group qualifying for 70.3 worlds. I really feel my bike swim and run are the best they’ve ever been so I’ve got to go for some kind of tri challenge. This race is 1 week before August long weekend (first in Aug.), so I’ll have a full August summer month plus Sept. & Oct (some on snow in Oct.) For skimo dryland.
Now to the race.....
Swim: course was short. I didn’t mind as my time of 38min was pleasing to me (slow for most probably).
Bike: I really wanted to at least equal last year’s bike time. I did to the minute. This course is super challenging, I love it! We start by going up 14km steep Richter Pass, descend the pass, then hit the 7 roller hills into Keremeos. Turn around then do it all backwards. By far the toughest part of the IMC bike course and this Iron bike course is probably the toughest one out there.
I hadn’t gotten the bike km’s in I’d like as we’ve had a really, really wet and cold spring (up here June is spring). So in equalling last year’s time I was stoked.
Run: my run training has been more focussed and intense than ever before so I was hoping to bust last year’s time of 1:45. Coming off the bike though I felt rough. A result of pushing for a good bike time. At first I was moving along fine (once my body made the transition from bike to run-typically the first km), yet the 38C temps began to really take a toll on me. Having hardly trained once over 20C this was going to be a challenge. Indeed, approaching the halfway point I was in real distress. No energy, no sweat, slowing to a crawl. I knew I wouldn’t be able to finish....it would be dangerous for my health, except for one try...
At the 9km mark I entered a feed station, they called out the typical, "water, gatorade?" I calmly said I’d be back in a few minutes. I then proceeded to jump into the lake and sit there for about 5 minutes. I’d thought about doing this during races, but would never sacrifice so much time. Today it was do it, hope it works, or not finish.. Guess what? It worked! My core body temp really began to cool down. That and some ice down the jersey at every aid station from then one got me going again. I don’t know if what I did is legal, but otherwise I wouldn’t have finished. I actually got faster and faster. By the time the run was over my time was only 9 minutes slower than the previous year.
I finished in 5:30. Only 5th in my class. I felt I had a good effort and decent time especially considering the heat, but there must have been a pretty good field. I finished 42 over all. Last year I was 41 overall, but there were 100 less athletes. This race really attracts some quality as many of the pros live and train in the area.
So in a couple weeks my short tri season will be over. I only start training in late May after skiing is done. And with the wet (and even snowy!) June, it all goes by pretty fast. But I am looking forward to doing some long mountain hikes and trail runs. Much more vert this summer to get ready for France (skimo worlds). More roller skiing too.
My alternative plan immediately kicked in. That is, to do Calgary 70.3 ½, trying for a p.b. Last time I did this I actually came in 3rd in my age group qualifying for 70.3 worlds. I really feel my bike swim and run are the best they’ve ever been so I’ve got to go for some kind of tri challenge. This race is 1 week before August long weekend (first in Aug.), so I’ll have a full August summer month plus Sept. & Oct (some on snow in Oct.) For skimo dryland.
Now to the race.....
Swim: course was short. I didn’t mind as my time of 38min was pleasing to me (slow for most probably).
Bike: I really wanted to at least equal last year’s bike time. I did to the minute. This course is super challenging, I love it! We start by going up 14km steep Richter Pass, descend the pass, then hit the 7 roller hills into Keremeos. Turn around then do it all backwards. By far the toughest part of the IMC bike course and this Iron bike course is probably the toughest one out there.
I hadn’t gotten the bike km’s in I’d like as we’ve had a really, really wet and cold spring (up here June is spring). So in equalling last year’s time I was stoked.
Run: my run training has been more focussed and intense than ever before so I was hoping to bust last year’s time of 1:45. Coming off the bike though I felt rough. A result of pushing for a good bike time. At first I was moving along fine (once my body made the transition from bike to run-typically the first km), yet the 38C temps began to really take a toll on me. Having hardly trained once over 20C this was going to be a challenge. Indeed, approaching the halfway point I was in real distress. No energy, no sweat, slowing to a crawl. I knew I wouldn’t be able to finish....it would be dangerous for my health, except for one try...
At the 9km mark I entered a feed station, they called out the typical, "water, gatorade?" I calmly said I’d be back in a few minutes. I then proceeded to jump into the lake and sit there for about 5 minutes. I’d thought about doing this during races, but would never sacrifice so much time. Today it was do it, hope it works, or not finish.. Guess what? It worked! My core body temp really began to cool down. That and some ice down the jersey at every aid station from then one got me going again. I don’t know if what I did is legal, but otherwise I wouldn’t have finished. I actually got faster and faster. By the time the run was over my time was only 9 minutes slower than the previous year.
I finished in 5:30. Only 5th in my class. I felt I had a good effort and decent time especially considering the heat, but there must have been a pretty good field. I finished 42 over all. Last year I was 41 overall, but there were 100 less athletes. This race really attracts some quality as many of the pros live and train in the area.
So in a couple weeks my short tri season will be over. I only start training in late May after skiing is done. And with the wet (and even snowy!) June, it all goes by pretty fast. But I am looking forward to doing some long mountain hikes and trail runs. Much more vert this summer to get ready for France (skimo worlds). More roller skiing too.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Steve0 goes Road BikeTubeless
Yup..... I no longer have tubes in my tri bike. Going without tubes is nothing new to the mountain bike world, but I don’t personally know a single person that has made the transition on their road bike. So far the experience has been radical. One of those game changers that ups your game significantly (at least it appears this is what’s happening).
My first test ride was up a long hill to the Canmore Nordic Centre. The wheels seemed to move so smooth and effortlessly I had to check and make sure there wasn’t a big tail wind pushing me along. There was a little one, so on the way down and on the protected flats I closely brought my awareness up to see if the same feeling was there.....it certainly was. Stan’s NoTubes claims a 12% decrease in rolling resistance. Based on my preliminary ride I can believe this.
It’s been 30 years since I’ve ridden on tubular tyres and have a vague reminiscence of how they feel. Though I remember that smooth feeling, I don’t recall how much faster they seem compared to clincher tyres.
It was a little challenging to install them, but Stan’s Notubes website has some really great video to help you along. I really don’t know how I did anything before the internet (From changing the brakes on my car to horticultural procedures there’s tutorials for everything). Stan’s makes it clear you have to follow the steps closely and not leave out any detail. In doing this I had few problems. Probably my biggest challenge was getting the bead on the tyre to seat properly onto the rim. This is an issue even with tubes, but some of the tricks I’ve picked over the years to accomplish this are compounded with the Stans juice that leaks out if you deflate the tyre and try again.
It’s been 4 days now since I’ve installed the system and the tyres are just as hard as the day I put them on. There a couple other advantages in going this route. First, the most common flat I get on my road bike are pinch flats. But with no tube to pinch my flat rate should dramatically improve. Also, those little wires that break off steel belted car radial tyres that litter the road when they ex/implodes are my 2nd most common flat. Yet, Stans claims that when you pull them out you’ll hear a little psssst of air, then the juice quickly seals it up.
Currently there are only 3 tyres on the market that will work for the tubeless system, because you need a tight, non-stretching bead for the hi-pressure road wheels. You can buy a kit from Stan’s that includes everything (juice, tape, valves, tyres). That’s the route I went and so far it seems pretty great.
I’ll have to blog an update in the near future though after more rides and km’s.
My first test ride was up a long hill to the Canmore Nordic Centre. The wheels seemed to move so smooth and effortlessly I had to check and make sure there wasn’t a big tail wind pushing me along. There was a little one, so on the way down and on the protected flats I closely brought my awareness up to see if the same feeling was there.....it certainly was. Stan’s NoTubes claims a 12% decrease in rolling resistance. Based on my preliminary ride I can believe this.
It’s been 30 years since I’ve ridden on tubular tyres and have a vague reminiscence of how they feel. Though I remember that smooth feeling, I don’t recall how much faster they seem compared to clincher tyres.
It was a little challenging to install them, but Stan’s Notubes website has some really great video to help you along. I really don’t know how I did anything before the internet (From changing the brakes on my car to horticultural procedures there’s tutorials for everything). Stan’s makes it clear you have to follow the steps closely and not leave out any detail. In doing this I had few problems. Probably my biggest challenge was getting the bead on the tyre to seat properly onto the rim. This is an issue even with tubes, but some of the tricks I’ve picked over the years to accomplish this are compounded with the Stans juice that leaks out if you deflate the tyre and try again.
It’s been 4 days now since I’ve installed the system and the tyres are just as hard as the day I put them on. There a couple other advantages in going this route. First, the most common flat I get on my road bike are pinch flats. But with no tube to pinch my flat rate should dramatically improve. Also, those little wires that break off steel belted car radial tyres that litter the road when they ex/implodes are my 2nd most common flat. Yet, Stans claims that when you pull them out you’ll hear a little psssst of air, then the juice quickly seals it up.
Currently there are only 3 tyres on the market that will work for the tubeless system, because you need a tight, non-stretching bead for the hi-pressure road wheels. You can buy a kit from Stan’s that includes everything (juice, tape, valves, tyres). That’s the route I went and so far it seems pretty great.
I’ll have to blog an update in the near future though after more rides and km’s.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
The Event
Every once and awhile a geographical event comes along that changes the landscape. We had one last night. Even though I was totally oblivious as I slept to the torrential rains that came, nonetheless the extraordinary change to the environment was amazing.
The first clue I had that something big had happened was as I ascended Spray Lake road. There were at least 6 mud and rock slides across the road. One of the rock slides was mid thigh deep and would certainly close the road. In at least a couple places the posts holding up the guard rails were standing in mid air, the road below them having been totally washed away.
I peaked the road at the "gap" in record time (:47 from my home staying close to zone 1), then descended "Riders of Rohan" trail. It was really washed out good. I then planned to cross the mountainside via the venerable "Highline trail". Every stream crossing had turned into a river. One of them, the stream coming out of the Couloir, was impassable. Amazing considering it’s usually just a couple hops on stones over barely flowing water.
The large avalanche that came down Ha Ling this year had it’s surface swept clean by the water, then covered with a thin layer of silt. There were mini crevasses formed from the rushing water that made crossing it interesting and a bit hairy.
One of the cool alluring aspects of training is that you get to see and discover new things. As my feet hit the trail early this morning (5:30) my eyes were the first to witness this powerful display of creation. It was both astonishing, yet beautiful in it’s power.
The first clue I had that something big had happened was as I ascended Spray Lake road. There were at least 6 mud and rock slides across the road. One of the rock slides was mid thigh deep and would certainly close the road. In at least a couple places the posts holding up the guard rails were standing in mid air, the road below them having been totally washed away.
I peaked the road at the "gap" in record time (:47 from my home staying close to zone 1), then descended "Riders of Rohan" trail. It was really washed out good. I then planned to cross the mountainside via the venerable "Highline trail". Every stream crossing had turned into a river. One of them, the stream coming out of the Couloir, was impassable. Amazing considering it’s usually just a couple hops on stones over barely flowing water.
The large avalanche that came down Ha Ling this year had it’s surface swept clean by the water, then covered with a thin layer of silt. There were mini crevasses formed from the rushing water that made crossing it interesting and a bit hairy.
One of the cool alluring aspects of training is that you get to see and discover new things. As my feet hit the trail early this morning (5:30) my eyes were the first to witness this powerful display of creation. It was both astonishing, yet beautiful in it’s power.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Obsessed with Improvement
"Obsessed with improvement". That’s a line from famed FortyNiner football coach, Joe Walsh. I recently read his book, "The Score Takes Care of Itself". I heard of the book from the blog of Sami Linkin. The blog is here: http://www.samiinkinen.com/archive I highly recommend it. Sami’s theory is to have a spread sheet for everything and keep track of details. If you’re not seeing improvement (this is for training and every area of life), then adjustments need to be made. Either in training or rest.
So this morning as I prepare for Ironman #6, I was doing 1 km intervals. Recording the time in my spreadsheet. Earlier I’d done a 5km time trial on the same course. We’ll see if the times can come down this summer.
In my training spreadsheet I’ve got columns for strength, body weight, VO2max (my Polar heart rate monitor has a quick & easy test), time trials for cycling and swimming, weekly hours, mountain peak running time trials, summer skimo transitions and sprint course test (more on this in another blog) and summer bootpack course.
When you actually record yourself you find that you give it just a bit more effort each time to improve...and improve I’ve done. One of my goals is to get up to 20 pull ups by the end of the year. In May alone I’ve gone from 11 to 15.
Each Mon. A.M. I pull up my 4 spreadsheets and review the last week....see if I improved and make a plan for this week to get better.
They say that the difference between an Olympic champion and the other Olympians, all at the very top of their sport in the world, is that the champion sets and achieves goals in the sub areas that make for success in the sport, while the others simply have outcome based goals such as "winning a gold medal".
Man, if I’d only have discovered this 20 years ago! If incremental improvement is striven for and accomplished consistently over the long haul, there’s no telling what someone could accomplish!
So this morning as I prepare for Ironman #6, I was doing 1 km intervals. Recording the time in my spreadsheet. Earlier I’d done a 5km time trial on the same course. We’ll see if the times can come down this summer.
In my training spreadsheet I’ve got columns for strength, body weight, VO2max (my Polar heart rate monitor has a quick & easy test), time trials for cycling and swimming, weekly hours, mountain peak running time trials, summer skimo transitions and sprint course test (more on this in another blog) and summer bootpack course.
When you actually record yourself you find that you give it just a bit more effort each time to improve...and improve I’ve done. One of my goals is to get up to 20 pull ups by the end of the year. In May alone I’ve gone from 11 to 15.
Each Mon. A.M. I pull up my 4 spreadsheets and review the last week....see if I improved and make a plan for this week to get better.
They say that the difference between an Olympic champion and the other Olympians, all at the very top of their sport in the world, is that the champion sets and achieves goals in the sub areas that make for success in the sport, while the others simply have outcome based goals such as "winning a gold medal".
Man, if I’d only have discovered this 20 years ago! If incremental improvement is striven for and accomplished consistently over the long haul, there’s no telling what someone could accomplish!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Skiing the Sister in late May
Man I look old and tired in this photo! Oh well, I guess that’s what happens when you get almost no sleep the night before an anticipated ski. Even though it’s June 1 today, this past week I knocked off the Middle Sister right here in Canmore. It’s kinda fun to do a ski that stares down at you every day. In the photo she’s right behind me.For this mission I enlisted the partnership of Eric Groenevold, who actually is the son of a very good friend and competitior of mine (Jon). Eric had previously done the line a month ago, yet is pretty new to backcountry skiing and I think was glad to have me along.
We hit the trail at 5:30 A.M. for the requisite early start. It took 1.5 hours to get to the snow. Part of the hike entailed climbing up a gully with previous years avi debris to clamber over...a good reminder to play it safe. The whole time up we were quite sure we’d have to turn back as the forecasted cold night didn’t seem to really materialize. Patches of snow we attempted to walk over always gave way as we sunk down deep.
However, as we reached the snowline, crossing a recent avi slide, things began to harden up. Skiing up the moderate angled slope we constantly were checking the hardness of the snow. As long as we stayed in the shaded part of the mountain, things seemed good. The original ridge we’d planned on booting up was more in the sun and we began to ominously break through. So with a little beetle back over to the shade and what we felt was bomber, it was all a "go".
We elected to use crampons...a good decision. The boot packing was steep and though slipping wouldn’t be fatal, still not a good idea in the very firm conditions. It’d be a fast ride for sure!
The ski down was pretty uneventful. Fun, but not crazy. It’s funny because from the road this line looks incredibly steep and epic. Yet up close it’s just another black diamond run. It’s fun though to tell friends what you skied. They think you’re crazy. I shared the adventure with one of the official "Crazy Canucks" downhill aces, Jan Hudec. He thought I was studly, until I told him the truth.... "it looks a lot steeper from the road". Oh well, at least I’m honest.
So am I done for the year? It’s been a wonderful 8 month ski season. Maybe it’s time to dust off the bike, lube the chain and try some other stuff. However, after meeting with our federation president, the honourable Dave Dornian, I’m committing to go to World Skimo champs next year and being in the best absolute condition I can be in. The adventure continues!
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