Ironman Canada 2007 As most of you are aware, I took my boneheaded triathlon show on the road to Penticton to compete in the 25th anniversary of Ironman Canada on August 26. I call it my boneheaded triathlon show as I pulled some pretty major boneheaded moves before/during/after my previous 2 races, so I was a little leery of what I would do this time around. For those of you who don't know, after having a good race at the Regina Beach triathlon in July, I went home and drove my van into my garage while my new tri-bike was still attached to the roof. I was able to repair the roof rack for about $60 and a new fork for my bike was under $250, so really not bad considering how bad it could have been... I think my ego took the worst of the damage.... Six days later (thanks to Freddy at Dutch for getting me rolling again quickly), I raced a half Ironman in Morden, Manitoba. Of course, most people realize that Manitoba runs on central time in the summer, as opposed to Saskatchewan which runs on mountain time. I thought I knew this little fact as well. I carefully set my watch alarm for 5:45 am to give me enough time to get ready for a 7:00 am race start. However, my watch was still set to MT rather than CT and I woke up 30 minutes prior to race start when Carter (our 1 year old) made some noise and my wife heard pre-race announcements from our camper.... So, I scrambled my stuff together rammed some bread and jam down my throat and made it to the beach just in time for the race to start. The really bad part is that was just the start of my boneheaded moves. I had a slow swim (as usual) but a strong bike ride and I think I was in 4th place starting the run. I came to the first aid station and promptly ran off course (the leaders were way ahead of me, so I had nobody to follow, I should not that the course was very well marked it was my own mistake). I corrected the shortcut that I took on the second of two laps by doing that section of the course twice. I think I lost about 3 minutes with that move. I likely would have been 5th rather than 7th, but overall I was still happy with my race being that soon after a hard race at Regina Beach. Anyway, back to Ironman Canada. My training after Morden went really well, I did some good hard long rides and runs based on Satan Johnson's advice (thanks Stephen - I think). In order to actually see my family I took Friday mornings off work and did my biking and ran on Saturday morning. The solo workouts were good for mental toughness if nothing else! I didn't do a lot of lake swimming (OK, let's be honest, a 10 minute dip on Friday before the race was my first lake swim after Morden) and I never swam for more than about 45 minutes in the pool all year, but I really wasn't too worried about the swim for some reason. I don't see the point in going hard in an IM swim anyway, so I was planning to just get behind someone with a heavy kick and take it easy. I wasn't really sure where to seed myself for the swim. I expected to be between 1:10 and 1:15, so about middle of the pack, but I had no interest in the washing machine that is the middle of the pack (did I mention there were about 2500 people starting the race this year, setting another record for largest mass swim start in a triathlon?). I ended up lining up in the middle of the group and took my time and the start. I survived pretty much unscathed, like due to my poor sighting that had me swim fairly far outside of the buoys. I had my goggles knocked off about 15 minutes into the swim, but I slipped them back on and swam the rest of the way without incident other than the additional distance that I decided to cover. I came out of the water about 1:12 (a minute or so faster than my first Ironman), so I was happy with that. One of these winters I really am going to concentrate on improving my swimming...... My stomach was a bit unsettled in the last half of the swim. It's a good thing you don't get penalized for gaseous propulsion, because I was definitely guilty of that. I had a pretty long T1 as I spent some time in the little boys room. This was the scene of my first and only boneheaded move of the day. I took 2 clif bars from my transition bag into the porta potty with me with plans of stuffing them in the pocket of my shirt for use on the bike. Apparently, I was too focused on the task at hand and left them in the porta potty. For the first bit of the bike, my stomach remained unsettled. The upside was that I continued to receive some additional propulsion. I ate the 2 clif bars that I had stored on my bike in the first 45 minutes or so of the bike and my stomach actually settled down. At this point, I was worried that I would not have enough food for the bike, but I started grabbing powerbars from the aid stations whenever they were offered and stocking up. I also ate countless bananas and gels on the bike. I had a very strong bike ride and managed to pass a lot of people throughout it. I thought I rode the climb up Richter (~60 km mark) easy, but I passed a lot of people on the way up and then at about the 100 km mark, my legs felt a little more tired that I thought they should. I likely went a bit too hard up the Richter Pass climb. So, I forced myself to back off a bit and get ready for the Yellow Lake climb. This seemed to work well for me, as I remembered this climb dragging on forever in 2005 and feeling a lot of pain, but this year, I was actually surprised when I reached the top as I thought I was maybe halfway up at that point. The downhill back to town was a bit spooky as there were some significant crosswinds that made things a bit treacherous. I took it easy back into town feeling good about my ride and confident that I still had legs left for the marathon. My bike position was probably too aggressive for a ride this long as my back wouldn't allow me to sit in my aerobars for long over the final 30 km or so, but I sat up when I had to and still had a strong bike time. I finished the bike just under 5:28, about 18 minutes faster than last time. I had a quick second transition and started out running nice and relaxed and was close to a 8 min/mi pace (3:30 marathon pace) not counting the walks through the aid stations and the visit to the little boys room at about mile 5. I had a pretty good pace at the halfway point (1:50) and still felt reasonably good, although I knew I would slow down for the second half of the marathon. I had a pretty slow stretch from mile 18-21 or so. I was walking up the hills and walking past the aid stations as well as through them and my mile pace grew to over 10 minute. Then, just like last time I did this race, I got into town and the endless cheering energized me again and I was able to pick up the pace again. I got my mile pace down to 9.5 minutes and actually ran mile 25 in unde 8.5 minutes. My hamstrings cramped up a bit on the last mile, including after I picked up Marin to run across the finish line with her. After that, she was running on her own and pulling dad to the finish line!! I did the marathon in 3:53:27, about 17 minutes faster than last time. My overall time was 10:43:38, which put me 250th overall and 49th in my age group (the full results are here http://www.nasports.com/results/index.php if you're interested). I beat my previous time by 37:32, which I'm very happy about. Looking at the time compared to previous years, I think there were a lot of personal best times on the day with the cooler temperatures. I was again amazed at the spirit of the volunteers and spectators that are out at this race. It is pretty wild to feel the surge of energy as I got into town on the run. I was fading enough on the run to fall over a 10:45 finish, but I felt rejuvinated enough to make up some time. I did not sign up for IMC in 2008, I'll definitely do an Ironman again, but it won't be in 2008 and I may be on hiatus from the long stuff for a while given the large amount of time that it takes to train for one of these. I've attached a picture of Marin and I crossing the finish line. I lost a few seconds letting some other pass me so I wouldn't disrupt them, but it was worth it. Cheers, Conway. ____________________________________________________________________ Muskoka Chase Triathlon 2007 This is a tad late, the race was on June 17 (things are a little busy around here), but I thought some of you would be interested in hearing about my Ontario adventure. As most of you likely already know, earlier this year, I managed to convinced my wife that it would be a good idea to travel to Ontario so I could race in a triathlon that was a qualifier for Ironman Canada. It seemed like a wise investment of vacation time and money to attend a race that if I was successful at it, I would "earn" the opportunity to spend even more vacation time and money on a trip to Penticton for Ironman Canada. I managed to get Heather to agree to combine a trip to visit her brother Randy and his family in Ottawa with a week in Hunstville to vacation and compete in the Muskoka Chase triathlon. As a bonus, the race just happened to be on the day of her 30th birthday (yep, time to start polishing up that husband of the year trophy!!). So, we took the 2 kids, flew to Ottawa and stole one of Randy's cars and drove to Huntsville, where they joined us to stay for most of the week. Heather's sister Lisa also happened to be on a business trip in Quebec City, so she joined us as well. We rented a great little cabin 20 minutes outside of Huntsville that was perfect for families with kids. There was a huge sand area stocked with toys and a large beach area to splash in the lake. If we were to ever decide to go back, I would definitely stay at this place again. The only disappointment with the accommodations is that they had purchased an 6 ft tall inflatable slide that was out in the swimming area. I decided to wait until after my race to try it out and unfortunately, it sprung a leak the day before the race and I never got the chance. As for the race itself, it was the largest race that I've ever done (outside of Ironman Canada in 2005). There were almost 800 participants, most of them from Ontario (no surprise that I was the lone Saskatchewan entry...). Due to the number of racers, the swim was a wave start, meaning that they send different age groups out at different times. I had never done a race like this before, but it helps to cut down on congestion during the swim. It does make it a little tough to know how you are doing as people behind you during the race may be ahead of you based on what wave they were in and vice versa, but at least the people in your age group start at the same time as you. The really cool part of this race is that there are a number of pros that do it each year (25 men and 14 women this year) and they arrange it in a "chase" format. The pro women get a head start on the pro men based on the pro results from the previous year's race. I don't know what the chase time was this year, but the men won the chase event for the first time (this was the 3rd year of the chase format). It's amazing to see how fit and fast the pro triathletes are as I'm pretty sure a lot of them still have jobs to pay the bills. The race somewhere between an olympic distance race and a half ironman. It consists of a 2 km swim, 55 km bike and a 15 km run. Based on last year's times, I expected to get a qualifying spot relatively easily. Turns out that is easier said than done.... In typical fashion, I made a boneheaded mistake pre-race. I forgot to bring water with me to the start area. I only brought 2 bottles of gatorade with me that I planned to use on the bike. Once I realized my mistake I hoped that they would have water available in the transition area, but no such luck. So, I sipped one of my gatorade bottles before the race knowing that there was a bottle exchange on the bike where I could pick up some more. On to the swim. I'm not a fast swimmer, so I usually try to latch on to someone's feet and draft my way through the swim. Unfortunately, I just couldn't seem to find the right person during this race. I also neglected to sight often enough and found myself veering significantly to either side of the course. I suspect I covered 2.1-2.2 km instead of 2 km... I was out of the water about 3-4 minutes slower than I had expected. One of these winters, I really will work on my swimming.... honest... Before traveling to Ontario, I read some information about the "new" bike course for Muskoka that was more hilly than the old course that was already considered very challenging. I don't think there was a flat section of road on this course. It was hill after hill. None of the hills were overly long, they were just never ending. There were 2 particularly steep sections that had me standing up in my granny gear and wondering why I decided to do a race outside of the prairies. At about the 30 km mark, my stomach started to cramp up on me. I'm not sure if it was the lack of water before the race or too large of a breakfast, but I didn't have the stomach to eat anything else during the race (I forced down 3 bites of a clif bar that almost came back up). I eased up a bit on the last 10 km or so of the bike to try to get my stomach to settle down as I was pretty worried that I would have serious problems on the run. Even with the reduced effort, I ended up with a decent bike split of 1:34:42, which I'm happy with considering the course. I felt decent at the start of the run, and was maintaining a 4:10/4:15 min/km pace for the first 5 km or so. It opened my eyes to how competitive this race was when I realized that I wasn't passing anyone and people were passing me. The run course is out and back, so I was able to watch the pros coming to the finish during the first half of the run. The last half of the run was a struggle and I had to walk through the aid stations. My pace slowed considerable near the end and I finished up with a run time of 1:07:35 about 5 minutes slower than I expected. My finishing time of 3:23:46 put me 177 overall and 30/84 in my age group. I was expecting to be able to finish around 3:15 plus or minus 5 minutes or so, so I was disappointed with my result and the prospects of getting an ironman qualifying spot were looking pretty grim. Now for boneheaded mistake number 2 and one of the biggest ones I've made in a long time: In order to purchase an Ironman spot I was required to pay the race organizers US$480 in US cash, checque or money order (no credit cards). I purchased a money order in Regina before I left and took it with me to Huntsville. After the race, while I was packing up my bike, Heather gave me the money order, which at that point, I was pretty sure I wouldn't need. My best guess is that I set the money order down in the back of the car with the keys and loaded up my bike. I then grabbed the keys and we drove to meet up with Heather's brother near the transition area. While I was gathering up my things to go shower, it dawned on me that I no longer had the money order in my hand..... A number of choice words and some frantic searching of the car followed. There's nothing quite like that nauseous sinking feeling you get in your stomach when something like this happens. after a few minutes of searching, Heather's brother drove the other car to the spot where I had packed up my bike and by some ridiculous fluke found the money order laying in the parking lot. It must have flown out of the back of the car while I was loading my bike..... I think I will eternally owe him beer for that one..... After that excitement, it was time for the Ironman roll down. There were either 5 or 6 Ironman Canada spots available for my age group and they were taken by the top 25 guys in the age group. After all of the regular age groups spots were given out, there were leftovers from some age groups who didn't claim all of their spots. These leftover slots were rolled down to the most competitive age groups. The good news was that my age group (M30-34) was the most competitive, so 3 more Ironman Canada spots were made available to us. There were 8 of us hovered around the table all looking for these three spots. Fortunately for me, I was the 3rd fastest of the 8 guys and took the very last spot. The next guy was only 1.5 minutes behind me, so I definitely cut it close. The race results are here: http://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.php?lang=eng&racecode=42084&lboard= M30-34&page=0&sizeofpage=200&sortby=place&limit=2000 As disappointed as I was with my result, I guess it doesn't matter how you get a spot, as long as you get it. So, we're off to Penticton at the end of August for another shot at Ironman Canada. Sometime, I'd really like to write a race report that doesn't include major brain cramps, but it doesn't look like it will happen for a while..... I've attached a picture that shows how my skin tone really matches my new bike. Conway ________________________________________________________________ XTERRA WORLD cHAMPIONSHIP 2006 RACE REPORT Otherwise, known as the how many ways can you mess up, screw up, have things go wrong and still finish report. Patti and I arrive at our condo on Wednesday afternoon. Too nice to build a bike. Let’s go for a swim. I can build the bike later, after supper. Well after supper it’s too dark to build a bike and there’s not enough lighting on the condo balcony to see what you’re doing. And, it’s not a good idea to build it in the condo, because I’ll get grease somewhere. I’ll do it tomorrow after a swim with my new homies (met this British guy who raced pro and finished 15th overall). Okay, after breakfast. Finally, the bike is getting put together. This goes here - no there, that goes here and that is leftover. No, wait it goes here. Ah, done. Fill tires and install. I said fill tires. Oh crap, this tubeless system prefers a pump, which I don’t have. Haul bike and wheels separately to car and head up to race HQ to get air and go for pre-ride. Get air, head to car to install wheels, no skewers. They’re somewhere in the condo. I think. I hope! Nope not here. Okay buy some. Got em. No time to ride today. I’ll ride to race HQ Friday listen to the pros yammer on about the swim, go for ride, listen to more pros yammer about the bike (I am interested in this) and call it a day. Drop bike with a mechanic too have a quick look-see, as my rear wheel seems to be out of true. Listen to yammer session #1. Get bike and find out one of my spokes is pulled thru the rim and the rim needs to be replaced. And, they don’t have any. Okay, find new rim (2 other shops on site). Okay got one, can you lace it and swap over the cassette? I’m not sure I’ll call the shop and see. Shawn (shop mech.) says it will get done for Sunday one way or the other. Saturday at 6 PM I have a ride able bike. Recall, I left the bike around Friday noon with the shop. Lets just say I deserve a medal for staying calm and trying to look like I’m in Hawaii with no worries. Nothing would have helped the situation so I tried to act like nothing was wrong. It’ll all work out. All the pre-race issues meant I would have a good ride on Sunday. Get the bike and head to pre-race meeting. Arrive to hear yada yada yada black sand beach and finish. What I miss? Just the part about the bike being really rough and lots of exposed rocks due to all the rain last week. Race day. Head to transition and I’ve got the sweetest T1/T2 spot, only the pros had better spots. I’m right at the swim entrance and run exit. The bike in/out is diagonal to where I am. So, it is prefect. Out for a pre-ride on the pavement. Note, I wanted to pre-ride on the practice course so I’d know what to expect come race day. Also note that you can’t ride the bike course because it is private land. So I have not spent a second riding on any thing but pavement. Bike is ready and now get into the water and warm up. We’re off and it is an easy comfy swim to the first buoy and then its mayhem and back to easy comfy. Second buoy, less mayhem. To shore and run back to swim start about 75M. Lap two is also pretty laid back. In the end I swim with several folks the whole swim and can’t complain, other than the 29 and change it took. Oh well, I’m happy and set to rip the bike. I get one sock on and bang I’ve got a cramp and a TV camera is getting all the action. I mean a close up of my feet and me cramping and I manage not to curse. Okay got socks and shoes on, helmet and glasses, race number, okay go. I get a minute into the bike and I’ve got a half a bottle of water as I forget my camel back in T1. Do I go back or push on. I push on, it is a race. There will be aid stations eventually. Pop quiz – What is the golden rule of race day triathlon? Many answers I’m sure, but I’m looking for don’t do anything on race day that you have not done in training. That’s why I start popping salt tabs. I’m going pay for this no doubt. It is a long bike about 19 miles or 30K and starting with no water and taking shit I have not used before. Not good. The bike is a slog. Not technical in the tight turns, roots and steep sense but technical in the rocky short climbs in the middle of 3 miles of climbing sense. The lava rocks are everywhere, in the jeep tracks, on the ups, on the downs. There is no avoiding them. The come in every size and shape imaginable. They are sharp and crashing is not going to result in a good thing, well crashing never usually is associated with good. I changed to tubeless tires for this race and was worried about the system working. I deflated my tires in transit and noticed the sealant leaked. So when I inflated them I wasn’t sure they would seal, plus the rim issue I had and lack of water left no confidence that the bike would go issue free. It was fricking hot on the first uphill and after 30 or 40 minutes I came to the first aid station. No Gatorade left, just water. As I approached I downed what I had left and stopped to get 3 small water bottles and a 4th to pour over me. Took a gel and got back at it. The course became rolling on a jeep track with lots of lava rocks. There were countless sections where the jeep track was nothing but lava rocks, no noticeable trail. Just keep the speed up and don’t force a line was the best advice I heard pre-race. How true. You could not steer in the rocks; all you could do was hope to come out on the jeep track and not off it, as that is where the Keawe thorns are and the larger sized rocks. The Keawe thorns are sharp needles; anywhere from ¼ inch long to 1 ½ inches and sharp enough to puncture a car tire. (One day post race I got one in my sandal and came all the way thru the sandal and was jabbing one of my toes. It took about 4 sharp jabs in the toe to stop and check what was causing the issue. A thorn about an inch long.) This section was rough and the rolling hills got your speed up in places. I shook like martini for what seemed like hours. When I finally decided I needed more gel I was SOL. After the first gel, the shaking must have jarred the other 3 gels loose and off head tube. No more gels. Man this bike was not meant to go smooth. During the bike I had to get off numerous times to walk the ups. They are not steep but the lava rocks don’t allow for a steady pressure to make it thru the climb – at least not for me. Even climbs of 20-30 seconds were difficult enough to cause me to get off. For the first hour and a half, I was lost on course. Not lost but just unaware of where I was. I missed Heartbreak Hill, not really but I did not know that was it. The number of people you’re around is incredible and this too causes you to get off your bike. As they do, you have too. After Heartbreak it is rolling again and then the long climb to the highest point on the bike. It twists and turns; there is pavement, gravel, jeep track and then “welcome to the top”. Okay know I know where I am. That was Ned’s peak. And now I am into the Plunge. It isn’t steep. But the lava rocks are numerous and there is lava flow to cross, rocks (fist sized to microwave size) to maneuver thru and other bikers. Once again there is no steering happening just general direction. And an extreme worry that going down will result in broken bones. Not helping me here was a slight streaking of my sunglasses that blurred things. Then again maybe not seeing everything clearly was a blessing. I passed a guy here that was using the mantra “don’t fall, don’t fall, stay upright” I think he did cause soon after he passed me back and I would see him several times over the remainder of the race. The bike is a big loop and after the Plunge we head back toward the start of the loop. This has really, really, really rough jeep track sections (as opposed to the other really rough sections) and gravel downhill sections and the Silt Pits, which were not a factor this year. But in the past these pits are 10-20 seconds of hub deep sand/silt. On one of the gravel sections I clipped bars with a Japanese guy who goes down. I stop to make sure he is alright. I feel really bad but it was an accident as he drifted left as I drifted right and an unavoidable meeting happened. Did I mention that I had remained upright till now. Well, still am upright. I know that the bike karma god would get me back for this. Karma (as narrated by Earl) had worked to provide me with bike issues pre-race and an error free ride, but the clipping of that guy and causing him to go down, meant something was going to happen to even things up. I make it down from the mountain without going down - I am free and clear (just for Lonnie Woo-Hoo!). Onto the pavement and the mile back to T2. Get some water and get ready for the run. As I put my water bottle back I look up to see a large pylon jump right into my path. I should have just run the sucker over, but no, I got to try and swerve around it. That was my mistake and the bike Karma god getting even. Boom, I’m down and I hear this scream (not me but someone on the run) and lots of “are you alright” – I heard it but I don’t recall answering anyone, I just tried to get up ASAP and get back on the bike – I think I was trying to get up as I was still skidding across the pavement, if only to avoid getting run over. Just my pride is wounded, well not really, as my shoulder, elbow, hip, shin and front wheel are telling me otherwise. I check the wheels and the front one is bent but ride able. I limp into and out of T2. As I get to the same point I noticed I had no water for the bike I realize my quads are cramping. I have no water, but I do have salt tabs. I pop 2 in my mouth and a minute later I have enough spit to swallow those 2 tabs. Let me say that within 5 minutes I was cramp free and could run, but I was energy less, feeling the effects of that crash and starting to feel the effects of the salt tabs on my stomach. All was not well. I needed water and Gatorade but none was to be found for at least 15 minutes. I put one foot in front of the other until the first aid station. Get some fluids; take a gel, a salt tab and a pee. I manage to lose my salt tabs at about this point – as when I reach for them at the next aid station their not there. It’s uphill and I don’t feel like running. My feet have exploded in my shoes. My feet don’t like being constrained, but there is no option to take off the shoes. “Suck it up” I tell them and off we go. So I walk and run as I feel like it. I must have walked 40% of the first 3 miles. Once I hit the 3-mile mark it’s downhill for a mile and a half and I have a tough time running, as my tummy was not doing so well with the motion. I keep trying to run, but walk as needed. Finally around the 4-mile mark I start to run without walking. I hit Makena beach and it’s a ½ mile or so of sand, but I am running it, at least I call it running – it wasn’t pretty. I know it’s only another mile from here, but it’s thru spooky forest. The trees are knarely looking. Logs to hop over and low branches to duck under. Either one is not welcomed at this point, but I get thru and onto black sand beach. A short jaunt thru sand and onto some rocks and Lebrun Point (so named as Nico Lebrun crashed hard here last year and fractured an elbow – still went on to win) and then the home stretch. I hit the grass and knew that finishing was just minutes away. I was hoping for much better, but this is what the day offered and I was happy to finish. As I scrubbed my road rash, the scars from going down on lava looked far worse. The number of IV’s being administered told the tale of a hard day. I got what I needed from the med guys and was thankful I needed far less than most there. During all this I was feeling great. I usually am cramping, feeling a little sick and have a wicked headache after racing in hot weather. But today I was having none of that. So something must have worked – maybe the salt tabs. What this really meant was I would be able to quaff as many $6.00 Budweisers as possible later at the costume party. Let’s just say you can’t miss the costume party as scanty, sleazy and slutty looks really, really, no really good on hard bodies. In the end, 29:37 of swimming, 2:24:58 of biking and 1:22:22 of running (4:16:57) was good enough for 16/32 in my age group and 276/474 overall. With about 100 non-finishers, most said the conditions were really tough today. I left lots of room for improvement but was not too keen on doing this race again as I scrubbed my wounds, for the bike really scared me with the potential carnage. With time I have come around and see the challenge I have left for myself and the greatness of this race. Well, the year is finally over. A special thanks to Patti for all her support and patience. Truly fantastic! Lastly, it was sad to have 2 great people (Greg Sylvester and Brent Gibson) pass away this year. Patti and I ran into Brent in Kona, just a week before his passing and he went out of his way to graciously provide his room key so we could chill during the day as needed. Very generous. His passing was a complete shock and proof that anyone could be gone in a blink of an eye. So live life large and take it all in. Mahalo for reading! RV _________________________________ The Dirt Rag Returns Since last writing I competed in three races and finished two. MTB #5 – July 30th Wascana Trails. Flatted 15 minutes into the race – DNF. Race report done. Frank Dunn Triathlon – August 13th PA Nat’l Park Probably the most beautiful triathlon in SK. Once again Patti and I headed up to Waskesiu to partake in this event that holds my interest more than any other race in SK. The swim was short, but that didn’t help me. It was rough, but that didn’t help me. And it was shallow, which did help me. Oh well, the race starts in T1. Onto the bike and similar to last year and the year before I rode 1:50 minutes for the bike. Also similar to last year my heart rate started out in the high 150’s and fell as the race progressed. Note to self - must reel in the adrenalin in the first 10K of the bike. But when Blair Parkinson passes you on the bike you kinda think this shouldn’t be happening and pass him right back – not conducive to keeping ones HR reasonable. Now if I had stayed calm and collective would I have passed him later on, maybe! Oh well, the rest of the bike was uneventful, no crashes, no deer, elk or bears spotted, just a big old moose on the side of the road struggling with his bike (Eugene T. was trying to right a chain that wrapped around his crank). On to the run and oh the lack of base was telling early on as I felt horrid, had to stop and pee, and was stiff. Somewhere around 4K all those things went pooh! And I started running. Passed a few people and finally came along side Peter Martin who I had been chasing out of T2. With 4k to go I passed Peter, but at 3K to go he came back along side of me. As we headed off the highway and along the old road back to main street we hit a small incline where I said it’s time to pick it up. Thankfully Peter had no response. I passed a few more along the final 2K and finished in 3:15:30. Good enough for 19th overall and 13th excluding teams. The worst thing was that this was good enough for only 5th in my age group. MTB #6 – August 20th - Provincials at Blackstrap My last mtb race was a lesson in preparation for all eventualities. If I’d had carried a spare and a CO2 I’d likely could have finished and maybe as high as second place as I was leading when I flatted and the winner in my age group was 10 minutes ahead of second. Lesson learned. We headed up early Sunday AM for the 10 AM race. Pre-rode the course and found 5 short technical sections, lots of open flats, a few short climbs and one long climb (not to the top but up the T-bar if you know Blackstrap). I thought the short climbs and open section were to my liking and the technical sections short enough to not handicap me too much. First lap and I’m trailing Terry and Garth. Endo on the second technical section and lose my water bottle. Collect myself and gear and get back at it. I pass Garth on the long flat section heading back to the start. On lap 2 I slowly close the gap to Terry and pass him on the long flat section. He passes me back on one of the last climbs of the lap and that gap remains until the long flat section where I slowly close it. The very last climb leads to the last single track and comes out about 20 metres from the finish. On this last climb I have to get ahead of Terry and to the single-track first cause there is no passing after this. On the last climb, I get right to Terry’s wheel and we are climbing together. Ahead some kid has fallen on the steepest part of the climb and I hear Terry yelling for the track. The kid picks up his bike and just gets out of the way. Terry climbs to the top, but I have to get off and that is the end of the race. In the end, 22 seconds difference might as well have been eight minutes as we are eight minutes up on 3rd place. I will spend a long time thinking about the 10 or so places I lost 5 or 10 seconds. Oh well, I gave it my all and second is all I was good enough for. Well that is the end of summer racing. I feel a let down as it marks the end of summer and generally the end of the season. However, I will be training hard and trying to peek for late October. In between now and then I plan a few X-country races, some psycho- cross and the White Butte Du. I will file a fall report and a final report in November. Until then finish up strong everyone. Before I go, I must thank Patti for her support and encouragement, water bottle handling skills, tolerance of late meals, and my sometimes-grumpy nature over the summer. Without Patti’s help this year to date would not have been as fun or enjoyable or successful. Thank you so much Patti. RV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ultraman Canada 2006 The event was a 3 day affair over August 12 to 14, 2006, covering 10km of swimming, 418km of cycling, and 84.3km of running. The race website is here: Saturday August 12 - Stage I - 10.0 km (6.2 mile) point to point swim starting in Penticton and finishing in Okanagan Falls, followed by 144.8 km (90.0 mile) bike ride, beginning in Okanagan Falls over the Richter Pass returning to Okanagan Falls. The day began at 7am with a leisurely 10km swim. I used to be a legitimately mediocre swimmer. Now I have slid down the ranks to “just plain suck”. It took me 4:04 to swim 10 km…26 minutes slower than last year!! The prospect of swimming more than 1.5km in open water used to terrify me and I would prepare accordingly. Now, thoroughly jaded by experience, I’m doing well if I can force myself to swim 2 or 3 times a month. At any rate, I was 9th out of the water out of the 12 that made it to the start line. A few random observations from the swim: I was able to actually drag my knuckles on the ground afterwards. My canoeists (Patrick and Dan) were both observed drinking extra large Tim Horton’s coffees before the start. They were in a canoe for over 4 hours. I know they had to …uhm…”evacuate”. However, both point blank refused to tell me which side of the canoe they used. I’m probably better off not knowing. I really need to do something about my lack luster swimming. Next year I plan to take some steps that would make my hard-working gritty prairie pioneer forefathers proud: buy a faster wetsuit. I should point out that ultraman or any tri over ironman distance is really a team event completed with much assistance from the athlete’s support crew. My crew (my wife Mary, my children Marit, Erik and Stewy and friends Al Barry (former drummer for Foghat) and Wanda Barry (aka Zena) and retired racing greyhound Marvin (formerly known as Marvelous)) spoiled me rotten for 3 days. When I emerged from the swim, I was promptly descended upon by these 7, relieved of my wetsuit, slathered in sunscreen, had donuts and bananas stuffed down my throat, moved into the sun when I started to shake from the cold, strapped onto my bike and sent on my way. Unlike last year when I vastly under estimated the amount of liquid I would need during the swim, I was pretty much spot on this year. As a result of not being dehydrated and the temperature in the high 20’s and low 30’s instead of 37, I actually had some bike legs on day one. Not needing to stop to vomit also seemed to make a difference. I was feeling so good that I even stopped cursing the race director. Then my right shifter shook itself to pieces while descending Richter Pass. It was my fault for not quadruple checking it….and running 160psi in my tires. My crew again saved my derriere by finding most of the pieces and putting it back together with part of a washing machine, duct tape and some gum. Total time lost was about 20 minutes, which over 3 days is not a big deal. I ended the day in 6th place about 15 minutes slower than last year. Sunday August 13 - Stage II - 273.5 km (170 mile) bike ride, beginning in Penticton and ending in Princeton. In my 2 appearances at this event, stage 2 has always been more of a mental effort than physical. Some athletes find that the repetitive motion of cycling for 8 plus hours induces a meditative state just as Gandhi gathered strength through spinning cotton yarn. It was his time to replenish his soul. Through the wheel, which became a manifestation of the myriad-formed Hindu god, Gandhi prayed for guidance. Spinning combined head and heart, emotion and intellect into a living faith. However, this just wasn’t happening for me. Glow in the dark dog food, that’s what I was thinking about. I could make a fortune with this. If you think about it, if you can find the doo-doo in the dark or in the snow, it saves you the effort of a big yard clean up in the spring. My mind harkened back to my other great money making invention, a pencil holder for people without ears. This one made it to the prototype stage. However, due to the suction cup technology, there were some side effects; first and foremost, a perfectly round hickie in the middle of the user’s forehead. Darn, I was so close with this one. Once again, the support crew was “on”. I wanted for nothing. I tried to challenge them, asking for things I didn’t think they could deliver but they couldn’t be stumped. I asked to see Erik (my 14 year old) dancing like a ballerina at the side of the road in downtown Hedley. I got that. Kudos to former drummer from Foghat, Al Barry, for his speedy TDF wheel change when I flatted at about kilometer 230. Anywho, I finished the ride in 9:16, an hour faster than last year, 3rd on the stage, in 5th place and feeling almost perky. Monday August 14 - Stage III - 84.3 km (52.4 mile) double-marathon run from Princeton to Summerland….or “Saskatchewan Skinny vs. the BC Buddha”. I awoke that morning to find I have a nickname….a new nickname: “Saskatchewan Skinny”. If I can take about 30 minutes out of Ryan Mackenzie (the BC Buddha) I have a shot at 3rd place…which is a place higher than last year…which would be “nice”. I went through the first marathon in about 4:17, which was equivalent to the time I ran in 2005. The next 42 kms were a bit more challenging than last year. There was about the same amount of climbing (about 10km) but an extra 3km of downhills (about 17km from the peak). Unlike last year, it was fairly hot during the run with the temperature maxing out around 32C. This was plenty warm for 84kms after 2 days of racing. The first 8 hours were pretty painless (relatively speaking) but I struggled a bit on the climbs. Unlike last year, where my shredded quads forced me to walk backwards down some of the hills, I was able to keep running (slowly) on the descents … and without crying like a little girl. Kudos, again to the crew for lightening fast shoe changes, slathering my legs and feet in Biofreeze on the downhills, the endless supply of gummy bears, Rolaids, and 8 hours of air guitar hard rock trivia (circa 1971-75) from Al “More Cowbell” Barry. All competitors agreed that the extra downhills at the end were a nice touch. I, personally, re-instated the practice of cursing the race directors’ name and finally managed to stump the support crew. In the last 2k, when the bio-freeze ran out, I pointed to my fore-arm and asked for heroin. They didn’t have any. I finished the run in 10:03, 23 minutes slower than last year. This summer, I experimented with some higher running mileage than usual in training and strung together a couple of 100 mile weeks. Did it help? I couldn’t tell. I might have been slower without them. It was interesting to experience how the body managed to remain in equilibrium with the increase in mileage. Rather than losing weight with the boost in training load, I found that my body weight stabilized as my beer intake increased proportionally. When I crossed the line, I didn’t care about 3rd place. After 3 Kokanees, I cared even less. However, I did finish overall in 3rd place by a scant 2 minutes, and felt genuinely “bad” about it. I must be getting soft in my old age or maybe catching some of that legendary “Ultraman Spirit”. The race winner finished the run in an amazing 6:55. I’m staggered that anyone (on the Canadian National 100km team or not) can run that course so quickly. A friend of mine asked me, “Why didn’t you break 7 hours. Let me guess…you were on pace for that until you glanced at your birth certificate and then the wheels fell off.” I love my friends. So….all of this begs the question: What drives you on? I get motivation from my fellow competitors –cancer survivor Toni - Ryan McKenzie who overcame being born in Manitoba to compete; my crew – sitting inside the air-conditioned luxury SUVand scarfing down my race food; my Scandinavian ancestors who emigrated to Minnesota/North Dakota, found the weather there not miserable enough, and moved on to Saskatchewan; our 21 year old incontinent cat, Abebe, who refuses to die (just to make my life miserable); and last but not least, Mary, who would happily kick my ass if I dropped out after shelling out the entry fee. SJ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XX Report, July 26, 2006 X1 – Boreal OffRoad Triathlon July 16, 2006 I headed up to McPhee Lake (just outside Waskesui) Friday night after work so I could ride the bike and run course on Saturday, and to head into the Park for breakfast. The bike course was not technical and the run was mostly on gravel roads, so I felt I would have a decent day. The race started on the calm waters of McPhee Lake and I was soon falling off feet faster than free falling from the Empire State Building. I swam a pathetic 30 minutes and spent another 3 or 4 four fighting with my wetsuit and putting socks on sandy feet. Argh! Onto the bike, time to make up ground. Started out with a couple of people, but I wasn’t gaining ground. More Argh! First little climb and I make some headway. Slower riders are spotted and blown aside. I spot Brad Spokes and a few others that I aim to catch. As lap one ends, Brad is one maybe two minutes ahead of me. I pass him about half way thru lap 2. I must press my advantage, as I am sure he’ll be tracking me down on the run. In the end I had the 3rd fastest bike and only 20 seconds slower than the fastest bike and 10 seconds slower than Jeff Hehn. On to the run, slow and steady. Lap one ends and onto lap 2. I pass the approximate ½ waypoint of the lap and ask Simon Toon if he can see Brad behind me, “not yet” okay I am holding him off. Simon yells, Blair Chapman is just up ahead. Okay, I hope I can hold off Brad and maybe reel in Blair if he fades. As the trail portion ends and were back onto gravel roads, I spy a spot where I can peek back to see where Brad is. He’s close, but I realize it isn’t far to the finish. I push the downhill and get out of site quickly. That was enough to stay away and beat Brad by a minute. I finish in 2.22.56, third in my age group and 5th overall. If I didn’t give up 10 minutes in the swim, yes, 10 minutes, I might have caught Blair and one other person. Oh, the potential. It was a beautiful day, calm, not too warm and the course was amazing. Given the bike was not at all technical I would recommend this race to anyone. Note, there is a sprint distance and a team relay for the long version (no sprint relay). So see you there next year???? X2 – Nissan Xterra Points Race – Moonlight Basin Offroad Tri in Big Sky Montana, July 23, 2006 Oh my god, Big Sky is a long ways away from Regina. Patti and I head out early (4 AM) Friday morning and around 2 PM we arrive in Bozeman Montana about 40 Miles from Big Sky/Moonlight Basin. Now, if you go to Bozeman, make sure you tour the downtown section, as it is the most beautiful downtown I have ever seen. Lots of shops and restaurants and pubs and shops and clean and old buildings nicely restored. The downtown stretches for 6 or 7 blocks and makes one think the place is much larger than the 35,000 or so that call Bozeman home. Of course, Bozeman is a resort/tourism town, a launching pad for Big Sky skiing and Jellystone Park, so having a healthy downtown is a priority. But it is beautiful – puts Banff to shame, makes Regina and Saskatoon look 12th rate. Friday night we checked in on mountain, yet still 7 miles from the race sight. Enjoyed a fabulous new vino, celebrated Landis crushing his opponents on Stage 17 (Phil Ligget Et Al were stilling reeling from Landis’ amazing Stage 17) and soaked up the 6000 feet or so of elevation. Saturday we volunteer for the short course race, so I can check out the swim (looks short and up my alley) and run (up down up flat bog log up bog down log flat down up down and repeat). The best part of volunteering is the bull moose that I miss but Patti sees too close for comfort (30 feet at max.). Apparently the last 2 runners scare up the moose as they circle the pond that we swim in. Scary thing is that the moose heads off in the same direction as 2 people out for a morning run around the pond – I think they were alright??? As the heat builds again (it was in the high 90’s on Friday) I can pre-ride the course. My head is aching and saying no, while my instincts are saying no, but you should. So at 3 PM (F it’s hot) I head to T1/T2 and go for a little ride. From T2 you look up Lone Mountain (elev. 11,000 +) and you can see snow above the tree line and vaguely see where the chair lifts end, yup, that’s where I have to go. Check out the bike course map here http://www.moonlightbasin.com/export/download/site-moonlight/Xterra_Triathlon_Map.pdf (also a pictorial essay of Rick and Patti’s Montana/Jellystone Adventure will follow). The pre-ride went smooth, even the dreaded downhill portions (at one point a group of riders said go ahead and I blast ahead thinking what’s a flat lander doing leading these guys down the hill). Bike course in detail – have a map of the bile course handy and I’ll walk you thru it. T1/T2 is where the yellow and blue lines meet. Bike course runs clockwise. So the traverse left to the far left point is all up hill (about 10/12 minutes). Head right and your flat for about 1 minute. You then head up and zig zag along a fire road, then an uphill portion to the left of the ski run. Cut thru some soft sand and a short flat section to get to the 5 min. grind uphill. You’re now about halfway up the mtn., maybe a little more than half way. More climbing to get to some soft sand switchbacks to come out on a paved road (only for a bout a minute and still heading up). After a short climb there is the water bottle exchange and the hard right to traverse under Six Shooter lift. The traverse is slightly uphill so you can recover or shift up and motor. Last 2 zigzags are uphill traverse under Lone Tree lift and start the descent. It’s all downhill now. Rooty rocky with a few flat sections, one little uphill and aching quads and hands from holding yourself off the seat and braking. Okay done, let’s do it again! Sunday AM, get all set up and head to the swim, we have to carry our wetsuit (leave nothing behind philosophy) from the swim to the bike which is about a mile mostly downhill, so organization is the key – take shoes socks wetsuit cap goggles and nothing else. Get a short warm-up in and wait. The swim is 2 laps of about 450 yds and should be to my advantage – note to self YOU SUCK AT SWIMMING! I had an awful swim, again – at least I am consistent. I was in the last third of the field out of the water, I was cramping in my hamstrings as I transitioned to running shoes – not a great start. Finally onto the bike, 25 five minutes after starting. On the bike I am making headway, past only once on the first uphill and cruise the downhill cleanly. Onto lap 2, three of us are heading out and after the first 10 minutes of climbing I drop them. Reach the top passing only a few as my slow swim is showing – in a race where the competition is really, really good any error is paid for in spades. In the first part of the descent on lap 2 I hear a root/tree branch come up into my rear derailleur. I try to soft peddle but too late, a few pedal strokes more and nothing. No power, no tension on the chain. Cue the Al Barry impression. After a few loud F#*!s I settle into a downhill run with my bike – hey one can never start too early for cyclocross. Then I realize I can coast downhill and only run when I need to power through a traverse or the short uphill. I finally make into T2 knackered. To add injury to insult, my right mtb shoe clasp does not want to release and I figure I am ment to stay here, but I win the struggle and my reward is 5 miles of running. But I am not ready to run. I walk to the aid station 30 yards away and continue to walk with water and Gatorade. Finally I feel ready to run, but it is a slow slog uphill. Stop and walk. Downhill, run. Uphill, walk. Onto flat section and around the sewage lagoon, think about running, okay now run. Aid station, yeah! Into the bush and around the lake. Over the logs, up the steep bank into the soft boggy section, uphill out of the bog. Down thru clover, stumps, rocks and other ankle twisters. Back along the lake to the stupid swim start spit in the general direction of the lake. Back to the aid station and the flat sewage lagoon – horse fly bite and a hamstring cramp as I swat it FFFFF, downhill, a little uphill – walk, down to the turn around and T1/T2, twice around the pole for comedic effect, water, Gatorade and back onto lap 2. Lap 1 sucked and lap 2 started out the same, but once I got to the flat sewage section I was feeling better, still had to walk a time or two as my hammies weren’t liking the logs or the bogs, but was okay on the downhill, which was all that was left now. I finished hard and really wished there was another lap as I was feeling in a groove and up for more torture. But I was done, finished an Xterra race and really felt I had proven I can do these races and felt I would be ready for Maui. Got some recon on Maui from a few racers and thought that if I can ride the parts that were similar to Maui I will be alright. Learned the run has more climbing than race coverage and reports let on. So more hills. Swim 25, bike 1:46, run 54, total 3:05.xx. 36th overall and 6 out of 6 in my age group. How can I feel confident about Maui, I dunno, but I do. I have 2 months to put together the hill running power and base, throw in a few hard weeks of run speed and of course more swimming. Master’s here I come. Funny thing is that I think an ocean swim with NO wetsuit might be to my advantage – oh well the power of positive thought. PS – the bitch, aka mistress is fixed and waiting for more abuse. She’ll get it this weekend as the second last mtb bike race of season goes at Wascana Trails. Dirt Rag to follow. RV -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morden Half IM July 15, 2006 - Conway Nelson Hmmm Luck... I knew there was something ELSE I forgot to pack!!! I was worried that I wouldn't even be racing on Friday night when I decided to take my bike out for a quick spin to make sure everything was in working order. My keen eye for detail quickly spotted a problem when I lined my front wheel up to my fork to mount it and I realized that I had left the skewer in my training wheels.... back in Regina.... Oops was not the first 4 letter word that entered my mind.... I raced off to the package pick-up location to see if anyone was around, but the place was deserted. After picking up and delivering an ice cream order to my 7.5 month wife who was mentally preparing to sit out in the heat all day Saturday with a 2 year old I headed down to the race site to see if anyone there could help me. Fortunately, one of the Cops for Cancer volunteers had his bike there, but wasn't racing, so he loaned me his front skewer. On race morning I headed down, warmed up and got my transition all setup and ready to go. I was just about to put on my wetsuit when I realized that I didn't have any goggles with me... I had left them in the hotel room... (insert 4 letter word here) So, I rode to the Super 8 and snuck into the room to grab the goggles out of my other bag. I managed to do this without waking up my wife or child, so I'm considering giving up this engineering thing and taking up cat burglarly. Anyway, I got back in time and was able to do my customary 10-20 stroke swim warm-up. About 5 minutes into the swim, I had a strange tennis-elbow like problem in my left elbow. Fortunately, it went away after about a minute or 2. Once that cleared up I found a fairly fast swimmer with a heavy kick to draft behing for the rest of the first lap. I did most of the second lap without drafting and finished just under 31 minutes, a great swim for me, and I was the top 20 coming out of the water. I felt really good on the bike even with my reservations about how smart it was to ride with the cycling club on Tuesday night before this race. I had one of the top bike splits at 2:47ish and came off the bike in 5th place. I still felt pretty good at this point. I felt really good for the first bit of the run, I made it to 4th place after passing a guy early in the run. I did the first 5 km in 22.5 minutes and felt strong. Then, about 7-8 km in, I started to feel weak, my legs burned and my heartrate jumped whenever I was running. From this point on, I did a lot of walking and some more 4 letter words came to mind. I was taking in tons of water/gatorade and soaking myself at every rest stop, but I just didn't seem to have any energy. Around the 12-13 km mark I could hear the water sloshing around in my stomach. It was while listening to this water sloshing around that I started to realize that I maybe there weren't too many solds left in there and I probably should have eaten more than 1 clif bar and 1 gel on the bike...... I think I walked as much of the second lap as I ran, I met up with Mark and kept up with him for a while until he dropped me like a bad habit. I ended up doing the run in 1:58:30 (about 30 seconds slower than a very similar run last year). Looking back, a little more though about eating on the bike would have helped me out, and I may have been better off skipping the hard Tuesday night ride after doing Regina Beach on Sunday. Anyway, that's the end of a pretty successful season of triathlon for me (I didn't think I'd ever win a triathlon, but I somehow managed to win 2 this year). Somehow my open-water swimming improved with zero open water training and less time in the pool than last year... go figure. I guess now it's time to put away the bike and the swim suit and start getting ready for the QCM. On a side note, I know one of the Cops for Cancer race organizers from university, so I took a case of beer over as payment for the skewer that his friend loaned me and chatted with them for a while. They were extremely grateful for all of Ray's help during the race and asked me to pass that on to him. I'm amazed that he still made the trip to volunteer after deciding he wasn't comfortable enough to do the swim. A lesser person (aka me) would have stayed home. They also mentioned that the women in particular want him to come back next year (something about pecs & abs). The other comment that they had was about the guy who came out of the water last. They were amazed by his good natured attitude and how he was laughing and joking about it as he got on his bike and carried on. In case you haven't guessed who it was, they mentioned that he had a British accent. Well, that's more than enough typing for me. Conway. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Adventure” Racing Over the past weekend, I participated in the Echo Challenge Extreme and thoroughly relished the differences that racing with a team provides as opposed to the individualist nature of triathlon. One can only go so fast in adventure races, you stick with your team and go the best pace the team can sustain. You need to think and be lucky. You need to be well versed in several areas, not just swim, bike and run. You also need to be aware of what’s around you, so you don’t miss things. Ah, there’s the rub. I was on a team with Suzanne Louttit and Kate Dreger. Also out at Echo were Jim Greenwood, Deb Grauer, Enio Ricci, Pat Ash, Fiona Cribb and several others. Volunteering were Wanda and Al Barry and several others (thanks guys). Into the water for the swim leg and the water wasn’t as cold as I expected. The swim was relaxing as I swam easy and since we are a team & have to stay together. Around almost every buoy, I do a minute or so of backstroke to let Kate catch up. Relaxing. I think (hope) I got this swim thing figured out – go as hard as you want, but make sure you’re not burning excess energy, cause you’ll need it later – well see how this theory plays out as the summer progresses. Were the third team onto the run. Shortly we execute mistake #1 to perfection. We run up where we’re suppose to but miss a large loop and have to backtrack to run the entire loop. Opps – no biggie it’s early. Onto the MTB’s for a little ride through some hills and onto the road around to Fort Qu’Appelle. Were into the canoe in the top five, not bad at this point. We get to the checkpoint with the mystery checkpoint info with 4 or 5 other teams. We decide to go right when everyone goes left – I figure there is swamp to the left. Does not really get us ahead, but was a little easier than going left. Now execute mistake #2. As we head to the mystery checkpoint we over shoot it by 2-3 K, most of which is uphill. After realizing we’ve gone too far we head back and it’s just off the road. Oh well, several other teams made the same mistake, but several teams behind us don’t. Back to the canoe and Brian Ross and his team from S’toon fly by us in their canoe, I mean fly. All of this while the skies open up and piss on us, then hail – WHY? (stage direction – shake fist at sky) By the time we get back to our bikes for the last bike, I am famished. I need to eat a sandwich and have some coke and maybe put my feet up. Meanwhile, the ladies are on their bikes, helmets on, ready to go. Oh crap, I guess I have to get going. But I finish my sannie first. Next fun thing is to swim to the middle of this dugout to a dingy, with a checkpoint word inside it. Off with the MTB shoes and in I go, what a crap hole. I sure hope (cough cough) I don’t sick (cough cough) and miss any (cough cough) work. I realize on my way back to the shore, I’ve got my sunglasses on and think there swim goggles. Sure glad they stayed on, as I wasn’t going to dive for them if they would have come off. Just a little more biking and back into the canoe to paddle back to the start. Can’t wait to get out of this canoe and dunk my head in the lake. Six hours to finish my ass. Only if you were perfect and even then, the team that won in just over six hours, made a mistake or two as well. Oh well, it was a fun day. Unfortunately, I can’t claim JFT bragging, they belong to Jim Greenwood and his team, well-done guys. I do retain bragging rights over Fiona Cribb, but am sure to give them up at Waskesui. Oh man, 2 days later and my quads are still killing me – I can hear the voices now – suck it up PRINCESS NANCY. RV --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Al Barry's 2006 Ice Breaker Report: (Soft knocks at the door) CHONG: Who is it? CHEECH: It's me, Dave. Open up, man, I got the stuff. (More knocks) CHONG: Who is it? CHEECH: It's me, Dave, man. Open up, I got the stuff. CHONG: Who? CHEECH: It's, Dave, man. Open up, I think the cops saw me come in here. (More knocks) CHONG: Who is it? CHEECH: It's, Dave, man. Will you open up, I got the stuff with me. CHONG: Who? CHEECH: Dave, man. Open up. CHONG: Dave? CHEECH: Yeah, Dave. C'mon, man, open up, I think the cops saw me. CHONG: Dave's not here. CHEECH: No, man, I'm Dave, man. (Sharp knocks at the door) CHEECH: Hey, c'mon, man. CHONG: Who is it? CHEECH: It's Dave, man. Will you open up? I got the stuff with me. CHONG: Who? CHEECH: Dave, man. Open up. CHONG: Dave? CHEECH: Yeah, Dave. CHONG: Dave's not here. CHEECH: What the hell? No, man, I am Dave, man. Will you... (More knocks) CHEECH: C'mon! Open up the door, will you? I got the stuff with me, I think the cops saw me. CHONG: Who is it? CHEECH: Oh, what the hell is it...c'mon. Open up the door! It's Dave! CHONG: Who? CHEECH: Dave! D-A-V-E! Will you open up the goddam door! CHONG: Dave? CHEECH: Yeah, Dave! CHONG: Dave? CHEECH: Right, man. Dave. Now will you open up the door? CHONG: Dave's not here. Rock on!!! Al -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Dirt Rag Volume II – June 12, 2006 - RV This past weekend saw the third MTB race of the Provincial Series and there was lots of dirt to go around. The mistress and I got real dirty and did things we’ve never done before. It was a good time. Before I get to the good stuff, let me inform you that it starting raining in PA on Friday and still was when I left late Sunday afternoon. Now my previous experience in racing in raining conditions was not a good experience and did not bode well for Sunday. But somewhere along the way, something must have gone right. Was it riding with Brad Kerr at Wascana Trails and getting some technical pointers, damn right! Was it reading, “How to Mountain Bike Like A Champion” by Ned Overend, probably did not hurt. Was spending 8 hours in the rain on Saturday “coaching” track and thinking about how to ride in this weather a factor, yeah. Now if it was misty and wet on Saturday, it had to be raining and soaking on Sunday. My pre-ride was to ride from the hotel to the race sight, which was a good warm-up, but way too early to really help. I sat around, inside, keeping warm and looking dazed (more so than usual). Finally i stripped down and got on dry shorts on and decided on how many layers for the upper body, but it was still too early to line up – so I wrapped up in a blankie and stayed warm. Off to the start and found out there were three others in my age group, Eno Ricci, Garth Paterson and Terry Zach. All finished ahead of me in each race so far. The course was the same as last year, which is good, cause Saturday I kept going over the course and what to do for each of the sections. To my benefit they cut out one downhill and uphill (although I did ride this area okay last year) from the race. Two parts of the course I worried about were the one-downhill and roots section in the first third and a short, steep and rooty downhill in the last third. Obviously the course was slick and muddy, but somehow other than these two sections I rode the whole course. For six of the seven laps I cyclocrossed the two sections of dread and heard from spectators that running these sections was faster than most that rode them. I went out in control and trailing my three competitors. Terry and I went back and forth for the first half of the first lap, but never really saw him after that. As I tried to ride some parts of the first downhill, I tried to go to the right of a big old pine, but my wheels wanted to smack it upside it’s head – not good for me. Terry was behind me and after said it was a terrible looking crash and thought I was going to smack my face on the tree. I did just about have a second vasectomy here. This is when I decided that cyclocrossing this section was a really, really good idea. Past Garth as he carried his bike down the second downhill of dread with a twisted gnarly looking front wheel (past Garth twice while he was carrying his bike and waiting to get wheels from his son once he finished) – the Gods of Mechanical Failure shone on me once again. Past Eno late in lap one and never saw him again. Each lap I kept looking to see if I went to hard and if everyone was coming back to me, but no Terry and no Eno, not even on the couple of places the course runs parallel to itself. I was in “the zone” and had an amazing race, one of those where you did everything right made only a few mistakes (less than your competitors). The Dirt Rag will be on hiatus until August, in the meantime, it’s sister publication the XX-Report will hit the news stands July 25th or so. Until then, avoid trees and other obstacles, as they never lose the battle. RV ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Dirt Rag Vol. 1 by RV I have decided to embrace my dirty side (aka do more mountain biking and off-road tris) this summer. And so far this decision has NOT been worthwhile, fulfilling or even fun. Race 1 of the mountain bike series was fraught with high expectations. A chance to see how the winter training went and also to see if I could repeat as the expert master 40+ winner on this course (Regina Beach), to see how my mistress (new fancy MTB bike) would ride. Well, the winter training was alright, but wasn’t as good as last year. I definitely need to gain some technical MTB skills. The mistress exceeded expectations, as she was plush in tight, solid when going got hard and a dream on the downhills. I basically faded in the 2nd of 3 laps and then went on to splay myself all over the course in lap 3, a wipeout here, an endo there and you have one frustrated wanna be mountain biker. I’d like to thank Eno Ricci for his design of the course this year and for making it far more technical than last year – coincidence that Eno finished third this year?). Oh, I finished 6 out of 8. So what do I do between race 1 and 2, ride my road bike more, and makes sense right? Stupid idea. Race 2 is on a more technical course than Regina Beach, so I am hoping osmosis also applies to mountain biking. Apparently it doesn’t. Race 2 sees me competitive for the first 10 minutes – take the positives right. Lap 1 of 3 is an exercise in frustration (note to self – pre-ride course next time, even if it is wet, cold and you are tired). First my tire pressure was too high and the slick conditions invited me to fishtail and wobble all over the place, I must have covered extra couple hundred metres in lap 1. As I slowly lose sight of the pack I start with, I begin to discover the places in need to down shift, the right lines to take in the tricky sections. And I still haven’t reached the real technical sections (2nd half of lap 1). Well, in that second half I did my Al Barry impression several times (if the trees could talk). And then the long climb to finish lap 1, of please lord let my competitors in my age group have a mechanical failure or a flat, please. This prayer was answered once as Terry Zach (winner of the point series and prov. Race from last year and race 1) had his chain break. In laps 2 and 3, I did manage to ride most places I had to cyclocross in lap 1, but there were many place I just could not master and the mud finally got so caked that at the finish line the mistress seized up and said that’s it no more. I finished 3rd, but like 7 minutes behind 2nd place. Thank goodness I am planning to peak in October, it is a long season and I still need to ride my mountain bike more. The Dirt Rag Vol. 2 will hit the newsstands on June 12th, until then ride hard, ride long and have fun. RV ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ What I did on my summer vacation Ultraman Canada 2005 – A 3-Day Hurl-fest in the Okanagan Saturday, July 30 – Day One 10.0 km (6.2 miles) point-to-point swim in Skaha Lake, followed by 144.8 km (90.0 mile) bike ride, beginning at Skaha Estates over the Richter Pass returning to Okanagan Falls. The swim took 3 hours and 39 minutes which was 38 minutes longer than I thought it would. Needless to say, I cleverly only took enough liquids to last 3 hours (duh) so I left the water already dehydrated. The upside was that everyone was a bit slow (current, maybe?) and I was in 5th place after the swim (which is pretty good for someone who only swims about 1 km per week). The downside was that it was already 11 a.m. and already kind of warm. The temperature peaked at 37°C on day one and I lost a position on the bike ride when I stopped to hurl at the top of Yellow Lake climb. Other athletes spoke afterwards of day one as the beginning of their three-day spiritual journey ... I just thought it was really stupid hot. Kudos to my brother, Perry, who provided admirable kayak support but who lied through his teeth about how far we had to go to get to the finish. Day one recovery meal: two glasses of salt water (to stop the cramping) and some kind of solid food that I can’t remember. Sunday, July 31 – Day Two 273.5 km (170 mile) bike ride, beginning in Penticton and ending in Princeton. It was a bit cooler on day two (35-36°C) and I spent the first four hours of the ride cramming as much food and liquids into my body as because when the heat hits there is no way I would be able to keep anything down. We rode up a hill called “The Wall” at about the 100 km mark. I hate hills called things like “The Beast,” or “The Cemetery,” but most of all I really hate hills called “The Wall.” I was still waiting for my spiritual journey to begin. The only epiphany I had was that I could have used one more easier gear; there really isn’t a whole lot of difference between 35° and 37°C when my heart rate is sitting at 170 bpm and I really think I could pull of a credible Pee-Wee Herman for Halloween this year. Kudos to bike support crew: Ryan, Mary, mo, and Kristine who kept me on course, kept the water bottles chilled, doused me in ice water when my head was about to explode, and lied through their teeth about how far I had to ride. Anywho, after 10 hours of work I moved up one whole place to fifth. Whoopee. Post recovery meal, I think it was Greek. Traded bike at finish line for a package of gum. Monday, August 1 – Day Three 84.5 km (52.4 mile) double-marathon run from Princeton to Summerland. Still no spiritual awakening. I want my money back!!! Anywho, I went through the first marathon at 4:12 which sounds pretty slow, but I may ... may have bit a bit tired from the two previous days of abuse, and golly, I still had another marathon to run. Actually, I still felt pretty good at 60 km where, at this point, we run up a mountain to about the 70 km mark. I still felt tolerable at this point and even moved up into the lead for a while but ... “Everyone I know has a big butt” (Pee Wee’s Big Adventure – 1985) the last 14 km are all downhill. After a few kilometers of this, my quads turned to oak ... it was so bad I had to walk down a couple of hills backwards. Suddenly, it happened!!! My spiritual awakening I had been waiting three days for!!! Like a blinding white light it hit me!!! This is one of the few things that is not better than a kick in the head. With that out of the way, I hobbled to the finish in fifth spot and fourth overall in 29:28:38. Big thanks to run support crew: Mary, Mo, Kris, Ryan, Eric, Stuey, and Marvin for keeping me in Rolaids, liquids, ice, and lying to me about how long and steep the next downhill was. Threw running shoes into the lake ... taking up lawn darts. SJ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Gibson's 2005 Morden Race Report below: Hi Rick, you asked about Morden and the performance of our little group. I'll start off by saying that my performance at Morden was adequate. I would have liked to have been quite a bit faster on the bike and the run but it was just not my day. I learned a lot though and will be heading out ther again next year. 'nuff said. Now lets talk about Morden ! The town itself is very pretty. The race was very well organised and I cannot praise the volunteers enough. The swim was warm ( +22 ) and wetsuits were optional. Very calm water, two laps around a triangle, easy sighting. The bike was tough with a couple of long hills about 2/3 in but the highway was fabulous, smooth pretty much all the way. Just one lap for the bike. The run was also a challenge with some nasty little hills including one up to the Golf course that everyone walked ! Again two laps. Aid stations were everywhere, which considering the temp, was a good thing. All the aid stations had water, gatorade, bananas and ICE COLD SPONGES !!! Did I mention the volunteers ? :) All in all, an event well worth being on your race calendar. Now let's talk about our group !Where to start ? Ok, Mike Powell was an addition to the group and travelled down with Lonnie, Greg Dyck, and I. Despite the fact that he actually works full time at the Sandra Schmirler Pool and is a roadie (eeeeew ! :) ) he is a fine travelling companion and doen't snore much. Oh yeah, really glad he does not do more tri as he would really kick ass . Lonnie Dynna again showed why he is an Ironman despite his somewhat erratic approach to training this year. Imagine how good he would be if he actually did some consistent training . At the post race soiree Lonnie said he was "gonna dance on the tables Marco !! " Yeah well, if that was Lonnie on a wild night I'd hate to see him mellow . Geez, two beers and some buffalo wings, Thank God the cops weren't there . Greg ( Seatpost ) Dyck had a great race and was very strong throughout. He will have a very good time at Penticton having easily grabbed one of the qualifying spots with a 5:07. It would be really easy to hate him for being so good but he was great fun to be with and a pleasure to be stuck in a truck with !! He also bought beer. And drank it, Lonnie !! Ryan also qualified for Penticton. After he had paid the exorbitant sum, promised his first born, given blood and a stool sample, pledged allegiance to IMC etc... he sat back at the table in a daze, mumbling quietly to himself " oh God, what have I done..... ? " I saved the best for last, and that of course, is the ladies. Deb had a strong race finishing 3rd in her class. And have I mentioned how hot she looks lately ? No wonder Ryan, Curtis and Sony were sitting with her ! Theresa did well also despite some problems with bladder control in the wetsuit. If you know anyone who needs a petite wetsuit in april fresh condition see Theresa. The absolute hero of the whole race was Deb Dwyer who showed everyone what it means to be an Ironman. With a finish time of 8:33 she toughed it out while others DNF'd. She rocked. Did I miss anyone ? How about Tammy K. who ran with Deb the whole 21k " just to keep her company" So there we are at the bar talking about sharing a hotel room with two beds between 4 guys. Only a true triathlete would ignore all the obvious questions and leap to the most important one... " Where are you going to put the bikes ?? " guess who ?? Best Wishes, Mark.. |