Penticton, British Columbia
24/08/08
9hrs 53mins finish for 64th overall from 2206 (including 58 pro) starters. 12th in 35-39 Age Group. 31st Age Grouper home overall.
Qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, October 2008!
SWIM 1:04:30 3.8km
BIKE 5:09:50 180km
RUN 3:31:07 Marathon
OVERALL 9:53:32
RANK 64 of 2206
DIV.POS. 12 of 315 in 35-39 Age Group
TOTAL SWIM 2.4 miles (1:04:30)
PACE 1:41/100m
RANK at end of Swim 298
DIV.POS. at end of Swim 57
FIRST BIKE SEGMENT 42.5 miles (1:58:30) Pace: 21.52 mph
FINAL BIKE SEGMENT 69.5 miles (3:11:20) Pace: 21.79 mph
TOTAL BIKE 112 miles (5:09:50) Pace: 21.69 mph
RANK at end of Bike 89
DIV.POS. at end of Bike 18
FIRST RUN SEGMENT 13.1 miles (1:45:40) Pace: 8:03/mile
FINAL RUN SEGMENT 13.1 miles (1:45:27) Pace: 8:02/mile
TOTAL RUN 26.2 miles (3:31:07) Pace: 8:03/mile
RANK at end of Run 64
DIV.POS. at end of Run 12
TRANSITION TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE 5:36
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN 2:29
Pre-race........Holiday :-))))))))
We headed out to Vancouver a week before the race. I was pretty happy to be away from the office as work had been tough for months. Race day was the following Sunday and up until the Friday pre-race the race was an afterthought, I was extremely relaxed about it, and focused more on spending time with Kata, Leon and Orson (and probably racked up more than the ideal number of pushchair pushing kms). I did complete some training in race-week, all of which was high quality including a 45 min pre-sunset swim in the Vancouver beach open-air 50m lido (had the pool to myself!), a couple of 40 min swims in Lake Okanagan, two bikes of 90 and 60 mins and one 45 min run. I felt ready to go. I knew I was in great shape for this.
The Swim
Race morning had arrived and I was up at 4am. Two cups of strong coffee, then breakfast and then onto 8% electrolyte drink. One Mocha Clifshot gel(50mg of caffeine) 30mins before the 7.00am race start, and one Powerbar gel 15 mins before the start. As I stepped onto the sandy beach for the swim start, ACDC's 'Highway to Hell' was playing LOUD (full volume!) over the loudspeakers - a good way to start the day! The Canadian national anthem was played and it was time to get it on. I felt extremely focused. The cannon went and we were off. The first 500 metres were more about getting oxygen than swimming - 2,200 starters, from 33 countries, IM Canada is the largest mass start in triathlon and you knew it if you were in the water! - People were swimming all over the place as opposed to in a straight line, I tried to ignore this and just swam straight for the turn-buoy. I finally broke clear and found my own rhythm. I'd swam 300km in training this year including some decent long straight swims in the run-up (including one straight swim of 3 miles in the London Fields open-air 50m lido - that is a long swim!). Out of the water in 298th spot in 1hr 4mins and I didn't feel like I'd used up too much energy. Once out of the water two Canadian women shouted at me to 'lie down!' and proceeded to wrench my wetsuit off. I said 'thankyou!?' and made my way through T1, very slowly! (five and a half minutes!), and headed eagerly for my bike.
The Bike
You know, biking is unlike swimming and running in that you can find pain that you never knew existed if you look for it hard enough. In the three weeks 7,8 and 9 weeks out from race day I achieved some incredible riding in training. 262, 258 and 290 miles respectively spread across three rides each week, two of >3hrs and one >6hrs (also >100 miles). I'd ridden pretty well at my third attempt at Lanzarote in May 2008 and had taken twenty minutes off my 2006 ride time but had been on the limit pretty much the whole ride. I wanted to ride these three weeks on the limit and beyond in order that I'd be able to ride faster and with a lower heart rate (and not on the limit) in the actual race in Canada. I took a spacer out of the front stem in order to be lower (and more aero) and left the house on all these rides with the intention of finding as much pain as possible , working through it and then finding the next levels of pain! Kind of psycho right? It worked and at the end of those three weeks I was riding at a totally different level. Of course these three weeks were backed up by a huge volume of lower intensity work that allowed me to push it to the maximum and beyond. There is a certain satisfaction in riding the 6th hour of an already hard ride at high intensity and coping with it. I focused on recovery from all of these rides in order to gain the maximum benefit from them. I knew my riding was going well as I was blowing past everyone on the road including groups of riders drafting off one another, cycling-club pelotons and anyone else that was out there!
My 90 min and 60 min rides in race week were on the bike course starting just as it headed out of town. I drove to the same spot on the course and unloaded the bike there. After approx 30 mins you crest the first main climb and it was at this point that I intended to take in my first solid nutrition in the race to take advantage of the downhill from that point and lower heart rate which would help with absorbing the nutrition.
Back to the race, and heading out of town on the bike everyone was really hammering. I thought that either these guys were very fit or they would slow down/blow up at some point. I noticed that most were breathing heavy and rocking in the saddle. Although I was travelling at a greater speed than most I was breathing steady and holding good form, and focused on my heart rate and being patient. I think that never having used a heart rate monitor helped me as I have a pretty good feel on effort level versus where my heart rate is. The 30 minute mark on the ride arrived at the top of the first climb and in went the first Powerbar (containing another 100mg caffeine). It felt like I was starting to absorb it on the downhill which was a big positive. I was extremely strict with my nutrition and alternated with Powerbars on the hour on downhills and Powerbar gels + 250mg salt tablets 30 minutes after on the hour on downhills. I drank no water and only drank 8% electrolyte and then gatorade from the aid stations when I ran out, picking up two extra bottles of 8% electrolyte from special needs at the 120km point.
The Canada bike course is not flat and contains two big climbs, Richter Pass and Yellow Lake + smaller climbs and a ton of rollers.
I maintained my effort level up the long 11km climb to Richter Pass (elevation at summit, 2295 feet), the race was now beginning to stretch out. Just after Richter the wind must have blown my bike computer transmitter slightly out as the computer gave no read out. Rather than risking a potentially disastrous accident I decided not to try to adjust it and decided to 'use The Force' from that point on. Through the rollers, and through the tough rolling Out and Back section at the 120km point. At this point the hammer went down and I increased my effort level but still cycling within myself. It became more and more like being on a solo ride and on the long climb up Yellow Lake (elevation at summit, 2650 feet) I was FLYING. Someone shouted that I was 54th age grouper at this point in the race. On the downhills towards T2 with my chin a couple of mms above the aerobars and with the roar of the deep-section Zipp 404 wheels below me at speeds of 45-50mph I spent a little time thinking about not getting too excited about being up at the front when I hit the run course - stay focused - whilst also taking care not to ride off the course!
Going up Richter Pass
Going up Yellow Lake
As I made my way back through Penticton the crowd support was incredible. Ride time was 5hrs and 9 mins, 112 miles through the mountains at an average speed of 21.69mph! 34th fastest non-professional bike split. Into T2 and a very quick change into running gear (2mins 29 seconds!)and I was out on the marathon course.
The Marathon
My legs felt good, the best they had ever felt at the start of an Ironman marathon. The run course was empty, just one or two guys in my view up the long Main Street - I got a kick out of that - surrounded by a couple of thousand people at the swim start and now it was like running in Greenwich Park near home at 6am. Great crowd support on the way out of town. The run course makes its way along Lake Skaha and is a 13.1 mile fairly straight Out and 13.1 mile Back. There was a headwind on the way out which calmed off for the way back (no tailwind!) and the course was quite undulating particularly in the 10-16 mile section, there was a considerable elevation gain. I really felt very strong and tapped out an average of 8 minute miles over the 26.2 miles.
I concentrated on my effort level and kept my heart rate in check plus again controlled nutrition intake very strictly - I'm no slouch in the mathematics department but maintaining splits on my salt tablet intake and Powerbar gel intake as well as my run splits was quite tough at this stage in the race! This marathon really was an exercise in my head, I was very very focused and totally within my own zone, I really paid no attention at all to the other runners. The >500 miles run focus that I had completed in and out of work in the 14 weeks leading up to Christmas 2007 (mostly in the dark!) was now with me as I continued to pick off runners up the road. At the 10km to go point I remember asking myself 'How much do you want it?' (Kona qualification) - well the fire has been raging for 5 years so no time to slacken off now and I upped my effort level and for the first time in the race I was on the limit and sprinting. I had it in the legs and continued to pick off a few runners, these guys had not been in sight up the road at the 10km to go point, and importantly no-one caught me. Further up the road, close to the finish, I passed two guys in my age group in the last 1km. I ended up running a 3hr 31 marathon on one of the tougher run courses and negative-split the run by a few seconds.
A 9hr 53min finish at Canada, 'sub-10' on a tough course! and I felt electric running down the finishing chute, punching the air as I passed Kata, Leon and Orson.
Confirmation of my Hawaii slot the morning after the race was a massive moment for me, and I was shaking as I paid the race registration dollars! Kind of hard to put it into words, I feel deep satisfaction from the training process achieved over these years - all the early mornings, training day in day out, in and out of work through the dark winters in all weathers, all the >5hr solo rides etc etc.......this moment was the product of a lot of sweat.
And...Thanks to the Iron in my Ironman...Kata, Leon and Orson
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