Mount Tremblant 70.3

This is for the Islanders doing IM Tremblant. The stuff that people have been saying about this bike course being hard is completely wrong. It is one the easiest 90 k race courses that I have done. It is considerably easier than Mooseman, Lake Placid or IM Canada. I did a 2:45 on this course not pushhing it at all. My average speed was near 33k per hour. Last year at Mooseman I did 2:56 pushing it hard. At other Ironman events I have always done around 3 hours over 90 k. the first 60 k was super fast and then the Lac Superior section was basically like biking on PEI. you get lots of speed on rolling hills and it wasn't really hard going either way. I was literally waiting the whole time for the "hard part" to begin. But, in every race, there are lessons to be learned. Because I was finding the bike course easy, I wasn't drinking too much fluid because I didn't want to stop to pee (mistake). I was cocky about the distance because I have done numerous half-ironmans and three ironmans. I didn't think there was any chance of nutrition problems. when I left the transition after the bike, and looked at the time, I was very happy and felt I was on track for about  a 5:15 half ironman which would be pretty good for me right now. (i used to consider that slow but times change). I was running a little over 5 min kilometers and felt i was on track for a half-marathon time in the high 1:40s which would be my norm. At about the 15 k mark I could feel my body start to stiffen up and then I started to get cramps in my legs. the kind you get when you are dehydrated. I haven't had them since the 32 k mark in Ironman Canada when it was 38 degrees and I knew I was dehydrated. There were a lot  of people around me walking and lots of people being sick so there may be something about the Mount Tremblant course that I am underestimating. I didn't walk but my 1:55 half marathon is officially the slowest half marathon I have ever run. So, it wasn't a disaster in that I finished in 5:24 instead of maybe 5:15 or 5:16 but it was a good lesson in being more careful. I purchased salt tablets at the expo and will start trying them out.

One point re the swim: don't stand up at the finish until you literally can't swim any more. In fairly shallow water, there are nasty rocks and I stood up when the person in front of me did and severely bruised my foot. I am limping two days afterwards and was worried baout being able to run. I had to jump back in the water and swim over the rocks in less than 3 feet or water. Otherwise, it is a fantasic race and you can tell that some government agencies have put a ton of money into this. It was better than any Ironman event I have been to in terms of preparation and support. Virtually the entire bike course in repaved; they had the Snowbirds do fly overs before the start of the race. The governor general of Canada opened the event and spoke at the beginning before the swim. They had a miliary cannon to start to the swim; the volunteers used hockey sticks and hockey nets to collect debris which is cute tribute to Canada. Scott

It's Been a While

I haven't had time to make many entries on here. I have been training quite a bit for 2 events this summer: Ironman Tremblant 70.3 and the full Ironman in August at the same place. My training is going well. I have cycled about 1400 outdoor k this spring. I haven't raced at all so my intensity hasn't been high but my endurance and strength is good. I have been doing a lot of long runs and I think my running is better than it has been in while. Last year I worked on speed with some success but didn't do much long running and had a hard run in the one half-ironman I did last spring. I have been feeling very lately on my long runs. Yesterday i did a very hilly 16-17 k around New Glasgow and if i had more time, easily could have kept going. I feel that I am further along than I was at this time last year. My swimmingis pretty strong as I do that fairly hard all year. I need to work a bit on distance as I fade a bit at around 3000 metres. I am actually enjoying not racing much. Last year I did something like 13 races and basically wore myself out. This year I am trying to concentrate on just a few.

Otherwise, things are good. Busy at work. I have finished construction of a new pool at my house which is more for leisure than for training.

tucson 2012

i have been slack about writing on this blog. I have been in Tucson for the past 5 days, cycling. the weather has been great; it is cool in the morning and warms up to about 75 degrees in the afternoon. I have cycled everyday for the last five days; i have run a couple of times and swam once. I plan to cycle again tomorrow. I have been doing around 80k per day, a little more or less. I am finding my way around better this year.

I am staying at a very nice hotel called "Lodge on the Desert." I have a suite with a king size bed, fireplace and jucuzzi tub (which i haven't used) There is not much to do here in the evening. Aside from the weather and beautiful scenery, I don't really think one would come here for culture. there are some museums and art galleries but they are not a focal point. The city itself is not that attractive; it suffers from bad urban sprawl for miles. It is not walkable at all. There are strip malls everywhere and the city is very spread out. New York City probably has 10 times as many people and you could walk from one end of Manhattan to another. I went to go to a bar the other night and it was a $25 cab ride each way. It is crazy.

Fitness wise, I am not sure if I am more or less fit than this time last year. My opinion on that varies depending on the day. In some ways, I feel like it takes a bit more out of me to train like I do. On the other hand, I run on the treadmill right now at faster speeds than I did 10 years ago. My swimming and cycling continue to be quite strong. I am planning on doing fewer races this summer and more running races. I find I only have so much competitive spirit to last one season and if I do too many races, I tend to losse it by the end of the summer. By the time I got to the world age group championships last year in September, I was mentally done. This year, my biggest race will be Ironman Tremblant so I am going to try to focus more on that.

Home Renos

This past fall I have had two major renos going at both houses- pool construction in New Glasgow and major renovation at my place in Charlottetown. It just occured to me today that it has had a bit of an effect on my training. It has taken some of my time but also my mental energy a bit. The good news is that the renos are almost over. I have been swimming regularly all fall and running 2 or three times a week. Prior to Christmas, I thought my running endurance was pretty good. I had been running alot around New Glasgow. Since then, it has decreased a bit. I have been doing yoga 2 or 3 times a week which is really a mental break. I have been doing spin class once a week but am having a hard time getting going on my trainor. I am going to Tucson in about a month and should be doing a bit of cycling in preparation. Otherwise, I am looking forward to the spring. My first big race is Mount Tremblant 70.3 in June.

Injured

I went for a long run a week ago around New Glasgow and I have had a very sore hip ever since. I was wearing fairly old sneakers which could be part of the problem. It was also a very hilly route. I am not sure what the exact cause is. I took most of last week off and then ran for about an hour yesterday. My hip is still sore but not as bad. I am going to buy new sneakers this week to see if that helps. I also wonder if I have over stretched things by doing yoga too agressively. I think that is also possible. Otherwise, I am hoping to get back to my routine and also start doing more indoor spinning. I need to get my trainor set up for the winter. I purchased a new cyclo cross bike and i hope to use it a bit outdoors this winter. It is hard to believe that i will be heading to Tucson in about 2 and a half months for cycling. It helps make for a shorter winter.

enthusiasm returning?

I think my enthusiasm for working out is returning a bit after being a bit low through september and october. I am swimming twice a week and feel ready to up that to three times a week. I have been running two or three times a week and feeling pretty good when I run. I ran 15 k this past sunday and that didn't feel too bad. I am back doing yoga about three times a week and I think that is still good for my flexibility and overall health. I am teaching a spin class once a week and feeling like I will try to cycle a bit outdoors if the weather premits it. I am booked to go to Tucson in february for a week of cycling so i would like to keep my cycling fitness up as much as possible. I am also signed up for both a half ironman and full ironman next summer.

Home renos

This has been a busy fall for home renos and it has cut into my training a bit; I have been building a new pool in New Glasgow; had new floors installed in New Glasgow and have ripped out an old bathroom and kitchen in Charlottetown and building a new bathroom. I am also supposed to have some work done at 46 Prince. It seems like alot but I didn't intend to have it all done at once.

In terms of triathlons, I am starting to plan for next year. I am doing Mount Tremblant 70.3 in June next year and an ironman there in August. I am booked to go to Tucson in February to go cycling. I would also like to qualify for the age group world championships in London in 2013 (the qualifying race is next year) Work is busy as usual which is good. I am swimming about 2 days a week but not very intensely. I have run twixe this week so far for about 40 mins each and have done two hot yoga classes.I am taching spinning on Saturdays. I haven't been biking outside for about a month. I would like to go once or twice more before the winter. I have cycled more than 3000 k this summer which I think is quite a bit.