another Saturday

looking forward to riding with Kona, RAAM, incredibly fast cyclist Mark Herbst today, trying out my new Nineteen Rogue wetsuit, and then watching the Time Trials later from the TdF.

70.3 Racine, Wi. July 15 2012

My best swim to date, a great bike split, but my run time something i've already forgotten about. The beaches of Lake Michigan are beautiful. Clean and very much spectator friendly is the entire event. I'd rate Racine right at the top of one of the best 70.3 events I've attended. The only down fall were road conditions were mediocre to poor. Many racers were troubled by the continual roughness unlike Mont Tremblant where the road conditions were practically flawless. Racine 80,000 people is located right on Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and Chicago. A pretty friendly community. The downtown has many unique artistic boutique shops along with the Racine Art Museum. For followers of Frank Lloyd Wright there are buildings to be explored. In addition, Racine is about 3 hours from Green Bay and about 2.5 hrs from Madison which is also home to Trek. My bike of choice. One thing about being in the 45 -49 age category is you usually get to start the race in one of the later waves. At 70.3 Racine we started in the 18th Wave of 23. That means the Pros go off at 7 am and my age category starts about 7:53 AM just that much later in the day when the sun will be that much warmer. Most athletes were struggling with the heat and perhaps the bumpiness of the bike course, when it came to run. I remember going into T2 already feeling zapped. I knew my legs were gone (a first for me). Regardless, push on finish strong. I began walking a lot. I thought to myself give it a little time and the leg strength will return. The end result was a 2 hr 16 min half marathon run. Ouch! On the bright side I did run a negative split. 70.3 Racine is a race I will do again. In summary, to the State of Wisconsin, invest in repaving the bike course and 70.3 Racine will be one of the most beautiful events Ironman has.

2012 Barry's Bay Tri Sprint

It was the 20th Anniversary for Barry's Bay Sprint Tri. Barry's Bay is a small community east of Algonquin Park about 45 minutes drive north of Bancroft, On.(and approximately 3.5 hours north of the Centre of the Universe). By far the most enjoyable, hospitable race I do every year. The volunteers are superb. Race Director Mark Gunner does an amazing job. Fora non-profit event, it is executed better than some 70.3 's I've attended. I've been doing this event for years, and it was actually the race that began the sport of Triathlon for me. My first was done without swim goggles nor wetsuit and using my Kona Mountain Bike. This past year I finished 19th overall at the age of 49. Post race a gentleman stops me and introduces himself and was wanting to compare notes for our age category. The only thing was he thought i was in his age category of 50 plus. I think he was slightly embarrassed. A honest mistake. My top speed was just over 72 kph and having done a hilly 70.3 Mont Tremblant one week prior ; it had escaped me just how mighty the bike course is in Barry's Bay.

70.3 Mount Tremblant

Swim 40 mins, bike 2hr 37 mins, run 1 hr 51 mins plus transitions for a race time of 5 hrs & 17 mins. Overall, pretty darn happy considering the difficulty of the course. The entire event & venue is top notch. I have ridden on many of the roads before so I had a good idea of what to expect. I overheard one of the younger participants finishing well ahead of my time tell his parents it was much more tougher than he was expecting. Ironman Utah bike course was still tougher in my opinion. Yes there are lots of hills and its all about exploiting free speed on the downs and being sensible on the up climbs. The toughest part of the bike is from 70 km to 80km where you just climb. My top speed was 71 kph but apparently my daughter tells me they announced at the race site the pros were hitting 90 kph. The road ways have all been paved so truly a treat. About mid way through the bike course you enter the beautiful town of St. Jovite (the main drag). This might be the most technical part of the course even though the people & fans are inspiring. Going into St.Jovite there isn't much width and you need to be alert with the manhole covers. Passing during this stretch is manageable. The run is half asphalt and half trail. It's fun. The trail is flat. The roadway is not. Have fun Ironman participants you will enjoy it.

Would ya?

You doing a 70.3 Ironman, its cold, as you leave the water and come into T1, you pause, and quickly calculate the physics of leaving your wetsuit on. Would ya?

Don't fight the Wind

The wind. Flying a kite, sailing, letting it blow through your hair, it's all quite conveniently cordial. Being upwind of a Grizzly who hasn't eaten for two weeks and cycling in a crosswind, save it for another day. There was a time, I would have just kept the TT bike at home and not ventured into the 30+kph cross winds. The secret to to getting into the aero position, tucked into the aero bars is not to fight the wind, but be one with the wind. Sounds poetic? [Laugh, spit, blow nose] Oh, it's true. Don't fight the wind, use it to your advantage. Give yourself permission to be courageous and surprisingly you will amaze yourself. Our Barrie TC held their weekly TT last night and we had a turnout of seven courageous Triathletes prepared to get blown over by the gust into asphalt possibly the farmer's fields. We didn't set any personal best times, but the group did amazingly well. The wind will make you stronger.

CF 10km run - Apr 29th 2012

There's an episode on Seinfield where Jerry forgets to set the alarm to wake his Kenyan visitor to run the Boston Marathon. This past Sunday, at my own ill-prepared planning the Caravan simply left Barrie too late for the Toronto 10 km race, banking on the race's notorious late starts. Surprise, they're on time this year. Oops. As I was picking up my bib I was still under the impression I was okay, because of the swell of people at the start line (5km runners). Lady handing my bib number, "you know the 10km race started 10 minutes ago?" Changing from my sandles to my Adidas (love my Adidas (plug)), starting my Garmin and waiting for it to track a satellite. I take off. I'm pissed at myself. I really wanted to run with fellow runner Jon Dow (eventual winner) and use him as a pacer to attempt a sub 40 minute 10km. As I approach the 4km marker Jon passes on his way back being lead by race officials. Meanwhile, a good sign I'm passing 10 km competitors. I finish with a PB of 41 minutes and 29 seconds. The Race Clock indicates 49 minutes 29 seconds. The morale to this Story ; I should have left Barrie 8 minutes sooner.