Ironman Canada 2010, for me, what just a little bit of everything.  In fact, it actually summed up my entire 2010 season in a nutshell.  For 5 of the 6 weeks leading into the race I did not know if I would be racing at all.  A torn tendon on July 19th from a poor landing while trail running had the guessing game of “to race or not to race” following me around like the ultimate question.  Yet, as I mentioned I had teachers and support to help me mentally work through this so that I could have the opportunity to get to that start line. 

On August 22nd, Scott and I chatted seriously.  Was it safe to race?  Was it even smart to race?  We weighed the options with laser-like precision.  We went back and forth and looked the at best/worst-case scenarios, and ultimately the decision rested on the fact that it was indeed “time to race.”  We both knew that with only one 45 minute run in 6 weeks going into the race (other than intensive bouts of water running) that my preparation was the ultimate “wild card.”  But this excited me – and I think it excited Scott too.  We both figured, “what if?”  And after a 2010 season that has stripped me to my core with challenge and change, it was time to put all the cards on the table and just see what happened.  So, on the evening of August 22nd (T – 6 days to IMC) Scott told me to get my head ready to race.  I went to Pierre’s that night for some psychological boosting (in a way that only Pierre can do) and I began sharpening my sword for a battle that I didn’t know if I was prepared for, but instead, simply knew that it was a battleground I could not miss being a part of.  And that was that. 

Race week was a complete thrill.  After having placed third at IMC last year, I was given bib #2 to race with and I was beyond honored.  I was part of the pro panel with Heather Wurtele and Tereza Macel.  I gave a clinic for TIMEX at the Kelowna Running Room where over 50 people were in attendance to hear me speak about the launch of the Global Trainer and my training/racing preparation for this great race.  I had a little friend give me a dragon tattoo to wear during the race to remind me of strength within which nearly brought me to tears.  I had a personal interview with TSN and the great Paula Newby-Fraser.  I spent time with friends and family leading up into the race and just soaked up all the positive energy I possibly could for an experience that I felt nothing but sheer joy and excitement at being able to participate in.  I didn’t feel the pressure of a professional athlete. Instead, I felt the sheer bliss of racing for the pure and simple love of the game.  I would race injured, and I would race unprepared with my run, but I was racing, and that was absolutely all that I cared about - this time – because for me, this time around, there just was no other option.

My swim on race day was inexplicably slow at a terribly disappointing 1:06.  I swam faster at this race last year and the conditions were great on race day….just no viable excuse for why on earth I swam so slowly.  I was also 4-5 minutes slower than training partners that I swam alongside all summer long.  Scott and I knew, without a doubt, that I was ready to swim 1:02.  We are still trying to figure out why it is that my swim has improved during training, but why, during a race, it falls apart.  The guess is that I just get too excited and I lose my form and technique.  Another winter of figuring out the enigmatic swim puzzle and remaining entirely determined on putting those pieces together.  It is beyond clear that I need a one hour swim or better to be in a position to race for an IM win. Coming out of the water with a 17 minute deficit to women who are also exceptional cyclists and runners is just not going to cut it, and like the saying goes, “You can’t win IM in the swim, but you can lose it.”  Boy can you EVER!  In fact I think I may well be the poster child for that old saying;)  That, in itself, is enough for me.  I will get there.  I don’t know when and I don’t know exactly how,as that’s just how the swim works, but with swimming partners here in my new stomping grounds in Penticton, I will just continue to quietly pound through the swimming miles until I get to where I need to be.  And that’s it.  I rarely put things out there before doing the deed, but in this case I am putting it out there because I believe it like I believe any true fact.  I will get that swim to 58 minutes or better.  Period.

The bike was solid at a 5:16, and 3rd fastest female pro bike split of the day.  I was hoping for a sub 5:10, but the colder weather and wind made that a difficult goal on the day, particularly on the latter part of the course where the massive storm of wind and rain nearly froze me to my core.  On a course/day like it was….I was pleased enough with a 5:16. I felt strong as I continued to reel in the women on the bike course as the bike went on.  I ended the bike in 8th place (having moved up 11 places from 19th) and less than 3 minutes back from 3rd place.  This thrilled me, because on any other day, this would have been all I needed for a top three position.  And then….then I hit the run.

For the first time in my racing career my run legs were not there for me.  The complete lack of running miles over the previous 6 weeks had taken its toll and I just couldn’t run.  The cramping began early and the pain in my foot was felt with each and every foot strike, forcing me to shorten my stride and deal with what I had on the day.  I have never  ever wanted to quit a race so badly in my life.  I tried to evoke and bring out the ‘dragon’ but I found myself instead to be in ultimate pain management control as it took every ounce of strength I had just to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  I found myself fantasizing about laying in the ditch and just staying there – forever.  It was rough.  I’ve never done that before.  Usually I focus every fibre of my being on catching the next female, but I couldn’t even go there.  It was, instead, pure damage control.  At 11 miles (shortly before the turn around) I noticed that my foot stopped hurting as my foot had instead gone entirely numb.  My legs felt like dead weights.  There was no spring.  There was nothing even familiar about my run.  In fact, I found myself wondering if it was really me in my body.  The cramping was intense.  I saw Scott on the side of the road and when I muttered, “my legs…my legs…I can’t run” he told me to take some salt and water as a last resort, but we both knew it was simply the lack of impact that my legs were used to and the sheer monstrosity of the IM run that was causing the cramping. 

 I was passed by two women on the run.  I have never been passed by another pro woman in my racing career (or at least have had the pass last to the finish) on the run and this was very mentally difficult to work through when I was already in so much pain.  I forced myself to block it out, but inside I was crushed.  This shouldn’t be happening.  The run is where I do my thing.  But on this day, it just was what it was, and I knew instinctively that it was simply what I chose to do with it all would count in the end.   So, I just kept moving forward in the hopes that something would change at the front of the race.  I limped in at a 3:21 run which might seem like a reasonable time, but with the other fast times due to the cooler conditions, it was a heartbreaking time.  This was a day to pound out a great run, but that was not the way it was to unfold.

My 9:48:06 was only enough for 8th place in a deep and competitive field, while racing with an injury and legs that were not prepared to do the task in the way that I wanted them to.  Am I complaining?  No.  I will never regret having raced.  I loved being out there (at least now when I look back at it) among so many friends and supporters in my favorite community in the world.  Penticton.  I would have loved to have repeated, and bettered, my performance from 2009,and to have done so in front of the home crowd, but it just wasn’t possible given the tools I went into the race with.  Next time. 

So now what?  Scott and I have made the decision to throttle back for a bit.  2010 was tough.  Really tough.  Sick in China, mechanical in St. George, a reasonable 5th place finish at CdA (but still not where I would like to be) and then an injury for an IMC 8th place finish….the season just was what it was.  It was a season of change, a season of growth, a season of learning, and although I learned so much from it, it’s time to stop chasing my tail and get things primed for 2011.  IM Arizona was to be the next on the list, but when we looked carefully, this would probably just be another sub-par performance due to ill preparation.  My foot needs time to recover from the early torture I put it through in its recovery phase during IMC.  By the time I would be ready to start run training again it would be October. A few weeks of running and then a taper still puts me in Arizona in a less than optimal position.  This isn’t what we want.  Instead, I want to be the best I can be and to GROW from the experiences of 2010 so that I can use them as tools (rather than baggage) in 2011.  So now, it is all about 2011.  For now, I rest.  Then I swim, swim, and swim some more.  And beyond that….I bring my run back to form.  I will be doing multiple running races over the winter and early spring to get things back to where they need to be and beyond and this makes me very content…not to mention excited.  

Stay tuned for my off season antics, as there are multiple things in the works which are also super exciting.  Before I sign off though I would like to send a massive congratulations to all who were out there racing their hearts out on August, 29th:)

Penticton.  My favorite place on the planet earth – which I now call “home.” 

This mural found in the heart of the city may be a bit dated...but it speaks volumes

 I remember the first time I came to this magical place in the spring of 2008.  I had, only months before, decided to leave “the marathon” behind in search of greener (or at least less injury prone) pastures.  I was still teaching at the time, had never raced a triathlon, but was training to experience my first ever season of triathlon in the coming months.  I had two weeks off for spring break and at the last minute I found myself packing my bags for Penticton to meet up with some training partners I had never before met – The Tribalistic gang from Winnipeg – some of whom have become my dearest friends.  I do believe that I fell madly in love with Penticton during that week of ‘riding the course’, running through the KVR trails, and I remember driving back to Calgary thinking I now had two “musts” in my life:

  I must move to Penticton some day.

  I must find a way to train and race full-time so that this can be my job.

Interesting how life has a way of making things happen when you truly want something and are willing to do what it takes to make it happen.  Two years later…here I am.  I am no longer chasing a dream, I am simply living it, and I haven’t a complaint in the world – not a single one.

Before I go any further, and JUST in case you weren’t already aware, Penticton is also the home of Ironman Canada.  IMC is one of the original Ironman races, and has maintained its solidarity among a sea of new Ironman and 70.3 races.  It remains special because of how the community lives, sleeps, eats, and breathes this race.  Ironman Canada is not a 1-2 week event within a community, instead it is a year-round experience which is appreciated and respected in a way that is so very special and rare.  And as a professional triathlete, it’s tough to find better stomping grounds than this. This morning were two prime examples.  As I was finishing an easy spin through town I came across a group of young kids were walking along the sidewalk as part of, what looked to be, a summer program.  Several of the young elementary school aged kids started cheering as I passed by them.  Then later, I stumbled upon a couple having coffee out by the beach who asked me if I was “training for the Ironman?”  I told them that I was, and they asked my name and race number so they could cheer for me on race day.  Welcome to Penticton. 

The Peach - symbolizing the start and finish of IMC

Best little bike shop around....

  Beyond that, I swam this morning with my coach and a group of Factor 9 athletes.  The swim has remained so elusive to me, and a majority of that has been based around the fact that I haven’t had my coach there with me often enough to keep my stroke on track as it develops and improves.  Living in different places makes this a bit tough!  This morning, however, was spent sighting, working on my stroke, and continuing to feel comfortable in the open water – all the while under the watchful and keen eye of my coach.  Finally.  This is now something we can do several times a week vs. the previous ‘few times a year’ scenario.  Scott and I both call this the “new chapter” in my swimming.  Bring it – as I’m getting awfully tired of chasing out of the water with deficits much larger than they need to to be;-)

Skaha Beach - where Janelle is going to learn to make peace with the open water;-)

  So, I continue along on the same road I have been travelling for the last year, but definitely on a new and improved pathway.  A pathway which I know with every fibre of my being that I am supposed to be on and couldn’t be happier to have finally arrived - another ”finally.”  Tough to beat that.

Can’t wait for IMC, where the TIMEX truck and affiliated gang will also be coming up to be part of the EXPO, cheering, and racing squad!!  See you guys here soon!

PS – THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all my super duper moving hands…and especially to Jenny Ayers who has done more than her share in making sure that this moving experience has gone on with as few glitches as possible. I couldn’t have done it without you, good buddy.  Thank you.

After coming out of the water with this deficit, I had some feelings of panic.   I am used to chasing out of the swim, but this was pretty bad and I knew there were many strong women in the race who I wasn’t going to be able to chase down quickly.  It was going to be a long, slow process, and that is a big feat to look at when you still have over 8 hours to go.  That’s a long day of chasing.  But, it was what it was, so I figured I may as well get started.  Here is where I made my next mistake.  I went out too hard.  My heart rate was far too high, I knew it, but I was so full of adrenalin that I tricked myself into thinking that I could handle this pace for the whole bike.  Not smart, but another rookie error.  I learned my limits.  After 2.5 hours of hard pushing on a course that is exceptionally tricky with all the turns and popper hills, I begain to pay the price.  My heart rate dropped substantially and because I knew my fuelling was all right, I knew I had gone out too hard.  But this is Ironman racing.  You live, you learn, and you are forced to deal with the factors of the day – even if they are self-induced…;-) I rolled in at a 5:22 bike time which disappointed me, but at least there had been no mechanical and a large part of me was just glad to have gotten to the run part of the race – FINALLY! 

I was 9th starting the run after having moved up on the bike with the 4th fastest bike split of the day, and slowly continued to reel in the women ahead of me.  I had a pretty good run until about 21 miles, where at this point, my gut started cramping and I had to use the Porta-Potty a few times.  I also started to stop to take in 2 cups of water at each aid station for the last 10 miles or so of the race as it was getting hot and dehydration was slowly creeping in.  I chased and chased but for the life of me I couldn’t catch the 4 women ahead of me (Corbin, Kessler, Williamson, and Cooper-Scott) who were all posting between 3:04 and 3:17 run splits.  I ran a 3:13 (2nd fastest of the day) which was solid, but not overly pleasing to me either.  At the turn around at Higgins Point, the 5th place bicycle was waiting to lead me in to the finish line.  As tired as I was, she was absolutely hilarious, joking with me that she was my linebacker for the race as we pushed our way through the sea of racers all heading the opposite direction. 

 A sea of inspiration on the run course!

The crowds, volunteers, and cheering along the lakeside portion of the race was overwhelming (in a good way!) and it really helped to keep your mind off the pain.  Seeing friends Sam Barnes (who showed me around the course weeks earlier) and Kelly Moore, both having a great race boosted my spirits too.  I saw TIMEX teammates, Roger, Phaedra, and Trista cheering along, and Jerzy and Juli out there pushing themselves on the course too.  Jenny and Brian swayed their hips along as though they were on a Hawaiian beach, and although I was unable to acknowledge any of them (too tired) I processed it all and I was definitely smiling inside.

 Next on the list (after moving to Penticton next week!!!!!!!!) is Calgary 70.3 and then….Ironman Canada.  More experience, more pieces to put together – can’t wait!!!!

As a final note a few special thanks to:

-Steve at Vertical Earth (CdA cycling shop) for helping me with that ‘tick’ in my bike in the days leading up to the race prior to the arrival of TIMEX to come to the rescue, and who also completed his first IM this weekend with a super result to boot!

-My parents for travelling all the way from northern B.C. to watch me race!  As well, as Scott, Jenny, and Brian for trekkig down to CdA to support me for this race. 

-Bonnie for putting up with me as her homestay athlete for a full week:-) 

-Doug (TIMEX) for having that bike primed and ready to roll without a hitch.  Gorgeous.

-Amazing med tent volunteers for taking such good care of me when I was only partially coherent!

Congrats to ALL finishers!!!  It was not an easy day and you DID IT:-)))

The importance of pacing for an endurance athlete is one of the most critical aspects of your training and performance.

You go out too fast and you end up suffering far more than necessary, only to limp in with a disappointing result for yourself.  Go out too slow, and although you might ‘suffer’ less, you’re still not going to be pleased with the final outcome if your overall time is in any way important to you – which for most of us – it is.  Although as I’ve discussed before, your final results or time should not define your experience for you, it is still something many of us think about to help us gauge improvement over time, assess our training, and to simply experience the satisfation of meeting an external goal.  So, I don’t recommend your result/time to be your focus, but I do recommend that it still hold value for these reasons.

Pacing has become increasingly popular and integrated within endurance training for a few years now, thanks in part to the adaptation of GPS watches.  Prior to this, in order to assess your speed/distance/pace during a training run you needed either a treadmill, a track, or specified markers (such as in a race to record your splits.)  I guess if you were really hard core you could also use a friend on a bike for a pace bunny…but you need a couple of really good buddies to recycle through if this was your pacing method of choice!!

So, I now bring to you…drum roll please….the highly anticipated….TIMEX GPS Global Trainer.  Long-awaited…but as of June 2010, this hot little “machine on a wrist” will be hitting retail and available for purchase!  Oooh la la! Welcome to the new generation – TIMEX style!!!  And I ask you…is there any other style when it comes to performance watches?  That’s what I figured;-)

http://www.timexironman.com/Products/Global_Trainer_GPS.htm

Some notable features for all you pace bunnies out there:

-GPS is driven by SiRFstarIII chipset which acquires satellite signals faster and lose connection less often than watches using older chipsets such as Forerunning 101, 201, and 301.

-Can store up to 100 waypoints with the trackback feature and 50 custom routes

-Records up to 1,000 lap times

-4 quadrant screen (LOVE THIS!!!!!)  So easy, so clear….so very TIMEX!

-PC/Mac compatible

-Ability to import performance to Training Peaks software

-Can be used with bike sensors, all TIMEX heart rate chest straps and ANT+ third party bike power sensors.

Now, let it be said, that I am a huge believer in pacing.  If you want to run a goal ‘time’ in a race, then you need to train your body to race at that pace - (amazing concept, I know!!)  Slowly but surely, we can use consistent pacing in our training to help us reach our goals, and this watch will take us there.  At the same time, I also think it’s important to realize that pacing is not the only thing that will help us reach our goals.  Two other important pieces of the puzzle are monitoring our heart rates and understanding our perceived exertion.  The former being the most critical of all. 

The Global Trainer will monitor your heart rate (and allow you to also monitor your speed, pace, distance all at the same time – if you so choose!)  Since being given a premiere version of this doozy of a timepiece at the TIMEX camp in New Jersey a couple of months ago, I use the Global Trainer for about 50% of my runs.  It’s the ticket when I want to be out in the elements and maintaining a specified pace to get my body (especially the legs!) used to running at a “x” pace for “x” time. 

Sometimes though, I just want the chronological time and my heart rate.  I don’t want to be tempted by knowing my pace (which I always am when I have the Global Trainer!)  I think…”Oooooh, I wonder what pace I’m holding right now.” Our pace can sometimes trick us.  For example, running uphill into the wind, might have us at a threshold heart rate, but our pace is only what would otherwise be considered a ‘steady’ pace. I recall having a conversation with Jerry Ziak shortly after the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2007 where I told him the pace I ran in the final mile of the race.  He then looked at me sideways as he asked me what on EARTH I was doing looking at my ‘pace’ during the final mile of a marathon.  I held my head in shame.  How TRUE!  But again, the point is that there is a time and a place for pacing.  The final mile of a marathon….not the time, people!! The energy I wasted (mentally and physically) by looking incessantly at my watch (prior to the TIMEX GPS days) could have gained me a few extra seconds, maybe putting me at a 2:48 marathon…rather than a 2:49 – in that race.  Time and a place….time and a place!!!

  Heart rate (used alone) also allows us to get a better sense for our perceived exertion.  We get to know what our bodies experience and feel like at given efforts or heart rates, and can use that information for pacing the long distance races when the variables change constantly throughout the race.  Too much dependence on pace can be detrimental, so you have to remember to keep it in balance – at least in my humble opinion. For some workouts, I just want to leave the newest technology behind and look solely at my heart rate as my gauge.  So, for about 25% of my runs I will use the TIMEX Road Trainer, which is, quite simply, legendary.  It simple, it’s small, it’s easy, and definitely not a TIMEX piece to be forgotten in these times of great evolution, with new additions such as the Global Trainer, WS4, and TapScreen.

http://walking.about.com/od/prhrm/gr/timexroadhrm.htm

So what do I use for the remaining 25% of the time for my training runs?  Nothing.  Na da.  Perceived exertion.  Scott tells me to go easy, I go easy.  He tells me to go steady, I listen to my breathing.  He tells me to go hard, I make sure everything hurts;-)

My point?  Balance between the tools towards getting faster: Pacing, Heart Rate, and Perceived Exertion.  TIMEX delivers in the first two areas…the third is up to you!