A cool documentary.

Click here to view the embedded video.

At first I assumed assumed that “Olympian” meant swimmer, but after some thought I realized that a 50 minute ironman swim would be slow for a former Olympian swimmer, but fast for anyone else.  It then hit me who it was, and that explained why the purposely vague description.  When a time and place was decided as to when and where the swim workout would be, I was lucky enough to get a special invite to the swim with the Calgary Masters.  The opportunity gave me goose bumps.

Lance showed up right before the workout began.  My initial thought was, “he’s not as tall as he looks on camera.”  The folks at Calgary Masters were very good because although they were very excited to have a 7 time Tour de France swim with them, they allowed Lance to get into the water quite quickly and get a swim workout in.

It is well known that Lance began his athletic career as a swimmer, then triathlete before his cycling career took off.  Lance was a legitimate top pro-triathlete at a very young age.  Still though, I wasn’t expecting him to swim as fast as he did.  We did a total of 3,100m, with the main set being 15x100m on 1:40, 25m pool (meaning we started a new 100m every 1:40).  Approximately half of the intervals were to be “fast”, and half were “easy.”  It soon became evident that Lance is quite the swimmer as he was doing his “fast” intervals at approximately 1:02, and his easy intervals on approximately 1:11.  I was fortunate to be swimming in the same lane as Lance, and I can honestly say that everyone brought up their game that day as we were all excited to be swimming with Lance.

Lance came to the swim workout and was was very polite.  It came across as though he was very much appreciating the fact that he could get in a workout within his busy travel and work schedule.  He listened to the coaches.  He did what the group was doing and didn’t try to change it.  He swam very fast.  After the workout he posed for photos with people and signed some autographs.  He really was a class act.

I am a huge cycling fan.  I’ve read many of the books  for and against Lance.  I admit that I had already formed an opinion about an individual that is truly bigger than the sport, long before I had met him.  Those who follow the sport have also likely formed an opinion as to what cycling was like over the past 20 years.   This was the first time that I’ve ever had the opportunity to workout with someone who is truly bigger than sport.  I was very impressed how Lance just tried to fit in.

Swim:

Like always, the pros started 15 minutes before the age-groupers.  I think I was ligned up beside Jordan Rapp and Paul Tichelaar at the start line.  The cannon went off and there wasn’t too much banging of bodies.  I put my head down and made sure to go out hard for the first 500m.  Unlike some previous swims this year, I found myself on some good feet and by ~1,000m I was surprised at how easy the swim felt.  By the time that we got to the first turn the pace of our group had slowed.  We were going slow enough that I could recognize some of the folks I was swimming with and I knew that I was in a good group.  Other than the annoyance of some folks continually tapping at your feet, the swim was very uneventful.  This was likely the easiest ironman swim that I’ve ever done, likely because of the fact that I’ve improved my swimming over the winter (thanks Bart and Kronos tri club) and the fact that we were in a large group.  I exited the water beside Scott Curry and we wished each other well.  My swim time was 53:48.  Everyone’s swim times seemed a little slow this year.

Bike:

I passed a few guys before the climb up McLean Creek, trying to keep things under control and not going out too hard.  We had a tail wind down to Osoyoos, so the first 65k were pretty quick.  Really, I don’t have much to say about the bike.  It was pretty lonely in the fact that I didn’t see that many other racers.  I found the stretch over the rollers and to the start of the out-and-back difficult because it was windy.  I picked it up a little when we started the Yellow Lake climb.  My normalized power was 262 Watts.  That was down from last year (272 W last year) but my Watts/kg were about the same 3.5 W/kg (meaning I was lighter this year).  Bike time was 4:50.  My hip was hurting me on the bike but I had been very good with my nutrition and hydration, so my energy levels were very good coming off the bike.

T2:

I stopped to use the porta-pottie, so I was a little slow going through T2.  My stomach was feeling good though and it wasn’t an issue.

Run:

I ran well for the first 12 miles but by then I started a walk/run routine due to pain in my hip.  I think I was as high as 7^th at one point but I was not doing well.  The pain was getting worse and by about mile 15 it was bad enough that I felt like I was going to topple over.  With around 7 miles to go I had had enough with the pain and started a slow walk home, by that point I had fallen to 9th spot.  It was a hot day but I think because I started walking so early, I never really experienced that much heat.  I wanted to finish but I didn’t want to cripple myself.  I was 1:32 going the half and ended up with a 4:21 run/walk time.  The thought of dropping out was never really a consideration as I knew I could walk it in.

Reconsideration:

I knew the run was likely going to be my downfall this year.  For a while I was hoping that I could hold it together but in the end my body wasn’t able. My mileage wasn’t too bad this year, but I was really lacking on intensity (because I just could not do any) and also when my hip flared up, I find it just too painful to run.  My last long run of the year had meant to of been a 34km run but ended up being 17k out and a bus ride home.  Although I had a lot of time and money invested with chiro & physio, I wasn’t able to shake my injury.  This was likely a downfall of being self-coached.  A coach would have likely told me that I should  fix this injury in complete in the winter.  In hindsight, it would have been better to have taken a month completely off in February.

I saw my doctor on Weds and I’m now on a wait list to see an “expert.”  I’ve been told it is a 4 to 6 week wait.  Unfortunately my hip/sciatic feels worse than it did before the race but I am still optimistic for a quick recovery if I focus on the little details of repair.  I think the major issue is to get the inflammation down as I’ve already improved my hip strength and flexibility.

Thanks to all the friends and family who cheered me on.  I had a long enough walk during the race to get over feeling sorry for myself.  I am disappointed with the outcome of my race but I know in the grand scheme of things this is not a big deal and there are far greater challenges in life.  If I’d never experienced the friendships that I’ve made through sport, that would have been a tragedy. I’m looking forward to getting healthy and taking on whatever my next challenge is.

Again, thanks for all the great volunteers that make Ironman Canada such a great event.  Thanks to all the friends and family who cheered me on.

Saturday morning I helped out in a Kids-of-Steel triathlon clinic.  We were teaching kids safe bike handling skills.  We had approximately 30 kids from age 12 to 16 out learning how to do some crazy tricks.  It is great to see so many young kids excited about triathlon, and not afraid to crash.

Sunday morning was the annual Mother’s Day Run in Calgary.  This year with over 16,000 runners between the 5 and 10k!  We were a little lazy putting a video together from this years event, so here is our last year’s video that my wife Kelly put together.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The hardest part of being on a rock star triathlon team is having rock star-like hang overs.  I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at camp soon.

“Teeth, Dreams, and Psychology“, by Paul Craig.

The ability to go beyond the limit, to push your body where it hasn’t gone before, to dig so deep you surprise even yourself, is a special talent. It is sometimes dangerous, almost always awe-inspiring. It is what makes the good effort, mundane, the great effort, routine, and sometimes, every once in a while, it makes the impossible dream attainable.

I can’t remember many of the details, but some time ago, somewhere, somebody did a study on the psychological difference between boxers and distance runners. The study was based on the assumption that boxers, who stand toe-to-toe in the ring slugging away at each other, are psychologically geared to see how much pain they can inflict on their opponent, whereas runners, who race stride-for-stride for the finish line, are focused on how hard they can push themselves, how much pain they, themselves, can take. It seems that the researchers were wrong in their hypothesis. The results showed that boxers punch away, jab after left uppercut, ultimately to see how much punishment they can take. Distance runners, on the other hand, keep upping the pace in an effort to see how fast their competition can go, how much pain the other guys are willing to fight through. This is a significant finding, and a significant difference.

When I was at the point in my life when I could run a really tough workout, (now when I run my body usually breaks down before I can push myself to the limit of exhaustion), I would sometimes get light-headed afterwards. This was because most of the blood in my body was going to my oxygen-starved legs, leaving less blood for my head. I usually didn’t want to do a lot of thinking after a really hard workout, and when I got lightheaded, I couldn’t.

But sometimes, when I had an exceptionally tough workout, a once-a-year workout when I was totally exhausted, when I’d run hills or intervals until there was nothing left inside, and the well was empty, my teeth would hurt. Maybe hurt isn’t the right word. I guess it is more like “tingle”. You know you have given it everything when you don’t even have enough blood for your teeth.

For several reasons 1983 was a good year for me. I was starting a come back from chronic-fatigue syndrome, my first child was born, and I helped officiate and watched that year’s edition of the Silver Relays, a race that involved my brother John, and most of the best distance runners in the country. You probably aren’t very interested in the birth of my son or in my recovery from a still unexplained disease, so I’ll tell you about the race instead. That year the Silver Relays proved to be one of the best races ever run in this country.

The Silver Relays, (an event not contested any more), put on and often won by the Toronto Olympic Club, was steeped in tradition. It was usually raced in late October, or early November, and all member of the winning team won a set of silverware. Each of the five legs of the relay was three laps of the inside loop in High Park, a distance of about 5 400 m, with a few rolling hills along the way. The race often attracted thirty to forty teams, mostly local, but occasionally teams came from a long way away.

Even before I was a member of TOC I had participated in the Silver Relays a couple of times, and I knew about Bill Marcotte, (who ran for TOC), and his record time of 15:41 over the three lap course. To me this was one of those records, like the four minute mile, which was almost untouchable. It was faster than Grant McLaren, Bob Finley, Jerome Drayton and Dan Shaugnessy had run. It was faster than I thought possible to go. It put me in awe of Marcotte. It was one of those impossible dreams.

Anybody who ran the race anywhere close to sixteen minutes knew that they were in great shape, that they had a good race. Some years the best time on any team was around 16:05, with the top 5 guys under the 16:20 mark. A couple of years, on cool, windless days, a few runners would sneak under the 16:00 mark. In 1979, when I was in about the best shape of my life, I ran 15:46, close, but still so far away from Marcotte’s magical record.

That’s why the1983 edition of the Silver Relays was so special.

A team from Vancouver, the Valley Royals, came to Toronto to win the Relays and take the silverware home. Their team was a list of who’s who in Canadian distance running. Dean Childs, Paul Williams, Greg Duhaime, Art Boileau and Peter Butler had collectively won 13 Canadian championships, held 2 Canadian records, and all of them had run 29:30 or faster for the 10 km.

TOC fashioned a team to run against the Valley Royals of Greg Lockhart, Jerry Kooymans, Rob Earl, Terry Goodenough, and John Craig. Other great runners on the day included Dave Northey from Waterloo and Dave Reed from Longboat. Realistically, though, there were only two teams with a real chance at victory, the Valley Royals, and the Toronto Olympic Club.

In the 35 years I have been running and racing I have had the privilege of being a participant in and a spectator at some memorable events. Sometimes a runner or two does something unexpected, runs over their head, puts in an effort that will make them rise above the crowd. But sometimes you know it is going to happen even before the start. You can feel it in the air, you can taste it on your lips, and you can smell it in the wind.

There’s a feeling you can’t shake, that on this day, in this race, at this time, there will be a race, a performance, which will be long remembered by all who watch it. I had this feeling before I listened on the radio to the Ali/Forman fight in Africa, one of the greatest fights of all time. I had the feeling when Canada beat Russia in the ’84 World Cup of hockey. I had the feeling when Simon Whitfield won the gold medal in the 2000 Olympic Triathlon. And I had the feeling at the ’83 Silver Relays.

The day was cool but sunny, little wind, not quite an Indian summer. Picnic tables had been turned on their ends, making a type of instant bulletin board for the results to be nailed to. There was a supply of water and cups, ropes set up for the finish line and exchange zones, and more stop watches and clip boards than necessary. There were still some leaves on some of the trees, but most of them had dropped, blown away. Someone had taken a broom and swept away the small pile of leaves in the gutter at the last corner, making sure the runners would have a clear path.

And there was an anticipation in the air you could squeeze in your fingers.

Not all of the details need to be mentioned, although I remember every metre of the race, every leg, every split, every face. What should be said is that they went at each other, these two teams, for what seemed like an eternity. They clawed and scratched for every inch, every second, every breath. It was a battle, not of hatred, for there were friends on both teams, and certainly there was respect. It was perhaps a battle of pride. It was certainly a race filled with magic.

Runner after runner, lap after lap, the team from the east and the team from the west ran shoulder to shoulder, side by side. Williams, Kooymans, Duhaime, Earl, Northey, all ran at a pace that only days before seemed impossible. Timers stopped timing, marshals stopped marshalling, and everybody just watched. After four legs the teams were even at the hand off. The final runner for each team, Peter Butler for the Valley Royals and John Craig for TOC set off together, as if one was the shadow of the other. Two laps later Butler led Craig by a metre. Then, with maybe 900 m to go, out of sight of the finish line, Peter Butler faltered. He didn’t slow down, he didn’t stumble, he didn’t pull up. But one stride wasn’t as smooth as the last one had been. It was almost imperceptible, but it was there. It was something you would never have seen if you weren’t watching for it, never have noticed unless it was the only thing in the world at that time that mattered. I don’t know if Peter even noticed it.

But John did. And then he did what any runner would do at a time like that. What every runner had to do. He upped the pace. John got a metre on Peter, then two, then three.

With about 400 metres to go John was down to his kneecaps, three seconds up on Butler, and sprinting all out. He held off Butler down the chute, and TOC walked away with the silverware.

Part of the excitement of the day was that the Toronto Olympic Club won the race, and set the record. Part of the excitement was that they had beaten the “dream team” from British Columbia. But more than anything else, it was watching the best do what they do. Though the race is won by the team that crosses the finish line first, it is remembered for the strength of the competition. It was an epic battle, one of excellence, one of excitement, certainly one of courage, fought long and hard by both sides. That day no less than 9 runners beat the “unbeatable” and magic time of 15:41, with the record dropping to 15:23. That day distance running in Canada was redefined.

Just thinking about that race makes my teeth tingle.

Click here to view the embedded video.

My taper went to plan.  I took plenty of rest well out of the race.  We arrived in Penticton Wednesday evening had plenty of time to visit with friends and stay relaxed. 

The Swim: 52 min

The professionals started 15 minutes before the age-group race.  65 of us hit the water in a very controlled start.  There were some very strong swimmers in the field, and I quickly found myself swimming alone, dropped from the top guys but ahead of the chase pack.  By the time I went around the second house boat and looked back towards shore, I couldn’t believe how much ground I had lost. Now I heard people saying after race that the swim was short, I can’t say one way or another but I can say that that this was by far the calmest water I’ve ever seen in this lake.  It was like swimming in a pool.  I came out of the water in just over 52 minutes.

Swim to bike transition:

I elected to use road shoes for this race.  I knew that is was going to be a cool day, so the extra ventilation of triathlon shoes wasn’t needed and I wanted the extra support that road shoes provide. 

Bike: 4:43

I road the first 50km to Osoyoos quite hard, at which point I caught a group of riders which included Scott Curry, Matt Lieto, Viktor Zyemtsev, Jamie White, Stephen Vuckovic, Scott Neyedli.   I had been riding well of late so I wasn’t that surprised to catch this group so early.  I went right to the front of the group.  Scott Curry wished me well as I went by.  I always enjoy racing with Scott as we are of very similar abilities and friends.  When racing with Scott you always know that it is a fair race. 

I took a controlled effort going up Richter pass, trying to keep my power at around 300W.  Everyone from that group, except Dr. Curry passed me up the hill.  They definitely road the hill harder than their first portion of the race.  Scott passed me early on the descent.  I could not believe how fast he was going downhill.

I didn’t pass many other riders until after the out and back on the Yellow Lake climb.  My bike effort was fairly controlled so I made up a lot of ground on racers heading up yellow lake.  I soon found myself passing Viktor, Neyedly, Vuckovic, Tom Evans and Wolfgang Gumble.  We were rained on pretty hard heading up the Yellow Lake climb, but were fortunate to have a dry descent into Penticton.  The stiffness of the Orbea Ordu was perfect for the hard climbs and control on the fast, curving descents. From what I heard from many friends in the age-group race, they had a dry climb but wet descent.  I started the bike in 5^th place.   I averaged 254 Watts for the ride.

Bike to run Transition:

I put on socks, hat and my Brooks Green Silence racing flats. 

Run: 3:01

I was confident in my run.  I heard early that I came off the bike just 6.5 minutes down from the leader.  Within the first 3km I caught Matt Lieto and by 5km I had caught Scott Curry.  There is definitely a lot of respect between Matt, Dr. Curry and myself and we all wished each other the best of luck. 

By about 6km Viktor had caught up to me and we were running really, really well.  According to my watch, we were running at 6:15/mile. I was not running conservative, I was going for it.

By 16km, I heard that we were 38 seconds from the lead.  At that point from out of nowhere, I started to projectile vomit.  Luckily I didn’t puke on Viktor.  Viktor actually stopped but I waved at him to keep on going.  After I was done heaving, I was back on my way.  Unfortunately for the rest of the race, I was finding it very difficult to get in any calories.

By mile 16, I ran my way back to within one minute of the lead but I knew that I was running on fumes.  By this point though, a porta-pottie stop was in desperate need.  My recommendation for next year’s race would be for the organizers to supply newspapers in the porta-potties so that the racers have something to read while doing their business.  I like to multi-task.

Finish: 8:40

The last 5 miles of the run were a real death march for me.  I lost a couple of positions in the final 3 miles and finished 5^th.  I was very proud of my accomplishment.  I was able to see Viktor sprinting to the line to take the win.  Congrats Viktor!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Penticton, B.C., Canada – August 29, 2010

2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run

Men

1. Viktor Zyemtsev (UKR) 8:32:28

2. Christian Brader (GER) 8:32:41

3. Stephan Vuckovic (GER) 8:38:31

4. Petr Vabrousek (CZE) 8:39:16

5. Kyle Marcotte (CAN) 8:40:45

After crossing the line, I was notified that I was selected for drug testing.  This was the first time in any ironman race where I had witnessed drug testing.  Viktor, Christian Brader, Scott Tremblay (top age-grouper) and myself were selected for testing.

I made sure to make it back to the finish line to watch my fiancé Kelly-Lynn finish.  This was her first ironman.  Way to go Kelly!

A big thanks go out to my Timex Teammates who were racing for their encouragement during the race.  Thanks Dennis, Viktor, Laura and Janelle.  A huge thanks to Doug and Tristan for your TLC throughout the weekend.

I’ve had great fortune to have lots of great training partners throughout the year.  Thanks to all my friends and teammates (including the Speed Theory bike team and Kronos Triathlon Club) for the great training and encouragement throughout the year.  A special thanks to Gary Alexander and John White for some key bike training sessions and Darcy Bell for some key run workouts.  Thanks to my sponsors: Team Timex Multisport, Orbea, Shimano and Speed Theory Calgary.  Thanks to the Ross and Plato families for making our stay in Penticton so great.  Thanks to everyone for the great encouragement on the race course, especially Bill Donahue, Cate and Ian.

Of course, thanks to my beautiful fiancé Kelly-Lynn who raced her first ironman and finished as 6^th overall age-grouper and a time of 10:23.  Now we have one month to plan a wedding!

Here is some crude video from our experience at Ironman Canada this year.  I will write up a real “race report” soon.  Thanks to all the support from our Timex cree and teammates!