Training Update- Lets Swim!

The past few months have been really great for me. School has been going good (more on that in a later post) and training has been the most consistent it has ever been. I was without a pool from Aug 1 to the middle of October. I swam in the lake almost every single night until it became too cold to tolerate sometime near the beginning of September. I decided that most of September would be a perfect time to take some time off. I had no pool or lake to swim so I decided I would just relax until the pool reopened. I left the Garmin at home for all my runs and rides. I had some fantastic mountain bike rides exploring some of the parks here in Cold Lake. It was nice having no pressure or training structure, just do whatever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to. However, once the pool reopened I was ready to go! It was evident that I hadn't swam in over a month as my endurance suffered greatly and I was far off from the times I was hitting a couple months earlier.

Since the pool reopened and I started adding some structure to my training again, my training has been almost perfect. I've been more consistent than I have ever been in my triathlon life and it's been showing. I'm finally back to where my swimming fitness was a couple months ago, but unfortunately that is still a long ways off of coming out with or even near the front swim pack. I feel like it's the perfect time for me to throw in a big swim block and hopefully see my body soak it in and develop a little bit better muscle memory. It's a very big jump in volume for me, but I'm ready to push my boundaries and hopefully come out a little bit better. Over the past few months I've averaged 15k/week with a 20k/week two weeks ago. The details of my 10 day swim block look like this:

• 11 swims in 10 days
• 2 double swim days with 1 day off
• 35-40km

I have the specific details planned out pretty well I think and I hope I'll be able to handle it all. I still have lots of optional rides and runs planned, but they are second to all the swims since it's the focus. I wish I had swam in swim club as a kid, it would make this swimming thing so much easier! I find after a couple of days out of the pool, coming back  can sometimes feel unnatural and uncomfortable. Those feelings are becoming less and less, but unfortunately they are still there once in a while. I'm taking the weekend off to spend some time with friends and get ready for the next 10 days. I'll check back in when I'm finished and let you know how it went. 

The pool in Cold Lake. It's a nice pool and gets the job done!

Great White North Race Report

This was my first time racing in the elite category and it was super cool being able to rack my bike with athletes I've always looked up to. Jeff Symonds, Grant Burwash and Jonathon Caron were amongst some of the other pros racing in the half.

The day before the race at package pickup I ran into my friend Jon from Red Deer. He was there to do his first half. He was going to drive up the next morning for the race but I convinced him to stay with Kayle and I and get some extra sleep for the race. It was great and calming to have him around. I'm sure Kayle liked it too- she didn't have to listen to me talk about triathlon with her all night like what usually happens when it's just us the night before a race. Package pickup went well,I grabbed some last minute gels from the Element booth followed with bike drop off at the lake. After that we grabbed supper from an awesome grocery store in Stony Plain. Pretty relaxing night and off early to bed.

Race morning started for Jon and I at 5am. I managed to eat more than I usually can on race morning mostly because Jon was there and I didn't feel quite as nervous. We checked out of our hotel and made our way down to the lake. We pumped up our tires and prepped our bikes for the 90km ride that lay ahead. Since T1 and T2 are in different spots we gave our morning gear to Kayle so that we didn't have to worry about it. It was time to put on sunscreen and out wetsuits and get in the lake for our warmup.

Swim

I lined up on the far right and was feeling ready. The gun went off and I sprinted into the water and swam as hard as I could for the first minute. I lead the right side out and it was pretty uneventful until we merged with the left side as we swam closer to the first buoy. After a few bumps and the annoying toe touches I managed to find some clear water and swam side by side with another athlete for the rest of the swim. Two days before the race I did a 2k open water swim. I swam 30 min at a pretty easy effort and was really excited to see what I could do at GWN on race day. I was expecting to come out and see at least 28:XX on the clock but instead I came out in 30. A good sign that I need to work on my sighting better as I probably went off course and added some extra meters for myself. I was upset when I saw my time at first but quickly forgot about it and focused on having a fast and smooth transition. Transition went by fast without a hitch and there was even a cameraman in my face the entire time! It'll be cool to see the video, maybe I made the cut!

Bike

The bike starts with a pretty good climb out of the transition area until you get onto the divided highway. I took the climb easy until I hit the highway, then put the hammer down. I passed quite a few people in the first 30min and rode by myself for most of the race after that. This was the first race where I rode with only time and distance on my Garmin except on the climbs where I looked at my power. I did this mostly because my plan was to ride as hard as I could and try to hang on for the run. If I had my power to look at I might not push as hard as I did. The ride went really well for me other than having a hard time getting my nutrition in. I only managed one water bottle mixed with a sports drink and two gels. It didn't matter too much, I felt mostly good for the ride. At 75k I knew I was in 6th and I saw how far ahead Jeff and Grant were in front of me and decided to change my race plan. I knew they were way too far ahead to have any effect on their outcomes but if I backed off on the bike the last 15k I might be able to save my legs and hopefully run myself into 3rd. I ended up catching up and passing 5th and 4th just a couple hundred meters before T2. Transition went really well and the volunteers were amazing taking my bike and getting my shoes ready for me.

Run

Heading out onto the run I felt really good. My turnover was fast and my legs didn't feel like they just rode 90km. I saw Kayle and my dad in the first km and their cheers helped send me on my way. I caught 3rd place right away and surged pass him hard. He didn't try to come so I focused on trying to hold 5:40/mile. I held that pace for almost an hr until I got a bad stitch in my side. It slowed me down significantly but I knew I had 3rd place locked in. I struggled through a couple miles just in time for my stitch to go away in the last mile.

I was happy with the result. Other than not being able to swim a straight line, I did what I should have done on the fitness I had. No complaints and I'm excited to come back next year and go faster! It was my 3rd time at the Great White North Triathlon and definitely was my favorite time racing. The volunteers were awesome and I really liked the new out and back course. My friend Jon had a great first half Ironman and I think he is hooked now! 

Update

I've started a few blogs over the years but have usually ended up getting rid of them. I've never liked talking about myself but with my race season being over for me not even 2 weeks ago I have some good reasons to start a blog. I love triathlon so much; I love the history, the gear, the people, and most importantly the training and racing. Already itching to plan next year's race schedule I find myself wishing more than ever that I could train on a full time basis or at least be more involved in triathlon. Even that reason alone is a good reason to start a blog. Getting my name out there and being more involved in triathlon however that may be can hopefully attract some support for my dream.

Kayle and I moved to Cold Lake from Red Deer at the start of 2014 with the plan of moving in with her folks and saving up enough money in one year that we could buy our own place in BC. Not the greatest place to train (at least for 8 months of the year) and who really wants to move in with their in-laws after they get married?? It hasn't been that bad though! In Kayle I have the most supportive person in my life and I'm very grateful for her parents letting us mooch off them while we save up some cash. One great thing has came out of it so far. I've spent the past half a year here cooking a lot and really find my way around and being a lot more comfortable in the kitchen cooking. I've actually decided I like it so much that I am going back to school to become a nutritionist, or rather a "Culinary Nutrition Expert". I'm really excited to learn and hopefully pass on lots of useful knowledge and help to other endurance athletes. It'll be nice to have another source of income too for this struggling triathlete!

Next year I can hopefully get as fit as I can for the start of the triathlon season and knock off as many races as I can fit in. That's the plan as of now and hopefully there will be some wins in there. I'll be training as hard and smart as I can for the next year so I can toe the line with the big boys and be ready to throw down! A quote that has passed through my head quite a bit in training the past week has been "give them nothing, but take everything." I love that quote from 300, and can relate it to training and racing easily. This is going to have to be a big swim/bike this year for me if I want to have a chance of being competitive. It's too hard when you give up 4-5 min in the swim and don't make enough on the bike. Give them nothing, but take everything is going to be my focus until I toe the line again in 2015.

I'll try and post as much as I can with race updates/reports and anything triathlon related. Happy training everyone!