Ironman Canada 2010 Race Report

[See other posts for garmin downloads of the swim/bike/run segments]

Johnna and I arrived in Penticton on wednesday afternoon. We flew into Spokane and drove the 220 miles through the back roads of northeastern Washington state. No mishaps at the border. We stayed in Summerland, a resort on the other side of the lake about 15 minutes from the expo and the swim start. Did a short 20 minute run after we arrived to loosen up.

On Thursday, we (yes, both of us) went for 1500m swim in the lake, and then drove the course. We went to registration in the afternoon around 3pm during a torrential wind and rain storm. As I was registering, the lady handing me my packet said "It never rains here". I wish she hadn't said that.

On Friday, we went for another 1500 swim and later in the day, I did a 30 minute run. On saturday morning I took the bike for a final spin around Summerland; and we dropped off the T1 and T2 bags and the bike around 11am. I went to bed around 9, probably fell asleep by 10.

Sunday morning -- Race Day -- Got up at 4am, had breakfast. Temp was in the low 50s and a little breezy. We headed over to the start around 5:15. Got there, got bodymarked and then found Johnna before I headed in to put on the wetsuit.

Johnna saw Monica later before the swim start.

The swim start is in the water about 50 yards off shore in waist deep water. They have a big rope with backstroke flags holding everyone back until the cannon goes off. Pros started at 6:45. Our cannon shot off at 7am. Swim is a clockwise triangular swim. Straight out 1600m, right for 400 meters, then straight back to the beach 1800m. This is one of the easiest courses to sight that I've ever done. If you're a right side breather, its very easy to follow the big buoys.

Swim Start Video
People certainly take their time getting in the water.

Swim Finish Video
That's me and 4 other guys coming out of the water. I'm the one without the cap. Without fail, I always lose my cap during the swim. Maybe its my pointy head. Not sure where that 5th guy, a male pro, came from. He didn't look too good.

The bike -- The bike went great until the climb to Yellow Lake. The ascent is about 11 miles (from mile 84-95) with a couple of rollers in between and about 1600 ft of climbing. About a mile into the ascent, it started drizzling, then raining, then icy rain, then icy rain and wind. As you hit the top, there were hundreds of specators on the road creating a gap to ride through. It was pretty cool. I was smiling, but that was because my face was totally frozen. My tri kit and arm warmers were not keeping me warm. My feet were freezing. My glasses were fogged, and I couldn't see anything on my computer. The descent was a little crazy. Couldn't tell how fast I was going and just tried to ease my way down without crashing. There were about 4-5 of us descending carefully together. About halfway down, there were 3 bikes on the side of the road and two ambulances. If it hadn't been raining this 12 mile stretch back to town at 40 miles an hour would have been awesome. It was dry as we came down main street into T2. Power info below.

T2 -- 9:30 Ridonkulous. I was shaking so badly I couldn't put on my socks or calf compression sleeves.

The run - Feet were stumps of solid ice until mile 6. Had to stop in the porta potty a couple of times something I've never really had to do before during a race. My legs felt great despite the cold, but around mile 9-10 I started to bonk. Heart rate was low in the 120s and I was humming along and then boom, my tank was empty. It wasn't the normal "I've gotta walk feeling". It was that total bonk feeling. I was very sleepy and probably hypothermic. I needed a cheeseburger or some DoughNuts, but no Mcdonald's in sight. I ate 3 gels and some water and gatorade and tried many times to get back on track. Stomach issues still hounded me later in the run. I walked a lot. It was very disappointing. My run fitness was the best its been, but the cold zapped me. Didn't eat enough on the bike. I consumed a 1000 calories of the Carbo Pro 1200 plus one gel and some gatorade and water. Needed another 300 or so calories on the bike. Next time.

I was pretty green when I finished.

Swim 49:10
T1 3:14
Bike 6:01:55
T2 9:29
Run 5:17:05
Time 12:20:53

Great course, great Penticton hospitality. I would do this race again.








Power data:

Entire workout (166 watts):
Duration: 6:02:16 (6:02:26)
Work: 3598 kJ
TSS: 338.3 (intensity factor 0.749)
Norm Power: 187
VI: 1.13
Pw:HR: 6.8%
Pa:HR: 3.49%
Distance: 112.409 mi
Elevation Gain: 4763 ft
Elevation Loss: 4706 ft
Grade: 0.0 % (55 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 424 166 watts
Heart Rate: 73 152 120 bpm
Cadence: 30 212 87 rpm
Speed: 0 43 18.6 mph
Pace 1:24 0:00 3:14 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 38 7 lb-in
Altitude: 935 2530 1439 ft
Crank Torque: 0 782 166 lb-in
Temperature: 50 77 62.5 Fahrenheit

Peak 5min (251 watts):
Duration: 5:00
Work: 75 kJ
TSS: 8.4 (intensity factor 1.002)
Norm Power: 251
VI: 1
Pw:HR: -0.54%
Pa:HR: 3.88%
Distance: 0.708 mi
Elevation Gain: 243 ft
Elevation Loss: 0 ft
Grade: 6.8 % (253 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 152 333 251 watts
Heart Rate: 126 146 140 bpm
Cadence: 57 107 75 rpm
Speed: 7.1 9.7 8.5 mph
Pace 6:11 8:28 7:04 min/mi
Hub Torque: 12 25 20 lb-in
Altitude: 1504 1756 1630 ft
Crank Torque: 135 412 286 lb-in
Temperature: 62.6 66.2 65.1 Fahrenheit

Peak 10min (233 watts):
Duration: 10:00
Work: 139 kJ
TSS: 14.9 (intensity factor 0.945)
Norm Power: 236
VI: 1.01
Pw:HR: -9.49%
Pa:HR: 15.43%
Distance: 1.627 mi
Elevation Gain: 449 ft
Elevation Loss: 0 ft
Grade: 5.3 % (452 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 140 333 233 watts
Heart Rate: 126 146 136 bpm
Cadence: 57 127 80 rpm
Speed: 7.1 18.7 9.8 mph
Pace 3:12 8:28 6:09 min/mi
Hub Torque: 5 25 17 lb-in
Altitude: 1281 1731 1498 ft
Crank Torque: 123 412 252 lb-in
Temperature: 62.6 66.2 63.9 Fahrenheit

Peak 20min (223 watts):
Duration: 20:00 (20:01)
Work: 267 kJ
TSS: 27.5 (intensity factor 0.909)
Norm Power: 227
VI: 1.02
Pw:HR: 3.02%
Pa:HR: -4.52%
Distance: 3.483 mi
Elevation Gain: 807 ft
Elevation Loss: 0 ft
Grade: 4.4 % (811 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 333 223 watts
Heart Rate: 116 146 134 bpm
Cadence: 56 127 81 rpm
Speed: 7.1 19.3 10.4 mph
Pace 3:06 8:28 5:45 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 25 15 lb-in
Altitude: 1156 1967 1582 ft
Crank Torque: 0 412 237 lb-in
Temperature: 62.6 66.2 64.0 Fahrenheit

Peak 30min (214 watts):
Duration: 30:00 (30:01)
Work: 384 kJ
TSS: 39.5 (intensity factor 0.889)
Norm Power: 222
VI: 1.04
Pw:HR: 8.16%
Pa:HR: -23.06%
Distance: 5.674 mi
Elevation Gain: 1113 ft
Elevation Loss: 32 ft
Grade: 3.6 % (1088 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 333 214 watts
Heart Rate: 101 146 132 bpm
Cadence: 56 170 80 rpm
Speed: 6.6 28.7 11.3 mph
Pace 2:05 9:07 5:18 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 25 14 lb-in
Altitude: 1148 2236 1708 ft
Crank Torque: 0 412 231 lb-in
Temperature: 62.6 66.2 63.7 Fahrenheit

Peak 60min (193 watts):
Duration: 1:00:00 (1:00:01)
Work: 695 kJ
TSS: 67.2 (intensity factor 0.82)
Norm Power: 205
VI: 1.06
Pw:HR: -11.4%
Pa:HR: 47.84%
Distance: 15.451 mi
Elevation Gain: 1421 ft
Elevation Loss: 163 ft
Grade: 1.6 % (1264 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 400 193 watts
Heart Rate: 97 146 125 bpm
Cadence: 56 212 84 rpm
Speed: 6.6 28.7 15.4 mph
Pace 2:05 9:07 3:53 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 25 11 lb-in
Altitude: 935 2236 1360 ft
Crank Torque: 0 482 199 lb-in
Temperature: 60.8 66.2 64.1 Fahrenheit

IM Canada 2010 Swim Garmin Connect - Details

IM Canada 2010 Swim at Garmin Connect - Details

IM Canada 2010 Bike at Garmin Connect - Details

IM Canada 2010 Bike at Garmin Connect - Details

For profile of course see link above.

Ironman Canada bike course summary (approximately 4800 ft of climbing total)

Miles 0-8.9 Start at an elevation of 1131 ft with a mostly flat slightly downhill section

Miles 8.9 to 11.7 McClean Creek climb section (approx 350 ft of climbing with some 8 and 10% sections)

Miles 11.7 to 39.1 To the Osoyoos right turn - primarily downhill with a few small rollers

Miles 39.1 to 46.3 Richter Pass climbs (approx 1200 ft of climbing)

Miles 46.3 to 50.2 Downhill to the bottom of first roller (i.e. first of the 7 sisters)

Miles 50.2 to 70.6 - Rollers and false flats to the out and back section

Miles 70.6 to 82.3 Out and back section of Cawston flats (headwind on the way back out, many small rollers)

Miles 82.3 to 95.4 Climb to Yellow and Twin Lakes (approx 1400 ft of climbing with a few false flats sprinkled in, where you can get the speed up)

Miles 95.4 to 112 Downhill back to town!

IM Canada 2010 Run at Garmin Connect - Details

IM Canada 2010 Run at Garmin Connect - Details

Mulholland Challenge - April 10, 2010

Easy saturdays are over for awhile. Today was the first of a number of very painful sufferfests on the calendar. Mulholland Challenge. Got up at 5 and drove the 60 miles to Calabassas to start at 7:15am.
I heard the plan was to not push the hills, take advantage of the downhills and work the flats. That plan went out the window at mile 31. I was already dead. I got the first check in stop. No food. I was hungry. No food till the 2nd stop 21 miles later. That was the first WTF. I looked at the ride sheet and thought I was misreading the total mileage--116 miles. 2nd WTF. I thought this was supposed to be a century. Not a century plus 16 miles. I figured that it had to add least an hour + onto the ride for the day. Okay 3rd WTF.
I made it to check in stop 2. Somewhere around mile 51-52. I can't remember. I wolfed down 3 PBJs and a muffin. Took some heed forgetting that I hate Heed. Not that I like Sustained Energy any better. Headed off for another 13 miles of tough riding with some gnarly downhill on broken asphalt to pacific ocean north of Leo Carrillo Beach. Thought I was going to die on the way down. Braking was not easy and in a lot of spots, the incline was negative 15%.
Funny enough, after check in spot 3 on PCH, I ended up with the same 3 guys as the first time I was on PCH many hours earlier. We headed down PCH to Decker, which climbs straight off PCH and into 11-15% grade. Made it to 4th check in stop at mile 83 or so. Ate some more and didn't stay long. Climbed another 3-4 miles to the top of Mulholland. I was totally bonking. I pulled over and guzzled all my liquids and ate the M&Ms I had grabbed at the 2nd stop. I stood down for 5 minutes then headed off.
Made it down mulholland to the 5th check in just past Strauss ranch. Made it to mile 90 and there was confustion by cyclists on which way to go. Took the right as the sign said, but could hear riders on the other side saying "wrong way, wrong way." About a half mile in, Jesse passed by the other way, so I flipped it. He gave me some gu chomps. I took out my iphone and mapped the finishing spot where we parked. 7 miles. F&*^ this I said. I'm heading back. I figured that would put me at 98 miles, 7 hours of riding, and 10,000 feet of climbing. I'm outta here. I raised my arms at the THQ parking lot in celebration that I made it back to the car.
Brutal ride. Definitely needed more food and better hydration on that ride. It seemed harder than an Ironman. Felt about the same afterward. Well, maybe not that bad.
Next up Stage 6 of the ToC, then Breathless Agony, then Hearbreak 100. And in between, some climbing. Lots of climbing. Hey, where's Allen?

37 Oceanside 70.3 37

Thirty Seven was not my race number. I wasn't lucky enough to get number 1111 like Super Dave, or as he prefers to be called now, "DAVE ONE". Thirty seven is how many seconds it took for me to hold off 47th place in my age group over one of PTC's favorite athletes.

Oceanside 2010 was not a race I was looking forward to. If it hadn't been for Jesse, I probably wouldn't have gotten on my bike in the cold. Started ramping up my training 6-8 weeks before the race and thought I would rest the week of the race and treat Oceanside as a training day. Yeah, that's it--a training day. Well, all I can say is it was nice to race on fresh legs, i.e. legs that hadn't been doing excessive climbing and legs that haven't been doing tons of run mileage. I woke up on race day feeling good. No aches, no pains, no sore legs. Hmmm. This would be an interesting day. My focus for the race was a solid bike leaving me good legs for a run. My goal was to run faster than my half marathon at Surf City in early february. I raced Oceanside in 2008, didn't race it in 2009 due to knee issues. My time was 5:21:59 in 2008 and my fitness was pretty high at that time as I was prepping for IMCDA that year. So, I was hoping to go sub 5:30 without excessive suffering.

I drove down to Oceanside on friday afternoon. Left work in Pasadena at 2:30 and arrived at the expo around 445pm. I got checked in for the race and then headed to the hotel to get checked in there. Stayed at the holiday inn right by the race start. I then headed down to the team PTC dinner at 6pm in the marina. It was good to see everyone, but it was kind of chilly out. Fell asleep to Criminal Minds featuring Mandy Patakin. Woke up 4am. Ate a quick liquid meal (400 cal of Carbo Pro mixed in 20oz of half water, half G2, a trader joe frozen oatmeal that I nuked and half a cup of coffee. I laid back down, napped a little and got up at 445 to get dressed and meet PTC Bob, PTC Lynda and PTC Dave One downstairs to ride over at 515. Got bodymarked, set up my transition area, waited in the long honeypot line, and then hung out in T until my 7:37am wave with Jesse who was in the 7:41am wave and Michel. Headed over to the start with Michel. Could not find Allen. We had a big start wave. 226 finishers in my age group.

I lined up on the right side right in the front of my start group. The gun went off and the race was on. Swim was uneventful. Water was not cold. Sighting on the way back in from the turnaround was challenging with the rising sun, but managed to swim around the waves that left ahead of me. Came in at 26:14 (versus 25:14 in 2008). Its a long run to the bikes. I wore armwarmers under my wetsuit and threw on a vest for the ride. T1 was 4:42 (versus 5:09 in 2008).

The bike was a lot of fun. The course felt fast, but it was probably my new Wheelbuilder Aerojet Disk Covers. I received many compliments on my disk wheel during the hilly and windy sections of the ride. The last 10 miles in felt fast too, and I focused on soft pedaling and loosening up the legs for the run. Bike time was 2:52:53 (versus 3:03:18 in 2008). T2 was uneventful and I was out of there fast at 2:52 (versus 4:42 in 2008--but I think I might have hit the porta potty on the way out that year). Run felt good the whole way. A little suffering in miles 9, 10 and 11. I saw a lof of PTCers out there on the run. Thom, Prentiss, Myrick, Jean, Monica, Lisa, Bob and then Michel. I finally saw him about a 1/2 mile past the final turnaround. I knew he had good legs and would be chasing me down. When I hit mile 12, i really picked it up and ran a 7:10 mile in the last mile. I saw Lynda and gave her a shout as she rounded the cone to start her 2nd run lap. Ran in feeling strong. Run was 1:50:13 (versus 1:43:50 in 2008) about :30 faster than my time at Surf City. All in all, a good day.

Overall 5:17:54 versus 5:21:59 in 2008. Personal best 70.3.

The only thing that sucks about this race is training in all the cold and rainy weather we've had this year. I did a lot of computrainer leading into this, as I preferred my warm garage than the cold hills and bike paths. At least I wasn't suffering in a skanky basement in the midwest ! I used the Endurance Nation Out Season Training Plan. They've got some great trainer workouts in there and for running, I teamed up with Steve Mackel, ChiRunning Instructor. He's made a HUGE difference in my running. I also managed to lighten up by about 10lbs in the past 6-8 weeks, which really helped a lot.