Teresa Rider

You are so consistent .. year in and year out .. and you put in such high quality performances. Your determination seems infinite.

Lisa Marangon

While I know it wasn't the performance you had visualized, you know that there's more potential within and as long as you work as hard as you have you'll reach it. Keep moving forward.

Scott Jones

He smashed the course in Canada at the end of August and then regrouped, recouped and ran even faster today in Kona.

Very impressive.

Peter McLean

Solid, solid, solid day in Kona. Couldn't be happier for you mate!

Mind-set

For years, it's bothered me. Sometimes it has infuriated me. Other times I've let it slide.

The longer that I train and race as a triathlete, I find that I'm becoming more open and aware of what drives other athletes, and how they see themselves. And it's forcing me to rethink how I see them and myself too.

It's so easy to compare myself to others, especially those with whom I have trained. I have often used my previous training and race performances to provide me a measure of my competitiveness. Perhaps that's a misuse of my energy.

I have a number of friends who are elite age-group triathletes. Two of them will be racing this weekend in Kona. At Ironman Canada, both of them were fast to say that they weren't ready to race. Yet both smashed the course and won their age groups with ease (my interpretation).

I was reading a post by one of them as he prepares for Kona. He mentioned that he did a training swim of the course in Kona this past week and among his comments was: "It is not only because I am slow ..."

I almost fell over.

Time, of course, is relative for all of us. This athlete swims 100m repetitions in 1:11 and swam 54:56 at Ironman Canada. He swam 1:01 in Kona in 2009. He's not as fast as a pro but he's damn fast.

What confounds me is whether this athlete is being modest or whether he's simply downplaying his ability, consciously or not, in order to drive himself on race day. Race day execution is something that I've been thinking more and more about the past few months.

Relative to me this guy is super fast. I have swum as fast as 1:24 for 100m in a pool. I swam 1:04 at Ironman Canada in August and in my Kona debut in 2007 I swam 1:13.

But I'm intrigued.

Is it better to be conservative with one's expectations heading into a race or to have confidence in what one has accomplished in training and racing? What's the best approach to put oneself in the driver's seat on race morning?

Confidence on race day is a huge factor, I think, in how an athlete will perform. It's something that I want to focus on ahead of my 2011 season. It's something that I want to learn more about.

Kona

We're on Kona watch ahead of Saturday's most important race of the season.

Strategic debut

I’m developing a new marathon strategy and I had a superb start with it in Bellingham.

The objective was simply: run as hard as I could for as long as I could, and then run still harder.

Well.

I ran some superb times through the first eight miles. Then my strategy proved a tad ambitious. But as I said at the beginning of this post, Bellingham was the start.

I wanted to race because I hadn’t had the chance to run at Ironman Canada. And I wanted to race this race because I wanted to take advantage of all of the training that I have done this past year before hitting pause for a few weeks or a month.

And so .. the Bellingham marathon appeared on my schedule. (Note: Margreet found it first and was keen to race it until she redirected herself towards the 100km Haney to Harrision in early November.)

The race began as I expected. I ran a bit too fast. The first 1 mile was 6:35. Ha. Take that.

I immediately eased back a touch and settled into a 7:00 to 7:06 pace for the next seven miles.

I was running with three others – two guys and the first woman. The pace was good and it was great to have the others there to help me focus.

One realization from yesterday’s effort was that I think far far far too much. I need to ask some others but I need to find a way to settle my mind more during races. I have often said that I have trouble focusing. I think for me the challenge is narrowing that focus.

We ran as a group for about 7 miles and then one of the lead guys accelerated just a bit as we zoomed by some spectators who were cheering for him. The adrenaline kicked in for him and the two others also accelerated. I chose not to go. I felt the pace I was on was superb and I didn’t see any need to go harder at this point.

My 5km split was about 20:26 and my 10km split was about 43:20. I believed my training ahead of Ironman would have put me in a position to run a standalone marathon of 3:02 to 3:10. I hadn’t trained to run faster and it didn’t make sense for me to try to run too fast too early.

That said, I suppose at the end of the day I can say that I ran too fast too early. But that’s OK. I don’t regret the pace.

Sitting here on the Oregon Coast in Lincoln City the day after the race, I have thought, what if I had gone with those other three – would it have hurt me?

The weather was good for the race. Light rain to start. We got a solid shower at about the 8-mile mark and there was a decent headwind on the return from the first out and back. That wind was there from time to time throughout the rest of the run.

My times drifted further and further from the 7 minute area. I had six caf gels – one mistake was not taking the other two. I also would have ‘appreciated’ the opportunity for some coke. There simply wasn’t any on the course.

I crossed the line in 3:25. My ninth marathon.

Faster times ahead.

Bellingham

Me and Macca

My first thought was .. what the ..

How could it be both cold and raining as hard as it was? A year ago it was sunny and 35-40 degrees. And here we have had the driest and warmest summer on record - or close to it. I had the misfortune of one day of rain for one long training spin.

Race day though is the challenge. And it's a learning curve too.

For the first time in my Ironman 'career' I did not finish a race. I abandoned it and opted for the back of an ambulance at about 160km into the bike. It was the right decision at that moment for me. I was soaked and moving slower and slower and getting colder and colder. I wasn't thinking clearly and I was shivering nonstop.

At least I had the presence of mind to stop and start walking down the hill that I had hammered a year earlier. I didn't have the spirit to smash the final 20km of the bike, which is mostly downhill.

For a second year, I had a disappointing day at Ironman Canada. The idea of not finishing though had never crossed my mind. I expected to be faster than ever.

One of the thoughts that came to me as I realized my day was done was that I'd have to race here again because I know that I have the potential to nail this course. I say that with the knowledge that I've put in two very solid years of training and each year my overall fitness has been at a new high.

I look at my race results the last few months as a sign that I was well prepared, and I believe that I was in a position to be competitive.

In the immediate aftermath of the race, I was disappointed. It was an empty feeling. I wasn't happy with myself.

And - simply because of the huge demand for Ironman races, there is no other race that I can do this year to express my fitness.

One thought that came to mind however was that I was in good company. Ironman is about the journey.

It took Macca six attempts to win in Kona including one DNF.

So really .. perspective is critical.

I'm fit, I'm motivated and I'm looking ahead to 2011.

Meeting with success

"I have learned this at least by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours."

Henry David Thoreau
1817-1862, Writer and Poet

Harrison to Haney

No .. I'm not going to run 100km anytime soon. But Margreet is.

Check out her post from earlier today: here.

IMJ Coaching

Two good friends and superbly fit triathletes.

Scott Jones won his age group at Ironman Canada on Sunday. The first - no doubt - of many such wins ahead.

Teresa Rider added yet another age group win - and massive new course record - to her race history also at IMC.

This dynamic duo are based in Boulder, Co and recently have begun offering camps for athletes looking to push themselves to a new level.

Here's the link for their site: IMJ Coaching.

Early on the bike at IMC

Two new TMC articles

During the expo at IMC, I met the publisher of Triathlon Magazine Canada - Sam Cohen.

In the latest September & October 2010 issue of the magazine, I have two stories:

Profile - Team TriLife and its head coach Angie Anderson

Finish line podium - Paul Tichelaar, who talks about his decision to move to longer distance racing

Catch up

I'm going to fill in a few events and results so I can find them easier.

I'm now in the heart of Ironman training and it's going well. I really love the feeling of being and becoming Iron Fit.

I had almost a week off after the Squamish tri and began my return to cycling with another spin to the top of Cypress from here. The spin was cut a bit short about I got one flat and then when I blew one spare - there is a maximum amount of air that a tube will take.

I've also been adding more speed to my run workouts both outside and on the treadmill.

I'm looking forward to another solid spin - this time to Whistler and back this pending weekend. Before then I hope to fall into Brohm Lake for a swim or two.

I'm watching more carefully what I'm consuming - mostly not buying the food that I find far too tempting.

That's the update for now.

Lake Placid

Some superb news from Lake Placid .. my brother has signed up to race there in 2011. It will be his first Ironman.

John was there in Forster, Australia when Margreet and I finished our first Ironman in 2002 and we'll make every effort to be there to support him.

It's a decision you won't regret little brother. Ironman has changed my life. There's nothing that I can't fathom trying and that's what life is all about.

Believe in yourself and you can achieve greatness.

**

Another bit of good news from Lake Placid was that Lisa Marangon came in third overall and got a spot to Kona. She last raced there as an age grouper, this year will be her first appearance as a pro.

We've watched her develop as an athlete and the challenges of life that she's accepted with a fierce determination and endless enthusiasm.

Lisa is an inspirational athlete and mom. A very well grounded person who's worked very hard for her successes in the sport.

Here is a link to Lisa's site.

Inspiration

"You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind."

Dale Carnegie

****

"One difference between successful people and all the rest is that successful people take action."

Bob Proctor

****

"Each indecision brings its own delays and days are lost lamenting over lost days. What you can do or think you can do, begin it. For boldness has magic, power, and genius in it."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

****

"Doubt, of whatever kind, can be ended by action alone."

Thomas Carlyle

Recent articles

A profile that I wrote on Jordan Bryden can be found online at Triathlon Magazine Canada. I think it's a good read on an articulate athlete.

Here's the link.

I recently filed two other stories to the magazine - for future issues - including a Q&A with former Olympian Paul Tichelaar, a real ambassador for the sport.

Squamish Olympic

Solid day. I opted to enter this just last night - 10 minutes before entry closed. Ha.

The main reason I wanted to race is that I found at the Vancouver Half a week ago that I was a bit race rusty. I hadn't thought about it much but the warning I got for starting to take my helmet off before my bike was fully racked was a reminder.

In Australia, we used to race more and also we used to practice transitions. I definitely view transitions as free time and I want all of it.

I knew that today might be a challenge after having gone for a near 6 hour bike ride yesterday - Squamish to the top of Cypress, up 1/3 again, then back home. It was a superb spin on a spectacular summer day.

I was optimistic of winning my age group and while I was near the front after the swim and at about half way through the bike, two went past me on the steady uphill and I couldn't respond. Oh well.

I continued to spin as fast as I could and really hammered the downslope. I felt great.

My legs weren't turning over as fast as I'd hoped the first 2-3km - though after the race I was 'told' that was the uphill section. Sometimes the obvious isn't so.

In any event, I caught one guy just before the end of the first loop of the run. I didn't know he was in front. I felt good at that point and pushed it. And a little bit later, on the short out and back section, I saw the two who were in the lead. I was optimistic that I could catch at least one of them.

As it happened, both of them caught a second wind and I never saw them til the race was over.

It was a good day. My second third in two weeks. Margreet was out in the mix and helped pace her all-women relay team to second in their division.

one loop swim, four loops on the bike and two loops on the run
swim 25.56

bike 1.06.43

run 47.22

2.20.00

Vancouver Half Iron

It's a great event and this was the second year in a row in which I have competed. I highly recommend it as it is well organized.

It was an even better day for racing than last year as the sun was hidden most of the day. The water temp was said to be 15.5C but I don't think it was quite so cold - there were some cold pockets in English Bay which helped refocus my effort.

1.9k (2 loops), 90k (4 loops) and 20k (2 loops)

Total time: 4:50:22

swim: 32:35 1:43 avg for 100m

t1 2:12

bike: 2:41:28 33.8km/hr avg

t2: 1:34 (helmet warning!)

run: 1:32:35 4:38/km avg


Last year I was second in the age group .. the guy who won last year was second this year .. he finished in 4.39 ..

The guy who won the age group did 4.26 on a 1.20 run for 20k. Impressive.

So 9th at Oliver a month ago and 3rd today.