Duathlon means Deadly Calves – Point Grey Du RR

Well friends, sorry it’s been a busy month, so I apologize that this post is a bit of a ramble.

Ironman Canada weekend was supposed to be spent volunteering and cheering our many friends doing the epic race. Last year I had a blast (pun to come) to say the least; I passed the first bottle of water at the first bike aid station to Marino Vanhoenacker and basically blasted as many bottles I can to everyone passing by. Oh and cheered on some friends too.

Of course as luck would have it, two very good friends’ (James and Stef’s) engagement party was during the exact same afternoon for this year’s event. So, I figured I would make my morning productive and sign up for a local triathlon ehem duathlon race, anyways without realizing what I was really up against.

What the heck is exactly a duathlon you say? 

Lots of deadly calves pain. That’s what I get for chasing the wrong guy, who I thought was in my age category. More to come on this.

5k run, followed by 20k bike and another 5k run. 

Ekks! My brain hurts just reading that second 5K.

For such a short race, we had terrible conditions. At least it was consistent. Heavy downpour of rain. We were all bunched up together under a tent to stay warm before the start. I was debating all morning on whether to use A or B runners, A or B cycling shoes, two shoes or the same pair, two pairs of socks or one...etc etc. Ended up using A shoes, and B cycling shoes and one pair of super soaked socks. 

We were also thinking of the poor people doing the race in Whistler, they must had had it worst. Funny that we were wearing arm warmers in late July, when during the UBC tri in mid March this year, we got away with only sleeveless tri top and shorts. Of course just hours after the race, the rain would stop.

The 5k loop consisted of a lollipop figure (i.e.  a stick and two loops around the thunderbird stadium similar to the crit bike race on Tuesdays). 

The 20k bike was a stick and two loops of the same UBC tri course.

The duathlon portion of the Point Grey (which also had Sprint and Short tri distances) was also sanctioned as the official Provincial Championships and I was secretly eyeing the potential belt buckle. I knew the guy I had to beat was Jen's friend Nick. 

The small field was deep. Many versions of Team Canada outfits were proudly represented. Jen and I had our UBCTC outfits, which was fitting considering we were on home turf.  

The gun was off and the first 5k felt like a open road race. Jen, Nick, and another guy named Mike exchanged the leads many times and I was struggling along about 10 metres back the entire 5k. The first 5k was actually 5.1k, and as the trio approached T1, I caught up to the pack and cheekily passed them for my very short lived TV time as they say in the Tour de France (about 4 seconds before I lost it). :) 

It wasn't a smart move on my part. I have lots to learn about tactics and duathons...Jen also joked afterwards that someone mentioned the water run 5k and swim was done. What's next? Paddle boat the ride of course! Another instance, Matt and Vanessa was also making fun of me before the race and my nutritional bento box plans for short course racing. Ugh...seriously Winston? C'mon...

One person had a fast transition with last year's camo, I thought that must had been Nick. The one person I had to chase down. It was a bit frustrating because the leader stayed within 10 seconds gap the entire 20k. In a long distance race, you can chase them down easily. I was thinking wow the leader is definitely making me earn this!

T2 was mind-numbing slow despite being only around 40 seconds. I had my wet socks still on that I was suppose to discard during T1, and couldn't see with all the rain. It wasn't a flawless transition, one shoe I couldn't get out in time, because the appraoch to T2 was a mini climb. 

I ran the first kilometre of the second 5K (aka run KM 6) going 3:50 per km pace on dead calves. I guess averaging 38.8km/hr on the bike doesn't exactly give you the freshest calves either. By 2km in, and approaching the loops, I can see the leader running a similar pace as me. It was a bit disheartening because I was already going at threshold pace and the pain was the only thing I could control. The gap wasn't closing. 

Turns out the leader beat me 12 seconds on the run and bike portions, and absolutely destroyed me by 30 seconds on the transitions. Talk about an ITU style racing. I crossed the finish line and was surprised to see the Mike, who was also wearing the Camo suit. Nick was close behind, and it was a good thing that Mike lead the race for the most part, otherwise I would have likely needing a sprint finish with Nick, who would had likely beat me given his experience. 

I guess my fitness is coming along, but I still have a lot to learn on the tactics and those mundane transitions. 

I was racing the people in an older age category because I'm turning 30 next year for a Canada slot for the worlds in Spain, but it's probably 99% safe to say I won't go because James and Stef wedding is during that weekend ironically. Also my finances are a bit broken after Sweden this year. :)

Thanks for reading. My goodness, the recovery for a duathlon was brutal for me. I couldn't stand up straight because of DOMS calves on day 2-4 post race. It wasn't pretty to say the least.

Also a huge thank you to TriBC for drawing me in their wonderful prize pack giveaways! The Rudy Project and Aqua Sphere gear are fabulous! Perks of being a member, I guess. :D

No belt buckles, but the medals seem like a bit more classier touch! :)

Photo cred: Naiely for coming out to cheer in the rain! I was too confused after the race and couldn't spot her.

Bit by the triathlon bug – Motala ITU World Championships RR

Warning: brace yourself for an extremely long post ahead. :)
Some personal struggles, some training, and finally some of my reflection at the World Champs. I’ve left out the fun travel stuff for future blog posts. :P

Boring pre-race thoughts and struggles.

It’s funny how life’s lessons can be pretty unpleasant at times, and yet you must face the new opportunities presented to you head on. This scares me.

The big competition was happening in this cute little farm town that the locals giggle about when I mention Motala, Sweden.

Here's my story and a little snapshot of my journey and struggles to this world championships:

1. Got laid off from my job
2. Gained some insights by racing a lot more (Mike McMillan may say this is an understatement)
3. Accidentally qualified at Vancouver for 2015 Worlds (albeit, as one of the slowest National Champions in recent history for my age category, but hey I’ll take it).
4. Got a new job
5. Signed up for Worlds (Jen Moroz qualified as well and peer pressured me to sign up…but it’s not her fault as I may be the easiest person to convince for a race-vacation, “racation” when there's friends, travel and race involved)
6. Got laid off (yes not a typo, again…due to the same tough job market)
7. Got a little bit better as a triathlete
8. Have the race of my life at the World Champs! I’m ready for this!

I’m learning to think like a triathlete and less like a traditional runner. I was willing to devote to a fast race from start to finish with transitions included like the typical hockey analogy of playing for the full three periods.

My finances were certainly stretched, with not having to fall back on the steady income. This forced me to cook more meals and eat out less. I’ve incorporated more pasta and even dare I say it…salads into my diet. Sigh, this was a blessing in disguise. It made me a more efficient athlete. I don’t crave burgers and fries like I used to anymore, but I do still sometimes binge-out on the slurpee department however. :P

Pre-race conditions and strategies.

Especially for the newbie triathletes in the lead-up to any big competition, I would say it’s pretty normal to dwell your energy on the race conditions and moan about the bad and hope for the good.

There certainly wasn’t a lack of this in this race as the water temperatures to air temperatures dipped near the lower spectrum of the fancy matrix calculations (I haven’t bothered studying it since they would change it anyways).  We only found out within the last 24 hours from race start from our team manager that the swim would be shortened from 4k to 1.5k. The little canal locking bridges were going to go up at 11:30am and may conflict with some racers on the bike course, so the race start time was adjusted a little later to accommodate the shorten swim. A little more sleeping-in time for all. Considering the midsummer sun rise was at probably around 3am and the race start was close to 9:30am, we had over 6 hours of solid sun to prep for the race start. It was nice!

Normally I would be thrilled for the shorten swim aspect, since I would think that I am a runner and the general notion that runners don’t like to swim longer distances. However I learned to tune the distractions out and just accepted it for what it is. I was satisfied with any distance because I trusted my training for a 4k swim will show regardless in the actual distance of the race unless of course the entire length of the swim was to be cancelled.

Brendan Naef, a professional triathlete and a very good friend who I have raced with in my first five ironmans called me up before the race to talk about some strategy. He’s a great mentor for me even though he’s too modest to admit it. After pestering him for a bit in the weeks advance, he eventually suggested that I should be more aggressive on the bike because my “strong” running background this year can handle it.

Mike McMillan, a close training friend, also suggested I don’t soft-pedal. I guess that means no negative splitting and taking it easy on the bike unless there was a sharp hairpin turn.

I’ve completed the training; hopefully this was worth the gamble. It is the World Championships after all. 

Race numbers and timing chips everywhere! Can you spot them all? :)

Nutrition plan.

I’m a gels person.

One gel pre-swim. Packed 6 gels for the bike. And 3 gels for the run.

3 salt pills for the bike and 5 more for the run.

2 penguin bars for the bike.

Bought this Swedish powerade passion fruit for the bike.

The rest of my nutrition was relied upon the aid stations.

Note – Little did we know, we all found out during the race that no gels would be provided at the aid stations. It was a fair decision, but I think it affected most people as this was not anticipated.

Ok the race, calm cool and collected.

With the shortened swim and delayed start, we had plenty of time for chit chat and photo ops.

Such a rookie mistake to forget the bento box.
Solution: Zip-lock bag and electrical tape.



Pre-race jitters

Cold, slightly choppy, and crowded swim start!

Race start was a floating start and separated into three heats starting at 10 minutes apart. First elites, second males under 50 and thirdly females and males over 50. Para-athletes started a further minute back from the third heat.

The gun was off.

My race experience was a bit different from the ladies and older males heat. Despite being a little crowded starting in the second row near the centre on the way out, I actually got to swim on the way back with the tail current. Mostly clean swimming the entire way, I didn’t experience any extreme kicking or grabbing unlike the horror stories heard from the later heat. Sighting off the church was helpful as someone suggested earlier during our team swim orientation. Everyone was pretty respectful despite the crowded packs. Certainly there were the odd times of touching others and friendly bumping near the turns.  I drafted people most of the way and very fortunately got a quicker swim for 1500m by a couple of minutes when everybody else saying it was a couple minutes slower. A lady on our team Canada team had given me a nice compliment that I was the only person she came across who didn’t whinge about their swim time. I was quite thrilled going 2 minutes faster than my personal best. 25:12. (1:41 per 100m pace). It was a great start to the day!

A dizzy T1.

Sandwiched by two fellow Canadians beside me. I was the "jam".

The fast swim meant that I would be a little dizzy getting my wet suit off. Hector , talented swimmer and triathlete from our house, said this was quite normal if you pushed it hard on the swim. I drifted for a solid couple wobbles before re-gathering my composure. The poor volunteer in front of me during my episode must had thought I was a zombie.

Grabbed the bike and heard our team manager Joyce cheering. She was a welcomed face and motivation on the course. My fellow Canadian mates in my age category came out around the same time. I managed to see Jamie on the bike rack and wished him good luck.

European-style bike racing.

Everyone was going a touch faster than my comfort effort. I averaged close to 38-39 kph on first lap. I saw Jamie on the first turn-around and then started to push even harder. Too fast!

There were a lot of swedes on the course. I was impressed by the sportsmanlike conduct displayed by most when hazards appear on the course. Friendly gesturing when there was a hand-cyclist on the right, water bottle on the road and sharp turns. The sharp hairpin turn-around was about a 1 metre wide and too sharp of a bend even when going slowly around to approach the next lap. I nearly smoked the gates on a couple occasions at slow speeds. Luckily everyone was pretty careful around me.

The people who had deep rims stayed on pace. You needed these wheels just to play the game. I certainly was enjoying the European style competitive racing. I was holding 37 kph on the second lap and noticed the stronger cyclists slowly pulled away. The moderate winds got a little stronger.

I struggled on the third lap as I ran out of my supply of gels. One more would have been nice. But I guess everyone was suffering a bit on the last lap so it was still pretty steady in placing. I got dropped by a few more stronger cyclists on the second lap but slowly passed a few more on the last lap. Every time I passed the penalty area, some people would sprint to the box to serve their time. Good to know that some enforcement was in place. There’s a nice little grassy patch of farmlands and you can see the linear waves of cyclists weaving through the fields. Some people noticed there was sushi provided by the Japanese support car!? Could this be true? I averaged low 35s kph on the last lap. 3:15:41 (avg 35.7kph) Incredible, way faster than my 70.3 pace!

Uneventful T2.

I grabbed my three gels and kinder surprise container with salt pills. I noticed a good chunk of my rack was still missing bikes which meant I was in good shape. None of the fellow Canadians in my AG were there yet, but I knew they both were great runners.

Some camera time and a solid run.

First two km, I had to shake off some bricky legs. At one moment I even ran backwards like 10 metres to pick up the three gels that dropped from my pockets as the crowds kindly pointed them out. After Eugene marathon and dropping my salt pills, I knew the few added seconds was worth the trip back.

Fedrik from Sweden asked me what my pace goal was and I said 4:20. He agreed and ran with me for the first two laps. We both were cruising smoothly at the same pace. It was nice having foot steps along the way. A lot of stronger runners had passed me. I was still holding strong at 4:30s. I got slower in the trails, did not appreciate the 2x one kilometer sections of trails.

Mary Beth Ellis was completing her third lap when she lapped me going at 4:20 per km pace. The camera on the motor biked pan his camera on me on a few occasions before Mary Beth Ellis approached and eventually passed me. I tried running with her for a few kilometer but I don’t think she appreciated my company as much as I appreciated hers. Fedrik from Sweden held strong and went a couple minutes faster on the last lap. Again, no gels at aid stations, and it was a good call to run back for the gels. I still felt comfortable but my pace slowed a bit as my lack of nutrition followed. 2:17:56 (4:35 per km pace).

Finish finally.

Hector Rodriguez, our top Canadian team finisher greeted me at the finish line. It was a very nice gesture for him to say he was worried I might catch him despite the shorter swim, which he would had digitally spanked me by more time anyways. Honestly I had no idea he was that close ahead and I was more worried the other two Canadian strong runners in my AG and others in my AG would catch me. As always my intention is to make the passer earn the pass. I somehow posted the quickest time from T1 to Finish from our Canadian team, but only barely as Hector was less than a minute from me and discounting his phenomenal swimming abilities.

Final thoughts.

Overall this was a very organized event by ITU. The volunteers were fabulous and the competitors were very friendly and sportsmanlike. Smooth diamond shape transitions and bag tunnels. Even beer bottles were removed from the bottom of the lake the day before the race.

This was also one of the few races where a strong swim, lead to a strong bike, and a strong bike lead to a strong run. My friend Carl Reilly would always say that a good run comes with a good bike. He was right!

I proudly finished 11^th in my AG (top 25%) and way above my initial top 50% expectation. My time was 6:03 and probably would be under my goal of sub 7 hours had the course been a full distance but happy either way.  I’m very proud of my result and my fellow Canadians competing and I’m going use this experience as a confidence booster in my future races knowing I CAN race with the Europeans and other AG national champions (no pun there Canada ;)). 

That's racing sometimes, you take a gamble by pushing harder and could snowball into a huge advantage. From qualifying as one of the slowest national champions in recent history to one of the faster athletes on the Canadian team, I was elated to represent Canada with such an incredible performance this year. The additional time off from work also didn't hurt. Another blessing in disguise, but I will need to find new employment in the mean time. Shucks, good things will come to an end, unfortunately. :P

Adam Zanbilowicz who I met at the UBC tri this year also performed well, with the help of his entire family on course. He looked great on the run course.

My travel partner in crime Jen Moroz ran herself to top Canadian female finisher. We were lucky to stay with some like-minded Canadian athletes at our little Canada house. I admire their display of friendliness and supportiveness throughout this experience. Kudos to Hector, Alyssa and Karmen for their fabulous company.

Our little home away from home.

Fabulous fellow housemates.

More travel photos and go-pro videos to come.:) Stayed tuned and thanks for reading!

Sub 3 Almost! - Eugene Marathon RR

Timeline T-minus...
-31 days - Eugene Marathon ("A" Race)
17 days - ITU Motala LD Triathlon ("A" Race)

Fun race here at Eugene, Oregon aka Tracktown USA! Missed my sub 3 by less than a mile, may have just barely eclipsed it on garmin, but that doesn't count! Maybe next time World, keep on watching! :) It's becoming closer to a sport of inches.

My kinder surprise container filled with a few salt pills was opened in my back pocket, which must had occurred when I sat on them while driving in the morning to the bus shuttle. When I tried to grab them at 5k, the pills dropped! Ah poop!

But besides the small mishap, the race strategy went really well. The plan was to cruise the first 35k with a 1:29 half split and run the last 7k like it's only a 7k race. A great tip from Bryan Andrews.

The course was flat and fast, a small hill at 7km, and mostly riverfront along the second half. I was surprised to see trees on both sides of the path when running along the riverfront. A few very steady strong runners passed me, I was impressed. 

I got to 35k right on schedule (with a 1:28:5X halfway split) at steady's 4:15 per km. But the legs just got crushed trying to jump start them for the last 7k. I guess I ran the legs into the ground and the pain was just a bit too much. Only a less than 3 minute positive split which I'm ecstatic about. There was a unsanctioned beer aid station less than 2k away from the finish, despite knowing I would miss my sub 3, I didn't grab the beer as I was determined to still chase a PB. 

The last 200m on Hayward Field, best known historic track in US, was pretty neat! Too bad I was too broken and could only a muster a pedestrianly slow 4:20s - 4:30s per km on the track. ;P

I ended up shaving about 15 seconds off my PB in Chicago in 2013! Considering 6/7 people achieve lifetime PBs in Chicago, I was thrilled with beating this time finally after trying for a couple years.  

Derrick deserves a shout for coming with me and putting up with me all weekend. We visited Nathaniel and Sophie in Portland along the way there and back.  

Couldn't walk the next day. Derrick had to put up with my zombie legs. But Voodoo Doughnuts helped. Can't believe this place is opened 24/7.

It is interesting to see the many similarities in splits between Chicago and Eugene!

Blue makes a difference! - Sun Run RR

Timeline T-minus...
-19 days - Sun Run 10K ("B" Race)
2 days - Eugene Marathon ("A" Race)
37 days - Cultus Lake Loop Triathlon ("-A" Race) Cancelled, bummer!
50 days - ITU Motala LD Triathlon ("A" Race)

After 5 years being stuck around the 39 minutes mark. . . breakthrough!

Things that were different this year.
- squeaked into the blue section by 1 second with time from last year!
- training a little smarter (i.e. no seymour climbs the day before), better nutrition etc.
- got to use the curb for warm-up without asking for permission
- had VIP treatment mixed in with a bit of friends time before the race

My results:
- I actually got my sub 38 goal time! 37:21
- Accidentally knocked off my 5km PB time too. I was surprised to see 18:21 along the 5K split on Burrard Bridge.
- Quick interview with NTDTV, lol don't judge too harshly...I was still dripping sweat after the run. :P  


What's next?
Eugene marathon this weekend! Sub 3 Sub 3! Watch out world!

Fast and Stiff Competition - UBC Tri/Du RR

Haha okay so this report is long overdue, so I'll make it quick. 

Timeline T-minus...

-42 days - UBC Tri/Du ("B" Race)
1 day - Sun Run 10K ("B" Race)
22 days - Eugene Marathon ("A" Race)
57 days - Cultus Lake Loop Triathlon ("-A" Race)
70 days - ITU Motala LD Triathlon ("A" Race)

The UBC Tri/Du had some significant changes to the Transitions, bike, and run courses for this year due to some ongoing construction inconveniences.

As a result the post swim run to T1 was a little bit longer than the previous years (located all the way at Main Mall). The 16th hill was taken out of the bike. And the Run route was modified to be more of a lollipop course (stick+loop).

All in all, I felt I was a bit faster on the swim despite the slower time from last year. A bit of a blood bath near the end of the swim when two swimmers ahead swam too slow, and swimmers behind too fast. I was about 27 minutes 14 seconds (right on target) hitting the wall (1:49 per 100m pace). I felt the extra effort to push pass in the tight lane space wasn't worth the higher energy expenditures.

A doctor, who was in the blood bath group, was very appreciative and apologetic for making me do a chunk of the swim work as we passed each other in T1 and on the run course. Eventually I found out he's going to Sweden ITU worlds as well, which is neat!

The bike was a fast course and where I made some more gains. A kilometre shorter than last year, and minus 4 times a small hill meant a fast course. 

I was battling some stomach side stitches (my weak excuse is that the air was cold) and had to run with them for the 10K. I think there could be room for improvement here. 

All in all, it was a fun race and seeing a lot of the friends of the triathlon community hanging out at the finish line. Honestly, that's probably the reason why I do this race consistently every year. :)

Fabulous location for the new finishing area!

Nerdy Graph 2015 Update

It's nice to finally accomplish my goal in style - First Half RR

The First Half race was no doubt a very fast field, but it was a very fun race for me. 

Post race smiles.

1:26:26 was the time I was aiming for... 
(based on a 3:01 marathon in Chicago) - here's last year's recap of the First Half.

And...
1:24:55 was the time I got! Boo-yeah! :)

Race conditions were perfect. The organization was spectacular. The crowds were amazing. The key was running the back half mentally strong and remaining steady. I had some help from the 1:24 group running steady as a rock, it's too bad I couldn't held on for a little bit longer. But I was pretty stocked (humbly surprised) with my PB time. 

McMillan calculator-worst to McMillan calculator-best.

But truth to be told is that I still got my a$$ handed back to me. There are a lot of freakishly fast and styling runners out here in Vancouver. Next year I will shoot for making it inside the top 100 hopefully. 

Nerdy graphs are a must

Tier 3 - The Crater - Haleakala Climb

Along the Haleakala crater climb

Sometimes the biggest struggles give the biggest rewards. Haleakala was one of them. 

The ride to the peak of the Haleakala crater was definitely worth the anticipation I've been having all month. It was a game of optimization i.e. sunlight, nutrition, elevation gain, and battery power.  

It was a 17 hours journey on the road riding at low intensity for me starting and finishing at Napali. My right large toe is still feeling a little numb from some minor nerve damage, but should heal in a few months (sounds worst than it is, I think the running blisters had some cause). I figured I was feeling good fitness wise, and wanted to tact on some extra mileage getting to Paia, which is a small town at almost sea-level. Besides, I wanted to get the most value out of my rental bike since they were charging me more than the rental van. Given the day I had yesterday, I was just glad to be exploring new grounds. Along the way I bumped into a father and son from Southern California and encountered a couple more cyclists on two separate occasions, ironically both from Vancouver. It gets pretty lonely out here, since many tourists and locals probably think you're crazy to be riding up (instead of just down to see the sun rise, which is popular tourist thing to do). For most of the ride up, I only saw tourist groups leading rides to go down. I would try a friendly hand wave like we normally do to fellow cyclists and none but the instructor out front would return any gestures. Perhaps they were too uptight holding on for dear life. It was neat because every time I waved, the given instructor at the front of the pack would wave back with a Shaka sign.

Good thing I over packed my nutrition, since they only have filtered water near the park entrance. No food, no gas, no problem!

Felt like I was inside an ant farm going up the countless switchbacks

The view was stunning. 

The cold parts of the ride was sandwiched in the middle with the clouds. Warm at top and bottom  elevations. Biking into the clouds was a dream come true! The clouds would just eat up the entire view as we got closer to the park entrance! The clouds would drift across the roads.

Got a bit distracted watching people paragliding and reading mantra messages on the road.

A Vancouver rider was kind enough to offer a couple tips when approaching the summit. 
1) the grade gets a bit steeper to 10% as you approach the summit
2) the cool place to take a picture is at 10,023 feet (not at the silly 10,000 feet sign)

Panorama at 10,000 feet, looking upon the extra 23 ft lookout

A cheeky little pedestrian path gets you a little bit higher, which is not accessible by cars. The traffic on the roads up to this point have been fairly light, which is surprising given it was Martin Luther King Day, a National holiday. Park fees was waived too, yipee!

Yup, rookie mistake to still have two bottle of liquids left. Guess it was a bit overkill to biked with 5 bottles of Gatorade. :D

The trek down was a blast (see video below)....until I got a flat. I had just two CO2 cartridges, and had to manually pick out the glass. It was quite the adrenaline rush, knowing that I was 100k+ away from the accomodation, and my friends were out in middle of Hana with no phone reception until hours later. Luckily I was able to eventually put my skills to the test and made it back on the tires. It was nice to be able to finish strong, my garmin, and gopro were running low on battery as well. I did bring a spare phone battery but luckily didn't need to use it (otherwise I really would had been stuck). It all worked out in end, not sure I want to think about what would happened if not. Like I said earlier the biggest struggles are the most rewarding.    

Some minor casualties from the ride...should have worn gloves...

Here's a fun test, can you guess which picture is the sun rise and the sun set? :D

A

B

Some video highlights from the ride...

Haleakala Climb from Winston Guo on Vimeo.