An unexpected surprise and celebrating 40 years anniversary in retro theme fashion - Elk Lake RR

I must had caught the photographer sleeping on the wheel. Here's an arm candy pic of myself instead.
Photo Credit: Reuben Butterfield

Well you know the result, but here’s the back story.

My look of shock as there was still a whole bunch load of people ahead of me. 
Photo Credit: Reuben Butterfield

My supportive girlfriend and tough-love coach Jen thought I was a silly goof after my joyful and raceless (but very fruitful saskatoon berries…it was a good season) trip to Edmonton. Her father is a man of few words. He asked me how I did in Edmonton, and then with the short reply of three words 

"What a disappointment". 

His home cooked pasta meal and apple apricot were amazing the day before Edmonton. Disappointing the meal was for no show. 

Heading into Elk Lake, it was good to pre-run and pre-drive the run and bike race routes respectively again. I think the body knows how to push through pain when it knows precisely how much pavement/trail is left on course.

I was well rested. Motivation was high especially after Jen's dad words. Lessons were learnt the hard way last year being out sprinted in the finish line. Race conditions was hot and tough. You definitely need to embrace a bit of grittiness, which are my favourite type of racing. 

Me a little nervous and hiding in the back.
Photo Credit: Reuben Butterfield

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The swim. No wetsuit in fresh water. Not ideal. One clockwise loop with blinding sun on last length. New this year, we started in carrel groups and chip time as we funneled into the lake. 

Swim sighting was bad! :/

The bike. Single out and back, but a lot of punchiness mini up and downs left and rights, also watching out for not mainly live cars in the residential area, but more concerning other cyclists heading in opposite direction on the back stretch as there was no yellow line delineator at times. Not necessary fast, but a lot of fingers near brakes to ride the twists and turn action.

Race map 

The run. Also single out and back on the trail with a little hill at the turnaround. We saw the biker placed the cone for the turnaround point on the day before. The same biker was also doing a bike escort for the leader on race day, so cool!

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Me on far right being all signed up and race ready.
Photo Credit: Reuben Butterfield

A first 1st for me!! That's in the overall category (baby!). I have previously finished pretty much everything inside top 10 i.e. 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th. But never 1st! Lose. Lose. And I lose. 

If you're looking for a little inspiration and close to WiFi and/or can tether off a friend, this speech from Deshauna Barbara is definitely worth a watch if you haven’t seen this already!! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BRrvPQzTwE  

I had my very own Deshauna moment. "...the person we are now is not the person we need to be when we cross the finish line in our dreams..." Powerful.

I'm learning now to embrace my fail forwardness. If you've ever reached rock bottom or what certainly feels like it, take that as an opportunity to bounce back higher than ever before! I'm stealing this line from a clever friend, Brendan, who had previously shared his Monday motivators with an insightful quote along those lines. He also happens to be a very good triathlete because I've seen him fail forward first hand behind all his successes. 

I had 26th fastest swim, 3rd fastest bike, came into T2 in 4th place, and 1st fastest run splits, finishing 1st. 

When one spectator said top 3 was close on the 1km mark of the run course, I knew the front two guys were coming backwards towards me. My racing instincts kicked in, and it was my race to lose at that point. I had passed the leader just as we hit the turnaround point with the start of the bike escort. 

This was the short, but very intense and anything-can-happen derby style Sprint distance format. Losing mere seconds can come back to haunt you no matter what places you are battling for. My transitions times improved 11s from last year. 

Last year I lost to a unsuspecting teammate by 1 second and lost to the age group winner by 10 seconds in this same exact race. The slimmest of margins and it hurt more than the legs. You knew I wasn't looking back, easing off the gas pedal, nor celebrating early this year regardless of the situation. 

I'm sad to report, since mid July 2019, Coach Jen has formally shutdown any high end intensity workouts on the bike and swim for preparation for the marathon in Berlin in late September. But I am starting to enjoy the running workout blocks as the stimulus is working and yet still keeping me race fit for multisport.

We will see in Cultus lake sprint tri, grande finale race of the multisport season! No bike/swim intensity training. Just running. We will see. 

Thanks for reading!!

Oldies from UBC tri club - Theresa and Naiely and her friend Karen
Thanks to Theresa for hosting us!!

This was Lindsey's first win in the ladies category in the same distance as well.
UBC Tri Club oldies FTWs!!

Post run cool down lap and caught being fashionably cool.
Photo Credit: Joel Rushworth

I'm a man who's car is an accessory for the bike.
A fellow athlete seems to follow suit and (motor) bike is also an accessory for the bike. 

A trick I learned with the glasses after watching world champion, Mario Mola!

Super fashionable swag shirts as many were seen wearing them.
Angie, race director, has out did herself again. Great work!

A good reminder for the next race - remembering to sign up! Edmonton ITU recon trip

It happened. Your biggest race nightmare coming true. 

After a successful 2018 season. My tactic this year was to build upon it and be more consistent in training and racing: employing focused training blocks to target weaknesses, mastering ability to execute on race day to chase down every second, and improving some fitness and style points...blah blah blah. 

Okay I must admit, this is proof that you're still not immune from race day not being a successful endeavor. The funny thing there is still one very fundamental, albeit very controllable, step that is required for pretty much any race day - i.e. that is remembering to sign up!

Here comes the bag of excuses...

I did almost every other thing possible, imagineable.

- Book time off work. Check.
- Inform all your friends and family in Alberta that you're coming for the weekend and driving all the way from a beautiful west coast in BC. Cool cool. Cool. Check. 
- Convince a friend to do the trip with. Okay that deserves a bonus check. Kudos to David! 
- Make sure he signed up for the race in time before the deadline. Very important check. cue the drum roll please...and x-check HIS email receipt to ensure the appropriate tri can fee was deducted.
- Lend him my personal bike equipment and make sure his bike is working too. Check. 
- Basic equipment for swim, bike, run. Easy. Okay now we're just braggin. Boring. Check, check and check.
- Appropriate amount of nutrition for the weather. Check.
- Luxury items like power meter battery and computer, also check.
- Offer countless advice leading up to the race. Feverish embarrassing because I can't contain myself, check. 
- Studied the course map and number of laps and noticed the bike direction was Counter Clockwise instead this year. Check. 
- Even reluctantly pay the $20 Expression of Interest ("EOI") new for this year for hopes of qualifying a slot for Team Canada. 1 of the very coverted 20 Age Group slots in the country. There are only losers to this EOI lottery since everyone pays regardless of win or loose. Okay you win Tri Can! Check.
- Had morning pre-race meal 3 hours in advance. PRP. Helmet all strapped up with one finger to fit under.
- Showed ID. Side note: In BC, you don't normally need this step as usually the volunteer at the booth knows you and calls you by name to sneak you in a second or so quicker to pick up your race packet. I had it ready. DUN DUN DUN...

Celebration wasn't happy with me.

The volunteer said my name wasn't on the list. Checked some other distances and format. Checked my middle name. My last name. My Chinese names that I have trouble remembering (oh crap this going down a slippery no return slope). And no luck. I told my friend to go to transition without me. The volunteer called in back-up for the race designated organizer lady to come assist. 

She was super friendly, almost too friendly. It was impossible to get mad at her. Said I had nothing to worry about. While she was checking the possible errors in the system. I had a uh-huh moment, not the eureka kind that you see at a science fair experiment, the UGH - HA moment, - Older Brownlee brother telling his younger Brownlee brother - you silly idiot! Did I sign up super early or did I just plain forgotten? I was excited for a Wendy's burger at this point of time for the record.

T-minus race time was ticking down. The lady said she would wait 1-hour until 7am for me to produce an email receipt. I checked my phone but alas a hopeless search. I was super embarrassed. An old man volunteer felt pity and offered me a sweet swag bag for my troubles. Funny that I felt instantly better, and slowly switch gears and realizing I get to watch my friend race his entire race. 

I got videos of all the important milestones. Start. Lap 1 swim run out. T1. Bike. T2. Run. and Finish. It was neat to be a coach. I was so close to the action, well actually 2 meters and totally safe observing distance at T1. One of the very well trained volunteers (Edmonton must has one of the best volunteer force) told me to not stand on the concrete curb. I bet not for structural reasons because he's an engineer, but more for his distaste for me being a touch too close to the mount line. He said kindly, "Sir, step away from the curb! Please." I was afraid he might shoot so I calmly moved one step back.

I got in my long run in, since I needed to probably long run instead of race anyways. I timed it so I get to watch my friend do 6 loops of the bike while I ran 2 loops around to spectate. While this was happening, my ears popped open and overhead one official telling another official that a particular boyfriend and girlfriend are blatantly drafting. Had this been yesterday's draft legal race, this would had been no big deal. Good teamwork guys or girls (but please gender separate yourselves because otherwise that's also against the rule). But this was sunday draft illegal race. The gap was less than the specified 10 meters. 

I was impressed with the crackdown of the no draft rule. But I see it from both sides since this has happened to me. One strong rider travels at the same speed as a cluster of say 3 riders riding too closely together. When the cluster wrap and traps the stronger rider, from the official eyes, all 4 are assigned 2 minute penalities which is definitely on the harsh side since we they were doing 6 little loops with multiple race heats only compounding the drafting issue. The normal route is normally 4 laps and more real estate. This year I think there's also more people since it's a qualifying race for next year's grand final. From the official eyes, they are just doing one job and I respect that too. Rules are rules for the good, bad, or ugly. I feel for both sides. 

Lots of drafting penalties after hearing some others finish. I took a picture of the gang of motorcyclists taking a picture after all the officiating. There was at least 8 of them circling the route. Take notes for next year. Everyone may just get a penalty with the 6 loop system. I hope it gets reverted back to the 4 loop course down Grout road again. I heard next year the volunteer force would need to double to support the field size potentially 4x the size of this year's event. The olympians will also race the standard distance.  

I counted 8 motor bikes

The swim was wetsuit optional this year at 19.1 degrees Celsius. Next year being in August, this likely will become wetsuit illegal as it normally is. My friend David braving it in invisible wetsuit style just like the pros.

The run was too fast as David was clock'in a sub 39 minute 10k split fastest in his age group and likely one of the fastest for the day. He would had made me moved backwards, I was thankful maybe I sat this one out on hindsight. 

The elastic bands was used by most of the top age groupers. I definitely will have to give this some serious practice. No more sloppy shoes dangling on the clip pedals. 

Okay final take home tip. x-check, double-check, triple-check that email confirmation for race registration. I wasn't completely bummed. Friendships, road trips and healthy lifestyle was my last instagram post message. The funny thing is I got everything I wanted and more. I learned from others and watched zee olympians. 

Mario Mola watching with the fans! So cool!

We stood next to our favourite Mario Mola while we watched the Mixed relay. We also found Jacob Birtwhistle spying on the water park at west ed mall, just like us. We didn't want to blow our covers operations so we left quietly. ;)

Overall I had a fun trip, I missed Jen but still a blast with David. Good news also came early last week. I luckily managed to secure a coveted spot for Edmonton next year from my last race at Kelowna Apple Nationals (+provincials). You never know with the age adjustment rankings. Consistency and learning from your mistakes is key to good fortunes. I'm fortunate to escape this one and qualified for next year! :)

Thanks to Jon, Alex and Jen's dad for hosting us. Onto the next race!

Thanks for reading. Cheers. 





  

2019 Multi-sport Mid-Season Report

I enjoy racing way too much that I've fallen behind in my blog maintenance. 

Here's a snapshot of how 2019 is going so far as we near halfway into the precious multi-sport season. 

My goal for the first half of 2019 season is to focus on racing well. Not just fitness but also clinicalness. I.e. how much seconds can I take off in each of the 5 splits. Evil laff.  

The second half will be focused more on Marathon building. It's exciting getting into the Berlin Marathon build phase. Sadly, the training will be tough as it eats away my late tri season. 

The solid red above - BAD!!! Solid green - good work coach!! :)

2 Solid REDS:

• Race #1 - weaker bike leg due to heavy winds and flat course which really favours the big uber cyclists with big watts! Certainly not my strength, but I do take note as something I can maybe improve upon in the future. 
• Race #4 - my first aquabike leg!! This is like stripping your favourite leg (the Run) and let the Swim-bikers chop you into pieces. It's no surprise my swim leg choked as the previous day of racing made me a little fatigued. 

1 Solid GREEN:

• Race #2 - I love hills, not just because my favourable power to weight ratio haha. The hilly bike means using a lot of gears which is fun for me. 

The vs. Top 10 is another interesting stat. A couple other notables. My T1s are very strong. My running is strong to hold on its own. Swimming, despite improving, still very much a weakness along with biking with big power on the flats. 

Here's some more data I collected. 

The swim without wetsuit is definitely a weakness for stronger runners like myself. It may be very much 20seconds in time more or less but it kills your reserves available to bridge the fast run split. Take note Race #3, Oliver was wetsuit optional in 2018 and I finished 2nd OA with a murdering run split passing 2nd and 3rd overall within the last 100m, but struggled this year to hang onto the age group podium. Having Steve King run through all the trivial facts on your performances was really cool I must admit, but the target on my back definitely made things harder this year. 

Intensity factor for you bike nerds means a punchy tough course. Closer to 1.0 and it is pancake flat and smooth surface. This makes sense, as Westwood is drastically hilly and Oliver is pretty pancake flat and less punchy especially on the sprint course.

One variable not mentioned is protection from wind. The bike at Lacey Washington was pretty sheltered with trees nearby. This provided optimum racing to be fast. Having cooling conditions also helped. 

Pavement roughness was a little tougher on the aquabike which shows the higher 20 minute average power. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Maps~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Race #1 Bare Bones - also BC Provincial Champs. 
Noticeably a few big names were not in attendance. Top ten was left wide open this year for me!

Run1 & Run2 - stick and 2-loop lollipop in CW direction

Bike was single out and back, but the winds reversed on us this year. Headwinds out. Tailwinds back. 

Race #2 Westwood Sprint - Dynamic Race Events
One of my favourite courses part of the series. The hills are my biggest fans, and the winter of training indoors definitely suit this course.

Slight chance in the bike course, adding more distance on the out and back portion. We avoid the imfamous chain drop hill turn coming back into the transition area. 
Swim is one loop. Bike double out and backs. Run is one loop of the lake with a couple puncher hills, the last one near the finish, I had to walk up.

Race #3 Wine Capital of Canada - Oliver Sprint

Had a big target on my back and not having Stan in the race, winner from last year, we knew the win was up for grabs. The transition normally is closer to the parking lot of the beach, but this year made T1 more exciting. It was a secret run inside the race. Swim RUN Bike Run. Surprise no-wetsuit swim definitely costed me 20 seconds! Patrick who ended up ahead of me, always had 2 minutes in the banks on me. Finishing in 4th just after him was an honour, he's also one of the nicest, offering me tips for improving my swim after the race.

Race #4 Oliver Aquabike

No, not on a paddle boat, though that would be fun!!

Swim T1 (my secret run leg) and Bike!

This was rolling wave start and self choosing. I picked a spot where there were lots of crowds. Thinking back, maybe I should had started further back as getting into the congestion only made swimming slower with longer tangents. The long run into transition was my chance to run, being a runner at heart. Bike was the 2nd year using this new route. What a beauty. The route is quiet and challenging with climbs on way out and pretty fast descending back. It was fun to dance my way across T2 as I was finished. 

Keith, who finished just behind me actually had faster legs, offered me some swim awesome tips post race. I recently tried his band work and really noticed the difference.

Race #5 Black Hills Sprint - Lacey Washington

More of a recon trip for future and checking out on the racing scene in Washington. 

Swim start was a 2-4 person roll start. Lots of room to swim. The course is fast all around. Pavement was well marked so directions were everywhere. Bike was one CW loop. Run was 3 out and back legs like the flux capacitor. 

Credit: Dynamic Race Events

 

Credit: Dynamic Race Events

Credit: Dynamic Race Events

Credit: Dynamic Race Events

I have to say that my coach & girlfriend Jen is the key to my recent consistent results. She pulls me back when I start to stray away from the higher level goals. She made me do a swim block in early spring, sacrificing some run training. 

I was telling my dad, "I did so and so race and finished in the top X". My dad calmly says, "you have a good coach!" No good work or nothing. My dad has a sense of humour...I think. 

The Cold Continues + Killer Hills - RNR Washington DC Marathon

Having just recently experienced the blue mile in San Antonio Marathon, I found out quickly the ex-military running community made the field at Washington DC marathon pretty deep with another blue mile on course, which was really inspiring to run through up the first of 3 killer hills.

The course generally does a big clockwise route around the white house, and then once nearing the finish area at RFK Stadium a further out and back for the second half of marathon, with hills at 12K, 26K, and 37K.

This was one of my coldest marathon of recent memory. There was even a touch of slush the night prior, luckily the roads were clear during race time. I used a few runners to pace along the hills. There were a few quicker legs I could follow. Inevitably came the last dreaded hill, everyone man and woman were left fending for themselves. I even saw a little kid crying on the side of the road near 3k to the finish. Marathons are a seriously tough business. The steep up and then down made it worst. 

Overal, I was quite pleased with my time. My 4th quickest 3:03 with a 1:29 half split.  

 We got snow the night prior to race day. Jen and I was wiping off the snow off the car.

We hopped on Old Town Trolleys shuttle to the race start. 

 Jen getting photo-bomded by a random stranger.

I was satisfied with my consistent effort throughout the marathon!

Best post race recovery is beer to numb the pain.