Round 2 in Penticton - One Giant Hill Seen Twice, once on Bike and another on Shoes - Peach Classic Sprint RR

After a short month off, I eased back into racing with the shorter Sprint distance in the Peach Classic. This was my first time doing the Peach, and marked its 36 anniversary, which is the oldest triathlon continuously held in BC. There were lots of familiar faces here from UBC Tri, TSJ cycling and Abbotsford Tri Clubs. World qualifier spots were available for aquabike, and provincial champions for standard tri.

Swim was a CCW loop along the warm beach. Temperature was 22 C making it wetsuit illegal. 

Transition racks for Sprint was rotated perpendicular in the upper section as compared to the Standard racks in the lower section, making it an obvious separation between the two traffic flows.

The bike was a one tiny out and back along Lakeshore, and then a larger out and back to and from Vancouver Ave hill. Coming back there's a slight detour to the other side of the hill along the cemetery. The turn was tricky to spot and did catch some riders off course.

The run was a short out and back, however a couple killer grades connecting to Vancouver hill, and then the rest of Vancouver hill to the Kettle Valley Trail. 

I enjoyed the scenic view during a warmup run - but not so much during the race as the elevation kept changing to make it hard to get a good rhythm going.

The Sprint was an exciting beach mass start. No wetsuits. No style points. I usually hand a few minutes to the strong swimmers. Out of the water in 28th, I had my work cut out. 

My power to weight is favourable for this kind of course. My bike was 8th fastest split and caught a few stragglers. 

It was hard seeing the hill again but with shoes. I think the lack of wetsuit swim did tire me out on the bike, and with the technical bike, my fatigue was kicking in for the run. Still a solid 8th fastest split on run and 9th overall.

I feel like the swim without wetsuit is something I do need to work on for next year. The energy distribution of a wetsuit legal swim/bike/run feels like 10%/40%/50%. For a wetsuit illegal swim/bike/run feels a lot more like 30%/40%/30%, making it a bit more of a strugglefest by the time you get to the run. 

Sharing the podium here with Scott.

The BBQ certainly didn't disappoint! Thanks to Jen for making this trip and friends Vanessa and Matt for hosting us. Sometimes I wonder why I bother with the longer distances. I enjoyed this race, the friends, and the perfect distance (before waiting to get food). I hope to be back next year now that I know the course.

Short Course Training for Long Course Racing...oops - IM Boulder RR

My goals the last two seasons have focused on building speed and power with short course racing.  After all, you cannot race faster in the longer distance races if you're weak in one of those areas.

I learned last year that my friend Andrew and his friend were racing IM Boulder this year, and figured I would give long course racing another shot.  My cousins in Fort Collins have wanted me to come visit them, so this felt like the perfect opportunity.

This race in Boulder Colorado was an eye opener. The mile high city for endurance athletes along the foothills of the Rockies. Despite doing short course training, it was neat to see my fitness still carried through for the long course. The altitude and heat (above 35 deg C) definitely killed me. 

The course:

The swim was in the scenic Boulder Reservoir almost equilateral triangle in a CCW loop. The start was self seating. 

The bike was a two loop course. This is the fifth year of the race and fifth consecutive year with a different bike course. The first stretch on the highway was mostly flat and you work your way into the foothills with 3 small climbs.

The run course is a reference to the flux capacitor from back to the future. One stick and then 3 legs and repeating 2 of the 3 legs for a second lap.

I was within touching distance from my friend Andrew in the race and he's in the next age group. I was placed near the back of mine. What luck!

In a bit of a rush to the start line, my wetsuit zipper broke as I tried to zip up. A fellow athlete tried but had given up. I ran further down the self seating crowds and luckily eventually another athlete was able to zip me up. 

The half way mark of the swim, I felt the zipper from the bottom come off with water slowly penetrating in. I got to T1 and luckily a volunteer helped me with unzipping the wetsuit. It felt like a long minute before I could move. 

The bike was baking hot. I applied sunscreen on an hourly interval. I also put on the Dynamic Race Events series pass jersey on for good measure. The first 3 hours I was holding back and trying to maintain 180 watts. The latter half I could feel the quads burn. It was a complete sufferfest. The 3 climbs did help break things up. 

Flying along Hwy 36 was a fast and single file stretch. An athlete involved in a tragic event on this stretch two years ago, I knew to take this section easy. The narrow shoulder and heavy vehicle traffic were things to watch for.

I tried hydrating as much as I can to the point of puking water out. I can tell my body was rejecting the fluids. I asked myself why I do this? 

Getting into the Reservoir was a relief. I could feel the legs cramping up. Running into T2, my feet was cooking on the asphalt. It was a scorcher. Quads were still dead and ended up hobbling along at one pace 5:40per km. The Boulder community has a bike highway system, once getting off the roads from the reservoir, the bike freeway was nice. Lots of volunteers and spectators to support. I was walking through most aid station drinking as much ice water as possible.

Slowly but surely I was able to gain a rhythm. I picked the heavy cushion new balance 880s for good measure. Finishing the run in a PW but I didn't care. I was happy to finish. My back was saltier than the ocean!

I was happy with my execution despite my lack of training for this distance. I knew my strengths and weaknesses. This wasn't something I would enjoy without my cousins and friends coming to do this race with me.

Six Big Carrots!! - Oliver Wine Capital of Canada Sprint RR

Photo credit: Dynamic Race Events

Coming back to Oliver for the sprint this year was fun. I knew the course. A clockwise swim. A quick T1 with the big sign to mark my bike rack. A two legs out-and-back bike. And a gentle roller out-and-back run.

I'm definitely better at chasing people than running away from them. I was 19th out of the swim. 

Photo credit: Dynamic Race Events

The bike had a little hill on the first out and back, the gas station junction had to take it carefully, and then you can see your competition again coming back. I saw Stan way up ahead and I knew I was about 3 minutes back from most of the pack. Coming off the bike at 8th place, I chipped my way at the positions. 

Photo credit: Dynamic Race Events

Race commentator Steve King planted a seed of confidence in me. As I worked my way up the first hill out from transitions, he provided a little brief commentary with his deep knowledge of the sport.

One by one I put on the hurtsville factor going close to my standalone 5k time. I was wiping off about 15s off each km and only a matter of simple linear math before I caught more. Mikey was a bit further ahead this year when I caught him, simply because he got faster and wearing a wetsuit definitely made him harder to chase down.

Within 100m from the finish line I caught 2nd and 3rd places, finishing about 3 minutes behind the leader Stan. That's just racing sometimes, an ITU finishing sprint in my favour. The flat and asphalt run terrain really suited my strengths.

Thanks to Angie and Joe for putting on another great event.

A PB effort!

Photo Credit: Dynamic Race Events
Great shot of Mikey and Me

Photo Credit: Dynamic Race Events

First Tri of Year, Chain-Drop Hill, & Tough Punchers - Westwood Standard Tri RR

Dynamic Race Event's Westwood Tri in Nanaimo BC was my first triathlon of the year and probably one of the first open lake triathlon here on the west coast racing scene. A good bang per buck for a challenging hilly course on the bike/run with ideal weather conditions. We got ideal weather conditions for this third annual event and better than the rainy one from last year.

I decided to go test the standard distance. A - to build fitness for Boulder long course, and B - since last week I did a accumulation of 32k bike, 10k run in the standard du, adding 8k more for bike and a small 1.5k swim component can't be too bad right?   

For standard, the swim is a two CCW loop course in the calm waters. There was a little more contact in the main than the sprint distance. I seem to get my fastest swim splits with more contact, which means more drafting for me. 

Credit: Dynamic Race Events

Swim

Coming out of the waters and into T1, we go down the infamous known chain-drop hill. 

The bike is similar to the Sprint with a little extension tail to the out-and-back. At the flux Capacitor, we do a little ziggy section only on the outbound.

The little extension took a little detour into the new residential area. After that was some significant hills. I had to shift down to small ring 4-5 times throughout the bike. I was counting the leaders. Jeff Symonds and a few others putting on a clinic. The honest hills definitely favours the all-rounded cyclists and not just big power outputters. I really enjoyed it, and especially chain-drop hill on the way back to the lake.

Bike

The run is definitely challenging and one of the more hidden ones. You don't realize if anyone is behind or ahead unless you can remember the positionings from the bike. Two CCW loops around the perimeter of the Westwood lake. Just a few 100 metres before the finish is a killer puncher hill which ruins your rhythm.

Run

Credit: Dynamic Race Events

Credit: Dynamic Race Events

I ease my legs into gear for the first 2k. Maybe it was a bit too conservative? But I wasn't comfortable in the standard distance yet. Lessons to learn for next time. Some yummy pancakes and sausages at the finish. This one was hard earned but a good build to the season's opener. Just missed the AG podium, but definitely a good challenge with the standard distance. :) Overall another great race with fabulous company and race support. It's becoming a must on my annual race calendar! :)

Du Provincials Opener, Lucky 13s, Belt Buckle and Wine - Bare Bones Duathlon RR

Don't open that wetsuit bag just yet, this duathlon race was the perfect kick-start to the multi-sport season. Shake off some winter rust by adding a little bike component inside the 10k of running basically. 

The olympic distance for BC Provincials Championships was 5k/32k/5k for run/bike/run with a giant triBC provincial champion belt buckle and a bottle of wine on the line for provincial age group winners. Qualifiers spots for Spain in 2019 was also up for grabs.

This race attracted national level talents including a few local elite celebrities - all household names Jeff Symonds, Jen Annett and Jesse Bauer. 

This local race was a standalone duathlon, which doesn't happen often. Race awards were presented at the nearby pub (Barely Mill Pub) with burgers to refill those hungry bellies. It was a cute little transition zone inside a small parking lot.

Run Courses for both run 1 and 2:
A flat stick and 2x lollipops around the Skaha Park and beachfront. Ongoing beach goers must had thought we were in a rush for something... :)

Transitions for both T1 & T2:
A very quick out for T1, and a Z-shape for T2.

Bike course:

One out and back to OK Falls similar to the classic full-iron Canada route. A fast tail wind flat section along Skaha Lake and then a little hilly puncher section into McLean Creek road.

The race overall was pretty consistent for me. I started out fast and I started to fade gradually, entering T1 in 13th. Jen and Chris Yee took off with the front group.

Jumping onto the bike, it was a blistering tail wind section along Skaha Lake (going high 40s km/hr), which would only mean a killer headwind on the way back (~29-30 km/hr). Jen and a few faster runners went back as Jen Annett and a few uber bikers flew ahead. I felt like a spectator watching the strong runners and cyclists duke it out.

Once turning into McLean Creek, I saw my good bud Chris Yee. He's a strong runner. I gingerly passed him but I knew he would be close to catching me on the second run.

We were told in the pre-race safety briefing that caution would be advised for the down sections at McLean Creek due to loose grit and washout from the recent snowmelt floodings. One biker pushed hard to pass me on the descent to OK Falls just before the turnaround. Once completing the turn, I caught the biker without effort and looked back only to see him blow-up.

Entering T2 also in 13th, a little more technical than T1 with the additional two lengths of running.

The final run was hot. I held a steady pace and managed to squeeze in a 13th finish. My quick transitions saved me from coming 14th! Those seconds do add up in turns out!


  

Jen and I had to coordinate wine colours! Also creeping Jeff Symonds and Brad Lee (race director)! 

Fraser Street Run Crew swept the  podiums for 30-34. This was Kang's return to multisport after a couple years and rounding out the AG provincials podium. :)

Overall a fun trip with Kang and Jen. I think we'll be back next year!

Ending the 'Golf' Season with a PB - Sun Run RR

Here's more of a data update. This year's sun run marked the end of the running season and the beginning of switching to multisport season. Currently signed up for 8 races, so it'll be a jammed pack season!


Coach Jen is a smart cookie by forcing me to run 88s laps on the track, which we got so used to that it was the only speed I had on race day.


She also mentioned a trick to execute the race at 2K,i.e. I get to sandbag the first 2km!! Interesting fact is I don't think I am fitter than year 2015 when I was biking nearly 3 hours everyday, but my race execution was better and feeling fresh to run the last 8K at 8K pacing, which is faster than 10k at 10k pacing. Go figure (no pun)! ;)

The first 2k are red compared to previous years splits



Here's another look in graph form (I got a little too excited in excel)

One more graph to update! :)

Photo Credit: Byran Andrwes