Community Events/Seminar: Power Meter Seminar @ Talisman

Power Meter Seminar

Power meters continue to revolutionize how cyclists and triathletes train for competition along with optimizing one's race strategy. However, how many people really know how to use a power meter? This seminar will provide an overview of the various power meters and how the information collected can be of use to athletes and coaches.

 

Specific examples will be shown from actual racing and training power files.

 

If you are considering joining the "power revolution" this seminar will help provide you with the information to make an informed decision and how to do more than just observe your power numbers.

 

Presented by Jack VanDyk

 

When: Thursday December 3rd 7-9pm.

 

Where: Talisman Centre - The Riverview Room.

 

Cost $15.00

 

Please reserve your spot by contacting Jack at 403.355.1259 or jvandyk@talismancentre.com.

Team Elite Speed Theory

 Came across this announcement from ST the other day.  ST also has a road cycling racing team which some of the past and current Kronoees are involved with as well.  Although the teams are not necassary linked, I recommend checking out the ST cycling team blog (http://speedtheorycyclingteam.blogspot.com/) to see what ST is about.

 

TEST Yourself!

Do you have what it takes to be on Team Elite Speed Theory?

 

Speed Theory is looking for high performance triathletes for the 2010 Team Elite Speed Theory (TEST).  We are looking for energetic, personable, knowledgeable and successful athletes. Speed Theory will provide products for the selected athletes to use in training and racing as well as supplying deals on anything else the athlete may need. Ideal TEST athletes must have been racing for at least two years and must be placing top 5 in their age group, or competing at a provincial or national elite level. Athletes will be expected to know about and promote the products they are given. Although performance is important to the selection criteria; we are also looking for originality in each athletes approach to grow Speed Theory within the community. To apply please email a cover letter of no more than 300 words and your athletic resume to darcy@speedtheory.ca no later than November 13^th.

We look forward to hearing from you!

 

The Speed Theory Team

Repost: Pool Etiquette

As we being to transition into more continuous swimming and interval work in the pool I thought that we should go over a few unwritten rules of etiquette in the lanes at Kronos swim practices.  If you need clarification on any of these conventions I am happy to go into further details.  However, before I sit everyone down in front of the white board to discuss pool etiquette I thought I would try a really long e-mail.  Bare with me and please read through especially if you may be one of the athletes that is uncertain of what to do when a faster swimmer is approaching your toes.
 

Pool Etiquette

 

Experienced drivers know that roads are safer and more efficient when everyone observes a few common courtesies and basic rules.  Such things are even more important when there are no explicit signs or signals to tell everyone what to do and when to do it.  Like at the pool.
To avoid conflict, and make everyone's experience more enjoyable, a number of conventions have grown up over the years. Here they are in brief:

 

1. Lane designations. At Kronos practices, lanes are designated as Lane1 beginner, Lane 2 intermediate and Lane 3 experienced.  On Sundays each lane designation picks up one more lane to use. These are relative terms. Choose a lane compatible with your speed, and then notify the others in the lane that you are joining them.

 

2. Swimming pattern. If there are two of you in a lane and some days there will be, you may choose to keep to one side of the lane; the other swimmer will stay on the opposite side (side by side swimming). Three or more swimmers in a lane must circle swim. At kronos practices the custom is to stay to the right, which means swim counterclockwise.  This will guarantee that people's hands will not hit while their arms are recovering over the lane rope.  Also if everyone knows that all workouts will start the same way then we will not have any confusion.

 

3. Joining a workout. If there is a workout set in progress, you may join only as part of the set. Make sure you enter slowly and not into anyone's way.  Please notify athletes that you will be joining their lane during the very next interval.

 

4. Speed. At Kronos practices we try to level the lanes so that similar skill levels are swimming together.  With three lanes this may not always work perfectly.  So slower swimmers must yield to faster swimmers.

 

5. Passing. Pass "ONLY" on the left.  Tap the foot of the person in front of you before passing.  If you are being passed in the middle of the length do not stop, continue swimming at the same speed, do not speed up! You will feel a tap and someone should be coming passed shortly.  If you are being overtaken at the turn/wall, stop, and wait until the other swimmer has pushed off.

 

In addition, observing several rules of common courtesy will be helpful.

 

1. Do not stand in front of the pace clock   

 

2. Entering. When you enter the water, never dive, jump, or push off into oncoming swimmers. Wait until they have made the turn and pushed off.  Make sure athletes know that you are joining the lane.

 

3. Stopping. If you need to stop, squeeze into the corner to the right of oncoming swimmers, so they will have sufficient room to turn/touch.

 

4. When standing at the end of the pool waiting for further instruction or during a rest interval make room for all the athletes in your lane to touch the wall.  Everyone should have the chance to swim the full distance of every interval and not 5m short each time because lane mates continually crowd the wall.

 

5. At all times be aware of what is going on within your lane. Also try not to kick or swing your arms into another lane.

 

6. Keep your toenails and fingernails trimmed.  Ha-ha had to add that oneJ.

 

Hope this helps everyone have a more enjoyable swimming experience with Kronos.

 

Bart

 

 

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Less clicking: Hotmail access on the new MSN homepage.

Re: October Training Plan...

A group of us will be meeting at the North parking lot of Edworthy park (by Memorial) tomorrow morning at 9am for the long run.

MChui

On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 1:22 PM, M C <mkhchui@gmail.com> wrote:

For the first few months, I think it would be a good idea to meet as one or two (north/south) group to do the OYO long-runs together.  This will allow all of us a chance to meet each other and socialize.  For safety reasons, it's also good to run with a partner if not a group.

 

I know there'll be difference in abilities and time, so we can split into smaller groups if need be.  But we'll stick together for the first 20-30minutes of the run to let everyone settle into their run.

 

Given it's thanks-giving, I know we wouldn't have everybody in town.  I'm planning to do the Sunday long-run from Edworthy park but am flexible about the time (8-11 start).  So, if anyone would like to meet up, let me know and we can work something out.

 

For the groups in the south-end, JCC would be a good location to meet.

Michael Chui

October Long Runs

For the first few months, it would be a good idea to meet as one or two (north/south) group to do the OYO long-runs together.  This will allow all of us a chance to meet each other and socialize.  For safety reasons, it's also good to run with a partner if not a group.

 

I know there'll be difference in abilities and time, so we can split into smaller groups if need be.  But we'll stick together for the first 20-30minutes of the run to let everyone settle into their run.

 

Given it's thanks-giving, I know we wouldn't have everybody in town.  I'm planning to do the Sunday long-run from Edworthy park but am flexible about the time (8-11 start).  So, if anyone would like to meet up, let me know and we can work something out.

 

For the groups in the south-end, JCC would be a good location to meet.

Michael Chui

Adult Membership tentatively FULL! Send email to inquire about Teens-of-Steel and Competitive program

With less than a week to go from our first day of practice, Kronos is tentatively full for the 2009/2010 training year.  The executive and the coaching staffs are still accepting athletes for the Teens-of-Steel and Competitive program on a case-to-case basis.  If you're interested in joining the two programs, please contact us at info@trikronos.com

 

 

Jen: MY JOURNEY TO BECOMING AN IRONMAN

In early 2008, I decided I was ready physically, emotionally, and financially to finally tackle Ironman. 

In spring 2008, my Dad and I decided to sign up for our first Ironman together. 

In June 2008, I received an email telling me of my friend's devastating misfortune which in turn became my good fortune as I was now going to have a training partner for Ironman training. 

On August 25^th, 2008, my Dad, Kristy and I signed up for Ironman Canada 2009. 

In the following twelve months.....

I trained.

I didn't work much.

I swam, biked, and ran thousands of miles.

I laughed.

I cried.

I had giddy fits.

I spent a lot of money.

I made new friends.

I didn't see much of other friends.

I smelled like chlorine.

I showered two or three times a day.

I ate...a lot.

I got cranky if I didn't eat.

I was so sore I could hardly get out of bed.

I was so sore I could hardly sleep.

I learned a lot about myself.

I learned a lot about others.

I travelled.

I sweat.

I drank a lot of water.

I complained.

I went to work with wet ponytails.

I napped...a lot.

I crashed.

I hurt.

I went to massage.

I went to physio.

I went to chiro.

I had injuries.

I had needles put in my arm, neck, back, glute, and leg.

I paid someone to use medieval looking stainless steel tools on my leg.

I counted calories.

I memorized nutrition plans.

I ate too many bananas.

I ate hundreds of gels and powerbars.

I wore out my Ipod.

I finally found goggles that work for me.

I got funny tan lines.

I peed in the bush...a lot.

I was emotional.

I was scared.

I was excited.

I suffered through some crazy workouts.

I ran around the Glenmore reservoir more times than I care to remember.

I memorized every mile of Springbank Road.

I rode to Nepal several times.

I got fit.

I got strong.

I was the healthiest I have ever been.

I prepared.

I trusted my training.

I trusted my coaches.

I trusted myself.

I trusted my fitness.

I had fun. 

My dad arrived on the Tuesday before the race and we drove out to Penticton to our beautiful rental house on Wednesday.  At my swim that evening, I wrenched my neck while sighting in the water and thought...oh, great.  I was also dealing with what seemed like a pulled hamstring from a trainer ride a few weeks back.  My body was not enjoying the last week of taper and I desperately booked two half hour massages for Thursday and Friday.  But on Friday morning, I was comforted by Sandra who said that every ache and pain would go away on Sunday morning.  I was sure hoping she was right! 

I had made lists for all my transition and special needs bags for the race the week before so I felt very calm and prepared pre-race.  I also stayed in our little rental house, away from the crowds and frenzy of the race expo as much as possible.  I think this really helped me relax and not get caught up in the hype (even though I thoroughly enjoy that when I'm not racing!) and I appreciated that there weren't 20 athletes biking by my house every time I looked out the window.   I was slightly concerned that twice in the few days before the race I woke from a dream that I did Ironman and couldn't remember doing it.  I really didn't want that to happen!! 

Race morning came with a 4am wake-up call, however, my body wanted nothing of it and instead I was up at 3:30 making my first bathroom trip.  Oh, the joy of nerves!  Down at transition by 5:15 and my Dad and I found Kristy pretty quickly in the body marking area.  I was so happy to be able to be with these two people who have been such a huge part of this year-long experience!  I was very lucky to have Mark and his friend Ray taking awesome photos to capture the moments of each part of the day, starting with these nerve-filled ones! 

After securing my nutrition and bento box on my bike, it was time to wait in the port-pottie line up.  I am pretty sure that no race venue can ever have enough porta-potties because that line was long!   However, while standing in line I drank my Boost and took pictures....might as well use the time wisely!  We started getting our wetsuits on and this is when it finally struck me.  We are doing Ironman!!  I gave my Dad a huge hug and thanked him for this journey...even though we didn't train together we developed a special relationship that only a father-daughter combo doing their first Ironman can truly bring.  He is awesome and I love him and his determination and passion for this sport so much!  I was more emotional giving Kristy a hug because I know that over a year ago when she made this decision to train for Ironman, it was not to get a time goal...it was a journey she took to overcome a lot of pain.  I felt privileged to be able to share that journey with her and God knows we have leaned on each other and pushed and pulled each other more this year than we ever have before.  She is my amazing training buddy! 

In the water we went...Kristy, Emilie, my Dad, and I did a few strokes to get wet and make sure the goggles were good.  Last hugs were given all around.  We found our spots on the right and then I took a few moments to look back at the crowd of spectators that were there to see us start.  Never in your life can you imagine this moment until you are there-it was simply unreal!  While standing there, the tall dude beside me totally elbowed me in the jaw.  I made a comment that he was already getting his elbows out before the swim even started...he apologized profusely.  The gun went off and I walked probably 15-20 steps before diving into the water due to some rocks and shallow water.  The first few hundred meters of the swim were a bit rough for me...people were swimming up my back and it was pretty busy.  But a few minutes in I found myself, a guy on my left, and a girl on my right swimming in a nice line, straight and civil, just the way I like it.  We stayed together almost to the sailboat and on the inside of the buoys.  I just tried to stay calm and relaxed and strong but that quickly changed when around the sailboat I got totally beat up by a couple of swimmers and thought I was going under.  I mean, I could have given the scuba diver a high five, I was that close!  And then both of my calves totally cramped up.  I'm talking like seized up, Charlie horse type cramps.  I just kept kicking to get the hell out of the there and when I found clear water again I was able to stretch them out while swimming and relax again.  I was a little worried about getting cramps 1800m into a 12+ hour day-yikes!  But the rest of the swim was very comfortable, relaxed, and I felt like I took it easy the rest of the way in.  I swam pretty much by myself the whole way back...I have a difficult time drafting off people's feet so I didn't bother stressing out about trying to find feet.  Coming out of the water, I was thinking I probably swam around 1hr5min because it felt so easy.  But I was really surprised to see I was 1hr1min.  After seeing this, I got really anxious for some reason and starting having trouble catching my breath.  Once my wetsuit was stripped off, I walked to my swim to bike bag and doubled over with my hands on my knees taking deep breaths...I think I was worried that I swam too hard and that would screw my whole day up.  The volunteer in my row was someone I knew and she said something to calm me and then I thought....Jen, you've tapered....that swim was exactly what it was supposed to be!  Oh yeah!!!!  Methodically got my bike gear on, sunscreened up, and then walked to my bike.  I really didn't feel the need to run through transitions on such a long day! 

I was soooo excited to get on my bike!!!!  (you will probably never hear me say this again!!!).  I was pretty sure I would be the first Kronos out of the water so I figured Bart, Sandra, and the rest of our awesome cheering squad would be pretty pumped to see me.  They travelled all the way to the Okanagan to watch us race...and I was going to give them a good show!  As soon as I was clipped in, my perma-smile for the day developed.  I thought I was emotionally ready for the crowds along Main St. but again it was unreal!  I seriously felt like I was in the Tour de France with the crowds lining the street!  I felt my bottom lip quiver a bit with emotion but I just smiled and enjoyed the support. 

I went with my plan to keep light pressure on the pedals at all times.  So, I didn't freak out when I saw 40km/hr at some points towards McLean Creek and beyond as long as I knew that I was not pushing hard on the pedals at any point.  I could feel my hamstring acting up but Sandra was right...the pain went away 40km into the ride!  Screaming down McLean Creek hill towards OK Falls I dropped half of my wrap and then in the shadow I saw something dangling off my bike.  I decided to stop and it ended up being my bike bag which was almost all the way off!  Kinda weird since my bike bag has never given me issues ever!  Funny enough, bike support was right behind me and actually stopped and fixed my bike bag!  Sweet!  While standing there for 45 seconds, I swear 100 people screamed by me on that crazy fast downhill!  I continued my light pressure pedal stroke to Richter's....followed my nutrition plan and made sure to drink a lot (which is never an issue with me anyways!)  Turning up Richter's, I could see in the distance a giant tigger...and knew this would be my awesome Kronos training buddies.  Oh man, it was soooo good to see them, their outfits were awesome and they were so loud with their cheers!  Spun my way up Richter's and finally started to pass people...a nice change from the 1000+ people that passed me on the way there!  Going over the first timing mat was cool because I reminded myself of all the friends, family, work colleagues, and training buddies that would be watching my progress and who have supported me through this journey and I was able to draw strength from them.  Although I was not getting hot yet, I started dousing myself with water at every aid station and in between.  I knew from the Desert Half that the heat can sneak up on you quickly and I think by starting this step so early I was able to fight off the effects of the heat a bit better for the rest of the day.  Getting to the top of Richter's I was so happy to see Mark and his buddies Ray & Curt cheering and taking pics.  I had smiles and waves all around!  Fast forward to the rollers....pretty uneventful and actually felt like they went by quickly.  Switched my nutrition plan around a little so that my favourite riding treat...a Snickers bar!...would be eaten in my least favourite part of this course which is the stretch between the rollers and Keremeos.  I was so prepared for nasty headwind or crosswind that I was pleasantly surprised to have very little wind.  On the out and back I finally got to see the rest of my training group (Emilie, Byron, Mike, and apparently Peter who I never did see when he passed me).  My Eload bottles were nice and cold from freezing them overnight and I was pretty excited to have my normal drink back.  It was great to see Kristy catch up to me and we chatted and biked for a few minutes before deciding not to risk the drafting call.  We then bounced back and forth for the rest of the ride.  My legs were starting to burn (you know, kinda like I just biked 130km) but I knew it was part of the experience.  Yellow Lake was so so awesome despite the forest fire smoke that I started to see and smell all of a sudden...I cheered on this section before and knew how amazing the crowds would be.  But again, once you are the athlete, it takes on a different meaning.  I couldn't believe the crowds, cheers, yells, supporters, people dressed up....it was so awesome!  I just soaked in all that energy from the crowds, kept my smile in place, and spun my way past a LOT of people in this section....sweet!  And...funny enough the burning leg pain went away...must have been all those good vibes!  It was great seeing the Kronos cheering crew again at the Highway Junction because I needed that energy to get that last section done...the usual fast paced rolly section was not so fast since we had a nice headwind, and the last 5 km down Main St. in Penticton was seriously the hardest part of the bike for me.  But alas, transition was in sight and I was ready to RUN! 

But then I got off my bike and my left butt/hammy was pretty tight.  I once again walked through transition and methodically got my run gear on and loaded up with fresh salt tabs and my gel flask.  I made sure to dry my feet as good as I could before donning socks and shoes and made a vow to keep them dry at all costs.  I was very very excited that Kristy and I were leaving the transition tent at the same time!  We high-fived as we got re-sunscreened up and talked about how this was the perfect scenario, two training buddies getting to run this together!  We started off at a pretty good pace and being together seemed to make the first couple of miles go by pretty quickly for me.  Kristy and I knew that it was possible that even though we run together all the time, that on this day one of us may have to let the other one go.  I was feeling pretty strong and my legs felt really fresh so I had to make the hard decision to run my own pace.  Kristy was super encouraging about it and this made it a little easier to go, although I did tell her that she may just be seeing me again soon!  By the time I got a few miles in, I had to make a pee break in the porta-pottie and unfortunately this set off a streak of multiple diarrheal issues throughout the run.  This was the part of Ironman that I was worried about, but I managed not to have a lot of cramping, and actually felt quite good energy-wise and muscle-wise.  In my training I have dealt a lot with GI issues, so really this sensation was not a new thing for me...although I did know that it was related to much different things than the usual.  Oh well...I continued to smile, smile, smile and very quickly I realized that if you smiled at spectators as they sit there looking bored on the sidelines waiting and watching for their athletes, they will cheer for you.  And I'm talking cheer loud, say your name, and comment on your great smile and form.  Ha ha...so for all those wondering why I smiled so much....yes, I did have a lot of fun, but the reaction I got from the crowd when I smiled gave me SO much energy that I decided to use it to its full advantage.  Made my way out past the coaches near Skaha, and then out to where our awesome Kronos cheering squad was at the bottom of the first not-so-nice hill.  So, so , so good to see them, I took in their energy and continued on my way.  Saw Byron, Fitzy, and Peter on my way to OK Falls and then saw Emilie near the turn-around.  So awesome to see my teammates ripping up the course!  The whole way to OK Falls, I continued with my planned nutrition plan even though I knew it was pretty much going right through me...I just wasn't really sure what to do about it (I WILL know what to do about it the next time I do this race!!).  I felt steady and strong and my heart rate was low.  I managed to keep the heat at bay by soaking my forehead/neck/back/chest with sponges and ice at every aid station which helped in that I never felt that I was getting too hot.   I had a major goal for this race and that was to run the whole marathon except for the aid stations.  I stuck to this goal faithfully and because of it I passed hundreds and hundreds of people walking.  I had heard that this would happen, but truthfully I was very surprised at it and not gonna lie, it made me feel pretty awesome!  I had done a lot of mental training for this race and had many tricks up my sleeve to pull out if the going got tough and I felt the need to walk.  But luck was on my side and I managed to never hit that line where it gets exponentially more difficult to continue running.  I did have a good running friend "run" for me for miles 14 and 15 (she knew about mile 14, but I added the mile 15 in for her too since it was a really yucky one!).  This is a way to hand over the mile mentally to someone else (who, by the way, wasn't even at the race site) and sort of pretend that they are running for you.  Sounds weird, but hey, it worked!  Caught up to Emilie near the Kronos cheering squad and it was fun being there with all of them and again soaking up their energy.  Saw Kristy and my dad on my way back to town also, and it was really awesome to see my Dad also having a blast and enjoying the day.  My hamstrings and ankle were getting sore but I just acknowledged it and then accepted it by telling myself it was part of the experience.  I was pretty happy that my feet did not have the burning sensation that I felt at the Desert Half.  Mark biked with me for a bit after Skaha and that was probably the worst section for me physically because I had to go to the washroom so bad and could not see an aid station in sight!  I refused to walk though and somehow managed to make it to the next porta-pottie.  That last few miles down Main St into Penticton was so awesome.  I literally could NOT take the smile off my face.  I knew I had so much left in me...I had been running almost the entire run in low Zone 1 and I didn't even care!  I was just having so much fun!  The crowds in Penticton are so amazing and the stretch from Starbucks to Lakeshore, I swear I was the only one racing because it felt like everyone was saying my name and cheering for me!  I felt like a rock star! Okay, so maybe I was getting delusional.  I thought it would be torture to see the finish line and then have to turn to run away from it and back again for a mile or so. But honestly, I loved that section!  Again, the energy and the crowds just made me float to the finish line.  And I actually had a fleeting moment where I didn't want the race to end.  As I approached the final few hundred meters I remembered the times when I was the one watching the race and cheering, and I thought, man, it is so freakin' cool to be the one approaching that finish line, to have a final kick, to be finishing strong and happy, and to become an Ironman! 

I wandered around the athlete finisher area for a while with my great catcher, and unfortunately continued to make a few trips to the porta-potties.  I hung out with Peter while we waited for Emilie and Kristy to come in.  And then I was anxiously waiting for my Dad...I figured he would be somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour after me.  We were so happy to see each other and there was a pretty giant hug....pretty cool to do an Ironman with your Dad!!!  We met up with my very supporting boyfriend to make the trek home with all our gear and despite our best intentions to make it back down for the midnight finishers, it just didn't happen. 

Post-Ironman comes with a lot of emotion and feelings, and surprisingly not as much muscle soreness as I thought. However, my lungs were incredibly sore from inhaling all the forest fire smoke on race day. I didn't sleep a lot and was kind of on a high for a few days.  I didn't tell a lot of people, but I had a loose time goal of 12:30 if I had a perfect, no mechanicals, no flats, no nutrition problems, nothing-out-of-the-oridinary, feel-good kind of day.  But with that goal came a 3 hour window and the necessity to have a truly enjoyable experience.  So people ask if I'm happy with my time of 12:38:26...um, yes, I am...but more importantly I am happy with the overall experience of the day and the sheer enjoyment that I had and the fact that I made that a priority in the day. 

The day after the race I didn't think I would do another Ironman for quite some time....but something changed after that and now suddenly I have forgotten about the endless hours of training, the sacrifices, the pain, the cost, and the busyness that surrounds Ironman training.  If it's a passion and something you love doing, why wouldn't you do it if you're able to?  I worry that the experience just simply wouldn't be the same if I did Ironman again, but then talking to a good friend who is an Ironman Canada veteran, she says that the experience gets better every time.  That just may be enough to make me consider a repeat....maybe sooner rather than later!!!

Debbie's IMC Race Report: Another Ironman Experience.

IMC 2009 by Debbie McLean 

I wasn't going to do Ironman Canada this year. The original plan was for Byron to go this year and I would volunteer and sign up next year. However, at the Great White North Half Ironman race on July 5, I saw that there weren't a lot of women in my age group that had signed up to qualify for a spot at IMC. I started to think that maybe it would be a good idea if I did get in so that both of us could be in it together and not have to train as hard next year (maybe actually take a family holiday?). We felt that we had put our 3 girls through enough with all of our training.  

Sure enough I ended up getting in (there's a story there that involves a seedy tavern, jugs of beer and some staggering to a bank – but I digress). I knew that it would be difficult, because the Kronos Ironman crew had started increasing their bike and run workouts in May. Even though I didn't have as much bike and run training as the rest of the Ironman crew, I knew that because of the Kronos program I would be able to finish.  Luckily Ann had qualified too at GWN, so she and I were able to do some great (tough) workouts together. Sandra said we would be tired trying to get ready for IMC and we were! My goal for IMC though, was to finish strong and happy and if I came in under 14 hours I would be thrilled.  

Unfortunately our two oldest daughters Meaghan and Courtney were unable to come with us, but we were able to bring our 10 year old daughter Shae  for the week (school be damned!). She loved every minute of it and many thanks to Johnny, Jason and Tegan for taking care of her when we went on a bike ride with Mike and playing on the trampoline with her. She adores you all.  

Race morning was fantastic. I had a great sleep and felt really excited. I was a little nervous about the swim. I decided not to look out at the crowd, or the hundreds of other swimmers to the left of me. I focused on the Kronos group that was with me on the right side – Byron, Ann, Peter, Kristy and Mike (Jen and Emilie were at the front). I tried to pretend that I was just swimming with them. I enjoyed the swim and I never expected to! I even waved at the scuba divers below me at the sailboat and houseboat. I probably enjoyed it too much – my swim was slow (1:19), but I was definitely trained for the distance. It never felt hard.  

I knew the bike would be difficult, but luckily I had been out to Penticton to ride the course in July, so I knew what it was about. I felt good on the bike – perhaps I could have gone faster to Osoyoos, but I was worried about saving my legs for the marathon. Going up Richter's was great – I felt so strong and passed so many guys (yahoo!). The rollers seemed way easier than the last time I was there, so I was happy about that. On the way to the Out and Back, it became a little harder (at about 100K). I started to feel my legs there, so going up Yellow Lake was hard, but I still did ok and even passed people again. The support from Kronos was amazing; Johnny, Jason, Tegan, Bart, Sandra, Lauren, Chelsey and Mike C. were all between Richters and Yellow Lake – so great to see them all. My parents and our youngest daughter Shae as well as my father-in-law and sister-in-law were at the top of Yellow Lake. To top it off, Byron gave me the greatest surprise of my life. He flew Meaghan and Courtney out for the day. There they were jumping up and down and screaming "Mom Mom"at the top of Yellow Lake. Ok, Peter I broke the cardinal rule too – I cried (a lot) at Ironman! 

The bike took 7:04 – I know that's a long time on a bike, but my legs felt ok. I got ready for the run and all I thought about for the first bit was "just keep moving and you'll feel better soon". And that's what happened. While I was running out to OK Falls, I tried to think of who I would see from Kronos running on the way back. It was wonderful to see Byron, Mike, Peter, Emilie, Jen, Kristy and Ann (thanks for the great hug Ann!). At about mile 14 I started to lose it. There was a long gradual uphill to run and I realized I still had 12 miles to go. So, I walked for a bit and decided that at the next aid station I would take the two Advils that I had packed at Special Needs and start drinking Pepsi. Again, I saw Johnny, Jason and Tegan plus Lauren and Chelsey were down at OK falls. It seemed like they all knew when we would need them the most.  

With 2 miles to go, I felt really strong and was really excited when I heard the crowd and announcers closer in. I got around the corner to the out and back on Lakeshore and saw my family. It was getting dark and I really couldn't see anyone, but I could feel the energy of the crowd. It was fantastic. Then Jason came along and ran with me during the last bit (there's a story there – when I first joined Kronos and first met Jason, he paced me at the end of our first 5k time trial; so there he was again for me at Ironman). Jason told me to run toward the white light! I told him I wasn't ready, but somehow I was drawn in running faster and faster (well, fast for me) – sure enough the white light was the finish line! I was so happy to see that I finished under 14 hours – 13:46. I felt fantastic! 

Of course, Byron was there at the finish line ready for the post-race hug and tears! He looked pretty fresh – he finished 3 hours before me! 

Many thanks to all of the Kronos group for the great training and support. It was truly an experience I'll never forget.  

Jill's "My Adventure on Fat Tires"

Many of you have suggested that I write up a bit of a race report for the Alberta XTERRA race that I participated in this past Sunday, so here it goes...

I'll preface this by saying it's been a long time since I've been nervous about a race throughout the week leading up to it. But, on the other hand, I was a rookie again with no real expectations in terms of race outcome. My only goals for Sunday were to work hard, and keep the rubber down on the bike. Having only really gotten into mountain biking in the last year, I knew my technical skills were going to be somewhat questionable compared to experienced riders, and I really hadn't any idea how I was going to ride once I started to really fatigue. The weather this past month wasn't a help either, the rain leaving the trails super muddy and torn up. However, I managed to get up to the Nordic Centre Thursday before race weekend and rode 1-1/2 loops of the course, riding the technical singletrack climb twice. The description of the course was 'non-technical with significant elevation gain/loss.' This is code for friggin' HILLY. Despite the hills and the relatively short section of singletrack, the course really was rookie-friendly. And after Thursday's ride, I felt MUCH better about the race, and the nerves seemed to settle... at least until Sunday morning when all the really decked-out bikes started showing up. But honestly, with some fresh rubber on the rims my older full-suspension Trek with XT was just fine.

I think I was about the fifth person to arrive in T1 Sunday morning, and set-up my stuff. I debated whether to lay out socks and a Camelback, opting for neither. I figured it wasn't a muddy course, and it's only 7k on the run and I can suffer through it if things get sideways. Off I went to T2 at the Nordic Centre to set-up my T2 stuff, which is just like every other race. I was all set with lots of time to spare. I did a quick run warm-up, grabbed my swim gear, and hopped on the bus back to Quarry Lake where all the women had the first wave start. I'd say the swim was rather uneventful, except for having my ankles grabbed and yanked backward a few times half-way through the first of two loops of the swim course. I kicked - HARD - for several strokes and the sticky hands got the message and backed off. Although I still haven't quite figured out how to swim in my wetsuit (I seem to go backwards in the water just about every time I wear it), I came out with the lead girls. There were about 5 of us all in T1, where my choice to go forgo socks and Camelback paid off. I shoved my hands into my gloves, my feet into my bike shoes, my helmet on, and got out and onto my bike in second or third (although I normally have my bike shoes already clipped into my pedals at T1, in this race there just wasn't enough distance to get my feet into them before I would be descending onto the singletrack directly across the road from T1). From here, I started dropping places.

Now, my bike is usually my strength. Not so for this race, but this was what I was expecting. The ride starts with climbing: you climb up to the Nordic Centre from Quarry Lake along some wide singletrack, and then you go up... and up... and up all the way to the highest point on the course, all before your legs get a chance to really come around after the swim. Even though my heart rate was near max for the entire climb, I rode this most technical part of the course brilliantly (the singletrack gets narrower with switchbacks, roots, and rocks the further up you go). I was really pleased with the climb; for a little while there I thought I was going to hold my own against 'the real mountain bike riders' until they flew by me about a 1/3rd of the way through the first lap. Ok - a little reality check, no problem! Then, I had my only real sketchy moment on the bike. I got caught in some really loose rocks on the left side of a really steep, fast descent where you go straight down and then go straight up on the other side. The volunteer at the top of the hill was clapping and shaking his head, saying how impressed he was that I managed to stay upright. Note to self: stay RIGHT for the second loop (which I did)! I had spent the first loop of the bike all by myself, but by the start of the second loop of the bike, I was running into traffic as the later wave starts made it up to the Nordic Centre and the singletrack climb. The timing was a little unfortunate since it gave the girls behind me an opportunity to catch me as we all bunched up in traffic along the singletrack. This is where my lack of technical skills was most obvious, since you had to adopt the (slower) pace of riders in front of you as you tried to navigate your own line while simultaneously dodging those who were tipping over right in front of you. I had to stop at one point, run around a few tipped over riders, and then run my bike up to a spot where I could get back on. From about the top of the climb and the rest of the 2nd loop there was a group of me and about 3 other girls constantly leap-frogging each other as we picked our way around traffic on the wide double-track paths.
Although I had a big aerobic engine and was prepared for the sufferfest, I still need experience in gear selection and timing of the gear selection, bike handling, and decision making such as when to stay seated versus when to get up and stand without spinning out. The more experienced girls would pull away from me on some of the descents, and I would claw my way back up to them on the climbs. We continued like this all the way into T2.

I had another quick transition, beating one or two girls who were in the pack entering T2 at the same time. I was thinking my legs felt pretty smoked from the bike, but was pleasantly surprised as I immediately pulled away and even closed the gap on a few girls up ahead as we went up the first hill out of transition. At this point I was totally focused on trying to relax and breathe as a side stitch firmly established itself as we started the long and steep downhill that goes all the way to the run turnaround. Between the stitch and my legs, I was in a world of hurt when I missed one of the turns on the run. Luckily, two of the girls whom I had just finished pulling away from were still close enough to see me go astray and started frantically yelling, "turn, turn, TURN!!" So I got back on track, but lost a few spots and still had the stitch. By the time I got to the turnaround and started to go back uphill, the stitch subsided and I quickly passed the two girls who had saved me from my navigational error, and passed another as we grinded all the way back uphill. I was actually starting feel good, or at least as good as one does at 96% of max effort (according to my HR monitor, anyway) by the time I started the second loop of the run. I was making up more ground on another two girls ahead of me until I got held up at an intersection where runners had to cross the paved roller-skier track. Unfortunately for me, since the skiers didn't have brakes, they were given the right of way and the girls whom I had so tenaciously passed TWICE, caught back up to me and the girls whom I had closed the gap on got away as we waited for our opportunity to cross the tracks. Man, I was pissed!! A fire was lit in my belly, and I was off as soon as we were given the go-ahead. I quickly dropped the girls behind me and focused on the one girl ahead I knew I could catch. Not knowing if she was in my age group or not and even though my legs were SCREAMING, I slowly reeled her in throughout the long and steep uphills and sat right behind her with only about 250 metres to go. l knew I had a good kick left, so at about 200m to the finish I just went. I looked back: she hadn't tried to match me.

I finished the 1000m-20k-7k course in 2:18, the top girls finishing in 2:06. Even more satisfying is that I broke my 4th-place streak (with the exception of the UCTC race, I had finished 4th in my age group at every single race I had finished this year - I even finished 4th overall at UCTC). XTERRA: I finished 2nd in my age group and 9th female overall.

I would definitely recommend giving this type of race a go if you're up for a change, especially with the physically tough, but technically forgiving nature of the bike at this race. Be warned though: the ONLY flat spots on the course were the run from the lake to T1, and the long stretch of field at T2 for the bike and run turnarounds. So, you had better like hills, or at least be prepared for them.

With some more time on my mountain bike and some more hill-specific training, I think I can be right in the thick of things at the front, and may even contemplate a go at qualifying for Maui next year. We'll see how the winter goes and what the new year brings before I commit to that goal. But now I've said it out loud, and you've all read it, so I guess we'll have to see...
 
Thanks for all of the help, encouragement, and support this year. You guys are the best coaches and teammates: you were there to motivate and to commiserate with through some of the toughest workouts I've ever done! I have to say a special thanks to the short-course crew who consistently pushed me to work hard and really RACE. Also, good luck to the guys racing at IMC this weekend. I wish I could be out there to hoot n' holler as you go flying by, but I know you'll all have a really special day.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon,
Jill

 

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Kim's Kelowna National Triathlon Championships

I was asked to let people know how things went in Kelowna, so here's the scoop.

     The swim was the hardest one I've ever done. The water was very choppy, which arched the back, so my legs kept going dead. As a result I took in water twice on the first lap. The second time I thought I was going to drown. For the first time in my life I had to hold on to the rescue boat, but was able to finish the swim. My son Jamie was at the swim finish to act as my aid. I don't think I was ever so happy to see his face.

     The bike was what I expected and trying to go up the mountain section,3 times, using one leg to cycle was quite challenge. At one point I felt like I was the guy on the 60's television show called Laugh In and would fall over as I was going 5 to 6 km an hour on that section. I didn't fall and while some had gotten off their bikes to walk up, I stayed on my bike. 

       I held back on the bike as I knew the 10 km run/walk would be difficult this year. I haven't been able to train due to the injuries from that crash and having hip surgery in February. I'd qualified to go to Australia World Championships, but since I couldn't train I wasn't able to go.  My goal for this race was to finish in hopes of qualifying for World Championships in Budapest next year. 

     I finished the bike and Jamie was waiting in transitions. I grabbed the walker and headed out onto the run course. As one of the AWAD's fell on the course last year, all AWAD's were allowed to have their aid run the course with them. It meant a lot to have Jamie with me and was so touched by his support and words to try to get me to the finish line. 

     Because of the difficulty with the legs going dead after running, I was to walk the course. While the legs didn't collapse, it was a very slow go. The wheels on the walker got stuck on the boardwalk on each lap and I was so happy to come around that second lap to head to towards the finish line. 

     I ran toward the finish line and crossed in a time 4:07:50. While it was the worst race I've ever had and am not sure if it has to be my last due to the injuries sustained in that 2007 crash,  I finished and with my son at my side.

     At the awards ceremony I met many friends, people I've met from all over Canada, other athletes I was staying with from Toronto, Fort McMurray, Victoria. It was bittersweet to have my name called to accept a gold medal in my category. I knew it could be my last race, but the cheers and clapping made it difficult not to cry as they put that medal around my neck.

    Later in the day we watched the elites and then went to Triathlon Canada Awards. So many people, including a group from Fort McMurray were there. When my name was called to accept the female AWAD athlete of the year for 2008 they cheered and called "Kim" and "Wedgie".  

     I wouldn't have been able to go without the help of friends Janice Field, Debra Fortin, that special someone Tim Anderson, my son Jamie and the organizing committee who made it happen. My daughter Meaghan stayed home with our sick dog, but would have loved to be there with mom instead.  It was an extremely difficult race, a very emotional day, but what a day!!!!!

Chewy's Kelowna Apple Triathlon (National) Race Report

Sunday, Aug 23rd

Pre-race
My heat start was 9:30 and I am so glad I didn't have to wake up until 6:45 – very civilized start time.   I woke up with a bit of a headache and felt very hungry!  So, I quickly ate my usual breakfast: peanut butter & nutella, special-K mocha bar, banana, orange, and a meal replacement shake.  Once I loaded up my car and checked out of the room,  I headed straight to the library parking lot.  I did the usual race prep work, warm-up and put on my wetsuit for the start.

 

Swim condition: 21.5 degree water, wetsuit legal, windy, slightly choppy water

Bike condition: 3 laps with a 600m climb up Knox, 3x 180 turn, sunny dry

Run condition: 2 laps of flat course with 2 180 turns.

Olympic National Race

I did a quick 5min swim warm-up and lined up for the swim.  With some quick instructions from the volunteers, we were off for the swim.  I stood up in the front as always even though I'm not the fastest swimmer.  I'll let you know the 20-29 guys do not swim without a fight - it was so much FUN.  I swam over somebody as he dove under after the 2-3 steps run into th water and I got kicked a few times too, but I got a really good draft.  It was chaos to the first buoy but I managed to avoid any major trouble and kept a straight line to the second buoy.  First lap was all about conserving energy and drafting off the people around me.  Once I hit the beach re-entry, expereince tells me I should have enough space to swim at my leisure.

After the 2nd swim lap run re-entry, I felt like my heart was going to explode!  Even the 2.5Km run before the swim in the aquathlon felt better than this.  But I managed to keep a tight line to the buoy and swam with 2 guys around me.  Rest of the swim felt smooth.

Swim – 23:00 (PB, excluding the Wasa Lake tri sega)

 

Transition was good except I went to the wrong racks and had to run underneath it to reach my bike.  A quick run-out and I was on my way.  I passed a Calgary guy with a talisman tri jersey just before Knox and i was on my way to the first climbs.  (My strategy was to power in the big gear a few times at the bottom, spin up on my 27 cog easy, and stand-up to power through the rest of the hill after 3/4 of the way up)  The first bit of Knox climb felt hard on the quads but I managed flushed it out by the time I past the traffic barricade – I stood-up and powered to the top.  The strategy worked very well as I kept to the left and always had a straight line to the narrow pathway on each lap.

The out and back section was tougher than I have envisioned but it was a good spot to separate out the weaker cyclists.  At this point, the course was loaded with athletes from previous heat but I was able to keep my race pace throughout the 40Km.  The downhill TT felt exceptionally well and I was in my 12 cog most of the time hammering it down.  I executed my nutrition plan well: 1st gel on lap 1, salt pill on lap 2, and 2nd gel on lap 3.  I felt strong the entire bike and I was able to take most of the corners very aggressively.  It may not seem like a huge deal but the aggressive cornering saved me a lot of energy when I was able to pass the slower cyclist and not have to worry about sprinting past them as I exit the turn.  I rode most of 40Km on my own and at the pace I felt I can sustain.  I only had 2 cyclist challenge my bike position - I was able to fend off one guy on a fancy TT Cervelo while playing zig-zag with a 20-24 AG guy for lap 2 and 3.  He passed me again on the last out and back but I decided not to chase him down.  I kept him just seconds ahead.  My legs felt fresh entering T2 and I was looking forward to the run.

 

My bike time at Wasa was 1:05, so I estimated my bike will be around the park of 1:10 given the steepness and length of the Knox climb.  I didn't reset my bike computer since I didn't want to know the time.  I only looked at the cadence the whole ride.  So, I was pleasantly surprised with my bike time when I saw the finish.

 

Bike – 1:06:32

*I'm calling this my PB since it was hard not to draft at Wasa with the crowd and this one was all me.

Run was smooth.  I counted the bikes in transition and knew I was in the top 10.  I wasn't really looking for any results in particular but it was nice to know I would at least qualify for Budapest if I have a good run time.  I didn't feel any pressure to catch anyone and just ran my own pace.  Again, I focused on the same thing at the aquathlon race: good long stride and relaxed shoulders/arms.  It honestly felt just like a hard training run - I was cheering on everyone I passed with lil words of encouragement and I saw and cheered Amanda, Julie, Tegan and Jason on the run.  I was having a blast all the way.

 

I saw 1 guy in my AG at the half-way point of lap 1.  I assume the dude was fast since he had his name on the ass of his uniform.  While I wasn't going exceptionally faster than he was at that point, I stayed with him and pasted a bunch of people togetehr. About a Km or so later, I felt my legs were fresh and decided to push the pace.  He didn't try to catch up at all and I was on my way to finish lap 1 and onto the second lap.  I pretty much kept the same pace for the rest of the run but I never quite realize what the pace was since I never looked at my watch.  About a mile out, I felt I had it in me to go for a long sprint.  So, I picked up for the pace for a count to 30, then settle into the rhythm for a count of 30, push it again for a count of 30, etc.  In no time, I ran through the board walk and onto the beach area (i just saw Lisa going into her 2nd swim lap).  I saw 3/4 guys ahead of me and the crowd was really cheering, so I decided to sprint for the finish and see what happens.  Noone challenged me at the sprint which was kind of a bummer since I always like a dramatic photo finish (good thing was I sprint past 1 guy in my age-group).

 

I headed straight for some food and got changed for my officiating duties right after I crossed the line (see below).  So I was shocked to see my 8th place finish and 40:34 run when I checked my results after I was done with the Elite Men race.  I just ran without thinking and listened to my body.  I have always known I had it in me to run a 40min 10K, but I didn't think this was the time.  I couldn't believe I did it when I wasn't even thinking about it.  Even after I got home Sunday night (1am Monday I meant) after the 6 hour drive, I still couldn't believe it.  I wodnered if the course was short or the timing was wrong, etc.  It finally sunk in this afternoon when I did a ez run with my friend that I can do it and I don't know why I wouldn't believe I could before.  I think I still have a lot to learn about the mental aspect of competing!

 

Run – 40:34 (PB in triathlon and 10K running)

 

This is definitely the most relaxed and enjoyable race I have had thus far.  I didn't feel any pressure to go for results as this was meant to be my training race for Du Worlds.  I started my watch before the horn and only looked at my HR most of the race.  I did some changes to my prep week routine and they seem to have worked (ex. drinking more gatorade and nuun the 3 days leading up) but I also made some mistakes (feeling hungry on race morning?!...WTF).  No matter, it all worked out at the end.

Seems like the mistakes I made racing this year all contributed to this race:
1) I don't race well in heat (Canmore and Calgary 70.3) = I need the salt supplement.
2) In Wasa I made the mistake of not having any back-up nutrition and excerise my plan= 2 gels on bike and 1 spare in T2.
3) The cycling races and crits help built my confidence with my cycling and taking the 180 turn more aggressively = I can push harder on the bike.
4) I knew I have the legs to run after the aquathlon.

…the race wasn't really dramatic.  Perhaps I could've done it all along, perhaps it was the nutrition, or the proper taper.  At the end,  everything just fell into places on Sunday.  Sandra always told me I should do my own race but I don't think I ever quite got it until yesterday.

Finish Time – 2:12:48 (PB), 8th in 25-29.

*Past results from Apple: 2:35:xx (2005), 2:32:xx (2006), and 2:23:00 (2007).

Thank you to Johnny "the Tigger man" and Mike for cheering us on.  "Tigger" made my day when he chased me up Knox on the 3rd and final climb.

Thank to Sandra for guiding and coaching me in the past 2 seasons, I think it'll take my whole athletic career to fully understand everything you've said in the past 2 years.  Bart and Ashley, you two were great with getting my swim up to par despite my lack of swimming this year and coaching us all season long.

To the 70.3 and Oly crews, you were all great training partners and best wishes to everyone at IMC and Clearwater 70.3.

 

 

Jeremy Role's Canada Summer Games Race Report

The Canada Games has defiantly been an amazing experience for me and I am proud to say it was my last competition as a junior.  All of the training and hard work I had put in throughout the season all lead up to a short 57 minutes of pain. I was confident going into the race knowing that I could not have been more prepared. I was in the best shape of my life and ready to put the balls to the walls.

I woke up at 7:30 with every minute leading up to 12 noon race start specifically planned out. I knew exactly when to eat, what to eat, when to head down to the transition, when to warm up etc... I left my room at 10:45 to head down to transition on my bike. I arrived at the race course one hour before start time and then continued my warm up with 15 minutes of running, drills and 1000m of swimming. When it was getting close to race start all of the junior athletes were lined up on the board walk. This was when the adrenalin started pumping. They announced all of the athletes and we headed one by one down to the dock. When the gun blew I shot off the dock and broke out at a fast pace so I would not get stuck in behind the other athletes. Within the first 50m of the swim a pack of guys broke out ahead and to the left of me. I quickly swam to the left and got right on their feet. I got right tight in with the group of 6 other guys. At this point I was just about going all out to try to stay on their feet. I stayed with them until I got to the second buoy…  about 425m. I had some troubles getting around the second buoy which caused me to drop off the back of the first pack of guys. I was only about 2m behind them and I could not catch them. I even bumped it up to an all out sprint to try to get back on their feet but I could not bridge the gap. Right then, I knew that I would not be in the first draft pack on the bike like I had planned. I got out of the water with 2 other guys, Mark Okany and Josh Drad. I had a fast exit out of the water and started the sprint to transition. 

I had a fast transition and was right out on the bike with Okany and Drad. We were the first chase pack out on the bike and we worked hard to pull in the first pack of 6 riders but they just kept getting further and further ahead. The first pack was made up of some serious talent and after the first lap I realized that we would not catch them. I ended up doing much more work on the bike than I had planned and this was because I was in a pack with only 2 other guys. We were unsuccessful in catching the first pack but we were successful in putting some distance in between us and the packs behind us. For the last 90 seconds of the bike I sat right at the back of the pack and tried to rest my legs for the run and right before the dismount line I got right to the front of my pack and was first into transition from my pack.

I threw my helmet in my bin, slipped my shoes on and took off onto the run right behind Okany.  Right out of transition I knew It was going to be a painful run. The sun was beating down on us and it was 35 degrees. I knew that I had worked hard on the bike and therefore I was going to pay for it in the run.  My best plan at this point was to try to stay right behind Okany and to try to sprint ahead of him at the end.  I was feeling weak right from the start of the run but I managed to stay right behind Mark Okany for 2 of the 3 laps. At the beginning of the third lap Drad and Okany surged and I had nothing left to respond. When they took off all I could hear was Bart yelling "go with them" but I had nothing left. I successfully finished the run without being overtaken by anyone from the second chase pack. It was nice to know that the distance I made up on the bike was enough to hold off all of the other competition until the finish.  I ended up finishing in 9^th place which is two spots higher than what I did at Nationals so I am happy with my overall performance.

The season, however, is not over. We still have the team relay coming up on Friday. None of us have ever done a team relay before so we are all super excited! I think we have a chance at medaling in the relay… How cool would it be to come home with a medal from the Canada Summer Games?!?! Thanks for reading. Good luck to everyone competing in Kelowna and IMC!!

Taylor Lick's Canada Summer Games Report

I'd been over the race a thousand times in my mind, I was ready for any scenario, any obstacle and I knew exactly what I wanted to accomplish. I didn't know exactly where I'd end up placing, but I had something more to prove to myself than placing. I don't think I was the best physically prepared that I have been all year but I have never been as mentally prepared. The day started off pretty windy, a little overcast and cool. I got up early, had a cold shower and headed down to breakfast. About two hours before race start I hopped on the shuttle bus and we headed down to the race course. I was completely focused and concentrated on race morning, the nerves were high but I was making an effort to stay calm and put them to use at the start of the race. I was pretty quiet, I didn't talk to very many people, I tried to keep every thought directed towards my race. I went through my warm up, exactly how I had planned. After talking to Bart about what I needed to do I spent a couple minutes looking over the ocean and I knew that this is what I had been training for all year and that I was ready. I kept going through in my head, all those hours and hours of training have been for today, I kept repeating "concentrate, focus, love the pain, embrace the pain, stay in the moment, stay on jeremy's feet, this is your time, let's go". The adrenaline was pumping and I couldn't wait to start. I think that's when you really know you're ready for a race, when you can't wait to start. They started to call us down one by one, 18 spots later I was on my way down onto the dock. There I was standing beside 27 of the best juniors in Canada at the Canada Summer Games. "You are now in the hands of the starter" is the last thing I remember hearing until the end of the race".

I guess that some things that benefit your performance can also hinder it in a sport like triathlon. Nerves and excitement are great for once you're in the water, once you're in the groove, on the bike, but they can be hard to control. I had an awful dive off the dock into the water, from the pictures I've seen my feet were just leaving as most people's hands were entering. I hammered my way back up onto Jeremy's feet just as I had planned and I felt amazing. I was breathing every stroke and fighting for my position. I was in the perfect position, I was sure I was going to come out exactly where I needed to. As we came around the second buoy, about 350m out I got pushed under as the group struggled to cut in tight. When I came back up and got back into the rhythm I had dropped back ten meters from the pack and Jeremy. I slowly lost time to the pack but managed to come out only twenty seconds back from Jeremy. I was pretty happy with the swim and I was coming out with a big group of guys, great for pack riding. I was so excited to get out of the water that as I was climbing up the ramp out of the water I slipped and fell back, a costly mistake. Sometimes things happen that you can't control, and in a drafting race as short as a sprint it can make a huge impact. A little shaken I booked it to transition but as I went to grab my helmet it rolled off my bike and down the incline behind the bikes. I had to run underneath the racks, grab it and come back out before I was able to grab my bike and go. By this time the group I had come out with had a 100m gap on me and no matter how hard I hammered I couldn't seem to close the gap. I managed to catch an athlete from Quebec, Hupe, and we worked together the entire bike and managed to reduce the time lost to the main lead pack. I knew by this time that the lead pack had a huge advantage over all the other small packs and that the gap was not getting smaller and we were working much harder. I came off the bike knowing it was my time to shine. After some more transition problems with my shoes I got into my pace and put it all out on the line. Every guy I saw I put a magnet on and pulled myself up. Every time I felt pain I surged. I didn't really start to feel the pain until the last lap, the heat and humidity really started to take it's toll. I could see about five guys right ahead of me, all coming in within 20 seconds or so. I had worked so hard to catch them I just didn't quite have the sprint to finish it off. I ended up finishing 14^th, and although I'm not ecstatic about the placing I am happy about how I performed within the race. I think if I performed the same race physically over again I could just have easily finished top 7, but things happen. Dropping my helmet, falling up the ramp and missing the pack was costly and I wish I could have it over again but I'm really happy with the effort I put out and the amount of pain I pushed through and my run split was a PB by far, something I've been waiting for the whole year. What is nice to know is that with some better luck I have the potential for some amazing results. It just needs to come together. It was a great end to a difficult year, well not the end. On Friday is the team race and I think that me and Jer and our teammate have a really good shot at silver or bronze. We need to have a great race and things need to come together right but nobody wants it more. I'm starting our team off with the first of three 300m swim-7km bike – 2km run splits. There is going to be a lot of pressure to hold on and make the bike pack and all of the teams are putting their fastest swimmers first. Our hope is that I can hold on in the shorter swim, make it onto the lead swimmers, have one of the fastest runs and put our second teammate in good position so that he is guaranteed a draft on the bike. Jeremy is heading out last as we expect there to be few packs left and we need to put his bike power to good use. We hope that he can make some ground and pull us up into medal position. Keep your fingers crossed.

Kronos Program Information 2009-2010

Mission Statement

To provide professional triathlon coaching to athletes of all abilities who want to improve their performance and results in a friendly and supportive team.  We believe in a balanced training philosophy for multi-sport and endurance athletes. 

Members

From top Ironman and Olympic distance age-groupers, to junior elites and novice KOS athletes, most of our athletes have competed in a number of triathlon races and aim to improve their fitness, skills, and performance to achieve their personal best. 

Coaching Staff

Bart Ujack is in his second year as Head Coach of the Kronos Triathlon Club.  He has coached both summer and winter swimming over the past 10 years and is an accomplished triathlete, having raced in multiple distances and as an elite competitor at Nationals.  Ashley Kilpatrick is an accomplished swim coach who's recently completed her Masters in Education and Sandra Yaworski is a long-time coach, distance runner, triathlete and duathlete. 

Other Info

• Tacx trainers and Computrainer available for power analysis in indoor practices and testing thanks to a grant from the Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Foundation.
• The club will select triathlon, swim & running races to attend as a group or in preparation for the triathlon season.

 

Kids-of-Steel (KOS) program aims to provide youth (12 & under) development of basic skills in the three sports and the establishment of an active life-style.

• ½ day sessions on the 3^rd Saturday of October, November, January, February, March and April with a focus on technical skills
• Location of sessions to be confirmed
• Summer training program from May to early August with 3 coached sessions per week – details provided at a later date
• $50 per weekend or $300 for all 6 weekends

 

Teens of Steel program (13+) focuses on skill improvement and performance development in all three sports while incorporating goals into training routines. 

• Head coach: Ashley Kilpatrick; Program planning: Sandra Yaworski
• Coached weekly workouts: 2 swims, 2 runs, 1 bike over 3 days
• Annual periodized training plans in all three sports including strength training and core strength
• $750 for the year (Oct. 2009 – August 2010)

 

Adult program (for 18+) is suitable for triathletes with some experience in any distance or a strong background in one of the three sports.  The goal is to improve fitness and performance to achieve personal bests during the 2009-10 season with a key focus towards individual race goals.

• Head Coach: Bart Ujack; Program planning: Sandra Yaworski
• Coached weekly workouts: 3 swims, 2 runs, 2 bikes
• Annual periodized training plans in all three sports including strength training and core strength
• $1,000 for the year (Oct. 2009 – August 2010)

 

Junior and Elite Competitive program (Junior Elite & U23) is suitable for experienced triathletes.  It will be the same coached workouts as the adult program but will also incorporate testing (cost included), bio-mechanical assessments in all 3 sports, individualized attention and programs.  Cost is $2,000 for the year, however a $500 reduction is available for athletes helping with youth programs and camps twice a month.  To qualify for the program, athletes should be able to achieve the following standards:

Female:   Junior: 5km run: 22:00 min. and 800m swim: 16:00 min.

U23: 10km run: 44:00 min. and 1500m swim: 30:00 min.

Male:  Junior: 5km run: 20:00 min. and 800m swim: 15:00 min.   U23: 10km run: 40:00 min. and 1500m swim: 28:00 min.

Kronos Alumni Passes are also available, please contact us (info@trikronos.com) for more details. 
 

Facilities & Training Locations

Start Date for all programs: Monday Oct. 5^th

Practices are held at:

Jewish Community Centre (JCC), located on 90^th Avenue SW, next to Glenmore Landing: morning swims and indoor biking

Foothills Pool (FHP), located next to the University of Calgary: evening swims

Mt Royal Recreation (MRR), located near Crowchild and Glenmore Trails SW: Sunday swims

Olympic Oval (Oval) at the University of Calgary: indoor running 

Teens of Steel coached practices

Mondays: 6:00 – 7:30 AM swim at the JCC

Wednesdays: 7:00 – 8:00 PM run at Oval & group walks over to FHP for swim from 8:30 – 10:00 PM 
Saturday mornings: run & bike at the JCC  

Adult and Junior and Competitive Elite coached practices

Swims: Sundays at MRR: 4:00 – 5:30 PM, plus choose either:

1. Tuesdays and Thursdays: 6:00 – 7:30 AM at the JCC
2. Mondays: 8:30 – 10:00 PM at FHP and Wednesdays 6:00 – 7:30 AM at the JCC

Bikes: Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings at the JCC during the winter and outdoors in nicer weather

Runs: Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings at various locations

 

Registration & Information Evening

 

A registration and information evening will be held to give the opportunity to meet new members, the team coaches and ask questions about the club and its programs.  Details are as follows:

 

Date: Friday September 18^th, 2009

Time: 6:00 PM

Location: Room U163 at Mt Royal College

Directions: Enter through the Mt Royal Recreation doors and go down the stairs to the information counter.  They will let you in and direct you to the room.

 

Registrations for the 2009-2010 season will be accepted starting August 15^th, 2009.  Please e-mail your registration form to info@trikronos.com.  Payments may be mailed to: Kronos Triathlon Club, c/o Josie Daub, 25 Lewis MacKenzie Place SW, Calgary, AB, T3E 7R4 or brought to the registration evening.

 

Payment of Fees

 

You may choose to pay your fees in one of two options:

 

Option 1: 100% of annual fee to be paid on October 1^st, 2009

Option 2: 50% of annual fee to be paid on October 1^st, 2009 and 50% to be paid on January 1^st, 2010.  However, an additional $10 administration fee will be charged on the second payment.

 

Fees can be paid by cheque or money order payable to the Kronos Triathlon Club.

 

Alberta Triathlon Association (ATA) Membership

 

ATA membership is mandatory for all Kronos Triathlon Club members.  Memberships must be purchased prior to attending the first practice and your membership number and expiry date must be added to your registration form.

 

On October 1, 2009, the ATA will be lowering its annual membership fee to the following:

 

Junior Membership (19yrs & Under): $10.00 annually.
Individual Membership (20yrs and Older): $35.00 annually.

All Alberta residents must be an ATA member to participate at ATA sanctioned events starting October 1, 2009.  To register for your ATA membership, please go to www.triathlon.ab.ca and click on Membership Center.

 Looking forward to seeing you tri in 2010!

The Kronos Triathlon Club

Calgary 70.3 Race Report

I normally only write race reports for my focus race of the year.  Considering this year's Calgary 70.3 is the inaugural race and my first IM events and long-course race, I wanted to write about my experience and hopefully I wouldn't make the same mistakes again in my future 70.3 races.

 

Package Pick-up/Volunteering

Since I'm on the SpeedTheory Cycling race team and the team was a major sponsor, I felt obligated to at least volunteer my time to the event.  I signed up for the information booth on Thursday, so I can also pick up my race package (clever me!).

 

The race organizors have done an awesome job with sending out periodic newsletters with training and race prep tips which was an awesome feature.  An email was sent out on Thursday with the official start-list and time.  My heat time (M18-29 and W 18-24) were originally slotted for 7:20 on the website and official program but it showed up as 8:20 on the official start-list.  I begin to panick since my race morning nutrition plan was completely wrecked by the additional one hour difference.  What was more confusing was all the volunteers at the package pick-up thought the official program's list was the correct one and a whole lot of posters were made and plastered all over the race hotel's walls.

 

We finally tracked down one of the higher up in Local Organizing Committee (LOC) and confirmed the official start-list is correct!  This mean my race was delayed an hour.  I was told this was an error in the database and had no particular safety, fairness, or logistical reason behind it. 

 

Pre-Race

The 2 weeks taper leading up to the race felt very long since I have just finished the Canmore Triathlon and had several heat/muscle cramps on the run.  I was nervous since I have never done the distance before and not quite sure how I will race on the day.  I put on my race official hat and decided I should type up a run-sheet detailing all the events and notes for the 2 weeks, weekend, and race morning.  It helped calm my nerves a lot after I can see and visualize what I'll be doing.

 

I borrowed Peter's long aerobars for the race instead of my shorty Oly ones and put in my seat fuel bottles.  Sandra and Bart did a great taper program for us and I felt much better.  I decided against trying salt tablets since I have never used them before but I factored in some gatorade and electrolyte into my water.  Work has been super busy with some major changes going on, so it was a bit tough to keep focus on the prize.

 

Saturday we dropped our bikes off after a quick swim in Ghost Lake.  One of the triathlon magazines was on site and took some pictures of the club and Catrina together.  It was great that Catrina came out since people had a lot of questions and she gave the group some useful pro tips.  The rest of the day was uneventful at best with packing the bags and watching a lot of CSI.  I rolled into bed aroun 7:30 but didn't quite fall asleep until 9ish.

 

Race Morning

I made a small version of my race-day prep plan and put it in my zip-loc bag and quickly made some breakfast.  I arrived at McMahon stadium around 4:40 and was put onto the bus quickly.  I saw a few fellow Kronos members but deicded to take a nap instead to avoid getting nervous hearing the nervous chatters on the bus.  Everything ran as plan and I consumed my last meal replacement drink at 6:20 and stopped fluids for the rest of the morning.

 

I watch the pro heat which included Catrina (Morrison of Scotland, Sandra and Kyle's long time friend), Kyle (Marcotte, old Kronos alumni and Speed Theorist), and Trev (Williams of Speed Theory).  I was particular interested in seeing Timothy O'Donnell race sicne I've followed his career since last year's ITU Triathlon World Championship where he helped Matthew Reed secure the 3rd men's spot at the Beijing Olympic games.  Their swim was astonishing fast and they were off onto the bikes in seconds.  I warmed up for a quick swim after 7:40 and proceeded to the start line after securing my T1 bag and my glasses at the glasses table.

 

Race

The start was pretty fun.  I wanted to be out near the front so I have some good feet to draft off of.  I know a lot of good swimmers start in the back to avoid the chaos but I prefer to be up front.  First buoy went by quickly and the pack begin to spread with a lot of the swimmers far in the left.  I stayed mostly to the right and close to the buoy and didn't find it too difficult to sight like I did at Canmore.  The most confusing pieces was aiming for the 1st buoy after he turn-around since you can easily confuse it with the buoy on the otherside.  I swam past a lot of athletes from the earlier heats and stayed together with a couple of fairly good swimmers and headed home together.  The wind relaly picked up around 8pm, so there was a lot of wave on the swim in and definitely swallowed a lot of water along the way.

 

I quickly strip my wetsuit top off and proceeded to the glasses table.  I couldn't find my sunglasses with the case, so I asked the volunteer where my glasses went and I had to tell him that it was in a plastic box with my # on it.  He finally pulled it out from a pile of paper.  I wasn't sure what they were thinking of using my glasses case to prevent their paper from flying.

 

Swim time: 34:24 (17/69)

Not a bad time considering my swim training hasn't been very consistent this year.  I knew I could have swam faster but I wanted to go conservative and not blow up early on in the bike.

*The fastest AG and overall swimmer was in my group - Stefan Hasting with a swim time of 23:52.  His time beat out the top 20 average swim time of my AG by more than 10 minutes.

 

I took my glasses case and proceeded to teh wetsuit stripper.  Even though I could probably have done it faster, it was fun to try it nonetheless.  T1 went by quickly beside the lil delay at the glasses table and I had my helmet on and ate half of the banana in my bag as I ran to my bike.  The transition lane was way too narrow and I got blocked by a few guys along the way.  Quick run out to the mount line and on we go with the bike.

 

The big was basically a giant catch race trying to pass everybody from the heats before and not kill yourself.  There was a lot of sketchy areas where I thought someone is going down bad.  Lots of people were not staying to the right or riding in the middle of the road.  Occasionally, I would have to pass to the left of the 4/5 people trying to pass this one person.  Overall, it was a good bike for me as I stayed in the aero most of the ride and didn't have any tight shoulder issues like I normally would.  I took it a bit too easy since I was constantly passing people, so I really need to learn to focus more on keeping my own pace.

 

The aid station worked better than I thought and my nutrition plan went according to plan.  I absolutely LOVED my peanut-butter and nutella eggos on the fist bit of the bike.  Even though it stuck into my teeth a lil but I loved having the after taste in my mouth as I climbed Horse Creek Rd.  The powercade twist lid totally messed me up on the aid station since I tossed my bottles in anticipation for a bottle I can drink out of (as the LOC said at the race briefing).  Fortunately, I had spare gel and sharkies in my bento box, so extra water helped.  Unfortunately, I probably had less electrolytes in my system than I have planned and I probably paid the price for on the run.

 

For some reason, my stomach felt bloated on the bike and I am not sure if this is due to too much solid food/carbs or I swallowed too much water and it's acting up in my stomach.  I did a quick stop at the 2nd aid station but both potties were occupied, so I took off and hoped for the best.

 

Bike time: 2:36:52 (21/69)

Not the fastest bike time of the day but I am happy with it.  It was a bit eerie as first riding the long aero clip-on but I got used to it by the time I hit Horse Creek Rd.

*The fastest cyclist was also in my AG.

 

The section heading into T2 from Lower Banff Spring road wasn't too difficult.  As Sandra said, I should feel like I have had enough of the bike and ready to run which I felt like.  Some people was complaining about the bumpy road before T2 but it was not worst than Horse Creek Rd.  I guess the 90Km ride really makes your bum less tolerant of bumps.

 

Quick change of shoes and I was out of T2.  The run to the rack was long and the later heats ended up having to carry our bike longer and further than earlier heats.  The LOC probably think it was no big deal if everyone in your AG is together...well, it's a race set fo 1,700.  It does make a difference when you run past all that many bike racks.

 

I made a quick pit-stop at the potties and proceed onto my run to chase down Matt (who came in T2 about the same time as me but pass me while i was in the potties) and stop losing time to Johnny.  The day was begin to get hot but I had some good strides in me and I thought my better run prediction of 1:40 half would be in the bag.  I caught up to Matt about the 9/10Km mark but I begin to fade and felt muscle tightness on my hamgsting and calves by the 11/12Km mark.  I tried to ease it off with lots of water and a gel and pouring water on myself to keep cool.  The heat begin really getting to me and I slowed down significantly.  I saw a lot of chalk word and cheers form fellow Kronos athletes (thank you everyone for coming out!).

 

The last 3/4 Km after Weasel head was very tough mentally for me.  I was tunnel-visioning and not really paying any attention to anything else around me even a lot of my friends were cheering me on.  Last aid station and 2Km ago, it felt like death, my mouth was begining to dry and i really don't know if I could keep standing.  I ran shoulder-to-shoulder with a lady/girl who I played bunny with a bit on the run and we kept each other company silently until about 400m from the finish where she dropped off.  When I can finally see the finish line, I saw lights pure white lights shining behind the gantry with pretty little angels waving at me like it was the gate to heaven!  I didn't really have anything left but I gave in the last oz of energy to cross the line as fast as possible.

 

Run time: 1:53:22 (22/69)

I knew I can run my goal time on a good day.  Unfortunately, Sunday wasn't a good day for me.  I completed under-estimated the heat element and did not take any salt tablets or supplements.  A lot of good runners in my age group and age group above faded on the run and ended up in the medicial tent after.

*The fastest AG runner of the day was again in my age-group, it sucks.

 

Race time: 5:10:45 (16/69) 

I thought it was a respectable time for myself but it definitely left room for improvement.  I didn't really plan to move into long course races but I wanted it to be a training race for Duathlon Worlds and to support the LOC and Speed Theory for putting on a new international race.

*The winner of my AG, Ryan Cain, basically beat out half of the man pro-field.

 

Post Race

I was taken (with a bit of dragging) into the medicial tent as I cross the finish line.  Wasn't sure how I looked but apparently not very good according to the wonderful tent nurses.  I was super dehydrated and drank 3 powerade almost in a row.  I was very hot at first and was given some ice; then I was  cold from the wet clothes on and they gave me a space blanket.  Finally left the tent to meet up with the Kronos group.  Re-gained some energy after having my protein shake (GREAT advice Sandra! I felt much better by Tue) and put on some compression socks.

 

I stuck around with Johnny, Charlie, Byron, and Deb for the ward and Clearwater spots.  someone said I should take a spot to Clearwater, I think I blurted out "Oh, Gawd, no".  I was feeling tired and a bit burnt-out after the race for a few days and couldn't really think about racing at all.  I contemplated not doing the Kelowna Olympic race this week but fortunately Bart got me back into it.

 

My body felt nearly 100% after the Wednesday night swim and my head is back to normal.  I'm still not ready to think about details of upcoming races but am ready to look at races I would like to do.  All in all, I enjoyed the training leading up to and racing my first IM70.3.  I would definitely do more races in the distance though not as my focus. I will probably do another 70.3 race (so I can get a IM 70.3 finisher hat!), but probably not Calgary again since I rarely repeat races unless they are well organized and fun (Kelowna and Hambrug comes into mind).