The fact that I made the start line is a story in itself.....there was a fire on one of the ferries Friday evening, RIGHT BEFORE A LONG WEEKEND!
That ferry was taken out of service making it SUPER busy. You couldn't drive onto the ferry without a reservation...and on Saturday the ferries were booked up till 5pm (on paper), But since a ferry was out of service, everyone was bumped back 2 or 3 hours.
Luckily I was travelling as a foot passenger. I was able to show up 10 minutes before sailing and walk on with no wait.
The ferry drops you off at Swartz Bay which is 30 minute drive from downtown. I jumped on a shuttle bus which takes you straight to downtown. The bus depot is next door to the convention center where package pick-up was.
The organizers were understanding so I was able to get 7 race packages without showing ID, or e-mail confirmations :) But I had to lug it all around for a few hours.
They say to never try anything new the day before a race........I had baked acorn with cream and cheese baked on top....with rice.....Randomest (but seasonal!) meal but it had the carbs and Calcium that I was looking for.
I cheaped out and stayed at a hostel 4 blocks away from the start line instead of a hotel with some friends. When I got back to the hostel I realized that I left my shoe liners at home! the last time I raced was the calgary corporate challenge 10km (Just over 40 mins! darn!) where it rained! I had pulled them out to let them dry. BOO So i took my 3 year old shoes which happened to be saucony as well and trimmed them a little to fit the shoe.
Race day: I ran a +12 min split comparing the 2nd half to the 1st half. It's not the result I was looking for and showed that I started out too fast again.
What I did was run at 160 bpm. In Calgary usually that's a 5min/km pace..but since it was at sea level i was running 4:30min/km!! What was limiting my run was my CALVES which felt like they were gonna cramp at 20km! actually within the first km my left foot hurt already. The ball of the foot on the big toe was hurting me all week.
So at the half mark I slowed down a little...but after 2 km i felt great and picked it back up again. This was probably my mistake..I should have kept it easy from 21-30km because the last 10km was HELL! I knew i was slowing down, so I pmped my arms to force the legs to move.
I didn't stop for water in the last 8 km and stopped taking walk breaks....it was the only way to 'slow the bleeding' of time.
at 1/2 I was on pace for 3:20:00
at 30km I was on pace for 3:23
and it kinda sucked doing the math in my head as i realized that I might go over 3:30!
3:28:45 is great though! I'm happy I didn't cramp. but it's 82 seconds slower than my first marathon.
I ate an Ahi Tuna Burger right after. and lots of water
I stayed at my friends hotel that night. We spend an hour with our legs up against the wall :) haha.
3 of us had run, while 1 didn't because of calf injury, so we're all limping along. She took one of our medals to wear as we walked along the streets. At cross walks she did high knees and butt kicks making us look like wimps! hahaha it was hilarious!
We ate mexican food that night....walked around a bit but called it quits early.
I tried to catch the 3pm ferry on monday but it was full, and 4pm was canceled. I ended up getting home at 8:30. I called my parents and they were all having thanksgiving dinner.....we NEVER eat turkey at thanksgiving!
The rest of Vancouver was awesome though! I ate like a PIG. dim sum, sushi, indian, shanghai chinese food.
After the race was the Canadian Batista competition. Mike and Ben from Phil and Sebastein's were competing. It was nice to see an intense competition that's incredibly different than running. They have to schmooze the judges along with all the technical details that go into making coffee
With all my hobbies, I had to deceide my identity before packing (Weight Issues!) I chose to be a Runner and Food Critic over Photographer. So I have only a few photos from the Grouse Grind which Clem Ag Mark and I did in 60 mins.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Vancouver - Prepping for RVM
I've been blessed with an amazing job.
I work shift work at Firebag, one of Suncor Energy's operating facilities. I work 7 days in a row @ 12 hours per day. Each paycheque is therefore 80 hours.
The upside is that I get 7 days OFF leaving me plenty of time to travel.
This week I've been in Vancouver thanks to a seat sale from Air Canada. So far my time has been spent eating sushi, dim sum, climbing the Grouse Mountain and enjoying the 18 degree weather. MUCH nicer than -5 and SNOW in Calgary!
The timing of this trip worked out perfectly since I'm running the Royal Victoria Marathon October 11, 2009. I signed up for this race back in June. I figured that completing 2 Half Ironmans would be a good 'base' so as long as I got some Long Runs in September, I might be able to complete the Marathon.
Long Runs consisted of a 2.5, 3.0 and 3.2 hours. All were grueling and left me questioning my readiness for the marathon. The highlight of my speed workouts included a 10x1 mile repeats with 2 mins rest at a 6:45 min/mile pace!
I've only completed 1 marathon which was Vancouver 2008. I hobbled across the finish line since my hamstrings were cramped thanks to running the first 32 km at speed which wasn't supported by my training. I was too serious and too obsessed with qualifying for Boston. This time it's a little different. My approach will be to run the first 32 km at a set heart rate. From there, maintaining the Heart Rate will be an achievement in itself, but to bump it up another 10 bpm would leave me with an amazing time. It's my muscles that will limit me, more than my cardio.
I work shift work at Firebag, one of Suncor Energy's operating facilities. I work 7 days in a row @ 12 hours per day. Each paycheque is therefore 80 hours.
The upside is that I get 7 days OFF leaving me plenty of time to travel.
This week I've been in Vancouver thanks to a seat sale from Air Canada. So far my time has been spent eating sushi, dim sum, climbing the Grouse Mountain and enjoying the 18 degree weather. MUCH nicer than -5 and SNOW in Calgary!
The timing of this trip worked out perfectly since I'm running the Royal Victoria Marathon October 11, 2009. I signed up for this race back in June. I figured that completing 2 Half Ironmans would be a good 'base' so as long as I got some Long Runs in September, I might be able to complete the Marathon.
Long Runs consisted of a 2.5, 3.0 and 3.2 hours. All were grueling and left me questioning my readiness for the marathon. The highlight of my speed workouts included a 10x1 mile repeats with 2 mins rest at a 6:45 min/mile pace!
I've only completed 1 marathon which was Vancouver 2008. I hobbled across the finish line since my hamstrings were cramped thanks to running the first 32 km at speed which wasn't supported by my training. I was too serious and too obsessed with qualifying for Boston. This time it's a little different. My approach will be to run the first 32 km at a set heart rate. From there, maintaining the Heart Rate will be an achievement in itself, but to bump it up another 10 bpm would leave me with an amazing time. It's my muscles that will limit me, more than my cardio.
Overdue Philippines 70.3 Update
I planned on traveling through hong kong and singapore in November, but was moved up to August because of Cobra Ironman 70.3.
Before boarding the plane in Manila, volunteers tagged our bikes and helped us with the check in procedure. after the short 1 hour flight to Naga, we were greeted by a BAND and DANCERS! This first impression was only a sign of things to come. Once entering the airport, I was greeted with a Pili Nut Necklace which was probably hand made by a volunteer. I handed my baggage tag to a volunteer who helped to locate my bike, and load it onto the hotel shuttle bus for me.
The volunteers gave SO MUCH of their time to make this event a success. Most Triathlons in north america have volunteer positions for a few hours at most and struggle to fill all the positions. There were Philipino volunteers working from 7am to 10pm for 5 days straight! I was unable to stay at the Camsur Watersport Complex where the majority of the athletes stayed. In a way it was a blessing since I got a chance to walk around Naga and experience the Philippino culture first hand. I found a local bakery which i visited every day. There were no descriptions as to what was inside the buns...so each day I tried something new. The girls behind the counter were amazed at the Philippino looking, english speaking Chinese guy.
There were 400 racers, which was the largest race every held in the Philippines! (update the 2010 race doubled in entries which is a true testament to how great this race is!) There was so much excitement leading up to this race and the organizers did an amazing job of promoting this event. With registration, we got a carbo load dinner and awards dinner.....which put this race heads and shoulders above IM Calgary. The swag also included 4 t-shirts, several re-usable bags and towel. Being a smaller race, we were able to interact with the pros. They were all such normal, nice people!
The night before the race I had a horrible fever. I didn't sleep well and was worried that I'd have to drop out of the race. I think the fever was from jumping into the AC after sweating hard in the 34 degree weather (with high humidity). I popped some tylenol race morning and seemed to be okay.
Swim felt great, I was worried since it was a non-wetsuit swim (warm 30 degree water), and was fresh water. Luckily I survived the swim and was able to draft off others. Usually I just go my own pace, and work on my own, so my tactics are getting better.
Time was 47:35 which is slower than Calgary, but considering the non-wetsuit swim, I was quite proud of it.
Bike was super super Flat which should have been an advantage for me since the Philipinnos thought it was 'hilly'. However, being off the bike for 2 weeks left my legs lazy. the first half felt okay, but I had no energy for the way back. The streets were LINED with kids, teenagers, and adults from local villages. They liked to chant "ironman ironman go go go!". It was quite adorable and helped to keep me going, but still was the most difficult ride to date. I kept telling myself that I would ROCK the run and that by going slower on the bike I'd have more energy. Time was 3:12:00 which I'm not happy with.
Transition to the Run was okay, I started slow and controlled but the 37 degree heat eventually got to me. The aid stations, and villagers dumping water on me helped, but I still walked every km (every aid staiton). I did not ROCK the run like I planned. Final time was 2:26:00...but this time includes T2...and maybe T1. I wasn't happy with this either....since I never run at a 6:56 min/km pace. It's almost embarassing to say that I"m a runner.
All in all, it was an amazing experience. My only regret is that I didn't get to SEE more of the Philippines. In a country made of 7000 islands, I didn't see the Ocean up close, in the form of scuba diving, or being on a beach. There are many natural beauties, such as volcanoes, chocolate hills (that's right!) and coral reefs.
Before boarding the plane in Manila, volunteers tagged our bikes and helped us with the check in procedure. after the short 1 hour flight to Naga, we were greeted by a BAND and DANCERS! This first impression was only a sign of things to come. Once entering the airport, I was greeted with a Pili Nut Necklace which was probably hand made by a volunteer. I handed my baggage tag to a volunteer who helped to locate my bike, and load it onto the hotel shuttle bus for me.
The volunteers gave SO MUCH of their time to make this event a success. Most Triathlons in north america have volunteer positions for a few hours at most and struggle to fill all the positions. There were Philipino volunteers working from 7am to 10pm for 5 days straight! I was unable to stay at the Camsur Watersport Complex where the majority of the athletes stayed. In a way it was a blessing since I got a chance to walk around Naga and experience the Philippino culture first hand. I found a local bakery which i visited every day. There were no descriptions as to what was inside the buns...so each day I tried something new. The girls behind the counter were amazed at the Philippino looking, english speaking Chinese guy.
There were 400 racers, which was the largest race every held in the Philippines! (update the 2010 race doubled in entries which is a true testament to how great this race is!) There was so much excitement leading up to this race and the organizers did an amazing job of promoting this event. With registration, we got a carbo load dinner and awards dinner.....which put this race heads and shoulders above IM Calgary. The swag also included 4 t-shirts, several re-usable bags and towel. Being a smaller race, we were able to interact with the pros. They were all such normal, nice people!
The night before the race I had a horrible fever. I didn't sleep well and was worried that I'd have to drop out of the race. I think the fever was from jumping into the AC after sweating hard in the 34 degree weather (with high humidity). I popped some tylenol race morning and seemed to be okay.
Swim felt great, I was worried since it was a non-wetsuit swim (warm 30 degree water), and was fresh water. Luckily I survived the swim and was able to draft off others. Usually I just go my own pace, and work on my own, so my tactics are getting better.
Time was 47:35 which is slower than Calgary, but considering the non-wetsuit swim, I was quite proud of it.
Bike was super super Flat which should have been an advantage for me since the Philipinnos thought it was 'hilly'. However, being off the bike for 2 weeks left my legs lazy. the first half felt okay, but I had no energy for the way back. The streets were LINED with kids, teenagers, and adults from local villages. They liked to chant "ironman ironman go go go!". It was quite adorable and helped to keep me going, but still was the most difficult ride to date. I kept telling myself that I would ROCK the run and that by going slower on the bike I'd have more energy. Time was 3:12:00 which I'm not happy with.
Transition to the Run was okay, I started slow and controlled but the 37 degree heat eventually got to me. The aid stations, and villagers dumping water on me helped, but I still walked every km (every aid staiton). I did not ROCK the run like I planned. Final time was 2:26:00...but this time includes T2...and maybe T1. I wasn't happy with this either....since I never run at a 6:56 min/km pace. It's almost embarassing to say that I"m a runner.
All in all, it was an amazing experience. My only regret is that I didn't get to SEE more of the Philippines. In a country made of 7000 islands, I didn't see the Ocean up close, in the form of scuba diving, or being on a beach. There are many natural beauties, such as volcanoes, chocolate hills (that's right!) and coral reefs.
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