To be (a blog) or not to be (a blog). I am not sure this qualifies as a blog if I only update it once every 2 months. Regardless, here is my race report and some pics from Clearwater 70.3 World Champs.

Quick version:

I looked into the results from last year and figured that if I could go 4:20 (26 swim, 2:25 bike, 1:25 run, 5:00 Tr1/Tr2) then I would be in contention for a top 10. My training had gone really well in November and so I went down there with the goal of going 4:20.

As it turned out I finished at 4:24:32 in 14th spot. A 4 min penalty on the bike eradicated my goal of a 2:25 bike, but everything else was in line with my ‘perfect race’.

All in all, even with the penalty, it was a great race and great experience. I am glad Mike and my coach put a bit of pressure on me to do the race.


Preamble:
I had to be convinced to sign up for this race. I had not enjoyed my ½ iron races during the year and I did not feel ready to compete at a World Champs at this distance. Training in August and September had been hampered by problems with my Achilles. September and October’s training had not been the best quality either because I had done a lot of travelling and packed in 2 half ironman races.

Two weeks out from the race my body and training started to come around. My run form and fitness were back and I was getting more comfortable spending longer amounts of time at threshold on the bike.

In the last week before the race I felt the best I had felt physically and mentally since I broke my foot in 2008. I was strong, confident and I was recovering really well. Experience with how much and how hard I need to train into my taper also helped: I skipped 2 rides in the last 8 days before the race. It is so hard mentally to skip workouts in your training schedule, especially when you trust your coach. But as I gain experience at this distance I have started to trust what my body is telling me when it comes to rest.

My confidence was boosted another notch when one of the naturopath’s I see, Holly Fennel (some call her a genius) thought that I was low in magnesium (I still need to do the bloodwork to know for sure). I had been suffering from these periodic, huge heartbeats on a daily basis for years. I had had a cardiogram, a Holter Monitor test and other exams but no one had found anything. Within an hour of consulting and getting treated by her these huge beats are gone so far. And so are the muscle twinges that I also suffered on a daily basis. To top it off, I had been doing some research on my own I figured I had been lacking B12. I boosted my B12 supplements in the two weeks prior to the race, which I also think helped. Again, bloodwork will be the ultimate determinant of these ‘diagnoses’.

‘Life’ leading into the race was chaotic. The chaos included being within 30 seconds of missing my flight because I was pulled in US customs for not having a special PERMIT to race as a Pro. I have been racing for years as a Pro and have never been asked for a permit. Once I got to Florida I had to play chauffeur to all the athletes who didn’t have vehicules to get them to Clearwater. This led to me getting into the first car accident of my life. And to top it off, Mike texted me (which woke me up) when he arrived at 11 PM the night before the race (I had to get up at 4:30 AM).

Fortunately I was so relaxed about the race and so confident in my training that everything seemed funny instead of tragic.

One thing I do need to improve on – and which caused a wee bit of stress for me - is scheduling the morning of these races. I don’t need as much of a warmup so I tend to schedule less time than short races. But I continually forget three key things – the morning set up ALWAYS takes longer than ITU races, there are always bigger crowds than I am used to, and it is often dark when I arrive in Transition (7 AM versus 12 PM starts!).

The Race
I chose the straightest line to the corner buoy, on the right of the start line. This was away from the top swimmers, as they chose the left side. My positioning was probably wrong in retrospect for two reasons – 1) I would have been in the draft if I had chosen the other side, as it was I lead the pack on the right and 2) The race organizers had told us that the left side was the ‘safest’ (even if it was a bit longer) and sure enough I cut my hand open on some barnacles. I found the swim start hard. It was relatively calm punching and kicking-wise, but I had real trouble matching the hard pace set at the beginning. There were some really shallow spots that I took advantage of and did some dolphin dives. These were a nice little rest on the arms. I was surprised that most people swam through the shallow areas. Once past the first buoy I got into a rhythm by really concentrating on a strong finish to each arm stroke. I moved up within the small pack I was with and by the final turn I was leading it with a couple of other girls. One woman made a really good push in the final 500 meters and I fell off her pace. I wanted to get in and out of T1 before everyone else so that people were stuck behind ME on the bike and not the other way round! I wanted to avoid having to make crazy power surges in order to pass people once on the road. I also wanted to avoid having to back off the power to stay out of the draft. This was all a little in vain as you will see later…

This was my first experience with ‘clean transitions’ and I did everything all wrong, including taking my Blueseventy off at my bike instead of in the change tents. I thought for sure I was going to get a penalty for this.

Out on the bike the power seemed to come easy and I settled into a good rhythm. There were 5 other girls around me. We jockeyed for position for about 15 kms (it actually reminded me of ITU races!) and then 2 of us were given drafting penalties. I figure it is the luck of the draw on this course, as any of us could have been dinged. The funny thing was that we all still stayed together for the next 25kms, but noone was given any more penalties. Once I got to the penalty tent I just took the 4 minutes to eat, drink, refill my aerodrink system. I walked around and shook out my legs. It was actually a nice rest! Once I got back on the road I was able to ride my Trek away from the other girl who was stopped in the penalty tent with me. It is crazy how much ‘riding with a group’ (let’s not call it drafting) helps. During the second half (which is as flat as the first) my average power went up by 4% while I kept my speed the same…There was literally NOONE around me during the second half. It was all a bit eerie…

My focus on the bike in Clearwater was to ride the most efficiently as possible. I concentrated on riding a straight line and staying in a strong (not droopy) aero position the whole time. I had been doing a ton of core work (especially things like planks) to strengthen my aero position.

I ate, drank and was merry the whole ride. I didn’t need any extra salt pills (probably because this hadn’t been my issue in the first place, it was my mag levels). I enjoyed watching my average power rise as the kms passed. I got myself physically and mentally ready for the run. I can now ride by myself for 2.5 hours without going INSANE. It shows we are all adaptable!


I had a better T2, now that I understood the whole ‘clean transition’ thing. I didn’t suffer any cramping as I shoved my feet into my Asics. I usually put my shoes on cautiously because of quad cramps – but there was not even a twinge this time. Out on the course I felt like I was flying. I have NEVER felt this good coming off the bike (okay, maybe once or twice in much shorter races). It felt incredible to race in my racing flats again. My racing flats had been off-limits for the last 3 months because of the Achilles. I looked at my watch and I was running sub 4 min kilometres. Although I felt great I knew that I needed to back off - but just for the first 5kms. Coach David had prepared me with these amazing progressive sessions prior to the race. I was prepared to take it 5kms at a time. And this is what I did. Everything was broken into 5km pieces : nutrition, hydration and pacing. Mentally, I tackled each 5km like it was a single event. Mike was there at every 5kms cheering me on, making me go harder. He is really, one of the best cheerers out there. It is funny how much a known voice, saying what you need to hear, can drive you forward. It makes you realize how important it is to have a strong, clear internal voice.

In the end I ran my fastest ½ marathon time – this includes the 2 road races I did this year!

Thank you to all my sponsors, supporters, coaches, friend and family for helping me with this transition year. It was full of ups and downs, but mostly ups. I am glad that I was able to cap it off with a top 15 at Worlds – this result is for everyone who has supported me.

As directed by Coach David, I got a proper run warmup in even with what I thought was chaos (the point to point format meant we had to ‘drop’ our transition bags, we weren’t allowed to take our bikes out of transition, the shear number of people). I had thought that we would be able to take our bikes out of transition to warm up, but I was wrong. I didn’t get as much of a swim warmup as I would have liked – about 15 minutes. But this was actually all I needed.

The women started with the men and there were a lot of us – over 40. I assumed this meant it was going to be rough so I started on the far right outside. We needed to make sharp left around a bouy at about 100 meters so I chose my spot to try to stay out of the man-crush.

It worked well and I got a clean start. These starts are so much easier than the ITU starts! The pace is just so much more relaxed, even with guys in the mix. As I was swimming I started to panic a little (like in Muskoka) because the neck of my wetsuit started to feel too tight (I was swimming in my favorite brand, but it was a new suit and I hadn't adjusted it properly for my size). I swam to the outside and kept the kk up while I loosened the neck flap. This seemed to help and I pulled a few strokes hard to get back in the draft.

In general it was a chaotic swim. I really had no idea where we were going, where I was in the pack or who I was swimming with. I tried to work as hard as I could – reminding myself not to get complacent, finding good feet and conserving energy when I could. Because I didn’t know where we were going I was tempted to keep sighting, but I stopped myself because it wasn’t helping me swim any straighter than simply watching the feet in front of me.

Unfortunately about ¾ of the way through I started to get very frustrated at not knowing where I was going. This compounded with my perception that I was swimming slow! As we approached shore we came headlong into packs of swimmers that were starting. This was just a little terrifying! I let go of the throttle a little and just swam easy in to shore - the last thing I wanted was a concussion. I took the time to mentally prepared myself for T1.

The run into transition was nice. This may be my favorite part of the 70.3 distance (did I just admit that ;) )
It is sooo great to be able to run at a comfortable pace instead of busting so hard that you feel like your heart is going to explode out of your chest and plop onto your aerobars.

Once on my Trek, I felt amazing. My bike training had been REALLY hard going into this race, but it prepared me really well (thanks coach!). I had to really control myself in order to keep my power output in check. I drank about 2 litres of liquid for the 90 kms. It was a mix of Gatorade + electrolytes, water from aid stations and a solution of concentrate (caffeine pill, 6 electrolyte tablets and water). This doesn’t seem like much on paper, but I peed several times during the bike and didn’t end up using all the liquid I had carried with me. I had a gel flask (4 gels) with me that I had in the back of my Suguoi race suit. I consumed this and 2 gels I taped to my bike. I felt strong on both the uphills and I pushed the downhills. I was able to keep my power up over 180 all the time other than some instances when going downhill. I tried to stay aero as much as possible and tried to maximize all momentum that I had (minimizing any braking through corners, etc). I had to force myself to not go above 200 in the last 30 kms. I kept wanting to push the power. I couldn’t believe how quickly the first 30kms flew by! 60kms came and went just as quickly and the last 30kms felt like I was holding back the whole time. There wasn’t any tightness or muscle cramping or fatigue in my legs. My back got tight around halfway through, but I expected this. It wasn’t as bad as it has been and I don’t think it affected my power. I did shift my position a few times to try to give my back a break, and I tried to stretch it out a bit when I wasn’t pedaling down hills and around corners.

Coming off the bike into T2 my legs felt fine. I stepped off the bike and ran easily into T2. There wasn’t any heaviness in the quads and the Achilles felt good. At my shoes I was disappointed to see that there about 10 bikes already racked :( I opened my T2 bag and grabbed my Asics. I had stuffed a sock in each shoe but when I went to pull them out I only found one! I searched the bag and my shoes…but no sock. So I decided that my right foot would get the sock this day I was instructed by Coach David to run no faster than 4:20 per km for the first 8kms. At the time he said this it seemed excessively slow. On the day it felt about right and fairly comfortable. I had forgotten my watch and so I was using the ‘song time’ on my ipod to keep track of my pace (This is one of the things I love about the long stuff is the problem solving that needs to go on. Plus it gave me something to think about because I had to do some math to calculate my pace ). On the flat sections I was hitting about 4:10-4:25 which seemed comfortable. My left adductor started to twinge at about 2kms and so I took an extra electrolyte pill which I was carrying in my suit (PS I love the Suguoi suit that I wear for these long events – they have these great pockets at the back for things like my gel flask and electrolyte capsules). This cleared up straight away. I sipped away at my gel flask – It was carrying about 4 gels mixed with a few tablespoons of water 200mgs of caffeine and some extra electrolytes. I drank water at every aid station, but I soon started to feel thirsty. They indicated that there would be aid stations every 2kms, but there weren’t. And I don’t think I was drinking enough at each of the stations. There was one major downhill and uphill section and I felt really slow on both the descent and ascent. Once at the top I started to feel mentally pretty bad. I didn’t feel like eating gels any more and I just felt like I didn’t have any bounce in my step. I was only catching one girl and I knew that I was running in around 10th which upset me because I had hoped for a much better placing. The rest of the run from about 5kms on went by pretty slow. I mentally and physically tried to pick up the pace after 10kms, but I don’t know if it made any difference. I could see two girls in front, but I wasn’t making any ground and I could feel both feet blistering. The socked foot was blistering against a seam on my big toe. The downhill on the way home was painful because of the blisters and it made them worse. I passed one more girl just before the hill and tried to stay away. With 2kms left I completely lost it mentally and physically. I slowed to what felt like 5:00 km and literally could not lift my legs. I was ‘repassed’ by one of the girls with just over 1km to go.

The last month has been a busy one.

First, training news.

I have partenered with a new triathlon coach, David Tillsbury-Davis (PhysFarm Coaching)and a new strength trainer, Alex Boersma (Urban Athlete). The new programs are challenging and interesting and I am starting to feel the results.

Next, racing news.

On May 31st I did my second half marathon and I am pleased to say that it went much better. I ran fairly steady 4:03s per kilometer and was outkicked in the last 800 meters. My body felt good, but my calves had started to cramp. I think that I tied my shoes too tight! There is so much to learn:)

Two weeks later I did the Muskoka long course race and was again second! But this time I was second to Lisa Bentley.

Six days later I did an ITU continental cup in Quebec and I was third.
I capped off the month of racing with the 5km Open Water Provincial Championships in Ontario where I again claimed a podium spot.

So, it has been a crazy, diverse month of racing. The most amazing thing about it has been my recovery and how David has managed my training. My recovery time seems to be down to 3 days which is unheard of for me.

Next up is the LifeTime Fitness race this Saturday.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I have had a couple of good weekends of racing - a second to legendary Lisa Bentley at the Muskoka Long Course on June 14th and a 3rd at the ITU race in Quebec on June 20th.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzhtleBUfik

A couple of pics to share -

The first is of a race in To in early spring (were I podiumed! hello heeled foot!) and the second is of the Toronto Trek Store Women Who Ride club (which I have been honoured to lead this summer).

The problem with this blog thing is that I leave it so long to update and then I can't decide on what piece of news I should write about when I finally buckle down and write.

Should I write about how, when I was waiting on my bike at a stop light in downtown TO, and blind man got his cane stuck in my spokes and started screaming at me? Or should I recap my race in St Croix and include some pictures of other goings-ons?

I should probably recap the St Croix race.

I was feeling a little flat going into the race. Since this was my first 1/2 iron we could chalk this up to nerves, but it was a bit bothersome. I was used to feeling much more energized and ready to go.

As it was, I was there to explore the distance. To be honest, I was there to pace and not to race. I wanted to come away with a complete understanding of the distance. I did not want to DNF by racing too hard too early.

I liked the swim because it was technical and warm. The swim start was calm compared to ITU starts and this set me up for a decent swim. I have not spent a lot of time developing swim speed this year so I ended feeling steady, but not speedy. I came out of the water in 5th. I would like to improve this in the next races. l

My plan was to output a tempo effort on my Trek until I was past the Beast. And then I planned to gradually increase the pace. I stuck to my plan, closely watching my power and HR. It was REALLY frustrating to watch girls go by me in packs and not even try to latch on(yes, packs! I was told AFTER the race that "no one has ever been dq'd or been given a penalty at this Island race. hmm). I cruised along, hydrating and 'geling' until the Beast. Made it up the Beast - I had to work hard, but it was totally manageable. My home stay dad had completely freaked me out about the hill and asked me after the race if I had had to walk it. I am sure he was convinced that I was going to fall off my bike.

My back had started to hurt (I had been fighting a tweaked psoas) a little before the Beast and it continued to be uncomfortable through the rest of the ride. This was a bit of distraction, but I still managed to stick to my plan. The rough roads on the island didn't make it any easier on the back. I found once I was passed the Beast I started to get a bit bored. I think there were two reasons for this: First, I am soo used to have people around me in the draft legal racing and second, IT IS 90 KMS OF BIKING (just joking, the second reason is because I wasn't really RACING the race). Hopefully I will be more engaged during the next race!

Out on the run I felt great, but again I held back. I saw a bunch of people ahead of me that I could pass, but as my new run coach (Nicole Stevenson) told me, patience, patience, patience. I stuck to a tempo effort and the girls that were going to come back to me did. I had fun on the run - except for the blisters (see post below) - and I managed to squeak into the top 10.

I was racing in the newest technical suit from Sugoi that I got from Swim and Sport and it was super comfortable. I was worried about chaffing, but the material was super comfortable in all the right places ;). After talking to some more experienced racers I was also worried about the fact that it was a one piece uniform. Lisa Bentley and others say they race in two pieces to make pit stops a little quicker. As it stood, I didn't have any potty issues. Thanks to Kevin Jardine and some great nutrition advice! Phew.


All in all it was a great experience. Made better by a wonderful homestay, great weather and my sponsors. Special thanks to SpiderTech for their help with the costs of my trip.

And btw - the blind man was wearing headphones. Does this seem weird to anyone?

This is why I now respect the 70.3 distance.