Thanks & Next Years Goals

Thank you to everyone who donated to help me raise money for MS and to everyone for their support and encouragement, especially Steph, Katie and Lizzie, I love you guys.

Thanks to Auntie Barb for providing the inspiration and being the 'one'. Thoughts of you and how you face your daily challenges with determination and grace are what propelled me to the finish line.

I will be back next year and will be asking you to help me again raise money for MS. The goal for next year will be $10,000 and a 12:30 Ironman Louisville finish.

Ironman Louisville Race Report

This was my first Ironman after many years of Olympic and sprint distances, a couple of half’s and more recently 2 marathons a year.

Pre-Race

We arrived in Louisville late on the Tuesday after spending 4 extra hours on a detour through rural Ohio after the flooding had shut down a 20 mile section of I75. All in all from Toronto is made for a 10 hour trip into a 14 hour ordeal. We arrived in the middle of a blistering heat wave, it was over 100 the day we arrived and the temperature would rise each afternoon to the same level, as well it was very humid. On Wednesday morning we did a tour of the bike route, I didn’t think it was too bad and was expecting bigger hills after reading all the postings from people that had ridden the course. There didn’t seem to e anything steeper that 6% or so although there were a couple of longer climbs, like on the Highway 1694 out and back. Lot’s of rollers and it would definitely be a bit of a grind on the second loop through LaGrange. Wednesday afternoon I went for a 30 minute run and the word that described the condition best is steamy. It was hot and I was sweating plenty. It took me a good hour in the air con to get cooled off.

Thursday morning we went down to the practice swim and watched as the first 50 or so people entered the water and immediately began to float with the current down the river! It seemed to be quite an effort for many of them just to swim back to where they had entered the water. The river was warm, 84 degrees about and not as polluted as I thought it would be, although there was lot’s of wood of various shapes and sizes floating along. I heard one guy say that he thought he saw a telephone pole! Most people were swimming without wetsuits as it was almost certain to be a non wetsuit race. I got in the water and decided to swim up to the buoy they had placed near the first bridge. The current was there, but the closer we got to the buoy, the stronger the current. I was swimming with 2 other guys and the closer we got to the buoy the stronger the current. It was a real effort to get around it from 10 feet away. We sailed back in literally 5 minutes after taking 20 minutes to get up there. I overshot the exit and had to swim against the current to get back to the stairs.
I registered early, on Thursday, it was very organized and the volunteer explained everything in detail. I was out of there in 15 minutes. Thursday afternoon I went out and ride the 1694 out and back section. Again it was hot, hot, hot. It is a flat followed by a long downhill and then a long climb to the turnaround. There was a few other riders out as well. On Friday I did another 30 minute run, trying to get accustomed to being in the oven like conditions.

Saturday I packed up all the transition bags and took the bike down to check in. Again the volunteers were great and each entering athlete was paired up with a volunteer to assist them in getting the bike racked and the bags stowed away properly. Had a good look at the transition layout.

Race Morning

Sunday morning I woke up at 4:30 and had a breakfast of Vector cereal, a couple of bananas and a bottle of Gatorade. We left for the race at 5:15 and it was already bustling when we arrived. Quickly filled the water bottles on the bike and installed the gels, checked the tires and off to the swim start.

Swim (1:1:46) Position 860

We had to walk down to the revised swim start after the swim was changed due to the current. It took about 20 mins to walk down. It was very quiet and dark and there was a long line of people making their way down. Quickly checked all remaining clothes, made sure I had my goggles and ear plugs and joined the line up for the swim start. As you can imagine it was a long line of approx 2000 people. I was in line by about 5:50am and soon everyone started sitting down to wait for the start. About 6:50 the pro’s stated and soon the lime began to move. Eventually, by about 7:20 we got up to the front. The start was in a marina and one of the local boat owners was shaking everyone’s hand and wishing us good luck, he told us that if we decide to pack it in right away, his boat was the 5th one down and to swim over for a beer! I crossed over the timing mat and heard, go, go, go. I jumped in the water and started swimming. We swam initially in the channel between Towhead Island and the mainland. The water felt warm and there didn’t seem to be much of a current. I was assuming that we were going to just round the top of the island before heading home, but I was wrong on that one. Should have paid more attention to the course layout, we had to swim quite a way further up river before finally turning for home. It took me 30 minutes to make it to the turn. The swim back was good, the current was there, but nowhere near the strength it was on Thursday. I felt good on the swim, body roll from side to side was good, breathing was under control and I felt I stayed very aerobic throughout. It was a beautiful site to finally see the exit and then the waiting volunteers with outstretched hands to help us up the stairs and out of the water.

T1

It was a bit of a hike to the transition, but a volunteer was already waiting for me with my T1 bag when I arrived. Quickly changed into tri shorts and top for the bike and headed off.

Bike (6:58:32) Position 1204

They bike went well for me. I was slowed down by over-hydrating and having to stop and pee 4 times! I find it difficult to stay in the aero position with a full tank and so paid the time price. Volunteers were great, each time I stopped someone was there in a second asking how they could help, they actually held my bike and re-fuelled me with fresh water and Gatorade bottles while I was in the porta. Talk about valet service, outstanding! The next challenge came along just pat the 100mi marker. The hills were done and I was really looking forward to the downhill/flat last stretch back to the transition area. About a minute after coming onto fresh black pavement my rear tire blew out, Problem #1. The pavement was clear and brand new so I can only attribute it to the increase in pressure due to the increase in temperature in the fresh pavement? OK, no problem, I can change a flat with the best. Had the wheel off, tube out and new one in in no time. I used a CO2 cartridge to re-inflate it and I decided to just top it off a bit more and blew the new tube. Problem #2. Now I’m screwed, I only had one spare tube. The friendly police officer that was watching all this now suggested that he call for a support vehicle. Knowing that could take 15 mins or more I turned and asked the first guy that past us if he could spare a tube. My fellow competitor came to the rescue and immediately stopped and offered me one of his tubes. What a life saver, couldn’t thank him enough. I promise you all, the first time I get to return the favour, I will. Put in the 2nd tube and finally got going. Time wasted 12 minutes at least.

T2

Got back to transition without anything else happening. Bike catchers grabbed the bike and again a volunteer was waiting with my transition bag. I had descried to change both top and shorts, afterwards thought it was a waste of time and will bike/run in the same gear next time.

Run (4:27:43) Position 699

I felt like burned toast after that ride and didn’t think I was going to have a good run. I was well hydrated, but the hills had taken a toll on the legs and I’m sure that 3:30pm was the hottest part of the day. We did a short out and back along the river road before getting a bit of shade as we ran under the highway before turning up 3rd Street. Again the volunteers and aid stations well awesome. Lot’s of people and lot’s of drink/food, plus sponges, ice and water sprays. My goal was to make it to half way by 6:00pm and I just ran from one aid station to the next. I was making sure that I got at least a full cup of water and a full cup of Gatorade down at each one. At the special needs I picked up my special foods bag and took out film canister I had with 3 Tylenol and 3 Vivarin. Took the Tylenol and one of the Vivarin. It was definitely a bit of a mind bender having to go up and down the course and wow what a treat to see the finish line at the halfway point, do you think we could have gotten any closer!? I actually asked a guy I was running beside if I missed the turn for the 2nd lap! I started eating some pretzels and fig newtons at mile 15 and switched to coke for the final leg home. All the time I was doing the mental math and trying to figure out if I could get in under 13:00. The final turn and 100 yard dash to the finish was indescribable. I was so happy to be finished, for the entire run I had been waiting for the cramps to start or my stomach to shut down and I just couldn’t believe it that I was finished and was able to run as well as I did. I know my name was called out, but I didn’t hear it, the crowd noise was amazing. Finish time was 13:02:24 Position 699.

All in all, it was an amazing and incredible experience for me and my family. I think Steve Meckfessel and his crew did a first class job and I will be there again next year at the start line with a goal of 12:30!

Mission Accomplished!

Wow, what a great experience! I can't beliece I did that. Finish time was 13:02, despite having to stop at mile 100 to repair a flat. Will get back with all the details later.

Saturday!

Well...day before race day has arrived. At noon today we have to drop off the bike and all the gear bags to the tranisition area. Then we'll have an early dinner, pasta of course and rest up for the big day tomorrw.

Last night's welcome dinner was great and very motivational. The mayor of Louisville welcomed everyone as well as the president of Ironman. They introduced many vip's, including the oldest and youngest competitors, 18 and 77!! As well as the 20 or so people who's birthday is on Sunday! There was live music with a Nashville singer and buffet style food.

Pic's from Friday's Swim Practice

Ironman Hits Town!

Yesterday was athlete check in and we made sure to get it done early. We walked right in and it only took about 10 minutes. They are very well organized and they explain everything in detail to you. Part of the check in is a weigh in at the medical station, if you end up in the medical tent the first thing they’ll do is weigh you to see how dehydrated you are by comparing your weight to your check in weight. After the check in we went through the expo and took a look at all the tri-goodies for sale! Received an excellent goody bag, actually an IM knapsack and including a Ironman cap and t-shirt.

In the afternoon we took a drive to a section of the bike course where the longest hills are and a rode that section. It was very hot and windy, but it felt good to get an hour in one the bike. Numerous other people out riding as well.
This morning was the first practice swim and Steph and I went down at 8:00am. It is sponsored by Gatorade and they provide a gear bag check and lot’s of freebies. We watched at the first 50 people hit the water and immediately started drifting backwards! The current was strong due to all the flooding in Ohio and the volume of water coming down the Ohio. They had to send a bunch of kayakers after the wayward swimmers. They had set up a one mile practice course and it was a tough swim against the current to the turnaround buoy. The closer we got to the buoy, the stronger the current, most people gave up and turned around before they made it. I was swimming with 2 other guy’s and we just kept swimming like mad until we made it around it, finally. The swim back took about half as long and you had to be careful not to overshoot the exit and end up down the river with the other swimmers!
As a result they have decided to change the swim. We will start about a mile up river, swim through a sheltered area and then out into the river and back with the current to the original exit point. The swim entry will be first come first served and they will allow one person per second into the water. The swim cut-off time will be 2:20hr after the last swimmer enters the water. Effectively giving the slowest swimmers extra time to finish. Hopefully it will mean a fast swim for me, maybe out of the water in 1:10!

The transition areas and tents are all in place and it is easy to see how the flow in and out will work. There are cyclists and runners all over the downtown area and the hotel lobbies are filled with people with bikes. Ironman has certainly hit town!

Arrived!

We have arrived in Louisville, after a 14 hour trip. What was supposed to be a 9 hour or so trip ended up being an ordeal. We were sent off Highway 75, just after Dayton, Ohio due to flooding.

We watched the thermometer steadily rise as we travelled south. By the time we got to Louisville, it was still 87 at 8:00pm. I needed a shower after unloading the van!
It's going to be a hot one!

Race Hydration/Nutrition Plan

I've been working on my race nutrition plan and have come up with the following.
I'm aiming for 400 calories per hour and about 1000mg to 1200mg of sodium.

4:30am - 5:00am - Breakfast
2 Bananas or 1 Bagel
Vector Cereal – 2 cups
16oz Gatorade
1 electrolyte capsule

5:30am - 7:00am - Race starts
Sip 16oz Gatorade/Water

6:45am
1 Gel with 8 oz Water

7:00am - 8:30am Swim
Ingest as little Ohio River Water as possible

8:30am - Transition One
8 -12 oz Water

8:30am - 3:30pm - Bike
First :30 minutes water only
1 to 1.5 bottles Gatorade each hour
On the Hour, 1 gel chased with water
On the hour, one or two electrolyte capsules
Last half hour - water only
PowerBar every :90mins, @ 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, 6:00

12:00pm - Bike Special Needs Bag
2 Tylenol

3:30pm/4:00pm - Transition Two
8 - 12 oz Water
4 Tylenol & 1 Imodium

4:00pm to 9:00pm – Marathon
One electrolyte capsule per hour
Minimum 8oz to 12oz each aid station

6:00pm/6:30pm Marathon Special Needs
2 Tylenol & 1 Imodium
Mars Bar
Salty Snacks

7:00pm to Finish Marathon
Switch to Coke at mile 16 and continue to finish
Gatorade/Water/Coke & Pretzels

"When your attitude about the race changes, take in some fuel."
(Translation: Feeling sorry for yourself or angry at the wind is a sign of low blood sugar. Eat!)

"When you feel good, eat."
(Translation: When you feel good during the race don’t hammer, take advantage of this time to get more fuel onboard.

Holy Crap, I've Got a Lot to Do!!

Wow, time is flying and it's hard to believe that the IM is just around the corner. I have so much to do to get ready to go. I have checklists of my checklists of things to do and to pack and I check Louisville weather daily to see if the heat wave has broken. Not yet, it was still 100 plus yesterday, hopefully it will before race day!

Louisville Course Info

From Scott P, who went down and did some Louisville recon. He sent this to me a couple of weeks ago and I forgot to post! But, here ya go. Thanks Scott, for allowing me to publish this!

Hello, fellow Louisvillers-

I took a few days and went down to Louisville last weekend. I thought I'd write a bit about my impressions of the courses and whatnot, so I could remind myself later and so you guys can hear about what we found.

Hotels: The Galt House and the Mariott are both in great locations and look like nice joints. I'm staying in a new extended stay hotel right across the river. I'll have to drive to the TA on race morning, but saved about $100 each night. If you can swing it, staying downtown is the way to go because traffic in downtown was a touch screwy and will be worse before and during the race.

Bike shops: Only saw one downtown: The Bike Courier. If you need your fixie chain tightened, or a new messenger bag or radio, this is your place. Do not, under any circumstances, let them build your tri bike. I don't know of other shops.

The River: The river is very warm. There are online rumblings about if this will be a wetsuit swim-- my fingertip thermometer says there is no way we will be under 74 degrees or whatever, but there is no official info. Personally, I'm going to be doing some open water swims without mine. The current looks very mild, and they say they'll use locks to pretty much shut it down on race day. We'll see. I'm totally freaked about the current, frankly.

The Bike Course: I should mention that we had some serious and un-fixable mechanical issues. The lock ring on my cassette came loose, which, of course, needs the special lock-ring tool. There are no bike shops or anything that would resemble retail bike support on the route, so we had to stop a lot as it kept coming loose. Lauren got a flat. All these stops probably affected my outlook on the course. Also, if you're going down to ride the course yourself, it is basically on county highways so there is a scary amount of traffic.

Overall, I really enjoyed the course. It is quite hilly, with just under 7000 feet of total elevation gain on the whole thing. Grades tended to be in the 4-6% range-- like a highway onramp or a good bridge. The hills are rarely steep or long, but it's not a rhythm course. I found that I could stay in a good groove by staying focused on cadence and HR through the rollers and shifting a lot. I stood up for a couple of hills, but mostly because my butt was sore, not because I had to crank. The long descents are not broken by turns or stops, which means you can really let 'er rip (there is one notable exception-- the turn from Ballard Rd. to Old Sligo Rd.). There is a ton of time waiting to be made up on the downhills of this course.

The official profile looks smoother than the course really is-- you're pretty much always going a little up or down, but overall it's not as bad as I thought. The last 30 miles appears downhill, but it's so full of rollers that it was hard to tell, unfortunately. There is one huge descent back to the river, and then it's totally flat (and shady!!) for the last 10 or so-- that will be nice. Road surfaces were good to excellent, with some chip-seal that will be sticky as it heats up.

The heat, humidity, and sun are relentless and took a lot out of me. It was 90 when we rode, and will probably be a touch warmer for the race. Much of the course is shady, but the long stretch back southwest down rte. 42 is totally unshaded and it's going to be tough for a while. Once I got caught up on hydration, I felt much better. I used every gear in my 11-23 cassette, and will probably go to a 12-25 for the race. Hot, sultry, steamy, hot, wet, humid, oven, very hot-- these are words I would use to describe our ride.

The Run Course: The run is basically a two-loop out and back. It's just about pancake flat, with one underpass and a slight hill at the turnaround, which actually felt pretty good after so much flat. The course is really nice-- lots of trees and shade, big old houses, nice people that weren't yet tired of the stream of ironman practicers flowing by their houses. The turnaround near the finish will be tough for me, since you basically run down the finishing chute before peeling off to the right for another 12 miles. I dunno, maybe it will be motivating. The finish area is really cool-- Louisville has covered an entire city block with a glass roof, and there are tons of bars and restaurants right there-- lots of great spectating and some serious speakers for booming out our names as we finish. The Galt House and Marriott are both within a block of the finish.

Whew! that was a lot longer than I meant it to be. Oh well, I hope you got some good info. Overall, the most important factor in this race is almost certain to be the heat, I think.

It’s all over but the crying!!

Well that’s it folks…for the hard training at least. I completed my final week of hard training on Sunday and it’s taper time from now to race day on the 26th. Last week was a 20 hour week ending with a 180k ride on Saturday and a 32k un on Sunday. It felt really good to get that run in, a real confidence booster for IM Lou. I switched my Garmin over to miles and jut concentrated on getting from one mile to the next, imaging what it will be like on the 26th. Aid stations are spaced approximately every mile at the IM and a common strategy is to view the whole thing as 26 one mile repeats and do your best to keep running from one station to the next.

Training volume is reduced by 30% this week and another 30% next week to allow the body to fully recover from and adapt to the training. Often people feel over tired and lethargic during this period, I know I sure do today Wanted to watch the 2006 IM on NBC on Sunday for some inspiration, and only got to see the last half hour, it was advertised to start at 4:00 and actually started at 2:30pm, dang!

The Athlete’s Guide was released on the Internet on Friday and I am now finding myself thinking about all the logistics of the event, special needs bags, pre-race breakfast, nutrition/hydration strategies, course details, final bike set-up, etc., etc. Checklists are great for keeping track of all the details, I’ve got lots!

A Little Taste of Louisville!

Yesterday was long brick day and I completed another 180k ride (4th) and 15k run, same distance as last week, but it was much hotter and humid than last week. (Also got a 4k swim in on Friday and another 2k on Saturday). It was an 8 hour workout and at the end of it, I was done, done, done and left wondering how to manage having to run another 27k in Louisville. Trust in your training, trust in your training and you’ll benefit from this exposure to the heat was all I could come up with! I guess most people just don’t know what lies beyond the 20k or 30k mark of the Ironman marathon, suppose that’s part of the Ironman lure. Total for the week was 9750m swimming, 240k bike, 60k running, total of 17:30 hours for the week.

This week is the final week to train before the 3 week taper period starts and should be the highest volume week on the schedule. Will be trying for another 17 hr week and possibly 18 hr. Weather forecast is for a hot and humid week, yeah! It will be 35 degrees plus all week in Louisville, plus the humidity so better star getting used to it!

Last Two Tough Weeks…

This is the last two weeks of training before the taper begins  Over the course of the next two weeks I‘ll be spending 18 to 20 hours per week in the pool or on the road. Yesterday I got in a 2500m swim and last night was able to get out for a 20k run. The run went well, no problems from either Achilles tendon, thankfully. I’ll be happy to get some more miles on the legs and one final 28k to 30k run, hopefully in the heat and humidity, if it ever heats up around here! Looking at the weather forecast, it should today, yeah!

Back form the Island

We’re back from vacation in PEI. Great time, got to see and spend some time with some family that we don’t see often enough. Didn’t get as much training in as I would have liked, but there just always seemed to be something else going on that was more interesting! Total for the trip, 0 swimming, 200k biking, including a ride that ended with a 25k walk home after 3 flats! 32k running.

Now it’s time to get back to work.

Chinese Water Torture & Free Movie Passes

On Friday I swam 4000m and managed to break 1:20 for the first time. I actually swam the last two 1000m’s in just under 20mins. My goggles are still leaking a bit, even thought I’ve tightened them up. I seem to end up with a couple of drops in the left side and since I breath on that side every time I turn to breath, its like someone flicks water in my eye, sort of a Chinese water torture I guess. All part of the fun. I had a message from the swim director at the Y telling me that I’ve won a pair of movie tickets! Yahoo, will have to wait until after the IM though.

Off on Saturday for another 180k bike ride. I took the same route up to Zepher, over to Udora and then to Port Bolster, Beaverton and up to Brechin. All went well with the exception of my front derailleur cable which frayed and decide to break about halfway home. I dropped the chain onto the small ring and rode home that way, it was a good chance for a long distance spin drill since I rode at 90rpm plus for most of then way home.

After arriving home I made a quick HR monitor change, drank a coke and headed off for a 12k run. The run went well and I was able to keep a 5:30/km pace. All in all, I’m happy with that.

It’s been hot and humid this week and I did a 10k run on Tuesday and a 15k run yesterday trying to get acclimatized to the heat. Both runs went well, with the exception of yesterday’s. The run was good, but I’ve now aggravated my left Achilles tendon. The right seems fine, it was sore after Muskoka, but ok now. I think that I may have to take a week or two break from running. That’s ok, we leave for PEI soon and I can do lot’s of biking in the hills and that shouldn’t bother it too much.

The past weekend saw the completion of three IM events, France, Switzerland, and Coeur D’Alene (on of the seven USA Ironman events). Here’s a clip of the very windy swim start in CDA.

Aches & Pains

Since Sunday's race I’ve had a bit of pain in my right Achilles tendon. Umm…not sure why? It was a tough bike ride and I think that it may have gotten a bit strained. Decided to run on it on Tuesday night and see how it was, definitely wasn’t any better and probably shouldn’t have run on it. Will rest it now until at least Sunday. It was even a bit sore after last nights 40k ride. Rest of the week is as follows, Friday 4000m swim, Saturday 180k ride and 10-12 k run, Sunday 22-25k run. I hope it’s hot. People commented on slowtwitch.com that it was 95 degrees on the IM Louisville bike course last weekend. Can’t wait to see what it’s like in August with the humidity!

Muskoka Long Course Tri

Tim Hardie, before the bike!!

What a great weekend. Beautiful weather, wonderful hospitality and a great weekend of tri and du. Tim Hardie did the long course duathlon, congrats to him on completing a very tough course, not to mention that it was also his first multi-sport event! Way to do Dude!

The swim was good, water temperature was fine. The new 2XU wetsuit was a pleasure to swim in, I only hope is that IM Louisville will be a wetsuit legal swim…please!! With the wave start, I started at about 8:25am and Tim did a 3k run before heading off on to the bike course, which gave him about a 25min head start. I tried to catch him, but never saw him on the course. The course was tough, a couple of climbs were in the 15% plus grade, that’s real steep and it just seemed like hill after hill. I was glad that I had changed to a compact crank and changed the gears on both bikes. It was amazing to see some people absolutely struggling up some of those hills on a 21 gear. On some of the descents I was well over 60kph. There were also a lot of turns, on one fast descent, there was a right angle turn at the bottom of the hill. We had driven the course the night before and I knew it was there. When I came down that hill I was squeezing my brakes for all they were worth and for a few seconds I didn’t seem to be slowing down at all. It was one of those times that time seems to go into slow motion. I was thinking what an idiot you are, Tim had even pointed it out the night before and here I was squeezing the life out of my brakes and wondering where to impact the OPP cruiser to minimize the damage! Thankfully, I just managed to make the corner, I’m sure the people working the corner must have been shaking their heads in amazement and amusement when I went through there.

Tim and I met up at the transition area and we headed out for the run. I told him another 5k on the bike and I would have caught him! I stopped for a quick bathroom break and Tim ran ahead. I caught up at about the 3k mark and he was having some leg cramping issues, yeah no kidding, after that bike ride, it was no wonder! I went ahead and kept running. One of my goals was to have a good run, meaning to keep running all the way. It went well and I managed to keep it going. Saw Tim at the turn around and he looked like he was running well and had put the cramps behind him. Also tried the Coke that they were serving at the aid stations, thought it would be good to try it a few times before the IM.

Finished in 3:58, Tim about 20 mins back. Thanks again to Tim for letting us bunk at his Mom’s house on the Lake. Absolutely beautiful.

Muskoka Bound!

I have decided to do the Muskoka Long Course Triathlon on Sunday. It’s a good opportunity to test my fitness and try out the new wetsuit. After doing a 180k ride, 7 k run last weekend, I didn’t want to do another one this soon.

The Muskoka Tri is a 2k swim, 55k bike, 15k run. The Bike is notoriously hilly, with a couple of climbs in the 15% grade. That’s steep. Also have talked my partner/triathlete-to-be, Tim into doing the duathlon, 3krun, 55k bike, 15k run.

Tim’s been out on the bike a few times and did a 50k ride last weekend. I talked him into signing up and then asked him if he was crazy!! He’ll do fine, we put the hill climbing gears on the bikes this week and he’s a great runner. Weather should be good, hopefully not too hot and humid. The event is sold out and will be televised later this summer on TSN.

I’m a Bad Blogger, but I am training hard!!

Hey folks, got to admit it, I’m a bad blogger. Everyday I think about posting to the blog, but just trying to find the time has been real difficult. Anyway, I’ve dedicated myself to doing a better job and apologies to those that have been checking and not seeing anything new. The good news is that I’ve been training hard!

Last week I took it easy during the week and only spent a few hours on the bike and in the pool. It was a bit of a break from the previous 3 week training cycle. During that cycle I completed 29,000 meters of swimming, 650 k of cycling and 156 k of running. Last weekend’s long brick workout was a 160k ride/7 k run and I wasn’t real happy with the way the run went. It was hot and humid and I just ran out of gas on the run, managed to cover just 7km in a little over 40 minutes, a pace of over 6:00 min/km, not where I’d like to be!

The past weekend was a different and better story. I completed a long ride of 180km, the farthest I’ve ever ridden. I rode up to Beaverton and then had planned to go onto to Brechin but I took a different route and ended up half way to Fenlon Falls. The ride was good, averaged 27km, not including Gatorade stops. Did a run of 8km right after and managed a much better pace of 5:23/km. Sunday was another good day, did a 20km run on tired legs! More later.

Wow, what a weekend.

Well the good news is that I’ve completed the three week cycle and this is a rest week!

Over the past three weeks I swam 22,000m, cycled just over 20 hours and ran 170km and included in that three long brick workouts of 100k cycle/12k run, 105k cycle/13k run and yesterday a 120k cycle/6k run. My swimming highlight was a 4000m swim on Friday in 1:20:09. Very happy with that swim.

During my long ride on Sunday at the 50k mark, I felt something wasn’t quite right with my right pedal or cleat, looking down I saw my crank arm wobbling and seconds later I saw a piece fly off and instant my crank arm was no longer attached to the bottom bracket, just my foot! I stopped, spent 15 mins looking for the retainer nut, finally found it and get it all back together again, thanks to the fact that I was carrying a multi-tool!

On the way back down Durham Road 30, a car swerved in front of me, dropped two wheels on to the soft shoulder and lost control. It shot across the road and back again before launching into a corn field. The dust flew everywhere and when I arrived a few seconds later the car was upside down and a total wreck. I jumped off the bike and ran over, the woman driver was in the back of the car. Unbelievably she didn’t seem injured, no apparent broken bones or serious bleeding. I got her out away from the car. She was very lucky, she could have easily gone into the northbound traffic or hit a telephone pole. A few other people stopped, called 911 and I was outta there!

Rest week…aaahhh! After this weekend’s action and the past three weeks, I’ll take it easy this week and keep the training to about six to eight hours total. I will plan out the next three week build cycle over the next couple of days. I will be putting more hours in on the bike and get the long ride up into the 150k/6 hour range.

April’s Over…Six Months, Down, Four to Go!

Monday is rest day and I need it! On the schedule for this past weekend was a Saturday 22km long run and a 110km ride/13kmrun brick workout. As of this weekend I’ve switched the long run/long brick to Saturday/Sunday. There is much less traffic on the roads on Sunday morning, and almost no trucks whizzing past at 80k plus! I could really do without them and makes the ride a whole lot safer.

Saturday’s run was good, a little cool and rainy, bur better for running than the hot and humid weather that will be here soon. Sunday’s ride was a tough one, rode into a strong wind all the way up to the turnaround, just North of Zepher. Toes, fingers, ears and various other parts all went numb after a while in the cold wind. Had the tail wind for the ride home, but didn’t have a whole lot of gas in the tank to take advantage of it. Averaged 25kph for the trip and 110km total mileage. Did a 13km run right after and the day had warmed up by that time and it was much better. Ran by Auntie Barb’s house on the way home and she out with the Girls playing, minus the Mac Attack, (nappie time) and that was good inspiration to make it back home.

On Friday night IM released the course details for the race. On boy, now it seems much more for real. The highlights? Swim is a one loop course, swimming up river against a ‘slight’ current to the turnaround, slight being a relative term! Bike course will be ‘rolling hills’ and the run a flat double loop through Louisville. Details are here www.ironman.com/events/ironman/louisville

April is over and for the month I swam 9:12, cycled 29:36 and ran for 21:20 for a total of just over 60 hours of training.

Recent MS Research News…

Here’s some good news on a research study done this month that has potential to translate into a treatment strategy for MS. This new study by Katerina Akassoglou, PhD, funded by the US National MS Society shows for the first time that blocking a segment of fibrinogen – a protein essential for blood clotting – reduces inflammation and symptoms in mice with an MS-like disease, apparently without interfering with normal blood clotting.

Multiple sclerosis occurs when the immune system attacks the brain and spinal cord, damaging the myelin that insulates and protects nerve fibres. Brain cells known as “microglia” participate in this attack and are activated when the blood brain barrier (BBB) – the lining of cells that should protect the brain from intruders – breaks down. As the BBB breaks down, a blood protein called “fibrinogen” leaks into the brain. In addition to its known role in blood clotting, evidence is growing that fibrinogen also participates in the immune response that goes awry in MS. Dr. Akassoglou’s team has uncovered evidence that fibrinogen directly activates microglia, and has developed a method of inhibiting fibrinogen in mice without compromising its clotting capabilities.

Dr. Akassoglou’s team genetically engineered mice in which fibrinogen and Mac-1 did not interact, and found that inducing EAE in these mice resulted in less myelin damage and less severe disease. They then administered a small fragment of fibrinogen – which blocks binding of normal fibrinogen to Mac-1 – to mice with an MS-like disease after the first attack of paralysis. This form of fibrinogen does not block the protein’s interaction with blood platelets, and so would not interfere with clotting. Compared with untreated mice, activation of microglia decreased, myelin damage diminished dramatically, and the treated mice recovered faster and did not experience further relapses. This study highlights the potential of a novel strategy for inhibiting the immune attack in MS and improving symptoms.

Oh! What a Great Weekend.

What a great weekend this past one was. Finally I was able to get the new Cervelo P2C out on the road! What a beautiful machine. There has to be something said about a bike that you can basically break out of the box and spend fours hours riding and feel good enough to run 12k right after! Great ride. The bike is fast, light and climbs beautifully, a good thing since the bike course in Kentucky will be hill after hill after hill!

The run right after went well, managed to keep a pace in and around 5:44/km. Sunday morning was a 20k run at a bit slower pace, 5:58/km legs were definitely tired after Saturday. Will do it all again this weekend, except a little longer, weather permitting. This week’s schedule 7000m/2:30 hrs swimming, 6:30 cycling, 50k/4:30 running.

Way to Go Rick, Congratulations on IM Arizona

Congratulations to Rick Choy on completing last weekend’s Ironman Arizona. Rick is a local Unionville Ironman triathlete that coaches local athletes. Rick coaches as well as is a FIST Certified bike fitter and when my new Cervelo arrived I had Rick set me up on it. He did a great job and my bike is now as comfortable as the couch! Hopefully I’ll still fell that way after my first 150k plus ride!

Rick completed the tough Ironman Arizona last Sunday in 14:51. It was a hot, dry and windy day and the conditions made for a tough race. The wind blasts during the bike leg were as strong as 40 to 50 miles an hour. Rick commented that while, riding into the wind, he almost came to a dead stop when getting up to reach a water bottle! The run was tough with competitors having to deal with the wind again and hot, dry conditions. The fact that Rick spent 1:20 minutes longer battling it out that it took him last year tell a lot about the conditions. Great job Rick.

Rick’s goal this year is to complete all 6 North American Ironman events this year. He has completed 12 so far in his career, and IM Arizona was number 13. It was lucky number 13, because just after the race, Rick found out that he had won a prized lottery spot for the Ironman World Championship in Kona Hawaii in October. Almost makes all that work in Arizona worthwhile!

Hope for a Cure – Super Cities WALK

Today was the Super Cities WALK for MS, after yesterday’s five hour brick (3 hour ride, 2 hour run) I needed to stretch my legs…I know it was supposed to be a rest week but it was feeling good so I kept going.

This morning was very cool, windy and it looked like it might snow or rain any minute! However, it was a great walk through some pretty streets in Markham and there was a great turn out. They provided excellent before and after provisions and lots of draw prizes. It was great to see so many people raising money for MS and half of all money raised stays in the local Markham chapter to benefit people right here in our community.

Info on the WALK…

The Super Cities WALK for MS is the Society’s largest event fundraiser. It involves over 70,000 participants and volunteers and takes place in communities from coast-to-coast in the spring and early fall.

The WALK is a critical part of the Society’s fundraising efforts and is a significant program in funding research towards a cure for MS. A ground-breaking $4.3 million study of MS in children and a long-term, worldwide genetic susceptibility study are both made possible through MS Society fundraising events like the WALK.

Imagine - just by WALKing and raising funds, you are supporting a fellow Canadian affected by MS. Did you know that every day, three Canadian families receive the news that a loved one has multiple sclerosis? From the 45-person WALK in Candle Lake, Saskatchewan, to the 4000-person WALK in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Super Cities WALK for MS is truly a family oriented, community-supported event that makes a difference in the lives of Canadians living with MS.

Rest Week! Yeah!

This week concludes another four week training cycle and is a designated rest week. Just in time as I’m now fighting off a cold/sore throat. I drop my training levels by 30% or so to allow my body to adapt to the hard training of the first three weeks in the cycle. The strength and endurance gains are achieved during the rest period. It is during the rest that the body heals and repairs itself and grows stronger in adaptation to the stress placed on it. Stress the body, rest the body, body grows stronger, repeat, repeat, repeat. I have four (only!) four week training schedules before the Ironman and sometimes I don’t think it will be enough and I wish it was more, but it’ll have to do!

The final rest period is the three taper leading up to the Ironman. Training volume will go to 75% first week, 50% second week and 25% third week. Training intensity stays the same. This taper period allows total absorption of the training effect, a time to heal all the inevitable minor aches and pains that have developed along the way and a time to get well nourished and hydrated before the big day. This week includes two hours swimming, four hours on the bike and two hours running.

Are we there yet? No but we’re half way there…!

As of today I have completed the 20th week of my 40 week training plan. I’ve created and am following my own training plan. I’ve read many books on the subject of Ironman training including, Going Long by Gordo Bryn, IronFit by Don Fink, The Triathlon Training Bible by Joel Friel. In addition I’ve read a huge amount of information available on the Internet, including excellent stuff from Rich Strauss at Crucible Fitness.

The first 20 weeks of my training has consisted of three weeks of increasing time spent in each sport followed by one week of reduced training. For the first three weeks I have increased the volume by five to ten percent in each sport and then backed off the volume by at least thirty percent during the rest week. Performance improvement happens during the rest period.

During each week I complete one long session in each sport and have worked my way up to a 4000 meter swim, 4 hour bike ride and a 2 hour run. In addition, I do at least two ‘brick’ workouts a week (a run immediately after a bike workout). I try to get in at least three swims, three bikes and three runs in the week. In addition I lift weights two or three times per week. This week consisted of 12:00 hours of training, plus 2 hours of weight training.

As of today I have trained for a total of 140:30 hours consisting of 19:12 of swimming, 69:00 hours of cycling and 52:23 hours of running. That breaks down to time spent as approximately 14% swimming, 49% biking and 52% running. I’m happy with that, as we get closer, I’ll increase the bike time to prepare for the Ironman. I will continue on this schedule and work up. I’ll continue on this schedule, gradually increasing in weekly volume until I reach a peak of 18 to 20 hours per week in late July/early August and then start a 3 week taper to race day.

So far, I’ve managed to stay injury free. Knock on wood! And don’t seem to have anything on the radar for now. Without a doubt, through this process I have changed by body composition; I have reduced my body fat significantly (3% to 4%) and gained muscle mass in its place. So far, so good.

Thanks, many, many, many thanks.

One thing is for sure, no one does an IM alone. You cross the finish line one at a time, but it’s been a long road to get there and the sacrifices have all been shared. I must thank my family for allowing me to indulge myself in this crazy passion, thanks Steph, thanks Katie, thanks Lizzie, you guys are the greatest and I couldn’t do it without your love, support and encouragement.

Just as importantly, thanks to my business partner and all around great guy, Tim and our great team at work, Steve, Ann, Michelle and Lindsay. I am fortunate to work with such a great group of people.

Tim and I have trained and completed a few marathons together and next year I hope he will be lining up at the start with me to give the IM a crack. Thanks to all of you for putting up with my late comings and early goings. Without your support of my training, it just wouldn’t happen. When I’m back, we’re going to the Mandarin, on me!!

Next post I’ll review the past 20 weeks of training and the next 20 and bring everyone up to speed on where I’m at.

What We Know About MS

While it is most often diagnosed in young adults, aged 15 to 40, we know that it affects children, some as young as two years old. The impact is felt by family, friends and by the community. MS is unpredictable, affecting vision, hearing, memory, balance and mobility. Its effects are physical, emotional, financial, and last a lifetime. There is no cure YET.


No one need face MS alone; the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada is here to help. In communities across Canada, volunteers and staff provide information, support, educational events and other resources for people with MS and their families. Researchers funded by the MS Society are working to develop new and better treatments. Their ultimate goal is the cure for MS.


Did you know ...
Canada has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world.
MS is the most common neurological disease affecting young adults in Canada.
Every day, three more people in Canada are diagnosed with MS.
Women are more than three times as likely to develop MS as men.
MS can cause loss of balance, impaired speech, fatigue and paralysis.
We don't know what causes MS but researchers are closer to finding the answer.

The Beginning

It all started back in October. I was cleaning out my inbox late one night and came across an email from Ironman introducing a new race in Louisville, Kentucky. I clicked on the link to have a look, instead of the usual sold out, it actually said accepting applications. I immediately click on the entry link and low and behold active.com was taking registrations for the race. I made a mad dash for my wallet, got out the visa card and I signed up. I received an official Ironman number and a confirmation of my entry with in a couple of minutes. Less than 24 hours later the race was sold out. Ironman events usually sell out on the first day of registration, typically the day after the race. Last year at Ironman Canada, people were literally finishing the race and turning around to line up to register in the morning for next year. They had so many people in line they relented and allowed anyone that finished automatic entry into this year’s event.I’ve never done an Ironman. I’ve done a half Ironman, many triathlons and 5k’s, 10k’s half marathons and runs, including a dozen marathons. Doing an Ironman has always been out there for me and it’s time.