Pulling out of IMPanama was probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. So much training, sweat and pain, time and money went into getting me here and racing, I really wanted to push through anything, leave it all on the course, and win a slot for Las Vegas for the 70.3 Worlds.
My swim was great: 27 minutes by my watch. I was 10th on the bike at 2:55 by my watch. But when I got 20 minutes into the run, my stomach became terribly upset (read: vomiting), I became disoriented and after sitting at an aide station for 5 minutes drinking water, soaking myself down, and not feeling any better I decided to call it a day. I was gutted, but it was really the only choice. I got a sag wagon to the med tent, sat under a fan with ice packs and drank water until I felt hungry. Unfortunately the food choices at the athlete’s lounge and Ironman village were… well terrible: cookies, cinnamon buns, bananas, pizza, pretzels, and white-bread finger sandwiches. Really?! Come on now.
Let me say at the point, I’m not discouraged. In fact, quite the opposite: I was doing so well, in this heat, that being taken out of the race by a medical is just a tease. I’m hungry. I want to find another 70.3 soon. Continue building my fitness and leverage today’s lesson into tomorrow’s win.
Looking back on the day. The only thing that I can think of is that in order to manage the pain from my shin splint I tried a protocol of Advil and Aleve, and while the pain killers did a great job on my shin (in fact it’s still not hurting :P) I think they destroyed my stomach. My stomach was a bit upset on the bike, but when I started the run my shin was hurting so I took a couple of Aleve. Soon thereafter, my shin started feeling better but my stomach worse. 🙁
I broke my #1 rule: “Don’t change anything on race day”. Now the shin splint pain kind of put me into a “stuck between a rock and hard place” situation and I wasn’t going to not race because of my shin and needed to do something for pain management. So I dunno… maybe there was something different I could have done?
Ah well… next race? New Orleans? Would be sweet vacation for Kim and I if we can afford it. Syracuse, NY in June? Nice and close.. maybe… but wish it was sooner.
For now… a few days of continued vacation in Panama: Some indiscriminate eating, some active recovery, and then back to the great white north.
I ran a bit of the course into the finish line, where I got a cheer from some folks who were there hanging out.
Got my bike racked
Scoped out the swim exit
and entry to transition
(see it? WAAAAY down there?)
And generally tried to take it easy and stay off my feet.
Have all my nutrition mixed or bagged for the morning, my Garmin 910 is set to alert me at the race-plan thresholds that Ian and I have set. My kit is all packed, my clothes for morning are laid out and I’m good to go.
Right now, it’s 7:30, I’m just finishing up dinner and this blog post then to bed. Have 3 alarms set 3:15, :30, and :45 (just in case). Shuttles start at 4am. So I’m going to cut this short.
Thanks to everyone who’s wished me well for tomorrow. It’s going to be a great day and I’m gonna have fun no matter what. Think tailwinds and other fast thoughts for me. I’ll post a race review, probably on Monday.
Special thanks to:
Kim for dealing with all my training, dietary and gadget requirements over the lead up to this and other events.
Ian for his great council and guidance getting here
My folks and especially my Dad, who’s strength and determination getting through his bout with GBS is an inspiration to me
First Endurance for their nutrition support
Blacksmith Cycles for their sponsorship and the loan of these super-slick Madfibre wheels
and, Richard and Jamuna Burry for being such awesome, and generous hosts here in Panama
Shin is better than it has been, but not 100%. I have advil and alieve and have mentally prepared myself to feel it. Sunday night it’ll be angry with me, but it’ll get rest soon. 🙂
Can’t guarantee much except that I’ll leave everything on the course and have fun doing it.
Posted on Feb 10, 2012 under Pre/Post Race | Comments are off
Today I move from Richard and Jamuna’s place in Playa Coronado (quiet, peaceful, country/suburban feeling) to the Ironman Village near the Amador Causeway in Panama City (frantic, noisy, distracting, downtown). In some aspects I’m looking forward to being in the thick of it, but in others I know I’m going to miss this tranquil little haven I’ve called home for the last 10 days. Happily I’ll be back for a few days before I depart to stretch, recover and decompress before the rigours of a long travel day back to wintery Toronto.
In preparation, yesterday I had to pickup all my race day stuff and in-so-doing had to basically do my race day kit assembly then. So here it is all laid out and ready to be packed.
At the top is my Tyr transition bag and yoga/transition mat. Then we have
Swim:
2 sets of goggles
anti-fog
ear plugs
Tyr carbon tri-top and tri-shorts
Tyr Torque Pro Speedsuit
(also visible are my sunglasses case and the bags that I keep my Garmin 310xt and 910xt in – 310’s a backup)
Bike:
aero helmet
training helmet with cam mount
shoes
compression calf sleeves
cooling compression arm sleeves
race bib holder (and a backup)
Run:
Mizuno wave elixir 6 (racing flat)
Mizuno wave nexus 5 (training shoe)
2 pairs of socks
White mesh baseball hat
Headsweats visor
Fuelbelt with 2 flask holders for EFS liquid shot
Other stuff:
something from Kim to open after the race
compression leggings
mp3 player with Yurbuds
Sugoi 2 piece tri-suit (just in case)
Craft Kona Tri Top w/Ice Pockets
chamois cream
mini towel
And then there’s the nutrition and “other other stuff” pile:
laptop
mini cooler
water bottles/flasks/shaker bottle
EFS Ultragen (for after)
EFS Liquid Shot
EFS Pre-race powder and tabs
EFS sport drink (grape)
bag with hornet juice and chia chargers
some quick-adjustment tools (for anything serious I’ll visit the mechanics)
some rocktane gels for just before and after the swim
my trigger point stretching stuff
some street clothes for post-race, saturday, etc.
a bike lock, not that I expect to use it, but if I don’t have it, then I don’t have the option
The only 3 things not in the pictures that are coming are:
me
the bike and a change up for the rear wheel (planning disc, but will see)
Wow, getting to the big day so quickly. Today’s training was just a 30 minute light run to keep the legs moving and more mental prep/visualization. I also have to pack today because tomorrow I move from Richard and Jamuna’s place in Playa Coronado where I’ve been since I got here on the 1st, to Panama City and the Ironman Village. The biggest challenge from Friday onward will be sticking to my plan and not getting pulled into the hype and hysteria in the village. I anticipate a lot of time solo, in my room, with the lights dimmed and chill music playing. 😉
Tomorrow is also carb loading day. I like to do this on the day 2 days from the race, not the night before. The night before I find that I’m frequently just too heavy feeling heading into the race. 2 days gives your body time to digest and synthesize as much glycogen as possible and refill those muscles.
Normally, I try to maintain at a daily 500 calorie deficit which, to me, represents a bit of a slush fund because I don’t weigh and track everything. It probably really reflects 100-200 calories of deficit/day. Yesterday and today, I aim to eat to a zero deficit or perhaps a small surplus. I drop my dietary fibre intake from it’s normal 70+g/day but keep my diet essentially the same. In fact, other than dropping the fibre intake and any spicy/challenging foods, I don’t change my dietary constraints heading into race day _at_all_. This follows my Coach Approved “don’t change anything” philosophy. Much as you may want to try the super tasty food from the street vendor, this is not the time!
There’s been a lot written about carb loading. A couple of recent articles that I really like are this sweatscience.com article and this one in the Globe and Mail. In general, there’s little doubt that carb loading works and recent studies seem to imply that between 7 and 10 grams per kilogram of body weight is the right amount.
Given that, my aim for Friday will be to get 500-720g of carbs into me, along with my usual 150g protein. With a little good fat in the mix, and my super reduced activity level due to the taper, this will be a definite calorie surplus day. That’s ok though: It’s not like I’m not going to need it and burn it off in a couple of days 🙂
For me, since I don’t eat grains (bread, pasta, rice, etc.) the carbs will be in the form of sweet potatoes, fruit, veg, coconut water, and likely some sport drink to bring the total grams of carbs up and add some electrolytes to the mix.
The taper is in full swing starting today. My only workout today an easy swim, my last swim until Sunday. Tomorrow is an easy run and carb loading day.
Today and tomorrow, and in general for the next few days, as my physical training drops off, my mental training comes to the fore. A small part of this is being “good” and following my taper plan, consciously staying off my feet, keeping my pre-race excitement in check, and stretching regularly. Yes, these are part of mental conditioning, and important, but the mental preparedness that I’m talking about is the race visualization, and answering all the “what if’s?”.
The “What If’s?” can really wobble your confidence and prep. What if I panic in the swim? What if I drink too much salt water? What if I get a puncture? What if my bike breaks? What if… what IF… WHAT IF?!
At this point in training you’ve done all you can. You’re at the best you can be and no amount of training cramming at the last moment will change anything. All that is in your control has been assessed and addressed. All that’s left is mental discipline and the chance for bad luck.
Mental discipline keeps you to your plan. Sure race the race, but do it smartly, by your plan! Don’t have a race plan? Really?! Now isn’t really the time to formulate one, but if you have to look back at your training logs. Understand what pace/effort you can maintain for this duration event. Don’t plan to burn your candle entirely on the bike, leaving nothing for the run. On the day, you need to fight the excitement of the day, and race your plan.
Prior to race day, there are a number of things you should do to support later visualization exerciese.
Eyeball the swim (swim it if you can), and especially the swim exit and T1 transition. Are there any gotchas? Anything you need to keep in mind? Landmarks to use for the swim.
Drive or ride the bike route, make mental notes of distances, challenging hills, obstacles, etc. Pre-riding the course is super-valuable if you can manage it. Try to enter T2 as you would on the bike so you know what it looks like and where it is.
Scope out T2, especially where the run exit is and again, if possible, walk or run out the exit as you will on race day.
Run or drive the bike course with the same thoughts in mind: obstacles, landmarks, challenges and rewards in mind.
Finally return to the finish and enter is as you will as a runner. Know where it is, what the configuration is and lock the image in your head.
You’ll use all this legwork in pre-race visualizations.
Visualization is powerful you see the race in it’s perfect state. Mentally rehearse every step you’ll go through, leave no detail out. This is your only chance to “practice the race”. See yourself swimming strong, see your stroke, your alignment in the water, breathing properly, good body position, etc.. Visualize the steps you’ll go through as you exit the swim and in T1. Visualize yourself pacing yourself properly according to your race plan, taking on nutrition, drinking, visiting aide stations smoothly. See yourself handing the challenging parts of the course with a smile and enjoying the rewarding parts with a laugh. Visualize entering T2 on your schedule. See yourself moving through T2 and out on the run. Again on the run, see yourself running strong. Good posture, good fuelling. Strong through the challenges, resting during the rewards. Finally, see yourself finishing, at your goal time and allow yourself to feel the joy of the day.
So visualization exercises allow you to experience the perfect day, to examine each detail and to visually practice the race. Mental preparedness is the other side of the coin: preparedness answers the “what if’s?”
It’s completely normal to have stray distressing and distracting thoughts come through your head as race day approaches. “What if I puncture?”, “What if I bonk?”, etc.
Some of these are addressed by your mental discipline and visualization: you won’t bonk because you’re going to follow your proven nutrition strategy using race-day nutrition you’ve tested and used in training.
Some of these are addressed by mental preparedness: “What if I puncture?” Simple, I’ll get off the bike and fix it. I have a spare and co2 and know how to use them both. Sure, odds are good that my PR is gone, but I’ll finish what I’ve started.
And finally, some thoughts, are just so “out there” that you just need to laugh at them and put them aside. “What if my bike breaks?”, “What if I crash and am injured and unable to continue?”, etc. These are in the category of: “this is so unlikely I’m not going to worry about it and if it happens I’ll deal with it then”.
Yes, luck plays a part in long-course racing, not so much the good type – but certainly the bad can be there. Broken cables, crashes, broken bikes, broken athletes. The opportunity for bad luck definitely exists, but dwelling on it pre-race is not helpful or useful, so just put it aside.
Sorry this post has been a bit long. The mental game of triathlon is super important. I think many people don’t give it the time that it needs. If you aren’t mentally prepared, all the physical training you have under your belt will melt away at the 1st challenge.
Posted on Feb 07, 2012 under fitness, training | Comments are off
Busy day today. Swim for an hour with 30 minutes at race pace. Bike for an hour with some race pace in there. Short brick off the bike. Tomorrow starts the thin edge of the taper, just an easy swim. Thursday: easy run. Friday: easy bike, short brick. Saturday: short, light run and then it’s game time! BOOYA!!!
My youtube upload yesterday failed, so I started again this morning. The upload just finished but may be being encoded. If the vid doesn’t work, try back in a bit.
Rode a new road today, no speed bumps on this one and closer to home. It’s a nice road, a little narrow, but not heavily trafficked and with very few potholes. It climbs from the highway up into the nearby mountains.
No, I didn’t go bike mountain climbing today, that’s not what a taper is made of, but I did ride down and up the foothills… twice. The 1st time down was lotsa fun! Fast! Oh my fast. The 2nd time, I got stuck behind a tractor trailer pulling a massive backhoe and belching black diesel death clouds as it went. Course, I still had to do the climb, but didn’t get the super-fun of the descent. Oh well 🙂
I rode with the GoPro again, some nice scenery on this ride and the camera angle is a bit better. I’m uploading now, but it says 5 hrs to go (yea not great bandwidth down here). I’ll post a followup with the youtube link when its done (probably in the morning).
Some things I’ve found about the Torhans 30oz system that I have:
the lids need a way to secure them to the bottle or straw in case they pop off the top (yea it happened today, check the video)
the straw needs a bite valve – until the fluid level is down 50% you risk wearing a spray of your hydration whenever you take a drink
the aero cowling on the straw needs a dab of glue to stay on the bottle
don’t fill it until you’re planning to immediately put it on the bike (or fill it after you install it) because there’s no way to stand it up
(but with all these “issues”…) having a straw in my face is way more efficient and probable way to for me to onboard hydration. I’m using the Torhans for fuel and the speedfil for water. I’ll probably put about 800 calories in the Torhans and have a bottle behind my saddle with another similar 800 calorie bottle to refill the Torhans with.
Did some speed work in the pool today. Didn’t get to swimming until later in the day and the ocean was crazy, the pool was definitely a winner. Had it to myself and it was easy to judge sprint lengths, etc.
Mid-day today was groomin’ time. Went in and got plucked like a Christmas Goose. I’m now all smooth, aero and hydro-dynamic. LOL. No really… I felt smoother and “slicker” in the water tonight. Maybe its psychosomatic, but I’ll take every edge I can get 😉 Today was also the day that I had planned and scheduled my toe nail trim.
I scheduled my toe nail trim?! You bet! Ever trim your nails a bit too close and have a tender toe for days? Ok, imagine having that tender toe, trapped in a cycling shoe, or running shoe for hours. Not fun? You bet! So, what do you do? You trim your nails early so that on race day, if you were too aggressive, you’re not suffering. Yea this is me leaving little to chance. But hey! Be prepared, eh? 🙂
I didn’t “race” but rather just ran, partly to get a feel for part of the 70.3’s run course, partly to get a better sense of the heat and humidity that we may experience next Sunday, and partly just because it was there and I was here 😉
It was some hot alright. Fortunately there were 4 aide stations on the 10k run and I used every one of them! I started the course without my compression calves on – this was a mistake that I remedied before the 1st KM was run.
The course is generally flat, as expected. The event was small, but really quite well organized: time chips, aide stations, bananas and pineapple at the finish, finisher’s medals, and even an awards ceremony at the end. Pretty amazing for $15!
Well done Tr3max!
After the run, I did some shopping at Albrook mall, then headed back with Jamuna to Coronado. Had some dinner and did an easy 1hr swim (too soon after dinner, but was ok).
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