Part of writing a recap for me is a an ability to "digest" the race and record the experience for in the future. Des Linden put out a good tweet which I took to meaning the importance of looking for ways to improve.
Post-race: there's nothing more I could have done.— des_linden (@des_linden) September 1, 2016
Post-downtime: here are 10+ areas I can improve.
Development is not a 4 letter word.
Key Takeaways
Before I do my detailed recap here are my key takeaways;- Swim Training - Need to swim a lot - this is not a surprise as new had underprepared on this as I made the comeback to racing. However this will definitely be a winter focus and some easy hard work gains to be made.
- Dolphin Diving - Need to learn how to do this well - lots of time to be made up in the last 50m or so with some good dolphin diving.
- Hills - Need to run and ride more hills. Being a flatlander out in Steveston this is tough at times but in the duathlon felt the uphill a bit more than I would have liked on the run. For the bike I dint suffer on the climbs but also didn't have the confidence to attack them,
- Riding Fast - Had a good bike but need to practice more really getting on top of the big gears. Had a few times were I was going above 42/3 km/h and felt fine aerobically however couldn't seem to get any more speed going. With the bike courses in Penticton having some flat sections good opportunity to take advantage and ride fast.
- Run Race Pace - Dialling in race pace for the Long Course run. For a few reason wasn't fully happy with my final run buildup and although had good run on the day need to train more at the uncomfortable race pace for long tempo's.
- Be Adaptable - Thought I did a great job of this during the week around basing my training/prep sessions based on how I felt. Have always been pretty good at this but was super happy how I took the week and race days from this perspective.
- Some Bike tech - Few takeaways around my bike for next year - racing with power I think would be handy along with some aero improvement's which maybe include front brake and potentially a new wheelset along with evaluating my bike position, helmets etc.
Race Week - 5 Races in 3 Days
Racing this year was a return to Triathlon and Multisport with the focus being on getting a spot to the 2017 Penticton ITU Multisport World Championships specifically in the Long Course but also hopefully in the duathlon. The schedule this year was a bit more compressed than it will be for Worlds in 2017 however the gap between the Duathlon and the Long Course (Wed to Sunday) didn't worry me that much as often have a hard workout 5 days before a race.
Sunday - Penticton Arrival
Run 5.6km in 29 minutes
Arrived in Penticton Sunday Afternoon. Have taken to driving up during the day vs trying to slam in the 5 hour drive after work. Part of this is the reality of driving with Kids but another factor is I feel travelling after a work day/packing then driving tends to increase the risk of getting sick
Arrived in Penticton Sunday Afternoon. Have taken to driving up during the day vs trying to slam in the 5 hour drive after work. Part of this is the reality of driving with Kids but another factor is I feel travelling after a work day/packing then driving tends to increase the risk of getting sick
After arriving at our friend's house and having one of many great meals through the week (staying with a Registered Dietician has its advantages - check out nutrition360.ca) headed down to the beach with the kiddos to have some fun. Post some "fun in the sun" ran home for an "easy" run which included some scrambling up some hills!
Monday - Getting Settled and Work to Do
Was working on Tuesday so went for a early swim - trying to make some wetsuit decisions (i.e do I race in my 9 yo wetsuit). Then after a day at the office went for an evening run at race feel along the channel. The big takeaways form the channel run were;
- More pavement to run on than I had anticipated
- It had the potential to be very hot, boring, windy and isolated out there
In the end good day and good to get some "final" run work in the legs.
Tuesday- Getting Settled and Work to Do
1.7km Swim40km of Riding including sme course recon
Got a morning swim, did some work then rode the Duathlon/Long Course bike segment out to Summerland before checking in for the Duathlon. found riding the section to Summerland valuable as allowed me to have a visualisation of how long would be heading out on a road that looks the same for most of the way.
Canadian Standard Duathlon AG Nationals - 6th Overall - 1st M35-39 - 1:56:29
10km Run 37:39 T1 0:43 40km Bike 58:59 T2 0:39 5km Run 18:29
Wednesday brought race day 1 of the week and the Duathlon Nationals. Instagram race report below tells most of the story however if want to be in the mix for this at worlds next year will need to be a good run shape with the ability to run a 33 minute 10km then hammer the bike. Have never raced the 10/40/5 format before and it was fun although in the back of my head especially on the first run was saving a bit for later in the week, Recovered pretty good from this one which means I didn't absolutely limit the runs.
Really stoked with this result and it put me in a good mindset for the race on the weekend.
Post race had a pretty relaxed afternoon with some beach time then went and watched the Penticton Vees hockey team play. Part of the highlight of this was the 5 yo getting to go for a ride on the Zamboni!
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| Always time for some beach time |
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| Fun at the Hockey |
Canadian Aquathon Championships - 33rd Overall - 11th M35-39 - 41:06
1km Swim 23:21 T1 0:26 5km Run (measured about 4.8km) 17:11
Thursday was a bit of rest day for me, The morning however presented a unique opportunity as was luck enough to meet Bob Babbitt a legend of Triathlon and be on Breakfast with Bob and talk AG Racing, Penticton, Family and Triathlon.
After this and some breakfast I got a "new" wetsuit sorted (ex demo suit from the expo) and had a massage from the fine folks at Melt Mineral Spa.
Come the evening was time for the Aquathon which is a 1km Swim and a 5km run. Having not raced a tri in 26 months wanted to get a "race swim" in and also good to get another run in.
Water temp had this one as a non wetsuit swim. To be honest had a pretty ordinary swim, felt like I was swimming ok (given lack of training) however think key takeaway was didn't work hard enough and settled into a pace/group that was a bit to easy. Looking at Strava Flyby looks like I lost my rhythm/group at the first turn and that cost me a couple minutes. Add to this also lost a fair bit of time with my lack of dolphin diving ability.
Then came the run - didn't smash the run and it was about 200m short but had a solid run with a 17:11 (which I work out to about a 17:54 adjusted) this included a few high 5 stops for the kiddos and didn't feel like I was going full gas so surprised at the speed that was in the legs.
After the Aquathon came the most important race of the week - The Kids Run!. Had a great time running with the kids who did awesome in the 1km fun run.
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| Ada running down the red carpet |
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| Tori making her race debut with the help of Mom |
Friday - Registration Day
Had a bit of work to do this day, so took the early am easy then after work rode down to meet the family, grabbed the car and went and checked in for Sunday and went for an easy swim to test out the new wetsuit.
This day was followed by a nice family dinner with a couple beers and catching up with all the family in Penticton.
Saturday - Race Prep and Bike Check-In
The day before a long distance triathlon is always about getting what you need to get done without exerting to much energy. sPen the am getting the race rig ready and hanging out with the kids. After getting every sorted head out for the easy roll down the hill transition and checking in before going to the pre race meeting.
then hung our cousins house while the kids played in the afternoon before having a nice relaxed dinner. The only real workout for the day was my running activation workout with 1 min above race pace and 4 x 20 second strides to wake the legs up a little.
Canadian Long Distance Championships - 8th Age Grouper - 2nd M35-39 - 6:18:05
3km Swim 58:25 T1 1:44 120km Bike 3:10:10 T2 1:47 30km Run 2:05:59 (Actual Dist about 28.5km)
In the end was able to chase down a podium spot in my AG. As mentioned below thought executed my race plan really well - got a good kick in the throat about 1400m into the swim and that seemed to focus me a bit more for the second lap. The good news with my swim is that I feel that with some hard work and speeding a bit of time on coaching has some gains to be made here in the realm of 10 minutes.
Next up was the bike and happy with the ride here - even slightly ahead of what I thought I might be able to execute. As mentioned at the start of this blog have a couple things that I think I can improve on with a winter of focussed work. This year I actually only started riding in Mid March after taking my longest break of the bike in many years over the last winter. Key points to focus on will be overall power and ability to push on the flats combined with ability to attack the climbs going into the red zone but still being able to recover.
Even if the bike course is the same next year, things like weather. road surfaces etc can always have an impact on the day however the aim next year will be to find 10 minutes and bike Sub 3 for the 120km.
The run felt a bit of a slog but managed to hold a rhythm and even though was heating up a bit managed it well and raced the last 7km really well to move up onto the AG podium. Still think have a fair bit of room for improvement here and the aim in 2017 will be to be in 4 min/km shape for the 30km (hopefully course is made to be correct distance as well).
Was great to see the family on the run and made sure to make time for some high 5's at the halfway point
In the end super stoked with the day, executed my first triathlon in 25 months as well as I could have hoped on race day and have lots of room for improvement ahead of the 2017 Penticton ITU Multisport World Championships
Looking Forward
Was a fantastic week in Penticton and a great event. From a racing perspective looking forward to being in the best shape possible next year and trying to contest for a good result in the AG Race for both the Duathlon and the Long Distance races.
Thanks to the City and People of Penticton, Summerland, OK Falls for hosting the race, to Challenge Penticton for putting on a great race week and to the family and friends for support on race day and throughout the year,
Also big thanks to my supporters including Powered by Chocolate Milk, Forerunners North Van, Nuun Hydration and Speed Theory Vancouver.
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