"THE" First Post!

Okay technically this is a copy of my IMC2010 race report I had posted on my personal Blog but many of our members probably don't know that I have one so thought I would share my race report with the Club. I can also lay claim to the first post on this site!

I hope everyone will begin contributing in some manner to this site. Jon has helped to set this up for us and we want it to be an open forum for you the members. Enjoy!

Ironman Canada 2010: Mission Accomplished!

On August 29 2010, I became a two time Ironman finisher! One of my athletic goals had been not just to complete an Ironman but to complete Ironman Canada which I regarded as my "Kona". I had watched the race for many years from the sidelines and vowed that one day I would take part in the magical experience that I witnessed.

Last year after my failure to successfully complete Calgary 70.3, I seriously questioned if I could go the distance again. I wanted to answer for myself if I was tough enough to do another Ironman. Deep inside I was mixed as I knew if I did the work and looked after myself I could do it but a part of me was also full of doubt.

I was really psychologically tested between Easter and the end of June as I counted almost 10 weeks of reduced to no run training due to my Achilles pain. I kept plugging away at the swim and bike even thought the weather was less than ideal at times and was beginning to revise my race day expectations due to what seemed like a certainty of not running the marathon portion. In my previous post the needling work from Danielle Cregg had allowed me to rebuild my running volume so that I felt confident enough to complete the event.

Race Day

So there I was on race morning walking to the starting area as a competitor versus a spectator and the closely I got to the beach area, the more the butterflies intensified themselves inside my stomach. I found getting around the athlete compound was an exercise in frustration on race morning as it seemed fences were up everywhere. Once I finally got into the special needs bag area and then the body marking lines, frustration grew. I ended up in a line that was actually two lines being services by one body marker. Looking down the street at the other body marking lines appeared to be the same thing - massive numbers of athletes waiting nervously. In contrast when I did IMCDA athletes walked into the huge park where they were greeted by body markers all over the place. I simply walked up to one person and was marked in no time at all. Several people in my lineup had said IM Arizona was an easier process too. Once this hurdle was overcome, I was finally able to get myself ready for the swim start.

It is interesting being one of the thousands of age-groupers getting ready for the swim versus watching in awe of the professionals getting ready to start 15min before us. This go around no one in the transition area cared at all about the pro fields - it seemed like an unnecessary distraction for us. I had to keep myself focused of course. My original plan was to line up on the left side of the start (closest to Lakeshore Dr) but it seemed like two thirds of the field of 2900+ had the same idea. To my surprise the right side (which was in my mind always the ideal piece of beach real estate) was quite open. It gave me a nice trajectory to the buoys. What struck me as odd during the swim was how many people were allowed to swim inside of the course buoys. The only constant seemed that everyone had to go around the two houseboats. I felt strong, relaxed and found my groove early on in the swim which was what I had planned. My initial goal was 65-68min to complete the swim. I was able to achieve 64min!

Heading out onto the bike course was chaos! Everyone mounting there bikes looked like new born calves. Guys were head down and weaving all over the place as if they were first learning how clipless pedals work. I thought I was going to get knocked down by one clown but managed to scoot by him along the barriers. What I next witnessed as I rode up main street should have been infuriating every triathlon coach out there who preaches a conservative start to the bike and to settle into your rhythm. I thought I was in a bike race and I was missing the "break". Guys and girls were hammering up Main Street pushing massive gears at high cadences and some were even frothing from their mouths. This looked more like a Sprint distance triathlon.

Once I was settled into my rhythm, I was moving along Eastside Rd. very nicely until my tool bag fell off the back of my bike. Being so early on in the event I decided to stop and go fetch it. My train of riders I was with were now gone. What I witnessed next was daunting! It seemed like there were 50-75 cyclists approaching me and I had to wait for a spot to open up so I could start off riding again. I was quickly making up time again towards Maclean Creek Rd and was looking forward to the first climb to pass more people and then start my nutrition plan. Again I witnessed the hammerfest up the steep inclines which was becoming frustrating as I was getting blocked in by riders going up the climb. The roadie instinct in me wanted to drop the hammer and get ahead of everyone but why burn up a series of matches to get away from people who would be dropped quickly on the flats. I was staying on task.

Now, heading down HWY 97 towards Oliver and Osoyoos appears to be a mainly down hill portion of the event so cyclists can make up some time without working too hard before the Ritcher Pass climb. This stretch is where the rampant cheating shows itself! I haven't seen so many drafting cyclists before except in road racing! What I witnessed was noting short of an appalling display of adhering to the race rules, lack of respect for other competitors and the sport. I was being passed by groups of 5, 10, 20, 30+ pelotons! There were double pace lines, a group of 5 taking 20seconds pulls and the winner of them all a pack of 30+ cyclists soft pedalling with guys talking to each other like it was a coffee ride. This group was stretched from the shoulder of the HWY to the yellow line and they were just easing away from those of us who were forced to sit up and not get caught up in their draft. I watched as female competitors latched onto wheels and even worked their way into the middle of the group for a better draft. Not one draft marshall came by as I watched the group ride together until Osoyoos. Pathetic. Sick.

Ritcher Pass was great as I began passing a bunch of the guys and girls who were in the peloton that is until we hit the descent, the rollers, the false flat and headwind section to Keremeos, the orchard and half way up Yellow Lake. In fact the drafting was far superior to what I watched the weekend before at Triathlon Nationals for the elites who appeared to have no clue how to draft on the bike. Maybe they should jump into an Ironman event for some practice! From the special needs turnaround the road was packed from shoulder to yellow line on both sides. I could tell that once someone stuck their nose out into the headwind, they found it was better to just tuck in behind the pack of riders.

I was able to pass a ton of blown riders up Yellow Lake as it started to rain but again I watched riders grab wheels like it was a road race. Some members of the team BRAT were the worst offenders. All I could do was watch one guy latch on to another's rear wheel as he whispered "#$&* you" to me. So I dropped the ass clown. Another ass clown decided to draft me up the climb and when I looked back I could see him smiling at me. So I swerved and gave him the Lance to Ullrich "look" at which point he dropped back at least three bike lengths.

Beyond the drafting, my hips and low back were starting to feel the strain of the day. Once the rain began to fall at the bottom of Yellow Lake, I felt electric and easily climbed to the top. The crowds this year were sparse - no doubt due to the weather so the TdF feeling wasn't quite there. Thanks to those who braved the elements and did shout out to us words of encouragement!




The picture above was taken by my wife from Penticton of the storm a number of racers went through. As I crested the top of Yellow Lake, I knew there might be some trouble as the air temperature was quite cool up there. Once I got to the Twin Lakes area, I was beginning to feel really cold and on the descent it was sleeting and or hailing a bit as my exposed skin was being stung as I descended. On the last little bit of up hill I tried to increase my body temperature by riding harder but I was starting to stiffen up in the legs, hips, back and shoulders. I was now becoming a bit concerned about the drop down to Penticton. I was having troubles seeing through all the moisture on my glasses and my body was starting to shake uncontrollably as I descended. The crosswinds would knock my front wheel around, the water running down and across the road was making braking harder, the wind was dropping my core temperature very rapidly, I was losing feeling in my hands, I thought I had two flat tires going through the switch back section... Once I got back down to HWY 97 I was shaking uncontrollably now and I was just not able to pedal anymore. The tail wind really helped make matter worse now as I was riding faster but had very little control of the bike as I couldn't take my hands off the bull horns. Once we got to the outskirts of town the road had a line across it -dry on the Penticton side and wet on the other. I was not sure I could go on to the run as I was frozen. I figure I lost about 10min from the top of Yellow Lake to Penticton due to the rain storm. I was also not able to hydrate or eat during that time so was not sure of my energy levels heading out onto the marathon.

I was mildly surprised that I could run as well as I was out of transition. In fact I was running faster than planned for the first 10km. However, once 17-18km came around I was now feeling the lack of run training coming into effect. Six and half weeks of running which was equal to where I was in the spring was not going to cut it today. I soldiered onwards and went through a few mentally rough spells but was overwhelming positive the whole day which was a big goal for me. The final 10km felt really solid and I even caught back and passed a number of runners who passed me throughout the marathon. The hardest part was running to the turnaround point on Lakeshore Dr. Once I got around that turnaround I saw a bunch of friends I hadn't seen in a while encouraging me on and then I saw my family near the finish line. I was amazed at the time on the clock as I was almost certain I was over 12 hours. Crossing the line felt good as I was spent but not destined to enter the medical tent! I had overcome all my self doubt and fears on this day and achieved my goals on the day;

1. Finish the event.
2. Finish under 12hours.
3. Control my emotions throughout the day and overcome all challenges.

So, what are my overall impressions of IMC? Well it wasn't what I had hoped it to be. So many people have said it is their favorite event and would keep coming back. I didn't get that feeling this year - not like I did at IMCDA in 2007. The crowds seemed smaller despite more competitors on course. Okanagan Falls was pretty rocking at the marathon turnaround but the finishing straight lacked the celebration experienced in CDA. The drafting was too rampant and flagrant. There were fewer athletes encouraging one another out there - not sure if it was due to a tough day but more people seemed to be in there own world out there. This more than likely included myself. Perhaps I had hyped this event up in my head so much as it was for me "Kona". There were also reports that tourist season happened early this year and that the back to school early Albertans were not in town which may have limited the number of people around. Don't get me wrong, I am proud of my achievement and that I finally completed IMC.

I feel the size of the field needs to be cut back to 2500. The bike route should be reversed to make it harder and to help sort out the drafting issues. The controversial finishing time of 17hours should be reduced to 15hours??? Kick me now for saying this but it may prompt people to think harder about the commitment required to accomplish the event. Finally I would like to see the finish happen on Main Street again like it did years ago. Main Street has seemed like a ghost town since the finish area changed. When I watched the event years ago and the finished just off Main Street, Main Street used to be packed with people and the local stores were open for business. The finishing area at IMCDA is fantastic as finishers get the whole street to yourself and the crowds are deep there which enhances the ambiance of the event.

I know I can go faster and have not yet reached what I believe is my potential for such an event. However, it will be a few years before I revisit an IM event. I would need to feel this hunger to do another. I have already had some feelings about another but it will be at another event and not IMC. IMC may be down the road.

My goals for next year will be in the sprint, Olympic distance and XTerra events. I enjoyed doing the Kelowna Apple sprint this year and would like to get back to the "pain cave" races and training again to boost my speed. Heck I am turning 40 next year so need to address speed work again to be ready for a possible IM event down the road...




JVD