Ironman Canada Whistler Race Report

Effective October 2013, I've moved my active blog to ShutUpLegs.org. You can view this post and all my latest posts and on my new website!

After a year of anticipation, the 31st Ironman Canada came and went this past August 25.  For those of you who may not have been as close to the history of the event, this year was the first time that mainland North America's longest running Ironman race had been been held outside of Penticton, BC.  The new venue, the western Canadian alpine village of Whistler, British Columbia.

After racing Ironman Canada in Penticton in 2011 my plan wasn't to return to Ironman distance racing for at least a couple of years.  I'd done my 226 km race and it was checked off in the books.  In the meantime I'd switch down to 70.3 racing which I really love and can race more of.  But after volunteering as a catcher in 2012, and upon learning that Whistler would be the new venue, I couldn't resist, and Ironman once again beckoned.  As soon as the date was announced, I booked my accommodations, and as soon as registration opened, I signed up.

So here is the race report.  I won't compare the two courses much in this post unless it fits the context, I'll just focus on this Ironman Canada, and compare the two in a later post.

Maybe grab a coffee and go for a bathroom break, because this is going to be long...

Pre Race

I drove out to Whistler from Calgary on the Tuesday before the race.  It had been my plan to get out to the area a little earlier to recon the new course, but as fate would have it, with the floods in Calgary in late July I just couldn't get away from home to make the trip out.  From Calgary its about an 11 hour drive if you take the 99 rather than passing through Vancouver, and I have to say the last couple hours through Lillouet are some of the most scenic roads you'll ever encounter, as long as you can stomach the winding roads.

Arriving in Whistler it was easy to see that the town had already embraced the race.  Banners and signage were up for the race, and the 2700 Ironman athletes were beginning to make their way into town.  That being said, the town of Whistler is no one trick pony, besides boasting one of North America's largest ski resorts, its also a great summer destination for mountain bikers and has a vast and truly awesome landscape built for downhill and XC riding.

I managed to rent a house that in the winter would be a ski out on the lower slopes of Whistler mountain.  A big plus for Ironman moving out of Penticton and heading over to Whistler is that Whistler is a true tourist town.  The accommodations inventory is far superior to that of Penticton and while the town only has a residential population of about 10,000, it accommodates closer to 30,000 during the peak of the ski season.  So accommodations for the most part were better, and cheaper as you'd have your choice of anything from a small B&B, to an OwnerDirect or VRBO rental, to a Hilton, Four Seasons, or whatever else you choose.

You could immediately tell that Whistler definitely had a resort feel, versus Challenge Penticton's small town, family feel.  I said this before in a post comparing the two races, I'm not saying that one is better than the other, they're just different.

As far as race swag goes, we got a pretty sweet Ironman Canada backpack, a voucher for a local restaurant on athlete briefing day, some coupons for local attractions which were pretty decent, and some Oakley coupons, which I also thought were pretty good.

The Swim

The swim course is a two lap, counter-clockwise course in a decent size alpine lake.  The water temperature
was surprisingly warm at about 19C on race day.  With air temperatures closer to around 9C, it actually make getting into the water feel like getting into a lukewarm bathtub.  Always a plus.

As far as scenery goes, this was top notch and in my race experience second only to Two Jack Lake where the Subaru Banff Triathlon swim is held.

The swim was a rolling start so athletes had the opportunity to swim out to the far end start line about 100m from shore, or start with their feet in the water on the closer end of the start line.  The swim itself was pretty much what you'd expect from a rolling 2700 person start, crowded and with some random folks deciding to switch to breast stroke, backstroke, or treading water, but for the most part organized and familiar for any triathlete with a race or two under their belt.  No chop or waves, and buoys were 5 foot buoys every 100m, and 8 foot buoys on the turns, and small 2 foot buoys marked the start line and were removed after the start.

My only gripe was that there was a short period between turns two and three, on the second lap, that athletes were swimming directly into the sun.  At this point I couldn't even see the buoy until it was literally a few feet in front of my face.  Judging by the other swimmers I think this may have caused some athletes to cut, or almost cut the course.  Next year however the race will be a month earlier which should mean the sun won't be so low in the sky at race start, and this shouldn't be an issue.

My swim went pretty well.  I'm not the strongest swimmer and having only put a half dozen swims under my belt the entire months of July and August didn't really seem to help.  That being said, all but one of those half dozen swims were in open water at Lake Mackenzie, the Calgary 70.3 swim venue, and either 2km, or 4km.  Getting a 4km swim in two weeks before the race was a huge confidence booster for me and really put me at ease going into this race.

I exited the water at 1:22:39, 1329th overall, so smack dab in the middle of the bell curve which I was happy with.  That's about 6 minutes faster than my first Ironman Canada swim time.

T1

Not a lot to report here, swim exit was organized with a good number of strippers to help get things off (no pun intended... okay, pun intended).  I did end up running right past my Swim-Bike bag, totally my fault for not doing a better pre race run through transition the day before.  But of course the awesome volunteers were there to save my ass and grab my bag.  Also hit the restroom before going to the bike.

Time ended up 6:06 for the Swim to Bike transition.

Bike

So, when I first blogged about the comparison between these two courses, I was going on data that suggested that the two courses were roughly comparable in terms of total ascent.  I figured this course would be tougher though because it had an uphill from 150km into T2, rather than a big downhill like in Penticton.  I was wrong.

Early riders recon'd the course and reckoned the total elevation to be closer to about 6000ft rather than the Ironman quoted 4200 feet.  They were right.

The bike course begins with a ride out of the Alta Lake community and south on the Sea to Sky Highway out to Callaghan Valley Road.  In this case "valley" doesn't mean you ride into a valley.  It means you make a 410m ascent up to the highest point in the race.  The total climb is about 12.9km with an average grade of 2.8%.  Knowing that the course was just showing us a little of what she could do and that the toughest part of the course was still hours away, I kept my pace conservative and relaxed and let others pass me.  On this section I stuck to around 190 watts which got me up the ascent in less than 40 minutes, averaging about 20kph.  Coming back down, the speed was closer to 50kph.

After the Callaghan climb you ride back through Whistler and north towards Pemberton.  Coming through Whistler was like riding through an alpine town at the foot of a challenging climb in the Tour de France.  The crowds were tremendous and made up of both locals and the families and friends of athletes.  The whole section from Callaghan to Whistler is pretty flat and pretty straightforward.  Roads weren't closed by athletes had a lane right down the middle of the road which was wide enough that you definitely felt safe and comfortable.

Past Whistler, once the Sea to Sky Highway turned into the 99, athletes had the entire road to themselves.  I'll say that again, BC Transportation allowed the full closure of a numbered highway giving athletes exclusive rights to a huge stretch of road for the entire race.  Impressive, most impressive.

Whistler to Pemberton is a descent, one long, 25km descent, punctuated by just the odd abrupt climb,
one of which was actually the steepest ascent of the entire course at maybe around 13%.  It's great, you make up tonnes of time on this section, but you know that what goes down must come back up.  What seemed like a while to ultimately descend would most certainly be an eternity to climb back up.  So... you had that to look forward to.

After Pemberton on the way out is a long flat out and back section where you ought to be able to make up plenty of time.  Pavement was decent here, but probably the least looked after on the entire course.  My big issue with this section was that the long flat allowed people to form draft packs.  This was pretty frustrating to see as course ref Jimmy Riccitello had stressed to no end that they would be strictly enforcing drafting rules.  Nope, none.  I'm a pretty weak swimmer, but a pretty solid cyclist.  The benefit of that is that I see and pass a lot of people out on the bike course and I was bridging from one small peloton to the next and seeing that many of the riders had no inclination whatsoever towards breaking up.  Groups ranged from 3 or 4, to probably as large as 10-15 and these guys knew exactly what they were doing.  It was pretty clear that these weren't just clumps of age groupers who couldn't separate on a steep climb, they were solid sub 5:30 guys who knew how to ride.  But you know what, I race my race, they race their race.  If I had bothered to settle in with a draft pack I would have given up time and not moved up the field as far as I did.

I should mention here that I got my second wasp sting of the bikeride here.  I don't know what it is, but they loved me last week.  Both times the wasps flew into my jersey by the neck, got caught in there, got stressed out, and stung me.  Poor little dudes, my instant reaction both times was to grab the shirt where I felt the sting, and crush whatever it was as hard as I could.

So, you hit the end of the out and back, turn around, and get ready for the climb.  The total out and back distance is 50km, so a good distance and a good time to refuel, and prepare yourself for the next section.  At this point in the ride I also had the pleasant opportunity of exchanging a few kind words with a blog reader named Liam.  Liam, if you're reading this, once again, it was a pleasure and I hope you were able to make your dinner plans.

The Pemberton to Whistler climb starts around 145km.  Having read the many forum and blog posts from riders who'd recon'd the course, I'd prepared myself for the strong wind out of the south that would be a headwind into an already gnarly climb.  Luckily, the weather decided she'd cut us a break that day and it was a relatively calm day.

Back to the climb though.  Rather than one long consistent climb the ascent was a series of undulating grades varying from 3% to 7%.  From Pemberton to the transition in Whistler the elevation gain is 710m over about 32km, an average 1.4% grade.

As with any Ironman, for the most part the other athletes tempered their efforts and by this point in the race most the athletes were patiently making the ascent, fully conscious of the marathon waiting on the other side of transition.  Throughout the bike course it was pretty clear that one of the most valuable tools for this kind of a ride is a powermeter.  Over the last 30km I was able to stick to about 180watts, just as I'd planned.

In the end, I couldn't have executed the ride any better.  Going into the race I'd figured out my target power based on triathlon guru Joe Friel's guidelines.  Target power was 68% of ftp and I was spot on with my target, managed to keep my HR in the low 150's, and never exceeded my threshold power for more than a minute or two at a time.  I took in one strawberry powerbar gel every 20-30 minutes, and drank a sip of strawberry HEED whenever thirsty.  By the end of the ride I'd gone through about 3 and a half bottles of fluid, with the lower temperatures and overcast skies I was careful to not over-hydrate.

Bike course time was 5:50:19, average power 178watts, average heart rate 152bpm, cadence 88, and speed just over 30kph.  The recorded distance on my Garmin was 175.7km though that was a little short as I'd had some problems getting my Garmin Edge 500 going (bike time on my Garmin was closer to 5:47).  My position getting off the bike was 662nd.

Bike course data;


T2

Again, transition went pretty smooth.  The entry into transition was lined with crowds and supporters, the volunteers were there to grab and rack your bike, and guide you to your transition bag.  In and out just under 3 minutes.

The Run

The run is another two loop course through Whistler's beautiful surrounding areas.  Runners start out in the village and run along paved and unpaved trails through the forest, and through some open areas along the lake and highway.  The natural beauty of the area is more than enough to take your mind off the hurt in your legs.

The course was well marked with mile markers through the course.  Aid stations usually came shortly after mile markers and were well stocked and staffed with helpful and supportive volunteers.  Even the local wildlife came out to support the athletes along the way.

In all seriousness though, one of the messages that the bike and run course captains stressed at the athlete briefing was to not litter or leave food on the course, simply because we are in fact guests in nature's yard.

Early in the run I was feeling good overall but still very much like I'd ridden 180km.  My legs were slightly fatigued, and I could feel the calories in fluid in my stomach trying to settle along the run.

Throughout the run I was very aware of where my stomach was at.  At times I was backing off my pace to lower my heart rate and allow me to digest more calories.  When I felt good I'd up the pace a bit and take advantage of the moment to push a little harder.  A marathon is a funny thing, just like any experience in life it has ups and it has downs.  Sometimes you feel good, and sometimes you feel bad.  So when things felt good I made sure to take advantage of that and push a little harder, keenly aware that there would still be some tough moments in the marathon.

Another little life lesson that came into perspective on the marathon was that we can only control whats happening in that single moment.  About 5km into the run my left knee started bothering me.  It was nothing new and something that I knew any other day I wouldn't have issues dealing with, but that day wouldn't be the ideal day to have to deal with a tight IT band.  In the days leading up to the race I could feel that slight pull but did my best to ignore it.  Eventually I figured my knee would just loosen up and get better as the run went on, or tighten up and slow me to a walk.  Either way, I was getting to the finish line so in that moment I may as well just keep calm and carry on running.

Into my second lap I had the pleasure of meeting another friend I'd spoken to on Twitter.  John and I exchanged pleasantries for a couple hundred meters, then kept running.  If you're on twitter be sure to give him a follow.

My plan through the marathon was to break it down into miles between aid stations.  This strategy worked well for me at ITU Worlds last year.  A marathon is a pretty daunting thing if you think of it as one continuous 26 mile run.  But break it down into a series 9 or 10 minute runs with a brief walking break at every aid station, and suddenly its actually a pretty reasonable undertaking.  So with the exception of the very last aid station, I took advantage of the aid stations to walk and get calories in.  The walking breaks provide a great neuromuscular break and there's actually a fairly solid sport science basis for this strategy.

In the end, the run had a few more hills than I had anticipated as well.  It wasn't an exceptionally challenging run course, but it certainly wasn't any easy one.  I managed to run a 3:59 marathon, a PB for me, though this was only my second marathon (the first one was at Ironman Canada, the first time).  Average heart rate in the low 160's.  Finishing the marathon I had moved up to 474th place overall.

Here are the technical deets on the run course.

Finish

The halfway point of the run through Whistler was lined with crowds and spectators.  Coming into the second loop towards the finish the spectators were welcoming and urging athletes to the finish line.  The finishing chute to Ironman was every bit as sweet as I remembered it at Ironman Canada in Penticton.  I crossed the finish line at 11:21:10.

Families and friends are welcome in the finish area in the Whistler Olympic Plaza which served as the expo area for the race.  I'm not sure how Challenge Penticton is set up these days, but this was a welcome change from Ironman Canada in Penticton where a small finish area was somewhat separate from the friends and family greeting area.

I've got to say, I was amazed at how into the race the locals in Whistler got.  Following the race I went into the village to grab a well deserved beer with my brother and friends who'd came out to watch and support.  Walking through the village each athlete guiding their bike back to the hotel, or draped in a reflective thermal jacket, would be greeted with a roar of cheers and applause from locals and tourists sitting on patios and enjoying a couple rounds.  I spoke with one of the locals on the patio later on and was sure to thank them for their hospitality, and I was happy to hear that they were just as stoked to play host to us.

We stuck around right until midnight when the last few finishers came in.  I was tired, but glad I stuck around.  I've got nothing but respect for those racers who come in at those late hours, walking through the dark, alone and cold takes a different type of grit and mental fortitude than a lot of people, even fellow Ironmen have.  The cheers and applause they received were well deserved.

I had an amazing time in Whistler and am grateful to the people of Whistler, the scores of volunteers, and the amazing spectators of Ironman Canada.  And a big congrats goes out to all of my fellow athletes!

Ironman Canada Whistler vs Challenge Penticton - Bike Profiles

Effective October 2013, I've moved my active blog to run.raflopez.com. You can view this post and all my latest posts and on my new website!

I regularly check the analytics on my blog to see what people are searching for when they come to my blog, it gives me a good sense of what people are interested in and what they'd like to read about on here.  One piece of information that seems to be pretty popular is the Ironman Canada and Challenge Penticton Bike Courses.

I can't speak directly to the 2013 Whistler Ironman Canada Bike Course, but I do have the elevation profile here and I can talk about how it looks like it'll stack up against Challenge Penticton (old IMC bike course).  I'll talk quickly about the latter first.

Ironman Canada 2012 / Challenge Penticton 2013 Bike Course

This bike profile was taken right from my Garmin from the day that I raced Ironman Canada in 2011.  You can see that the overall profile for the first 40 miles is mostly downhill with the exception of Maclean Creek Road, which is the big bump around the 10 mile mark.  That first climb at 10 miles is very abrupt and very short, its also the location of the first bike aid station, which in my opinion is well placed since you're not flying by the first aid station at 40kph.

Richter around the 40 mile mark, and Yellow Lake around the 90 mile mark, are legitimate climbs that reward patience and favour athletes that are in sync with their bodies (or their power meters).  For anyone used to riding in the Rockies they're business as usual, but if you're used to flatter courses like IMAZ or IMFL, they might seem a little more intense.

After Yellow Lake the ride is virtually all downhill and you have ample opportunity to rest your legs, get some calories in you, and maybe take a nature break.  In that sense, its more of a 100 mile bike course than a 112 mile course.

A good way to think of the Challenge Penticton bike course is that its a flat time trial type course with two intermediate climbs worth training specifically for.  I rode it in 5:44 on my P2 with a standard 53-39 crank up front, and a 12-25 cassette in the back.  My average power on the day was 174 watts which was probably about 75% of my ftp.  On the climbs my goal was never to exceed 200 watts.

With that gearing for both Richter and Yellow Lake a specific part of my training included climbing on the TT bike in a big enough gear to keep rpms around 60-70 while holding around 200-220 watts.  This prepared me for the type of climbing the course had in store.  For me it was important to be able to do those climbs with big gears since I felt going with a compact crank solely for Richter and Yellow Lake would cost me too much top end gearing for the flat and downhill segments which realistically make up most of that bike course.  With that sort of mismatch between gearing and riding, its important to be able to work the bike from side to side with your arms using your body weight to move the pedals rather than just your legs, this allows you to keep your heart rate and total power output low while keeping your momentum.

For anyone with a functional threshold power less than 200 watts, or anyone who thinks they'll ride the course in 6:15 or more, I'd definitely recommend a compact crank for Challenge Penticton, with a 11-25 cassette if you're around a 6 hour rider, or an 12-25 or 12-27 if you're a little longer on the bike.

For another in depth look at the Ironman Canada Bike Course, check out this post from back in August.

Ironman Canada 2013 - Whistler Bike Course

Oddly enough it seems the Whistler bike course actually has a little less total climbing than Challenge Penticton.  I created a copy of this map in MapMyRide and had a look at the two major climbs to see how they stack up against Challenge Penticton.

The first climb, beginning around the 13 mile mark, roughly the same time that cyclists will be hitting Maclean Creek in Penticton, is roughly a 1100 ft climb over 8 miles, is actually a lot closer in length and grade to Richter than it looks believe it or not.  Ironman Canada veterans will be in familiar territory here but that much an ascent that early in the ride is sure to rattle some riders if you haven't done your homework.

The second climb, around the 30 mile mark is 560 feet over about 6-7 miles.  So not too bad of a climb, but shortly after the first climb is sure to spread the field out a little more and wear some riders down.  With almost 1800 feet of climbing in the first third of the ride the course certainly won't be an easy start and it'll need riders to find their legs pretty quick in the race.

After Whistler's second climb its smooth sailing for quite some time.  Riders will ride back through Whistler to be cheered on their friends and family and the route then follows the Sea to Sky Highway along a river valley making for a down hill to long flat ride for almost 50 miles.  This is where riders with a good time trial position and solid threshold will come into their own.

At 90 miles, the last big test begins with a 1400 foot climb over 17km.  Between Challenge Penticton and Ironman Canada, this is the biggest climb and will probably take the most mental fortitude of any of the ascents.  Not much can be said about the climb (since I haven't ridden it), but such a big climb so late in the course, a calm, tactical approach to the climb will be crucial for a good run split.

The key to Ironman Canada Whister's bike course is going to be conservative pacing in the first half of the ride to leave plenty in the tank for the long time trial and climb in the second half.  Though the total elevation is less than Challenge Penticton, I do think that Whistler has the tougher of the two courses, but only narrowly so.  In large part this is simply because of where the climbs are in the ride, the two major climbs are early, and late in the race, making getting a good rythm for the bike and run a bit of a task.

I'd probably recommend running the same set up and applying the same recommendations for gearing as I did for the Challenge Penticton course on this one, the big difference will be in the strategy and mind of the rider for IMC Whistler.

Conclusion

As always, I'm going to throw in there that a power meter is an invaluable tool for racing Ironman.  Not so much in shorter races, but for technical courses like IMC and CP, I think that they're great tools to have for both the months of training leading up to the race, and for race day itself.  For all the money that triathletes spend on gear, an $850 powermeter is worth far more than a fancy set of Zipp 404's or drag reducing wetsuit that makes you look like a superhero.

Both races are well over 9 months away from today.  But its never too early to start doing your homework.  When gearing your bike, shopping for a trainer, looking for a coach, take into consideration what you're working towards.  Choose your races and plan your season accordingly over the next few months.  Triathletes who take the time to have a shot as a cyclist at rides like Gran Fondo Highwood Pass or Gran Fondo Rockies will be rewarded for their foresight come late August.

Joe Friel said in a recent blog post that he believes Ironman is just a bike race with a swim warm up and a jog to finish it all off.  Though that's a bit of a an exaggeration, I get what he's saying and for the most part I actually do agree.  So do your homework, even if its not the physical work yet, start thinking and planning your season and training for the big day.

Ironman Canada vs Challenge Penticton- Part II

So its been about a week since I posted on Ironman Canada vs Challenge Penticton and I can certainly tell from the web traffic and all the comments the post has received that its an issue a lot of people feel very strongly about.  The topic has been pretty divisive with supporters for both sides spread across first timers and seasoned vets alike.  Whether you're for or against the changes I have to say its refreshing to see this sort of response to the topic, it shows the passion and dedication to the sport that I think really characterizes triathletes.

I thought I'd post a quick update on how things seem to be coming along for the future of Ironman Canada.  A disclaimer right away though, a lot of this is based on rumour and conjecture, WTC has been pretty tight lipped around the process for where IMC is going to land.  So I'll start with what I know and then I'll work my way into the heresay.

Challenge Penticton

Registration for Challenge Penticton is open and they're signing people up for next August.  They actually had a registration area set up in the Convenction Centre in Penticton after IMC last week.  From what I read and heard it sounds like it was a well put together sign up with the Challenge Family CEO Felix Walchshöfer on hand to personally thank people for their trust and registrations.  Athletes who signed up last week in Penticton received a special loyalty price of $599 (online registration is now $675).  As a side note, the Challenge series has a decent refund policy with full refunds offered for 60 days after sign up, after which there is a $100 cancellation fee for athletes up to 30 days before the race.

The Challenge series has been doing their social media work to get the race out there with sponsored Facebook ads, an active Twitter feed, and a pretty sweet YouTube video on their website specific to Penticton.

The series is definitely taking their debut in the North American market seriously and I do think this bodes well for next year's Challenge Penticton.  We all know Challenge is a very well run race series and they know how important it is that they be well received in their inaugural event on our soil.  Whether it'll be enough to sway some of their detractors remains yet to be seen, but you have to admit, they get points for effort.

Ironman Canada 2013

So now starts the speculation.

Its been reported in Triathlon Magazine Canada and the Vernon Morning Star that municipalities have been given until September 24, 2012 to submit proposals to the WTC to host Ironman Canada.  An announcement is expected to be made by October.

A number of BC municipalities were put forward in the Triathlon Magazine Canada article including Vernon, Whistler, Victoria, Vancouver, and Kelowna.  To me that just sounds like a list of towns and cities in BC and I'd expect that only two or three of them are actually being seriously considered.

In order to put on an event the type and the size of Ironman Canada there are a number of pretty major considerations that need to be accounted for.  "Borzoibob" on the slowtwitch forums actually summarized a few of the logical criteria quite well pointing out that considerations like; lake and transition area size, proximity to major trauma centre, availability of volunteer and traffic control resources, and spectator friendliness might actually rule out a few communities straight out of the gate (probably Vernon and Whistler, maybe even Victoria if you think of how awkward it can be to get to).

Kelowna does keep popping up in the lists, but I've heard that they aren't interested.  They already have the Kelowna Apple Triathlon which is an important race in the Canadian triathlon calendar with its own heritage. Opening the doors to Ironman in Kelowna might be a bit of another headache for locals, and it could hurt Apple, and of course it does split the Ironman market between Penticton and Kelowna, given that the timing of Ironman Canada 2013 will still be August/September.  It seems to be Kelowna and Ironman Canada might be one of those perfect relationships in another set of circumstances, but not this time.

In my last post I speculated about Calgary 70.3 being converted to an Ironman.  It still makes sense and given the WTC's penchant for moving races to big cities, it could be an easy answer, perhaps even as an interim 2013 location.  I say Calgary and not Vancouver just because Calgary already plays host to an event and it seems like the relationships are already in place with the City of Calgary to host this type of event.  Vancouver on the other hand would require starting from scratch with a city that while beautiful, already leaves something to be desired in terms of urban planning.

Conclusion

No matter what, it seems like the date has been set and this October we'll know where Ironman Canada will make its new home.  I'll be watching this with a keen eye and keep you all posted on anything I hear.

Ironman Canada vs Challenge Penticton

So the cat is out of the bag.  Last week, only a few days before IMC, news broke that Ironman Canada as we know it in the beautiful city of Penticton would be no more.  In 2013 Penticton will reprise its roll as host to iron distance triathletes from around the world, only this time it will be under the Challenge Penticton name.

I spent the weekend in Penticton volunteering and had the opportunity to talk to triathletes and some of those "in the know" individuals who were privy to information before it hit the triathlon newstands.  The reaction around in the community was pretty mixed from both locals and visiting athletes.  On the one hand some people are happy that the reigns to Penticton's darling race won't fall into the clutches of the oft derided World Triathlon Corporation, but on the other hand it means losing the universally regarded Ironman name.

A rose by any other name...

Hoping I don't need to write this down again

Let me make myself clear on one thing, the Challange family puts on amazing races.  I have yet to race one myself, but I've rarely heard an ill word spoken about Challenge.  There are many Ironman veterans who are happy to see the series hit North American shores and are looking forward to racing southern BC's tried, tested and true Iron distance course.  The warm waters of Lake Okanagan will still be there in 2013, Richter and Yellow Lake will still be there in 2013, and most importantly the kind and inviting people of Penticton will still be cheering for athletes in 2013.  A change in the name won't take that away, to quote Shakespere, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet".

All that being said, I don't think that Challenge Penticton 2013 will be better than Ironman Canada 2012.  I think it'll be different, not better or worse, just different.  Graham Fraser has put on a top notch race for many years now and has set the bar for what an Ironman race should be.  Racing IMC last year was everything I could have possibly imagined thanks to the town, volunteers, organizers, and athletes.  I know there were some missteps last year with issues around the medals and water but I think that those challenges were presented by circumstances somewhat outside the Race Director's control.  After the fact Graham went well beyond what was called for to make things right, and that's the kind of director we all know him to be.  He deserves our thanks and respect for everything he's done for anyone, athlete or otherwise, who has become part of the Ironman Canada family.

Looking forward

Without the Kona slots, the Ironman name, and the mass start, but with additions like a relay option, I think that Challenge will have a very different feel to it.  Many first timers will no doubt be put off by the loss of the Ironman name and I don't blame them.  If I was coming into this for my first time in 2013, as soon as I heard the news I would have signed up for Ironman Coeur d'Alene or Ironman Mont Tremblant.  So Penticton will lose some age groupers on that end, but hopefully that is countered by athletes testing the waters with the relay option, which is an exciting addition to the field.

On the other side of the spectrum, the loss of Kona slots means that some of the top pros and age groupers won't be making an appearance next year in Penticton either.  Now with news that next year's yet to be located Ironman Canada will have 100 Kona qualifying slots and 5000 pro KQ points, IMC 2013 might be the place to be for some of the top athletes around.

Ironman Canada 2013

I'm eagerly awaiting the news on where Ironman Canada 2013 will be.  A 3.8km swim in Green Lake in Whistler, followed by a 180km bike ride down the Sea to Sky Highway through Vancouver to transition in the Campbell Valley Regional in White Rock, finished off with a marathon run into into Richmond, would be a fast, epic race, albeit a complete nightmare in terms of logistics.

Otherwise, the Ironman Calgary 70.3 bike route could very easily be modified to 180km with an out and back down Highway 66 up to Elbow Falls.  The run course could be similar to that of the Calgary Marathon route but starting at the south side of the Glenmore Reservoir where the current run course turns around.  In this case the race could lean on existing agreements and permitting, and the logistics would be familiar to RD's and the host city.  A bike segment into the majestic Rocky Mountains, and a run through downtown Calgary would make the route one of the most beautiful and varying routes in North America.

And of course there is Kelowna.  The city which was originally offered Ironman Canada thirty years ago may now have a second chance.  This would almost surely be a direct response to Challenge Penticton, and may cut the race at the knees.  For this reason alone I'm actually hoping southern BC doesn't play host to WTC's revival of IMC.  More races in western Canada is a good thing, and I hope that WTC realizes that the region can support three races including IMCDA without undercutting one another.

Decisions Decisions

If there's ever a time or place to be as a triathlete in Western Canada, its now.  I'd originally put my plans to race the Ironman distance again on hold until at least 2014, in favour of Olympic and 70.3 distances.  After a of year of keeping my athlete life carefully balanced against my personal life, the plan was to go back down to shorter distances and build speed, seeing how far I could take myself with a year of very intense and focused training, and hopefully win myself a ticket to 70.3 worlds in Vegas.  But after spending the weekend volunteering at IMC, and with the prospect of racing an all new course, I can't help but be excited at the idea of changing the plan and going back to Ironman next year.

As always, I'd encourage others to look at their plans, and maybe put themselves out there a little in terms of where and what you see your goals for 2013 are.  This really is a great time for the sport and whether you're racing the inaugural Challenge Penticton, or reborn Ironman Canada, this may be your calling.

Closing Time

By chance I ran into the always gracious and kind Ron Zalko and his wife last Saturday in Penticton.  Ron was the visionary athlete who first brought Ironman to Penticton, and North America.  When looking for a course, he sought a location that mirrored the challenging and rewarding conditions of Kona.  He found it, and with the help of Graham Fraser for the past thirty years the finish line at Lakeshore Drive has become hallowed ground for tens of thousands of Ironman triathletes including myself.  The number of dreams that have been realized and memories that have been formed on the course of Ironman Canada thanks to these gentlemen can't be counted.

So as the reigns are passed to the Challenge family, and Penticton says a bittersweet goodbye to Ironman Canada, I think its fitting to say thank you to Graham Fraser and Ron Zalko, and the residents of Penticton for the countless cheers and memories that they've left with us.

Thank you.

(11/27/12) Edit- For an in depth comparison of the Ironman Canada and Challenge Penticton Bike Courses, check out this more recent blog post.

A Shoutout to the volunteers of IMC and every other Tri

On race morning I know you get up as early as I do, if not even earlier, and I know that this is after days of working to make sure our banquet is just right, our transition area is set up for us to drop off our kit, and our race packages are in order. I realize that stuffing race packages is probably the most thankless job of all since you may never even see the athlete who carelessly dumps the contents onto the bed at the hotel as soon as they get back.  So I really appreciate that.

But back to race morning.  In the early dawn hours I showed up for body marking and Special Needs drop off and you were there by the hundreds with visible excitement for me and my fellow athletes, and you wished me luck probably a thousand times over.  As the clock would tick down closer and closer to the start you made sure I was on my way to where I needed to be, you made sure that my wetsuit was on right, and you marshalled lines at the porta-potties a hundred people deep.  You did everything you could to make sure all I needed to do was think about my race.

When the gun goes and thousands of us filled Lake Okanagan I noticed you below the surface of the water in full dive gear, I also noticed you keeping a watchful eye in the canoes and kayaks, and I was glad you were around to lead us back to shore.  For many, the most dangerous part of a triathlon is the swim so its good to know you've got our backs.

Hauling ass into transition you stripped off my wetsuit in just a few brief seconds, you grabbed my transition bag faster than I could have possibly found it, and then you lead me from point A to point B (which was a life saver in the rush I was in).  Most noticeably, when I ditched all my stuff in a pile on top of the transition bag in the tent, magically at the end of the day I found it all in there with not a thing missing. Your attentiveness did not go unnoticed.

At each aid station on the bike you made my life as easy as possible.  I'd toss my empty bottle, which you ended up picking up (I usually did aim for the garbage, really), and then I'd point at you holding my drink and you'd break into a near sprint to make sure that it ended up in my hand.  You have no idea how much not having to slow to a stop helps us, I always said thanks but we're always in such a hurry I'm not sure if you ever hear me.

When I got back to transition to start my run, man was I ever glad to see you.  This is where you stood out most in my mind.  I got into the T2 change tent, and you told me, "whatever you don't need, throw it on the ground and I'll pack it for you.  You focus on changing your shoes and I'll take care of everything else".  You shared my sense of urgency, but conveyed a zen-like sense of calm that got me remembering, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.  I was in and out of there in about 3 minutes including the time it took to get sunscreen onto my burnt shoulders.  Nicely done.

On the run you cheered me on, handed me sponges, gave me water, asked if I wanted grapes, bananas, pretzels, anything. You asked a couple times if I was feeling okay and I know on the outside it didn't look that way, but I was, and if you weren't there waiting for me every mile, it would have been a different story.  You stood there for hours as me and 2800 other athletes shuffled by.  You were practically a saint to me at that point.

When I crossed the line, I was overcome with emotion.  I was exhausted, dehydrated, and dizzy, and I've probably never felt better.  You can't totally mute the pain with the joy though, so when you literally caught me, that did it for me, you rocked me world.  I started my day eleven and a half hours earlier and I was never more than half an hour away from your aid and then when it was all done.  At the end of it all, there you were at the finish line with no other responsibility that to say congratulations, put that medal around my neck, and take me to get food, or to see my family, or in the case of some, to the medical tent.

My favourite part of the day though, was at that finish line when you said, "Raf, you did it, you're an Ironman now".

I appreciate what every volunteer at every triathlon does.  Without volunteers I would not be able to race in the sport that I love, and they truly are what makes this sport possible.  I won't be racing in IMC next year as I've got my sights set on other races, so I'll be joining the ranks of the thousands supporting the race and I really am looking forward to it.

I just wanted to write this blog post to say thanks to the town of Penticton for hosting the gem of North American triathlons once again, and thanks to all the volunteers that made that day possible.

Ironman Canada 2011 Race Report

So Sunday was the big day, and with everything fresh in my mind I thought I'd post my race report to let you know how it all went and share my experience with everyone. I'll be concise and a bit more technical in this post, and sometime in the next few days I'll talk more about the experience.

Pre-Race

Had dinner at about 5:00pm the night before and got to bed around 8:30 or 9:00pm. I woke up at 4:00am and had 2 Extra Calorie Ensures, half a bagel with peanut butter, an orange juice, and a coffee, all good for probably a bit under a thousand calories.

Made my way down to the special needs drop off and body marking at about 5:45am. You could really feel the excitement and nervousness in the air as everyone exchanges greetings in the early dawn light mixed with giant flood lamps. Then took care of all the other pre-race stuff like tire pressure, one last pit stop at the porta-potties, and wetsuit on. Then it was down to the beach....

Swim

Over 2800 people started on that beach, its a crowd. As per my coach's suggestions I started on the inside right of the buoys where it is less crowded. I'm not a strong swimmer so I seeded myself a few rows back.

They sing the national anthem and then in about a minute the horn blows. I managed to find myself a pretty open spot of water and didn't really bother to draft anyone, but I know I had a couple ladies drafting me. Didn't have too many issues with other swimmers, but around the corner buoys you definitely have to go into a head up swim (don't do breast unless you want to start frog kicking people behind you).

Early in the swim I had some issues with my left shoulder but they want away after about a thousand meters. After about 2500m I started getting tired and had to just focus on long powerful strokes. For the record, I'm not a great swimmer, my longest continuous swim prior to this was 2100m, and 18 months ago I could say I swam only in the loosest sense of the term, meaning I wouldn't drown if you threw me into a pool.

Coming back into shore there are some issues with sighting and where the sun is, but with tinted goggles it isnt' really an issue, my suggestion for anyone else would be to sight the condo towers and not the buoys.

Swim Time: 1:28:29 | Swim Place: 2187 | Position after swim: 2187

T1

Fast transition, used the wetsuit strippers, already wearing my ride/run kit, so it was helmet on, shoes on, and I was out of there.

T1 Time: 00:03:48 | Position after T1: 1966 (yes, I passed 221 people in transition, thats why you practice your transitions)

Bike

The bike was good, I'd ridden the course once already so I knew what to expect. I also know that there are very few people who are as slow as I am in the water, but as fast as I am on the bike, which is a blessing and a curse. So there was a lot of passing.

My plan was to ride at 180-200 watts, but with the heat I was forced to ride on the lower end of this, around 180 watts, given that my heart rate was getting into the high 150's. I just had to listen to my body and respond to the conditions. I knew that if I rode any harder than I was, that I'd be shot for the marathon in the heat later on.

My advice to anyone would be to skip the first aid station at McLean Creek since stations are every 10 miles, or every 30 to 40 minutes, and you shouldn't need aid half an hour into the ride.

From McLean to Osoyoos is fast with an overall descending profile and usually a tailwind. If you're an average rider this is a good place to relax and prepare yourself for Richter and the rollers, but if you're more experienced or have ridden the course before, you can take a calculated risk and try and make time here since after Richter you're always either climbing or descending.

Richter's Pass is a baby if you know how to ride it. The key to Richter, the rollers, Yellow Lake, or any hill in an iron distance triathlon is to maintain the same level of exertion that you would have on the flats. I'm a strong rider and my ftp is roughly 280 watts, or 3.8watts/kg, and there were a lot of people passing me early in some of the climbs. This is completely fine but if you're breathing is audible and you're riding out of the saddle in a 180km time trial followed by a marathon in 35 degree heat, you're doing something wrong.

Once I reached the top of those hills, be it Richter or the rollers, or Yellow Lake, it was "click, click, click" as I geared up and accelerated downhill with the same effort as I climbed up (about 190watts for reference). Trust me, its a lot easier and more fun to pass people going down hill than uphill by keeping your exertion level on both sides.

I didn't have any issues with tacks and flats, or with aid stations running out of water like some people did. Once in a while I'd see groups of people with flats, but I honestly don't think it was tacks, just rough roads combined with some maybe too high tire pressures in the desert sun, but I could be wrong. As for aid stations running out of water, that really sucks, I only showered myself with water from a bottle once when a lady offered me a bottle that she'd used to do the same (a class act I should say).

At Yellow Lake I saw Shirl, Jen, and Jill in a Tour de France-esque tunnel of spectators which provided a great boost at a challenging point. That was great, and from then on it was one small climb and 30km of descending into Penticton.

Bike Time: 5:44:06 | Bike Place: 467 | Position after bike: 777 | Average/Norm Power: 167/180 | Average HR: 155 bpm

T2

Dismounted my bike, and while I was running it turned on me and I fell on it because of my slippery cleats. Big bruise on my leg, but my ego took the worst of it. Cleats off, running shoes and visor on, sunscreen on, and I was out of there.

T2 Time: 00:03:24 | Position after T2: 739

The Marathon

This hurt. Something about getting off your bike after a 180km bikeride and going to run a marathon at 2:30pm in 34C (94F) heat is mentally challenging. My original plan was to run 5:20km's and only walk the aid stations if necessary but it quickly became clear that this marathon was about surviving the heat.

Your legs never feel great when you start the run in a triathlon and this case was no different. After about 5km I was starting to recognize that keeping my body temp down would be critical. So the plan changed to walking the aid stations and doing everything I could to keep cool, sponges, water, ice, etc.

At the 8km aid station I was kind of a jerk and walked right by Shirl, her family, and some of my friends. I knew they were there and I could hear them, but that was probably the first aid station I walked and I was simply in a world of hurt and needed every last ounce of energy to keep moving forward. After that point though I thought about how those people were there for me and I owed it to them, and myself to HTFU and get on with it.

Jordan and the Tri It crew were about on bikes providing words of encouragement telling me I looked strong. But when I started seeing some of the pros walking I started thinking about how easy it would be to slow down and how much time I had to finish. Then I saw none other than Janelle Morrison, a true inspiration for me, and she reminded me of the wise words she shared with me a couple weeks before, "you owe it to yourself to fight". My pace picked up, and I wasn't about to back down.

I stuck with walking the aid stations, as did many others, it was simple attrition out there, and anyone who managed to run the whole course deserves an extra medal or honourable mention or something. Into town I just kept telling myself, get to the next aid station and you can walk just a little bit, and then I kept telling myself, "40 minutes and you're an Ironman, 30 minutes and you're an Ironman, 10 minutes and you're an...".

Run Time: 4:10:41 | Run Place: 410| Position after run: 470 | Average HR: 162 bpm

The Finish

My wonderful fiancée Shirley, and two incredible friends Jen and Jill were my catchers and I was so happy that they were there on the other side of the line rather than somewhere back on the course. They brought me pizza, pepsi, water, and smiles.

Coming down that finishing chute was like... well finishing an Ironman. You literally have thousands of people cheering for you as you run down the carpet, and after 42km of you body telling you to stop, all of the sudden, you're done. Its a mix of all the bad things you'd expect from a 226km day, completely muted by the relief, exhilaration, and happiness of landing among the stars for just a few brief seconds.

One quote sums it all up best...

“I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious”

-Vince Lombardi

A Big Thanks

Just a few days away now from Ironman Canada. I arrived in Penticton yesterday evening and did a "quick" 2 km swim this morning in about 40 minutes, followed by a 40km bike ride. Its funny how your perceptions of short and long seem to change when you're doing an Ironman.

Anyways, I just wanted to take this opportunity to say a few thanks to some huge supporters of mine over the past few months.

First and foremost, the team from Lululemon on 4th Street in Calgary has been incredibly generous to me and has been a great team to have on side. I became a Lululemon Ambassador this summer and its been an incredible experience thus far and I look forward to the next year of being a part of the Lululemon family. And a special thanks goes to Andrea, the rockstar who was the first to introduce me to the Lulu team!

Next is the Tri It Multisport crew. I've got to know and work with the Tri It team on a couple of projects through redlime marketing and I've had an awesome time. On top of that, the experience and knowledge of the sport that they've shared with me and all of their other customers has been top notch. I'm happy to call them my friends on a personal and professional level and would recommend anyone in Calgary visit them for anything and everything triathlon related.

My coach Todd Malcolm of No Limits Triathlon has been a great coach and mentor in triathlon for me. His knowledge of the sport, technical aptitude, generosity, and exceptional athleticism make him a great guy to have in your corner going into a triathlon of any distance.

Now of course my friends and family. You've all been incredibly supportive and patient with me over the past couple of months. Triathlon is an incredibly demanding sport, not only of one's self, but also of the relationships you have with others. I'm so greatful to have you all as my base of support and hope to do you all proud on August 28th. And for those of you out here in Penticton, after I finish the race, first round is on me!

Last but certainly not least, my wonderful and beautiful fiancee (as of last Friday), Shirley Blundell. Thank you so much for being my support crew, my biggest fan, my inspiration, and my best friend. I can't wait to give you a great big hug the moment I cross the finish line and I'm so happy to be with you.

A round up of some good IMC discussions

Internet forums are a great tool to communicate and learn from other individuals and athletes. Generally as a big race approaches, old discussions will be rehashed and new ones will come up about the best strategies and tactics for the big day.

Below is a roundup of some good discussions I've come across on slowtwitch with loads more information than I'd be able to summarize here. Happy Friday everyone!

For those of you heading to Penticton <-- Strongly recommend reading this one!

Advice for IMC - My First Ironman

IM Canada Bike Course

Cheers,

Raf

Ironman Canada Bike Course

So its not long until Ironman Canada now. I've just finished my last big weekend and it was a good learning experience. I rode the bike course a couple of days ago and found one thing I wasn't quite prepared for was the heat and really started to fade in the second half of the bike course.

For anyone who is doing Ironman Canada and won't have the luxury of riding the bike course before hand, I've come up with a few quick pointers based on my experience and the advice of others.

• If at any time during the ride you feel like you are going hard, you're going too hard
• Be sure to hydrate, I usually take in about 750ml of fluid per hour and I stuck to that plan this weekend. It wasn't enough, both times I reached my girlfriend Shirley who was supporting my ride I found myself chugging almost a litre of water even though I didn't feel thirsty. Remember, by the time you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated
• The ride down to Osoyoos is fast and a slight downhill, if you find yourself cruising along at 40kph and your HR is relatively low, consider taking advantage of that time to hydrate and relax. The work starts at Richter, and you can start to build there
• Take your time up Richter, its not as bad as people make it out to be if you have a plan. Be mentally strong here and be very patient. I'm a strong climber/cyclist but I made a point of sticking to my 200watt target race power even up Richter. For me this meant I was climbing at about 9-10kph. For my friend Keith, an average cyclist/triathlete who was trying to stick to 160 watts, this meant climbing at 6-7kph. If you're making the ascent any faster than either of these two respective ranges, you're going too hard
• Learn to descend comfortably, it may be a little late for this less than 3 weeks out, but a couple rides with some long descents will do good to prepare you for the IMC course. Even if you just do the climbs and descents of the IMC course in the weeks before the race, you could save a couple minutes on the ride
• On the rollers after Richter you may be tempted to try and take the momentum from the last descent and power over the crest of the hill to the next descent. Don't, these rollers are a little too long and too many to do this without burning up your legs
• Not long after the out and back, which is where you get your special needs, you'll approach the Seven Sisters. They start so gradually you may not even notice you're starting to climb. Here and all over the course you should always be mindful of your power/HR/perceived exertion. There are a lot of false flats and a lot of sections where the terrain will deceive you into thinking you aren't climbing when you actually are. Remember, if at any time you feel like you're going a little hard, you're going way too hard
• Save your energy for the run. At the end of the day, incremental power on the bike isn't as valuable as incremental power on the run simply because you're trying to overcome far more wind resistance riding at 35kph, than running at 10kph. Going 5% harder for 6 hours on the bike might mean you get off 10 minutes sooner, but end up shuffling for an extra hour on the run. Its not worth it, people rarely say "I wish I'd gone out harder on the bike", but often say "I had a great ride, but things fell apart on the run", its all legs, its all related, and on a course like IMC, your patience on the bike will be rewarded on the run.

Anyways, I'm assuming everyone racing IMC who reads this is now probably into their taper. So stay safe, and take it easy, we're into the home stretch here friends!