Ironman tomorrow

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

Powerful Beyond Measure

The first multisport race that I ever signed up for was a sprint duathlon two years ago. I was hesitant at first but wanted to set a goal for myself. I guess after that race I was hooked and went from racing a sprint du, to signing up for the 2010 Ironman Calgary 70.3 even though I hadn't been in a pool in ages.

Fast forward to last August, a few weeks after Calgary 70.3, I was signing up for Ironman Canada which is now only days away.

I didn't realize it at the time but when we set our sights high and finish what we set out do, something great happens to those around us, they ask themselves to do the same. In the past year I've had the pleasure of seeing my dad, my brother, my fiancee, and a half dozen other friends cross the finish lines of their own races. From sprints to Half IM's, they've done it. I can't say that they wouldn't have done those races anyways, but its nice to know that I've been those journeys.

Aiming your sights high and settling for nothing less than success isn't something you do just for yourself, its something you also do for those around you. The power of individual successes combined with the strength of social networks means that we can each make the world a better place by rising to our potential and encouraging others to do the same.

(For empirical evidence of this I strongly urge you to watch Nicholas Christakis' video on the Hidden Influence of Social Networks)

For more poetic evidence of this, I have a quote for you.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Marianne Williamson

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!