I just want to say thanks

The day before the race is generally my least favourite of the entire journey to race day.  Once you've dropped your bike off at the check in, checked your gear bags in with the volunteers, and gone through your final race day checklists, there isn't a whole lot to do besides worry and wait... or blog.

I feel prepared and confident going into Ironman this year.  I think that has a lot to do with a culmination in a lot of things going right.  And that has a lot to do with all of the people that have taken me this far and supported me.  I'm going to name a few off right now, and I'm no doubt going to miss someone, but I'm going to try my best here....

First and foremost, I'm going to thank my wonderful wife Shirley.  Usually I save my thanks for her til the end, but not this time. Nope.  She's been incredibly supportive and any Ironspouse will tell you that its a challenge to be in a relationship with someone who's also in a relationship with their bicycle.  This summer has been a little bit chaotic following the floods, but she's pushed me and made sure that I held myself to my fullest potential, never skipped out on training, and kept my goals in mind.  So to Shirley, thank you and I love you.

To my family, my parents, and my brother and sister, thank you for all of your support and patience with my endless hours of training!  And to my sister, I can feel the love all the way from Spain Jacky!

Of course, I must also thank my many friends who have trained with me, raced with me, or put up with me talking about training and racing.  For friends like Keith, Jon, Ang, Shayne, Dave, Marj, Blair, Jen, watching you guys at your races the past couple years has been amazing and I'm grateful to have been a part of that.  Knowing the race anxiety, the nerves, and the mental obstacles that we all have to overcome before getting to our first start line, I really do draw inspiration from you all as well.

To Rob and Nic, thank you for letting me swim in your lake all those times! I'm stoked to watch you guys run your first half marathon this November in Vegas! I may or may not be there, but nevertheless, can't wait to see what you guys run!

To Melissa, thank you for waking up sooooo early to bodymark and then catch at Calgary 70.3!

I'd also like to give a big thanks to my amazing friends at Lululemon, the small army of fellow ambassadors, and all the awesome folks who come out every Tuesday night to my run club!  The community at Lululemon has really afforded me a lot of awesome opportunities to learn, meet new people, and share my passion for sport.  For that, I thank you a million times over and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of that community.

And to my friend Lindsey, who this last week left for NYC to follow her dreams at Parsons New School of Design, thank you for your friendship and guidance.  I know we'll talk soon but I'll really miss our chats for now.  Rock it Linds, you're meant to.

I've also got to give a big thanks to the awesome crew at Ridleys Bike Shop in Kensington.  Ron, Travis, and Jon are awesome guys and they put up with me being such a bike geek, so I've got to give them a big shout out.

To all my friends, the Facebook ones who I've only met once or twice, the Twitter friends who I hope to meet someday, and everyone who I'm fortunate enough to see all the time (but promise to buy a beer for because I didn't mention specifically here), thank you.  I've seen all the texts, good lucks, the well wishes, and the words of encouragement on Facebook and each and every one means a lot to me!

To my fellow racers, many of you I know read my blog, thank you and good luck tomorrow, next week, next month, next year.  Before every race I look around and am in constant awe of the focus, determination, and fitness of all of you, and it's an honour.

Time for me to sign off now though.  In the next day or two or three you'll see a race report right here.  And I'll just leave you with this photo. Where I sat when I wrote this post... maybe it'll create more of a connection or something...

Calgary 70.3 Race Report

Effective October 2013 I'll be providing all my latest posts and updates on ShutUpLegs.org! Feel free to view this post and all my latest posts there!

I know this is about two weeks late, but its been a busy little time for me and just got around to writing this race report now.

All through the season I had been planning on racing Calgary 70.3.  The plan for the season was a couple run races in the spring, Chinook Half Ironman in June, Calgary 70.3 in July, and Ironman Canada in Whistler in August as the goal race.  When the flooding happened in June it affected Ghost Lake and things became pretty hectic anyways, so I decided I'd wait and see for Ironman Calgary 70.3.

Well, as luck would have it, about two weeks before the race it was announced that the swim venue would be changed from the chilly waters of Ghost Lake, to the warm, tranquil waters of Lake Mackenzie, where I'd be doing open water swims in prep for Ironman Canada anyways.  A swim in Mackenzie meant the bike route would change dramatically and be a lot more like the Chinook course, which is on highways where I spent my years getting into road cycling on.  So I signed up.

The Swim

Having swam the swim course a couple of times already I was fairly familiar with the lake even before it was moved to that venue.  The man-made lake in Calgary get fairly warm by August by virtue of the fact that they're fairly shallow, and fairly small.  Typically the swim isn't my strong suit but having trained in this exact venue and put down reasonable times in training, I was pretty confident going into the swim.

The swim was a waved start with all the male AGer's heading out in the same wave.  The start was exactly what you'd expect from a 400 person start, a little chaotic, a little bit of shoving, but by the first turn the field had opened up a bit and I could find my own space just fine.

Confidence is a big thing in swimming, if you're nervous at all about your ability in those surroundings it'll make you want to rush the whole swim and it'll translate into a poor swim stroke, and a poor stroke means wasted energy.  With a bit more confidence this go I was able to swim an MOPish 40:20 1900m swim which believe it or not is a PB for me.

Here's the swim file... and no, I didn't go on shore at the island, it was interference coming out of the tunnel in the swim.

 The Bike

So like I said before, I was fairly familiar with the bike route.  And by fairly familiar with the bike route, I mean I know every inch of the course since I grew up about a 5 minute drive from right where the route goes by.  Knowing that a lot of people were going to be thrown into a bit of a tailspin from the drastically changed bike course, I wrote a fairly lengthy post detailing the route and giving some tips on how to ride it.  When you write a post like that, you better own the course because you're telling everyone else how to do it.

The bike was business as usual.  I spent the first 10 or 15 minutes getting into a good rhythm and calming down from the swim.  After that I started to make my way slowly up the field.  I played cat and mouse with a few other riders for the first half hour, with them passing me on the uphills, and me passing them on the downhills.  Riding with a powermeter, I really try and focus on keeping my power consistent with I'm ascending or descending, which is a practice that I really encourage other riders to get into.  I know that some riders have a strategy of going a little harder on the climbs and planning to recover on the descents, but I think its a failed strategy for anything longer than an Olympic distance ride because on a half or full iron you just end up burning through too many matches.

The first half of the ride is rolling foothills with quick downs followed by some punchy short and steep climbs and most of the course's 2300ft of climbing.  The second half of the ride is a long false flat with a tailwind for a good 30km.  The first half I probably averaged about 30kph, the second half probably a lot closer to 39kph with a total average of 34.7kph.

I was taking a gel every 20-30 minutes, and drinking whenever I felt thirsty.  I used to subscribe to the "take a sip every ten minutes" approach to hydration, but I found I was always needing a nature break about an hour or two in with that approach.  By the end of the ride I'd only gone through one bottle of drink, but felt pretty well hydrated, but note, the air temp was about 15C at this time, had it been warmer or sunnier I could have easily drank twice that.  Going into Ironman Canada, I think I'll focus on listening to my body for hydration rather than a 10 minute timer.  As far as gels go, I'm comfortable with one every 20-30 minutes.  Between the two I net about 250 calories per hour, and just for reference I weigh about 160lbs.

The bike route was a bit short at 86kph, so I can't take all the credit for a good bike split, but my time was 2:26:19, which was good for a 66th ranked bike split in a field of 730.  My watts average Very happy with this result.

Bike Course Technical details:
Time: 2:26:19
Average Power: 198 watts
Normalized Power: 205 watts (75-78% ftp)
Average HR: 161 bpm (81% ftHR)
Average Speed: 34.65kph
TSS: 151

The Run

With such a good bike split I was a little nervous about how well I'd execute on the run.  I knew that I didn't exceed any thresholds on the bike, and didn't push too hard at any point, but nothing comes without a price and I was finding it a little hard to believe that things could go so well on the bike without paying a little on the run.

As per usual I found myself constantly having to back off the pace on the run.  Getting off the bike its pretty common to have your legs moving faster than you think when you've been spinning at 90+ rpm.  For the first couple kilometres I kept having to back off from running 4:20min/km.  Eventually I got into a groove and was running steady with my HR in the 160-170 range.

Around 6 or 7 km in I found my heart rate monitor kept slipping down and having to adjust it.  Feeling pretty good about my RPE I decided I'd just take it off and turn the function off on my Garmin.  I've spent about half my runs this year not using a HR monitor and just focused on listening to my body, so this was one scenario where that kind of prep really paid off.  I was in tune, and feeling good the entire run.

I finished the run feeling pretty good and pulled out a 1:39:24 run split which was ranked 99 overall and was a PB in the half iron distance for me.  Up until the last couple of kilometres I was feeling a little anxious that I'd suddenly hit a wall and the endorphins would just evaporate, but it never happened and I finished a great half marathon.


The Finish

I finished the race 93 overall out of a field of 730 and PB'd with a 4:50:20 half Ironman.  My goal for the race was to break 5 feeling comfortable, but going into the race I knew that if I needed to push hard to break 5 hours then I'd back off since Ironman Canada was only four weeks away.  I managed to get the 4:50 without leaving that comfort zone and executed the race with a solid B-race effort of maybe 7 or 8 out of 10.  Ten minutes under 5 also gave me some relief around breaking that all important mental threshold,  if I'd just squeezed in under 5 hours with a bike course that was 4km short, I'd have an asterisk on the race result in my mind.

The volunteers and Paul Anderson did a phenomenal job of making this race happen.  The Calgary floods really put a curve ball onto this race and they responded in true Calgary fashion by figuring a way to get it done.  Kudos also goes out to the Mackenzie Lake Community Association for being gracious enough to allow us to take over their lake for a few days and hosting our race.  Also a huge shoutout to my friend Miss Melissa Reuame who volunteered for both body marking in the AM, and catching in the PM!

Lastly, I have to say, Ironman Calgary 70.3 this year probably had the best finisher medals I've ever seen.

Belt buckle... It's a giant belt buckle.

How to be a great fan

Effective October 2013 I'll be providing all my latest posts and updates on ShutUpLegs.org! Feel free to view this post and all my latest posts there!

Well I've written plenty of posts on how to effectively race triathlons, but it didn't dawn on me until watching the last couple stages at the Tour de France, that I've never really talked about how to be an awesome fan at a race.  Now I know that sounds a bit odd, but there is definitely a way to be an awesome fan, and then there's a way to be a fan that doesn't really encourage anyone, which I guess would constitute a "bad" fan.

As an athlete I can honestly say that spectators and fans make a world of difference during the race.  Their cheers can instantly transfer a seemingly endless amount of energy to you, and their enthusiasm can be the difference between qualifying for a Kona slot or going home empty handed, or the difference finishing the race with a walk and a smile or taking the dreaded DNF.

So here are a few pointers that I've put together.  Feel free to share them with your friends, family, or anyone who might be headed out to IM Calgary 70.3, Ironman Canada, Mont Tremblant, Challenge Penticton, Kona, Vegas, or wherever else!

The Good

• Volunteer- What better way to be a good fan than to volunteer for the race!  Volunteers are what make triathlons and almost any other sort of race or sporting event possible.  I can't say enough about how grateful I am to the legions of volunteers that make Ironman happen.  Whether its package pickup, body marking, aid stations, transitions, medical, or finish line, the smiles and enthusiasm of volunteers go a long way towards supporting the athletes... Plus you usually get a t-shirt, which makes you as much a part of the race as the athletes.
• Shout it, shout it, shout it out loud- It may not seem like it sometimes, but in the race we hear everything.  At Ironman, we literally have nothing to do but keep moving forward, so listening to the fans becomes a big focal point.  And when you're cheering, the louder the better.  When I was racing Ironman Canada a couple years ago I was completely taken aback by the enthusiasm and support of everyone at Yellow Lake, after 4.5 hours on the bike coming into a tunnel of screaming spectators on the steep pitch of the climb was exactly what I needed.  
• You wanna be where everybody knows your name- When you're on the side of the road, pick a person, look at their number or name on the bib, or even just the colour of their shirt, and give them a callout and tell them how they're doing, or give them some words of encouragement.  It shows that you aren't just yelling and cheering for the world, it shows them that you're pulling for them at this very moment.  Its very Canadian of us to sit quietly on the side of the course and only cheer for the people we know and I've seen it at many of the local smaller races, but once you catch the smile and thanks of that stranger whose race you made a little better, you'll be hooked.
• I saw the sign, and it opened up my eyes I saw the sign- I don't think there is an athlete out there who doesn't love a good sign written on a poster.  The cleverer the better.  For some good ideas check out these two sites; Best Race Signs, Buzzfeed.  I've got to give a special shoutout to all the Lululemons I've seen bring huge cheer squads out with some pretty catchy signs, they've got it down to an art.
• Think about what's important to the athlete- Are they on track to break the 3:30 marathon mark?  Are they chasing down the next person up the road?  I they struggling to get in just under the time cutoff?  Let them know that they can do it.  Some meaningful words of encouragement that fit the context of their goals can go a long way and you can make more of a difference than you could imagine.
• When the going get tough, the tough get going- Ironman is one of the few sports that celebrates its final finisher maybe even more than its first.  If you've ever been at the finish line of Ironman just before midnight, you'd know that something magical happens at that time and the crowds come alive to cheer that last person in.  The adversity and loneliness that many athletes overcome with in the weeks and months leading up to the race, and during the race is a testament to their character and strength.  I know sometimes its tempting to just roll out whenever your friend or family member finishes the race, but feel free to stick around and be that someone special who provides words of encouragement for those brave souls who forges ahead after the crowds have gone.

The Bad

• Know the rules- At Ironman there are very few rules that pertain to the behaviour of individuals not participating in the event.  The biggie though is that athletes cannot accept outside assistance from individuals not in the race or with the organizers.  Which means technically you can't give us water or nutrition, but more importantly it means you cannot pace us.  Its a rule that varies in its application and the frequency with which its enforced but it basically means if you see your buddy, you can't run or bike alongside him or her and doing so could lead to their disqualification.  That being said, if you run alongside someone climbing a hill for 10 feet no one is going to accuse them of cheating, but its something to keep in mind.
• Traffic-  This has only ever been an issue for me at Ironman Canada, but its something worth keeping in mind.  The bike course at an Ironman is 180km often on open roads with some lane closures.  If you'd like to go out and see your loved one racing, consider taking a route that is not the course route or don't go at all.  Local traffic needs to get through, and athletes need to get through, and if added to the congestion is a thousand cars full of spectators looking for their friends, things can get uncomfortable and even dangerous.
• Be respectful to the locals- Its out of the good grace of community associations and municipalities that races as big as half and full Ironmans have a place to call home.  Make a habit of being respectful or people's property and considerate of their community.  This means don't park in front of their driveways, don't litter on their laws, and don't do anything that you wouldn't want someone to do in your community.  From time to time an athlete may drop something by accident, by and large most of us try to keep the course free of any garbage, but if you see this happen, just grab the litter and toss it for us.
• Don't hit us- If there is one thing that scares the bejeezus out of me at a race its a car, bike, spectator, or pet crossing out path as we ride or even run by.  Please, look both ways before you proceed across a road or intersection.  A collision at even a low speed is dangerous for both parties.

The End

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  Volunteers make these races happen.  Ironman Calgary 70.3 is still looking for volunteers this weekend so if you have a couple extra hours this Sunday, please sign up here.  I'd love to see you out there!

New Calgary 70.3 Bike Course

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!

The recent flooding in southern Alberta has forced a lot of Race Directors to spring into action and make some serious course corrections on their routes.  Unfortunately a number of events have been cancelled altogether such as; the inaugural Gran Fondo Canmore, the Hi Hostels Kananaskis K100, and the Banff Marathon.  Other events like Gran Fondo Highwood Pass have received serious changes in the routes.

News came out yesterday that the Ironman Calgary 70.3 route will be getting a big overhaul.  The debris accumulated at Ghost Lake made the swim course impassable for the number of athletes expected for the race.  I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the revised route, and I think anyone who lives on the south side of the city who is familiar with the route would be on the same page as me.  It's one of the best routes around with stunning scenery as you climb through the foothills to right to the base of the Rockies.  Race Director Paul Anderson has also been doing an incredible job making the race a reality in light of the hectic few weeks the city has had.

Here is a link to the proposed revised route.  You may want to open another window and go through the map while reading this post at the same time.

So here are a few pointers on the revised bike route, though it is subject to change as the route is pending city and provincial approval.

Highway 22x heading west later in the day

• First and foremost, athletes should be happy that the frigid waters of Ghost Lake are being replaced by the bathwater of Mackenzie Lake.  Last I heard water temps were around 19C, and with the warm weather expected in the next two weeks, expect to be racing in water temps closer to what you'd get in Penticton for Challenge/IMC
• Riding south out of the city from Lake Mackenzie to Highway 22x will be pretty flat on controlled community streets, nothing fancy here. Just find your legs, calm yourself down, and get set for the ride.
• When you're headed westbound on 22x is still technically in the city.  There is a short descent, and a steep climb out of of the Bow River/Fish Creek Valley, followed by a number of other rolling hills until you hit the 15km mark.  At this point in the ride you should still be finding your legs from the swim. Take it easy on these hills.  Between km10 and km15 its easy to burn your legs up so you should be on your easiest gear and spinning here.  There will likely be some traffic control as your cross the overpass, but don't stress, after this you're pretty much cruising.
• When you hit km15 you'll start a long gradual descent.  This is where you can make up time from the climbing you've done so far.  The prevailing winds are out of the west in Calgary, but usually don't pick up until mid-morning so if you're putting down 200watts here you could easily be cruising along at +40kph (25mph).  You'll have a great view of the countryside and the mountains in the distance here. Every once in a while there will be a turnout from a gravel road, hopefully its all swept before the race, but just in case, keep your wits about you.
• At the 20km mark you're into the foothills which means rolling hills that sometimes seem to come out of nowhere.  You'll being doing a lot of going from your biggest gear to your smallest gear so keeping momentum and knowing your shifts will save you a lot of energy.  I really mean that, you'll go from your biggest gear to your smallest in the course of 300 meters in some spots here.  Know how to smoothly go from the big ring to the little without losing momentum by being able to shift your rear derailleur at the same time as your front.  Some of these descents will be quite shallow, if you're an average cyclist, this is a great time to recover from the punchy little climbs. If you're a strong cyclist with a powermeter, or are running a standard (53-39) crankset, you can probably spin in your biggest gear and hold a lot of your momentum.
• The hill from km30 to km35 (Strava name "Lower Cowboy Trail") doesn't actually seem like a hill when you approach it but it's actually a grade of about 2-3% over 5km.  It's hardly anything remarkable by cycling standards, but for a half Ironman its a climb that you can definitely end up burning matches on.  It's also a curved hill with a flat section right before the steep part, so you can't actually see the end of it and you might think it's over before it actually is. Once again, be smart with your gears and ride this hill conservatively, the hill isn't over until you're going downhill.  Also, as you crest the hill and you start your descent, take a moment to enjoy the scenery.  This is one of the most beautiful points on the course with ranches along the highway, and the mountains and foothills right in front of you.
• The descent from km35-km37 is fast, and curves to the right. I would strongly recommend you ride the horns on this one rather than descent in aero position unless you're a very strong cyclist.  At this point you're entering a valley and the crosswinds can seriously throw you about here.  I'll say it again because it's really important, be smart about your descent here, you can gain some serious speed faster than you anticipate and you need to keep in mind that you may be passing people who aren't as confident as you are descending.
• At km37 you hit another climb (Strava name: Cowboy Trail Climb") that averages about 3-4% for about 3km.  I'd say this is the most serious climb of the day.  You'll be in the easy gear on this one and I'd probably put it on par with the Cochrane hill climb if you've done the race before.  The key here is patience.  Focus on using gravity and your body weight to pull you up the hill by dancing the bike left to right with each pedal stroke.  You'll gain back the time soon enough because in about 10 minutes this course is going to get very fun.
• Km44 is a descent, and then you turn north onto Highway 22 towards Bragg Creek and you're now around the halfway mark.  Once you pass the Shell station at Bragg Creek you begin a long false flat descent.  If you paced the first half of the course well you ought to be flying here.  Up to the traffic circle at km60, 200 watts could easily net you 45kph in some spots.  This is the only time you'll have a true crosswind but the trees should actually protect you from most of it.  
• One you turn back east after the traffic circle you'll be on another long false flat descent.  As the temperature rises throughout the day the prevailing winds out of the west begin to pick up and should really push you along.  In the evening when the winds get really strong I've definitely done out and back rides on this stretch of road averaging 20kph at 220 watts on the way out, and riding back at 50kph on 160 watts on the way back.  This is a good time to refuel and start preparing yourself mentall and physically for the run.
• A little past the 75km mark there will be a couple more short hills where you may to push a bit out of the saddle, but you're just about onto the run now so the end is in sight.
• Route stats: 85.6km distance, +749m ascent, -678m descent, prevailing winds out of the west.

Overall the entire bike course has great pavement, and while it's not really what you'd consider a very technical course, you'll definitely be using your biggest and smallest gears quite often.  So you may want to invest in a quick tune up and the local shop before you head out to the race.  The shoulders are very wide and I'd consider these roads to be some of the safest stretches around.  That being said, the speed limits on these segments range from 70-100kph (40-60mph), so when passing be sure to keep to the right of the white line and be conscious of where there are rumble strips at the line.

If you have any questions at all feel free to post them in the comments section below.

Once again I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Paul Anderson and all of the volunteers striving to make this race happen.  For those of you coming from out of town, it's been a crazy three weeks in Calgary and many of our communities are still recovering from the floods, but come hell or high water we'll do our best to make your stay, and your race, one to remember.

Challenge Penticton Bike Course

Effective October 2013 I'll be providing all my latest posts and updates on ShutUpLegs.org! Feel free to view this post and all my latest posts there!

Note: This post was originally written a few weeks before IMC2011 after I pre-rode the course.  I've updated it to include some of my experiences from the actual race last year.  At the bottom is also the Garmin file from my ride in 2011.

I'd really like to encourage anyone interested in doing Challenge Penticton this year to give it a shot, whether you do it all yourself, or relay it.  Challenge puts on a great event and there's no better example than Challenge Roth, which is arguably one of the best put together Iron distance races in the world.

For anyone who is doing Challenge Penticton 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.

Perfect Ironman Strategy

• If at any time during the ride you feel like you are going hard, you're going too hard.  Listening to your body during IM can be pretty tricky.  Out of the water and onto the bike you legs may not feel like they're really there yet, but give them about a half hour and they'll find you.  The trick to a solid second half of the ride, and a solid run is listening closely to your body.  That especially means your heart, your lungs, your legs. If you feel like you're going hard at all, you're going too hard.
• Know the weather.  The weather in Penticton seems to be pretty variable from year to year.  In 2010, I had many friends who raced Ironman Canada/Challenge Penticton and there was no shortage of stories chronicling the cold and difficult conditions at the passes with rain, hail, and sleet at the higher elevations.  The year I did it in 2011, temperatures were scorching and the heat was the main obstacle for many athletes.  That year, many athletes in the front half of the race were using water liberally to try and keep cool while the back half of the field was actually running out of water.  And last year, conditions couldn't have been better in the 20C range with a mix of sun and cloud throughout the day.
• Be sure to hydrate.  I usually take in about 750ml of fluid per hour and in 2011 that wasn't quite enough as the temperatures rose to about 37C down by Osoyoos.  If the temperature this year is in the 20's you should be pretty safe to stick to your usual nutrition plan, but if it gets into the 30's be sure to up your fluid intake.  By the time you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated and you could end up digging yourself a hole.
• 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.  Also, depending on where you come out of the water, it could be a pretty crowded course while the field sorts itself out.   How some triathletes handle their bikes still boggles my mind sometimes, so when you pass someone, make sure they know you're there by yelling "Left!" or "Passing left!".  
• 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 planned 200 watts 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 aren't racing with power, just climb at a pace where you can still hold a conversation with someone.  Richter is way too early to be burning matches so if people are passing you, Keep Calm and Carry On.
• Learn to descend comfortably, it may be a little late for this less than 2 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 by being familiar with the long descents on the back of the Seven Sisters and Richter.
• 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 few many to do this without burning up your legs.  At the race last year I definitely played cat and mouse with a few Maillot a Pois Rouge wannabes.  They would climb past me on the up, and I'd pedal past them on the down.  The difference between my approach and theirs was I was shooting for steady power output up and down, where they were attacking the climb and not pedalling on the descent.  Amateur hour, I didn't see most of them past the sixth roller until the finish line.
• The out and back kind of sucks.  Its long and hot, and like any other out and back section of a looped race, it feels like you're only doing it to ride longer, which is exactly why its there.  This will probably be your first and only glimpse of some of the people who are going to beat you handily.  Buckle down mentally and think about why you're out here, think about crossing the finish line, and about everyone who is out there volunteering, cheering, and racing with you.  
• The only good part about the out and back is that its where you get your special needs.  If you're like me and are totally comfortable sticking to race course nutrition, consider throwing an extra tube and CO2 canister in your special needs.  If you don't use it, thats $10 down the drain, if you need it but don't bring it, that could be 10 months training down the drain. Better to be wrong on the safe side.
• Not long after the out and back you'll approach the Yellow Lake Climb. It starts so gradually that 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 and this is definitely one of them.  This is a tough section, but near the top of Yellow Lake you'll come into a Tour de France style tunnel of cheers and fans.  Relish that moment, if you're going to get out of the saddle at any time on that course, that's the place to do it.
• Staggered start this year.  Ironman Canada veterans will say goodbye to the mass start this year at Challenge Penticton.  I think this is a good thing, with such a large field the swim and bike course were incredibly crowded.  This approach will also encourage you to ride your own ride as the people ahead of you or behind you aren't necessarily competing with you for position.
• 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 when you're riding at 35kph, than when you're running at 10kph. Going 5% harder for 6 hours on the bike might mean you get out of the saddle 10 minutes sooner, but with that you 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".  The fact of the matter is that its all legs and its all related, so on a course like IMC, your patience on the bike will be rewarded on the run.

Edit: For a more in depth look at the Ironman Canada and Challenge Penticton Bike Courses check out this post.