Boston & Dealing with Rejection

This post is hard to write.  Usually when I post about my athletic endeavours I’m writing about achieving a personal best, conquering some new milestone, showing off a medal or other wonderful news.  I suppose social media has many of us projecting only the best moments of our lives, which makes failure and rejection difficult to discuss for most of us.  But I think its healthy and quite necessary to have a conversation about the moments of our lives where we fail to meet our goals, to remind ourselves that we are all human, and when we do not achieve the goals we set out for, its only truly a failure if we do not learn from the experience. 

This is not a pity me post.  This is a blog that is meant to help myself and others move forward from perceived failure and rejection. 

As a run coach and personal trainer, I put tremendous pressure on myself to perform and succeed.  I consider myself a role model - professionally for my clients - but I also have personal ambitions just like my clients do.  So when I fail to achieve a goal I feel disappointed in myself. 

This is the second time I’ve applied for entry in the Boston Marathon. (https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon). 

I suppose I’m finding this rejection from the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) particularly hard because the first time was so easy for me.  The very first marathon I ever ran was the Toronto Marathon in May 2016, with a time of 3:34:38.  The Boston Qualifying (BQ) time for my age group then was 3:40:00, which meant I had a 5:22 buffer and was eventually accepted in the first week of application for the 2017 Boston Marathon.  The cut off time in the competitive entry system was 2:09 that year. My buffer was 5:22 was plenty cushion. 

I decided to apply for the 2019 Boston Marathon with my most recent marathon time of 3:40:45, which I also achieved at the Toronto Marathon this spring (May 2018). It was not as fast a finishing time, but since I moved up an age group my BQ time was 3:45:00 this year, which gave me a buffer of 4:15.  I applied in the second week of application and was rejected.  Apparently the cut off time for applications was set at 4:52, I missed it by 37 seconds.  The competitive entry system was much more competitive this year.   I would not be lacing up my sneakers in Boston this spring as I had hoped. 

The rejection letter was hard to read. I felt bummed out, inadequate and frustrated.  I wasn’t alone.  I scanned social media all day - I read the comments left on the Boston Marathon’s Facebook page, various Instagram sites, and Strava posts - people were angry, sad, disappointed and obviously frustrated.  All valid feelings.  But what now?  How this rejection is dealt with is very important in moving forward.  

I was surprised at how many people were angry at the B.A.A.  A large number of the rejected runners felt that simply achieving their BQ times, as set by the B.A.A., should have been enough to guarantee entry.  I saw a lot of F*** Boston posts.  It seemed like they felt mislead or taunted. 

Sure, I get the anger, we are all human, we work really hard putting blood, sweat and tears into the process, and the emotional let down is tough.  But I don’t think being angry at the B.A.A. is the right answer. It is the most prestigious marathon in the world for a reason. 

I chose self-reflection over anger.  Why did I fail to be accepted even though I earned my BQ?  Its important to remember that achieving your BQ time only gives you the right to apply, it is still a competitive entry system.  I compare it to applying to an Ivy league University like Harvard - you may have the grades but you are still competing with everyone else who earned those grades.  Its the best of the best, its prestigious, its tough.       

So did I perform at my best? No, I don’t think so.  I ran well at the 2018 Toronto Marathon, but not my best.  I’ve done better.  So why didn’t I run as well? I can’t say for sure, but here are some ideas that have been going through my mind:

1) I’m two years older

2) My cat died 4 weeks before the marathon and I was still incredibly sad from his passing

3) The week before the marathon there was an incident at work that caused significant stress in my life that involved some major work-life changes  

4) My regular ultimate frisbee league team did not play over the winter season due to a registration issue.  This had been the primary source of my winter interval run training.      

5) Perhaps I became cocky/complacent.  

  

Let’s tweeze these theories apart: 

1) Sure I’m two years older, but since I only started marathon running in 2016 I think I have more to learn, and experience is so important in marathon running. I don’t think that was the issue. 

2) Mourning my cat.  I’m not sure what to say.  It was so sad.  I spent many hours crying over him but the grief process was something that I had to work through and am still working through. 

3) Work stress.  This is always the million dollar question because every single person I’ve ever met has stress related to work.  I think its largely unavoidable and as people we need to learn better coping skills when stress happens.  There were people who told me to just channel my anger at the situation into my run but I’m not sure if I was able to do that.  Sometimes it just weighs you down and exhausts you.   

4) Can I blame my team captain for my marathon performance because he didn’t register the team in time? Of course not, that’s ridiculous.  I am the only person responsible for my run workouts, and I should have scheduled interval run workouts during the times we would have had our games. My fault.   

5) Did I get complacent? Its quite possible.  I had a lot of success in my run events that past year and maybe I let my foot ease up on the pedal that winter/spring training season.  

In the end, I really only have myself to blame for not running up to my full potential - being fast enough to get into the 2019 Boston Marathon.  

If I’m going to thrive as a runner and a human being, I must recognize that: 

* I am competing with other athletes who are training hard, and want it bad. 

* I am the only person responsible for scheduling & completing my workouts.

* I can not blame other people, institutions or life situations for my failure to achieve goals. I am the only person accountable for my actions and I must learn how to manage these.    

* Being angry, sad, frustrated are all normal and healthy emotions, but it is important not to dwell on them.  It’s incredibly important to make a plan and initiate the required steps to make progress towards reaching future goals.   

I expect I will run another marathon this spring and attempt to re-qualify for Boston again in the future.  No one likes eating the slice of humble pie (especially when you know the sweet taste of Boston cream), but you never forget the bitter taste in your mouth, and that will help fuel the runs ahead. 

Barrelman 2018

After doing my first full Ironman at Mont Tremblant last year, I wanted to take some time to work on some sport specific aspects of my long course triathlon, and I decided it would be better to do a couple half irons this season before attempting another full Iron.  I picked Ironman 70.3 Muskoka and MSC Barrelman courses for the 2018 season, both are 2km swim/90km bike/21.1km run. 

Race morning dawned foggy and humid, it seemed all my races this year were going to be in hot conditions.  The forecast high was for an air temp of 30C, with humidex of 35C. Ugh, not what this Newfie seal was hoping for. 

Still dark, I left my hotel in Niagara Falls, climbed in the shuttle bus and made my way to the Welland International Flatwater Centre where the swim and T1 section of the courses were located. T2 and the run would be based in Niagara Falls.  The athletes would bike the 90km between the transition zones. 

I checked over my bike, prepped my gear in T1 and headed down to the water to do my warm up swim.  I felt really good going into the swim.  I had done lots of work on my swim with coach Miranda Tomenson over the winter, and I upgraded my wetsuit to a Roka Maverick Elite (replacing my Nineteen Pipeline which had served me well over the last 4 years but was starting to wear and tear now).   

The first 300m of any open water mass swim start is dodgy. You just try to avoid getting kicked, and once I was out of the 'thrashers section' I settled into my groove. I focussed more on my ‘superpose’ style stroke, gliding, and rotating on the skewer (like Miranda suggested) and I settled into a good rhythm.  The guide ropes were still in the canal (used by the kayakers and rowers) so for most of the swim I could use them to help with sighting.  I was grateful for those. 

Exiting the water, I glanced down at my Garmin - it read 41:15.  When I did this course back in 2016 I swam the 2k in 47:34 which means I took 6min 19sec off my previous swim time!  Boom!  Hence the big grin coming out of the water.  I was off to a great start. 

I transitioned out of my swim gear, hopped onto the bike and headed out onto the road towards Fort Erie. This year the race director added 1K onto the bike course with a short turn around (previously it was 89K and they needed to add 1K to bring it to the standard 90K for the half-iron distance).  So the bike courses from 2016 and 2018 will not be 100% comparable. I felt good on the bike, I committed to staying in aero position for parts of the course that were straight and not too technical, but I felt a few of the nagging end of season muscle and joint issues creep up on me towards the last third of the course.   I managed to smash my left knee into my coffee table the weekend before and the bruising ache returned full force at the 60k point, making the ride a little more uncomfortable than it needed to be.  I know, no excuses, but it is what it is.  In the end, I held the exact same pace as last time (27.9km/h).  I'm not as pleased with that. 

The second transition is always welcomed, as I’m glad to get my butt off the bike and start my favourite section of the triathlon - the run.  I felt good on the run, but the heat soon began to take its toll, as it often does at this point.  Recalling the strategy I used in Muskoka, I poured water over my head and grabbed ice to throw in my sports bra whenever I could get it.  It helped, but I think I was a little too focused on keeping cool and forgot to take all the nutrition I needed on the run.  (Or perhaps I was distracted by the magnificence of the Niagara waterfalls in the background.)  I was just taking liquids for the last 12km, when I should have been taking my last 2 gels.  I felt I was running well, but the split times were not as fast as they should have been, especially when compared to what I did on this course previously, and Ironman 70.3 Muskoka.  I ran the 21.1km in 2:01:31, slower than both Muskoka and Barrelman 2016 which were both sub 2h (1:59:47 and 1:56:31, respectively).   

 

Overall I did the 2018 MSC Barrelman in 6:01:37.  Faster than the Ironman 70.3 Muskoka course back in July at 6:03:16, so that’s good.   I’d like to be able to compare it to my 2016 Barrelman time of 6:00:05.5 but I need to remind myself that the bike course was shorter then, so it doesn’t necessarily mean that I was any slower, especially when my bike splits were pretty much exactly the same in both years.  The big difference was definitely the heat, it was much more hot and humid in 2018 than 2016, which impacted my run.    

Alas I’m still in search of my sub 6h half-iron triathlon.  Sadly it won’t happen this year, but I know I’ll get there at some point.  

So what are my take home points from this triathlon race season?  

1. Swim - The hard work on the swim has paid off.  I need to keep doing the assigned drills and focus on the form adjustments my swim coach has taught me.  They are working and my swim times from Muskoka, LOST and Barrelman show it clearly and consistently. 

2. Bike - I saw little improvement on the bike splits this year.  While I am definitely more comfortable in aero-position this season than in previous years, I need to work on my power.  This will definitely be a priority over the winter. 

3. Run - I’m happy with my run form and times. I know its the heat I suffer in and perhaps more heat training would be helpful.  Otherwise, I just need to keep working hard and not get complacent.  

4. Nutrition - After reviewing some of my run splits and thought processes, I think I am overlooking some aspects of race day nutrition.  I think I try to just power through the last sections of the bike/run courses and my performance suffers for it, contrary to what I may tell myself at the time.  I’m going to have to work on this part of my sport.  I need to better strategize my caloric intake while cycling and running, instead of just toughing it out, like the stubborn fool I can be sometimes.       

While its now officially off season for triathlon, my off-season for running won't start until mid-Nov.  I have a few more big run events scheduled over the next two months, so be sure to stay tuned for more on my running adventures, including my first trail ultra-marathon this autumn!  

Swimming with Mental Grit

Last weekend (Aug 18) I did the LOST swim.  Its an annual race held every August by the Lake Ontario Swim Team members based in Oakville http://lostswimming.com/. In the past I’ve done both the 1.6k (mile) and 3.8k (iron) distance events, depending on what my training schedule fit at the time. 

Despite it being held the same place and same time every year, the conditions are always different each and every time - at least all four times I’ve done it (2015-18).  The night before the race, a wind and rain storm past through the Great Lakes region, and although the weather had cleared race morning, there was still a tremendous energy held by the water from the previous nights storm.  In other words, the swell was big. 

                                            All Photos courtesy of John Johnston. 

All the swimmers waded down the rocks and into the lake from the entry point at Maple Grove Drive, and immediately the swell began tossing the swimmers around. It was going to be a rough swim.  The airhorn blasted and off we went.  While the water was much warmer this year (71F) than last years event (a bitterly cold 44F due to a lake inversion), the swell was some of the toughest I’ve swam in.  

Looking around me, it was hard to see the buoys at times, and I could barely see any of the other swimmers.  Typically the bright yellow swim caps made the other swimmers easy to spot, and offered reassurance, but this year I saw hardly any other swim caps in the water.  I felt lonely out there, weren’t we a big crowd when we started? Like over 100 people?  That’s when my mind started to play tricks on me.  I began to think that I was the very last swimmer. I was struggling in the swell and convinced my performance was sucking, hard.  I couldn’t see anyone else, so obviously they had all gone ahead of me and left me in their wake.  I began to feel so defeated that I even refused to look at my Garmin, because if I hadn’t swam far enough yet, and the GPS confirmed it, I would be devastated.  I thought about quitting for a few moments, but I had never quit a race before, even the year the water temperature was a frigid 41F.  So after collecting my thoughts, taking a deep breath, I continued on.  

About 30min into the swim I started to feel the further effects of the waves.  Nausea began to set in from the rough swell tossing me around.  I really wished I had taken some of the ginger gravol I had in my first aid kit.  Oh well too late now.  If I puked in the lake so be it.  Probably the best spot to do it, I suppose. 

With all these negative thoughts and forces of nature working against me I had two options: 

1. Give up, signal to a kayaker and swim ashore, or 

2. Refocus my efforts and swim better so that I would hurry up and finish the damn course so that I could get out of the water at the Navy Street pier with my dignity intact.  

I chose option 2. I refocussed my form, kept my head down, tightened up my arm position closer to my body through the downward pull for efficiency and swam to get this the hell over with.  It was the right approach. I finally arrived at the LOST beach and gladly let the volunteers help drag me out of the waves crashing on the shore.  

I finished the 3.8km point to point course in 1:24:02. I finished 5th in my age group, so much for being last!  

https://results.rmraces.live/LOST/events/2018/The-LOST-Race2018/results 

The last time I did the 3.8km swim (2016), I finished with a time of 1:29:58.  Contrary to the tricks my mind was playing on me, I actually performed much better, cutting 5min 56sec from my previous time.  I was almost 6 minutes faster!  I was really pleased with that. Six minutes is significant. 

I had been making a real effort to improve my swim times this year, including some private coaching sessions from Miranda Tomenson, and spending more time in the lakes doing open water versus pool swimming this summer. And it looks like its paying off. If I had pulled out when things got tough in the lake, I would not have this validation.  

This event is an excellent reminder of how important mental grit and having a positive attitude is for endurance athletes.  We can train our bodies to travel long distances when conditions are great, but what happens when our perfect game plan falls apart, due to bad weather, or other issues out of our control?   A well rounded and successful endurance athlete has to develop mental strength to get them through every situation, especially the bad ones. Its just as important as all that time spend in the gym and the physical aspects of training.   

The mind is the single most important part of our body that we have to train.  We train it to control our limbs and breathing rates when we swim, bike, run - the physical stuff. But we must also train it to think strategically, positively and to suffer through the discomfort when things go wrong.  Remember - its OK to not be OK.  As it is often in the moments of greatest vulnerability and discomfort that we dig deep to find the courage to proceed and reach our highest peaks of performance.  Remember greatness was never found in comfort zones and if you want to get stronger, faster, better than before you need to get uncomfortable. 

So get out there and be uncomfortable.  Good luck with your training! 

- Kelly

P.S. Oh, and I didn’t puke, but it was close. 

Five Peaks Trail Race #3 - Albion Hills half-marathon

One of the challenges I made for myself this year was to explore the sport of trail running.  I chose to race the Five Peaks Trail Series this summer as most of the races were within 1-1.5hrs outside of Toronto and the races appeared to be well organized with a fun and loyal following of trail runners. http://www.5peaks.com/ontario/  

All of which would lead me up to my end of season goal, my first trail ultra-marathon, The Beav 50K trail race at the Hilton Falls Conservation Area in November. https://raceroster.com/events/2018/15698/the-beav  

Race #1, Terra Cotta, was unfortunately cancelled due to a nasty freezing rain storm.       

Race #2, Rattlesnake Point, had beautiful weather and I had a fantastic day running the 12.7km enduro course in 76min to a solid 4th place AG finish, pleasantly surprising myself, encouraging me to up my trail running game for the next event (see my blog dated June 18 for that story - http://contourspersonaltraining.blogspot.com/2018/06/june-blog-updates-riding-for-heart-and.html).   

Race #3, Albion Hills.  After my solid performance at Rattlesnake Point, I decided I felt ready to apply myself to the half-marathon trail race.  I have lots of experience running half and full marathon on road (including the Boston and Toronto Marathons), but I have never ran this distance on trail.  I love running long, I consider myself more of an endurance athlete with my Ironman triathlon background so this was a natural progression for me.  

Unlike Rattlesnake Point, where I felt unsure about where I would place myself in the starting wave, I knew immediately I would start myself in the first wave of this race.  I belonged in the lead pack.  I don’t want to sound cocky here, its not my style to be arrogant.  But I do have faith in my ability when I look back on past performance and training blocks and see that I have demonstrated capability.  So I stepped up.   

Some people might consider the race day weather less than ideal. It was raining steadily, a cool 17C to start, and cloudy grey skies.  However, I love this kind of weather.  I run so much better in cooler weather, and I don’t mind getting wet and dirty.  Considering the oppressive heat and humidity Southern Ontario had been dealing with over the past month, I was quite relieved to have this break in the weather and I for one embraced this cool damp weather.  I would rather run in 17C than 35C anyday!  

The course consisted of three laps of a 7km looped and twisted forested trail in the Albion Hills Conservation Area.  There were plenty of rolling hills, some steep sections, several switchbacks and a few flat open sections of grassy field.  Runners had to pay close attention to the trail signage as there were a few different directional markers (some others for mountain bikers and hiking trails) and it would be easy to make a wrong turn, as I heard at the end of the race that a few runners did. 

One of the differences between trail running and road running is the strategy involved in trail races.  Of course you have to be a fast runner to be competitive in a trail race, but I find there is so much more strategy involved in trail than road.  What clothes and layers do you carry? How much water/nutrition do you take with you? What type of trail shoe do you wear? Do you stay with a pack of other runners and keep pace with with, or race your own pace?  All these things have to be considered carefully to compete in a trail race especially in a distance over 20km. 

I consider myself a minimalist runner, thus I like to run with as little as possible.  I decided to keep my outfit choice simple with a tank top and run skirt.  Sure it was cool, but once I got going I knew I would get hot and didn’t want to worry about ditching clothes.  I tucked 2 GU gel packs in my back pockets and decided not to carry a water bottle with me. Instead I left my water bottle at the first aid station which we would pass after each 7K loop.  It was a cool day and unlike other runners, I don’t seem to take as much water as others because I tend to side-stitch.  I’ve found the best hydration strategy for me, is to drink as much water as possible the day before the race, ensuring my pee is clear (not yellow) before going to bed the night before.  

The trail shoe I wore was one area in the race I think I could’ve made a better choice.  Being new to trail running, I don’t have a lot of experience with the difference type of trail shoe cleat depth and grip.  Being a relative trail newbie, I stuck with a brand I was really comfortable with on the road, New Balance, so this spring I tried their version of a trail shoe, the WT620v2 trail runner. It has a tread depth ranging from 3-4mm.  While I had a great race in this shoe during Rattlesnake Point, the trail that day was dry and hard packed.   The trail conditions at Albion Hills were quite the opposite - wet, muddy and slippery, especially on the descents. 

I managed to do my climbs and flat stretches well on this course, but the descents, an area where I usually pick up my cadence and speed were considerably slower, as my foot grip was much more precarious and I had to slow down to ensure I didn’t wipe out.  It is important to keep in mind when you run trail that one bad step can take you out of the race, so always be mindful.  I think under these conditions a different trail shoe with better grip and deeper cleats would have been a better choice. This is something I would like to experiment with in the future.  You can never have enough pairs of shoes, am I right?!   

Regardless, I got out there in the rain and mud, and ran the best I could.  The first lap I treated as an orientation lap, and a time to settle into an appropriate pace. The second lap I was more talkative and I met some wonderful people out on the trail.  I ran kms 6-14 with a really nice guy, Marc Lefebvre.  He challenged me on the hills and I challenged him to run a little faster on the flat sections.  He also prevented me from taking a wrong turn on the trail at one point, so I am thankful to him for that.  I couldn’t keep up with him on the third lap as he powered up the hills, so I wished him luck and told him to go for it.  

I remember running past the race photographer, Sue Sitki, a couple times and managed to strike a few poses for her camera.  Kudos to her for being so patient taking pictures of all of us in the cool rain all morning.  Big kudos also going out to all the volunteers who helped out during the race.  I didn’t get the name of the man in the green rain jacket at the first aid station, but he was so helpful handing me my water bottle as I passed the station after each loop. He recognized me each time and was happy to help.  Cheers! 

Now I was on to my third and final lap. I remember struggling a little on the first 3km of the final lap.  I’m not sure why.  I felt hydrated and nourished, perhaps it was my lack of trail experience that was hitting me on the hills.  I slowed to a walk for the first time that day on two hilly sections and I started getting frustrated with myself.  I should be running these, damnit!  On the downhill portions I picked up my speed again and started to snap out of it.  I was going to run the rest of this course.  The last 4km of the course I felt better and hit my stride again.  I reminded myself that I have a strong finishing kick in all my triathlons and in principle this was no different.  After running better for the next 10min I pulled into view of another female runner who I hadn’t seen since the start of the race.  If I could pass her I’d move up the rankings.  

I believe this part of the race was where my water bottle strategy came into play.  I noticed her struggling with her water belt and I took this opportunity to dig in and run past her.  Being a friendly race I nodded and told her she was doing great, but I had every intention to keep pushing hard all the way to the end. There was only 1km to the finish line.  At this point I remember there was a wonderful volunteer who high fived me and held back a few mountain bikers as I crossed one of the last wooden bridges and ran it on home to the finishing line. 

My first half-marathon trail race was done, and I managed to push hard holding an average pace of 6:41/km, with a finishing time of 2:18:03.  Waiting for the race results was tough, and I took the time to refuel at the aid station with the awesome salted boiled potatoes and orange slices, thank the volunteers for their help, and change into a warm dry hoodie and jacket.   Finally the results were in - I finished 3rd female overall, and found my spot on the podium in my second ever trail race.  Woohoo!!!  Not only do I really enjoy trail running, but after this performance I think I actually have some real talent for the sport and I will definitely be back for more.  I felt really welcomed at this event and was pleasantly surprised to see another fellow triathlete on the podium, Suzanne French, 2nd female OA, who I have met on the local triathlon circuit in the past.  Congrats ladies! 

I will not be able to attend Race #4 - Heart Lake, as it falls on the same weekend as ultimate frisbee playoffs (and my teammates will have my head if I bail on them!).  But I’ll be out for Race #5 - the Mansfield half-marathon looking for another podium run to end the 5 Peaks season, and one more hard training run before I tackle my first trail ultra-marathon in November.  
Until then, happy trail running everybody! 

The Race Results:

http://chiptimeresults.com/chiptimepublic/do.php?r/fZMkJfuSnhDLnyVxGyhmWtEGOTg+o34DEm1fTxf9MzZ8swfUi249eLvOmGIqrU0keWlGaID7NR9rCVruPBiPcc272Cl1mSYGl/i1rjiLk=

Stats: 

Lap 1- 44:54

Lap 2- 45:44

Lap 3- 47:26

Total time - 2:18:03

Avg pace: 6:41

Third female finisher overall.

Unfinished Business

After some rest, recovery and reflection on my performance at Ironman 70.3 Muskoka, I've decided that I want to take another swing at breaking the 6h mark for my half-iron distance this season. When I set a goal for myself I become very fixated on it, and I kept thinking about it all week.  After talking it over with a few people, none of whom talked me out of it, I decided to take another crack at it.  So last weekend, after finishing my second glass of wine, I registered for MultiSport Canada's Barrelman Triathlon this September.

Two weeks ago I did Ironman 70.3 Muskoka in 6:03:16, just 3min 16sec over my 6h goal time.  The last time I did Barrelman (Sept 2017), I completed the course in 6:00:05.5.  Again, so damn close to that 6hr goal time.   This year I've decided to keep the pedal to the medal and push on to finally break that 6h mark.  With race day less than 2 months away there is no time to waste.  I'm excited about continuing this process, stay tuned for updates as my training continues. 

Todays workout will focus on gaining some more power on the bike, so I'm going to hit the weights in the gym and build more leg strength.  Squats, leg presses, hip hinges and more. Let's fire up those glutes!

The Beast of the North

The course is called the Beast of the North - Ironman 70.3 Muskoka. And I did it on Sunday, July 8, 2018.  Daybreak was a refreshingly cool 12C as the athletes organized themselves in transition zone before heading over to the swim start. However the daytime high was forecast for 27C, with clear skies, which meant that despite the sweaters we were all wearing at dawn, we would all end up melting down on the hot asphalt run with the sun blaring down on us in just a few hours time. Oh yes, there would be sunburns today.  

The swim was great, cool air and warm water to start. The beast aspect of this course starts mid-way in the swim, when we leave Fairy Lake and turn upstream, against the current, up the Muskoka River. I did the 2k swim in 42:39 with only one good kick to the chops (no harm done) near the end where all the swimmers bottlenecked to exit the river. I was sure happy to see the wetsuit strippers ready to help peel my suit off before heading into T1, they really are angels, no perhaps more like fairies for this course.  

The bike portion has changed this year from previous years.  When I became familiar with the original bike route (the 94km full loop of the Lake of Bays) I was using it to train for the hills of Ironman Mont Tremblant in 2017. I did that loop 3x last year.  It was an incredible course with lots of hills, but there were also lots of really rough patches and pothole roads which I’m thankful I didn’t have to navigate on my racing bike.  I’m always a little worried about hitting bumps and potholes when tucked into aero-position, so when I saw the revised bike course (an 90km out and back along Brunel Rd and the 117) I was slightly relieved for my safety, but secretly a little disappointed I wouldn’t have the official epic ride on my record books. There was no Britannia Rd, Dwight Beach or highway 35 on this day.  This year, people have nicknamed the course “Beast lite”.  Wether you think its a good or bad thing, I’ll let you decide for yourself. 

Either way, the course lay out was out of my control and I just had to race the road that lay before me as decided by the race officials.  I had a great ride, I really committed to staying in aero, especially when the headwinds picked up on the way back which I know made a difference.  I paced 27.8km/h in a time of 3:14:15.  I rode the race route two weeks prior in a time of 3h35m so I’m happy that I brought a little more intensity on race day. I know that if I want to be more competitive in the future I’ll have to build more power on the bike and its something I’m going to make a point to work in the months ahead.  But for todays performance I was happy with what I achieved. And I felt positive going into the run.  

The run is my favourite and strongest part of triathlon.  However, I know my performance suffers in the heat.  I run my best in cooler weather and have never gotten the hang of heat training.  I remember going for my Sunday morning long runs over the last couple weeks in the +32C heat wave and using it more as mental rather than physical training.  

Every good athlete has a plan for race day weather, and so did I.  Going into the hottest part of the race, I was going to keep my core body temp down as best I could.  At almost every aid station I grabbed a cup of ice, dumped it into my sports bra, poured the cold water over my head, replaced my hat, took a couple swigs of gatorade and just kept moving.  It worked for me.  I never cramped, puked or had to stop/walk at any point.  I kept an average pace of 5:40/km keeping the run under 2h (1:59:47).  Its not my best run time, but considering the heat and hills I’m OK with it. 

There were a lot of great people I met on the run that helped push me forward.  Chatting  with Darragh, a charming Irish guy, who kept catching up with me until he told me to go on down the hill faster so I could try for my sub 6h goal.  The woman in my same AG in the yellow shirt who kept passing me on the bike but I finally passed her back on the run.  The lovely local couple who were watering their lawn and kindly sprayed me down with their hose as I ran past their house, and of course all the volunteers for their support and high fives. 

I came so close to my sub 6h half iron, alas I crossed the finish line at 6:03:16. (I started in the fifth swim wave @ 7:20am as decided by age group, for those noticing the time discrepancy). 

https://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.xhtml?raceid=93803&status=results&category=F40-44

A respectful performance none the less, considering the rugged hilly terrain of the course.   

I placed 17/59 in my age group, which is pretty awesome considering all the strong women who raced the course.  Mad respect for you all!  

Ironman 70.3 Muskoka was my second half-iron.  Previously I did Barrelman, the Niagara Falls half-iron put on by MultiSport Canada, and I finished that course in 6:00:05.5.  To be honest, even though I had a faster finishing time at Barrelman, I am more proud of my performance at IM 70.3 Muskoka as the course is much more challenging.  Comparing both courses would be like comparing apples and oranges though.  One is flat and fast, the other is upstream and hilly.  Both are beautiful in their own way and I plan to do both of them again in the future. I expect I’ll probably get my sub 6h at Barrelman before I’ll get it at Muskoka though, especially if the race organizers return to the original bike route (94km).  Either way, I’ll just keep training for it if I really want it.  And I do want it.  We all have a hunger. 

I’ll be back for you again - you beast! 

************************

On a more whimsical and personal note on endurance racing... 

Many of my friends and family ask me why I do these races. These events are torturous to some, as many of my less athletically inclined and even many of my ultimate frisbee teammates have commented when they look at my Facebook and Instagram feeds, but to me they are wonderful. They bring me such joy. I suppose it takes a special kind of intense person to find joy in such an endurance event, but thats the kind of person I am.   

I know I’m feeling joy when I start singing songs while I’m cycling and running.  (For some reason I never sing while swimming. I suppose it would be more like gurgling than singing, and I then there’s that drowning risk. I guess that answers my own question.)  

During this race I found myself defaulting to some music in particular and I thought I might share my thoughts with others who did the course more out of curiosity to see if they sing or have the same songs pop into their head while racing this course.  

On the downhill portions of Brunel road, where the cyclists pick up lots of so called free-speed on the steep descents, I always find my mind drifts to that great classic rock song “Free Ride” by the Edgar Winters Group: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GjYlTwWQHI   If you’ve ever circled the Lake of Bays you know about the highs and lows and wanting to take the free ride parts of the course.    

Then there was a man standing on a dock alongside highway 117, near Grandview, ringing a cowbell to a rhythm that reminded me quite distinctly of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train”.  All aboard!!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0i9yCZ5D8E  That song stayed with me all the way to back to Baysville. 

The sign that I knew I was the most happy when when I was simply coasting along the highways and Florence and the Machine just organically popped into my head.  Songs like ‘Grace’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgnWirJ1LUI and ‘100 years‘ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6GX0Zf4FMI make me feel happy and joyful, like I’m floating along my way, with the piano and voice filling the space around me.  I know I’m mentally in a good place when this happens. I was having a good race. I knew I wasn’t going to win it, but I was loving it the whole way.  Perhaps this is the runners high/endurance high we all talk about. 

I recall on the run, when I saw a guy cramp up on the stretch on Main street next to the Shell station I even found a musical inspiration for that situation.  He was gripping his leg and violently shaking it, as if trying to shake it into submission. I started signing to him the lyrics from FATM “Shake it Out” - “Shake it out, Shake it out, oh whoa! And its hard to dance with the devil on your back, so shake it out! Shake it out!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbN0nX61rIs  It seemed somewhat appropriate to me. Maybe I was a little delirious from dehydration at this point, but I was feeling joyful running down that road. I have no idea if it helped his leg cramp, but it may have lifted his spirits a little. Or perhaps he just thought I was a weirdo. Either way it felt like the right thing to do in the moment. 

Just like singing “I love hills” (sorry there is no link, I only perform it live on hills during my long rides) along Ironman 140.6 Mont Tremblant last year, and the “SuperFreak”  song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYHxGBH6o4M that was playing along the highway in Quebec that day on August 20, 2017, singing and music and mantras in general really help me endure for some reason.  I don’t know why, but when I push myself out of my comfort zone and need to push even harder when things get tough, my mind defaults to music, whatever will help get me through at the moment. It seems to resonate with other people too, as they’ll comment on it when they see me later on in the race or at the post-race celebrations. “Hey you were that girl singing to me on the hills, that was great.”

That’s the thing about these Ironman 70.3 and 140.6 races.  From my experience, I find they test me both mentally and physically, taking me to places of discomfort, soul searching and eventually joy.  Remember - Anything is possible with a song in your heart.  

Hope to see you all out there again on the course. I'll keep doing them as long as they bring me joy. And if you see that strange girl singing on the bike or run, that’s probably me, look for Kelly on the Bib :) 

Cheers to a great day everyone! 

Muskoka - training, racing, summering hard

The TriMuskokan & Prepping for Ironman 70.3 Muskoka

Tapering is hard. I find it very difficult to just sit down and watch TV or read a book instead of running, cycling, swimming, playing ultimate frisbee or strength training in the gym, like I normally do each day.  

I know tapering is a very necessary and important part of preparation for any big race, especially the longer courses, like what I’m about to embark upon - Ironman 70.3 Muskoka (2km swim, 90km bike, 21.1km run). 

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman-70.3/muskoka.aspx#/axzz5KOdvjtdo

If you’re wondering what Ironman 70.3 means, it is the actual mileage one travels in the race (1.2 miles, 56 miles, 13.1 miles = 70.3 miles). It is also known as the half-iron, as it is half the distance of a full Ironman (2.4, 112, 42.2 = 140.6).  So that will clear up any confusion you may have when you see Ironman 70.3 and Ironman 140.6 - that is if you ever cared, or thought its all a crazy distance anyway. 

But back to my point, I know I need to taper so that my muscles can recover, I can catch up on my rest, and I’ll be primed and ready to go on race morning.  So since I’m not swimming and cycling this morning I thought I may as well catch up on my blog. This way I still feel I’m being productive while staying true to my taper plan.  

Sunday, July 8 is the big day, one of my A races for the year.  Pretty much everything I’ve done in the last few months has been leading up to this event.   The swim starts in Fairy Lake and takes us upstream into the Muskoka River, where we transition to the bike so that we can cycle through the beautiful and very hilly Muskokan countryside, and finally we run through quaint downtown Huntsville for the half marathon leg of the race.     

My last big training brick was in Huntsville when I raced the TriMuskokan short course championships on June 24, and managed a top ten finish in my age group (http://trimuskoka.com/).  There was significant overlap on all the swim/bike/run courses so it was an excellent chance to get some practical training in.

   

The unique section on this course is the upriver swim, so I was glad to get some course recon in a race setting.  I learned that the key to this particular swim is to stick to the side and stay out of the middle of the river where the current is strongest.       

As for the bike, you just need to learn to love hills and pace yourself accordingly (I know, easier said than done right!).  I did lots of hill training last year when I was prepping for Ironman Mont Tremblant, and trained on these exact hills.  So it was good to get a couple more rides on the hilly terrain to refresh my muscle memory.  My trainer at home can not replicate the same elements that you’ll find on these hills in real life.  I must admit, I’m jealous of the locals who get to ride these roads regularly, while I'm stuck in the mess that is downtown Toronto. 

Of course, the run will be hilly too, but I always feel good about my run, I did lots of hill training this spring prepping for the High Park run off and the Toronto marathon where I had strong finishes. 

Honestly the factor I’m most concerned about is the heat.  Southern Ontario has been gripped in a heat wave of +32C (even higher humidity in the low 40C's) for the last 10 days.  And I will be the first to admit, I struggle in the heat.  I’m an east coaster after all, and Newfies are not acclimated for this type of oppressive heat.  I’m absolutely desperate for mother nature to give me a break this weekend!!!  On the bright side, it’s been nice for the open water swim training at what is normally a rather chilly Cherry Beach, but its been hellish during the runs. Pure. hell.  Here’s hoping the weather breaks before I do! 

I decided to make one change to my race kit since coming back from the TriMuskokan race weekend.  I invested in a more aerodynamic cycling helmet.  Price has been a sticking point with these for me, however, I’ve rationalized that since I’m putting in so much effort in my training and suffering on the hills, that anything I can do to make this easier on myself is a reasonable purchase, especially since most serious triathletes are already using these.  Further considering my bike is probably the weakest of the 3 disciplines I feel its a justifiable decision.  I opted for the Giro Synthe, one of the more economically priced models at $299.99 plus tax (I can honestly say that Canadian Tire has become a distant memory for me!).  I took it for a test ride yesterday and honestly, I felt faster in my aero position and my head even felt lighter.  I averaged 1km/hr faster just pedalling around Sunnybrook Park.  

It took me 3h35m to do the 90km on the IM Muskoka bike course the last time I did it with my old helmet, so lets see what I do on the bike this Sunday.  Any guesses for my time?  Feel free to comment below. 

So now, I'm just trying not to overeat in the last few days of my taper (at least until my carb load begins on Saturday morning - all the bagels, peanut butter, bananas and pasta I desire), get enough rest, try my best to avoid the temptation of summer drinking (at least until the post-race celebrations) and re-check my gear until I head north again this weekend.  Send me lots of good vibes - both for speed and cooler weather.