I recently had a great chat with a few of the NTC guys who encouraged me to prepare for a very competitive race. I am really happy with my effort and Canadian ranking from Kelowna, but that race taught me a new level of suffering. Perfect. Correspondently, my recovery after the race was longer and slower than any other race of this season. It took over a week for me to return to normal and start delivering proper times and efforts in my training sessions! I am preparing for this race and I will be ready to excel on Sept. 12th.

After, I turn around and come back home immediately to jump back into grad school. Sadly, this Euro trip won’t be a vacation.

Related posts:

• Not as I planned (quick post on the 2009 Subaru Sooke Triathlon)
• 2010 Canadian National Championships
• Swim, School, Team, Race

Overall, I am pleased with my effort at this very competitive race. Like many Canadian triathletes, Nationals was one of my “A” races, or focus races, for this year.

This race had some great athletes in attendance—World Champions, Olympic medalists, Olympians . . . The 2010 Kelowna Apple Triathlon saw a record number of elite men and a stacked start-list, including Simon Whitfield, Kyle Jones, and Andrew Russell.

For the 2010 Canadian National Championships, I am the 19th fastest Canadian in the Olympic distance and I placed 37th overall (out of 64 elite men). Obviously, I have a great deal of room to improve but I am encouraged by this race (full results here). Thanks to my coach Noa Deutsch, I’ve come a long way in a single year while being a full-time graduate student (and working here and there)!

Like so many other athletes, I aimed to have my best race of the season in Kelowna. All my training and other races served to lead up to this race. I have one more race this year—ITU Age Group Triathlon World Championship in Budapest, Hungary—which will further improve upon my Kelowna race.

But let me share how Nationals went.

The elite men’s race started at 2pm. I got on race site around 10am, so I had ample time to watch some of the age-groupers finish and see the elite women race. All part of the plan. As usual, I had planned the days leading up to the race and the entire race day in a spreadsheet, which I followed—my own goofy way of staying sane (even though a few of my training mates made snide comments about my tri-geekness).

I was a little nervy before the race, but nothing significant. I’ve gotten used to that feeling. The hardest part was waiting. Once I began my run warm up, body-marking, bike checking, etc. I felt calm.

At my last ITU race in Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec, I failed to bring a wetsuit to warm up in and froze in chilly winds before the race. The weather was intermittently wet and cold at Kelowna so I’m glad I had a wetsuit, which kept me warm right until the race start.

The horn sounded. The race began in earnest. I had a solid swim and managed to get on a few people’s hips and feet for a large portion of the first lap. I felt fairly comfortable holding solid form. The water was a little choppy, but not too bad. Throughout most of the swim, I had people around me. I have a lesson to take away from the swim: I think I held a slightly less aggressive pace than I was capable of simply because I was in with other back-pack swimmers. I am certain I could have pushed myself more but got comfortable because there were other people around me (the logic: “I can’t be swimming that poorly, because there are others around me”). Nevertheless, I still had a very good swim. I suspect one of my best of the year.

After the 23:55 swim and T1, I was in 50th place. I knew I was way back but I didn’t let it bother me. The bike is where I planned to let my inner monster out. Headed out on my first of six loops, Matt Sharpe (who placed first in the Junoir National elite race the day previous) said “go catch those guys.” I smiled.

I caught up with a pack of about seven guys right at the bottom of Knox Hill (see A. Russell’s post on this make-or-break climb here). I stuck with them on the way up and for the first loop. There were few guys doing pulls and a few guys just riding the draft. By the time I was on the second lap, I made a move to drop them. Should have done so sooner.

I was alone for most of lap two until midway through lap 5. I had a strong bike and I find it interesting to see that my fastest lap was a lap I did solo (lap 3). I am very happy with my bike fitness, particularly because I did so much work alone and my bike time was only one minute more than the lead draft pack. I pulled a lot of guys on the bike but also dropped most of them. It wasn’t until the very end of lap five that two Canadian guys from QC caught up to me and we worked together. The hill was definitely a point of weakness for me. Being 6’3 and weighing in around 195 makes climbing hard! Still, the Knox Hill isn’t easy for anyone, so I can’t claim any disadvantage.

I loved the bike and I felt great. Six loops seemed short, even though the distance was actually more than 40km (I think it was 41.3km, if my memory serves). The Argon 18 Gallium Pro made a huge difference for this race and I want to thank SpeedTheory Calgary for helping me out with it.

The Run

I had a lousy T2 as I struggled to get my shoes on. Then the run was on. I went into this race with a different approach to visualization. Instead of visualizing the positive, I gave myself over to suffering and pain. I visualized hurt and pushing through pain to achieve and maintain speeds that properly reflect my fitness and training. I have trained to hurt and hold on and this race would be a test of my threshold. I gave a lot on the bike and I needed to keep pushing for the run.

I held a reasonable pace for the run (3:33/km). I know I can do better, but after a great bike that is what I had in me. Of course, hindsight always makes me doubt whether I pushed hard enough, but I have to take the run for what it was. I took a lot of energy from all the people cheering me on. I cramped up on laps two and three (left calf and stomach), but pushed through and didn’t slow. I managed to catch a couple people, although one guy who came off the bike with me out ran me and another guy from a back pack also caught me.

I kicked things up for the final 400m meters and I thought I was going to fall over. I left it all on the course.

So, I managed to move from 50th out of the water to 37th by the finish. I will continue to work on all aspects of my racing. Improvements in the swim will result in significant gains in my overall placing. And, of course, non-draft legal races will also play to my advantage. I’m looking forward to my final race for 2010 and preparing for the 2011 season.

I have come a long way since starting triathlon in June 2008. I’ve made some huge leaps forward in the past year. While part of me would certainly like to achieve a higher ranking, I need to remember that I can’t rush this process and I can’t fake the years of work it takes to excel in this sport. This is my first year racing as an elite! Not bad for anyone, especially someone pushing thirty with only two years of sport in his background. I feel that I am on track as a high performance athlete and I feel confident about where I’m going in the sport that I love. I will keep putting in the hours, working with my great coach, learning and suffering. Even better results will come. And I will know that I’ve earned them.

For the record, here are my times:
Swim: 23:55 (56th out of water)
Bike: 1:04:57 (19th fastest bike split and only 1 minute off lead pack time)
Run: 35:21 (36th fastest run)
Total Time: 2:06:15 (19th fastest Canadian and 37th overall)

Full results for the 2010 Men’s Elite National Championship can be found here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Related posts:

• Coteau Du Lac 2010 Race Report
• 2010 Ixtapa Race Report
• On my way to Budapest

The last few weeks I’ve felt fatigued with the training I’ve been doing. Noa, my excellent coach, has been pushing me just hard enough—enough that I hurt bad but not enough to break me and my spirit (that angle/demon who lives inside my body/mind). Today’s race functioned as a important laboratory to test out how I race under less than optimal conditions. At least that is how I approached it. No race is perfect, but testing my performance and mental focus coming out of a few challenging training weeks added extra complications and excitements.

I learned a few valuable lessons from this race and built some additional confidence for my next race: Canadian National Championships in Kelowna August 22. I placed fourth overall. Here’s the details:

I awoke early, ate a small breakfast, and headed to race site, imagining that transition was first-come-first-to-select-the-most-awesome-spot-on-the-racks. Ahh. The well organized race crew had designated spots! I took a little nap in the car once getting marked and setup. Then all the normal pre-race stuff: warm-up run, bartering with gods and demons to favour me, sudden atheistic moments of doubt in gods and demons (and self), warm up swim, chatting with other racers . . . the usual.

This was a no-wetsuit swim. The water was warm but the air was cool. Luke, an athlete from Oz, stood shivering, wanting the race to begin. I had a solid swim in what I believe to be a full 1500m course; my time was 22:04, which is a PB by over a minute since last race. Looks like swimming 6-7 days per week has some payoff, although I still have many minutes to shave off. Good thing this won’t be my last race or my last season!

I felt comfortable on the swim, not nearly as panicked as other races. I didn’t have the energy to flail wildly. I just swam the best I could with the energy that I had. I want to give a shoutout to Sable Water Optics, an amazing supporter who provided me with a few sets of goggles for this season (thank you). They make the best goggles on the market. As usual, the goggles didn’t fog and helped me sight buoys without difficulty. I felt that I kept on course and didn’t swim too much extra distance due to poor sighting.

I came tenth out of the water and almost four minutes back from the leaders. Well, better than coming out 5 minutes back, I figured, as I hopped on my bike.

I felt like utter crap on the bike the whole time. I felt like a slug. My legs hurt. I couldn’t climb. I was sure that I was going to be passed by half the field. I even wore my fancy aero helmet, which they tell me is uber-aero (but might just be a joke to make suckers look like sperm). Sadly, no magic jets in the helmet. I just suffered on and tried to do my best.

There were a lot of duathletes on the course, so I wasn’t really sure if I was actually making progress when passing people. Nevertheless, by 20km in I caught a couple of the faster swimmers. The last 20km was a series of different attacks (while always repsecting the draftzone rules!) between me and three other guys. I am sure that I was sending off vibes of weakness. My legs were saying “no more! leave us alone.”

Anyway, I took my feet out of my shoes way too early, which cost me the lead I gained off a final attack about 2km from T2 with still a few hills to go. My poor decision. I accept the resultant consequence. Nevertheless, I managed to have the fastest bike split of the day, which is pretty cool, given that I still am riding a entry level, too-large-for-me, aluminum bike. Looks like training is paying off. Bad races still can yield reasonable results!

I had a solid dismount, but my T2 wasn’t great as I had trouble slipping my shoes on. Three guys went out about 10-15 seconds ahead of me. My legs didn’t want to run. My mind knew that I should be able to outrun the guys infront of me, but the body needed some convincing.

We ran around Elk Lake, which has a few winding forest trails, so it is easy to lose sight of people infront. I first committed to getting my legs under me and holding pace. Pretty much the entire time I wanted to stop/slow down/walk/give up. I managed to close a gap within the first 3km, but I was hurting and the other guys knew it. Damn heavy breathing! By 7km, two of the three guys who went out infront of me managed to pull ahead by about 12 and 20 seconds. However, I kept pushing and became motivated to just finish the race. I think I actually picked up my pace just to get the pain finished with! Anyway, I managed to close a 12 second gap and pass one athlete with about 1km left.

Then I finished in unchallenged glory. But nothing comes easy. With about 300m to go, the guy I passed followed his coach’s direction and just started sprinting to the finish. I looked back and thought that he wouldn’t catch me in time. I picked up the pace, but not to a sprint. I looked back again. Whoah, he’s fast. I picked up the pace more. Looked back. Fu fu fu fu, I better get moving! Check out the photos.

Scotty had a good run and an impressive sprint finish. I just managed to cross the line before him, although our timing chips register the same time. My lesson: sprint like hell and don’t give people the chance or thought that they can catch you in that last stretch of the race. If you give people hope, they will create an opportunity, and that might come to fruition!

I was not happy when I finished. I feel capable of more, especially on the bike and run. This race was a struggle for me. Staying on my feet was an accomplishment.

When I finished, I told my coach that I didn’t feel worthy of wearing my ITU race suit today, but reflecting on the race I take that comment back. Because I didn’t stop running, because I had a solid bike split despite feeling horrible, because I had a solid run split when my mind was making a strong legal/moral/ethical/religious/ case for walking, because I could sprint to the finish, I feel that I can hold my head high as someone who races at the ITU Continental Cup level. I have earned my way to racing at that level because of commitment and attitude. Given the context, I don’t need to be ashamed of not meeting my potential at this race. I toughed it out and I managed to finish fourth overall. I am looking forward to seeing how I perform (no matter how I feel) for my “A” races at Kelowna and Budapest.

I should mention here that Matt Sharpe won the race handily today! This was his first time racing an Olympic distance race. He had an amazing swim and run (I don’t know his bike time). My congratulations go out to him. It is so cool to race with such strong, young, “development” athletes (development means that he’s only going to get faster!). Matt finished 4 minutes ahead of me. He also swam almost 4 min. faster than me. Oh yeah, he also ran a 33:41 for the 10km. Well done and inspiring, Matt!

Full results for the 31st Annual Self Transcendence Triathlon/Duathlon can be found here.

Related posts:

• Race Report: 2010 Subaru Shawnigan Lake International Triathlon
• 2010 Ixtapa Race Report
• Coteau Du Lac 2010 Race Report

I am very pleased with my run time: 1:11:12. I wish that the race was a proper 21.1km so that I could have officially set a new personal record at the half marathon distance, but given my pace and the way I was feeling I imagine I would have come in around 1:14:45, which would have been nearly 8 minutes off my Royal Victoria Half marathon time (1:22:27). Not too bad. Clearly training has been paying off.

I felt strong throughout the run and found myself wishing I had signed up for the entire race. I am eager to try my hand at the half iron distance, but I’m not rushing anything. The opportunity to race ITU is amazing—I count myself lucky to race at the international level. ITU racing helps me get my speed up and prepares me to eventually face off against super-fast guys like Jeff Symonds, Steven Kilshaw, Trevor Wurtele (to name only a few who were at the Van. race).

My pace for the run was solid. I had good mental focus, listened to my body, and fueled/hydrated properly. This race reminded me that I love what I do and that I have a capacity for racing. I am in my element. I was also encouraged to see my commitment to training continue to pay off in the race setting.

Shout out and thanks to SOLE, whose lightweight custom moldable footbeds and sports socks keep my feet healthy in training and racing.

Overall results for the Subaru Vancouver International Triathlon are here: individual and relay.

Related posts:

• My First Half Marathon
• Coteau Du Lac 2010 Race Report
• Royal Victoria Half Marathon: Report & Review

First, I want to thank the race organizers for not only providing me a place to sleep (along with a bunch of other athletes), but also for feeding (and overfeeding) us. Travelling to races has many costs and complimentary lodging and meals was a major help. Shout out to Jon Bird, my roommate from Calgary, who had a strong race. I really enjoyed geeking out with him about triathlon (training, mental approach to racing, “balance,” and commitment to our choice to compete at this level).

Okay, the race. First, the startline for elite men was very large—nearly 80 men—violence on the swim was anticipated simply because there were so many bodies swimming in the fairly narrow, very weedy canal. Also, the men raced late in the day: 3:45pm, so that added an additional challenge to the pre-race routine, fuelling, and mental preparation.

It was a cool and windy when we lined up. I definitely should have warmed up in my wetsuit and kept it on until the last minute. I was shivering cold, which is a lousy way to start the race.

I had some trouble hearing the starter, but not so much that didn’t dive in when the race began.

I had an okay swim for where I am at—a PB in fact—but by no means is where I am at competitive. I am weak on the swim and I need to put more focus on that element of the sport. My 23:33 swim is not acceptable for ITU style racing. The lead pack comes out of the water nearly 5 minutes ahead of me, so I am pretty much out of race contention (getting with a draft pack) as soon as the race starts. I will be working closely with Noa to do what it takes to get my swim together.

So, I came out of the water second to last. My thought: I am going to do whatever I can to make up time on the bike in 40km (6 laps). Yep. Insane thought. Not sensical. Especially when I tried to shift into my big ring and my chain dropped.

I tried to spin and shift to get it to catch on the teeth, but no go. I had to stop, get off my bike, and tug at the chain to get it into place. The last guy out of the water passed me. I cursed and swore that I would not be lapped by the lead pack (in ITU rules, if you get lapped on the bike, you get pulled from the race). I also swore to catch the guy who passed me.

Put simply: I worked hard on the bike, passed a few people, and caught up to a group of 3 guys, which permitted me to draft a bit (theoretically, maintain same speed with less work). I would say that only one other guy in the group was a strong cyclists, one was okay, and one was struggling to stay in the draft (he pulled once and slowed us down when he did). So, the last two guys out of the water did a fair amount of pulling. Looking back, I wonder of I should have done more.

Importantly, I felt really comfortable navigating on the bike, taking corners fast, and riding close to other riders. This was my first race where I felt like I was in a draft pack that was working well enough to stick with.

I felt a little lack-luster beginning the run, but the fact that I survived the bike course (no lapping, no crashes) should be counted as an achievement. I definitely toughed it out on the bike and pushed myself.

Despite my work on the bike, I felt that I could PB the run. This didn’t happen, even though I felt strong on the run—chasing a few guys down. I am particularly happy with how motivated I was to push myself and reel in 3 guys on the final km of the race, including one mere meters from the finishline. Still, no PB for me on the run. Maybe too much work on the bike. Maybe too much or too little fuel/hydration. Maybe too much complacency and “pussification” to push myself to Hirt more and run faster. I think had a mix of all three.

It felt great to finish. It was an accomplishment, despite being way back in the field. I am so glad that I showed up and took advantage of the learning opportunity of this race experience.

I make no excuses for my performance. This is where I am at right now. I don’t plan to stay in this spot—it is just a weighstation on the way to the next destination.

I want to close by thanking all the people who cheered me on while I was suffering through the race. There were so many people from the Victoria tri community who provided real encouragement to me, even though I was far behind.

Lastly, my congratulations goes out to all the Canadian junior and senior elites (men and women!) who totally owned the podium at this race: Andrew Yorke, Jeffrey Phillips, Paula Findlay, Chantel Widley, Kyla Coates. (not to mention the Juniors, who I’ll add later!)

You can find full results for the elite men’s division of the 2010 Coteau-du-Lac ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup right here. The long and the short of it is that I came 47th overall, with 55 men finishing the race and 10 men DNFing or DQed.

So, I’ve a long way to go. Up next: 1/2 marathon in Vancouver as part of a relay team at the Subaru Vancouver International Triathlon.

Related posts:

• 2010 Ixtapa Race Report
• Race Report: 2010 Subaru Shawnigan Lake International Triathlon
• Wasa Lake 2010 Report

Just as importantly, the race reminded me that I love this sport. I love racing. I enjoy pushing myself to go faster and overcome pain.

The swim was pretty violent to start out. I’m pretty sure that some racers were making intentional contact with me (including digging fingernails into my ankle). I just kept swimming and tried to focus on my sighting and form. Kamal—a friend and team mate—also got a little beat down by someone wearing the same brand suit as me. After the race Kamal asked me why I was beating on him. I denied any involvement. (seriously, I didn’t do it.)

My swim needs work and my swim time set me back fairly significantly. The top racers came out of the water nearly 6 min ahead of me . . . Time that I just couldn’t make up on the bike and run. My too small wetsuit also constricts my movement and doesn’t aid my race time. Lesson here: getting a “deal” on the wrong-sized equipment is just a waste of money. Alas.

I was happy to get out of the water onto the bike. I mistakenly opted against using aero bars on this flat and fast non-draft-legal course. Likely cost me a few minutes. Still, I felt really good about my bike split.

I felt excited to make the run happen. I managed to pass a number of racers on the run, even though I now think that I could have pushed a little bit more in a few places. Still, I ran under 36min. I intend to improve this PB repeatedly before the end of season.

My times

Swim and T1: 23:51 (24th out of the water)
Bike and T2: 1:02:34 (15th fastest bike split)
Run: 35:53 (5th fastest run)
Total: 2:02:16
For the Wasa Lake Triathlon 2010 results, click here here

Up next, ITU Continental Cup in Coteau-du-Lac, QC!

Related posts:

• Race Report: 2010 Subaru Shawnigan Lake International Triathlon
• The Sri: Fatigue, Focus, Acceptance (race report 2010)
• 2010 Ixtapa Race Report

Life is good. Wasa Olympic Triathlon in 34 hours.
L

Related posts:

• High Score/Free Sled
• 2010 Ixtapa Race Report
• Wasa Lake 2010 Report

Tyler picked me up at 5:20am the morning of the race, while Laura silently cursed being woken up at such an ungodly hour (this latter information may or may not be true). While I loaded tri stuff into his car, my dog spied a deer, escaped out the open door, and disappeared. I managed to lure the rambunctious canine back a few minutes later using the left-overs of my (likely too large) breakfast and Tyler and I headed out on time.

I felt calm before the race. It was a chilly, overcast day on the island, spitting rain. I came prepared with many layers (and coffee) and managed to stay fairly warm until race start. The water was frigid so my extremities quickly went numb on the warm-up swim. When the race started, I went out fairly strong in an attempt to draft off of some of the faster swimmers. I felt that my sighting was fairly good (improved from a few weeks back), so I didn’t lose anyone’s feet or get off course and swim extra distance. The fast swimmers in my group (many from the NTC Development Squad) confirmed that I need to put some more work into my swim technique. I was eleventh out of the water.

Transitions were a challenge for me. I struggled to pull off my likely-too small wetsuit, despite applying vast amounts of water-proof lubricant to my legs and arms before the race. The cold hands didn’t help, of course, but that’s something each racer dealt with. I had no trouble with my helmet this time, so I count that improvement.

The bike course was fairly busy since the half iron and Olympic racers were already on the course. I made sure to give people a wide berth as I passed them, as this was a non-draft legal race. Moreover, the road wasn’t closed to traffic and there were a couple of impatient (dangerous) drivers who were making risky decisions. Thankfully, no accidents occurred. I took in a gel and some fluid on the bike, but mostly focused on riding. The roads were wet and bumpy in spots, so mindfulness was critical. I worked fairly hard on the bike while still trying to save a bit of energy for the run. I passed a few of the people who came out of the water before me, but my 4th fastest bike split wasn’t epic. One lesson I take away from this race is to push far harder throughout each leg of sprint races. I am disappointed to say that I felt like I had energy to spare when I finished this race.

My second transition was horrid. I had a couple people pass me in transition. Cold hands from the bike combined with some poorly placed body glide (on the tongue of my shoe) made it very difficult for me to get my shoes on. I certainly should have thought through the bodyglide, especially since I broke the cardinal rule of not trying ANYTHING new on race day. I paid for that mistake. I saw other racers, including some former NTC athletes, using gloves and arm warmers for the bike. I think that, given the temperature, that was a really wise move, even though it added some seconds to their T1.

I started the run feeling like someone had swapped the insoles of my shoes around. I couldn’t feel my feet and felt really weird running. Perhaps I need to practice running with numb feet (dip them in the ocean for 10 min and then go for a run). I’m amazed how much my form relies on the physical feedback I get from the ground, rather than from my hips. Proper cadence helps me get into better form (thanks coach!), but I still found that my footstrike was off for most of this run. I had sore heels later in the day, which is a sign that I was not running properly.

The run went by really fast but I certainly didn’t go out at race pace. I sat back too much. I felt like I was racing on the swim and working on the bike, but on the run I was flat and went at a pace far below what I’m capable of. I think this was all mental. I’ve put the training in and I’m capable of more. While I wasn’t worked up about this race, it was nevertheless a race and I should have treated it as such.

I’m happy to report that many of my teammates who raced at Shawnigan earned times and results that they are proud of. In particular, Adam O’Meara earned third place overall in the half iron distance and set down a course record on the 21km run. Well done.

Anyway, I have lots of room to improve and some clear take-aways from this event. Of course, I really enjoyed being out competing this weekend. I look forward to doing this race next year. Up next: Wasa Lake.

Full results for the Sprint distance race at 2010 Subaru Shawnigan Lake International Triathlon can be found here.

Related posts:

• Wasa Lake 2010 Report
• Lake Summerside Triathlon 2009 (goal!)
• 2010 Ixtapa Race Report

The waves were even bigger today than earlier this week. I woke up and I could hear that they were huge.

The race officials cancelled the swim and replaced it with a 3km run, so the race became a surprise duathlon!

A long way to come for a duathlon, but I felt ready to race this morning. Frankly, I was glad that we were not swimming in the ocean today. Even I can identify that the waves were dangerous, and I’m sometimes rather nonchalant about danger (according to Laura).

I had a leisurely morning, just following my pre-race plan. Up at 6:30, light run, eat!, prep for race, relax. By 9:00 I headed over to transition with the NTC guys. Setup transition, got marked. Everything was going smoothly and I was feeling relaxed. Spent some time with Jeff and A-Mac in a cool hotel lobby until minutes before the race. Triathlon Canada was very organized and had tonnes of iced towels and iced sponges for when we headed to the start line.

I am not sure of precise numbers, but there were about 60 elite men. When the horn sounded, we were off for a quick 3km, half uphill and half downhill. I was towards the back of the run pack, but given the distance there wasn’t too much of a gap between the front and pack. Tactically, I think I should have pushed a little harder on the run but I didn’t want to expend too much energy before the bike. I think this effort cost me getting out with the front pack.

I had a somewhat sloppy transition, struggling to get my helmet on, but I was soon off to the bike course. I missed the lead pack, which was quiet large—maybe 25 or 30 people.

I felt really strong on the bike but I allowed myself to find a few packs of people to draft with in an effort to conserve energy. I was taking in water and sports drink according to plan—just sipping on a regular basis. I was able to move ahead on the bike, bridging up from one chase group to another. I intended to really let loose on the downhill and anticiapted catching the lead pack early on the second lap. I felt good in the heat. More than anything, I felt in my element as I realized that I was able to run and bike with all these amazing athletes. I can race at this level. I am in the right place.

Then, about 13km in, it happened. I hit a bump and my seat position changed radically. I thought both my seat post and seat were somehow loose, even though I was very careful tightening the seat post (not too much, not too little). I hadn’t tightened my saddle since the plane ride, but I thought it should have been fine, since I hadn’t loosened it for the trip.

Thinking I had to tighten my seat post, I stopped at a tire exchange to see if they had an allen key. Later, I stopped to talk to a Triathlon Canada official to find out what my options were. I was determined to finish the race, despite losing time to find out if/how to fix my bike. I didn’t travel here to DNF.

As I rode longer the problem got worse. I could feel that my carbon seat post had actually snapped and was about to snap off completely. I stopped and assessed the damage and the seat came off completely. I felt crestfallen and frustrated. Immediatly I thought that I must have overtightened the post clamp and thereby caused the problem (minutes ago, I thought I undertightened it).

So, I was faced with the choice of DNFing or riding without a seat for a the entire second lap with an added obstacle of carbon splinters poking out from the broken post. I felt that riding without the post would be dangerous, so opted to DNF and my heart sank as I rode back to transition. I continue to question this decision.

I was prepared to suffer almost anything before DNFing. Bad swims, last place bike splits, +40min runs in the heat.

Anyway, I learned a great deal from this experience and I felt strong while racing. I feel that I was in place amoung athletes at this level, which is extremely encouraging. And, in spite of my bike breaking down, I was having a super strong ride on my 63cm, aluminium bike. Like other races, I found that fast bikes don’t necessarily mean that the rider is faster than me. It is all about training. That said, fast rider + fast bike = watch out!

So, lots happened at this race. I feel that I dealt with issues and changes as they came and kept a fairly cool head. I want to revisit my decision to DNF, but when I do I still think it was correct. Correct, but hard—especially for someone who can be a little stubborn (like me).

In a later post I’ll add some learning about this race and advice for people considering racing Ixtapa next year.

Thanks for listening.

Related posts:

• Coteau Du Lac 2010 Race Report
• Race Report: 2010 Subaru Shawnigan Lake International Triathlon
• Praire Inn Pioneer 8km Road Race 2010

I am feeling fairly calm for the race, ready to deal with whatever comes up when it comes up, but not worrying about imaginaries. I had a short swim this morning in the open ocean. The waves that break on shore are 6-10 feet high, so the swim exit and enterance could be challenging. There is a chance of getting knocked around against other swimmers or losing goggles (already happened to someone). Nevertheless, I am feeling fairly good in the water and therefore excited to swim.

After, I cycled some of the course solo around 11:30. I took it easy on the bike, not wanting to fatigue myself before the race. I wanted to open things up on the hills, but knew I’d regret it tomorrow. There is a time for everything, and the hills will be there again during the race.

My bike surivived the trip down here as well, in spite of my disassembly and reassembly. Thanks to Kamal Rae for lending me his bike box.

Importantly, I’m feeling good in the heat. Hopefully there is a little ocean breeze tomorrow.

The roads are a little rough but, in typical Mexican style, they are paving potholes as I write this. There are a number of last minute pavings and changes, so I am just letting things go, controlling what I can, and mentally preparing for changes (eg. start time, transition layout, etc.).

I finished things off with a quick run off the bike. Overall, I feel good and I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do in the heat tomorrow.

I had a solid lunch after (salad and steamed fish), shaved my legs (as if it really makes a difference), and then a short nap. I must say, I can eat and nap with the best of them.

To close, I am ready to race tomorrow. Feeling bike envy a little, but that isn’t anything to worry about. I have worked to be here and I believe that I will place respectably in the pack of over 50 elite men.

Many thanks to Laura for her support of my triathlon habit. She’s doing double dog-walking duty while I race.

Related posts:

• 2010 Ixtapa Race Report
• Not as I planned (quick post on the 2009 Subaru Sooke Triathlon)
• Race Report: 2010 Subaru Shawnigan Lake International Triathlon