Leif Baradoy

I’m headed to Portland tomorrow to race at the Rev3 Triathlon Series against some of the top long course pros in the world. Wild!

I wanted to highlight the EVOC Bike Travel Bag. Like many other triathletes, I’m a little bit OCD when it comes to transporting my bike. Travel bags are really important to triathletes simply because we all want to protect our bikes during travel so that we can make good on the training we’ve put in. Packing up a bike is part of the ritual of preparing for important races (or training blocks).

After doing my research, I decided EVOC were the best bags on the market (can’t beat German engineering) at a good pricepoint. After approaching EVOC, I was fortunate enough to get some sponsorship from them (thanks EVOC!). You can checkout EVOC bags in Victoria at Oak Bay Bikes, in Vancouver at Westpoint Multisport, and in Calgary at SpeedTheory.

I am 6’3 and I ride a large TT bike with long aero bars. As you can see from the photos below, my bike fits into the bag without any problem. There’s tonnes of space for all my other tri gear and travel stuff too. So, if you are smaller than a giant and want to protect you triathlon bike/tt bike, do consider EVOC.

Here’s a quick list of why I like EVOC’s bike travel bags:

• Bags are sturdy but light, so they are easy to transport and handle (there are tonnes of handles and spots to grab/grip the bag)
• Bags aren’t overly bulky, so they can fit in a cab or backseat of a small car
• Bags are designed to stand upright easily, rather than lay flat. I’m convinced that this helps them get handled and packed into places more respectfully (as opposed to hard shell cases are treated as bomb-proof/airport-baggage-ape-proof, and get stuff stacked on top of them)
• Because the bike is secured by straps and velcro strips to the bag, customs agents can easily open up the bags, look inside, and close everything up without disturbing the secure position of your bike. This is much different from when I had a hard-shell case, which exploded open upon inspection and then was none-too-carefully packed back up by some unknown agent (shudder)
• The case looks nice
• I tell myself that the bag is German engineered to protect the whole bike from hasty cabbies, airport baggage apes, curious custom’s agents, and other monsters. This helps decrease my worry when travelling.

I placed second overall at the Subaru Victoria Half-Iron Triathlon. My total time was 4:04:21.

Here’s the break down:

• Swim: 26:54 (7th fastest)
• T1: 1:21 (second fastest)
• Bike: 2:14:51 (fastest bike split in the last few years with an average speed of 39.2km/h)
• T2: 0:53 (17th fastest)
• Run: 1:20:24 (6th fastest)

Full results here.

This race was my second half-ironman race as a pro. Summary: swim was off, bike was hard and I really killed the second loop, run was better than my Shawnigan experience, but still hurting and sorta lame.

I finished 6 minutes back from the winner, Adam O’Meara (sponsor alert: this guy is the real deal). In a race with a deeper field, I would not have placed second. Adam laid down a killer run that was 8min faster than me. Clearly, I’ve got some work to do. Of course, I’ll take the placing and the prize money and milk this experience for all the learning that I can. Since Adam and I have the same coach, I might just have to train with him more frequently to get my run down to a more competitive time.

On the swim, I made some tactical errors in choosing whether to pass or draft some of the swimmer’s infront of me. I opted for the latter, although the pace was slightly dialed down from what I was ready for. Unfortunately, I got blocked in and then a lead group took off before I had time to respond. Also, I missed a few swim sessions over the past weeks, so I’m certain that those skipped sessions didn’t help me along at all.

The bike was a really challenging course for me. Lots of hills, false flats, sketchy pavement, some really tight, fast turns. Couple that with my brakes being too loose, you have the recipe for a good time.

I got a great deal of encouragement at this race. Friends from Vancouver and locally came out for the express purpose of cheering me on. During the run, I crossed paths with Brent McMahon, who not only told me too keep it up, but also gave me some in-race tips on form. His comments helped me to refocus and relax.

Also, before the race, I was chatting with Jasper Blake and he said something like: “Go suffer. This is not about fun.” I reflected on this quote a bit as I rode (and suffered). As my energy would wane, I’d use it to refocus.

The advice and support from friends and athletes alike really helped me have a much more positive race this go around. Thank you all for your support and interest. It means so much to me and it actually helps.

My next race is fast approaching. I’ll be packing my tri bike in my EVOC Bike Bag and heading down to Portland, Oregon for the Rev 3 on July 10th. Laura is joining me for the weekend, as the race date is also her birthday, so I’m intending to enjoy the city with her once the race is completed.

The Rev 3 is going to be a flat, fast course, so I’m looking forward to seeing how I’ll perform at that venue. Adam is also coming down to race, so I’ll have yet another chance to try to best him! If anyone has a disc wheel to sell/lend me, do drop me an email.

My debut as a long distance pro triathlete, at the Subaru Shawnigan Lake Triathlon, encouraged and humbled me.

With a time of 4:08:43, I raced to third place overall and managed to have the fastest bike split of the day (88km in 2:13:40). I suffered greatly on the run portion.

I came out of the cold, 1.9km swim about 40 seconds back from the lead pack. My T1 was lousy, with me dislodging the lenses from my sunglasses and fighting to do up my helmet. Lesson: rushing doesn’t make you faster (in racing, as in life).

By the end of the first lap, I managed to catch the front three guys, but after that, the pros all kept fairly close together (but never drafting!). Because Shawnigan is rolling hills, someone out of sight could be a minute ahead or five minutes ahead. No one wanted to risk giving someone a breakaway, so we responded to surges accordingly.

I felt solid on the bike, although I wasn’t sure if my pace was too conservative or too ambitious for a race of this distance.

Because of the cold swim, my hands stayed fairly frozen for most of the ride, which meant that I had a little trouble opening the boa lacing system on my bike shoes in preparation for T2. Similarly, I struggled to get my run shoes on and had the tongues of my shoes bunched up near the toe of my shoes.

The run was painful and surprisingly warm. While all the pros left transition at roughly the same time, Adam quickly started pulling away with only one other guy able to stick with him. I wore a Garmin for the bike/run portion of the race, so I was able to assess my run cadence and pace during the final portion of the race. The numbers confirmed what I already knew (I went to some dark places in my mind while running that sunny trail): I was hurting. Still, I knew I was in third place and that I needed to keeping plodding along with my lousy run to see if (1) one of the guys ahead might crack or pop (2) maintain a place on the podium.

It felt amazing to finish, bloody feet and all. I’m proud of placing third at my first half-iron race as a pro, especially given that this is also an early season race. I’m eager to work with my coach to incorporate my learnings from this race and improve for the New Balance race, which is coming up in June.

Shawnigan Lake Course description

- Swim: beautiful, clean, chilly. It’s Canada’s first open water triathlon, so the water temp. hovers between 12-13.
- Bike: a looped course of rolling hills with one tougher climb and a few fun downhills. I noticed a couple of the pros used disc wheels, but I wonder if those wheels were all that advantageous on this course.
- Run: more hilly that in 2010 but still a gravel trail with a steady, but gradual, uphill climb from km 10-15.5. The fact that I noticed a bunch of slugs and garter snakes on the trail speaks to my slow pace.

Last year, I ran a disappointing 17:10 at Bazan Bay (read the story of sorrow here), so I was looking for some redemption at this 2011 race while also reminding myself that this was merely a pre-season training race.

Bazan has been on the schedule for awhile and I thought that I registered for it months ago (like I do for most of my races), but on Friday I double-checked the confirmation list and discovered that my memory is poor. I hadn’t registered and the event was sold out. Thankfully, when I contacted (read: begged) the race organizers they graciously allowed me to register. I really appreciate that they let me do so.

Bazan Bay is a flat, fast 5km that follows the waterfront at Sidney. It brings out some great runners, including many of Victoria’s fastest triathletes. The weather was perfect: cool, not too windy, slightly overcast but not depressing.

After eating breakfast at 7:00am (fruit smoothie with this and this in it then a coffee) and walking the dogs at Mt. Doug, Emma picked me up to head to the race.

(drive, park, sign-in, chat, warm-up, stash warm-up-clothes-in-backpack, head-to-the-start-line)

Everything went smoothly. I opted to wear a running singlet from Pen Run and mid-thigh tights rather than running shorts as I find they help keep in a bit more body temperature. Some would argue that I just like wearing spandex.

Then, the it was the classic 5-4-3-2-1-go!
Many people went out fast and it was elbow to elbow the first 600m, but kept my pace steady—running a 3:09 pace the first km. It was really cool to watch some of the other experienced racers in action. For example, I noticed (Mr. Quick Haircut) Andrew Russell running at about my pace the first while and then saw him confidently maneuver past bodies and build his pace towards the front guys over the first 2km.

Between km2 and km3, a major gap began to form and a number of the runners around me seemed comfortable with it. Not me. I accelerated a bit, running alongside another guys until he popped after about 500m. I caught a few stragglers, but most of them were folk who’d gone out too fast and were paying the price.

At the 3km mark, I caught the next group of about 6 guys. We headed back to the finish line. Here—between km3 and km4—the wind off the water became noticable, especially when you’re 6’3! I tucked in behind a few runners for a few hundred meters, aware that the leaders were fighting the wind on my behalf.

Nevertheless, I felt that I could push the pace abit more, so I pulled to the front of the group and immediately noticed the added effort required to run against the wind. To compare, my average pace for this race overall was 3:15min/km. During the headwind, my average pace was 3:20.

I knew that the other guys in the group would draft off me, but I also figured we could drop a few people too. So, I surged away with only two young guys (age16-19) sticking right with me. At the finish, would I have what it took to outsprint these guys if they drafted me? It didn’t matter. I didn’t want to run a safe or conservative race. I’d rather take a risk, trust my training and decision making, and let the outcomes be what they will be.

When we turned onto Ocean Ave. one of the guys surged forward. I picked up the pace but he created abit of a gap that took me 50m to close (later, I found out he thought the finishing line was at the end of Ocean Ave). By the time we hit 8th Ave., we were all giving whatever we had left.

I enjoyed this sprint because I discovered about two or three more gears! I need to work on how quickly I can respond to surges (I think this is more mental attention that physical) but during the sprint I felt like I increased my threshold for pain and speed in that final 200m. I don’t know how to explain it, but I found something that surprised me in that final sprint. I’m sure I looked like some crazed giant hauling ass in that last leg of the race. If I find photos, I’ll post them.

Anyway, I managed to hold off the other two guys in the sprint and finish strong. I felt good about my race and humbled by all the athletic talent found on Vancouver Island. This is such a special place for athletics and I’m very fortunate to live here.

Congratulations to triathletes Paula Findlay for setting the new course record for women (16:33) and to Jon Bird who placed 4th overall and was the fastest triathlete at the race. Full results for the 2011 Bazan Bay 5km race can be found here.

My Results

• 16:17 5km
• 20th overall
• 5th in the 30-34 agegroup

After the race, I got some massage from Synergy. Suffice it to say that I need make rolling, stretching, and massage part of my regular routine (which reminds me that I need to get to fundraising asap).

And one more thing . . .
I am extremely grateful to EVOC for their support in protecting my new, 2011, Argon 18 E-114 TT bike as it journeyed from SpeedTheory in Calgary to my humble home in Victoria. I noticed a few ITU athletes using EVOC bags last year, so I started investigating them (EVOC, not the athletes). EVOC’s bike travel bags are very light while offering excellent protection for bikes of all types (road, TT, mountain, downhill) and I am grateful to them for helping me out.

More on the E-114 soon.

Earlier today, I raced the Self-Transcendence Triathlon & Duathlon, Canada’s oldest triathlon! What an honour.

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.

After travelling from Victoria to Calgary to Montreal to Calgary to Vernon to Vancouver, I raced at the Subaru Vancouver International Triathlon as part of a relay team in the half iron distance. Tyler Duncan took care of the swim and the bike (clocking the 6th fastest bike time). After that, I had the pleasure of running 20km to finish off the race.

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.

My first ITU race was completed. Despite a small technical problem, I felt that the race reflects honestly my current fitness and abilities. I have some areas that clearly need significant improvement, but I also have confidence that I am in the right place in my triathlon experience.

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.