IMC 2010 Race report
Going into this race was a little bit bitter sweet for me. The season had been really good to me with some great results early on and training was going well. However, the family had been thru some rough times in the month of August as two of my grandparents passed away; Frank Marvin early in the month and Shirley Frederickson on the Tuesday of race week. It was a little difficult to reconcile the intense focus I’ve had for nearly a year on my training and this one event with the emotions and struggles of the loss. Each had been so supportive of my goals and focus on the sport that I knew in their memory laid the strength I needed to succeed, so I made myself some reminders of why I was out there to carry me (and them) thru the day.
Going into this race was a little bit bitter sweet for me. The season had been really good to me with some great results early on and training was going well. However, the family had been thru some rough times in the month of August as two of my grandparents passed away; Frank Marvin early in the month and Shirley Frederickson on the Tuesday of race week. It was a little difficult to reconcile the intense focus I’ve had for nearly a year on my training and this one event with the emotions and struggles of the loss. Each had been so supportive of my goals and focus on the sport that I knew in their memory laid the strength I needed to succeed, so I made myself some reminders of why I was out there to carry me (and them) thru the day.
I started the day of amazingly relaxed. I woke up nice and calm after a pretty decent night of sleep. My stomach was very cooperative as I was able to get down a large breakfast and get my calorie bottles prepared for the day. Loaded into the car and was down at transition about 5:40.
Everything at transition went smooth as I checked my bike, pumped the tires, put my nutrition on board… all the usual stuff. Went to my gear bags and put in the last few items before slipping into my wetsuit and making my way to the swim start.
The 3 Ironmans I’ve done in the past I’ve stood on the start line with my heart pounding in my chest from nervous anticipation, but today was a lot different. I don’t know if it was just experience or confidence in my training, but I felt calm and relaxed right to the gun.
Swimming this year has been improving steadily so I knew I was ready for a good one. Started out front and center and managed to avoid any real contact in the first few hundred meters going out at what could only be described as a HARD pace. At the 2nd buoy things were starting to sort out and I wedged myself into 4th spot in a chain of guys swimming single file. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the spot I’d nestled into was WAY up in the lead of the swim as I could still see the standup paddler as we approached the first turn and I couldn’t see many flailing arms in the distance. Pace to the turn was hard, but basically exactly what I’d trained to do for 2.4 miles so confidence was high at this point.
Hitting the second turn boat the leader of our pack totally missed it and kept going straight. The guy in front of me in line pulled up and so did I to look and see what was going on. It seemed like an eternity but a quick look both ways to spot the buoy line and we were off back toward the beach. The chain reformed and now I slid into 3rd position as the pace seemed to slow significantly. I even hopped out of line to make a go on my own, but I didn’t have enough speed on the group to make it “worth it” so back in line I went.
As we hit the beach there was the usual SUPER shallow section for 25 yards or so where the guys in the group were just trudging through. I did a few dolphin dives and ran out at the front of the pack to clock a 52:02 swim (6th amateur out of the water). Another huge swim PR on the year so I’ve gotta again say thanks to TYR and the awesome Hurricane.
Transition went super smooth as I’d adopted a minimalist approach for what was in my bag. Basically just put on shoes and did the rest on the run to the bike which got me out in a speedy 1:53!
Out on the bike I just tried to get settled in as early as I could, and get down a few calories early to get things working from the swim. I’d talked at length with coach Ben about bike pacing/power numbers and I knew if I stuck to the plan I’d have a fast and comfortable ride that I could run well after.
Weather was sunny and great down to Osoyoos and Richter Pass where I made the turn at 1:42 on the clock so I knew I was cruising. This was the point where I started to see some of the faster bikers making up the deficit from the swim. I actually had an amazing number of people pass me on the rollers to Karemeos and I kept reassuring myself that I had a solid race plan and that things could change quickly on Yellow Lake.
The out and back was as fun as it usually is. Typical bit of wind out there with crap road conditions, but you’ve got special needs and a look at your friends/competition to get you motivated again. It actually went by fairly quickly and the grind to Yellow Lake began.
Much like last year on the bike once I hit Yellow Lake it became clear who’d paced the ride correctly and who’d hit the wall. From the base of the climb to the summit I passed 5 people with enough authority that I knew they weren’t coming back. The decent was rainy and windy all the way back into Penticton. A lot of people complained about it post race but I thought it was great. This was where my bike pacing strategy paid off in full as I rocketed past several AG guys and a few of the female pros heading into town. I kept checking my powertap and I was dead on goal power. I wasn’t surging it was just the competition fading.
Hit T2 with a 5:11:33 bike split and my legs felt awesome. I took my time a little bit in T2 (2:03) but didn’t lollygag. Just wanted to make sure I got those shoes and socks on right, threw on my visor and grabbed some nutrition on the way out. After all from the beginning I knew success on this day revolved around running strong!
Goal for the first 3 miles was 8:20’s which I totally missed running mid 7:50’s. I like to tell myself that it was because of all the wind I was struggling to get the pace right but really it was just the usual excitement and disorientation of getting out on the run. Luckily though 7:50-8 was goal pace for the day so as long as I kept the pace steady I’d go from 30s/mi too fast to right on goal pace at mile 3 which seemed to work out alright ;-)
I knew I was first in my AG going out on the run, but at mile 4-ish Justin Birks caught me. I’d raced him earlier in the year at Osoyoos so I knew how strong he was. He’d also passed me with such authority (on his way to a 3:08 marathon) that I wasn’t going to deviate from my plan to do anything about it. The first 10 miles of the run was smooth and easy, but that’s about the point where the spring in my legs was gone and things started to ache ever so slightly. This was where I had to start to focus and stop joking around with spectators about grabbing a beer or some BBQ.
The hills between mile 11 and 13 going out didn’t hurt too bad, but coming back they felt brutal. The worst was the decent back to the lake at about mile 16. I’d been having some knee issues during my taper that had me slightly concerned and the pounding was taking its toll. I made the decision to switch from running the tangents to running on the flattest camber of the road I could find to save my knee. Lucky for me the plan worked and the knee held out to the finish, I just had to deal with my quads, hamstrings, and feet aching and rebelling.
Hit mile 22 where there’s a slight uphill drag on South Main St and this is where the headwind hit. It was so demoralizing as my pace went from 7:55 to about 9 minutes and I felt like I was working twice as hard. Coach Ben was there for some final words of inspiration. I could hear him give me updates and ask how I was feeling but the only words I could muster while he ran beside me were, “I’m not stopping.”
From the top of that drag it’s basically all downhill to the finish. The wind was still strong in our faces but at least I felt like I was moving again and could feel the pull of the line. As I hit Lakeshore Drive I put in that last little kick of whatever is left in the tank; there wasn’t much… I ran into the finishing chute and saw the clock reading 9:39:46…47…48 and I started sprinting hoping that I could magically get there and sneak under 9:40 but quickly realized it wouldn’t happen and enjoyed the run in with some high fives.
Ended up with a 3:32:42 marathon and total time of 9:40:12 (42nd overall, 16th amateur, 2nd AG) for a 1 hour and 6 minute PR over IM CDA last year. I knew I had this day in me, but to actually put it together just how I’d planned and to do it with the thought and memory of my grandparents fresh in my mind was just amazing. I also can’t thank enough everyone on the VO2 Multisport team for the cheers on course and the support in training all season long. I can’t wait to be representing the team in October at the Ironman World Championship in Kona!!!
Everything at transition went smooth as I checked my bike, pumped the tires, put my nutrition on board… all the usual stuff. Went to my gear bags and put in the last few items before slipping into my wetsuit and making my way to the swim start.
The 3 Ironmans I’ve done in the past I’ve stood on the start line with my heart pounding in my chest from nervous anticipation, but today was a lot different. I don’t know if it was just experience or confidence in my training, but I felt calm and relaxed right to the gun.
Swimming this year has been improving steadily so I knew I was ready for a good one. Started out front and center and managed to avoid any real contact in the first few hundred meters going out at what could only be described as a HARD pace. At the 2nd buoy things were starting to sort out and I wedged myself into 4th spot in a chain of guys swimming single file. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the spot I’d nestled into was WAY up in the lead of the swim as I could still see the standup paddler as we approached the first turn and I couldn’t see many flailing arms in the distance. Pace to the turn was hard, but basically exactly what I’d trained to do for 2.4 miles so confidence was high at this point.
Hitting the second turn boat the leader of our pack totally missed it and kept going straight. The guy in front of me in line pulled up and so did I to look and see what was going on. It seemed like an eternity but a quick look both ways to spot the buoy line and we were off back toward the beach. The chain reformed and now I slid into 3rd position as the pace seemed to slow significantly. I even hopped out of line to make a go on my own, but I didn’t have enough speed on the group to make it “worth it” so back in line I went.
As we hit the beach there was the usual SUPER shallow section for 25 yards or so where the guys in the group were just trudging through. I did a few dolphin dives and ran out at the front of the pack to clock a 52:02 swim (6th amateur out of the water). Another huge swim PR on the year so I’ve gotta again say thanks to TYR and the awesome Hurricane.
Transition went super smooth as I’d adopted a minimalist approach for what was in my bag. Basically just put on shoes and did the rest on the run to the bike which got me out in a speedy 1:53!Out on the bike I just tried to get settled in as early as I could, and get down a few calories early to get things working from the swim. I’d talked at length with coach Ben about bike pacing/power numbers and I knew if I stuck to the plan I’d have a fast and comfortable ride that I could run well after.
Weather was sunny and great down to Osoyoos and Richter Pass where I made the turn at 1:42 on the clock so I knew I was cruising. This was the point where I started to see some of the faster bikers making up the deficit from the swim. I actually had an amazing number of people pass me on the rollers to Karemeos and I kept reassuring myself that I had a solid race plan and that things could change quickly on Yellow Lake.
The out and back was as fun as it usually is. Typical bit of wind out there with crap road conditions, but you’ve got special needs and a look at your friends/competition to get you motivated again. It actually went by fairly quickly and the grind to Yellow Lake began.
Much like last year on the bike once I hit Yellow Lake it became clear who’d paced the ride correctly and who’d hit the wall. From the base of the climb to the summit I passed 5 people with enough authority that I knew they weren’t coming back. The decent was rainy and windy all the way back into Penticton. A lot of people complained about it post race but I thought it was great. This was where my bike pacing strategy paid off in full as I rocketed past several AG guys and a few of the female pros heading into town. I kept checking my powertap and I was dead on goal power. I wasn’t surging it was just the competition fading.
Hit T2 with a 5:11:33 bike split and my legs felt awesome. I took my time a little bit in T2 (2:03) but didn’t lollygag. Just wanted to make sure I got those shoes and socks on right, threw on my visor and grabbed some nutrition on the way out. After all from the beginning I knew success on this day revolved around running strong!
Goal for the first 3 miles was 8:20’s which I totally missed running mid 7:50’s. I like to tell myself that it was because of all the wind I was struggling to get the pace right but really it was just the usual excitement and disorientation of getting out on the run. Luckily though 7:50-8 was goal pace for the day so as long as I kept the pace steady I’d go from 30s/mi too fast to right on goal pace at mile 3 which seemed to work out alright ;-)
I knew I was first in my AG going out on the run, but at mile 4-ish Justin Birks caught me. I’d raced him earlier in the year at Osoyoos so I knew how strong he was. He’d also passed me with such authority (on his way to a 3:08 marathon) that I wasn’t going to deviate from my plan to do anything about it. The first 10 miles of the run was smooth and easy, but that’s about the point where the spring in my legs was gone and things started to ache ever so slightly. This was where I had to start to focus and stop joking around with spectators about grabbing a beer or some BBQ.
The hills between mile 11 and 13 going out didn’t hurt too bad, but coming back they felt brutal. The worst was the decent back to the lake at about mile 16. I’d been having some knee issues during my taper that had me slightly concerned and the pounding was taking its toll. I made the decision to switch from running the tangents to running on the flattest camber of the road I could find to save my knee. Lucky for me the plan worked and the knee held out to the finish, I just had to deal with my quads, hamstrings, and feet aching and rebelling.
Hit mile 22 where there’s a slight uphill drag on South Main St and this is where the headwind hit. It was so demoralizing as my pace went from 7:55 to about 9 minutes and I felt like I was working twice as hard. Coach Ben was there for some final words of inspiration. I could hear him give me updates and ask how I was feeling but the only words I could muster while he ran beside me were, “I’m not stopping.”
From the top of that drag it’s basically all downhill to the finish. The wind was still strong in our faces but at least I felt like I was moving again and could feel the pull of the line. As I hit Lakeshore Drive I put in that last little kick of whatever is left in the tank; there wasn’t much… I ran into the finishing chute and saw the clock reading 9:39:46…47…48 and I started sprinting hoping that I could magically get there and sneak under 9:40 but quickly realized it wouldn’t happen and enjoyed the run in with some high fives.Ended up with a 3:32:42 marathon and total time of 9:40:12 (42nd overall, 16th amateur, 2nd AG) for a 1 hour and 6 minute PR over IM CDA last year. I knew I had this day in me, but to actually put it together just how I’d planned and to do it with the thought and memory of my grandparents fresh in my mind was just amazing. I also can’t thank enough everyone on the VO2 Multisport team for the cheers on course and the support in training all season long. I can’t wait to be representing the team in October at the Ironman World Championship in Kona!!!
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