IMC Training Camp Recap

Last weekend, I had the good fortune to attend a training camp up in Whistler. Put on by Endurance Sports Canada and led by my Coach, it was 4 days of hard work, learning, and bears. It was a great confidence building immersion in the beautiful IMC course and all its challenges.

Camp kicked off with a short 1 pm swim at Alta Lake. On the drive up, as we passed through Squamish, I observed with some trepidation: it’s really windy. 45 minutes later, I was standing at Rainbow Park watching as the lake pitched and rolled, whitecaps on the surface. Great. It reminded me of my training camp weekend in Penticton last year, when I had that awful choppy swim in Okanagan Lake. My first swim in that lake. The second was just as bad and prompted a defeated text to my Coach: I can’t swim in this lake… and I spent the next month worrying about the swim cut-off. So this year, standing at Alta Lake, watching the wind stir it up, listening to Coach Shaun talk about the possibility of similar conditions on race day, I felt my stomach sink and wished I hadn’t already registered. I will always worry about the swim cut-off on race day. Add waves. Add worry. But I squeezed into my wetsuit and reluctantly waded in for a 30-40 minute swim along the buoy line.

Swimming in choppy water always feels like a cross between swimming and jumping on the bed. It could almost be fun. Except that it’s not. I swam out for 20 minutes, covering a mere 675m, taking a few waves to the face, one big drink of lake water, and thinking a few times as my legs were tossed up behind me that this must look pretty comical from the shore. After 20 minutes, I turned to swim back in… 15 minutes for the return trip. The wind that had made the swim out such an effort was a gift on the way back. Note to self, on an out & back, the wind gives back.

Yes, the wind giveth and the wind taketh away. After the swim, we checked in at Athlete’s Village, and then it was time for the next bit of work: a ride from the Athlete’s Village, up Callaghan, and back. I love that Callaghan climb and this was my fastest ascent… by 3 minutes and 38 seconds. Thank you tailwind. Coming down? If I haven’t mentioned it before, I’m a chicken-shit descender. It’s something I’ve been working on but still, I would rather climb than descend. So it was testimony to just how crazy that wind was that after I rounded the corner coming down from the Olympic Park, I barely touched my brakes until I was at the stop sign at the bottom. Crazy wind. And things were about to get crazier.

Friday’s camp agenda was a ride from Athlete’s Village out to Pemberton, the out & back on the flats, and then make your way back, followed by a 30 minute brick run, and later, an easy recovery swim. We left in staggered intervals, based largely on ride speed, and I headed out first. The day looked a little unsettled and we knew we might get some rain. It started to rain when I hit Pemberton, and rained off and on as I battled my way through the flats. Yes, battled. The rain was joined by wind, and lots of it. One of those punishing relentless winds that makes you want to get off and stand by your bike and cry for a little while. And just so you don’t settle in to that grind and push forward on autopilot, you’d occasionally get a big powerful gust that threatened to blow you sideways across the road. I was reminded of the wind the previous day and the gift it gives on an out & back, so I pushed on, all thoughts on the tailwind I was going to enjoy on the way back. And it’s always better to have a tailwind on the way BACK. Tree branches were cracking overhead, debris was all over the road, and the rain picked up… I pushed on. Made it to the end of the road, unclipped, and took a picture and then looked over my shoulder as I prepared to turn my bike around and what do I see? Coach Shaun screaming up in the SAG van. He threw it into park, got out and said “I need you to get in the van RIGHT NOW”. I sensed this wasn’t just about waiting out better weather as a group in a coffee shop so I didn’t argue. And as he crammed my bike into the back of the van, he filled me in: the wind has brought down power lines, which started a fire, we need to get on the other side of this before they close the road.

Well, so much for my tailwind. As we drove back to town, Shaun stopped other riders and told them to turn around, ride back, and stay together. He dropped me with Diane at the gas station (I really hoped she’d be at the top of all the climbs when we found her!) and after a quick pit stop, and a Red Bull for good measure, we started the climb back to Whistler. Climbing up that first hill out of Pemberton, it was raining hard, my teeth were chattering I was so cold, and I called ahead to Diane: I’m not swimming tonight. And I don’t think I’m running either! And remember when I said I was a chicken-shit descender? Well, you can imagine how I feel descending the corkscrew. Yeah, I don’t like climbing that steep bit of twisty, gritty nonsense and I like riding down it even less. Add rain? Hell.

The Whistler Road Tan. 

The ride back was full of the usual Highway 99 eventfulness: bears lumbering into the road ahead of you, big trucks passing so close that you’re sure that they have no idea you’re there or that they’re actually trying to take you out. Add to that rain off and on, sometimes so hard you couldn’t see, and foamy wet pools of water on the shoulder. Good times indeed. Seriously, I was glad for the experience. That night when we debriefed someone said that if it were like that on race day, they wouldn’t make the cut-off and I replied with absolute certainty: I would. So it was confidence building and informative: I was so soaking wet by the time I arrived back at Athlete’s Village that I needed a complete change of clothes before heading out on the run. Note to self: even though planning to race the whole event in tri kit, put a dry run outfit in T2 in case conditions are like this. Running a marathon in soaking wet kit isn’t worth the 10 minutes or so saved in transition. Of course the sun came out when we concluded our ride… all that tough talk about not running or swimming? I did both.



Saturday was the full course ride (minus T1 to 99), and starting from Athlete’s Village followed by a short brick run. We started early (6:45 for my group) so it was chilly at the start, but warmed up quickly and staying at a comfortable temperature for the duration of the ride, with none of the wind from the days before. The ride itself was pretty uneventful but I was tired and as I finished the flats, I stopped at SAG to stretch, take off some layers, restock my fuel, and get myself sorted. I had a dry contact lens that wasn’t sitting right so I plucked it out and threw it on the ground. Hey, I raced Challenge with one contact lens, I could finish this ride with one! The downside was that everything I saw ahead of me on first glance appeared to be a bear… everything that is, except the pride of lions. Pretty sure that was just something lion-coloured but you know, keep your eyes open! I arrived back at Athlete’s Village, feeling OK, ready to head out on that run, so that I could be finished and then EAT. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a key to my unit and waited, legs up the wall, for about 45 minutes before someone with a key returned… so a long T2 before heading out on the run. By then, I had lost interest in running, and had to reframe to get out there… No, I’m not heading out for a 30 minute run. I’m going to run for 15 minutes. Then I’ll turn and run back. But the run felt great, and I felt strong so I extended to 40 minutes, spending a bit of time on a great trail along the river near Athlete’s Village.

Every time I do this ride, I am struck by how beautiful it is, and how challenging. I really like this ride, but there is no getting around it: it’s tough. I can’t imagine how it must be on race day for athletes who have not had a chance to ride it before.

Sunday was a run, on-course… sort of. Somewhat directionally challenged or map impaired… call it what you will. Three of us ran together for 90 minutes, on sections of the course, with a few detours thrown in. Whatever. We ran and then we celebrated with a Starbucks finish.

And that was camp. Four days of hard work, learning, and confidence building. I’m not sure if I’ll be up again to ride before race day… maybe, maybe not. If not, I’ll see you race week Whistler!

Ironman Canada - 22 (and 21!) weeks out

I’m in catch-up mode so right now I bring you not one, but two, training week recaps on my IMC journey: weeks 22 and 21. And what’s interesting here, from part-way through week 20, is that someone had posted an update in the IMC Facebook group, rallying fellow racers with the sobering announcement: 20 weeks to go! And 20-weeks out from Challenge, I remember thinking “OMG it’s so close!” and yet this time around, it has still felt very far away. Maybe I am building on a better base? Maybe it’s because I started focusing on Challenge 40-weeks from race day so at 20 weeks, it was akin to crossing the halfway mark? Whatever the reason, this time around, it still feels a long way off. And I find that unnerving. In fact as I type this, I’m reminded that I said to the Hub today that his Fondo is 4 short months away, and I was going to break that down and tell him if he factored in tapering and recovery weeks, that’s only a dozen or so long rides… and it occurs to me now that IMC is just a couple of weeks later… Ah so maybe it is not too soon for me to commence with the worry, self doubt and panic!

So training recap…

	IMC: 22 weeks to go (Feb 23-March 1)	Challenge: 22 weeks to go (Mar 17-23)
Total training (and racing!) hours	8:13	15:34
Swim	1:48 / 3800m	2:06 / 4200m
Bike		3:10 (spin class + trainer time)
Run	6:25 / 63.6 km	8:18 / 75.8 km
Strength training		2:00
Yoga
SBR Total	8:13	13:34

This week was all about the marathon… a couple of swims, some short runs, including one in California the morning before the race, and then the main event. You can read about it here.

Here are the deets:

Monday	1800m swim before bed (And I struggled through every bit of it.)
Tuesday	8.5 km run
Wednesday	2000m swim before work
Thursday	6.2 km run
Friday	Rest & travel day
Saturday	6.3 km California run
Sunday	Napa Valley Marathon

... And then...

	IMC: 21 weeks to go (Mar 2-8)	Challenge: 21 weeks to go (Mar 24-30)
Total training hours	9:41	17:58
Swim	1:56 / 3450m	2:55 / 6150m
Bike	7:01 / 141.6 km	6:35 (spin class + trainer time)
Run	0:44 / ~7 km (Garmin malfunction)	5:23 / 50.8 km
Strength training		1:35
Yoga		1:30
SBR Total	9:41	14:53

The following week continued to be all about the marathon, or more specifically, recovering from it. Coach gave me 3 rest days in a row. I’d warned him that I intended to do some easy riding checking out the wineries post-marathon – thinking of a short cruiser/hybrid ride. But that’s not really my style is it?

Instead, the Hub and I rented a couple of road bikes at the CalistogaBikeshop and headed out for a great day of riding in the sunshine, taking in some beautiful sights. The guys at the bike shop were great: got us outfitted quickly, reminded us to pack some fuel, and recommended a route. While the 86km ride with a 10 km climb might not have been an ideal post-marathon recovery activity, it was a fantastic ride and I regret nothing! ...OK, I maybe regret not bringing my own bike shoes and pedals and ...some warmer clothes as it was chilly in the shade and on the descents... and more than one Clif bar.

And speaking of the Clif bar people... they have a Napa winery. That's right, they do. In a funky little shop with cycling memorabilia and friendly staff that will indulge you in all the triathlon, cycling, and running conversation you care to engage in. We visited this place the day after the marathon. Good times.

This is how marathon recovery week looked:

Monday	Nothing but some winery visits & tastings!
Tuesday	86 km California ride!
Wednesday	Rest & travel day
Thursday	1 hour easy spin on trainer after work (House of Cards!)
Friday	2000m swim before work
Saturday	1450m PRM swim 7 km run post-swim
Sunday	41.9 km easy ride in the sunshine

Seriously... how could we leave here without doing a ride like this?

Race Report: Napa Valley Marathon

Hey readers, guess what you have today? A choice… That’s right, you can choose door number 1: the short version of my Napa recap or… door number 2: every minute detail. Because I care.

Short version, a la my post race Facebook update:

"#5 is in the books, with a 10-minute PB on a gorgeous California day. Bring on the wine."

Long version… you might want to get a cold bevvy and a snack.

First things first: this race is so well organized. It’s clear that the Napa Valley Marathon folks love their racers and they take good care of them. While waiting for our flight to California, I was cruising the NVM Facebook page and watched a segment race organizers did for one of the CA local news shows. In the interview, they claimed their volunteer to racer ratio is 2:1. You know what? It showed! Every finisher has a “handler” just like at an Ironman race, to “catch” you (perhaps literally), suss out your medical needs, and walk you through the finish line gauntlet: medal, water, race photos. The pre-race Expo was small but very well done, and with free wine tastings! When I checked in at the Expo, I asked about the pasta options at dinner. I had purchased a ticket but was wondering whether anything would be vegan friendly. One of the volunteers disappeared to check and returned saying not to worry, just to announce myself at dinner, and they’d make me something special. And they did, asking what I wanted, and serving me a special pasta meal at my table. And although it was some 6 hours since I’d seen her earlier in the day, the volunteer from that morning was still “working”, and tracked me down at dinner to make sure I’d been looked after. Nice!

The food was delicious and they also offered unlimited beer & wine! Not something the serious racers wanted to over-indulge in but a nice treat for our long-suffering partners! It was also cool to be enjoying a meal with Bill Rodgers at the table to my right, and Dick Beardsley and JoeHenderson at the table directly across from me.

If I had the race to do over, I would probably stay in Calistoga instead of Napa. This beautiful point-to-point starts in Calistoga at 7 a.m. and runs you back to Napa. A convoy of buses leaves Vintage High School in Napa to transport runners to the start line… and they leave at 5:15 sharp. That’s a very early start to the day… a 3:45 alarm for me, reminiscent of Challenge! Fortunately, they let you remain on the buses until very close to the start – or until you need to join the porta-potty lines – which is a blessing because it’s COLD there in the morning… 1 degree Celsius race morning… but near 19 degrees by the time I finished. Yes, bring layers! Here I am (minus the long-sleeve throwaway I started the day in), ready to test drive the top from my A-race (IMC) Smashfest Queen kit  in my B-race. And glad I did because the race photos clearly highlight, I’ve got some fit issues to sort out!

There is not much crowd support owing to the fact that there's very little access (with parking) to the junctions along the Silverado trail. However on the upside, where the junctions do allow parking, you've got spectators as thick and vocal and encouraging as at the finish line. It’s a great boost. Here I am running a vanity fartlek with a fellow runner through one of these junctions. 1202's motivation was a giant bag of peanut M&Ms. I know this because whenever her family were on the side of the road, they waved it at her and she got a little surge of energy... I dropped her somewhere later in the course so M&Ms will clearly only get you so far.

The course itself is beautiful. It’s a net downhill course but definitely not a flat course. Rolling terrain with most of the challenge in the first third of the course, despite all the chatter you’ll hear about “the mile 20 hill”. I’d read race reports before heading down where people universally grumbled about the hill at mile 20. It was mentioned more than once by the speakers at the pre-race dinner. And during the race itself, as we approached the 19-mile marker, a racer with a little sign on his back announcing this was his 11th NVM, was holding court with fellow runners, telling them how the hill began at this mile marker and didn’t relent and was the worst part of the course. I was aware we were running on an incline, but kept waiting to reach this mythical hill when a spectator clapped and commended us for conquering “the hill”. Whaaaat? These people do not know hills. LOL. I’d expected to finish the race never wanting to drink Stag’s Leap wines after enduring the hill but… Cheers!

Homemade sorbet is offered at the 23-mile mark. I’d read about this in race reports from previous years… and the runners around me who indulged were confirming those favourable reports: amazing! I didn’t take any because I was trying – and failing – to snag a 4:10 finish. Yeah, so what happened there? Well, honestly in a rare moment of patting myself on the back, I will say: I executed this perfectly. I need a 5:55/km pace to get that 4:10 and that’s exactly what I ran. Coach told me to use the first couple of kms to warm up, and just ensure I got them covered in 14 minutes. Check. Then to hold a 5:50 pace until the half, then to settle in at 5:55. Check.  I was working on being incredibly disciplined and not trying to match the pace of people who I was chatting with if it seemed they were running faster (or slower) and not falling in to the temptation to pick up the pace if someone passed me who I thought looked like they should run slower than me. I hit the half mark at 2:05 according to my Garmin… "Now just do that again." I told myself. Coach said to hold steady at 5:55 until I hit the 32 km mark and then if I felt I could go harder, to go harder. Well I didn’t feel I could at that point, so I just held to 5:55. At least I did that until the last km or so when I realized I didn’t yet have the finish line in sight, but 4:10 was looming. So what happened? I ran long. About 400m long actually… Some guy in a lawn chair at the end of his driveway called encouragingly “just another ¼ of a mile”… I looked at my Garmin and thought “Noooooo. My Garmin says I’m done. I don’t have another lap of the track in me!!!” I attribute the extra distance to poorly cut corners and a tendency to move to the left side of the road when the camber was particularly bad. The road camber along Silverado is the only negative part of this course in my mind; it’s practically banked in some sections! But at the end of the day, it’s still a beautiful, well organized race that I’m glad I ran.

Official time: 4:11:48. A 10-minute PB over Whidbey last year. And Strava tells me that at the 42.2 km mark, I was at 4:09:24 so [unofficially] I guess my met my goal… But still… just like all those failed sub-2 half attempts, it comes down to asking “Could I have run every km just 2 seconds faster?” Because if I had, I’d have that 4:10, extra mileage or not!

NVM is definitely good value, and a race worth running. This beautiful course, wonderful volunteers, and your registration fee gets you a sports bag, a long-sleeve tech shirt, finisher’s medal, and a bag full of goodies & coupons you can use if you’re making a vacation of it (and you should!).

Post-race, we enjoyed truffle popcorn and champagne at Carpe Diem at Oxbow Public Market. And the day after, we checked out of our Napa digs and headed up to Calistoga for a couple of days of winery tours and tastings, mud baths and massages, and a teeny-tiny recovery ride. J Sorry Coach, I couldn’t resist!