Sunday, June 17, 2007

Muskoka Long Course Triathlon

Going to keep this short.

i) I drove up to Muskoka this morning. Got a speeding ticket. The cop was nice. He knew I was racing and let me go lightly :)

ii) First time I did open water swim....need to get back to swimming open water. 80% I swim breastroke and 20 % freestyle. Swim in 43 min (2:13/100 m).

iii) I went to Muskoka to train. It just so happen they had a race that day. When a 60 yr old granny passed you on the run and you let her go b/c you had to keep your HR down...yes humility indeed.

iv) This race was a good practice for Lake Placid. There were a lot of people passing me on that day. Let them. Ironman is a long race. My goal on the bike and the run is to keep eating and keep drinking.

v) Hydration I was off. I peed only once in a 4 hr 26 min race. I knew it when I was running. I felt fine though. I tried to compensate by drinking more water. If this happens in Ironman...I am screwed.

vi) The bike course was good. They changed the course and made it hillier and steeper. Everyone complained but I LOVE IT. There is nothing like spinning up in your granny gear in Zone 2 while everyone around ripping their legs and coughing up a lung.

vii) I have to be more conscious of my heart rate. Today, my heart rate hit 160 without me realizing it. I have to keep my heart rate below 150. The lower the better. On the bike, I once spiked to 168. That happened on Ironman...I will be in big trouble.

viii) The run was great. Heart rate wise, I ran between 152-158. I was so relax the whole time. I still need to get that HR lower.

viiii) My knee is much better....there is light soreness.

x) My heart rate monitor died yesterday. My friend bought a Polar RS200 and wanted to sell it. So I bought it from her. It worked great. I love polar. Way more accurate and reliable than my old HRM (I was using an Ironman Timex).

So that's about it. A good day to train and a good race day. Darren kicked butt and finished the course in 3:07. He was seventh in his age group. I didn't see him afterwards. I hoped he is able to qualify for Ironman Lake Placid.

As for me, I did a 4 hr 26 min and placed 36/38 in my age group :D. Dang, this didn't help my confidence one bit. My main prize is Ironman. My run (15 km) was 1 hr 28 min. That's about a 6 min/km. I am quite happy with this. I did the first half in 10:1s. Then I just jog the whole thing. If I can do this in Ironman, I will be happy. Realistically though, I will be fatigued and tired. So I am guessing I will be 20-30 seconds per km slower (6:30 min/km).

This coming week is the last week I am training before tapering..So if u don't hear from me, you know where I am :) Before I go, I just want to say, thanks for all the encouragement....

19 comments:

Brent Buckner said...

Great training exercise!

Tri-Dummy said...

You have the right attitude about this race...training day for Ironman.

Don't get caught up with the hype of the races.

Stay focused.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Anonymous said...

It was a tough course Cliff. I said hi to you on the bike. Your swim time killed mine.
5 weeks and you will be an Ironman.

Edward

Robin said...

Hey Cliff! Good job! Yes, this was TRAINING for your BIG DANCE so be happy with your performance. You did things well and learned some things, too. Perfect!

I am curious as you said the Polar you got is more accurate than the IM Timex HRM you had. That is what I have. (1) How do you know the Polar you have is more accurate? (2) How much more accurate is it? I mean, is the Timex way off? I seem to like mine so far, and this piqued my curiousity.

Rachel said...

Sounds like you learned a lot. I will definitely be trying to learn IM tips from you. You sound like me in the water. I always end up doing breastroke in open water until I settle in. It helps get my bearings. Great job on the race!

Unknown said...

Cliff, that was a fine training day, complete with lessons learned!

Jeremy said...

Sounds like a great training day, Cliff! Good luck with the next week before your taper.

Donald said...

I'd say the best parts are that your knee is OK, and you got a good, long training day out of the race. Nice job to stay disciplined and focused on the larger goal.

Afternoon Tea With Oranges said...

Great job, Cliff. Way to accomplish the goal you set out for, and not change the game plan. You'll reap the rewards for that when it really counts!

brendaj said...

I've been passed by 60 and 70-some year olds too, especially on the bike! nice summary of lessons and good reminders...especially eating constantly and keeping the HR down.

Born To Endure said...

Great race, great training day, great report..can't wait to see you become an Ironman Cliff!!

TriShannon said...

Way to do your thing and get in the needed training. I would probably cave and want to compete.

Good luck with the next week of training!

Michael said...

Great race/training, well done. I remember my first ironman back in '95 (IMC, after 200m I thought about grabbing the bouy as there were legs and arms e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. After a mild panic attack I told myself that I didn't train for months to stop now and proceeded to have a good swim.

Keep your eye on the ball and all the best!

Cheers!

Robin said...

Cliff, thanks for the Timex info, but REALLY thanks for the insight on the bloating issue. That is VERY interesting.

I dind't use my HRM in the race but I am sure that my HR was very high. I will think about this more, and definitely think about it as I do my Half IM July 1st. Thanks again for the feedback!

Dances with Corgis said...

Ha! I seriously thought you actually went there for training and legitimately "happened" to be a race that day so you decided to wing it.

Either way, great job getting in the miles, dude! :)

Mike said...

I admire your discipline. As soon as I put a chip around my ankle, I go straight into race mode.

21stCenturyMom said...

Congratulations on gittin' 'er done! Sounds like an okay day. I put my HR before all else at WF and it sort of ruined the race for me. Just sayin'. Sometimes RPE is an okay benchmark.

You are so right about the hydration, though. No room to negotiate there!

Robin said...

Hey -- thanks. I'll take your spams anyday. They are very provacative and make me think. Very helpful info. Thanks again!

I have been just using perceived effort lately, on a scale of 1-10 (10 = hardest) I'm thinking I'll put my HRM back on. Probably not enough time left to train with it enough to see the numbers and use it in an informed mamner at my 1st HIM, but I'm gonna start up with it again. Your theories sound quite logical.

Rae said...

I'm sure it had to be tough to let the Grannys pass, but IM is the goal! I can't believe it's getting so close! Great job!