a long distance training weekend.

notice the title. a training weekend. even though it was ottawas biggest running race weekend this was just training pour moi. which is kinda difficult to understand really. why enter a race, and not race? well, it’s cause (i think) you want to be in peak shape, or have planned to race, your “race.”  so, a training weekend it was!!

saturday morning saw a nice jaunt of 100k of cycling. i was warned… these are all hardcore iron(wo)men and that it might turn into a pound fest. at times… true! we rolled out in 3 different levels of skill, with brother and i in the HC group. with slight tail winds, cycling along the bike paths of the ottawa river parkway we began at 30k/hr. not bad, still talking, so ok. i was ALWAYS mindful that i had to do a little bit of running, but sometimes, the “racer” inside of you wants to come out. once outside of the city limits, the group ride turned into a bit of a race. to the front everyone would attempt to go, and all of sudden into the mid 40s we would go. thank god, ottawa and co. is flat. then we hit the rollers. not bad even when compared to the east coast, but at 45k/hr, with a slight headwind and a slight vertical grade, and i started to hurt. a gap ensued, and i wasnt in the first one… and then, the shittiest thing in cycling, a flat. what a godsend. a quick break, and a tire change, and i was recharged for more. which the pace remained in the mid to high 30s, i was able to hang on, and we rolled into our transition area, feeling good.

but the little runner in me just kept saying, you idiot, you now have to race. just training, just training. so, with new shorts and socks on (no warmup!) we went to the chaos that was the start. i heard there were 10000, 10k runners, sounds about right. took me 3mins to get across the start. but i felt good. the race started at 6:30pm, and it was warm, but not too warm. just another training run.

the first time i saw a km marker was at 3k. whoah. i felt good, it went by quickly, about 13min. but then i  looked at my heart rate, right below the timer, 175!! whoah. i felt good, like any normal run, but my heart was working 25 beats faster. meh. only 10k. so as i passed the halfway mark, my clocked registered 26min. not stellar, but a training run. still beautiful out, still lots of people, but as i kept going, i expected myself to tire. not so. so i picked up the pace. to 180 bpm (i think something is wrong with my watch.) then i made a decision, at 9k, id  go all out.  the cool thing was that it was a 100m countdown from 9k. so i went for it, (it felt fast) and as i came down the chute, passing lots of people, i knew i was now racing. i passed the clock at 46 somethin. so, a PB by far, and also a negative split. go figure. i still felt good afterwards too.

day 2. 50k ride beginning at 6:30am. a nice jaunt down the ottawa river parkway again (the opposite way.) again, an “easy” ride. well everyone was feelin the previous days ride and run, people wanted to take it easy. but, nice roads, beautiful morning, and people, started kicking it up a notch. nothing crazy, but brother and i felt the need to string out the group for a little team tt action.

at transition, again, shorts and shoes on, no warm up again, and into the larger gonger of people that was the half marathon (11,000+). i was conscious of this run. i hadnt run a competitive 21k since i did my last half ironman. so, again, the little boss man in my head said, training run. whether coach believed me or not, we had planned on attempting a 1h40 half, id just run alongside his bunny ears. having worked out the times compared to the 10k, and how hard i ran it, i knew i wouldn’t be doing it. so i conveniently lost him in the mass of people. realistically, a sub 2hr would be acceptable. when the gun went off, the crowd was psyched. i just went into a zone, and vegged out. i always kepy the 100min pace bunny in sight, but by about the 8k mark i lost him. and the halfway point, i was on cruise control. i didn’t feel great, but i didn’t feel bad either. my legs ached a bit, but my heart wasn’t feeling overly taxed. i looked at my watch through 10k, and two things amazed me. heart rate 159 (about what a normal run is), and i ran faster through 10k on the half, then i did on the 10k the day before. whoah. the training build up is working! so, a little giddy, i kept this going. but, alas, after 150k of biking and 10k of running in the past 30hrs, my legs caught up to my mind at the 17 km mark. i started to feel thick. heart great, but my leggies wern’t feelin’ as good. i wanted to go full out from 19k on, but it wasn’t going to happen. i kept goin, telling myself that 3 months from now, id only be at the halfway mark of a marathon. so, i kept goin, knowing my running posture was falling apart. but, i passed the clock at 1:44. another PB. go figure.

as i write this, things have come to mind:

- sponges are awesome. i put them under my tri top, and then re-soak them whenever i need to get cool again

- people think ironmen are for elite athletes, but, if you do the training, you KNOW that an Iman is possible

- the measure of perceived effort relative to HR can be off sometimes

- when feeling like poo, remember, that the next time won’t be so bad, cause it sucks now

- i have new found respect for the racing atmosphere, i never thought id be able to run 21k without an IPOD

- people huffing and puffing as they run beside you are extremely annoying

- dont EVER forget a race belt, pins in your skin hurt.

- ALWAYS baby poweder your scrotal region