Goings On

I'm becoming a triathlete again this week. Road cycling is fun, and I'm oddly good at it despite being a triathlete. But the chances of crashing Black Beauty are far too great for my liking. Running isn't bad either...I seem to place well at races despite always running significantly faster in training than any time I've ever put down in a race. So I'll stick with triathlon.

I finally put down a week of training that I'm satisfied with and I'm starting to feel ready for the tri season. I'm kicking the year off this weekend at Rev3 Quassy (Connecticut). I'm racing the Olympic and although the "feature race" is the half the next day, I was pleasantly surprised to find my name and picture beside some real athletes on the pro start list. I'll take all the fame and glory I can get.

Speaking of which, I have to thank John at MultiSport Canada for the props in regards to the Welland Half in 4 weeks. Damn, it's only four weeks away. There's nothing like false confidence from others to motivate you to train harder! It seems to happen every year that I impulsively decide to race a long course event and I become obsessively motivated by it in every workout. Welland is my first goal race this year and I'm really happy with my progress in training towards it. I am much stronger than I was for my attempt at conquering St. Croix 70.3 last year, but I also know that something is not going to go as planned and being prepared for the inevitable is a critical part of long course training.

You may recall that last year I swore off half ironmans for the forseeable future. But it's what I'm drawn to in training and racing and I got tired of fighting it. It may be in part that I train alone so I'm drawn to the events that are a test of pure selfish will. But as I develop as an athlete it's becoming more and more apparent that I'm a bike/runner. And based on some of the times RTC athletes Ian and Zander are throwing down right now it's just as well that I'm figuring out now that I'm better suited to the races that you merely have to survive, as opposed to actually going fast.

A.C.M.F.R.P.

It's sure been a while since I've posted everyone's second favourite segment here at RPHQ (behind Power Hour of course - stay tuned for more interviews soon). Either I haven't been training hard or excessive napping is just becoming an accepted part of everyday life for me.

But today I'd like all my fellow triathletes to focus on recovery...so here is some Awesome Canadian Music For Recovery Purposes:



You're welcome.

Busy Busy

It seems that my updates as of late have mirrored my training. Most triathlete-bloggers stop writing when they're in a heavy training block. For me it's the opposite...writing (blogs, music, texting a pretty girl) is a mental break from the daily grind.

I'm still struggling a bit with consistency and motivation to get the season underway but I'm finally making progress. I've taken a step back in the pool again with my gimp back giving me grief. It happens, I have to deal with it, no sense in stressing or feeling guilty about missed workouts.

In the last few weeks I've gotten 3 early season races in with decent results, and some of my bread & butter "find the trail with the steepest hill and run up and down until I fall over" workouts. Training programs, to-the-second intervals, track workouts etc. are all pieces in the puzzle but I love the simplicity and "primal" nature of my trail runs. They bring me back to why I started triathlon...because they're really f***ing hard.

Anyway that's all the philosphical stuff I've got for tonight. I was re-introduced to the real world this past week with training taking a back seat to having a real job. I must admit...I don't like it. I've done my share of 50+ hour work weeks and fitting in training wherever possible, but I generally prefer napping to work.

So I was in St. John's NL for business pretending to be a big boy for a week but I stumbled upon one of the coolest and hardest runs of my life.



Signal Hill (with a million little red dots to show you the trail):
0-481 feet in less than 2km, 321 stairs, winds over 100km/h...and sheer drops down to the ocean. Made for some pretty interesting runs.

Next up...possibly a road race or another 5k this weekend before getting the tri season rolling. First tri will be Rev3 Quassy Olympic June 4th.

Springbank

Finally, my first race report of the year! Not an important race but I feel like telling you about it. I'll post pictures later if I find any.

I was a little nervous about this one with it being my first road race and having no idea what to expect. I felt like I was doing my first tri again...wondering whether or not I was going to drown in opening 100 meters of the swim. Bike training has gone really well this year - good enough that all my roadie buddies are telling me to give up triathlon for road racing - but Springbank is known as a sketchy course with narrow roads, rough surfaces and tight corners...nothing like 18 laps in the rain for my first road race.

A little Muse on the big 4km commute and a good warmup and all was good. I'm in my element when I get on my bike, and did it ever feel great to start a ride with the "lead pack"...that doesn't happen to me in triathlon. But within 10 meters of the roll out someone bailed in front of me and I was forced to play catch up through the first 15k working my way through the pack.

On lap 9 (20k) Multisport Zone posted a prime so I decided to be a hero and try to make my entry fee back. I ended up 2nd in a good sprint but the increased pace split the group from 50+ down to 20 or so. I was in the hurt box trying to hop back on the train after the sprint and a failed "hey we made a gap, let's go" but managed to survive and chilled for a few more laps on the back of the lead group.

Things got pretty nervous in the last few laps but I was just staying out of the wind and not get caught at the back. On the last lap I made my way up to the front but two riders got away and the group didn't bother trying to chase at all. I still wanted the experience of getting a good sprint in so I tried to position myself well coming into the last 800m.

Unfortunately I picked the wrong wheel and found myself on the front with almost 300m left so I had to go. Note to self: 300m false flat/headwind solo sprint is not ideal. I got well off the front of the pack but two guys came by with 50m left. I managed to get one of them at the line and finished 4th.

I really wanted to win but I can't be too disappointed with top 5 in my first road race. I'm going to try to hit a few more this year and see if I can get the sprint right. If I get on a good wheel (or an actual lead out) I can outsprint anyone.