MSC & Me: A Brief History

It's hard to believe that 2016 will be my tenth year in the fun and crazy world of triathlon. I'm still learning things every day...about myself, the sport, the gear, and ultimately how to get a little bit faster every season!

I came into the sport when I was training with the Western track & field team in 2006. I was so hopelessly injured that I bought a bike so I could at least maintain some form of activity while my multiple stress fractures were healing. I should note that I wasn't some prodigy runner who had scholarships lined up. I had some decent 300 and 400 times but I made teams because I was the hardest worker at practice.

When I started cycling I immediately fell in love with it and I still remember thinking to myself, "I can't be doing this right, there's no way training for something can be this FUN!" I quit track a week before varsity training camp and committed to a new journey, one that I was incredibly passionate about...mostly because it scared the crap out of me!

There was only one problem. I couldn't swim. I don't mean it like most competitive triathletes mean it, as in they wish they were faster. I mean I was literally so bad at swimming that even my parents would make fun of how bad I was at swimming lessons. My mom made me tread water in our backyard pool for 30 minutes before signing up for my first race, just to make sure I wouldn't die.

I joined the UWO triathlon club in the fall of 2006 and immediately found an amazing sense of community. I was the guy wearing board shorts in the slow lane trying not to drown, but there was something very welcoming about everyone facing their own personal challenges; in track all that mattered was whether or not you had made the time standards.

I also met a man in the club by the name of John Salt. First I only knew him by reputation of his torturous 6am spin classes and the crazy fast swimmer in lane 1. Then he told us some of his Ironman war stories and it was the coolest and most badass thing I had ever heard in my life. Finally I found out that he was the owner of the "HSBC Triathlon Series" and he had some pretty cool events. So in 2007 I signed up for a few of his races to really see what triathlon was all about.

Fast forward ten years and I've raced dozens of MultiSport events, volunteered at a bunch more and even worked on the race crew for a couple seasons. That's why I'm thrilled to partner with MultiSport Canada this year as part of the Recharge with Milk Ambassador Pro Squad. Over the last ten years John, Jason and the crew have watched me grow up as an athlete and a person.

In that time the MSC brand has also grown from the small events with a great community-feel to the biggest series in Canada, and John still shakes everyone's hand at every finish line. It's been a lot of fun to be a part of all that and I couldn't be happier to formally represent the Recharge with Milk Triathlon Series this season and help get the word out about their amazing events.

I thought I'd have a little fun and dig a few items out of the archives for a brief synopsis of how I - along with MSC - have grown over the years!

Binbrook 2007 - my second ever tri...I was such a noob!

I finished my first tri season in Wasaga Beach where I qualified for AG Worlds in Vancouver the following year!

This shot is just too old-school not to post - Cobourg 2008

Back when Lakeside was in June, and it was about 6 degrees in 2009! I didn't race locally too much that season - I was racing AG Nationals in Kelowna then Worlds in Australia, so I decided to start training a little smarter. I moved to Guelph to train with what was then called the Provincial Training Centre under Coach Craig Taylor. It was a summer of getting my ass kicked multiple times a day, but it was the most valuable experience I've ever had in my tri career.

Cobourg 2010. I spent most of that season working on the race crew to help fund my flight to Elite Nationals. I gained some serious respect for the MSC crew who often put in 40+ hours of work over a single weekend to make these events happen. Everyone should do it at least once!

2011 was marked by winning my FIRST MSC race at Bala Falls. The Recharge with Milk finish line interviews were a fun bonus!

2012 was highlighted by the Welland Half Iron, hands-down the hardest thing I had ever done. It was also the first season that offered series prize money so my year was all about chasing points. Unfortunately I crashed badly in my next race and John told me he wouldn't let me race again until I had been cleared of concussion symptoms. I had to sit out the rest of the season but was very grateful for his words of wisdom.

 Fast forward to 2015 back in Welland. My aero game has improved slightly since my road bike clip-ons :)

After a few years of focusing my season around big destination/championship races, I'm really excited to get back to my roots in 2016 and chase some points on the Recharge with Milk series. They truly are top-notch events and with the talent coming out of Ontario these days it has to be one of the most competitive domestic series out there. I'm still putting the final touches on my race calendar but I can't wait to throw down on the MSC circuit again this year. See you on the start line!

Season Opener & campLPC

It seems like just yesterday that I was wrapping up my 2015 season and hunkering down for winter training! And it certainly doesn't feel like a full year has passed and another LPC Florida Camp is in the books. But I took my time getting back into structured training after Louisville and after a couple months of solid training I was looking forward to heading back down south.

I was really excited to once again kick off my racing season with the Draft Legal Challenge in Clermont. Last year I jumped at the rare opportunity to do an Age-Group draft legal race, and despite feeling completely unprepared I finished 5th. I was hoping to better that this year after a recently renewed focus on short-course racing, but with AG Worlds going draft-legal this year it brought a much bigger, deeper and more diverse field...including many other LPCers!

(all photos courtesy of Ken Milner & BPT)

On Saturday a huge group of campers headed to Lake Louisa to catch the ITU race which included my Hurdle Project teammates Jack, Garrick and David and many RTC Guelph friends. Then first up Sunday was Amanda's first draft-legal experience in the Elite Development Race. She's gearing up for sprint-distance Nationals and Worlds, and what better way to get some experience in the unique race format!

I have to give Amanda big props for jumping in the EDR. They combined the EDR and AG races but gave the age groupers a 10-minute head start to help them from getting lapped out. But Amanda lined up with the big girls. She had a solid swim but in the strong field of junior-elites and some U23s she just missed the big chase pack out of the water. Then despite only being on her new road bike a handful of times, she lit up the bike course and was carving the technical sections! Unfortunately she was in a position I'm far too familiar with...she was picking up stragglers who couldn't even hold her wheel, let alone pull through. So she toughed out the ride mostly solo but was in no danger of getting lapped out, and finished strong in her first draft-legal race!

Then it was the boys' turn in a sold out field of all ages and abilities. I saw a few familiar faces from last year including another huge contingent of Canadian Forces guys, a solid group of LPCers and Amanda's dad! It was really cool to have such a range of athletes starting together and there were only a handful of sketchy moments with the race organizers being lenient on the lap-out rule to keep things inclusive.

I was really looking forward to seeing what I could do in the swim knowing that I'm swimming well for this time of year...and with a funky new wetsuit (thanks Santa)! But between the challenging conditions and lacking a bit of race-specific fitness I had a bit of a disappointing swim. I lost my stroke a bit and struggled to find a rhythm after taking it out hard. It's hard to compare times with the swim being quite rough...I can't say it felt great but I'm confident I'll be swimming better than ever in the open water this year!

I got to work on the bike chasing down the lead pack, which I successfully managed to do last year. On the first lap of four I started working with a pair of strong guys and started bringing back time. But just before coming through transition for the first time one guy flatted, and the other couldn't hold my wheel through the tricky transition area. I knew that was going to be a big setback in trying to bridge up and settled into my own rhythm for most of lap 2.

Determined face, determined face

Just before the end of lap 2 I was joined by a two strong riders and we started rolling well. I wasn't feeling super strong on the bike and nearly got dropped at one point, but I made up for my lack of fitness with technical skill, and brought back a 5 second gap through transition :) On the last lap the three of us got swallowed up by a large pack lead by LPCer Lee Rantala. I covered some weak attacks and mostly recovered for the last 3k and came in near the front of the group.

I was still feeling the early-March lack of fitness on the run, but managed to find a bit of a rhythm and ran better than last year. Despite the faster run I only managed 10th in a deeper field this time around. But I got exactly what I wanted out of the race, a good cobweb scraper and a fun start to camp!

I could - and probably should - do a separate post dedicated to camp, but that seems like way too much work! So here's a quick recap on a big week in the sunshine:

My new cross bike was a great road steed!

Monday:
Monday is always one of my favourite days of the camp, as we head to the NTC for a big day of training. First up was a workout on the track, somewhere I've become intimately familiar with since coming to Clermont for track camp many years ago. Since I raced on Sunday I had a shortened set of 9x400 on 2:00 dec 1-3 (79, 75, 73). Then it was up to the pool for a solid swim in the fast lane with some drills from Coach Gabbi and Coach Alex, and a set of fast 50s.

After a big morning we were treated to seminars with Coach Mark and a great Q&A with Lionel. It was great to have him back at camp...I still vividly remember the crazy guy in 2011 who pedaled his bike so hard that every bearing and bolt was creaking underneath him. I remember telling James "this dude is going to be the best long course athlete in the world some day." I'm still in awe of what he's accomplished since then, and he's still just as crazy. But he's one of the nicest and most genuine people in the sport, and it was an honour to share some training with him throughout the week.

Tuesday:
We changed things up a bit this year and the highlight of Tuesday was the world-renowned Allen's Challenge. The "miracle mile" sub-four minute barrier was demolished with Johnny Pulford clocking a 3:16 for 11 scoops of ice cream and 5 toppings.

The 84k ride and run off the bike used to feel like a long day for me, but after going through Ironman training it felt more like a nice warmup! Unfortunately I was a little under the weather and shortened my run off the bike. I thought back to last year when I ran 16k on the hottest day of camp and part of me wished 2016 was another Ironman year...

Wednesday:
We were back to Lake Louisa for brick intervals. This is typically the workout that the young-ins beat up on ol' RyGuy. But I was still feeling sick and drained so I cut my workout short and missed out on some hard yards with the boys. I'm not sure if I wasn't quite recovered from the race and then went too hard on Monday, or if I was fighting some sickness. But I decided to shut it down in hopes of feeling better later in the week

Thursday:
I was really motivated to have a great day of training on the longest day of camp after the last two days not going to plan. It started off with a ~4500m lazy river swim. I committed to staying with the ITU guys and Lionel for a s**tload of open water simulations. I remembered how I lost my feel for the water and a bit of focus during my race, and did my best to swim HARD and hold good form. I ended up having one of the best (and hardest) swims of my life staying within touch of the fast guys the whole time.

Thursday afternoon is the long ride out to Clermont and Sugarloaf hill. Last year I completed my first century on that ride and was a huge step in my IM training. This year I just had 90k on tap, but before we even got to Sugarloaf I somehow managed to break the lower jockey wheel and crack the cage on my rear derailleur...which mechanically speaking, means you're f**ked.

I sat on the side of the road for about 40 minutes trying over and over to shorten my chain to ride single-speed and find a gear that wouldn't skip too much or lock up. Eventually I limped up Sugarloaf where our sag wagon Ken (Gabbi's husband, also photog genius and beer connoisseur) picked me up.

I was pretty bummed that my perennial favourite ride was cut short, but was satisfied in my mechanical skills to at least get to the pick-up point (and thankful for being prepared and carrying a multi-tool with a chain breaker). Case in point for those cyclists who aren't mechanically inclined...learn how to do basic repairs on the road so you don't get stranded in scary Trump-voter areas!

Friday:
The last day of camp is always my favourite...Orange Grove 10 miler! Last year I did two laps plus some bonus for a 35k run that was one of the most memorable runs of my life. This year was a little bitter sweet as I fell in love with the long miles last year. But the workout this time around was easy warm-up for the first half, tempo coming back. I told myself that if I was only doing one lap I was gonna make it count! I averaged 3:36/km for the hilly 8k coming back, which I was really happy with and gives me confidence that my long-time goal of a sub-35 10k might be getting closer.

We finished off camp with a short-ish 55k ride for which I was fortunate enough to borrow LPC pal Kyle's sweet Speed Concept! I've always wanted to try one out and it sure was fast! But my P3 isn't going anywhere anytime soon :)

We're now back in Canada but race season is coming up quickly! I already have some spring races planned including some fun on my cross bike, then a couple running races before tri season really starts. I'm looking forward to staying a little closer to home this year and focusing on the MultiSport Canada points series and TriOn long course series. It's going to be a fun year getting back to basics racing local and racing hard!

Winter Update

My last posts wrapped up a long and busy race season, and even though it's the middle of winter I think it's time for another update!

Just before the end of the year work brought me back to Louisville for a couple days. I had mixed emotions being back in the place that I had dedicated my whole year to swimming, biking and running around. But I managed to squeeze in a few workouts on the IM course while I was there and I left with some closure on an amazing year.

Ironman Louisville finish line

So what's new in 2016 so far?

For the most part I've just been keeping my head down and working away in the pool, on the trainer and through the trails. By the end of my Ironman training I was really looking forward to paying off credit card debt focusing on short-course training and hitting some of my favourite local races again. 

At first it was a bit of a struggle to get rolling again because I found a new passion for the big miles and the huge challenge of Ironman. I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the process as much with higher intensity workouts and lower overall volume. But I've slowly been changing gears back to short course and so far this year I've benefited from a higher level of focus, efficiency and mental strength than ever before. It's nice to get some speed back!

I'm very happy to once again be a part of teamLPC's Hurdle Project squad. It's a particularly awesome and talented group of young athletes (I seem to have taken the role of Dad in the group), and I'm looking forward to teaching them a thing or two in bike skillz and old man strength. Check out my profile here: http://www.loaringpersonalcoaching.com/ryan-power.html

After a couple years of long course training I've enjoyed putting a bit more emphasis back on my swimming. I haven't been doing any superstar mileage besides a solid 36k week for "BPT swim camp" with Amanda, but I've consistently put the time in and I'm seeing the benefits of working so hard on my efficiency over the past 12 months.

Working that EVF

I've rocked out HARD while my teammates are setting ridiculous FTP numbers (and I'm also testing higher than ever in Jan/Feb)

5.05w/k avg over 20min aero for @JackLaundry93 in the #paincave #teamLPC #HurdleProject #computrainer

A video posted by teamLPC (@loaringpersonalcoaching) on Jan 9, 2016 at 1:36pm PST

I've also been fortunate enough to include regular track workouts in my training for the first time in a few years. I have a love/hate relationship with the indoor track given my track background...I love the hard yards but I definitely had my fair share of injuries in my track days. Fortunately I've managed to be extra diligent with my prehab and recovery, and Track Tuesday is often the highlight of my week

I can't believe this tweet didn't get more action. Come on, that's gold!

And of course it wouldn't be winter in Canada without some long runs in crappy weather. It can be a tough time of year to stay motivated (and warm) but we've been pretty lucky this year with the weather for the most part. And no matter how cold it is, there are few things better than a long winter trail run in fresh snow.

When rain turns to freezing rain, then snow..all in one workout

I was also lucky enough to head out west into the sunshine for a few days! Running in LA presents it's challenges in terms of finding a good route and not getting stabbed, but the challenge always seemed to be worth it...

Now I'm back in the cold but it's almost time to hit the road again, this time to LPC Florida Camp! I'm once again looking forward to kicking off my race season while I'm down south with the Clermont Draft Legal Challenge. It's a pretty meaningless race in terms of the result but it will be a good indication of how things are progressing so far. And then of course plenty of fun in the sun with an amazing group of people. After that I'm looking forward to some local cross races and a bit of running before tri season.

My next update will probably come after camp!

2015 in Pictures

Too bad I don't publish books and magazines. Everyone knows the pictures are all anyone cares about! Here's my 2015 season recap in action shots:

Clermont Age Group Draft-Legal - the earliest I'd ever started a season, and a sprint tri in the middle of my build for Around the Bay. Caught lead pack on the bike, ran into 5th. I love that age group draft legal races are catching on - it's an incredibly exciting, humbling and FUN style of racing that everyone should try out.

As always, LPC Florida Camp was amazing. Capped off this year by 35k at the Orange Grove with my pal Steve. Maybe next IM year I'll do 3 laps?

 Around the Bay 30k - I accomplished my goal with a time of 1:58:51. It was one of my favourite races I've ever done, and by far the most painful...I couldn't walk down stairs for a week! Can't wait to go back and chop some more time off.

Paris to Ancaster was a lesson in suffering and proper equipment choice. A great experience though in a race I had wanted to do for years.

Final tune-up for tri season, the first BPT TT. 43km/h for 20k was a new PB, which I equalled later in the year on a tougher course (with another power PB)

Welland Half Iron: I continued my strong riding with a 2:15 split, but I pulled out on the run to avoid injury risk with a nagging glute issue. I got it fixed up in time for my next half.

TTF Sprint/Age Group Provincials. LPC went 1-2-3

Ironman 70.3 Muncie: 4:19 in crazy heat was good for 11th overall and my best result in a 70.3 to date.

Most of my season was spent training for Ironman Louisville, and almost all of my training was on the Lakeside Olympic course. Couldn't pass up home course advantage! Second overall and 2:05 in tough conditions.

Ironman Louisville didn't end the way I wanted, but it definitely started well! Despite struggling with sub-par swim splits all summer, I knew I had good fitness and could put it together in Louisville. I cruised through a 58 minute swim to start my day.

I worked harder on the bike this year than ever before and found a new confidence and level of focus on my trusty P3. I loved every mile of the epic IM-specific rides and it showed with a top-15 bike split on the challenging Louisville course.

 Getting off the bike I was ahead of even my best-case scenario time, and I was more confident in my run fitness than anything else. My legs wanted to go but my stomach didn't agree. Louisville didn't end the way I had expected, but I learned the hard way that's just part of Ironman racing. And I'm more motivated than ever to keep learning and give it another crack.

I found a new passion with Ironman training, but for now I need to save some time and money! Next year my focus is on getting fast and racing the local favourites in the Multisport Canada series. And I'll be kicking off 2016 in just over two months in Florida, so I'll have some more updates soon!