5km Swim

Another thing on my life's list is done. I have wanted to do a long, long swim for a few years now and decided this year would be the year. Every year out in Kelowna as part of the triathlon national championships, they have a 1500 meter and 5km swim. Open water, long distance swimming has really become popular over the past few years...its an Olympic event now...the world championships were in Canada this year...its a whole new and crazy sport!!

We drove to Calgary on Thursday...holy forest fire smoke...that was not cool. It was like we were in a sci-fi movie and the world was ending. We could not see road signs...that's how bad it was driving into Calgary...what the hell was it going to be like as we got closer to the Okanagan? Well, it was pretty bad. I have pictures that I will post later but that cannot be healthy to breathe in all that smoke for two days!! My 4 year old sneezed from Calgary to Vernon...

Got into Vernon really late as we pissed around, stopping several times on the trip. Was a fun, fun trip! Fell into a few tourist traps...jeepers...those places were built for people like my husband...

Anyway, my Dad has a beautiful home overlooking Lake Okanagan and he graciously gave it up while he stayed at his cabin.

The race was Saturday morning and in Kelowna which is about a 45 minute drive from where we were. Up and early and exhausted...if you have children and you travel with them...you will know what I am talking about!!

Got to the race check in. The whole waterfront was triathlon city. The junior elite girls were just coming out of the water and holy crap...those girls could FLY!! At my race check in, they are pretty darn serious about this open water swimming. Signed the waiver, got my swim cap, they checked my finger and toe nails...told me to take off all jewellry. I left my wedding band on because I have not had it off in over 10 years...the gal said I would likely be dq'd...say what? So I hid my hand until we got into the water!! Crazy.

At the race briefing, they introduced a few people...the world record holder for this distance was there...some dude who had just swam the English Channel was there...the junior Canadian champion...I looked around and realized very quickly, I was in way over my head!! However, I do want to say that it was nice to be around other swimmer bodies...not necessarily small and tiny skinny girls, if you get what I am saying...these were my people!!!

The guys went off first and the gals went off 5 minutes later. These people were competitive. There is a world circuit for the open water long distance swimming and Kelowna wants to get on the circuit so the officials were doing everything to the letter of the law.

There were only about 14 women entered in total....about 11 of them took off like bullets at the start!! Holy SHIT!! I tried to stay on their feet for about the first 1000 meters but they were really racing. If I do this again, more distance and much more speed work...seriously, I was not prepared for how competitive this group was going to be.

The course was 5 laps of a 1000 meter course. After the first lap I was on my own and just kept swimming...I kicked the entire 5000 meters...the swells at the far end of the course were kind of weird to swim in...you would take 10 or so strokes and get no where...the lake was gorgeous to swim in...there were some that dropped out because it was cold, but I did not mind it. I guess they did not grow up going to lakes in northern SK!!! I got lapped by a few men and one woman...and I thought I was a decent swimmer!! These people were FAST!!! Holy crap.

By the last lap, I was getting tired. I swam that sucker hard! My lower back was aching from doing all the sighting. My arms and shoulders were sore. That was a loooong way to swim! I even got disorientated a couple of times so had to stop and do some breast stroke just to get my bearings. The folks here are so lucky to have these big beautiful lakes to do all of their open water swimming in.

In then end, I was the 2nd last female out of the water and about the 4th last overall. The field was about 30 people in total. And I was super HAPPY with my swim!! It was done in about one hour and 30-ish minutes. I thought I would be faster than this but again, I have alot to learn about open water swimming if I want to do that again!!

River Run 10km

Welcome to the world of PB's.
My name is Kelly, and I am your leader!!
Hahahahahahhaa!!
That's right. A 10km PB in the books today! I am SO excited! The secret? I have not had ANY bread in a week. I know, this is not really related, but I am trying not to eat any bread. The beef brisket I had for supper last night. Again, not really related but we were at a birthday party and damn that beef brisket was good and I need to remember to get the recipe. And the 20 minute warm up run I did.
Yes. You read that correctly. The person who never ever warms up, actually went for a 20 minute jog before running the 10km this morning. I thought, what the heck, I want to see what my legs can do when they are actually warmed up and ready to go. Well they can run a 10km faster than they have ran a 10km in about 10 years!!!
Gettin older and gettin faster.
Here is the kilometer by kilometer break down of the run:
#1: Jeepers. It is a great day for a run! Sunny and cool and no wind. This first km is downhill...careful with the pace. DON'T GO OUT TO FAST!!!
#2: This km has a nice little uphill. But I am not even feeling it...what the...?
#3: Spectators. "Hi spectators!!" I am happy, I am running, my legs feel awesome. Do not check Garmin...because I don't want to get discouraged if it is slow and I don't want to panic if it is fast...
#4: Through trees on Spadina Cres. I love this street. So pretty. My legs STILL FEEL GOOD! I might just have a great run...
#5: Damn. I checked Garmin. I went out too fast. Why...why..why...why and when will I learn...but I am not feeling bad so just run and see how it goes.
#6: Aid station. Missed the water cup. Grabbed it wrong and spilled it all over myself. Nice.
#7: How many kms do I have left? I have to use my fingers to count. Look at this...I am passing some people who are taking walk breaks....who am I?
#8: Okay...legs starting to hurt. Breathing is hard. 3 km left. Just hug this white line all the way around and run.
#9: Down the hill. It's not a big hill but when you are running with tired legs...I had flashbacks from Boston...
#10: Back up the other side...its long...its the last km...I am feelin it...I am going to catch these two people...done...focus...focus...FOCUS!! There is the finish line...you can see it for about 600 meters...don't take your eyes off of it...RUN!!!!
51:40 (according to Garmin...official results will likely be a bit different but right now I don't effing CARE!!!)....Holy SHITE!!! I have never ever ran under 52 minutes...EVER!!!
I am elated right now and super duper proud!!!

butterflies

I am getting butterflies about my big swim coming up in just over a week.

5 kilometers of open water no wet suit BLISS

I have been studying up on these open water swims and they are kind of a big deal! They have a world championship every two years...they are now an olympic event...there are 44 people entered for next weekend in Kelowna!!

Bring it on!

But before my swim, I entered in a 10km race this weekend. Just something to do. I entered quite awhile ago, and I grabbed the entry yesterday and this is what it says:

10km Provincial and Canadian Masters Championship

What the...bleep??!!!

I thought it was a little local race!!

OMG!!

But they have not yet cashed my cheque...so perhaps I will get there and they will say "For real runners only!!??"

I will for sure be the biggest person there!! I am not a runner. I love running and I am improving but I am lining up against real runners!!! Even though I ran Boston...but we all know the story behind that race...

Jaysus.

And I am supposed to be attending a stagette (which I would seriously rather stick a fork in my eye than go to this thing...) the night before. I have told Shaun I am going for one hour (his brother's fiance...who did not invite me to the wedding shower and wreaks drama and I have stayed as far away as possible...)

And then I have to put together a 10km the next morning.

Yikes.

Frank Dunn Tri Race Report

Another year in the books! Next year is the race's 30th Anniversary...who's in?? My registration is mailed first thing tomorrow!
We have a cabin about 30 minutes from Waskesiu where this race is held. Up to the cabin we go on Saturday. My hubby had flown down to Reno to pick up his motorcycle so I had the munchkins in the truck and he was on his bike. I guess the 4 days on that thing to get it home weren't enough..? Got my gear sorted out Saturday night, laid around reading and relaxing. The nice thing about these smaller races is that we can pick up our race packages on Sunday morning. Saves me the panic of driving all the way to Waskesiu and back Sat afternoon.
Sunday morning the entire family is up at 5:30am. I had packed them a breakfast AND lunch for the day so my poor sleepy eyed kids were stuffed in their car seats and off we went. They kept asking "Are we going on an airplane?" Because every trip we take on a plane is nearly in the middle of the night...no sweeties, just to mom's triathlon!!
Anyway, got my gear sorted out and package picked up and listened to the pre-race instrucions. Was it me...or were the officials kind of tough this year? They put a snow fence all the way around transition and someone was penalized for jumping over the fence...could you imagine? Before the race even started!! And a buddy of mine was told to put a swim cap on...everyone knows he NEVER swims with a swim cap...They told him he would get a penalty if he did not put a swim cap on. Rules are rules I guess.
The swim: the swim is the swim. My right calf basically seized up for the last 200 meters. Damn it hurt!! And I ran head on into a guy doing back stroke...he was coming the other way and was WAY off course. Second female out of the water...and guess who was first? That's right our own Jenna!! And she got a trophy...I did not know they gave trophies!!!! Now I want one...
And the course was apparently several hundred meters long.
T1: I had a super quick transition. I have learned a few things in these years of triathlons. However my entire right leg seized up and I had to take a few minutes to stretch it out. Annoying. And I started out the wrong way out of transition...so had to double back and go the right way. Annoying. And then I could not get my feet clipped in. I was shaking I was so out of breath and was stressed about my leg. Annoying.
The Bike: Well...I am still a shitty biker. Most of the field passed me. Damn that SUCKS!! I really tried to stay focused and pedaled as hard as I could for 62km. The distance, the bike, the pedalling did not bother me in the least. According to my garmin, I was 5 minutes faster than I have ever been on that course!! So given that I only got ONTO my bike in mid-June...I am super happy with this result.
T2: No issues.
The Run: I have made peace with running. It really came through for me today! I ran the ENTIRE 13km!! I took only two very short breaks to grab water...always two cups...one for me and one for my head. It was hot. OMG it was so hot! By the time I am out there it is almost noon and no shade. It was HOT!!! But I ran and just counted down the clicks. No issues with my leg or anything. I ran on the white line of the road the entire run...just kept looking at it and put one foot in front of the other. I was amazed at how great I felt!!
As I was coming to the finish, I heard the announcer say "There is less than a minute to get in under 4 hours!" OMG I sprinted to the finish...ME! SPRINTED!! I didn't know I could sprint...
Anyway, a very good day for me. My first goal was to get in under 4 hours. I thought this could be tough given that I really only started working on this 6 weeks ago. I thought I would be happy with around 4:15. And being able to run the entire course and with the swim being long...my new PB is gravy!!!

the day it was

Calgary Ironman 70.3 - a spectator's perspective. I did this race last year and my brother was so excited and thrilled, he entered the race for 2010. He has never done a triathlon before. In fact he has never done a race before...10 km...half marathon...nothing. He only bought a bike this spring. I was so very worried for him...I have done these races and I think I put the efforts in for training but he had not done nearly the work I thought was required to complete a half ironman!! Lucky for him he has a ton of natural athletic ability...as kids he could always pick up on sports very easily. I always had to work at it. Apparently, nothing has changed...

Pre-Race - we arrive in Calgary on Friday night and have a nice supper with family. Saturday morning he is up early and heads down to the package pick up to grab his stuff. He comes home and I start quizzing him on his gear. Thank-GOD I had thrown my own tri-gear into the truck before we left my house in Saskatoon. I just brought the entire bucket thinking he may need something in there. He was very, very unprepared to cover that distance in less than 24 hours!!

He had no swim goggles. He had to buy a pair. When I asked him about his swim training, he had basically done a couple of swims...no open water swims...the longest he had covered was 1000 meters. I had to keep my panic to myself. He did not have a bike helmet. When I asked when he had been training with, he had done his bike rides with no helmet!! After cursing him out for several minutes, we had to find him a bike helmet. It was too late in the day to go and buy one. My sister in law digs in their basement and comes up with her old baby blue helmet...with a visor!!

Oh my god.

When I asked what he had done for bike training, he said he had done the course three times. I was starting to feel better. Sometimes we (I) get so hung up on the training and the gear etc...his bike had no aero bars, it had no bottle cages, we had to rig up my aero bottle to the front of his handle bars!! The damn thing had only 8 gears!! He had no clip in pedals...he biked the entire route in his running shoes. Wearing a baby blue bike helmet with a visor...

Sunday morning we were up very early as I told him to get through the day he needed to go slow and EAT. Eat lots. So he had a huge breakfast as my advice was to start with that tank full. He had never trained with gels or food or even a sport drink. I was very scared that he was not going to finish this thing or that he was going to end up in the medical tent.

At the race start, I helped him get his stuff where it needed to be. We had driven his bike out the day before.

Of course, he did not have a wet suit, and I had brought mine for him to use. The night before, he tried it on but put it on backwards...holy I laughed!!

The swim: He struggled in the swim. He could not catch his breath and the suit was just a bit too small. He said he panicked and wanted to stop about 10 minutes into it. He has never swam in open water before. He just took a small break and tread water for a bit and did some back stroke and made his way through the swim course. When I saw him coming up the ramp, his face was total shell shocked...he looked like he had been through a war zone. We walked him over the bike gear and he just kept saying "I couldn't breathe. That was really tough. How long is the bike ride? I couldn't breathe." But he did that swim in 46 minutes!! He was worried he would not make the cut-off...

I got his bag for him and just started handing him his bike stuff. Here are your socks...just put them on. He would say "That swim!! I could not breathe!!" I would say "Forget it...you have to get on your bike now!! Here is your t-shirt...get it on!!"

Oh my god!!

As he was coming out of the transition, he had not put the bottle on correctly and had spilled most of his gatorade...he stopped and I took a few minutes to re-do it for him. My last advice to him was to stop at EVERY aid station and fill that bottle up!! Eat!! EAT!!! EAT!!! Off he goes for 90kms...on a bike with 8 gears and big thick tires and no aero bars. Oi.

The run: We weren't very good spectators as we missed his T2. I thought the bike ride would take him much longer than it did...He did that course on that bike in 3 hours and 33 minutes!! Again, I was worried about him out there but I guess his old hockey legs came through for him. I ran for him just a little bit at the end and he said he was just going slow the whole way but running the whole way...my advice also to him...just go slow the whole day!! He looked good and strong and ran UP that last bugger of a hill at the 18km mark! He did his run in 2:34!! Which by the way...beats my run split from last year...

I am SO PROUD of him for doing this!! I had to keep the panic out of my voice for the two days leading up to the race and just be the upmost supportive sister EVER!! His total time was 7 hours and 10 minutes...very respectable I would say!!