Hot August

This past weekend I wrapped up my 2011 race season by competing at Canadian Nationals in Kelowna. This race was about redemption for me, as last year I was told two days before the race that my foot was broken...

I finished up my summer semester at SFU on tuesday and drove back to the Kootenays, just in time to snag some perfect summer weather!

My mum and I drove to Kelowna together, and arrived just in time to check in my bike and pick up my race package.

Race morning: my start was at 9:35 with the 20-29 females. That gave me plenty of time to set up transition and watch the other swim starts. The water temp. this year was wetsuit legal for the AGers, and I am glad, because it felt a little chilly!

Swim-

Time: 24:10 I am happy with this result, as it is a full 47s faster than two weeks ago. But I felt that my swim was horrible when I was actually swimming... it was pretty rough with all of the girls swimming in a big mob pack and not separating until partway through the second lap.

T1- Slowly getting better stripping off my wetsuit!

Bike- Kelowna's course is a 3 loop circuit, each time climbing up Knox Mtn. The climb isn't all that bad, but it is deceiving in the fact that the uphill gradually continues for another couple of kms. I really enjoyed this course- the fact that it was closed to traffic, had some fun fast turns and looping past spectators was a good mental boost.

T2- I came into transition and there was only one other bike on the rack... so I racked mine and suddenly the rack broke!! The metal bar between the sawhorses wasn't in place- needless to say that got my heart racing as I started yelling at the volunteers to come and fix it.

Run- This was the scary part. Right after Sooke I noticed a tight pain in my knee, and thought nothing of it. Turns out I badly pulled my rectus femoris, making running almost impossible, and swimming for that matter. I took running on and off easy for two weeks- scared to test it out.

I started the 10k with a half plan in my mind of what to do if the pain started, but luckily no such thing happened! Just general stiffness/tightness in the quad. My pace felt really great, and I was having fun chasing this one lady. Unfortunately my time of just under 48min didn't reflect how I was feeling, but c'est la vie and that's what I get for no proper running for 2 weeks injured.

Post race- I am very happy to say that I qualified to go to Auckland, NZ in October 2012 for AG worlds! My mum and I got to watch the elite females and males race, and cheer on Emma in her first elite race!

Back at home now I am having a "mini-vacation" week of rest and no training. The no training part is definitely there, but I am not too sure about the rest aspect.... moving my grandparent's out of their 60 year old home is not a restful activity haha! I am looking forward to this weekend to volunteer in T1 at Ironman Canada and to cheer on my friends that are racing.

That's all for now- time to hit the beach!

Sooke Race

Instead of writing a big long race report of the Subaru Sooke race, I've decided to try it in more of a picture format (because I had my dad's camera with me). Plus, procrastination here is at it's greatest today!

Simply put, my race was ok. I was sick for about 2 weeks and still sick race morning, so I knew that it would be a "give it what you have, and don't expect anything crazy" type of scenario. I swam a new 1500m PB (actually I felt amazing on the swim!) and even though the run was all types of horrible for me, (cramps, diziness, etc) I managed to pull out a new olympic distance 10km PB too. The course was very challenging, the bike was just epic. I was actually scared when I looked way up some of the climbs and saw racers walking their bikes. The race though was my first good result, putting me as 6th woman OA.

Sooke River Campground

Swim start at Young Lake

Heading into T1- 24:57 swim time

Starting the run

Next up in two weeks time is Canadian Nationals in Kelowna! Less that 6 days left in Coquitlam (and 3 finals to write) then back to Rossland. The focus this week is to get in some good training sessions, major study time and to tackle my Physics and Biology 101 finals that are both on friday.

Full results of the race here.

Hello August!

I can't quite believe that August is just around the corner, literally one day away! Thinking back to a year ago I was relaxing in Rosebery and heading to Kaslo for the amazing Jazz festival. Sitting on the beach listening to great music played off of a floating stage- life can't get much better. Well that's not exactly the case for me this year, but luckily I get one little tidbit of nice for my weekend here on the coast- the weather has finally decided to cooperate and the sun is shining! It's nice not to wear jeans and a hoodie everyday, shorts are a nice change!

School is slowly winding down, only 5 days of classes left and then finals galore! I am trying to be good and balance my studying, but I have found that the best place to hit the books is at the school- and far away from my room. Stress is not something I deal with very well... actually I create it and sometimes thrive on it, but after a certain point it just makes me sick. I burnt myself out earlier this week as several things all crashed down on me at once. I literally made myself sick. So doing the right thing, I took the next day off of school and training and lied in bed all day. I woke up at 5pm and was asleep again by 9pm... I need to learn how to de-stress myself and put my mind into a relaxed state. Yoga, reading and deep breathing only seem to be temporary fixes, so this is something that I really need to focus on to ensure that I stay healthy and happy. I am just about better, only a scratchy throat and stuffed nose now- hopefully by monday I will be in the clear!

On to more positive things: this coming race I am heading over to Victoria to race the Sooke Olympic distance triathlon. The Subaru tri series does a great job of putting on these events, and I am really looking forward to being a participant! The bike course is slightly longer than a standard olympic distance, it being 46km instead of 40km... so I am going into this race not with a time goal, but with an overall placing goal. I'd like to see myself in the top 20 women, with a time that is not any more than 20min off of the winning time.

This trip looks like a fun one, especially because I will be checking out my future victoria home for the upcoming school year!

A shout-out to Ironman triathlete Dallas Cain, who has been crushing it at both the Osoyoos and Sylvan Lake half ironman events. (My Grandma doesn't keep tabs on just my racing- she save the news paper articles of other HATC athletes and phones to tell me these things!) Anyone racing IMC at the end of August better watch out!

It's back to the books for me... have to get in 3hrs of organic chemistry before I am allowed to have some more fun and hit the Spani outdoor pool. First time in an outdoor pool this summer!

I'll post again with a recap of the Sooke Tri.

Peach Classic Race Report

It's that time again... the few days after a race that all bloggers/athletes turn to their blogs and give their race reports. I think that writing a race report is a positive thing for the athlete. Not for the publicity or sharing with friends/family aspect (that does count too), but for the mental reflection. No one ever has a truly perfect race- there are usually a few things that go wrong or that can be improved upon, and by analyzing the race these errs can be found and worked on. Thinking about it is great, but actually putting pen to paper... or in this case hands to keyboard, those realizations and ideas become a lot more stable and easier to see.

This past weekend I competed in my third olympic distance event, the Penticton Peach Classic. This race is in its 29th year, and used to be considered one of the hardest triathlons in Canada.... until they went and made the run course pancake flat. I was registered for it last year, but due to injury I couldn't compete, so actually being able to get to the starting line made me very excited to see what Penticton had to offer! Going into the race I was tired, let me rephrase that- exhausted. My legs felt like lead from the get go, and wobbly dead legs from the swim made me realize that this was going to be a race just to get through. After all, this was just a training race- so I am taking everything in stride as a lesson to learn.

SWIM: the course was changed at the last minute, and instead of a 1 loop course, it became a 2 loop shared with the sprint distance athletes. The RD made the decision of starting both the Olympic and Sprint distance out together as one mass start... and let me just say that it was the most chaotic swim I have ever done. Maybe next year they will start in waves.... Aside from the mass amounts of flailing arms and legs, the water was choppy! I felt like a little boat getting rocked and pushed around- it was one of the hardest OW swims that I have ever done, and by the look of the times, many other people found it equally rough.

T1: This was good, until I hit the mount bike line... I stepped on my cleat to mount my bike and the next thing I knew I was on top of my bike/on the ground. I guess I stepped on my shoe at an angle that detached it from the pedal. Not my finest moment, but the blood made for some pretty epic race photos I am sure!

BIKE: The peach did not lack in the bike department that's for certain! The course was super hilly, but I found it as a nice challenge. The scenery is beautiful, I would like to go back and just ride the course as a training ride and really get to take in the views (and maybe stop at the wineries :) )

T2: I decided not to make anymore of an idiot of myself... so I dismounted my bike the safe way, and switched my shoes at my transition spot. On thursday I purchased new and proper racing flats that actually fit my feet- and what a joy they were to slip into! No problems there!

RUN: The run was pretty good. There were a couple of ladies out of T2 with me at the same time... so I decided to hunt them down. It's always fun to have someone to focus on and chase. The weather was perfect for running, but I still found myself dumping water over my head to keep my temperature down. The run was two looks that zigzagged around by the park and through some back alleys. Running past those stinky dumpsters was motivation to get the heck out of there!

*Apparently* the course was 10.6km instead of 10.00km. Now if this is indeed true, I am super happy with my 10km time!! I calculated the time I ran and put it to the distance of 10.6- and it looks like with my pace it would have given me about a 45min 10k.... and that would be a super huge PB for me!! I haven't raced a standalone 10k since 2009, but this gives me confidence that on fresh legs I will be able to nail a good time. Progress is good!

Feelings: I still have a whole slew of things that I need to work on! More practice with wetsuit stripping, getting on/off my bike, improving T2.... and those are just the little easy things to fix! My time was over 7min off of what I wanted, but the winning female came in 2hrs18min- so this was by no means a fast course. I am taking this all as a learning experience to help me get up higher in the sport. Being only 19, and in my first year of triathlon- I have a LONG ways to go until I can get up to the level of some of my team-mates! But I am confident in myself as an athlete, I trust my talented coach Noa, and above all I just like the sport plain and simple. For me, it's a blast! Hard at times, but crossing that finish line is rewarding.... cheesy, I know.

For full race results: HERE

Oh and here is a photo of my sweet new race kit!

Gearing up!

Well it is almost time for my 4th triathlon! And 3rd Olympic Distance event! On sunday I will be racing the Penticton Peach. I am excited to travel out to Penticton and get a much deserved break away from the mountain of homework and exams that is looming above my head. Unfortunately, I can't stay in Penticton any longer than the weekend, but hopefully next year I will be able to race and then attend Noa's training camp. If only I could find a replacement to write my organic chemistry midterm- then I would be all set... but that has even worse odds than finding a needle in a haystack!

My goals for this race are simple: swim strong and remember to breathe (don't want to induce that nasty headache that happens whenever I race/swim), crush the bike... hopefully no mechanical issues this time round and finish with a steady run. I don't know how much the heat will play a factor into this race, but I've been training in some pretty hot conditions lately... so hopefully I can handle it. I've decided to wear socks for the run... I can't get my feet into my flats sockless without my orthotics bunching up and with elastic laces on- but I feel that I save a lot of time by being able to just slip my shoes on. An added note, my feet blister like hell! Currently it looks like I have some disease on them.... all spotted and weeping and red. Gross. Trying to save them from further pain I am definitely wearing socks.

All in all I am going into this race with a positive frame of mind, but in the end whatever happens will happen. I am not going to fuss over the small things (like the weather, and no I haven't checked it yet- so don't tell me!) but simply let everything unfold as it will and try to keep my head up and happy.

That's all for now. RR when I get back from my little Okanagan Vacation!

Some things I'd like to do

This endless rain has got me daydreaming of hot, long summer rides. I've done a couple century rides the past few summers, and there is nothing better than spending a beautiful day outdoors while on your bike and enjoying the scenery. Especially if you are lucky enough to ride around the Slocan Valley or down near Northport WA. I've been planned/scheming up some routes for my return to Rossland at the endof August- a good way to celebrate the end of summer and the end of school!

Here's my list:

1) The Silver Triangle-

being a Slocan lake girl, I find myself drawn to this ride. I've do

ne most parts of the route on the Slocan Valley side, and I never get tired of looking down at the lake and up to the Valhallas. This could be broken up into two ~100km legs, but I am tempted to hammer it out and get the whole loop done in one go!

2) Northport China Bend-

I rode this one two summers with Rita. Aside from my stomach rotting from excess gatorade near the last 20km, this was another good ride. Starting in Northport, head back towards home, and turn onto China Bend Road that leads to the winery. This puts you on the opposite side of the road that the main highway travels. The whole stretch from Northport to Kettle Falls was my favourite! A combination of rolling hills, views of the Columbia river, a magnificent drop down to the water level and a road relatively free of traffic make for a fun outing. There is a small gravel strip about 1-2km in length up near the winery, but nothing unrideable...

I would only do this ride on the weekend because of the big logging truck traffic that clogs the main highway during the week days. I hope to do this ride again soon! The full loop from Northport to Northport is about 110km. It would be challenging to loop it from Rossland to Rossland (yay hills!) or start in Rossland, ride the first half and cross the boarder back into Christina Lake, and ride home from there.

3) Bombi Pass Ride 130km-

The lure of the Bombi! This ride could be started just about anywhere, depending on what you want to tackle first. Basically starting in Nelson and riding to Playmor Junction. Turning into the Slocan Valley, and then into Crescent Valley. Follow Pass Cr. Road into Castlegar and then up the Bombi pass. This is a 16km climb- long. (There is even the "Assult on the Bombi" race up this pass). Descend the Bombi down into Salmo, and follow the road into Ymir and eventually back into Nelson.

Those are the three rides that I'd really like to tackle sometime this year. I don't see the point in traveling to far away places to ride when I have my "back yard", and what a huge back yard, to explore.

Any takers willing to ride these with me? Full or partial! Any other ride suggestions around the kooks that are a must do?

Here's to riding in the sun!

Wasa Race Report

I love the Kootenays. Any excuse to go home is gladly welcomed by me, so the 2011 Wasa Lake Triathlon put on by rmevents was the perfect excuse to head back for the weekend. Last year I raced wasa as my first ever triathlon, and it seemed only fitting to go back again and compare my times. Plus, the atmosphere is great! Beautiful setting, great organization, happy racers and even though the race keeps growing, it still maintains its "grassroots" kootenay feel. If you have never done this race before be sure to put it on your list for next year... it truly is a great event- but sells out!!

I flew home into cancelgar friday afternoon after hashing through a physics midterm. Luckily the flight was in the afternoon, because true to its name, the morning flight into C-gar was cancelled. Made it home in time to attend part of RSS Grad 2011. It was great to see my friends and the new grads! They are a class that really cared about graduation, and it showed in their decorations, march and all of their festivities. Congratulations RSS class of 2011!

Leaving to Cranbrook sat. am was a bit delayed due to the fact that our key broke off in the door... whoops. So I got to do my bike/brick at home in the sun (and on my nicely tuned bike). We finally got on the road and made it into Cranbrook in 2.5hrs. I checked out the cranbrook pool and then my mum and I headed to the pre-race meeting-- amazing draw prizes, and I really wanted to win a new wetsuit. Alas, no such luck. We stayed out at St. Eugene's Resort on the Reserve out near Kimberly. The hotel was an old residential school, and restored beautifully! Also- the lounge went above and beyond to try and accommodate me and my finicky stomach- no gluten for me!

Race Morning: It was cloudy/overcast but not raining, with temp. hovering just under 10 degrees. After setting up my transition area I had plenty of time to warm-up and watch the sprint and men's olympic starts. The olympic women's start was a 1/2hr after the men's (the women made up the majority of the racers this year) and the sun was just beginning to peak out as we started. The course was a big clockwise loop on the south end of the lake. My sighting was decent, and I was able to stay away from the thrashers at the beginning. On the last stretch I sighted the beach and noticed that no one was out of the water yet. This was a huge surprise to me! I am NOT a good swimmer, so my positioning of being in the top few women made my day! The run up of 95m from the beach was included in swim time.

T1: thanks to the wetsuit strippers it was pretty fast. Hopped on the bike with my shoes attached- major win for me!

Bike: New bike course this year. Instead of the flat and fast ride out to Skookumchuck, the course ran in the opposite direction to Forte Steele. A bit more challenging, the new course had 5 good long rollers on the way out- but nothing crazy. The fresh pavement and variety of the course definitely made this one a winner. The bike went well except my chain fell off twice on two hills when I downshifted. Getting off twice to fix the chain wasn't my cup of tea- but that's racing for you!!

T2: nice and quick. grabbed a gel on the way out- as I didn't take in any nutrition on the bike.

Run: The sun was out full blast by the time I hit the run course. Nice to finally see the sun for the first time in what seems like weeks! I tried to maintain a steady pace, but began to struggle a bit through the middle section. I picked it up in the last 2km and reeled it in to a 2:31:33 finish. Just about 5min faster than last year, and on a slightly more challenging course.

Overall I had a really great weekend seeing friends and family! It was a much needed break from life in Coquitlam and SFU.

The High Altitude Club finished third in the team challenge! Way to go guys!!

Thanks for reading!