Ironman Calgary 70.3

Beer gardens and Finish Line Stands!

Did Ironman Calgary 70.3 4 weeks ago (#imyyc).  It was pretty fun, well organized with great volunteers.

Race Review

They did a lot of stuff right and it was a great race overall.  The swim was beautiful, the bike was excellent, and the run was gorgeous.

Swim - in Auburn Bay Lake, very nice clear water, lots of people watching all over the lake, but not enough bathrooms at the start and some buoys were smaller and tougher to see - 4/5

Bike - route was rolling hills for the first half then largely downhill on the way back, very fun, very nice.  There were only two support stations though, and they didn't have any

Run - Pretty fantastic, friendly people at all of the aid stations and very scenic and nice.  Great run.

Post Race - also fantastic, great food trucks with chicken and waffles and there was beer there.  Next year, I am definitely going to buy a beer....

Race Report

I waited way too long to write this, so it cannot be very detailed, alas.  Swim went well, I got a little lost but still had an excellent (for me) time.  Bike was a lot of fun, I liked the route a lot.  There were a lot of see through bike shorts which was a little disturbing.  I'm not sure people realize that worn out bike shorts are see through in the sun?  The run went pretty well, I ran a higher percentage of the race then ever before for this distance.  Went out too fast and kind of burned out but when I settled down it was a lot of fun.

Great White North Olympic Triathlon

Last Sunday I did the Great White North Olympic Triathlon.  This was the first year GWN added an Olympic distance to their classic 1/2 Iron distance race and I thought it would be a good preparation for Calgary 70.3 later this month.  It was fairly fun, our race started 1.5 hours after the 1/2 IM and we raced on the same course, so you could pass tired longer distance racers who had twice as long to go as you, which was pretty fun, I guess?

Swim - they pulled the far buoy in to make 1500 M, the water in Hubbles Lake was quite warm and very clear, I could see the weeds on the bottom.  Good support too with lots of divers and kayaks, etc.

Bike - this was 50 KM (slightly more than classic Olympic of 40 KM) and basically it was the same course as the 1/2 IM, they just do two loops while we do one.  Harsh wind going the one way and some pretty good hills but pretty nice coming back.

Run - a 10 km out and back loop through Stony Plain, 1/2 IM racers did this twice.  I ran the whole time at an OK pace and passed lots of tired 1/2 IM racers who still had another lap to do.

Race was pretty fun, a little expensive (but they all are I guess) but good overall.  Official site here.

Goals for 2014

Here are my goals for 2014

• Run 1000 miles
• Run a half marathon in under 1:50
• Finish Ironman Calgary in under 6 hours
• Do 100 pushups in one sitting
• Beat Fast Alex!

Other than beating Fast Alex, doing 100 push ups may be the toughest task.  Definitely have to pick up my game?

Run of the Week: Running in the Snow

The morning after the first big snow of the year I ran outside with Fast Alex and Semi-Fast Mike.  We left from Wolf Willow through the trails to Fort Edmonton Footbridge then came back along past Fort Edmonton and along the Quesnel bridge.  The snow was pretty heavy which made for tough running, but the fresh snow on trees and trail was pretty awesome.  I found a hole in my shoe and was worried about water getting in/feet freezing so I put a ziplock bag through it, it filled with air and worked pretty well, actually.

The Route

Snowy Trail

View From the top of the Stairs

Battle of the Fast and Semi-Fast

Fort Edmonton Footbridge in the Snow

Steep Stairs

Fort Edmonton Footbridge

The Snowy Balls of Edmonton

Across the Bridge

Keeping the Cold Out of the Running Shoe Hole

  

Edmonton Fall Classic 2013 - 30th Year Awesome?

Yesterday Semi-Fast Mike and I ran the Fall Classic.  I've written about this race before here and here, it is a great fall race with a scenic course and a good pancake breakfast after.  I think it was a little more expensive this year though...

My watch was dead when I went to run, so I didn't bother with heart rate but still carried my watch with me so my running form wouldn't change.  It was nice to just be able to run without worrying about timing at all, thought I felt I couldn't ask other people what time it was since I was holding I watch in my hand, and didn't want to seem strange.

I started the race pretty strong, near the back of the field but passed people consistently for the first several miles.  At the out and back SF Mike was only a little way behind, running pretty strong as well.  However, my left foot was starting to go numb and just before the half way point I had to sit down and take my shoe off.  My split time was still 45 minutes, which was pretty good.  The first 10 minutes or so of the second half involved me sitting down and taking my shoe off every little while, but after that I slowed down and sorted the problem out by about 2/3 of the way into the race.  I felt pretty strong the last bit, though in a little pain as always.  I crossed the finish line in just under 1:34, an improvement from last year but short of a PB.  Next year I guess?

After the Fall Classic

Special Medals for 30th Anniversary Run

Run of the Week - Classic River Valley Run From Downtown

In keeping with my ninety minute runs once a week training plan, yesterday I ran with Mike for 90. It was a classic river valley run from his downtown apartment, very scenic with the fall weather and what not. Features of the run:

• lots of solid trail running
• good fall views of the rivers and trees
• ran up the Kinsmen hill
• finished on the legislature steps

River Valley Running Route

View of the University

Running by the River

Thumbs Up in Hawrylak

Mike Finishes Strong at the Legislature

Registered for the Fall Classic

Just before the price jump Mike and I registered for the Fall Classic.  It is the 30th annual race, and it will be the third year in a row I've done it (see here and here)  so it should be a great experience.

I'm not sure what my goal time will be, I was going to try to get a PB but I don't think I'm really in good enough shape too.  I've been running 90 minutes every Sunday but then slacking during the week, only getting in 1 or 2 more runs a week.  It'll be interesting to see what effect that has on my overall time?  Fast Alex is still injured and so sitting this one out, so it isn't quite as competitive an event.

Semi Fast Mike is Also Racing