Caution! Long, boring race report.

Well, the first race of the year is in the books. The UBC Triathlon and Duathlon is always a big event, a true testament to the fact that Vancouverites refuse to admit that we are a Canadian city with an actual winter. The weather for this event can range from close to 20 degrees to driving rain, or even snow. Today we were lucky. It was a sunny day, but very cold (below zero in the morning, and it did snow after the race). While I was questioning my decision to do the Olympic distance race instead of the sprint, the Olympic distance participants were given the indoor pool, while the sprinters had to brave the outdoor one; a small victory before the race even started.

As with any race, I was nervous as hell, and while my training has been going o.k., I was not convinced I was in great shape. Every time I step up to a shorter race, I worry that if I have to struggle through it, how on earth will I do an Ironman. Regardless of my nerves, I was keen to test my early season fitness.

The event has a reputation of being a really friendly one, and this year was no different. Lots of encouragement on the pool deck from other athletes, and not the usual jockeying for position that exists in open water mass starts. It was a staggered start in the pool with each swimmer going about 5 seconds after the next. Shortly after getting going, I was amazed at how good I felt. I decided to really push the swim, and felt fantastic, which really built my confidence for the day. I hopped out of the water and was amazed to see a time of 24:22. The distance to the transition area is an event in and of itself at the race, as you have to make your way around the pool, and then around the outdoor pool and up the road to a parking lot. Because it was freezing outside, most of us put on tights, which took some extra time. I even put on a toque – not your usual triathlon gear. By the time I mounted the bike, 5 minutes had passed. My official swim time with transition was 28:49.

The bike was a 4 loop course. Mostly down going out, and a slight incline coming back. The first two loops felt great, but I was definitely slowing on the second half. Because the event attracts so many people, it was great to see all levels of athlete out on the course, on all sorts of bikes. I had a bad case of bike envy on a couple of occasions. All in all an o.k. ride, but the bike definitely needs to become my focus in the coming months. My time on the bike was 1:14, but with transition, my official time was 1:17.21.

T2 was a lot better, and I was back on the road in less than 2 minutes. And the first part of the run felt good. A couple of guys went past me like I was standing still, but after that I was all alone. The first half of the run felt very good, but again, I definitely slowed in the second half, but I never completely rigged up. Bottom line is that I am a mediocre runner at best, and pretty much have only one gear. Not the best for short distance races but hopefully enough to get me to the finish line in Penticton. My official run time was 47:07, so a couple of minutes faster than my last Olympic distance run.

My final time was 2:33:07, which I was pretty pleased with. I need to work on my bike strength, and basically pack on the miles, and I will remain on track. The most amusing thing about the event was that it appears that I was fist in my age category. I am confident that this is the result of a computer glitch, but if not, it is certainly the first time I have ever placed first in any sort of athletic event.

It felt great to be out racing, and reaffirmed my new found love for this sport.

Back on the road on Tuesday.

Giving Back

As I trained through 2008 it quickly became apparent that undertaking an Ironman is a selfish endeavor. I also recognized that as I am legally blind as a result of a rare visual condition called Achromatopsia, my attempt at Ironman is somewhat unique, and presents an opportunity to give back to the community. As a result, Seeing Beyond was born. The campaign represents the coming together of my quest to complete Ironman in the face of the unique challenge my limited vision presents, and the opportunity to raise awareness and give back to CNIB – an organization that has helped me and thousands of others See Beyond the challenges of living with low or no vision.

While the www.seeingbeyond.ca site will give you all you need to understand the campaign, this blog will document my personal journey. I expect it will be a mix of elements including race reports and accounts of killer workouts to appeal to the athletic geek; some background on me, my visual impairment, and how it impacts my life; some of the events of my life that have brought me to where I am today; and a collection of the random thoughts that come to one while staring at the line on the bottom of the pool, or out on the roads at 5:00 am in the cold and wet Vancouver winter.

Subscribe to my Blog and join me on my $1000 a mile journey to Ironman.

The Journey Begins

I don’t remember the exact year that I first heard about Ironman; it would have been in the 1980’s at the height of the Scott Tinley, Dave Scott and Mark Allen years. The race immediately captured my imagination. Finding the will power and courage needed to set out on a day long journey like that, knowing that if you cross the finish line you accomplish something that stays with you for the rest of your life was something that I dreamed of experiencing.

Well, 20 years have past and despite peaks and valleys of personal physical fitness, I have not even come close to undertaking an Ironman. That changed in December of 2007. I was in the worst shape of my life and made a decision that something drastic had to be done. I made one of my more bold New Years resolutions of and committed to an 18 month journey to Ironman Canada 2009.

I am pleased to say that it has been a resolution that I have been able to keep on track. 1 year later, I am in the best shape of my life, I have worked through a few injuries, completed my first Olympic distance tri, run a PB in a half marathon, finished a 70.3 Ironman race, and run my first Marathon. Most importantly, I secured a spot for Ironman Canada 2009. I have a long way to go to be ready for August 30th 2009 in Penticton, but I actually feel like this crazy goal can become a reality.