With Ironman Florida coming up, I thought I would write a little about my 2006 experience.

Keep in mind as I have stated here before, I am not a coach, so you won't find me giving out coaching advice or tips.

I will talk about some of the things that I felt I did wrong, and what I would do different in my next Ironman. Whenever that might be.

1. Make sure the bike is ready. A no brainer for sure, but sometimes in the excitement of a new event, you just forget. Getting the bike ready means getting your food, and checking the bike mechanically. Checking that the tires are hard, and that the gears are set, and your computer is functioning. I simply forgot to check my chain and gears before I headed to the beach for the race start. Just before I was ready to mount, a couple of spectators yelled that my chain was off. It only took a minute to fix, but it was extra stress I didn't need.

A little while after, I noticed my computer wasn't registering. It was only re adjust the sensor on my wheel, it only took a minute, but again it was something extra I didn't need to deal with.

I also didn't bother to bring any food with me race morning. I knew the aid stations would have lots, and I assumed there would be plenty at the transition area. Unfortunately there wasn't. I had to wait for the first aid station to load up.

2. Wear really good bicycle shorts, and use chamois cream. I really don't know how Faris El Satan does it. Five plus hours on a triathlon bike wearing a little speedo. I know it is probably one of the proper triathlon trunks with the little chamois, but it still doesn't offer much padding.

Transition in long races like an Ironman is different from olympic or sprint distance. A couple of extra minutes to pull on a good pair of cycling shorts is not going to make that much difference to a MOP Age Grouper, plus you have the privacy of the tent, so reaching into your shorts to apply some lube is not an issue.

My bike split was 7 hours. That's a lot of saddle time. Part of the course was really bumpy, so every little bit of help is bonus. I am also contemplating a new saddle like the San Salle Marco Triathlon saddle. It is supposed to have a shorter nose, and gel in all the right places to make long rides in the Aero Position more comfy.

3. Eat more natural foods. My race nutritional plan was solid. I did it many times in training. every 15 minutes. Gatorade, gel and water, gatorade, solid food and water. During the race my food od choice were power bars. I had no trouble eating them in the beginning, but after 5 hours, I was really getting sick of them.

Next time around, I plan to mix it up with some bananas, and maybe even salted potato wedges. I may even mix up my own fluid. During the race, we had lime flavoured gatorade endurance formula. I drank so much, I haven't enjoyed a margarita since. Next time I might use a few different flavours so i don't get sick of the one as quickly.

4. Prevent Blisters. Two things. Tape up my toes, and ditch the speed laces. I knew I might be suseptible to blisters. I even had the forsight to change into dry socks before the start of the run, as well as pack clean dry socks in my special needs bag. This did help a little, but by the halfway point of the marathon, it was already too late.

An extra minute to tape my toes in T2 might have saved me a half hour overall. Also, properly lacing my shoes would have prevented my foot from moving around inside my shoe and also would have helped prevent blisters. This was definately the most painful part of the race. It kept me from running the last four miles. It also hurt during the Orlando Outlet Mall Marathon three days later. My wife won that race hands down.

Reading this you might think "Geez what a rookie. Any dummie could figure that stuff out." But hopefully, you might read this and get something out of it. If you are saying to yourself, "hey that's a good idea, I never would have thought of that." Then I have done my job. My work here is done.

My wife just brought this recipe home from work. I made a couple of minor changes, swapped the sugar for splenda, and used a red salad onion.

I made a full batch and then, then took a serving to work each day for lunch. It could also make a great vegetarian meal.

1 lb Carrots, or about 10 med, sliced
Med Green Pepper or other colour bell pepper, chopped
1 Medium Salad Onion chopped
20 oz can Chickpeas
10 oz can tomato soup
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1/4 cup splenda
Salt and Pepper to taste

Slightly cook the carrots. No more than 5 or 10 minutes. Once they cool, just mix all the ingredients together, and leave in the fridge to marinate overnight.

Divided into 6 servings, it works out to be 266 cal, 6.7 g Protein, 35.5 g Carbs, 11 g Fat

1. I thought it would be a fun event with lots of my tri and cycling buddies. I was interested last year, but with Ironman preparations, giving up the last long weekend of the summer wasn't in the cards.



2. Having lived virtually my whole life in Newfoundland, I had never seen this part of the province. This would give me an excellent opportunity to see some of the scenery on the south coast, and at a pace that I could really enjoy it. I always find that cycling is a good way to take in the sights. Travelling in car is too fast, walking or even running is too slow and you don't cover much distance.



3. I decided after Ironman Newfoundland that I needed to concentrate on cycling. So I made a concious decision to skip the St. John's Triathlon, and just ride my bike. It was kind of a relief not needing to work at three seperate sports trying to fit in bricks and swim bike combo workouts. Training was simple. Get on my bike and ride.



4. I wanted to finish the year with a new challenge that would help motivate me to continue training right up to the end of the summer. I didn't think I had my best race in Corner Brook. I kinda missed my peak, and was a little heavier than I would have liked. I made up my mind to work hard on increasing my power to weight ratio,. (Thats cyclist code for lose weight.) As it turned out I was 10 lbs lighter, and feeling good come the day of the event.

This event features several different options for cyclists of all levels. There are competitive category's of differing stage lengths, as well as recreational divisions for anyone wanting to just ride one or part of one stage. I contemplated signing up for the competitive masters, featuring a 66km stage on Saturday, 33km stage sunday, and a 13k TT Sunday Afternoon. I opted instead to do the long opening stage on Saturday, but as a recreational rider. 123 km across the southern coast of the Avalon Penninsula.

The event was a point to point race with the start of the first leg starting in the town of St. Mary's and ending in Ferryland. The event organizers offered the option of riding the bus from St. John's to the start, a drive of about two hours. I thought it would be kinda fun to be able to relax and socialze with a few of my friends, as well as make a few new ones. With the exception of the crooked old driver complaining about having to take our bikes, the ride was nice and relaxing. The washroom at the rec centre in St. Mary's just couldn't come soon enough.

We got there a little early, but after we stopped unloaded our bikes and checked in, some of the elite cyclists starttd to arrive. There were some pretty nifty bikes there. And of course, not a 200 pounder in the lot.

10 minutes after the elites started, we lined up for our "Recreational Ride" The 123km didn't scare me, I had done the distance in training several times last year, and at least once this year, so with a week taper, and really watching my diet, I felt pretty good about my chances of finishing.

There was about 20 of us in all. I started with a group of six who pulled out from the rest of the pack early. They were all very good recreational cyclists, and I managed to keep up with them for about an hour. I should have known I would pay for it later.

They were not really riding as an organized group. A couple of times, I sprinted to the front to take a turn and hopefully get the boys to fall in line and start riding as an echelon, but of course, one or two just had to be in front all the time. A couple of checks of my Heart Rate monitor had me at about 160 to 170, my 20k Time Trial rate. I knew it was high but I didn't feel like I was working real hard, so I just tried to keep up. The terrain was rolling. Not flat but no major climbs. And, there was little or no traffic, except for a couple of event cars.

After about an hour of riding, we hit the wind. It was strong and it was straight in our face. I started to work harder to keep with the group, even though I was tucked in behind. I would lose a little ground, then have to work to make it up. We eventually reached an area of the highway that was open to the Atlantic Ocean. Once again the group made a gap, and I decided to let them go.

The ride was windy, and the road was windey which meant a headwind one minute, and a crosswind the next. It seemed like it was never at my back. When I got to Peters River, I could still see the group off in the distance. There was a major climb coming up that would take you from sea level to the top of the southern avalon barrens. I am not sure exactly how long the climb was, probably a kilometer or two. But it felt like ten.

The first part of the climb was actually pretty nice. The road was well sheltered from the wind, the temp was just right, and the grade was not too bad. I could easily stay in the saddle and spin my way up to the first turn where the road started to flatten out. But then, the land opened up, the road turned to the right, and started to go up again. Now I was climbing hard, straight into a headwind, and to make matters worst, the fog was rolling in which meant now every piece of clothing I had on was slowly becoming soaked.

With the fog, I couldn't see more than 20 to 50 metres down the road. Some people prefer that, but I like to know what's coming. The hill seemed to go on forever. Finally the peddals started turning a little faster, and I was clicking the gears up a notch every couple hundred metres. I was finally on some flat ground.

The wind was still howling, and the fog was still thick. I was now in Caribou Country. At one time massive herds would cross the main highway, and stop traffic for long periods of time. But disease and human intervension had severely impacted the numbers. From time to time I would come up on a NO CARIBOU HUNTING sign, but I saw none. Truth was, one could be 20 metres away from me, and I wouldn't be able to see him.

Eventually another rider caught me, then past me. Then Charlie, one of the guys from the lead group who had dropped back earlier, caught up to me. We rode together for about 10 km until we came to the first aid station. Charlie did the flying feedzone pick up just like in the Tour de France. Snatched a water bottle and kept going. He was determined to cath up with our leaders. I decided to stop, eat, stretch and fill my bottles.

Feeling a little better now, I took off again, and rode alone until a scottish lad name Colin Brown caught up to me. He was a good companion, full of humour, and very positive. I wanted him to go on and leave me in my misery, but he was having nothing of it. In retrospect, he was probably as happy to have company as I was. Through the fog and the wind, we pedalled on. From time to time we would unexpectedly speed up. We would actually be going downhill, but wouldn't really know it because of the poor visability.

Finally we reached Portugal Cove South. This was another aid station, and a chance to take in some more food, and fill my bottles. It was also the start of the first stage for the age group divisions. Just about half way. We were told conditions would get better. The road was now turning north, and wind was supposed to be at our backs. After a little munch, and a little chat with the volunteers, I started out again. Colin needed a few more minutes, so I was by myself.

The conditions did improve. The fog was now patchy. You could actually see a good distance in front. The wind was also behind me making for a nice ride, although from time to time, the road would turn, and the wind again would be in my face, albeit, not as strong as before. After about 15 minutes, Colin caught up to me.

At about four hours in, I was really in trouble. My stomach was feeling crappy, I didn't want to eat or drink anything, and my butt was really starting to feel the effects of sitting on a 3 inch wide slab of leather for four hours. I also realized that I had not stopped for Pause Au Natural all morning. I am usually once every hour or so. Worried about possible dehydration, I forced down some water, and started to feel a little better. Then a little while later, I took in some Gatorade. we were within striking distance now.

With about 15km to go, we hit a hill. It wasn't particularly long, but it was a little steeper than the other climbs. Colin dropped me, but waited for me to power up the grade then ride along with me again. The finish was in Ferryland. I had been there a few years previous, but I had never been past, so I had no idea what was coming. After the first hill came another. Again Colin dropped me, the waited at the top. Over and over and over again. I still don't quite know how many hills there were, but when we finally topped the last one and cruised to the finish line, Coiln waited for me and would not cross before me, even though he wanted to finish sub 5 hours. We were just over by minutes. My time was 5:03:56, Colin 7 seconds behind in 5:04:03 He was a very good domestique

Post Race

What a relief to finally climb out of the saddle. I was so glad that I decided to use the the bus service. No bumming a ride back to St. Mary's to pick up my car. My bag was right there there at the finish. I loaded my bike on, then changed into dry duds. I couldn't believe how heavy my Jersey and Jacket were. Inside the heritage centre, the post race meal was homemade soup, and sandwiches. The soup was the third best I ever tasted, outside my wifes, and my moms.

After the presentation of the leaders Jerseys, there was some time to socialize, talk to some of my tri and cycling buddies, exchange email addresses with Colin, then on the bus and on the way home. I couldn't believe it was over. I also couldn't believe there was still a large group doing the same thing on Sunday. The second stage was only half as long, but very technically challenging. Lots of short steep climbs and descents, and lots of turns. Ah well maybe next year, I'll dive into the Masters Competitive division.

Thanks

It seemed to me that even though our local provincial cycling organization was a big part of the event, the driving force was really the local people who gave up their time to organize and put off this event. They deserve a huge thank you for a job well done. I also need to give a big thanks to Colin who stuck with me and waited for me to cross the finish. That's a real pal.

Anyone involved in multi sport, triathlons, or cycling who would like to try a new event in a new venue, give the Tour de Shore a try. The people are friendly, the cycling is challenging, and I hear the scenery is nice. I am hoping next year I'll be able to see more than fog and pavement.

Blogs are great. They give you an opportunity to publish your thoughts on the world wide web and have them read by interested people. They provide an opportunity to give or solicit advice, provide commentary on any topic that may be of interest, as well as provide an incentive for the author to continue exploring the topics that makes their blog unique, and of the highest quality.

I will be posting about a variety of topics related to the sport of triathlon. Specific posts might include commentary on the individual sports of swimming, cycling, and running. They may include posts on the intangibles that make the sport more than the combination of the three previously mentioned sport. Stuff like diet and nutrition, off season training, inspiration, etc. I will also provide some commentary on races that I have participated in such as 2006 Ironman Florida, 2007 Ironman Newfoundland 70.3, and the 2007 Tour de Shore. I might review some books, and even add a few of my favorite recipes.

Although I have completed a level 1 cycling, coaches clinic, I will not provide direct advice. Rather, I will post about what I have tried, and what has worked, and not worked for me. If there are specific questions regarding my posts, or the sport of triathlon, I will try my best to provide the resources to help out.

In my participation in this sport, I have done a lot of research. There are tons of articles out there, some good, some bad. I would like to cut down on the time it takes to decipher the good and bad by writing about what I have read, and what worked for me.

You will also see ads on my blog. I will be quite honest, I am hoping to generate a little revenue. Triathlon can be an expensive sport. Once you account for equipment, running shoes, bike wetsuit; membership fees for a gym, pool, as well as organization fees like sport sanctioning bodies; race fees, and if you are inclined, travel expenses to and from events, it all adds up. A little added revenue would help offset a lot of this cost, allow me to continue to participate, and write about my experience. If you are a purist who thinks that using a blog for this purpose is somehow immoral, I apologize, but I encourage you to visit my site for the content.


In conclusion, drop back often, tell your friends, and maybe I’ll see you on the road.