Ultraman Canada

Well tomorrow is the start of Ultraman Canada in Penticton. Ultraman is an interesting event to say the least. The race is spread out over three days. The distances which are spread over three days are as follows.

10.0 K Swim
418.3 K Bike
84.3 K Run

This is a race that I have no desire to do. Not now, not ever. I think an Ironman is more than enough. The oppurtunity to test the body over one day in enough for me. The race also only has 25 people in it. I can't imagine flying halfway around the world, paying the $1800 entry fee, bringing your own crew to do a race with only 25 people. Seems a little crazy to me. It is also in my opinion the worst sport to watch as a spectator. If you were watching there could be an hour go bye before you saw another spectator. Uggghhh.

So I was beginning to think that these Ultramen were a little crazy but then.... one of the guys said that he was preparing for a deca-ironman. This event consists of racing 10 times the Ironman distance. Its a you sleep when you want and who ever finishes first win. The kicker is that the swim is in a 50 meter pool and the run.... on a 400m track. For those keeping score at home that is about 1055 laps. I thought seeing 12 laps to go in a 5k was bad. Will I ever do this race? No thanks, again not interested. The competitor who said he was doing it claimed that he wanted to test his physical limits. I think a better way to do that would be to go to the track and try and run as fast as you can. You probably reach your limits in less than two laps. Different limits maybe but limits nonetheless.

I would like highlight one of the competitors that came through the Bike Barn yesterday. His name is Jason Lester. He has overcome huge obstacles to excel in triathlon. He told the story of how at Ultraman Hawaii last year a boat pulled him out of the water with about 1 k to go because there were a large amount of Jelly fish stinging. Although he was safe in the boat the race officials had to inform him that he would be disqualified if he stayed in the boat. What did he do? He jumped back in there with the Jellyfish and got it done. Awesome. Jason's a story that is particular touching for me as my sisters boyfriend Bryce, has overcome a similar obstacle to continue his love of sport and do things many would have though impossible. Both Jason and Bryce are very inspirational.

Here is his website,

http://www.jasonplester.com/

I love being the underdog

Two and a half weeks out from Lake Stevens my first of hopefully many M-dot events and I am pumped. Training has been going really well. I am swimming well. I am swimming straight. Watts are up. Running stride is smooth. Weight is down. This last one is kind of a bad thing though as my wetsuit and speed suits are starting to feel a little too baggy. The best part is I am feeling fresh and confidant. Too many times have I approached the build towards an important races as the make or break it. If I don't do this things will go not just wrong but terrible. This time things are different. I know I am fit and going to rock the race. What I do in the prep is just a bonus. I know that the things that are going to make me succeed are not the numbers on my power meters, or the time on my watch during workouts its the other things. The sleeping right, the eating right, the stretching, staying organized and stress free.

As far as I can tell the field is going to be stacked. There are a lot of great athletes who have Lake Stevens on there Race Schedule. At first this got me pretty nervous. But now its got me excited. Bring it. This is my first chance to prove myself on an international long distance stage and I am going to make the most of it. I may not have the experience, reputation, and fan following that many of my competitors will have. But, I am fit, confidant, hungry and most importantly read to get Ugly out there. These are a deadly combination. I love being the underdog. I love turning peoples heads and having them say "Who is that guy?". When it comes to talking about upsets I think the narrator from this clip says it better than I could.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sahSEi7diAc

Here's the thing that makes life so interesting: The Theory of Evolution claims that "only the strong shall survive". Maybe so, maybe so. But the Theory of Competition says "just because they're the strong doesn't mean they can't get their asses kicked". That's right. See, what every long shot come from behind underdog will tell you is this: The other guy may in fact be the favorite, the odds may be turned against you. Fair enough... But what the odds don't know is this isn't a math test. This is a completely different kind of test. One where passion has a funny way of trumping logic. So before you step up to the starting line, before the whistle blows and the clock starts ticking, just remember: out here, the results don't always add up. No matter what the stats may say and the experts may think and the commentators may have predicted, when the race is on, all bets are off. Don't be surprised if someone decides to flip the script and take a pass on yelling "Uncle". And then suddenly, as the old saying goes, "We got ourselves a game"

Race Reports

We'll I won't spend too much time on the race reports that I missed because the present and future seem so much more exciting than the past.
Osoyoos Desert Half Ironman aka Canadian National Long Course Championships aka "Canada's toughest Half Ironman"

I don't know about it being the toughest Half Ironman. Oliver definitely demolished me more than this race, but as Kev said "That's what training will do for you". I was actually kind of looking forward to the can walk feeling. But no such luck.

Anyways, the plan going in was to swim hard and not get dropped on the bike...... unless it was either Matt Seeley or my arch nemesis. I got a ride down with Wade Carlson. Great Guy. Set up transition and I was good to go. NO swim warmup as I was running late. The gun went off and I got out well. I got dropped from the lead two about 400 meters in. After that I was in no mans land. I decided to just cruise the rest and try and swim as straight as possible until someone else caught me. Nobody did, so I hit T1 alone. Going into the race I had made it my goal for the fastest transition. I even practiced the run routes the week before. I relaxed a bit on the run and it cost me the fastest split. No big deal expect that only Kevin best my time. Next time coach, next time.

On to the bike and I started climbing. I forgot my SRM at home, rookie mistake, so today was all on me. the plan was to take it easy on the first climb and I stuck to it. About 3-4 mins from the top Matt Seeley and Scott Curry Past me. Okay stick to the plan let Matt go, done. On the decent I really started rolling. Man the Reynolds wheels are fast. I closed the rather large gap that had formed and kept Matt and Scott within eye sight. On the Rollers Matt pulled away and I was content to ride with Scott. At the turnoff to Barcelo the winds started to pick up. I caught back up to Matt and decided to let him do the pace making. The reason for this was not because i was trying to use him. But because he's the reigning course record holder and got that record by crushing the bike. Who was I to pass him. Next time I'll share in the pace making and this will help to reduce the amount of time Tom put into everyone on the bike.

The run happened. Pretty uneventful. I passed Sean Bechtel about 500m in and then just focused on running my race. I ended up in second place and had a massive kick at the finish. There was no real point to kick but I proved to myself that I can crank up the hot wheels if need be.

Peach Classic Olympic Distance Triathlon

I decided to do this race late as I was feeling pretty haggered after Osoyoos. At the Bike Barn the day before the race, my boss Will was trying hard to get some trash talk going between myself and Jordan Rapp (who was working there for a few hours). Things heated up when Jason Shortis showed up. It provided a good laugh, but my tired body was not letting me talk any trash. Next time I'll be game.

Upon arriving at the start I saw a good size chop on the water. Before we raced I even saw white caps. Awesome. I love the harsh conditions. I had a feeling this could be good. In the rough water people could lose big chunks of time. The gun went off and I took it out hard. Quickly I realized I was in the lead and that my best option was to keep crushing it. I swam hard the whole way. Definitely not straight. but hard. The beauty of being out front is that even if you do go off course there is a good chance lots of people will follow. Especially if the buoys guiding you straight have been blow in towards shore. About 200m from shore I saw a yellow and black wetsuit pull up beside me. I thought it was Jordan and he had sat on my feet the whole way. A valiant effort but all for not. Turns out in wasn't Jordan but Facundo. We rolled into T1 with a good size lead on everyone. I got on the bike the adrenaline started flowing and I laid down the hammer. I was going to hold off everyone for as long as possible. I reach the painted rock turn around and was still in the lead. On the way back I saw that I still had a good size lead. Go hard but in control and the run will take care of itself I thought. Rolled into T2 put on my shoes and headed out.

The plan was to run the first half steady and if need be lay down the hammer on the last half. I made it to half way and I saw I still had a large lead. I cruised it in and enjoyed the moment. Anytime when you can win a race in your hometown it is awesome. Today was no different. A great day of racing and my first Triathlon win of the season.

Sprint finish

Well I still have a couple race reports to write about the Peach and Osoyoos. While it's fresh in my mind I'll talk about todays adventure, the 6k open water swim. To be more exact it was a 6k open water swim with a 15 m beach sprint. I didn't make the decision to race until last night at around 12:00 so with an early start I was not sure what to expect. In total I think I got maybe 3 hours of sleep last night. I am staying at my sister place at UBC and when I woke I couldn't find anything to eat so I went to the only place that was Open...... McDonalds.....The breakfast of champions. I got to the course and wasn't sure how I was feeling emotionally but as soon as I approached registration I was pumped. So the race started with Ian Young going off the front and Facundo Chernikoff and I side by side. Facundo had sat on my feet during the Peach Classic last weekend so I thought that this was my chance for a little payback. In truth though I was actually just hanging on for dear life. He through in a few attacks and on the last lap he slowed down and we were swimming side by side. I knew if was going to be a fast finish. I wasn't sure if my motivation was going to be there to dig deep but we started hammering side by side for the last 600 or so meters. The motivation was definitely there. I love racing. I love pushing myself to the limit and beyond. It doesn't matter if its a national championships or a small local event, I am going to get ugly out there. And during the 15m sprint up the beach that's exactly what I did. The tongue out picture below can vouch for that.

Hard or Epic?

I thought about this while climbing the Richter the other day in Preparation for the race. My intial thought was, man this is going to be one hard race. Not really a positive thought. I then thought this is, man this is going to be one epic race. At that point it realized that the difference between hard and epic is perspective. I am taking the Epic perspective.

So with that said, things have been going well. My leg is healing up quite nicely, I am feeling fit, and I am more prepared and organized than I have ever been for a race. I might possibly even be able to get a couple good nights sleep leading up. That is unheard of for a procrastinator like me.

I am still not mentally on my game, but I am getting there.

What Al Pacino is talking about here rings especially true to my life right now. Not all of it. But some of it. It definitely helps to get me fired up. I have another movie speech to post but I am saving that for a day closer to the race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myyWXKeBsNk

Time to Chill out in the ice bath.

No Bad Days

Well its been rough last couple of weeks to say the least. Over the last two days I have developed a bit of a calf injury that has kept me from running. This is great news. I always race well off adversity so this means I am going to kill it on Sunday.

I am very proud to announce Reynolds Wheels has joined my team of Sponsors. I'll make a more detailed post once we figure out what the weapon of choice will be for the weekend.

Well I had better keep this short as I have plenty to do to make sure I am healthy come race day.

A great quote from another Bike Barn employee today. "I am a Lance fan, I never really realized it, But I am a Lance fan." I am definitely a Lance fan. So far the tour has been great to watch.