Out of service competition - Barrelman 70.3 Niagara Falls, ON
My triathlon season which started last fall consisted of three main goals. Perform well at Nationals in Gatineau, Quebec, complete another Olympic triathlon and qualify for the following year and grow from Olympic or Standard distance to a 70.3 distance triathlon. Often referred to as a half Ironman the 2 km swim, 90 km bike and 21.5 km half-marathon distance run. I missed my first goal due to hand, foot and mouth virus days before nationals. Although I worked hard the first three years to achieve a time to attend, I felt terrible for not even lining up for my first goal. It took a few weeks to let this go.
I have been competing in triathlon for four years now and this was going to be another fun filled year. After moving my family from Halifax, NS to Borden, ON last year, I made a plan to balance a busy job with regimented physical training to support my mental health. I had to change my weekly training schedule from 5-7 hrs to 7-11 hrs per week when going to a longer distance. This meant balancing a busy work life with a young family was very tricky. I could not have performed this year without the support and encouragement of my wife Amber. I also had some other influential coaches and mentors that require a shout out. Fred Nolin and Andrew Grove welcomed me into the Borden triathlon group. They helped with training plans, nutrition and were true ambassadors for the sport. They also helped set up my first Regional Triathlon Camp. Their knowledge and advice from experience and other camps ultimately led to great learning experiences and more efficient training. PSP was also crucial in my success this year. When I asked for some assessment and improvement Jon Huggard and Ashlyn Karokas helped me with running and swimming. Our goal with the longer distance was to be as efficient as possible. They were very helpful with drills and strengthening exercises and were genuinely excited when I set new personal bests.
Okay fast forward to race day. I traveled to the Barrelman 70.3 in Niagra Falls, ON on Saturday 15 Sep 18. We arrived on site, collected our race kits and set up our bikes in Transition which the $3M in bikes would stay guarded by local police all night. We attended the race brief at 1430 hrs and went back to our accommodations for supper and early bed time. I traveled with a fellow Barrie Baydog Mike Cameron who I met training with Ruth Wallace Henshaw. There were 15 other Barrie Baydogs at the race which was really cool.
The day started at 0500 hrs on Sunday. We stayed in an AirBNB very close to Welland which was perfect. Some oatmeal and a bagel and we packed the car with our T1 and T2 and after race bags. This was considered a point to point race which meant where I swam and grabbed my bike was different from where I finished the bike and transitioned to run.
We parked and hopped on the shuttle at the finish line back to the race site and the 'nervous nancy' feels started. What If I need to go number 2, what happens if it was too hot? We blew up our tires and set up transition. It was really helpful that Velofix Hamilton and Sean was on site. Can he come to every race please? A last minute fix to my bike repair bag and get into the wetsuit. The swim was hosted at the paddling area from the Pan-Am games so it was similar to a 2km swimming pool. The pros left 1 minute ahead of my age group. There was a lot of guys. More than I have ever lined up with. The gun goes off and we start. The swim felt great. I tried to stay behind someone throughout the swim and incorporate things that Ashlyn has pointed out. It felt great. My goal time of 40 mins for the 2 km took 45 mins for 2.1km. I need to swim a little straighter I think. Transition by all of the spectators sitting in the spectator seating and start transition. Because I wasn’t coming back to T1, i had to stuff all my swimming stuff I to a black bag which would be transported to the finish line. I am glad that I took some time and put on sun screen. Shocker, it was a scorcher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=TZ4h2u3zaWQ
My goal for the bike was 3 hours averaging 30 km/hr. I took my time at each aid station and stopped for a bottle to top up my cockpit and water bottle holder. Race smart was my plan although it added minutes by stopping at both stops. I tried to eat a cliff bar, drink two bottles and have two endurance tap gels each hour. It worked because I felt great throughout the race.
At t2, I looked at my watch 2:54 and was happy I made up some time. I put on compression socks as I have been battling a soleus issue after switching to pose this year. I started the run. Once I got down to Niagara Falls, I couldn’t believe how hot is was. The first four kms felt like long run days. I was told to walk the hills and Jon Huggard always told me keep one foot in front of the other and let gravity do the work. Being out in the sun felt like 38. I had to walk all aid stations to rehydrate and refuel as well as walk all shaded areas to cool my body temperature down. I practised heat training as last year it was also very hot. However, I did not heat and hill train. Since the run was two laps, it was 100m of vertical and 100m drop each lap. That was hard on the fairly sore leg muscles. I managed to stick to the plan for the first 5km and then the doubt kicked in. I had convinced myself to stop running and quit the race. I had some of the darkest thoughts I had ever had in my life. I essentially had never trained that hard before and it was my second time in my life having difficulties to motivate myself and basically finding reasons to stop. From 5km to 10.5 km was the most difficult. I hope that I never get that deep and dark in my thoughts ever again. Once I got to half way and realized it was just a finish race. I tried to motivate others who were also struggling with humour and encouragement. That gave me some new found energy and I finished the last half walk-running. Everyone out on the course was struggling. I think there was an advantage for completing the race faster as you were not out in the heat for those extra 2 hours. Motivation to get better at swimming, biking and running I guess.
As I approached the last two kms, I knew I was going to finish and I tried to run constantly to the finish. I tried to build in a gap so the announcer could see my number and execute a perfect finish line video. As I ran up the chute, I almost cried with emotion and accomplishment. I received my medal and finisher hat and tried to hydrate as I joked with volunteers “Is it bad If I didn’t per today?” Finished 281 / 681 which was the first time finishing above .500 in a race and I think with my plans over the winter I will be able to shave an hour off this time with hard work and determination.
This medal and finish time was really important to me this year. I am hoping that I can be more efficient everywhere to bring down my time to potentially compete with the CISM long course triathletes that represent the CAF.
Thank you for everyone who provided a kudos on strava, encouraging message on Facebook or Instagram. What an amazing community. If you yourself would like to ask some questions or show interest in completing a triathlon, send me a line and let’s get you signed up!
Adam Beaver
Major
CFB Borden High Performance Triathlon Team
Comments
Post a Comment