Vancouver Half Ironman - finishing time

I had an amazing race yesterday. Longer course than Victoria but I still pulled a sub 6 hour time and I am very pleased with how it went. Final time was 5:53:35.

Race report and photos to come...I promise!

Happy training!

Taper Week Activities Take 2

Photo courtesy of www.triseries.ca/vancouver

After my epic ride in Penticton on Sunday and my run along the Channel Parkway on Sunday, this week was time to taper again.

Sunday will be my 3rd Half Ironman at the Vancouver International Triathlon

Basically, I have repeated my Victoria Half Iron taper week activities. Now that I know that the formula works, I don't want to jinx it and deviate from the plan.

Prediction for my race time...slower than my Victoria Half Iron but only because the bike is 4kms longer (91kms vs 87kms). Area of focus will be T1 and getting out of my wetsuit early and faster than in Victoria. Free time to use.

My overall time goal would be to finish at or under 6 hours. I think I can do it.

Happy training!

IMC Training Ride July 2009

IMC Training Ride July 2009 021
Originally uploaded by erinlesleylee

This weekend was the 1st of three training weekends up in Penticton. Penticton BC is the home of Ironman Canada.

It was great to have the supoprt of Tim in the SAG wagon. We couldn't have done it without him. And thanks to my SAA team buddies who kept me going on the ride.

It was 34C at the hottest point of the day as we climbed from Bear's Farm Market to Yellow Lake. It was certainly a character building ride.

Happy Training!

Husband and Dad Run the Scotiabank Half Marathon

Scotia Bank Half Marathon 2009 011
Originally uploaded by erinlesleylee

I am proud to say my husband and Dad both ran the Scotiabank 1/2 Marathon on Sunday June 28, 2009.

Tim finished in an amazing 1:39:11

Dad finished in an amazing 1:45:24

Now if only I could be as fast as them....

Congratulations to everyone who ran!

61 Days until IMC 2009

Can my IMC 2009 tracker be correct?! Only 61 days until the big day??!! Wow, that is coming up pretty quick. Feels like yesterday when I signed up.

Training this week includes a trip to Penticton to swim in Lake Okanagan, ride most of the IMC bike course, and a 2 hour run.

Thankful that the worst of my cold is over and I am on the mend. Looking forward to a solid week of training in prep not only for IMC but the Vancouver 1/2 IM on July 12, 2009.

Richmond Oval Family Skate Night

WorksafeSam at the Richmond Oval
Originally uploaded by erinlesleylee

My post race cold has really taken hold of me and I hadn't worked out since the race on Sunday.

Last night was a family event at the Richmond Oval organized for employees at my husband's workplace. Skating is far from my forte but I did manage to get in a 2 mile skate last night with the family without falling or injuring myself.

This morning I did haul myself out of bed at 5:20am for 2500m in the pool with The SAA. Of course it was the post swim coffee with the team that really motivated me to do it.

Happy Training!

Victoria Half Iron Race Report

As many of you have already heard on Twitter, I ROCKED the Victoria Half Iron on Sunday June 21, 2009.

Check out my race photos here.

Did I win the race? No
Did I place in my age group? No
Did I finish in the top half of my age group? No, still secure as a below average age grouper

Did I finish the swim faster than the top 2 women finishers? YES!
Did I feel GREAT in the WHOLE race? YES!
Was all the training worth it? H*LL YAH!
Am I confident that I am well on my way to a great Ironman Canada? YES!

Ok, here is how it all unfolded...

Thursday June 18th
I spoke with Coach Kevin on the phone to review my nutrition plan for the race as well as pre-race. After some fancy calculations, this was what we decided on:

Bike Nutrition - estimated 3:30 hour bike time

• 16oz of Orange GU2O and 3 Shot Bloks per hour (spread out throughout the hour for hour 1 and hour 2)
• 16oz of Gatorade and 1 shot block for the last hour
• 500ml of water in my Aero Bottle
• I only have 2 water bottle cages on my bike so that required a bottle swap for the 3rd hour.

Run Nutrition - estimated 2:00 hour run time

• Aid stations were reported to be approximately every 2kms on the run course so I opted to bring my Fuel Belt
• 6oz of Gatorade (2 cups) every second aid station
• 1 Shot Blok with 3oz of water in the alternate aid stations

Friday June 19
Typical day at work. Tried to eat 80% of my food in the form of carbs. This seems like it would be heaven but 80% carbs gets tired really quick. Packed my bags and got a good night's sleep.

Saturday June 20
Took a 10am ferry to Swartz Bay. Had a fabulous macaroni and cheese lunch at The Red Brick Cafe in Sidney, BC. Drove into Victoria to unpack our stuff for the weekend. A friend who was out of town had offered us his apartment on Dallas Road for the weekend. Drove back to the race site for a 20min bike, 10min run and a 15min swim in Elk Lake. Attended the mandatory 4pm race meeting, racked my bike then went for dinner at Pagliacci's where I ate most of the bread basket and a full order of pasta. Stuffed, we left the restaurant around 8:30pm, went back to the apartment, did final prep for the morning and went to sleep.

Sunday June 21 - RACE DAY!
Set my alarm for 4am and got up right when the alarm went off. This gave me enough time to leisurely have a peanut butter sandwich, 1/2 bottle of GU2O and a cup of coffee. Packed up the car with my gear and we were off to the race site. Once we arrived, I set up my transition then put on my wetsuit. The morning was cool and I was pretty chilled. At 6:30am I got into the lake for a pre-race warm up then set off to find the perfect position to start the swim. Being a confident swimmer, I made my way to the middle of the pack closer to the front than the back. I was chatting with one of my SAA club mates when the cannon went off to signal the start of the race! And we were off.

Swim 1.9km - 30:02
I felt strong during the swim. Any race nerves I had disappeared and I was quickly in a rhythm and headed to the first buoy. I felt my sighting was good but could have been better. Once around the first buoy I kept my pace and found myself passing people. As I rounded the final buoy, my deltoids were starting to let me know they were there but nothing to be worried about. I hadn't looked at my watch so I was pretty surprised and happy to see 29:?? when I hit the beach running.

T1 - 3:34
When I look at pictures of me running up the beach, my wetsuit is still on. I am not sure when I stripped off the top of my wetsuit and took off my cap and goggles. I remember being at my bike still trying to get my wetsuit off by stepping on the legs multiple times. Instead of using the sock, sock, shoe, shoe, helmet, glasses go method of transition, I found myself putting on my bike jersey (full zip so not too much trouble), my helmet, glasses then putting my my socks and shoes. My bike was close to the transition exit so I can't blame my long T1 on that. Basically, this is free time I lost because I didn't practice.

Bike 87km - 3:13:46
Because of my relatively fast swim time, I am used to being passed by 100s of people on the bike. This race was no exception. My spirits were high and I was loving every minute of the ride. I was happy to see my club mates and friends give me words of encouragement while they blew by me on the bike. There were so many supporters from the SAA and friends I never had a lonely moment. My biggest fans (my husband and son) were at the beginning of the 2nd bike loop. A perfect location for me to see them and hear them cheering! Although it had not rained in 3 weeks in Victoria, the rain decided to start on the 2nd loop of my bike. At first it was a light rain then it quickly became a downpour. My socks slowly took on water and I could feel the strip of spray from my back tire hitting my helmet. The rain only lasted about 20mins but was enough to soak me pretty good. My nutrition plan was executed and worked perfectly. I had to ditch my SAA water bottle but received a pretty cool Trek one in return. I was well hydrated since I had to make a pit stop around 3/4 of the way through the bike at a port-o-potty.

T2 - 2:01
This transition went better than T1 and I was quickly out and running around the lake.

Run 20km - 1:58:15 (58:26/59:50)
My goal was to complete the run in 2hours but this was a lofty goal and I knew it would be a challenge. On my first loop around the lake I felt really good. No aches or pains in my legs, I felt really strong. I stuck to my nutrition plan. The volunteers at each aide station were amazing. At this point, some of the runners were starting to stop and walk because of injuries or just being tired. I was able to pass a few runners on this first loop and it boosted my confidence. Once starting the 2nd loop, I was aware that I had 1:12 mins to complete the remaining 10kms and I would come in under 6hours. As the kms clicked by (the course was marked at every km - very helpful!) I realized that I was going to make it under 6hours unless something really bad happened. With 2kms to go, my right calf decided to make itself know by feeling like it was going to cramp but it never did. As I started the final km, I was pretty sure I was going to make it. Not just under 6hours but under 5:50! As I rounded the corner and though the finish shoot, I held my arms high and celebrated!

Final time - 5:47:37 !!

All in all it was a GREAT race. I need to bottle the feeling and strength that I had and pull it out during my next 1/2 Iron and ultimately Ironman Canada.

For now, I am still in recovery mode. I developed a head cold today with a sore throat and hope that it passes quickly. I guess it took advantage of my weakened immune system after the race. A few more days of rest and some recovery workouts should do the trick.

Next race - Vancouver Half Iron July 12, 2009