Short post:
Kelowna race report: ok. Not the run I wanted to have, finished 4th.
Head South tomorrow. One week in Noosa (yeah!) and one week on the Gold Coast for the ITU World Championships Finale!!
Good luck to all racing IMC this weekend!
Will update from Down Under as soon as I can!
Lisa
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Round 5: Lisa vs The Kelowna Apple Triathlon
I leave Friday to race at the Kelowna Apple Triathlon. This will be my fifth time racing in Kelowna. Here is the tally from the previous 4 races:
2004: I was racing my first "full season" of age-group racing. The night before, the skies opened up! I could hardly sleep listening to the pouring rain. In the morning it was still wet and there were threatening clouds overhead. We went down the race start to set up transition (now a mud pit) and headed to the lake. The race had been ruled non-wetsuit, so I left mine in the hotel. 10' before the start, they changed their minds, wetsuits were allowed...everyone bolted for transition...I had none and was left standing on the beach freezing. Then there was a lightening strike, they ended up canceling the race due to 'unsafe conditions'.
Round 1 Score: Mother Nature 1, Lisa 0, Apple Tri 0
2005: I entered the race as an Elite. I had a sloppy transition and missed the front bike pack by a hair. It was a hot run, I ran a 42' 10k and finished 14th. After the race, once we arrived at my parents hotel parking lot, I bolted from the car and puked all over the driveway! I had to lie down for an hour while my heat stroke (or whatever it was) subsided before we could drive home!
Round 2 Score: Apple Tri 1, Lisa 0
Me running in 2005, black probably wasn't the best choice....
2006: Again, I entered the ITU points race this year. I had a solid swim and Mary Beth Ellis, my 2009 Timex teammate, and I built up a solid lead on the bike. Onto the run, I was experimenting with some new race shoes and got the most painful blisters I have ever had! I could barely tolerate each step. MB passed me and then I was passed on the last lap, finishing off with an excruciating 40' 10k split for 3rd place, some prize money, and bloody feet. I could barely stand to wear flip-flops for 2 weeks!
Round 3 Score: Lisa 1, My Evil Shoes 1, Apple Tri 0
Me and MB on the bike:
2007: Once again, I entered the ITU points race. This time I had a strong swim, solid bike and cruised home for the win (without bleeding feet) with a 38' 10k split!
Round 4 Score: Lisa 1, Apple Tri 0
The tally: Lisa 2, Apple Tri 1, Mother Nature 1, My Evil Shoes 1
2004: I was racing my first "full season" of age-group racing. The night before, the skies opened up! I could hardly sleep listening to the pouring rain. In the morning it was still wet and there were threatening clouds overhead. We went down the race start to set up transition (now a mud pit) and headed to the lake. The race had been ruled non-wetsuit, so I left mine in the hotel. 10' before the start, they changed their minds, wetsuits were allowed...everyone bolted for transition...I had none and was left standing on the beach freezing. Then there was a lightening strike, they ended up canceling the race due to 'unsafe conditions'.
Round 1 Score: Mother Nature 1, Lisa 0, Apple Tri 0
2005: I entered the race as an Elite. I had a sloppy transition and missed the front bike pack by a hair. It was a hot run, I ran a 42' 10k and finished 14th. After the race, once we arrived at my parents hotel parking lot, I bolted from the car and puked all over the driveway! I had to lie down for an hour while my heat stroke (or whatever it was) subsided before we could drive home!
Round 2 Score: Apple Tri 1, Lisa 0
Me running in 2005, black probably wasn't the best choice....
2006: Again, I entered the ITU points race this year. I had a solid swim and Mary Beth Ellis, my 2009 Timex teammate, and I built up a solid lead on the bike. Onto the run, I was experimenting with some new race shoes and got the most painful blisters I have ever had! I could barely tolerate each step. MB passed me and then I was passed on the last lap, finishing off with an excruciating 40' 10k split for 3rd place, some prize money, and bloody feet. I could barely stand to wear flip-flops for 2 weeks!Round 3 Score: Lisa 1, My Evil Shoes 1, Apple Tri 0
Me and MB on the bike:
2007: Once again, I entered the ITU points race. This time I had a strong swim, solid bike and cruised home for the win (without bleeding feet) with a 38' 10k split!Round 4 Score: Lisa 1, Apple Tri 0
The tally: Lisa 2, Apple Tri 1, Mother Nature 1, My Evil Shoes 1Up Next? Round 5 on Sunday....it's a tight race, stay tuned to find out who wins this one!!
Lisa
Monday, August 17, 2009
Rose Coloured Glasses
So, admittedly I left for my second workout of the day in a bit of a grumpy mood. As I rode out to the west and came to the top of the Springbank hill, my mood changed. It was warm (ish) out, the sun was shining bright, the mountains looked enormous, the sky was bluer than blue and the rolling fields were a lush green--it cheered me up instantly! I rode on in bliss for a little while longer when I realized that everything seemed brighter and happier cause I left my 'racer red' lenses in my Rudy Project sun glasses after my last ride--it was cold and grey that day. Then I remembered that I used to use this trick back in my swimming days...I had my 'happy goggles' they were red or yellow ones that I saved for those days when I needed a little extra motivation to get in the pool. I may never take my red lenses out...
The cool weather inspired me to go to the farmers market and make a stew last week. It was yummy.
You know you've had a good few days of training when your dish drying rack contains this many water bottles!
An update on the latest plan:
The cool weather inspired me to go to the farmers market and make a stew last week. It was yummy.
You know you've had a good few days of training when your dish drying rack contains this many water bottles!An update on the latest plan:Racing the Kelowna ITU points race on the weekend. Just to keep myself sharp, no rest before this one! Then I leave for Australia on Aug 27th for my final prep before the World Champs Finale. I'll be returning to Noosa for a week and half, so I'm super excited!
That's all for now, if you need a little pick-me-up, I recommend 'racer red'....
Lisa
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
By The Numbers
Since I'm experiencing a wee bit of writers block for my blog, I'll doing something one of the local papers here does in the sport section. It's called 'by the numbers'; I'll sum up my last week by the numbers that tell the tale....
1327--distance in kilometers from Calgary to Winnipeg.
0--the hours/minutes/seconds I spent on the internet, checking e-mails, watching TV last week at the beach.
2/3--games of Crib won by me after Richard taught me how to play.
3--significant wildlife spotting's in the last week & 1/2. 2 bald eagles, one in Calgary and one in Victoria beach (fighting an osprey!) and 1 brown-coloured black bear crossing the road during one of rides in Vic Beach!
77--meters to the top of the Golden Boy's torch on the top of the Winnipeg Legislature Building.
2--place I finished at the Victoria Beach 5k run...the girl who won totally ran behind me and then sprinted the last 400m (normally my tactic)...I just ate a bowl of bran flakes and was in no mood for sprinting! I don't recommend a high fiber breakie before running a 'fun run'....makes it not so fun!!
3--pictures summing up my little break:
Richard on one of the many Victoria Beach glacial erratics...Precambrian shield rock!
Phone booth in the woods...ahh...love the beach life!
The golden boy at 77m high...
4.5--weeks until the ITU World Championships Grand Finale on the Gold Coast, Australia!
1327--distance in kilometers from Calgary to Winnipeg.
0--the hours/minutes/seconds I spent on the internet, checking e-mails, watching TV last week at the beach.
2/3--games of Crib won by me after Richard taught me how to play.
3--significant wildlife spotting's in the last week & 1/2. 2 bald eagles, one in Calgary and one in Victoria beach (fighting an osprey!) and 1 brown-coloured black bear crossing the road during one of rides in Vic Beach!
77--meters to the top of the Golden Boy's torch on the top of the Winnipeg Legislature Building.
2--place I finished at the Victoria Beach 5k run...the girl who won totally ran behind me and then sprinted the last 400m (normally my tactic)...I just ate a bowl of bran flakes and was in no mood for sprinting! I don't recommend a high fiber breakie before running a 'fun run'....makes it not so fun!!
3--pictures summing up my little break:
Richard on one of the many Victoria Beach glacial erratics...Precambrian shield rock!
Phone booth in the woods...ahh...love the beach life!
The golden boy at 77m high...
4.5--weeks until the ITU World Championships Grand Finale on the Gold Coast, Australia!Back to work for me!
Lisa
Monday, August 3, 2009
YeeHaw!
What a race! The inaugral Ironman Calgary 70.3 was yesterday and was a success! The weather and course were fantastic! Great job to all those who organized/sponsored/volunteered/raced this weekend!
The swim start:
The swim start:
Now, my race: The swim, not so hot, I'd wanted to be with the front guys and get a solid lead out of the water. Instead I got stuck in the second pack with my own teammate (a boy who will remain nameless...don't worry--I didn't take it personally!) knocking my goggles off my face not once, but twice and a few of the other girls were able to hang on since our pack was not very organized! But that's the way is goes in the open water sometimes!
Onto the bike, I was out of transistion first but the lead didn't last as Mirinda had a great swim and passed me pretty quick. I struggled for the first 20k, high HR and low Watts, but somehow turned it around and finished with a solid bike split (my fastest over 90km on a tough 94k course), and came off the bike in 3rd, only 1 min down from Magali.
The run is where it got a bit ugly. I had a quick first few kms, closing the gap to second place to ~40seconds, but my legs were not happy! In fact my left foot was numb for about 14k! Not sure what that was all about. Anyway, to keep this short, I fell to 4th place and was in danger of getting passed when my legs (and mentally I told myself to suck it up!) felt a bit better and I was able to hold a faster pace (I negative split the run!) and kept my 4th place position. I had wanted to be on the podium but in the end, with the limited training I was able to get in after my whirlwind travel and racing last month, it was a decent result against a strong women's field. Plus, I got my Clearwater 70.3 World Championships spot locked in now!!
Me on the bike course, coming into T2:
The really-cool finishing metals...They are belt buckles, don't get much more Calgarian than that! Can you say Yaaa-Hooo!
Now, a short trip to Winnipeg to visit family and friends and hit the beach (if the weather cooperates). Then back to business. I'll update later with the latest plan once I return from our trip.
Cheers,
Lisa
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