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So - the annual SST has come and gone again - there were 2HP members at the race along with some guys I coach - here is a little run down.

Chris W - going in to the race tired and sore from training for Cultus Lake next weekend, I didn't have too higher expectations of my performance. The swim was brutal for me this year - the roughest I have had all year. Managed to muscle my way through - kept breathing under control and pushed for the exit. I have been having some forearm tightness lately - think I need to warm up a little longer before the harder efforts. The swim was short for some reason - came out in just under 9 minutes.
Bike - got on the bike quickly and started plugging away at passing who I could see. Had a ding dong battle with a younger racer - and that helped me keep pushing. Was a little breezy so was glad I had my disc on. Resp. system was well controlled and HR felt fine - felt a little leggy today - not much higher intensity riding recently - so have lost some functional ability I think. Still clocked 36.6 average speed and took 30 secs off last year - so all good. Came into transition in 5th.
Run - settled in quickly to the exertion of running - kept breathing to 2 and 2 when I could, and focused on longer strides with a higher heel kick to get me moving. This is where I felt the week of training - just could not push as I wanted too and had some calf tightness. Ran 22 for the 5.2k - not happy but not disappointed due the sore legs I started with.
Finished in 5th overall - 1.03 time.

Geoff W - will let Geoff tell his tale - but I was super stoked he could look so strong today.

Everyone there in the crew had a great day - lots of positive performances all-round.

Thanks for reading

Chris

Just a short note to recap an incredible month of racing. Most of our athletes who raced have placed some great reading on the forum, and there is a true sense that they are beginning to recognize where their personal limitations are being overcome, and a new level of competition is open to them. As these reports serve the athlete a chance to reflect, so too does it give us coaches some direction of where we may be able to redirect some energy towards improving our program in the future.

We are working hard to design and plan a great opportunity for the HP and Junior BPR Team for 2010, and the details of those programs will be up very soon. In addition, Chris, Ginny, Luke, Jen Segger will all be taking on a limited number of age-group athletes who are looking for support from BPR coaches and our unique approach to testing and training.

As for August...there were some stand out performance to mention, but I am sure I will miss a few, so please feel free to point out any flashes of brilliance I miss here...

Rose Gerspacher - Ran a personal best 37:12 at the Women's 10km in Calgary. Showing her depth of talent after coming off a second place finish in the TR3 MTB race. This result also shows the value of working on specific run skills, as Rose has made considerable improvements in cadence this year, and backed that up with extremely good conditioning done mostly on the bike.

Luke Way - 2nd place at the 24 Hours of Adrenaline in Canmore, and a Top 10 performance at TR3, put him in the money. He said that he felt as though he improved in strength each day, which is a tribute to his excellent structural base he developed over the past 18 months. He backed this up with a 2nd place at Xterra Alberta, and has decided to race Xterra Canada this week-end with Rose...GO LUKE!!!

Joel Johnson - First Cat 3 rider to the top of Seymour Mountain in the hill climb a few weeks ago, breaking away and racing in an elite group that consisted of only 3 other sponsored Cat 1/2 riders. He is racing Mt Baker next week-end, which should be a great challenge, as he goes head to head with our friend Olav Stanna.

Simon Craig - Sub 10:30 at his first ever Ironman!!! A really tough day of racing made the times a little slower than usual, but Simon showed excellent improvement in his swim skills this year, and put that together with a fantastic bike and solid run.

Ginny Sellars - 3rd in her age group at IMC. Still facing some long hard work to get her feet strong enough to run to her potential, but her strength and spirit showed through after nearly giving up in the hail and rain as she descended form Yellow Lake

Ian Crossthewaite - Returned to triathlon on nearly no swim/run training, to race well at Kelowna Apple, and be invited to represent Canada at Worlds. He is putting that plan on hold in hopes of finding a more enjoyable venue to show off his skills...Xterra Maui 2011?

Geoff Waterman - Solid performance at Kelowna Apple, and continuing to train pain free, which was his primary goal for 2010. Here is an athlete that is just beginning to recognize his own potential.

Martin Courtney - Prepping for Budapest and World Championships Short Course with a strong performance in Kelowna. Watch for him to make huge gains as we add a bit of stride length to his excellent foot speed.

Peter Watson - Demonstrated incredible biking skills to post the fastest split at the Kelowna Apple over the sprint distance, racing for a corporate team that won their category by MILES!!!

Chris Willett - Age-group National Champion in the Sprint Race...incredible performance.

A reminder of the Xterra Kelowna event on Sept 26th, that is posted on our Facebook page, and the 6-Hour Enduro scheduled the day before. These are likely some of the last races of the season, so I hope to see as many BPR athletes out there as possible. Hook up as a team, race the duathlon, or just come and try something new.

And there is the xc-running series which starts up soon as well, for those who need some functional work. We usually make it a fun day by pre-riding the course on MTB, then racing hard, and post-riding again at top speed to challenge our coordination and functional abilities. So, bring your bikes, and some warm clothes.

We will also be hosting a year-end wrap-up party at some point, and a 2011 planning session, so stay tuned for those announcements.

Great reports Stephen and Courtney.

Courtney - it has been great to see you progress throughout the year - what a wicked swim split - and a strong bike too!! Way to go!

Stephen - was a pleasure to work with you for the later part of the year - your imporvements have been amazing and I hope that you learnt a lot during this time. Let's hope there are more PB's in your future!!

Chris

Well after about 10 years of dreaming of doing this race Atsuko 2 years ago told me that 2010 was our year.  Luckily 4 other women from Revelstoke decided to sign up.  We became known as the Ironwomen.  I never could have done this without the support of all my wonderful training partners in Revy.  This year also brought about many new friendships which has made the world of triathlon which i've been doing for over 10 years so much more enjoyable. 

The week leading up to the race was more stressful than it needed to be.  I had major mechanical issues with my bike plus the first hole in my wetsuit ever.  I slept the night before which was so much better than in Oliver where I couldn't sleep the night before.

The swim start was very exciting.  I ran into all the Revy clan just prior to race start and a lucky shot together before the big day.  I choose to start a little off to the left.  Mardi and I started together but i lost her about 300 m into the swim.  I had expected the first third of the swim to be the worst but i had lots of clear room for quite a while.  Closer to the first turn around the excitement began.  I got punched in the eye and had to stop 3 times to re-adjust my goggles.  Then i got punched in the ribs.  What always amazed me was that when things got tight and a little crazy it just as quickly spread out and i'd have room again.  I wished I had known how many buoys there were because I kept seeing the numbers and couldn't easily judge how much further I had to go.  I also had no concept of how i was swimming.  I just tried to swim steady with a nice relaxed cadence.  I knew I had a long day ahead.  I got out of the water in 1:08:36 and was thrilled. I figured I could swim in this time but wasn't sure how it would pan out with all the other swimmers. 

The transition out of the swim was amazing.  They volunteers went above and beyond.  In just over 6 mins I had the wetsuit stripped, dried and a fresh warm set of clothes put on, and slathered full body with sunscreen because I burn like crazy (even if there was no sunshine).
Off on the bike i was feeling pretty good. I choose to keep my Garmin on the bike to control myself on the way down to Osoyoos.  I didn't really have a target other than wanting to not be above my LBP.  The tailwind down was great.  I am not the strongest on the flats and got passed by many people but still averaged about 30-35 km at times and felt great.  I loved my new ZIP wheels and have told my husband he will never get them back.    I told my first bathroom stop at the way up Richter which was enough time to let me make another bottle of fluid.  The climb up Richter went smoothly with lots of local Revy support who ran with me in drag get-up.  This is definetely where I finally started to pass people and continued to do this all the way to the top of Yellow Lake.  Prior to the rollers I started to feel a bit funny in my head.  I had been consuming 1 bottle with 200 calories of Carbopro and 1 nuun tablet/hour plus 1 gel per hour.  At the next aid station I took a bottle of water which really helped to make me feel less "fuzzy".  I survived the rollers really thankful for the men with their shell breasts who kept showing up when i just needed a little boost.  The out and back at Keremeos was a nice change of pace. I stopped at the special needs area and picked up two more bottles of fuel.  This pickup was smooth without incident.  At this point I had to pee so badly and someone told me while waiting in line it was illegal to pee in the bushes so i ended up wasting 10 mins standing in line at a port-a-potty. In hind-sight this was a poor decision and next time would just pee in the bush.  The horrible headwind started for me on my way back to Highway 3A.  It was a real blow to drop into the small front chain ring and suddenly pedal only 11-12 km/hour.  My legs were on fire but i just dropped into arrow and pushed through it.  The wind settled by the time i started the climb up Yellow Lake.  Saw Bart on my last climb up to Yellow Lake and a few other friends.  I had thought seeing people on this spot would carry me up but I found the volume of people a bit overwhelming.  But who knows how I would  have felt if there had been nobody there.  I started this season riding downhill tentatively but Mallorca helped me advance these skills.  In the race once I reached the top I thoroughly enjoyed a  fast ride into the town. Total bike time = 6:53:27. Little slower than hoped but 15 mins in the bathroom and a crazy headwind made things slower.  Nutrition wise though I kept on top of things and felt topped up starting the run.

Into transition I wondered if my legs would be able to carry me for a full marathon but I took it easy and suprisingly my legs didn't feel that bad.  I did not have my usual speed (which usually isn't too fast to begin with).  I was glad I hadn't taken my Garmin because I think that knowing how slow I ran would have bothered me.  Instead my goal was to get to the next aid station and then enjoy a walk.  I definetely walked every aid station and later on every uphill.  But even though I did this I managed a negative split.  Probably could have finished stronger with less walking in the end but just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was trying to enjoy the day.  At 5 km into the run I developed my usual exquisite left foot pain.  I had come equipped with tylenol and ibuprofen in the event this happened.  I decided to stop to make sure my sock was not folded and to give my foot a little rub and then took some tylenol.  BIG MISTAKE. Ended up with the worst cramp of my life. I had not planned for this at all.  Thought i'd never run again. But managed to get going and then was afraid to stop for some time. Stupidly i forgot my salt tabs but started drinking chicken noodle soup to help me recover. I carried water with me which was essential to help me get my gels down.  I still consumed 1 gel per hour.  But at each aid station I started to alternate between gatorade/water and then chicken soup/water.  In the last 5 km I threw some pepsi in for a little variety.  Total run time: 4:51:52. Definetely slower than in training but obviously had never put this kind of distance together. Had a strong finish into the finish line crying and smilling all at once. The crowds carried me in the last 2 km for sure. So many people chanting my name. Talk about overwhelming.

Overall an amazing day. The volunteers really make this race and they are absolutely amazing.

Had a rough night after with major GI distress and the worst stiffness I have ever felt.  4 days later I am finally eating normally again.  My muscle pain resolved 2 days ago but now i feel sort of lost.  What did i used to do when I didn't have a daily workout plan.  Ginny started giving us our training plans in November. 

Thanks everyone for the great support for this amazing journey.  So glad to have met so many new friends to share this journey with.  Thanks to Ginny for providing us with a plan that worked and got me to the finish line still smiling.  Special thanks to Bart for putting up with me this year.  At times I wasn't always the easiest person to deal with.  I can now call myself official an IRONWOMAN.  Wohoo!

Hi Steven
Great to see you on the forum. Where have you been all year?!
So a PB of 1.5 hrs...FANTASTIC!!

It will be an interesting conversation to figure out why "it all fell apart" at the run turn-around. Fueling? Lack of long run training? Coordination or muscular fatigue? Did your breathing get difficult? Did you feel sleepy? Try and figure it out here, or with Chris so that you can keep improving, and feel a little stronger on the home stretch. It always hurts, but it would be nice to keep run form and less walking.

Congratulations on a superb effort.

Hi Everyone, my first time posting on this board, so I thought I would just give a  race report.
First off, thank you Chris;  I have to admit I had some doubts about the plan but it turned out to be a stellar year with a personal best in oliver, as well as a personal best At Ironman Canada, My team also won the corperate challange for the Apple Triathlon, ( thanks Peter W ).
Now for Ironman; the lead up was amazing this year, i was very relaxed and had a great week with the family.  Typical morning except for I remembered the line ups for the porta cans from last year and went early this year, ( so much less stress not having to worry about making the start.  The swim was amazing this year; i went right in the middle and other than the bumping around it felt super easy, resulting in a very suprising 10 minute pb from last years race. 1:11.
T1 was relaxed and smooth under 5 minutes, the volunteers were organized and amazing.  For the bike this year I decided to push a little harder on the way down to osoyoos; it worked and I had a great bike because of it.  Like everyone else I was caught in the downpour before yellow lake and the roads were soaked.  Very cold but due to my size there was no fear on the down hill and I just went full out all the way back into town, passing people the whole way, freezing in the process. Ended feeling great and energetic in just under 6 hours which was my goal. A quick change of socks and shoes on off for a run.  It started out great and stayed that way untill the hill at the far end.  Then it fell apart,  it took everything I had to keep jogging through the pain and continued that way until penticton where i decided to walk up the long hill into town.  From there it was runn for 1 light and walk for 1 until 3km to go where i ran the rest.  The funny thing is it was all in my head i just mentally couldn't force myself to keep running at a good pace eventhough I hade plenty of energy left. All in all it was an amazing race this year and even with the weather a PB by around an hour and a half.  12hrs:31min
Thanks Again Chris.
Steven

I am so glad the challenges of theday did not break your spirit. For many athletes, the bad luck your experienced would have been teh end of your day. It says a lot about your character. Truly inspiring finish Daniel.

I will look forward to your return visit, and will hope for less obstacles in your future.

The running strength thing is going to be a MAJOR focus for the BPR athletes competing next year. We have spent a great deal of time working on cadence and form...now it is time to develop the strength and power to allow for some fantastic running!

Yep. I will definitively go back. It can only be better from there.

Oh crappy luck Daniel...Such a bummer that you had to deal with all that on your 1st IM! So unfair.

It becomes a different race when you have to stop/walk/wait for so long. Your nutrition changes, the day becomes that much longer, and the wind goes out of your sails knowing you are hours behind what you planned. I'm REALLY impressed with your tenacity, resourcefulness, and determination to finish. I guess this means you are coming back to have the race you know you can do!!

Here is my report on a very interesting first IM.

Since a difficult swim last year at the Oliver half IM, I am always a bit nervous before a massive swim start. To avoid a big tight pack of swimmer, I positioned myself at the far end of the beach after a good five minutes warm-up. The swim went very well overall. In the third leg of the swim, I developed a cramp in my left calf. It felt like a rock was forming in my leg. I was concerned that it would cause me problems later on. I had never experienced this during a swim. I stopped kicking for a while and the pain gradually dissipated. I resumed kicking and then the same problem emerged in my right leg. A break in kicking again solved the problem. I finished the swim without any other issues and exactly in the time I had planned for (1:07).

There was great support from volunteers in the transition tent. It was full packed. I got on the bike feeling well and strong. Problems started in Oliver. I and a few others around me received a 2 minutes penalty for drafting. I think the fat lady on the motorcycle just wanted to demonstrate the power/authority she had that day (I may sound rude but I have to let it out my chest). With so many cyclists, there was no way we could keep the minimum distance between each other. Oh well, I figured that 2 minutes was not the end of the world. Shortly after, I got a flat tire on my rear wheel. I got off the bike and fixed the thing. In inspecting the inside of the tire, I sliced the tip of three fingers on the steel strand that had punctured my tube. I did not feel anything at first but realized something had happened seeing the blood on everything I touched (then, I started to feel it...) I put on the only tube I had I went back on the saddle thinking that I had received  all my bad luck for the day. When leaving Oliver, I experienced my second flat. With no spare tube, I decided to ride to the next aid station which I thought was at the Osoyoos turn off. I rode standing on my pedals to minimize the weight on the back wheel. The aid station was further than I thought so I started to walk the first climb after the turn off. Shortly after a fellow racer showed a tremendous amount of compassion by tossing me the tube attached his saddle. While I was fixing the flat, I guy (angel) showed up from nowhere with a floor pump in his hand. Alleluia! I could almost see the light beam from the sky shining on this guy. Could not find anything in the tire thus I thought it was a pinch flat. After fixing the second flat, I attacked Richter Pass. I was feeling good given the ‘’break’’ from the two flats. At km 100, flat again. Fed up, I decided to ride on the flat tire to the next aid station at the Keremeos turn out. There, while waiting for the Bike Barn guys, volunteers found me a floor pump and a bucket of water to repair my tube (I was carrying patches). I found a second steel thread in my tire. Luckily (again!) a volunteer had Leatherman pliers to assist as the strand could not be removed just with fingers. Happy to have fixed the problem and not having to wait for the repair van to show up, I got back on the bike confident that things would go well from now on and did not think too much about the huge time lost. Anyway, it was interesting to pass some people three times in the same race. I did not experience the afternoon heavy rain but was cut in the wind storm that came with it and rode on wet pavement in the Yellow Lake area. I finished the bike with a disappointing time of 7:37.

I started the run with an injured foot. The pain was manageable for a while but as my body was compensating to minimize the pain, other problems started emerging. I then decided to walk a good part of the first half to avoid making things worse. Coming back I did a bit more running. Another disappointment there but no real surprise as I was experiencing some mild pain walking the day before.

I learned a few things during this race:

•   My nutrition plan worked well
•   I need to work on my running and strengthen my feet
•   Stay away from blown up truck tires. A local cyclist and mechanic told me that this is where the steel strands found in my tire likely came from. When a recap tire disintegrates, it shed steel filaments.
•   Cary two spare tube in a race.

I enjoyed the experience despite the bad luck and it can only go better the next time. Volunteers and supporter throughout the race were absolutely awesome.