Have a Great Race

The big weekend has finally arrived for four of the Driven 5 and one coach! It looks to be a great weekend for weather, racing and celebrating what has been a long journey for members of the Driven 5.

Racing in our home city should be an incredible experience with so many friends and family coming out to cheer us on and celebrate with us. I have not ever done such a big event in my home town so this is something I am looking forward to immensely.

Remember to enjoy the day no matter what is thrown at you. Remain positive, avoid the negative vibes and people on course and control what lies within your control on race day.

Good luck to Heather, Marc, Ari and Amy this weekend!

JVD

Something positive =0)

Well once again it has been a while since my last post. Apparently between kids, work and travel I have not had much opportunity to sit at my computer for more than 5 mins. Since I last posted I personally had a complete melt down and was ready to quit except for the fact that I refuse to allow myself to do so. The thing about sport that I love most is that just when you least expect it, and often most need it, someone comes out of the crowd and says just the right thing. Thank you Lana and many others that picked me up at this time and encouraged me to keep on going. I was convinced at the end of may that after struggling to swim 500 meters (pool) for the Try This Tri that there was no way I would ever be able to complete the 1.9K (open water) that is required for the half Ironman in August.

June started with more training in the snow and a chilly swim in Lake Sundance. My first ever experience in swimming open water. I chose not to follow the crowd and stuck the to edge until I felt I had my confidence. After swimming roughly 1/4 of the way around I decided to give it all I had and swam out to the middle, as I could not stay in may safety net in the upcoming months. I swam until I could see fish and kept going until I could see nothing at all and managed to find my way back to shore. It was not a long swim but I had proven to myself that I could swim in deep, open, cold water and live to tell about it. It was certainly the confidence boost that I needed.

Following this experience I hooked up with Dan Fraser from High Altitude hypnosis ( http://www.highaltitudehypnosis.com/ ) in order to try and overcome my fear of deep water, something I would never have considered doing years ago. After being asked 3 times in one week if I had ever considered hypnosis I took it as a sign and looked into it. I had no idea what to expect but Dan made sure I was comfortable and has successfully brought me to a point where I am still aware of what I am doing but overall more relaxed in doing so, allowing me to finally focus on my swim stroke rather than dealing with the panic of not being able to touch the bottom. Thanks Dan!!

I have continued working with Amanda on my swim. She has offered unending support and was able to convince me that I could accomplish my goals before I was able to really believe it myself. I still need a ton of work but with Amanda's patience and skill I have been able to bring up my swim distance and can now swim 1500 to 2000 meters consistantly. Yeah, another confidence boost!!

On June 20th I had my biggest test to date. I competed in the Chinook Oympic Triathlon held at Lake Midnapore. My time was not great (Amy I have a lot to learn from you!!!) but most importantly I FINISHED. My swim was far from pretty as I discovered the importance of sighting while in open water, a skill I had neglected to learn prior to competing. In my first 150 meters of the swim I swam so far off course I crashed into the boat docks. As I was thinking about what I should do, and yes quitting was one of the options being tossed around, my next hero in life arrived...Thank You Jay the wonderful guy in the red kayak. He explained about sighting and stuck to my left side for the remainder of the swim. I still successfully swam way off course several more times but did manage to avoid any more collissions which I was thankful for. Thankfully the second lap went much smoother as I finally figured out how to actually swim and watch for the buoys on a regular basis. Instead I developed a major cramp in both calves something I had never experienced before. I was definately in pain but could not bring myself to stop (yes I did briefly consider it again) but with Jay's encouragement I made it the full 1500 meters. I came up on the beach and was greated with a large ovation - there are some perks to being dead last! - I had my own personal stripper who successfully stripped off my wet suit before I had recovered from the dizziness I felt upon standing up right after an hour in the water. The race crew were great as they escorted me from the lake to the transition zone and assured I was okay before leaving me to tackle the bike and run. The bike was disappointing but I was afraid to push too hard knowing I still had to run 10K. I learned I should have pushed harder and definatley should have drunk a whole lot more water. The bike was certainly the loneliest portion of the race as I was miles from anyone and did not really recieve much of a confidence boost by passing anyone as I had in the Try this event in may, as I simply did not see anyone to even try and pass. I pushed on knowing that regardless of how long it took I could finish this race. I took off on the run a little faster than I should have but managed to settle into a steady pace for the first 7K. By 8K my lack of water and the heat from the midday sun caught up with me and I gave in for the first time ever and walked for a minute. I knew I was close to the finish and definately could not even consider quitting at this point so I forced myself up the hill and pushed hard across the finish line. I had done it!!!

The Chinook event was a wonderful learning experience in what not to do in a race. Sighting, pacing and fluid intake were all important lessons. Although the last thing I was looking for in my schedule was another race I decided to sign up for the Coral Springs Olympic event so I can try it all again in July and hopefully improve upon my faults before I have to endure my ultimate test in August. I was thrilled that I was able to actually finish a 1500 meter open water swim and am now more confident than ever that with continued training over the next 5 weeks I can add the required 400 meters in order to finish the half Ironman event.

In amongst all of this my Dad unfortunately has taken a turn for the worse and is struggling to keep his confidence up. Fear of course is his biggest enemy, aside from the obvious that is. I wish there was a simple strategy available to help him face his fear as I have struggled to face my own. I'm determined to cross the finish line in my next two races in order to help encourage him and reinforce the idea if you believe you can do it anything truely is possible!

Update McLeod

It has been a while since I have written so here is an update on the last couple of months


April
My running was going to be put to the test in my first "running race" . I had entered the Canmore Women's Run last year and while I had enjoyed it apparently my brain forgot that this is one hilly run. I contacted Laurel and asked her how I should approach this race and she gave me some great tips. I was not anxious at the start of this race (usually I stress so much about the race that I pretty much psych myself out). The horn blows and off I go. Relax I remember that I need to stay focused. I tackle the hills and manage to take about 7 minutes off my time from last year. One race down and more to go.

May
I competed in the Try it Tri on May 24 and was really pumped for this one. Last year this was the first tri I had ever done. So to do it this time I was so ready. Laurel was there to give support to both Heather and I. I felt so confident. The swim was good and I headed for the transition area to get on the bike, Laurel was right there and I was so full of adrenaline. I grabbed my bike and off I went LITERALLY! I fell at the start of the bike transition. After what seemed like an eternity I got back on I knew that I was going to have to dig really deep inside myself to get past this hurdle. Even with blood dripping off my knee, I felt good on the bike. Things where going well until I realized that my front tire was slowly getting flatter. I figured that with only one lap to go I could just make it. I got back to transition and pretty much threw my shoes and helmet and took off for the run. I crossed the finish line and had accomplish what I had set out to do

Last year I finished in 1:29 and placed 45 in my age group. This year 1:11 and finished in the top 30 and 3 among women of my age (44).

June
The above picture was take June 6th just before I left for a ITT (individual time trial). Thank goodness they delayed the start by two hours. We had just about every weather pattern you can imagine which added to the experience. What surprised me was how quiet this race was. We where on a road that had no cars going in the opposite direction. No people standing on the sidelines cheering. Just the sound of the wheel and the road. WOW

The next day I put on the dreaded wet suit and braved the waters of Lake Sundance. Yes it was cold and no, no one had a gun to my head to do it. This experience really surprised me as I am a swimmer but apparently not in a lake. With the wet suit and booties I was at a loss as how to swim. I swear the trees didn't move as I swam what I thought was 150 meters but when I looked back to the shore I realized that I had made progress. As I was leaving the water to put my feet back on Terra Firma , I seriously thought I was going to pass out. I suspect with the cold water and restriction of the wet suit my body just was not used to that kind of workout.

The story continues......

Morin File (round two)

Over the last several months training hours have been added and intensities changed. All the while Marc has had nothing but a giant smile on his face. His reaction to training stress has been remarkable. The last couple of weeks have truly been a test of our relationship, not the 'typical test' that relationships go through. But a test of how effective our training plan has been. This past weekend Marc ran the Calgary Marathon in a new personal best; 3:20:00 (20 minute pb), when I chatted with him the very next day on the pool deck he was grinning like a Cheshire cat. I shouted out 'new pb' as he approached with the usual bounce in his step. 'yep' he replied 'and I will go faster next time.' He has promptly singed up for the Victoria Marathon in October to qualify for Boston.

I been around athletes for most of my life and it is truly rare to see this level of enthusiasm and passion for personal goals. The next relationship test will come this weekend as Marc and I hit the Water with 600 other athletes at the Wasa Lake triathlon. Tune in for round three!

The Brave Ones

As you can see Motley Crue hit the open water this weekend at Lake Sundance! Good on you gang for getting out into the lake this weekend. Great Spiderman stances too gang!

Also a congratulations goes out to Liz Macleod and Marc Morin for taking part in their first ever bicycle race this past weekend. Both took part in the SpeedTheory Race the Ring Road 30km Individual Time Trial on Saturday June 6th.

The weather across Calgary was really mixed - as I drove to the race venue I encountered beautiful sunshine, then a snowstorm, then rain, hail, wind and finally gray but clear skies on the North East side of the city.

Both Liz and Marc gave a full out effort on the day and finished with smiles on their faces. The cold temperatures during the bicycle race must have given them a sense of being "hard core" which made getting into the water on Sunday much easier.

Way to go you two.

JVD

Life lessons - highs and lows

Well it has been a while since I wrote anything here, I know I should try and be more committed =0). The past few weeks have seen many changes. I started working with a new swim coach in April and can now officially say I can swim without a nose clip. I have been working really hard in the pool and on the bike with the occasional run. I made it out for the morning of Jack's bike training camp a few weeks ago and learned a great deal about bike maintance and how to actually ride outside, apparently you cannot use training wheels when you go outside. I can now officially change a tire and have had some practice in the past week. I discovered that I need to build up a whole lot of confidence on turning corners and going down hill but I can make up a lot of lost time on my up hill climbs (of course science would say it is better to save the energy and just use the momentum from the downhill instead). Hopefully a few more outdoor rides (assuming the weather cooperates) will allow me to build my skills and stay in control as I gain speed.

My first race of the season was the Police half marathon at the end of April, thankfully I met the goals that I had set despite my lack of running and entered into my summer racing season on a high note after being awarded the prize for the fastest police service female. Thanks Kirsty for keeping me focused =0). After completing this I figured I should probably enter some triathlons in order to help prepare myself for the half Ironman in August. I chose to enter the Try this triathlon which was held at foothills pool this past weekend.

So how did the race go? Yesterday I was feeling great! I finished my first triathlon!! and I did not drown or even stop swimming for the full 500 meters (which is a whole lot more than I could say 4 weeks ago), and I even managed to stay on my bike for the whole ride (sorry Liz!), despite falling off twice on my training ride on Friday. Today I looked at the results and although I am happy with my bike and run I can't help but feel upset with my results in the swim. After several weeks of hard work I did successfully finish my swim, but did so coming in dead last (It is a good thing I was able to make up time in the other areas so my overall results do not look so bad). As they say life goes on and hopefully we can learn from our experiences. I can certainly say that after having gone from being first in one event to last in the next that just finishing requires a significant amount of recognition! It requires at least as much effort, if not more so, to finish last as it does to lead the pack.

My next challenge is to complete the Chinook triathlon at Lake Midnapore on June 20. I will need to improve my distance (as I am required to swim 1500 meters) and time (for obvious reasons) while at the same time face my fear of deep water head on as this will be an open water swim. I cannot say I am not nervous (or even terrified) but I am trying to stay focused on the bigger picture overall and hopefully this will help in pushing me to weather the road bumps ahead.

So as I look ahead I have to say a quick thanks to Laurel, Amanda, Liz and everyone else who has offered their support (especially my hubby), it does make a difference, especially on those days when it all seems impossible! I can now say that I have accomplished one of my life goals which was to finish a triathlon, which would have been impossible for me to consider just a few months ago. So here is to a few more bumps and bruises...nothing a wet suit won't cover!

May Long in Kelowna

With only one weekend of short-wearing had thus far in Calgary, we opted to head west to Kelowna for the long weekend. Having been pumelled by head winds on most rides to date this year and too many indoor rides for this time of year, I was anticipating three days of hard core mountain biking with my boyfriend Dave and close friend Dion. The Myra-Bellevue Canyon in Kelowna has some of the "awesomest" mountain biking I have come across. Whether it is climbing up the relentless Swamp Thing, or challenging the nerves while descending Vapor, I always come home with a smile on my face. Dave and Dion always challenge me to ride what I would otherwise walk.... it is amazing what some peer pressure can achieve!

All in all a really great three days on the bike (even the lost chain ring bolts and two broken crank arms didn't dampen our spirits!). Next up on the plate is the Calgary Half Marathon on May 31st. I am really looking forward to seeing how my running has come along. My long runs have been feeling great and my weekly 6x1000m and 2X3000m are geting consistently faster (sometimes aided by running away from the geese that have once again taken over pathways!). The following three weekends are action packed as Wasa is just around the corner, followed by the Chinook Half...... Looking forward to it all :-)

So on that note, I will sign off. As I look at Ari's picture I get the shivers just thinking about 70.3 - at one point it was a dream, at another a distant goal, but the reality of 12 weeks to go is finally sinking in. YAY!

70.3 Duathlon on the Horizon and an Update.

Ari Sarantis took this picture out at Ghost Lake on Saturday May 9th 2009. This means that in roughly 12 weeks we will be all standing around in the Ghost Lake parking lot with wet suits on only to hear the race organizers delaying the start of the race by 1 to 1.5 hours, then opt out of offering a triathlon and then stating that we will all be doing a duathlon due to frigid water temperatures. We will be further delayed by 1 to 1.5 hours as they plan a suitable running route to start the event. I say do a mass start bike race and allow everyone to race as if it was a bicycle road race where pacelines and echelons will form and allow riders to make up for lost time due to standing around in the transition area earlier. Okay, a bit far fetched and perhaps in poor taste but how can we argue with the picture Ari took??

It would seem the Driven 5 and coaching staff have been too busy lately to post so I figured I should get back on to this. Over the past month or so training has ramped up for myself and Amy Woodward. As it stands now, Amy can out swim me - not that I am a fast swimmer by any means but it is great to see Amy progress so quickly. Laurel has done a great job developing the noon hour swim sets for us in the 50m pool and it has given Amy and I the ability to begin drafting or at the very least swim in the bubbles of the feet in front. To even the widening playing field between Amy and I, I will swim with fins so she can "keep up" to myself. The intent is similar to motor pacing in cycling whereby you ride behind a motorcycle which helps cut the wind in front, simulates raceday speeds and greater, get accustomed to many micro-accelerations to keep pace, enhances concentration etc. In the pool, I can drag Amy along at a faster pace than she is accustomed to and she doesn't have to work quite as hard as when she is swimming by herself. The net effect thus far me losing between 4-5seconds per 100m to her. So quite a bit of time.

On May 2nd and 3rd we finally had some beautiful riding weather in Calgary and we were able to run our Triathlon Club's Bike Camp weekend. Day 1 was in the NW and started with a mechanics session at SpeedTheory and then some technical riding and then training! I was pleased to see how enthusiastic everyone was despite later hearing about some of the terror people had about riding outside for the first time. I have to say that I was impressed with Heather McInnis's positive attitude after her near wipe-out at the bottom of the long downhill. As we all slowed to make the turn there was some gravel on the road which made things more challenging. Heather started to slide but was able to remain upright and keep on going - with a big smile on her face!

On Sunday we rode out on the famous route known as the Road to Nepal - in short a nice hilly 18km road. As is typical with hills, they seperate and divide cyclists into smaller groups or force everyone to ride in isolation. I came out of the parking lot as last person and I saw as Amy and the fast guys took off over the early hills and dropped the majority of the group right away. We all regrouped at the end of the route and then proceeded towards Millarville where we found you can buy wine and beer at the General store. No wonder this is a popular spot to ride out to.

As we began heading back to our start point, several of us rode out another 8km pushing each other on the final climb along that stretch of road. Then on the return to Millarville I set up a sprint finish location to make things interesting. The pace was ramping up as we approached Millarville and the roadies out numbered the triathletes 3 to 2 although technically Amy and I can be considered triathletes at the moment. Our instincts were primal and focused on the one thing that mattered most - cross the finish line first. Kevin McMahon jumped early and Amy instinctively bridged up to him while Nicholas Burford verbally provoked me. In the end I took the sprint finish breaking away from a tired duo - it was a cheap victory for me as Kevin and Amy sprinted for the wrong line. Kevin learned a good lesson that day - always know where the finish line is.

We continued on as a group working well in a paceline together to try and catch back those who had ventured home earlier. I still think we would have caught the group however Alan Larter had an unfortunate accident in which he touched wheels with the rider in front of him and went down hard. In short Alan broke his collarbone that day, will require new bar tape for his bike and a new helmet. In all seriousness, Alan's helmet served it's dutiful purpose to protect his head and hence why everyone should wear a helmet whenever they throw a leg over a bike.

Since that sunny weekend, the weather has been quite a mixed bag around Calgary. I have been rained on, hailed on, blown by gusting winds, pumelled by constant head and crosswinds and enjoyed the odd sunny day. Safe to say the upcoming long weekend is looking great to get outside and play on the bike and trails.

JVD

Driven 5 Update: Project Amy Woodward 2009

Last month Amy was fortunate enough to leave the extremely cold temperatures we experienced in Calgary for the ideal climes of Tuscon Arizona. Over the past 10 years Tuscon has grown to become a winter training destination for cyclists and triathletes due to the favorable weather they can enjoy during our winter months. In fact, one of my other athletes has been living the cyclist’s life down there for 6 weeks honing his fitness which simply can not be done in Canada let alone Calgary. A few others have also made the trip for training and racing. Sadly I have yet to go but vow to one day get down there.

As previously posted, this was a mini training camp (but let’s not forget vacation) in which Amy could focus on building her cycling fitness by logging many kilometers over varied terrain and to escape mentally from day to day life. The bonus for me as a coach is that Amy is using a PowerTap power meter which logs every second of her ride which can be broken down and analyzed afterwards. So what does “focused” training time primarily riding over 10 days net you?

A total of 25.9 hours of saddle time or 647.2km.

A Training Stress Score (TSS)* of 1502.2.

A total of 12687 kJ (Kilo Joules of Work) or close to 14000 kcal burned.

*Training Stress Score (TSS) was a training metric developed by Dr. Andy Coggan to quantify and compare your different workouts, even when they are considerably different in time (length) and power (intensity). TSS is designed to give you a numeric value for each ride that tells you how much training load was on your body for that day’s ride. A TSS of 100 equals an hour at an IF of 1.0. TSS also quantifies how tired you can expect to be after a workout and how long the residual fatigue might last. For further information on this and many more topics visit http://home.trainingpeaks.com/power411.aspx.

So what does this really tell me as Amy’s coach?? Well several things after having gone through her power files. Several key points are as follows;

1. Amy stuck to our objectives of base building versus hammering everyday. This is reflected in her average intensity factor of 0.75 or 75% of her functional threshold power (FTP) or 1 hour sustainable power which is 214 Watts.

2. Amy’s sustainability on the long climbs up Mount Lemmon and Kitt Peak showed she can hold her FTP (200-215W) for upwards of 71minutes! This is a great indication that her FTP is rising which we hope to see in several weeks post mini camp.

3. So long as Amy ate, hydrated, slept and rested well after each ride, she could easily get up the next day and do another big ride. In fact with Amy gradually increasing her volume per ride, we saw her getting stronger as she posted her biggest wattages in the final 4 days of her Tuscon trip.

Now a few points of caution for those who are planning a trip to do a mini camp next week. These training periods are stressful even if done solely as base building due to the rapid increase in training load which in some cases equals twice the regular training volume. As such it is advisable to begin increasing your training load in the weeks prior to a camp so as not to shock the system too dramatically. Eat, hydrate and sleep well as you increase your training load to help you adapt to the training stress and look to alternative methods for recovery such as massage, chiropractic care, supplements etc.

When Amy arrived home, life overwhelmed her as she had to do laundry, groceries, go back to work etc. As such she started to feel the fatigue catching up to her and after chatting with her I gave her 2 weeks of reduced training. In the weeks leading up to Tuscon she did 9.0, 11.1, 13.0, 12.5, 9.7, 12.3 hours of training respectively. Post Tuscon she was prescribed 7.8, 8.2, 10.6 and 10.8 hours of training. Amy did a FTP test 1.5 weeks post mini camp to check her recovery status. Needless to say she was still a bit tired BUT she was very close (205W) to her pre-Tuscon (214W) test values.

Rest and recovery after BIG training days and weeks are mandatory and are actually considered “training days” to a degree given their importance to the athlete’s overall progress. As I wrote in my personal blog regarding the Five Traits of Successful Athletes (http://jackvandyk.blogspot.com), consistency in training is a key trait in order to continually show improvement. My approach with Amy now will be to continue building upon her fitness gains from Tuscon after her recovery weeks as we move towards achieving new levels of performance.

With the favorable weather teasing us this week, we should all be able to put in some quality kilometers this week and weekend out on the roads.

JVD

Another Month gone - Feb/Mar summary

Well I am late in putting up my blog, which goes with the rest of my life right now (just ask my son's teacher - I have been late picking him up almost every day since I started training). I have been working hard on my training until last week when I discovered just how dependent I am on my kids attending school and being healthy in order to have the time I need to train. My daughter was off from school on an early spring break and I was unable to get her into the childcare when I tried, later in the week she was too sick and childcare was no longer an option. My first thought was to simply just try and fit my workout in later in the day but I soon discovered that our days and evenings are full and if I want to be able to put in a quality effort I need to have my morning time. Despite my frustration and disappointment over the past week and a half I have thankfully been able to put in some quality time on the weekends and am hopeful that now school has started up again I will be able to get back on track.

Laurel has scheduled running back in my workout plan again which has been great as I love to use a nice long run as a stress release. On the weekends I have been able to complete my brick workouts (bike/run) along with my husband which has really helped to pass the time and push me as the two of us really like to challenge each other both on the bike and in the run. It has been nice to have some quality time together to chat without the kids around and also have the bennefit of improving our health at the same time. I am confident that if I keep working on things that I will be able to complete the bike and run sections of the event - not without a good mental workout I am certain, but I at least know that I can do it if I try.

Now for the swim. I am still working more on my swim than any other element which for obvious reasons is because I have to. I have had a rocky relationship with the pool over the past month, going from a great swim to being willing to give it all up (except I am too stuborn to quit). Looking back on the month though I have accomplished some of the goals that I had set, small as they may be I can now successfully swim in deeper water without having to psych myself out - all be it by the wall - but that is a goal for next month =0), I was also able to swim a full 50 meter length without stopping. 50 meters is a long ways short of what I need to accomplish but it is also 50 meters further than I could swim when I started everything 6 weeks ago. I have been frustrated with myself as to just how slow things are progressing in the pool with my biggest hangup still being my breathing technique. I am still waiting for my light bulb moment on this. I believe that my overall stroke technique is improving as I can certainly feel a difference in how I am able to move through the water dependent on what I may be doing with my body position and arms.

After a rough week where I was questioning my ability to actually be able to accomplish the goals I have set, I had a long chat with my husband and an encouraging email from Laurel, I am entering into the next month with a renewed sense of energy (both mentally and physically from all my missed workouts) and am hoping to continue gaining ground in all 3 events.