Monday, April 21, 2008

Met the Pass

Within hours of arriving in Osoyoos we were cycling up Richter Pass. This pass starts at about 50km into the Ironman Canada bike course and according to IMC's description, the road is:



a long 11km climb with the summit at an elevation of 2295 feet. We did the climb at a steady pace on Friday and for a second time on Sunday. Of course there's a huge difference between a strength session and a race!



As the photo shows, the road surface is superb. And it's up and up and up. And the views are quite spectacular - with Spotted Lake on one side and the valley on the other side at various times.





Thursday, April 17, 2008

Camp

It's time to head to camp.

On Friday I'll drive to the interior and get back at it. This is what lies ahead:

Friday 18th

Morning – check in

13:30 – We will do a brief warm up before tackling Route 3 climb out of Osoyoos towards Castlegar – we’ll descend back into Osoyoos and then climb Richter Pass and descending to the 2nd roller before turning and climbing Richter from the “wrong” side.

We will follow this with a 30 min run off the bike

Ride time will be 2 to 3 hrs

Saturday 19th

Morning – 90 minute easy run

Late Morning – We will ride to Oliver, ride a loop of the Oliver course and ride back to Oosoyos.

Ride time will be 3 to 4 hrs

Afternoon – Recovery Lake Swim

Sunday 20th

Morning - Today will be the longest day in the saddle from Oosoyos to Penticton and back (yes that would be the long way via Richter, the rollers, yellow lake and the reverse climb back out of Penticton, and yes Richter from the wrong side)

We will follow with a 30 min run off the bike

Ride time will be 5 to 7 hrs depending on where you turn

Afternoon – short recovery swim in the lake

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Solid Results

Just wanted to say a huge congrats to several people who raced at Ironman NZ and Oz in the last two months.

In particular, and in no particular order, Tony - two solid Sub10s; Oli getting a Kona spot in NZ; and Ollie getting a Kona spot at Port Mac. Three superb athletes who I had the pleasure of training with the past few years.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Second Podium

Well I made it to the podium two weeks in a row! That's a first.

Today I was third in my age group at the Gibsons to Sechelt half marathon in 1:31:06. The elevation chart, which you can locate in my previous post, proved a bit more of a challenge than expected for both Margreet and I.

However, she did set a PB.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Downhill to ...

Elevation chart for Sunday's 1/2 marathon

10k Race History

June 2002 Lane Cove 46:05 4:36.5/km

June 2003 North Head 43:18 4:28.6/km

August 2005 Lane Cove 41:20 4:16.4/km

Sept 2005 North Head 39:40 3:58/km

Oct 2005 Homebush 40:12 4:01.2/km

April 2006 Sporting Life 38:55 3:53.5/km

May 2007 North Head 41:23 4:08.3/km

June 2007 Mini Mos 40:40 4:04/km

Jan 2008 Chilly Chase 41:34 4:09.4/km

March 2008 Popeye 40:44 4:04.4/km

*The per/km pacing is number crunching through Merv's calculator

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

10k Glory

It was one of the most relaxed races that I can recall doing. Popeye's 10k Run in Coquitlam. It was on Sunday and Margreet and I were among the first to arrive, as usual, at the race start.

We both did a double-take at the competitor list - all of about 15!

It wasn't so much a race as a chance to get in a good hit with a few other people on a new course on a sunny spring morning.

The course had more twists and turns than a good thriller. There was even a pedestrian overpass that we had to cross, adding a few stairs to climb.

I managed 40:44 - on target with the training that I'm doing at the moment. It also marked my first 10k victory. That said, I was third across the line; Margreet went 39:55 and won the event outright and a second woman athlete also finished ahead of me.

Next - 1/2 marathon on the Sunshine Coast on April 6th.