Yesterday I did what my coach called an Oddball 70.3 training day up in Squamish. The plan: a 3k swim, 90k ride, and 18k run.
In terms of lessons learned, this was an excellent exercise. It definitely showed me what was going well and what needs work.
We drove up to Squamish in the pouring rain, which was a little ominous—but I figured you can’t choose your weather on race day, so I had packed accordingly and made my peace with the conditions. Luckily, as soon as we arrived, the rain stopped. Still, the air was very cold, as was the water, and I was glad I’d brought ALL my neoprene. I wore everything: wetsuit, booties, gloves, vest, and neoprene cap. And I had no trouble staying in the water for as long as I did.
I ended up swimming 3200m and was pleased with how I felt. It was much better than I’d expected. I’ve done lots of long pool swims this year but not much in open water. I was especially pleased with the way the swim rolled off me afterwards as if I’d done nothing. That is always my goal with this portion of the race. In fact, later in the day when I was doing one of many run loops around Alice Lake, I looked over at the water and thought, oh yeah, I swam there this morning. I’d long since forgotten.
It was also great to have my son in the kayak. I was the only fool out there in that weather, so I would have felt nervous being alone.
It took us a while to sort ourselves out after the swim, having to deal with the boat, but once we got on our bikes the ride was lovely. The roads were beautiful and quiet. My son rode with me for the first 40km, but it was only after he left that I started to learn a few things.
I used to ride alone a fair bit, and it was excellent mental training for withstanding the head games of a long Ironman ride. Now I do most of my riding with a group. Three things happen in those rides. I ride slower, I have people to talk to, and we take a LONG coffee break in the middle. Yesterday I found myself struggling with the mental game and not being able to push as hard as I wanted to. This was a flat route, but there was a lot of headwind, and I ended up slower than I would have liked. Though also worth considering—while I might have forgotten the swim, maybe my body hadn’t. Rule #5 was definitely one of my mantras on this ride.
I was having some chain issues, and then just shy of 89km my derailleur hanger snapped and that was the end of my ride. At least it happened near the end, and this wasn’t an actual race. That said, I would have been close enough to the finish to carry my bike over the line, but I’m grateful I could call my son to come pick me up. I didn’t feel like hiking up a big hill in my cycling shoes.
Onto the run. I did one loop of the Four Lakes Trail and that was enough of the trails for me. I’m a huge fan of Pacific Spirit Park trails with their moderate hills, but the extreme ups and downs of traditional trail running are not my jam at all. I found that to be very hard—and hard on my body. So, as soon as I could, I got out of there. My choice—to run down toward Paradise Valley Road—was, in retrospect, not much of an improvement, because I had to come back up again. I did more elevation on the run than I did on the bike.
That said, I was pleased with my run. It was a strong effort and I felt good. Had the terrain been more like what I’m used to, it would have been fast (for me).
A few things to keep in mind for next time: I forgot to use Body Glide before I got in the water, and I paid for that with some nasty neck chafe from my wetsuit. I also forgot to wear my ear plugs and came out of the water dizzy.
Note to self: salted pasta has limited appeal. After a while on the bike, I couldn’t look at it anymore.
Final note to self: I need some mental strategies for dealing with the long quiet ride I have ahead of me. Staring at my bike computer and wondering why the average speed isn’t going up is not a productive way to spend the time. Suggestions are welcome. During Florida I tried to do math (converting miles to km’s) and because I’m bad at math it kept me occupied for quite a while. So, that will work, but it’s like salted pasta—it only goes so far.
I’m not gonna lie. I found myself questioning a few of my life choices yesterday and regretting having signed up for Chattanooga. However, it’s done. I’m going, one way or another. All I can say is thank God it’s still June. I might have to watch more of David Goggins‘ YouTube videos.
We ended the day at A&W with a much-deserved burger. Then I had a long bath, went straight to bed and slept for over eight hours. Now, to get my bike repaired and figure out the next steps on this very questionable road.
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