Challenge Penticton 2014

I have a few habits that need work.  One is meeting deadlines (see all previous blog posts).

Another is the tendency to leave things to the last minute.  Case in point:  Challenge Penticton 2014 where I dipped under the 9-hour mark in the very last minute to go 8:59:32 and take 6^th place on the day.

That margin may have been a little bigger had we swam in wetsuits, but half an hour before the start the it was decided that for the first time in the event’s history, the Pros would be racing a non-wetsuit swim. This wasn’t a setback by any means.  I’d had some very strong swims of late, both with and without wetsuits, thanks to Laura Medcalf and her guidance in improving my stroke over the winter.  Also, my girlfriend, Tara, is a former National Team swimmer, and has brought a huge boost to my swim training this year.   Overall, I felt that I could swim well enough to improve my position at the start of the bike, despite a field that had deepened from last year.

The first clue that the swim was going right was that unlike last year, where the pack shot off towards the first buoy and I was left to enjoy a solo effort, I started out strong and was able to tuck in to a pack of 5 over the first 3^rd of the swim.  We stayed together the rest of the way, and coming out of the water I was pleased to see that most of the group were athletes who had put over a minute on me the previous year.  And while the lead group had put a solid chunk of time on the rest of us, for the most part the strong swim meant less time would be spent reeling others in on the bike.

 

After a swim-to-bike transition that dropped me from 12^th to 15^th, I set about trying to erase the 7 and ½ minutes between myself and the front group. I won’t blame the deficit for my pace at the start of the bike.  My swim and run have moved up to “solid” status, but for the moment the bike is the way in which I can affect a race.  By the end of the Mclean Creek Road segment I’d gone from 15^th to 6^th, passing Chris Bagg (who was patiently building an excellent race) for 5^th on the way to Oliver.  By Richter Pass I was in 4^th behind Jeff Symonds, Sean Bechtel and Andrew Russell.  My gap of about a minute behind Andrew stayed steady until the way back from the Cawston out and back, where he unfortunately took a wrong turn and lost some time.  I overhauled Sean for 2^nd place near the top of the Yellow Lakes climb, and would come into the 2^nd Transition 5:30 behind Jeff.  My bike split would wind up at 4:38:02, 13 minutes slower than Chris Lieto’s 4:25:26 from Ironman Canada 2005, but for sure a decent ride.

The first part of the run went very smoothly.  Too smoothly.  I was so busy focusing on not losing too much time, to Jeff in front and Andrew and Chris behind, that I let slip from my mind the fact that iron-distance is much more than just “go at them.” If you allow the field around you to distract you from monitoring your own body---which I did----you’re going to get smacked sooner of later.

Sure enough, right around the 15k mark, Andrew passed me for 2^nd, followed quickly by Chris.  At this point my body was beginning what would shortly become a full-scale rebellion, and the one-two punch of dropping from 2^nd to 4^th did not help.  I lasted until the way back up out of Okanagan Falls at the halfway, where I caught sight of Sean and a hard-charging Simon Cochrane, before the wheels truly came off.  For a few kilometers at the start of the 2^nd half of the marathon, it got to “every-second-step-sideways” ugly out there.  At one point on a hill coming out of OK Falls I remember forcing myself to shuffle, as I knew if I let myself walk, “walk” would quickly turn into “find a good napping spot on the side of the road.”

Fortunately, because I always push it on the bike in races, I’d known there was a pretty good chance that things would hit the fan on the latter part of the run, and that I’d find myself in such a condition sooner or later.  So when it eventually got nasty on the marathon, while it was by no means pleasant, it wasn’t a surprise.  Kind of empowering, even; if you accept that you’re in a hole because you dug it, then you understand that it’s you who can dig yourself out.

I don’t think I dug completely out, in fairness.  First Simon, then Sean passed me along Skaha Lake, and I couldn’t do anything about it.  But looking back, I think the biggest positive I can take from that marathon is that I didn’t let those passes blow my ego, and thus my race, to pieces.  I kept the shuffle going, taking in enough food at each aid station to get to the next one.  And slowly the beautiful Skaha Lake view became Main Street, the crowds got thicker, and the long, long home stretch came into sight.

This last part held an awesome surprise for me.  I’d put down a decent two-thirds of a race, but all of my errors made in training, preparing, and on-the-day execution, had caught up to me at kilometer 15 of the marathon and smacked me into the pavement.  Since I don’t race with a watch, I’d assumed that I’d thrown any chance of setting a personal best out of the window.  So when some friends at roadside started shouting that I was on pace to break the 9-hour mark, I couldn’t believe it.  And with 3k to go, when I last hear that I was on sub-9 pace, my perspective shifted; on a day where triumphs and mistakes seemed to cancel each other out, here was a chance to tip the scales to the good, for keeps.

I got my shuffle on and crossed the line with 30 seconds to spare.  In the finish video, you can see my upper body reaching to the right, where Tara has somehow magically appeared (she does that.  It’s awesome.), while my lower body seems determined to go left.  The whole thing was a wonderful blur of the great Steve King calling me across the line, being caught by Tara (and the volunteers rushing to help her  prop up my deadweight), and sitting in a wheelchair pouring beer (Cannery Brewing’s Triathalager---“The Official Challenge Penticton Beer!”) over my head.

The price for the errors of the day, and the last push to go sub09, was an extra 2 hours in the medical tent getting very familiar with a bowl of chicken soup.  That new PB, however, made it worthwhile.  It had affirmed that while I’ve got a lot to work on for next year, I’ve got a lot to build on, too.

And I’m looking forward to doing that building.  2015 looks to be another great year.  Tara and I are just up the road from Vernon in Kamloops now.  The River City has been a part-time training ground over the years, and it’s a pleasure to call it home now.  But for 2014, it was the support of some amazing Vernon businesses that got me to and through my races, and no season-ending recap would be complete without acknowledging them.

Bluebird Sport and Spine:  Huge thanks to Steve for keeping me on track heading into Challenge.

Endurance Healthe and Fitness:  Melissa and the training group, it was a blast doing the sessions with you guys.

Laura Medcalf Swim Coaching: Laura, I laugh when people sign on to work with you and think they’re only getting a swim coach.  They’re in for a treat, as I was.

RB Piping Inc:  Thank you Rick and Adrienne.  You opened doors for me in July and sent me into August with a ton of momentum.

Re-Cycled Accessories:  Cindy and Brock, your logo is awesome, your Accessories are more so, and the help you’ve given me this past year is awesomer still.

Save On  Foods:  Thank you for both the support and the great vibes you put out into this community, Jim!

Sun Country Cycle/Felt Bicycles:  Ricardo, you’re doing huge things for cycling in the North Okanagan, and it was fun watching it happen in 2014.

The Starting Block/Saucony/Eload:  Wendy, when I first bought shoes off you 13 years ago, I don’t think either of us had any idea where it would lead!  Thank you so much for believing in me all these years.




Thanks also to the reader for making it through this.  Hopefully I'll get posts up with semi-regularity throughout the offseason, as new developments happen with the support network and plans for 2015!  Until then, take care.

-Nathan

Better late than November.

So.  2014 race season.  Done and dusted.  I write this having just run the BMO Okanagan Marathon on Thanksgiving Sunday, and let's just say there was a good cup of Humble mixed in the Pumpkin Pie recipe this year.  The race itself is one of the finer fall marathons out there, and I highly recommend it (Save-On Foods is also a co-sponsor of the event).  It's always perfect weather for a personal best time, and excellent justification for the ensuing Thanksgiving binge.

So it's now October.  I've been a little neglectful as far as March-through-September blogging has been concerned.  With work, training, racing and moving cities, it's been a productively busy time.

The season itself was, result-wise, my best ever.  I'm still in that economic gray area between age-grouper and legitimate professional, but a bunch of amazing people came on board to help weight the scales towards the Pro end of things.  I started the year representing the Starting Block (and through them Eload Sports Nutrition and Saucony), and Breakaway Health and Fitness, and the support network just grew from there.

March saw me team up with Sun Country Cycle and Re-Cycled Accessories. Ricardo and his crew solved all of the mechanical issues I usually inflict on my bikes, helping me throw down a 56:19 bike split for 40k en route to a 2nd place finish at the UBC Triathlon that March.

In April I started racing for the local Save-On Foods.  Jim, the manager, is a constant, supportive presence in the North Okanagan community.  He spent a week camping out on the roof of his store this September to raise 2500 pounds of food for the Salvation Army's food drive.  We hit off right away, and looking back on late April it was a definite turning point in helping me realize what I could do for others in the midst of what can at times be a very selfish endeavour.  Another 2nd place at the Delta Tri and a win at the inaugural Cherry Blossom Triathlon in Kelowna capped the month.  That race, put on by former Olympians (and new parents)  Malindi Elmore and Graham Hood along with stand-up comedian James Young, is a fantastic early-season grassroots event, and despite taking place on a cold, wet day, it's debut was very well-received.

May brought a bit of lunacy, in addition to a Provincial Amateur title in duathlon.  The win was against Justin Birks, with whom I've had some good battles over the last 5 years.  Justin is making great strides on behalf of Not For Sale, an anti-human trafficking organization, in affiliation with the More than Sport program, which enables athletes extend the positive impact they make far beyond the sports world.

The weekend of May 31st/June 1st was probably the nuttiest of the year, as the Wine Capital of Canada Triathlon (Standard-Distance) and the Oliver Half-Iron were held on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.  I love doing the Outback events here in the Valley, and I'd desperately wanted to do both races.....so I did.  I won a very windy WCOC Tri on Saturday and decided to just go for broke on the bike at the Half on Sunday. It wound up working, and I went from having not won either of the races before to winning both on consecutive days.

The Oliver races also solidified my growing reputation as a threat on the bike, helped along in great part by Havoc, my B12 bike from Felt Bicycles.  I hooked up with Felt through Sun Country in May, and immediately resolved to cause a ruckus on my fantastic new steed.  As riding it gave me an overwhelming urge to "Cry 'Havoc', and let slip the dogs of war!!!" as the quote goes, the B12 earned it's name in a hurry.

The rest of June was all about getting over the cold that I picked up from the Oliver weekend (the piper always needs paying, after all), and things other than actually competing.  The highlight was my amazing girlfriend, Tara, moving up from the coast at the end of the school year the weekend of the Kal Rats Sprint Tri, which we both did.  It was a fantastic feeling to know after the race that we wouldn't have to go another few weeks without seeing each other.

The day before Kal Rats was the Paradigm Naturopathic Kids of Steel triathlon.  I'd been asked by my sponsor Cindy Garvin (of Re-Cycled Accessories), who was directing the race, to hand out medals at the finish line.  I gladly obliged, and spent an incredibly enjoyable morning kneeling lower and lower (the youngest waves started last) hanging medals on some very happy kids.  I was more than a little inspired, and received a good lesson on the importance of enjoying the sport first and foremost.  It helped make the next day, where I took my third Kal Rats win ahead of two excellent Okanagan athletes in Jake Van Allen and Justin Birks, even more enjoyable.  I then got to watch Tara finish a fantastic fourth in the women's race (it's her first year of triathlon), after she'd led everyone out of the water (myself included-----no debate on who wears the speedo in this household).

July was bite-off-more-than-you-can-chew month.  I made a last-minute decision to race long-course Nationals in Vancouver, on a course that would force me to rely on the weaker aspects of my Tri game.  I wound up getting my butt handed to me by Andrew Russell and Nathan Killam, two athletes who are much more well-rounded than I am, and taking some good notes for the remaining races of the year.

Some of those notes were applied the following weekend, as I had one of my better swims of the year and a respectable bike split to win the Peach Classic Triathlon in Penticton.  This is one of my favorite courses, in possibly the greatest triathlon town in the world.  A win there gave me a good boost in confidence heading into August.

There was also an attempt to race the Calgary 70.3, but my organization skills (or lack thereof) got the better of me.  I've heard nothing but great things about that race though, so it's definitely on the docket for next year!

One tremendous boost in mid-July was the addition to my team of RB Piping Inc.  Through their support, getting to and through races is going to be that much easier in 2015.  They've helped open some big doors for me for next year, and I couldn't have raced Nationals without them.

And finally August.  I made the mistake of allowing too great a gap between races, and it was a month from Peach Classic to the Kelowna Apple Tri in mid-August.  This was not a good thing; too long without competition and you'll find me making growling noises and chasing cars.  This was the last year I'll do the Apple/Challenge Penticton double.  I enjoy the hit-out, and the Kelowna course and atmosphere are awesome, but it may not be the best thing to do one week before an iron-distance race.  It felt great to go out with another win though, and like any other race in Kelowna:  do it if you get the chance.  And it did serve to fire me up for Challenge Penticton the next weekend!!  I'll post a recap of Challenge within the next few days, as it deserves it's own post.  There was, for sure, enough craziness in that one day to equal the rest of the season combined.


Nathan

I'll start off by saying that I consider myself unbelievably blessed to be able to do my sport, triathlon.  First and foremost among the reasons why I feel that way is the fact that due to its seasonal nature, Tri doesn't really get underway here in Canada until late May early June, and only carries on until around mid-September.  Since there isn't any racing in that time, and therefore no opportunity to do anything noteworthy.........I can usually get away for not blogging for two thirds of the year.

Not so for 2014.  Last year was a year of unexpected opportunities, ensuing accomplishments, and, most importantly, meeting a ton of new people who got behind me in a big way and who I want to give props to for their support both in 2013 and onward.  This blog will serve that purpose along with chronicling an ever improving series of race results.

 I'm a North Okanagan boy through and through, and my growing list of sponsors includes more than a few local businesses.  I got the chance to see firsthand the passion that some of these people put into their work when I was hired at the Starting Block, my longest-running (pun intended) sponsor, in April. How the people I represent go about their business is a tremendous inspiration to me, and over the next few years it will be my pleasure to give them some well-deserved exposure while I progress as an athlete.

I'll list them off for now, and do more individualized posts as the season progresses:

-The Starting Block (through which I also represent Saucony)
-Sun Country Cycle
-Breakaway Health and Fitness
-Recycled Accessories
-Eload
-Laura Medcalf (Swimming/Triathlon Coach)

 Suffice it to say that the talks I've had with the owners and representatives of these brands and stores have fired me up for the coming season!!

2013 was chaotic beyond belief, where work and other responsibilities were such that racing was my therapy throughout the year.  There were no training blocks, peaks, tapers, race strategies, nothing.  It was a shoot-from-the-hip, make-it-happen kind of year that still has me shaking my head. And while it was an incredible learning experience and I wouldn't trade that year away for anything, it will be a welcome change to go into the 2014 season with some measure of organization for once.  The 2013 results (5 wins in 7 races as an age-grouper including an Overall win at short-course Provincials in August, and 6th as a pro at Challenge Penticton) can be greatly improved upon, and I'm looking forward to putting in the work over the 2014 season to do just that.


First Tri of the year will be UBC on March 9th!  I hope to have some sponsor news up before then, but if not, race report coming soon!