How to be an Ironfan: For the Athletes

This is the third of a four-part series called "How to be an Ironfan", a guide to cheering on friends at endurance events. The first post is about preparations to make before race day. The second post is about what to do on race day. This third post is for the athletes re: what they can do to help their Ironfans. And the last is for the 'Inner Circle' – people who are close to the athlete – and has next-level tips for these next-level supporters. 

How to be the best athlete to cheer for

So you've got your big race coming up. You've sent your Ironfans the posts on how to best prepare for race day and what to do on race day. Now as the athlete, there are some simple things you can do to make life easy for your Ironfans. Here are a few tips:

Dinner with the Ironfans + unofficial pre-race briefing.

Connect your Ironfans. It's highly likely that you'll have people coming to cheer for you who are from different parts of your life, they might not know each other, and they might not be staying together. Connect them beforehand: introduce them and share a little about how you know everyone. Better yet: bring everyone together for a meal and an informal pre-race briefing.

Communicate your bib number. Send it out however works for you (e.g. text message, social media, etc) along with a link to the tracking page – so that friends and family can be a part of your race even if they can't be there in person. Also, share the names and bib numbers of your training buddies so your Ironfans can spread the love. It’s a long day, and it’s more fun if there are lots of athletes to keep an eye out for and cheer on.

Tell your Ironfans what you'll be wearing. Once you decide what you're going to wear, take a photo of you in your gear and then share that with your crew, calling out any key points of visual recognition e.g. bright red helmet, blue triathlon suit! Also send them a pic of you and your bike – again, it helps with visual recognition. Knowing who to look for really matters when spectators are waiting around for a long time, and you pass by them quickly... so they don't have much time to figure out if it's you! (And there's nothing worse than waiting for a couple hours and then missing your athlete!)

Send the course maps to your Ironfans (as well as the event's official website). Then huddle with them and help them plan out their day. As the athlete, you spend a lot of time looking at the course maps and scoping out where the coffee's at, etc. So while you're at it, think about where your support crew might want to position themselves, and suggest those positions to your support crew. Also, there are often last minute updates to the course – make sure you pass these on to your cheer squad so they can reposition accordingly. And for extra brownie points, maybe even print copies of the maps for everyone. Turns out, PDF course maps aren’t the easiest to work with on mobile devices.

Share your race mantra. If you've got specific things you want to hear on course, let your Ironfans know. This is a great way to have triggering words / phrases / race mantras communicated to you at times when you really need to hear them and saying them to yourself alone doesn't do the trick.

Share your power songs. Similarly, if you've got specific music you’d love to hear on course, let your Ironfans know: what songs, and when you’d like to hear them. Sometimes a good beat is all that you need to keep moving!

Let people know how they can reach you. Tell people how available you'll be by phone / text message in the lead up to the race. I normally shut 'er down the afternoon before the big race so I can focus on my mental game. Let people know in advance that you're grateful for their messages of support and that you'll get back to them post-race.

Last of all: try not to be too much of a prima donna. Your Ironfans get that it's all about you for 24 hours and that's why they're there in support – but be a nice rockstar and you'll guarantee that they'll do it again. Say thank-you a lot and acknowledge people after the race – without the crew, it doesn't happen!

So grateful for this crew who came from Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco and Vancouver to cheer me on!

2016 Race Schedule: The Year of the Ironman

This picture was taken back in 2013. I threw this goal out there but at the time, wasn't in the life situation to support everything required to do Ironman. This year, it's on!

Ironman has always been in the back of my mind as an event that I wanted to do 'some day'. It has a pretty epic allure and as an endurance athlete I'm simply curious about exploring my body's physical limits. Beyond that, endurance sports give me a medium to test myself mentally and to practice things like dealing with setbacks, always doing my best, and giving wholeness to a process (finishing what you started). These learnings and experiences carry over into the rest of my life and make me a better person – so for me, Ironman, well... it's simply a bigger, badder test of all the above. I can't wait!

Back in 2013 when I set the goal to race an Ironman in 2014, I was a little naive about the kind of commitment in terms of time and resources that would be required to really do it. I wasn't in the life situation to be able to support it then, but I am now and 2016 is the year!

[jump to the race schedule]

Building a Training and Racing Plan

In 2014 (a triathlon-focused year) and in 2015 (a road cycling year) I self-coached and made my own annual training and racing plans. 2016 (another triathlon year) is no different. I self-coach for two reasons: 1) financial, 2) intellectual curiosity.

First: financially-speaking, triathlon as a whole can be an expensive sport by the time you add up gear expenses (e.g. bike, running shoes, wetsuit, etc), services expenses (e.g. physio, coaching, massage, nutrition), and race expenses (e.g. race fees, travel). Coaching comes in a variety of forms and when I did my research I found there were basically three options on offer:

1. High level training plan: "make me a plan based on a goal race and I'll do my best to follow it on my own" (one-time cost = $100-200)
2. Monthly training plan: "every month, write me a plan that takes into account progress achieved the previous month, working towards my goal race" (approximate cost = $50-150 per month)
3. Fully managed: you and your coach develop an annual plan that typically includes multiple races, and your training plan brings you to peak form for the top priority races. You interact with your coach frequently; workouts are continuously adjusted based on how you're handling the training load, and together you constantly optimize the plan to ensure you are getting the most from it (approximate cost = $250+ per month)

I'm digressing but I think this is useful: if you're newer to endurance sports and don't know what you don't know then the unmanaged options (1 and 2) will be great to get you going and headed in the right direction (the downside is when you go off plan... you'll have to get it reworked). If you can afford a fully-managed option I say do it no matter your level: you'll learn at an exponential rate and provided you match up with a coach you personally click with your experience of the whole process will be so much richer and rewarding.

For me, fully-managed didn't work for my budget and options 1 and 2 didn't work because of why-I-self-coach-reason-number-two: I'm intellectually curious and love to understand the 'whys' behind it all, and am willing to invest the time to learn and make my own plan (no point in paying someone else to do it). If this is you and you can make the time (let's face it: we lead busy lives and there's nothing wrong with saying "just tell me what to do"), it's an awesome route because you learn what to plan into your training and why, then you go and actually do it, and now you're in the driver's seat to make the adjustments necessary to continue improving. Being empowered to shape your own training experience like this is great for many reasons, not least because the reality is you'll probably get sick for a few days at some point, or go on a big work trip for a week or two, and now you'll be able to rework your own plan and stay on track toward your goal.

I follow the training and race planning methodologies in Joe Friel’s “Triathlete’s Training Bible”. It's a long read but a very thorough one and if you're curious about learning the ins and outs of working your way toward any distance of triathlon, I highly recommend this book. Just be prepared to spend the time to work through it. And, as with all schools of thought, take it with a grain of salt and think critically about how well this model can work for you. It's certainly not the only approach to training that exists; though what's presented in the book is pretty common in tri circles.

In my first year of triathlon (2014), I used the Triathlete's Training Bible, read tri blogs and forums online, and asked lots of questions of other, experienced triathletes. This year, I have performance goals in mind and while I've gotten better at training planning, there's no substitute for experience and so I plan to consult with a professional tri-coach once per month, as a check-and-adjust session. We'll discuss what I've done, what I'm planning to do in the next training period, and basically get an expert's reassurance that I'm not doing anything silly; and that I'm not leaving anything on the table.

Here’s how my race season is shaping up…

The Races

February 14: Pacific Road Runners First Half half-marathon; ‘C’ priority. After a long winter of training it's good to kick the tyres and see where your fitness is at. This will be my first time running the First Half, though I came out to cheer on friends last year and it looked like a blast. It's a relatively small race – about 2,000 runners or so – and there's always been a buzz about it in the endurance community as it's hard to find any local event this early in the year. Most of my triathlete friends are doing it, and I'm excited to join them. UPDATE: here's the race report. 

April 17: Sun Run 10k; ‘C’ priority. I ran Sun Run for the first time in 2014 and loved participating in what is one of the biggest 10k events in the world. This year I'm using it as a fun excuse to rev the engine and get in a good speed workout as part of training for that week. UPDATE: here's the race report.

May 29: Subaru Shawnigan Lake Triathlon, Olympic distance; ‘C’ priority. I also raced Shawnigan Lake in 2014 (it was my first solo triathlon) and loved it: great course, great community, great crowd. I want to go into Ironman 70.3 Victoria having gone through the motions of a triathlon beforehand. I could simulate this on my own, or I could do Shawni. To be determined. UPDATE May 24: I'm signed up! UPDATE: here's the race report.

June 12: Ironman 70.3 Victoria; ‘B’ priority. Victoria is my lead-in race to Ironman Canada and my second ever half-Ironman (the first was the Subaru Vancouver Triathlon in 2014). I'll be looking to put in a strong performance, and in particular, am excited about the potential for improvement in the swim and run legs. UPDATE: here's the race report.

July 24: Ironman Canada (IMC). Ironman distance; ‘A’ priority. Ooo weeeee! My first full Ironman race will be contested in beautiful Whistler, about 1.5 hours north of Vancouver. It's basically a hometown race and I'm very fortunate that I'll get to swim in Alta Lake, ride the bike course and run the marathon course beforehand. Very excited for this one! UPDATE: here's the race report.

September 5: Stanley Park Triathlon, Olympic distance; ‘C’ priority. This one's entirely for fun, because I do so much training in and around Stanley Park that I can't pass up the chance to race there. Not particularly concerned about times in this event, just stay injury-free and have a smile on my face! UPDATE: Removed from the list; focused on rehab post-IMC.

September 10: RBC GranFondo Whistler. 'C' Priority. This is a 122km road race from Vancouver to Whistler and it's such a treat to have the Sea to Sky highway all to yourself and your fellow riders. I've done it the last two years and am excited to go again! UPDATE: Removed from the list; focused on rehab post-IMC.

October 31: Noosa Triathlon Multi Sport Festival. ‘C’ priority. This one was a surprise as I got in off a waitlist! A trip to Australia is on the cards for this year and it will be awesome to race close to my family and have them come along to be a part of the festival. And it's a bit of a dream come true: I've known about the Noosa Tri since I was a kid; it's a real gem on the international triathlon circuit and I always thought it would be cool to race that 'some day'. This year's the year!

The last few months of the year will likely involve an additional Ironman (Cozumel?) and / or Ironman 70.3 race (potentially one in the 'States...). More to come! I’ll post updates here; as well, I'll add links to race reports as I write them.

Subaru Vancouver Half-Ironman: Always Wear Socks

Very important piece of race kit: the trucker hat!

The Subaru Vancouver Triathlon was my first big “A” race of the year. I’d trained for the better part of five months with this race in mind, logging about 160 hours of swimming, biking and running; training over about 20 weeks. That time also included a series of prep races, including my very first triathlon (see Shawnigan Lake Olympic post).

So it was funny when the half-Iron weekend rolled around and all things considered, I felt pretty calm about it and mostly, excited. I mean, compared to the Olympic, I only had to swim an extra 500m (we've previously established this is not yet a strong suit) and in return, I got to ride my bike more than twice as far (I love the bike!); and same for the run. I was basically thinking that I had more than double the time to make up for slowness in the water – and I was stoked about it.

We're going to break this recap down simply into wins and misses. Here goes!

Wins:

The day: just look at it!

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In terms of conditions? Can't ask for much better than this!

The swim: I didn’t want to tap out once. This is progress when compared to my experience in the water at Shawnigan. I didn’t feel stressed or panicked. I just got in the water and got ‘er done. I even enjoyed it. It was not fast: 43mins-ish. I swam breaststroke for more than 90% of it. But I felt good coming out of the water, running across the beach toward transition whilst stripping down my wetsuit and thinking about the game plan for the bike. All the right thoughts were flowing!

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Go!

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I'm the green cap, about to dive in

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Running around the lap buoy, then back in for lap two

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Where's transition again?!

The transitions: I freakin’ nailed those transitions! At Shawnigan, T1 took me 5:03 and T2 took 2:20. Experienced triathletes look at that and say “those are whole minutes of free time for the taking. Take them!". So I bought some triathlon cycling shoes, learned the flying mount and dismount, and got everything else together so the amount of time I needed to be in transition was minimized. Result? T1 time down from 5:03 to 2:01, and T2 time down from 2:20 to 1:08. So pumped!

The bike: I rode a controlled effort on the bike with the plan of feeling fresh for the run so I could clock negative-splits through the half-marathon. Plan executed. This took discipline, because I love to open it up on the bike.

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What a backdrop to race against!

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Heading out on the bike, time to get the nutrition in

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Steady and strong: on the way back to T2

Overall execution of race strategy: finished the swim feeling good, controlled the bike and set up perfectly for the run: felt fresh, fuelled and ready to fly.

Misses:

The swim: still the biggest area for improvement. My strongest swimming peer came out of the water in 25 mins! (Me: over 43 mins!) Now, he used to be a ranked, competitive college athlete. My goal is to get a 1.9k swim time under the 30 mark.

Nutrition on the bike: the exact same nutrition I had used on the bike in training on the actual race course, didn’t work exactly as planned. Race conditions are a different game: your body is in a heightened state of stress and that translated to me dry heaving on lap 1 when I tried to eat the first energy bar. At this point in the race you really want to start getting calories in the tank. But I took a break from trying to eat, let the stomach settle down and switched to liquid calories which worked well. Got the solids down later, but also subbed out an energy bar for a bottle of the on-course Gatorade and – having done the mental math to ensure I’d get in enough calories – was good for the rest of the day. This actually turned into a big win because it represented being able to successfully switch up strategies on the fly and keep going strong.

Salt on the run: I cramped the last 3k. Not badly, but if you have to slow down because the cramp is that strong, that’s not good. It was a stinking hot day, and the heat radiated down from above and up off the bright, white, crushed sandy beach path. I underestimated just how much salt I’d lose. Needed more.

SOCKS: nope, didn’t wear socks on the run. FAIL! Funny this, because it was actually a choice (I didn’t forget). I was so committed to dropping my T2 time that I decided I didn’t have time for socks. Epic. Mistake. Hot day, wet shoes, swollen feet, sand in the shoes, and no socks had me feelin’ that blister feeling at kilometre 4. The remaining kilometres were excruciating! This is evidenced by the following race photos. First two photos: Jonas heading out onto the run course. Light, bright and feelin’ mighty. Later on... Jonas on the second half of the run. Every foot placement was just… pain. I ran across the finish line, and went straight to the med-tent to get wrapped up. And my good friend Audra piggy-backed me outta there.

The run: with my feet in bad shape, I couldn’t amp up the pace to run negative splits as I’d planned. A 1:39:15 ain’t bad, but it could have been a lot better as otherwise, my body felt great and ready to turn it up.

Results:

• Swim (1.9km): 43:17
• T1: 2:01
• Bike (90km): 2:38:34
• T2: 1:08
• Run (20km): 1:39:15
• Total: 5:04:15

If I were to adjust for the shorter run and add 1.1km at average race pace (4:57/km), I'd get a run time of 1:44:27 and a total race time of 5:09:12. That's useful for future comparisons.

Overall, it was a solid second triathlon, a great first half-Ironman, and a total win from a goal-setting standpoint. My goal was to come in somewhere between five and five and a half hours and stopping the clock at 5:04:15 was a rockin’ time, even more so knowing that with some strategic tweaks (i.e. wearing socks) and skill acquisition (swimming), times in the mid- 4 hour range start to become possible. That’s exciting!

Thank-yous and shout-outs:

Extra special thank-yous go out to friends and loved ones who dragged their butts out of bed to come and cheer me on, early on a Sunday:

• Syd: my #1 fan who came back from LA just for race weekend!

• Training buddies Juliet & Greg: to Juliet who stuck around to cheer me on after having finished her race, and to Greg for yelling extra loud! I kicked a little extra every time I saw your yelling faces!

• Tim Schokking: seeing you up at the main intersection of the bike leg was something I looked forward to each out-and-back. You da bomb!

• ‘Bomber’ Kevin, Paul Cross and the VEC crew: thanks for welcoming me into the club tent even though I wasn’t yet a member (stoked to be rolling with you now!)

• All the friends who couldn’t be physically present but who sent messages of support and encouragement

• The lulu crew: the loudest, brightest, funnest looking group of cheerers ever. Special shoutout to Chrissy Abram who made it out, crotches and swollen knee be damned!

• Audra for piggy backing me back to the car after having my blisters patched up in the medical tent. You’re the best! IOU: 1x piggy back wherever and whenever you need.

• Michelle Armstrong: such a pleasant surprise to see you on what became a pretty quiet part of the bike course!

• Shout-out to all the folks from lululemon (past and present) who also competed: Juliet Korver, Colin Knudsen, Jon Carkner, Scott Van Doormaal, Laurel Richardson, Jen Cerullo, Felix del Toro, Delaney Schweitzer, Deanne Schweitzer, Eric Peterson, Cindy Bokitch. It was rad seeing you out on the course!

Lastly, thanks to Ed, Nick and the team at Mighty Riders for being so rad and helping me get my bike position nailed and bike setup just right. You guys are my secret weapon!

2014 Race Schedule: The Year of the Triathlon!

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Ragnar Relay Niagara, Ontario: one of my favourite races in 2013!

So this is the year of the triathlon. I’ve talked about making myself into a triathlete for the longest time. I’ve always loved the bike, and have become a respectable runner, but put me in a pool and I’m out for the count after 50m. This is the year that changes!

Structuring a Race Schedule

I followed the race planning ideas in Joe Friel’s “Triathlete’s Training Bible”, which basically says your races fall into three categories: ‘C’ races are done for experience, as hard workouts, as tests of progress, or simply, for fun. You train through these races and don’t ‘peak’ or rest up for them.

‘B’ races aren’t as important as ‘A’ races; you won’t build to a peak for them but you might plan to rest up for a few days beforehand. I like to think of ‘B’ races as preparing you in some specific way for your ‘A’ races.

‘A’ races are what you plan your season’s training around - they are the races most important to you in the year.

Priorities; Trade-offs and Getting Real

What made scheduling this year tough was letting go of two races that I was really attached to doing: Ironman Canada in Whistler, and a lead-up race for it, the Oliver Half. I was attached because most of my fellow triathletes were gunning for this one-two combo, and I thought it would be a ton of fun to share those specific race experiences together. That said, two big considerations were front and centre for me: race readiness and financial priorities.

First, I was concerned about my ability to get race ready for an Ironman distance swim by mid-year. I was starting from zero competency in the pool, and, having struggled with trying to acquire that skill previously, I wasn’t certain that I was going to be able to pull something magic out of the bag and be ready on time. There’s a time to be ambitious and set stretch goals, and there’s a time to get real. After a couple of starter sessions in the pool, I got very real about how much work would be required.

Second, the financial commitment of Ironman is significant, and adds up to a lot more than just the $700 registration for your ‘A’ race, by the time you factor in everything involved with getting ready for it and getting to it.

And third, I approach my races as opportunities to compete - not just participate. That’s a personal choice born out of a motivation to test my own physical limits and compare them to peers: so showing up and just getting through an event isn’t something I’m up for. When I show up, I show up to race.

So all that considered, I came around to letting go of IM Canada and the Oliver Half, and opened up to other possibilities - which turned out to be awesome.

Here’s how my race season is shaping up….

The Races

April 12: MEC 10k; ‘C’ priority. Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) has a race series that’s relatively new and really well done: they’re organized, chip-timed, and best of all, $15 a pop. Athletes talk a lot about the importance of race-day experience so I’m doing a couple of the MEC events as training races. I wanted to ‘break the seal’ on my race season early in the year, get back into the race-day mindset and this 10k was a low-stakes, easy way to do it. Also, getting that first start line under your belt early only helps build the sense of urgency and resolve around your training plan for your ‘A’ race – you’re really in it now.

April 27: Sun Run 10k; ‘C’ priority. The Vancouver Sun Run is one of the largest races in North America and this is its 30th year. I’ve wanted to run this race ever since I first visited Vancouver back in 2011 and this year is the year! See my race report here.

May 25: Subaru Shawnigan Lake Triathlon, Olympic distance; ‘B’ priority. my first solo triathlon, this is where I will go through all the motions of a full triathlon for the first time. I’m excited! People in Vancouver rave about Shawnigan Lake and I’m told the course – which is in and around the lake – is beautiful. Stoked!

June 8: MEC Half-Marathon; ‘B’ priority. Another training race, my goals for this race won’t be around speed so much as good form, comfort and confidence over half-marathon distance. Because next time, it will be after having swam 2k and ridden 90. Five weeks later will be…

July 13: Subaru Vancouver Triathlon, Half-Ironman distance; ‘A’ priority. This is the big one! What I’m structuring my training around for the first half of the year. It’s on the home turf and the course is very spectator friendly. This is going to be a wicked summer race!

September 6: RBC Granfondo Whistler; ‘B’ priority. For me this falls into the must-do-as-a-Vancouverite category. It’s an opportunity ride the Sea to Sky highway all the way up to Whistler, taking in the views with a couple thousand other cyclists. YES!

November 2: New York Marathon; ‘A’ priority. This one was a surprise. I was originally planning on doing the Malibu Marathon this year as my first ever marathon – my friend Blue Benadum puts on this race and I couldn’t imagine a better event for my first marathon. But at the beginning of the year, another friend – Sam Sykes – says “I’ve got an entry to the New York Marathon this year. Why don’t you throw your name in the lottery and maybe we could run it together?”. And the next thing I knew, I’d won a spot in the TCS New York City Marathon. New York baby!

I’ll post updates here if anything changes - it’s highly likely I might pick up another race or two!

UPDATE: I didn’t do the MEC Half-Marathon on June 8. I’d just come back from some travels, felt I was in good shape preparations-wise for the half-Iron on July 13, and decided I needed rest more than half-marathon race practice.

UPDATE: Added a race. September 1: Stanley Park Triathlon, Olympic distance; ‘B’ priority. This one’s for fun: home turf, on the ol’ stompin’ ground. YESSS!