Guelph Lake Weekend and some updates

Or, "The One in Which I Quit Triathlon and then Jumped into a Race 2 Weeks Later"

It wasn't a good off season. Not by a long shot. My motivation to train was a roller coaster of ups and downs (my last post was clearly an "up" day). I'm not sure if this was because of the time constraints of trying to fit training in alongside a new full-time physical job, the timing of group training rarely working with said schedule, or perhaps that when I was sick in the fall and couldn't train I discovered this really neat thing called spare time, and kind of liked it. Honestly probably a combination of all of these. Anyway, the end result was that triathlon training had essentially "lost its magic".

Finally, after a lot of thought and just over a week before my season-opening race, I finally made the decision to quit. I had barely done any swimming or biking for about a month or two at that point, and I really just wanted to run. It seemed so easy. And maybe if this hadn't happened a week before the season started things would be different.

Although I'd pulled out of Woodstock I still went to cheer on Billy and the rest of the LPCer's and MSC Ambassador members I'd become so friendly with. I did really like being able to watch everyone and encourage them throughout the course, but I left the day feeling like something was missing. And then I took an off day from running a couple days later to give my legs a break, and jumped on the bike instead - and really liked it. Maybe I'd made the wrong decision after all.

So, that brings me to this weekend at Guelph Lake:

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SAT: Oly relay (run segment)

Since I've been running 5-6 times a week (although mostly easy) I happily jumped into the run segment of a relay. It helped that the relay consisted of Dave Hopton, Jack Laundry and myself. Between the two of these crazy fast guys, I'd secured myself a huge lead before even starting my portion.

It was HOT. It must have been 30 degrees before taking humidity into account. I paced it relatively slowly but it still felt incredibly difficult. Not too many people passed me though, and I brought the team in at 4th fastest time overall (including individuals) and first relay team. I crossed the line tired but happy to be back into things, and immediately considered signing up for the sprint tri the following day. And then, immediately after that thought, I had to get out of the heat. The process of trying to cool off in a daze went from drinking water, to dunking water over my head, to finding shade, to the tent with fans blowing mist, and ultimately back into the lake before I could cool down and think clearly again. (With my poor sister trying to help me through the process.) And after that I was still set on doing the sprint the next day.

SUN: Sprint tri

I really didn't have time to be nervous before the race. Myself and a group of LPCer's had camped the night before on site so I slept in as long as I could before gathering my stuff and walking over to registration. And there was a HUGE line to register (nice to have all the added participation though!). By the time I got through that and put my bike into transition it was time to start warming up. So I hadn't really had time to really think about the impending race and my swim/bike fitness.

Swim - It went about how I expected it would. I ran into the water with Wave 1, found some feet and hung on for dear life. I found feet, lost feet, back and forth throughout the course but never really got too tired and it didn't feel that long. I had no idea what my place was getting back onto beloved dry land but placing wasn't a priority for this race.

Bike - Despite how hard uphills are on very minimal training, the rest of the course felt great and I managed to average over 30 kph! It is a very familiar course and it felt wonderful getting back out on my beloved TT bike and the new race disc. I was happy with how few people passed me on the course, and again wasn't really looking at how many were ahead. It was nice to see teammates Nina and Nadine not too far back though, having started 3 mins after me, and looking strong.

Run - As with Saturday, I was happy with my speed/pacing but it was a painful race in the heat. It was shorter but it was the day after doing 10k and this time after a swim and bike - so overall I think it went really well all factors considered. I lost in a sprint finish, but it was to Nadine who'd had one of her best runs yet so I couldn't be disappointed with that.

I ended up with a time that wasn't too far off what I'd been doing in previous seasons, and 12th woman overall, which was more than I would have hoped for going in. It felt so good being back in the swing of things.

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So, I normally finish off with what's next. This time I'm not entirely sure. The only things that are certain are that I plan to do more tri's this summer, but going forward maintain a strong run focus in my training with my eventual goal to break 18:00 in 5k. Goals for tri's will come, but I'm not going to force them. It's got to stay fun, because if it's not, then what's the point?

Thanks for reading this slightly different-than-normal post. I hope to keep up with more as I go through this season and into some potential big plans for 2017. And thanks to everyone close to me who's had to deal with this emotional wreck of an athlete for the last few months, believe me I've been as confused about what I want as you!

Cheers :)

Looking ahead to the 2016 season!

Well hi there! It's been a while. It's hard to believe almost half a year has gone by since the end of last season. I'm now a fully licensed physiotherapist and loving every minute of it - my days are filled with either doing physical activity or helping others get into/back into it (and sometimes both at once, depending on the treatment technique!)

The fall came with a bit of a roadblock for training - I was pretty sick for a while and cut back a lot right when I was looking forward to building back up from the post-Barrelman rest phase. 3 months of tests and specialists later, it was determined that nothing was physically wrong and it must just be stress. Which seemed like a cop-out to me - until all my symptoms magically resolved less than a week after getting my board exam results back in January... The body is weird, that's all I can say.

Mentally it's been a bit tough knowing how much training I lost out on over those few months, especially on the swim. But, strangely, I'm swimming better than ever now. (Which still isn't that great but I'm happy :P ) I didn't lose as much bike and run mileage, so I'm happy with how I'm doing there. Coming into the spring I'm putting in less hours of training overall, with a focus on intensity, and this seems to work well to keep me healthy and happy.

With the days getting longer and the warm weather starting to peek its head out, it's about time to start thinking about the upcoming season.

I'm happy to be partnering again this year with Multisport Canada/Recharge with Milk as a Pro Ambassador. It was a great opportunity last year and honestly a big part of why I started this blog up in the first place - so it's been successful in a few ways!

I am also thrilled to be continuing with my sponsorship from MainCycle in Hamilton. I can always count on them to take good care of my race bike - and now I've added a new member to the collection, lovingly put together and snazzed up by the best:

Finally, I'm so happy to be a part of the teamLPC Hurdle Project team. What a great group of fun, friendly and hard-working individuals I'm so proud to call teammates.

So far on the race roster, my tentative schedule is:

Around the Bay 5k

Toronto Sporting Life 10k

MSC Woodstock sprint

Subaru Guelph Lake 1 (club champs) Olympic or Sprint

MSC Welland long course

Toronto Triathlon Festival Olympic or Sprint

MSC K-Town long course

MSC Wasaga Olympic

MSC Barrelman Half-Iron

Stay tuned for more updates! Glad to be back :)

Cheers,

Emma

Post-race report - Multisport Canada Barrelman Half-Ironman

All season leading up to this race, I was wondering what I'd gotten myself into. I only did my first Olympic distance race a few months ago, and here I was signed up for a half-Ironman. On the plus side of this there were absolutely no expectations, my goal was simply to finish, so race morning I was significantly less nervous than I usually am. The weather turned out to be perfect. Sunny, temperature in the mid-teens and only a bit of wind. And of course the Niagara region is gorgeous, especially this time of year.

My only disappointment with race day was that it was the same day as the 35th Annual Terry Fox Run. Terry is my athletic hero and I haven't missed a Run since I started them back in elementary school. So, I did the next best thing and ran with ribbons from previous Runs - one on my race top and one in my hair. I was thrilled to see at least two other athletes wearing Terry Fox Run shirts out on the run course, too!

My dad's signature line of encouragement when I'm racing: "Do it for Terry!"

Swim
The swim was the only discipline that I'd raced this distance before, but it still felt really long. Luckily it was in a man-made canal so it was warm (almost too warm actually!) and smooth. I started in the Pro wave (why I signed up as Pro I have no idea...) so most of my wave was out of sight right off the start. Luckily the next wave started only a minute back though and once they caught me I was able to get on some feet and draft pretty much the entire way. For a bit there I couldn't swim straight, not sure why, but the way the course was set up there were small buoys every few metres so once I realized this it helped me stay in a straight line. I was actually pretty happy with my pace throughout, and I never felt overly tired - but as always I was still very relieved to get to shore and get on with the better parts of the race!

In the background is the Welland Flatwater Centre where we did the swim.

Bike
The bike portion felt great! My goal was to hold an average pace of 30kph but since I wasn't even doing my long rides at 25kph leading up to it I thought that was a long shot. As it turned out, I averaged almost 32kph. The majority of the race was a slight downhill, but also into a bit of a headwind, so I'm not sure which contributed more but effort-wise I was really happy to have been able to hold the pace I did. I also fuelled better than I had in training (although I still probably need to double my caloric intake if I want to be competitive in these things in the future!) I felt tired by the end of course, but not nearly as much as I'd expected.

We did two loops on the run, going by the Falls twice. So pretty :)

Run
I'm going to start with a disclaimer (not an excuse, a disclaimer :P ) - I've never run 21k before. Not even for an easy run. Coach Mark and I discussed beforehand that I would only do the full run if I felt pretty good, and not to push it and re-aggravate my shins. I actually started out feeling pretty good, and holding a decent pace but something I thought I might be able to hold for a while. But then I did hit a wall, as I expected to. Unfortunately that wall was at 15k, about as far out as I could have been on the course. So instead of dropping out I started walking, so I would at least finish. 500m later I got to an aid station, and realized how hungry I was (fuelling was good on the bike, but all I'd had on the run was energy drink - NOT smart). The volunteers asked what I wanted to eat: a banana, pretzels, grapes, orange slices, a gel ... and I said "one of everything!" Best food I'd ever had in my life. And amazingly, once I'd finished, I felt better and was able to run again. At a decent pace, too! After that, there were two more aid stations where I proceeded to stop and stuff my face, and then continue mostly running through the park, past the falls, and FINALLY to the finish line.

IT'S OVER!!!

Overall, I was actually very happy with my debut half-Iron. I was pleased with how I did for the majority of it, and I know what I need to do to improve on the last 6k of the run for next time. And there will definitely be a next time - I really liked this distance!

I did still get 3rd in the Pro Female division (there were only 3 of us).

Thus concludes my 2015 season! It's been fun, rewarding, and a great learning experience. I've met lots of great athletes and supporters, tried my hand at longer race distances, and I'm coming away from these last few months a little older and wiser about this wonderful, crazy sport of triathlon. Huge thank you to my family, friends, teammates and supporters; Coach Mark and Billy (whose Barrelman experience strangely almost mirrored mine - check out his blog here). Thank you so much to Multisport Canada for accepting me onto their 2015 Ambassador Team - it's been a pleasure racing  the series this year! Thank you to TeamLPC for all of your dedication and support for myself and the rest of the Hurdle Project athletes. Thank you MainCycle Hamilton for keeping my beloved bike running smoothly :P   And thanks to you, for reading!

As for what's next for me, I'm incredibly excited (and more than a little nervous!) to be starting a new job tomorrow as a Physiotherapy Resident for Eramosa Physiotherapy Associates. 3 days a week I'll be back at the very familiar Health and Performance Centre on Guelph campus, and the other 2 I'll be in downtown Guelph. And after a week or two of down time, it'll be back to the grind getting ready for the 2016 triathlon season!

Post-race report - MSC Wasaga Beach Olympic tri

Another great race put on by Multisport Canada this weekend! Wasaga Beach was my first tri 8 years ago, and always a favourite location because so many of my relatives live in the area. This year it served as Club Championships, and it was great to see so many teamLPC athletes out competing and cheering over the weekend.

SWIM
This was easily the choppiest and most difficult swim I've done in a race. I'm glad I've done a bit of training in windy Kingston so I've at least encountered rough water before, but I wasn't prepared for how difficult drafting and sighting would be when I was also trying to hold a half-decent speed at the same time. Luckily there was a pretty big group of LPC athletes swimming about the same speed, so I did catch a draft occasionally, but I'm sure I was heading in the wrong direction half the time and I was feeling pretty seasick by the end. The feeling getting to shore was similar to how I'd expect to feel finally getting to port after a long, exhausting trip out to sea.

BIKE
Thrown off by the swim and sitting further back in position than I was hoping for, I jumped on the bike and started pounding right away. A few minutes in I'd caught 2 girls but quickly realized I was going too fast and slowed down to a pace that was just comfortably uncomfortable. I think after that I was pretty consistent, a strong pace but something I could maintain, despite some uncomfortable false flats and some rough road.

RUN
After pushing the pace on the bike, my legs were feeling a bit heavy starting the run. I was very worried about starting out too fast, because that has ruined countless races in the past. The first k was right on target, 4:15, but the next few were a bit faster and by the turnaround I knew I wouldn't be able to maintain the speed the whole way. Just past the turn I saw Lauren behind me, barreling towards the halfway point looking much much stronger than I felt. I started fading right around 8k, and right about then she caught me, but luckily stayed right behind until the 500m-or-so homestretch. I tried making a move a few 100m from the finish but it was too far out, and I fell back. My dad was right there yelling "keep pushing!" and I'm pretty sure I yelled back "I can't!" (not my proudest moment...). Then, just before the finish, the small part of my brain that was still coherent quietly reminded me that the moment I crossed that line, it would be all over and I would instantly feel better. So I tried one last attempt at a full-out sprint. The result is below:

Not my worst pain-face ever. But close.

Overall I'm very happy with how the race went. I think I even handled those swim conditions okay, all things considered. Last step on the road to Barrelman, now less than 3 weeks away!

Thanks to everyone who has helped me along the way: family (so happy to have both of my parents and my Grandma there cheering me on!), friends, MainCycle Hamilton, teamLPC and the Hurdle Project, Multisport Canada/Recharge with Milk and the Ambassador team. Thanks for reading!

Post-race report - Multisport Canada Toronto Island sprint tri

Who knew you could fit an entire triathlon on a fairly small island? Granted, it was a sprint tri - which felt short after my recent adventures with long course racing - but it was still quite the feat. The bike was 2 loops and the run was 4, which made for a spectator-friendly and fun race course. Definitely one I want to do again!

"High" doesn't really relate to triathlon at all. So naturally this is the word we chose.

I came into this race feeling a bit unprepared. I'd been feeling tired and unmotivated the week leading up to the race, and the stress of waiting for the results of my physiotherapy board exam didn't help in the slightest. In the end though, a bit less training in that week gave me a bit of extra energy on race day and I ended up being very happy with my performance.

This was either right before or after Billy missed my attempted high-five. It's okay though, I'm sure all the spectators didn't notice :)

SWIM
I've been used to starting the swim in deep water, so starting shallower threw me off a bit. The start was a bit chaotic and it took a while to get into a rhythm. I never did find anyone to draft either, so I swam alone and did my best to focus on good form. My arms felt tired by the end, which is probably a sign that I'm actually using them more, which is good! In the end the swim felt about average. I wasn't overly happy with my time but I never really am in the swim.

New Rudy Project helmet! I did like that giant golf ball but this one is much more aero :)

BIKE
Rarely do I get the chance to bike with someone who is a similar speed to me - I'm usually all on my own with the occasional strong cyclist blowing by me as if I'm standing still. This time I was lucky enough that my MSC Ambassador teammate Lauren had a similar swim time and we were able to get out on the bike together and push each other. The course was very flat which felt great after all my recent training in hilly Peterborough, and I held a good pace and came into T2 in 3rd place overall right behind Lauren.

RUN
Finally!!! my run is coming back :) After almost 3 months off and a very slow and painful return to running (and a few disappointing run splits) it seems all the patience has paid off and I managed a comfortable 20:02 5k off the bike. This is great motivation to keep working on it, and hopefully pull out some solid sub-20s next season.

Overall podium - lots of MSC Ambassador representation! :)

Overall I was happy with the race, and now I'm feeling a lot more motivated going into two of my biggest races of the season: next weekend's MSC Wasaga Beach Olympic tri (also Provincial Club Championships!) and of course the MSC Barrelman half Ironman- less than a month away! Thanks so much to my family, friends and supporters: Multisport Canada/Recharge with Milk and my fellow Ambassadors, team LPC and the Hurdle Project, and MainCycle Hamilton. And thank you for reading :)

Post-race report: MSC K-Town Long Course

On Sunday I raced my first long course triathlon, at my hometown course in Kingston. I have done the K-Town Tri short course before but this year I decided to try my hand at the longer distance (the Barrelman half Ironman is now less than 2 months away!)

I think it being a very familiar course was a huge advantage, because there was nowhere on the course that I didn't know where I was and how much further I had to go. It certainly made the 3 1/2 hours a bit more bearable - even enjoyable! And it was the perfect weather for it too - very little wind, blue skies but not too hot until the very end.

Swim:

The 2k swim was certainly the most daunting of the increased distances, but when I was in the water it surprisingly didn't feel much longer than the other swims I've done this year. I caught a draft right off the start as I always try to, but recognized after a few 100m that I could go faster so passed by and ventured out of my own for a bit. I found another pair of feet about halfway through, but these feet weren't thrilled about being drafted and, after dodging a bit, the attached swimmer just stopped swimming completely and moved out of the way so I'd go by. So I was back to swimming on my own. The whole swim I could see a decent-sized lead pack way out ahead, and realized how badly I need to work on my swim over this coming winter! But I got out of this swim feeling pretty fresh, which was the most important thing for the time being.

Bike:

I'm not sure how I feel about that bike. The majority of it felt really good, I felt strong off the start for the first half, and finished feeling strong as well, but somewhere in the middle I got a fairly bad leg cramp and felt like I slowed down a lot. I wasn't being passed though, so maybe that was just that part of the course (going into a bit of a headwind - and maybe going a bit uphill? I can never actually tell these kinds of things unless they're really obvious!) Anyway, the cramp went away and I starting feeling stronger again in the last 10-15k and again this 56k course didn't feel quite as long as I expected it would.

Run:

Repeat after me: DON'T try something new for race day. Just DON'T.

... In my case this was a different, more effective type of carb-loading than the typical night-before pasta dinner. I tried increasing my carb intake significantly the two days prior to the race (including pasta lunch AND pasta dinner on Saturday!). Maybe it did help to some extent, because I didn't hit a wall or anything during the run, I just spent the entire 15k feeling very bloated and nauseous. In the end though, that forced me to start out slow, and I was able to maintain my pace and even pick it up a bit for the last 2k. I averaged 4:34/km and, when counting the two outhouse breaks, was probably closer to 4:30s, which I'm really happy with. And the best part of the run was running the last 100m with the friendly neighbourhood Pac-Man and two ghosts who looked remarkably similar to three of my Queen's Triathlon teammates - you guys are awesome!!

Overall, I'm very pleased with my first long course tri. I finished in 6th place in what turned out to be a very competitive field. There are certainly things I now know I need to work on (I didn't really need nutrition in the shorter races!) but having done the first one I now know I can do it, and it's all uphill from here (yes there's a double meaning there). 

I missed the overall podium but - slightly embarrassingly - was the only one registered as Pro rather than AG Elite. So I did get a podium pic!

Big thanks to Multisport Canada/Recharge with Milk (another race well organized and very successful!), MainCycle Hamilton, teamLPC and the Hurdle Project, and all my wonderful and supportive friends and family for all that you do. Thanks for reading! Depending on how I recover this week, my next one will either be MSC Bracebridge this coming Sunday or MSC Toronto Island three weekends later.

The Importance of a Strong Core

As a physiotherapy student, one of my goals for this blog is to pass along some general training and injury prevention tips to my followers. I’ll start with a disclaimer though – every body is different and if you ARE injured, the best thing to do is to seek advice from a healthcare provider who can assess and treat your specific concern. These tips are meant as general prevention strategies for healthy athletes wanting to avoid injury down the road.

To start, think of your body as a chain of connected parts. Everything has to be working properly in order for you to function well as a whole. Someone with knee pain may have functional knees, but tight or weak muscles in their hips. Someone else coming off a shoulder injury may suddenly have problems with their opposite shoulder from overcompensating while the injury was recovering. In keeping with this theme, one of the best places to target for injury prevention is right in the middle of the body – your core.

“Core” is not the same as “abs”. Your core is essentially the muscles stabilizing your torso – including your abdominals, back muscles and pelvic floor muscles.

http://cenkchiro.com/treatments/core-stabilization/

Generally there are two steps to strengthening muscles that aren’t used to working during a functional activity: first you isolate the muscle and strengthen it on its own, and then you add functional movements while still keeping the muscle active. Using the example of the deepest abdominal muscle, the transverse abdominis or TA:

Isolate: You’ll be able to feel the muscle just inside the front of your hip bone. Lying on your back, sink your fingers into your abdomen and start counting out loud without taking a breath. Around 10 or 15 you should start to feel a deep muscle tighten under your fingers. Once the muscle turns on, hold for a count of 10.

Add functional movement: Keeping your TA active and your torso still, slowly lift one leg off the floor at a time. Only add this step once you have had practice isolating the muscle and can keep it active during the movement. You can also activate the muscle during daily activities - even sitting at a desk at school or work - to get it used to being active.

http://themindbodymoderate.com/2010/08/09/you-are-really-getting-on-my-sciatic-nerve/

Having a stable core is very important for both performance and injury prevention. If the core muscles are weak it will take more energy to try to maintain a good posture during a key workout or big race, taking away from energy that could be used towards a better performance. As endurance athletes this is particularly important because we are asking our muscles to perform for long periods of time.

Also, having weak core muscles predisposes your body to injuries because each muscle you use for each activity has an optimal position it should be in to perform at its best - so if your core can't hold your body in a correct posture there may be unnecessary strains on your muscles that, when a movement is done over and over for the length of a triathlon (or any other endurance-type sport), may lead to an overuse injury. Aside from muscle injury, a strong core also helps to protect the bones and ligaments of the spine from unnecessary forces during activity that may cause injury as well.

Often, endurance athletes neglect strengthening exercises when they should be an important part of any training program. (Myself included - I just got back to my regular gym routine a couple weeks ago after a very busy spring. It happens!) But, if nothing else, if you devote a small portion of your training time to core work every day or every other day, it will help you perform better and prevent injuries in the long run!