As the mileage starts to increase the aches and pains increase and the chance of injury as well.
Recently I started listening to Podcasts . One podcast I am enjoying immensely is IM Talk.
They talk about everything to do with Ironman, triathlon training, racing, nutrition, and so on and so forth. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in triathlon.
One of the topics on their most recent podcast was Injury and how to not become depressed and stressed out while rehabbing. As soon as they started talking about it I knew I was nodding my head and thinking Bingo.
We all know what it is like - we start out training and then it becomes part of our life, it defines us and it is what we do. The sense of pride and accomplishment that we get after we finish that 29km run on Sunday morning. Especially as we decide to get into longer distances - marathon, Ironmans and Ultra's. Things go great and then all of the sudden boom injured.
Most of us freak out - go into denial, train a little bit more thinking it is not an injury thus really injuring ourselves.... Finally when it is painfully obvious that we are injured we starting thinking about how we get back in the game. We are like junkies - come on admit it- you start to obsess.
OMG I am losing all my fitness what am I going to do?!?!
How am I going to keep up when I get back?
What can I do for training - can I sneak in a run/ swim/ bike? Do weights - give me something....
NON-REFUNDABLE entry , I have to get back at it - I paid for the race.
Then when you are told 6 ways from Sunday that you are on the bench you start harassing your physio - can I go out now? how about Now, WHAT ABOUT NOW to the point they consider refusing you as a client.
You sit on the couch and mope, you snap at your family and friends and figure you might as well have the bowl of ice cream because it does not matter anyways. Your spouse can't bear to be around you because you are so miserable- you have officially hit rock bottom.
Well the pod cast was great it talked about all of this and said that one of the things as athletes that we can do to help is to have outside interests. So that when we are injured we have other things to do to take our mind off the training. They talked about how to find other things to build up your esteem and make you proud of yourself not just the sports. One of the speakers plays music so he said that even in the heart of training he will make sure that he takes a few hours to just play and perform his music - even if it is just for his family.
They gave examples of other things:
Playing Golf
Taking Cooking classes
Joining a Book Club
Gardening
Choir/Singing
Volunteering
They talked about making sure that we are well-rounded with other interests so that if and when an injury comes along we have other things that provide us with esteem and a sense of accomplishment. That way we can ward off the depression that comes from missing the training/races while we continue to rehab and recover.
All great thoughts and I know for me I am going to take their words to heart and try to focus on mroe than just my training.
peace out
Shaun
Monday, March 5, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
running on land and water
About 4 - okaaaaay maybe 5 weeks ago my right foot/inner heel/ankle starting hurting. I was able to keep running but it got gradually worse and started going up my calf muscle so I went to see a physio. Now before you all become judgmental I did go get it x-rayed about 3 weeks in and confirmed there was no fracture but yet it kept getting worse!?!
Hmmm - time to go see a physio I guess - see progress before I would wait till I was completely hobbled. However at the risk of suffering another lecture by my regular physio I got her to refer me to a new physio closer to work.
Well he looked at it and said nothing major but no running for a week - WHAT - no road running you can water run, ride and swim but no water running for a week. Okay - no running for a week - now he did not specify which week - rookie mistake on his part :).
I am not a total brat that was a week ago Friday so I ran the next Sunday and did not run all week on pavement. And this morning I went down and ran with the group for a 19 km"ish" run. The foot felt fantastic for the first 17 km and then sugar pop it started to ache and after the run I was pretty much favoring it badly again SUGAR POP.
Disappointing - I did all my exercises, my ice baths each night and water ran everyday I was supposed to run. BOOO :(.
Water running - I have far more experience with water running than I care to have. It has been a few years since I have to do it but I guess my running workouts will be in the water for awhile - especially after today's experience. So what is water running- quite simply it is running in water. You put on a water running belt so you will stay afloat and jump in the deep end of the water.
People are always suspicious because it seems "easy" and can be very boring. But there are many positives and there are ways to make it more enjoyable.
A lot of the top athletes in the world use water running as not only a tool for continuing to maintain fitness but also as a great way of crosstraining. The benefits are:
Now it can be a little boring but there are somethings you can do to make it not so boring.
Hmmm - time to go see a physio I guess - see progress before I would wait till I was completely hobbled. However at the risk of suffering another lecture by my regular physio I got her to refer me to a new physio closer to work.
Well he looked at it and said nothing major but no running for a week - WHAT - no road running you can water run, ride and swim but no water running for a week. Okay - no running for a week - now he did not specify which week - rookie mistake on his part :).
I am not a total brat that was a week ago Friday so I ran the next Sunday and did not run all week on pavement. And this morning I went down and ran with the group for a 19 km"ish" run. The foot felt fantastic for the first 17 km and then sugar pop it started to ache and after the run I was pretty much favoring it badly again SUGAR POP.
Disappointing - I did all my exercises, my ice baths each night and water ran everyday I was supposed to run. BOOO :(.
Water running - I have far more experience with water running than I care to have. It has been a few years since I have to do it but I guess my running workouts will be in the water for awhile - especially after today's experience. So what is water running- quite simply it is running in water. You put on a water running belt so you will stay afloat and jump in the deep end of the water.
People are always suspicious because it seems "easy" and can be very boring. But there are many positives and there are ways to make it more enjoyable.
A lot of the top athletes in the world use water running as not only a tool for continuing to maintain fitness but also as a great way of crosstraining. The benefits are:
- It takes the pounding off your joints and injuries while allowing you to still run
- You can work on your form.
- The resistance of the water allows for strength training at the same time
- You can maintain your fitness level while you are healing
- It can rejuvenate you and be a change for those times when you are really achy by being in the refreshing water.
Now it can be a little boring but there are somethings you can do to make it not so boring.
- Go with friends. Time will
pass more quickly when you have company.
- Take the tunes - there are now cases available to put your ipods in or there are even mp3 players for the water.
- Run for time. Commit to spend as much time in the water as you'd spend on a
normal run.
- Do regular running workouts. Vary the pace, the tempo, the length of time.
Simulate a favorite running workout. Some type of fartlek workout, whereby
you're constantly changing speeds, works best.
- Play games. Follow the leader is fun. Or bring a tennis ball, beachball, or football and pass it around as you run.
So while I am not thrilled with that I will be going back to the pool for at least another week I am not freaking out because I know I am maintaining my training and my fitness. Plus since I am at the pool at least 3 x a week for my swim workouts so I just put on the best after the swim workout so hey I am getting a brick workout in as well.
Peace out peeps
Shaun
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The Never-ending Debate
I love being active. I love all sports - team and individual - with the exception of downhill skiing. Seriously - what is up with that death sport?!? I am originally a flat lander and any time I have tried to careen down a mountain on 2 teensy pieces of wood attached to my feet bad things have happened. After being taken from a local bunnyhill on a stretcher I called uncle and decided to just be good at apres Ski. But I digress...
Back to my pontificating about how much I love sports with the big 3 obviously being: running, swimming and riding. I love registering for races and going out to train most of the time....
Oh come on - that's right I will say it out loud - sometimes I don't want to! (insert collective gasp) And that is where the great debate comes in. The internal discussion that starts first thing in the morning and goes on all day back and forth, back and forth. Until finally you decide to go or not - in my case it is usually a go. I started thinking what are some things that you use to motivate yourself out the door.
I mean truthfully you know your schedule says 8 km run but you look outside and it pouring out and then you get on the bus to go home and watch it start to rain harder and that is when it starts:
Then there are the times - I need to do a ride yep need to do a ride but I don't want to (insert whiny tone):
So things that I do to motivate myself:
I have some key mantras that I pull out -for weather issues that would keep others inside I think about what coach Larry used to say to us - Do when others don't and you will be able to when others won't. Believe me when it is dark and cold and pouring rain and you are doing hill repeats on your bike in January and thinking WTF?!? you will see the results in June when the sky does open half way through your race and you watch people pull out of the race - I have seen this happen - no biggy because I have been here many times before.
another one is - I never regret doing a workout - I alway regret not. Enough said.
I train with friends - if I have made plans with someone to meet them for a workout then I know I have to be there because they will be. This works - believe me there have been times when I have met Jude or Pam or Special K and said the only reason I am here is because I knew you would be here waiting. So make plans with someone.
Incorporate your workouts into your life so it is not really a workout. What does that mean - for instance I have a border Collie he needs to be taken out after work and I may have to pick up something from the post-office. So I will leash him, grab my pick-up card for the package, throw a knapsack on, put on my runners and jog to the post-office and back. Multi-tasking 101. Another thing I do is I try to ride to/from work. Instead of being stuck in a car or on a bus I ride to work - it takes about the same time and now I don't have to figure out how to get the workout in before or after work. It is just part of my day.
Stay humble and remember my one and only "DNF" (failure to complete in regulation time) - and realize the only reason it happened was because I got cocky and skipped workouts with lame excuses - I lost the debate too many times and paid the price on race day. I never want those letters behind my name again because I did not do my training.
Those are a few things I do to keep myself motivated when I start to have the internal debate.
Having said all that - listen to your body. If you are exceptionally sore or tired then take the break. Talk to your coach and friends, keep a journal to monitor yourself, it is a good way to take a step back and see if possibly you have been training too hard. Finally if the weather is really bad and it becomes a safety issue then change the workout and take it inside. Better safe than sorry.
For myself right now - today's workouts will happen because I am meeting Jude and together we can motivate each other to do our hill repeats on the bike.
Peace out
Shaun
Back to my pontificating about how much I love sports with the big 3 obviously being: running, swimming and riding. I love registering for races and going out to train most of the time....
Oh come on - that's right I will say it out loud - sometimes I don't want to! (insert collective gasp) And that is where the great debate comes in. The internal discussion that starts first thing in the morning and goes on all day back and forth, back and forth. Until finally you decide to go or not - in my case it is usually a go. I started thinking what are some things that you use to motivate yourself out the door.
I mean truthfully you know your schedule says 8 km run but you look outside and it pouring out and then you get on the bus to go home and watch it start to rain harder and that is when it starts:
- I think might be catching a cold - yep I am pretty sure I am catching a cold! I probably should not run.
- But I can't miss a training run!
- What would the reasonable person do - I mean seriously I go out I run and then I catch pneumonia - coach woudl be like you should not have run.
- But do I really have a cold? Or I am just being a wuss cuz then coach would say -you're not sugar you won't melt!
Then there are the times - I need to do a ride yep need to do a ride but I don't want to (insert whiny tone):
- Is that a twinge in my knee? Sure feels like a twinge- best not to ride
- But if I don't do the ride then on the weekend group ride I will get dropped because I am out of shape
- But if I ride and it is a twinge I could make it worse
So things that I do to motivate myself:
I have some key mantras that I pull out -for weather issues that would keep others inside I think about what coach Larry used to say to us - Do when others don't and you will be able to when others won't. Believe me when it is dark and cold and pouring rain and you are doing hill repeats on your bike in January and thinking WTF?!? you will see the results in June when the sky does open half way through your race and you watch people pull out of the race - I have seen this happen - no biggy because I have been here many times before.
another one is - I never regret doing a workout - I alway regret not. Enough said.
I train with friends - if I have made plans with someone to meet them for a workout then I know I have to be there because they will be. This works - believe me there have been times when I have met Jude or Pam or Special K and said the only reason I am here is because I knew you would be here waiting. So make plans with someone.
Incorporate your workouts into your life so it is not really a workout. What does that mean - for instance I have a border Collie he needs to be taken out after work and I may have to pick up something from the post-office. So I will leash him, grab my pick-up card for the package, throw a knapsack on, put on my runners and jog to the post-office and back. Multi-tasking 101. Another thing I do is I try to ride to/from work. Instead of being stuck in a car or on a bus I ride to work - it takes about the same time and now I don't have to figure out how to get the workout in before or after work. It is just part of my day.
Stay humble and remember my one and only "DNF" (failure to complete in regulation time) - and realize the only reason it happened was because I got cocky and skipped workouts with lame excuses - I lost the debate too many times and paid the price on race day. I never want those letters behind my name again because I did not do my training.
Those are a few things I do to keep myself motivated when I start to have the internal debate.
Having said all that - listen to your body. If you are exceptionally sore or tired then take the break. Talk to your coach and friends, keep a journal to monitor yourself, it is a good way to take a step back and see if possibly you have been training too hard. Finally if the weather is really bad and it becomes a safety issue then change the workout and take it inside. Better safe than sorry.
For myself right now - today's workouts will happen because I am meeting Jude and together we can motivate each other to do our hill repeats on the bike.
Peace out
Shaun
Monday, January 9, 2012
HOW BAD CAN IT BE? God I have missed that feeling.
So the last couple of years, I guess really after Ironman, I have kind of felt like I am just going through the motions.
Register for a race, train for a race, do a race. Repeat. I have not really been excited it just has been an ends to a means. I mean I have been excited about the locations but the actual distance or type of race - not really.
That : wow how do I go about doing this, holy crap am I seriously thinking about doing this, I feel kind of sick, seriously HOW BAD CAN IT BE feeling. It just has not been there.
Well it is back and it feels awesome! I feel anxious, a little worried and excited all at the same time. You ask - what is it, what is it?
Background first - my very first running Coach - Louise. . She was so inspiring and really touched me and helped develop my passion for running. She was/is an amazing athlete and her passion for running was contagious. She really cared about us and encouraged us no matter how fast or slow and well when I lead clinics I really try to emulate her. Louise was also a big trail runner and loved ultra's. Her stories of her adventures doing Ultra's always amazed me. One race that intrigued me and I have talked about lots is the Canada Death Race - this year it looked like I might finally do it but alas financially it is just not fiscally smart. With Joe going to do the Trans Alps it just did not seem feasible.
Then I started thinking about Stormy. This is a 50 mile trail race in the back country behind Squamish. A few years ago 2 friends of mine did it and I put in a relay team to run with them and support them. I always maintained that one day I would like to try and do it solo.
Stormy however is no more but after contacting the old race director I have learned there is a new race/course - The Squamish 50. I logged on to the site and honest to god my heart started to do a little skip, my nerves started and my stomach felt a little queasy. OMG - I think I want to do this race. Really want to do this race. So much that I have not stopped thinking about it. I have already began working on the gang to recruit either peeps to do the whole thing with me or at least put in a relay team to run with me.
I have contacted Louise and my old trail coach Tom to ask for advice on training plans/distances and any other advice they can give. Judith has agreed to go out to Squamish so we can train on the trails.
The only person I have not mentioned it to is JOE.... I was thinking of saying - "Good news I am not going to do the Canadian Death Race! "- He keeps telling me I am not allowed to... - Then I can say I am going to do the Squamish 50 - YEAH!!! That should go over well - I mean I am giving him something he wants, right?
The trick is to make sure I have all my ducks in a row - my training plan laid out and yada, yada. He will still stress about me doing it and probably tell me I can't - which we all know is like waving a red flag in front of me - I mean look how well it worked for Ironman - bahaha.
Okay- WOW- I think I am really going to do this - EEEEEEEEEKKKKK. Seriously though - How bad can it be?
Peace out
Shaun
Register for a race, train for a race, do a race. Repeat. I have not really been excited it just has been an ends to a means. I mean I have been excited about the locations but the actual distance or type of race - not really.
That : wow how do I go about doing this, holy crap am I seriously thinking about doing this, I feel kind of sick, seriously HOW BAD CAN IT BE feeling. It just has not been there.
Well it is back and it feels awesome! I feel anxious, a little worried and excited all at the same time. You ask - what is it, what is it?
Background first - my very first running Coach - Louise. . She was so inspiring and really touched me and helped develop my passion for running. She was/is an amazing athlete and her passion for running was contagious. She really cared about us and encouraged us no matter how fast or slow and well when I lead clinics I really try to emulate her. Louise was also a big trail runner and loved ultra's. Her stories of her adventures doing Ultra's always amazed me. One race that intrigued me and I have talked about lots is the Canada Death Race - this year it looked like I might finally do it but alas financially it is just not fiscally smart. With Joe going to do the Trans Alps it just did not seem feasible.
Then I started thinking about Stormy. This is a 50 mile trail race in the back country behind Squamish. A few years ago 2 friends of mine did it and I put in a relay team to run with them and support them. I always maintained that one day I would like to try and do it solo.
Stormy however is no more but after contacting the old race director I have learned there is a new race/course - The Squamish 50. I logged on to the site and honest to god my heart started to do a little skip, my nerves started and my stomach felt a little queasy. OMG - I think I want to do this race. Really want to do this race. So much that I have not stopped thinking about it. I have already began working on the gang to recruit either peeps to do the whole thing with me or at least put in a relay team to run with me.
I have contacted Louise and my old trail coach Tom to ask for advice on training plans/distances and any other advice they can give. Judith has agreed to go out to Squamish so we can train on the trails.
The only person I have not mentioned it to is JOE.... I was thinking of saying - "Good news I am not going to do the Canadian Death Race! "- He keeps telling me I am not allowed to... - Then I can say I am going to do the Squamish 50 - YEAH!!! That should go over well - I mean I am giving him something he wants, right?
The trick is to make sure I have all my ducks in a row - my training plan laid out and yada, yada. He will still stress about me doing it and probably tell me I can't - which we all know is like waving a red flag in front of me - I mean look how well it worked for Ironman - bahaha.
Okay- WOW- I think I am really going to do this - EEEEEEEEEKKKKK. Seriously though - How bad can it be?
Peace out
Shaun
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Happy new year
Happy New Year!
Since Vegas I have been taking it easy - still running , but no cycling or swimming and way too much turkey among other things and well I can feel and see it. My clothes are a little snugger around the middle than they have been in a long time.
Not to worry though I have registered for some races as I find that is always a good way to motivate me to stay true to my workouts.
Vancovuer BMO Full Marathon - yep I know I said I would never do this one again because I had done it a few times and it was old news but this year they have changed the course. Now this was not enough to convince me because I am not a big fan of running on the seawall due to the canter but Judith decided that since the start line was a 6 min jog from her front door it was time to run her first full. Sounds wierd when she has walked one and done 2 Ironman's but yep it is true this will be her first time running a full marathon. So with the new course, me not leading any clinics, and Judith wanting a training buddy I thought why not? So that is bought and paid for.
Joe and I have also registered for the Oliver Half Ironman again - I know we have both done it many times over now but it is a great course, great organization and it fits well in our schedule so why not? Plus it is like a mini holiday for us since we head up a few days before and usually stay a day or so after.
Then Joe and his dad are registered to race the Trans-Alps race in Europe this summer - it is an 8-day mountain bike race through Germany and Italy - I think. Either way it should be a great way for them to celebrate Joe Sr's 70th birthday. Yep I wrote down 70th. I just hope I am as active at that age.
Other things for the year - was hoping to do the Death Race as part of a relay team but with the cost of getting Joe over to Europe and such it just does not look like I can swing it. BIG BOOOOOOOOO:( This has been on my bucket list for a long time and looked like it might actually happen this year but everything has its time - next year!
Thinking of signing on for the Axel Merkx Penticton Gran Fondo - heard the course is challenging but good and it will give me something to do while Joe is riding the Alps - maybe not as impressive but I don't ride mountain bikes so this will suffice for me. (Plus I looked at the Alps course and there are some pretty sketchy parts).
Last but not least need to think about my fall race - Portland maybe? Maybe a Canadian city? Toronto - I have been there but never really investigated the city since it has always been for work...... Again though with 2013 being Goofy and Ironman year we will have to watch our pennies to make it all happen.
Resolutions - try to be more patient; not have such high expectations of others; smile more; be more positive and train smarter.
Here is to a fantastic 2012 - lets start making memories.
Peace out
Shaun
Since Vegas I have been taking it easy - still running , but no cycling or swimming and way too much turkey among other things and well I can feel and see it. My clothes are a little snugger around the middle than they have been in a long time.
Not to worry though I have registered for some races as I find that is always a good way to motivate me to stay true to my workouts.
Vancovuer BMO Full Marathon - yep I know I said I would never do this one again because I had done it a few times and it was old news but this year they have changed the course. Now this was not enough to convince me because I am not a big fan of running on the seawall due to the canter but Judith decided that since the start line was a 6 min jog from her front door it was time to run her first full. Sounds wierd when she has walked one and done 2 Ironman's but yep it is true this will be her first time running a full marathon. So with the new course, me not leading any clinics, and Judith wanting a training buddy I thought why not? So that is bought and paid for.
Joe and I have also registered for the Oliver Half Ironman again - I know we have both done it many times over now but it is a great course, great organization and it fits well in our schedule so why not? Plus it is like a mini holiday for us since we head up a few days before and usually stay a day or so after.
Then Joe and his dad are registered to race the Trans-Alps race in Europe this summer - it is an 8-day mountain bike race through Germany and Italy - I think. Either way it should be a great way for them to celebrate Joe Sr's 70th birthday. Yep I wrote down 70th. I just hope I am as active at that age.
Other things for the year - was hoping to do the Death Race as part of a relay team but with the cost of getting Joe over to Europe and such it just does not look like I can swing it. BIG BOOOOOOOOO:( This has been on my bucket list for a long time and looked like it might actually happen this year but everything has its time - next year!
Thinking of signing on for the Axel Merkx Penticton Gran Fondo - heard the course is challenging but good and it will give me something to do while Joe is riding the Alps - maybe not as impressive but I don't ride mountain bikes so this will suffice for me. (Plus I looked at the Alps course and there are some pretty sketchy parts).
Last but not least need to think about my fall race - Portland maybe? Maybe a Canadian city? Toronto - I have been there but never really investigated the city since it has always been for work...... Again though with 2013 being Goofy and Ironman year we will have to watch our pennies to make it all happen.
Resolutions - try to be more patient; not have such high expectations of others; smile more; be more positive and train smarter.
Here is to a fantastic 2012 - lets start making memories.
Peace out
Shaun
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Anatomy on how NOT to run a major Race
It is just over 2 weeks since June bug, Pam and I went to Vegas to do the Vegas Rock'n'Roll Half marathon. I have run lots of marathons, half marathon, and triathlons and I can honestly say I will NOT run this race ever again and it will take some serious convincing for me to even consider ever doing another Rock'n'Roll event again.
I was super excited about this race as I have heard good things from friends about the Rock'n'Roll races and this would be my first one. I expected a class act - I mean if you run dozens of races across the states and world you figure you got it down to a fine art- right?
This is the first time they would be running the race at night but the race had been there for at least 6 years since I had friends who ran it in 2005. Besides the change to night they had increased registration to 44,000 but I was not concerned - Dublin was 27,000 and it worked out well and New York was 57,000 so I did not see that that would be a problem.
We headed out to the startline at Mandalay bay around 2:30 since we were not sure how long it would take to get there by the Monorail since the strip was closed so no taxis. The trip out was not bad we got there around 3:30.
PROBLEM 1 - no signage - Arriving at the hotel should have been our first inkling - no signage about where the start line actually was, where bag check was, or where our chutes were. We were not too concerned since we had lots of time we decided we would just chill out for a while and then figure out bag check. When we went to check our bags a porter approached us and offered to take them - we had seen others do it and thought sure. I thought it was wierd that he gave us baggage claim tickets but he assured us several times that they would be delivering the bags downstairs to the baggage check for us. So we thought great and we started to follow the herd to the start chutes.
When registering we were asked our approximate finish time and then our bib numbers were given to us based on our finish times and those were the chutes we would be in. We were all in different chutes - June and I were only 2 apart but Pam was quite a few back from us. In hindsight we should have all just gone to June's chute and started together.
PROBLEM #2 - no-one manning the chutes so basically people were just going into whatever chute they felt like. To put it in perspective my number was 16306, I was in Chute 16 as I predicted a finish time of 2:10. I was standing beside people with numbers as high as 37000 - finish time of 3+hours. Plain language there were a lot of runners - or lets identify them correctly - walkers in the front chutes so when actually running you could never get a rhythm because you would hit walls of walkers or much slower runners and have to manouver around them.
PROBLEM #3 - headphones/Ipods. I would estimate about 75 - 80% of the field were wearing headphones. First it is the Rock'n'Roll half that means, at least theoretically, that there are bands along the route - why do you need music? Second - you can't hear anything and are now a hazard and part of the problem as you zone out to your "tunes" and can't hear others say excuse me, excuse me or curb, or on your left etc, etc.. My favorite the walkers sharing a earphones- 2 thumbs up.
So back to the race after we finally got started running I quickly tossed out my time goal as I realized that the congestion on the course was going to make it virtually impossible for me to get to my pace let alone maintain it. I was okay with that though since it is more about the adventure and experience than the time.
PROBLEM #4 - AGAIN NO SIGNAGE on the course?!?! Do these people hate signs? Is there a sign by-law - help me to understand this. Signs to identify water stations would be nice - I saw people almost run into the tables because all of the sudden the water tables were there... Signs to identify direction on the course (half vs full course), signs to advise of porta-potties, to advise of corners coming up. Oh wait they had these itsy bitsy signs at knee height stuck into the top of a orange cone that said half/full but I am pretty sure most people did not see them. NOTE - placing people on bikes riding in the middle of 44,000 runners yelling marathon left, half right does not help with congestion either.
PROBLEM #5 - water - This happens at lots of races but if you do not have enough water it is NOT acceptable to take a garbage can, run a hose in it and then tell people to dunk their water bottles in it to fill. The health code violations alone.... I did not need to do that thankfully since I carry my own.
I did like the few bands they had out and running on the strip was super cool. The actual course is a great one, you get to see the strip, freemont street and such. While it was frustrating trying to run the course I felt pretty good about it and was happy to finish. The last 19km I started getting some stomach cramps but was not too concerned.
The finish line was okay it was a little hard someone to get the medal and then they were stopping people for photos but eh what are you going to do. So off for the food.
Post Race Food - the volunteers in an effort to keep up were just grabbing boxes and dumping stuff on to the tables where it would promptly roll off and land on the ground. Craziness - I was able to grab a bagel and a water and kept following the herd to the hotel. My stomach continued to act up and so I headed off to the biffy and that seemed to help. I found June inside and settled into wait for Pam not sure how long she would be. About 15 min later Pam was there and Yep it was off to go to grab our bags and celebrate. We headed off to bag check and quickly found out that our bags were not there and that we would have to go the front of the hotel and find a porter to give our claim ticket to. Sigh
This is where it went from bad to worse - we started to head to the lobby/ front of the hotel to only find ourselves literaly in a people traffic jam of thousands of people not moving more than an inch at a time if that. I am not sure how a fire marshall did not come in there and shut the hotel down - between all the runners, the cowboys there for Cowboy Christmas, the people there to see the Michael Jackson Show and just the regular guests it was insane and there was no way out. They are so lucky there was no emergency because people would have been trampled.
It was about this time that I went downhill - my stomach cramps turned to nausea and I started to feel faint, Pam says I went white and I started to get super cold. This was a blessing in disguise for us because people moved for us so I could get to a bathroom where I promptly got sick. June headed off to get our bags and I came out and sat in a corner shaking. I was so cold and apparently very pale. WTF We stayed there for about 10 min until I started to feel a bit better and then tried to get out of dodge.
We figured taxi back since all the cabs should be at the hotel since there were none on the strip. Wrong - after waiting 30 min and not moving we asked and they told us 45min - 1 hour wait. Shuttle bus then - Wrong - no-one could find where the shuttle buses were. Okay Monorail it is then - Wrong again - over an hour wait for that. So we walked - all the way back along the strip to our hotel at the other end.
We got back to the hotel just before midnight, I had a bath and went to bed while Pam and June went to find some food as we still had not eaten since 10am. Not quite the celebration and experience we had planned.
I have some suggestions since it annoys me when people bitch and point out the flaws but don't provide any solutions or input on possible ways to improve. So here are my suggestions:
1.) They want to increase registration to 60,000 for next year - DON'T DO IT - figure out 40,000 first. Or better yet go back to 24,000 - you were able to handle that. Make it a lottery system to get it, charge people to be in the lottery - they get in - $ goes to reg fee, they don't get in - ah well better luck next time. That is what NY does. This will make it exclusive. Trust me go back to 24, 000.
2.) Signage - signs are your friends - they let people know things ie: mileage, water stations, bag check AND help with crowd movement.
3.) More Volunteers - I don't know what you do for your volunteers but do more -(ie offer volunteers a guaranteed entry into the next year's race) - they are diamonds treat them as such. There should be volunteers at each start chute to keep the runners/walkers honest otherwise why bother with the chutes.
4.) More water - no explanation needed.
5.) Post race nutrition - bag it. Put one of each item in a bag and hand it to the runners as they move towards the bag check/exit/beer gardens. New York does this and it works well. They give you your medal and then hand you your post race bag and move you along. towards bag check where bang you get your bag and then they spit you out finish area.
6.) Headphones - sorry I don't know what to tell you - people will do what they want no matter what so I guess it is just something I will have to get over.
So there are my suggestions. Again I like the course but the organization of the actual race and post race experience was horrible and it would take a lot to get me to do this one or for that matter any Rock'n'Roll race again.
Peace out Shaun
I was super excited about this race as I have heard good things from friends about the Rock'n'Roll races and this would be my first one. I expected a class act - I mean if you run dozens of races across the states and world you figure you got it down to a fine art- right?
This is the first time they would be running the race at night but the race had been there for at least 6 years since I had friends who ran it in 2005. Besides the change to night they had increased registration to 44,000 but I was not concerned - Dublin was 27,000 and it worked out well and New York was 57,000 so I did not see that that would be a problem.
We headed out to the startline at Mandalay bay around 2:30 since we were not sure how long it would take to get there by the Monorail since the strip was closed so no taxis. The trip out was not bad we got there around 3:30.
PROBLEM 1 - no signage - Arriving at the hotel should have been our first inkling - no signage about where the start line actually was, where bag check was, or where our chutes were. We were not too concerned since we had lots of time we decided we would just chill out for a while and then figure out bag check. When we went to check our bags a porter approached us and offered to take them - we had seen others do it and thought sure. I thought it was wierd that he gave us baggage claim tickets but he assured us several times that they would be delivering the bags downstairs to the baggage check for us. So we thought great and we started to follow the herd to the start chutes.
When registering we were asked our approximate finish time and then our bib numbers were given to us based on our finish times and those were the chutes we would be in. We were all in different chutes - June and I were only 2 apart but Pam was quite a few back from us. In hindsight we should have all just gone to June's chute and started together.
PROBLEM #2 - no-one manning the chutes so basically people were just going into whatever chute they felt like. To put it in perspective my number was 16306, I was in Chute 16 as I predicted a finish time of 2:10. I was standing beside people with numbers as high as 37000 - finish time of 3+hours. Plain language there were a lot of runners - or lets identify them correctly - walkers in the front chutes so when actually running you could never get a rhythm because you would hit walls of walkers or much slower runners and have to manouver around them.
PROBLEM #3 - headphones/Ipods. I would estimate about 75 - 80% of the field were wearing headphones. First it is the Rock'n'Roll half that means, at least theoretically, that there are bands along the route - why do you need music? Second - you can't hear anything and are now a hazard and part of the problem as you zone out to your "tunes" and can't hear others say excuse me, excuse me or curb, or on your left etc, etc.. My favorite the walkers sharing a earphones- 2 thumbs up.
So back to the race after we finally got started running I quickly tossed out my time goal as I realized that the congestion on the course was going to make it virtually impossible for me to get to my pace let alone maintain it. I was okay with that though since it is more about the adventure and experience than the time.
PROBLEM #4 - AGAIN NO SIGNAGE on the course?!?! Do these people hate signs? Is there a sign by-law - help me to understand this. Signs to identify water stations would be nice - I saw people almost run into the tables because all of the sudden the water tables were there... Signs to identify direction on the course (half vs full course), signs to advise of porta-potties, to advise of corners coming up. Oh wait they had these itsy bitsy signs at knee height stuck into the top of a orange cone that said half/full but I am pretty sure most people did not see them. NOTE - placing people on bikes riding in the middle of 44,000 runners yelling marathon left, half right does not help with congestion either.
PROBLEM #5 - water - This happens at lots of races but if you do not have enough water it is NOT acceptable to take a garbage can, run a hose in it and then tell people to dunk their water bottles in it to fill. The health code violations alone.... I did not need to do that thankfully since I carry my own.
I did like the few bands they had out and running on the strip was super cool. The actual course is a great one, you get to see the strip, freemont street and such. While it was frustrating trying to run the course I felt pretty good about it and was happy to finish. The last 19km I started getting some stomach cramps but was not too concerned.
The finish line was okay it was a little hard someone to get the medal and then they were stopping people for photos but eh what are you going to do. So off for the food.
Post Race Food - the volunteers in an effort to keep up were just grabbing boxes and dumping stuff on to the tables where it would promptly roll off and land on the ground. Craziness - I was able to grab a bagel and a water and kept following the herd to the hotel. My stomach continued to act up and so I headed off to the biffy and that seemed to help. I found June inside and settled into wait for Pam not sure how long she would be. About 15 min later Pam was there and Yep it was off to go to grab our bags and celebrate. We headed off to bag check and quickly found out that our bags were not there and that we would have to go the front of the hotel and find a porter to give our claim ticket to. Sigh
This is where it went from bad to worse - we started to head to the lobby/ front of the hotel to only find ourselves literaly in a people traffic jam of thousands of people not moving more than an inch at a time if that. I am not sure how a fire marshall did not come in there and shut the hotel down - between all the runners, the cowboys there for Cowboy Christmas, the people there to see the Michael Jackson Show and just the regular guests it was insane and there was no way out. They are so lucky there was no emergency because people would have been trampled.
It was about this time that I went downhill - my stomach cramps turned to nausea and I started to feel faint, Pam says I went white and I started to get super cold. This was a blessing in disguise for us because people moved for us so I could get to a bathroom where I promptly got sick. June headed off to get our bags and I came out and sat in a corner shaking. I was so cold and apparently very pale. WTF We stayed there for about 10 min until I started to feel a bit better and then tried to get out of dodge.
We figured taxi back since all the cabs should be at the hotel since there were none on the strip. Wrong - after waiting 30 min and not moving we asked and they told us 45min - 1 hour wait. Shuttle bus then - Wrong - no-one could find where the shuttle buses were. Okay Monorail it is then - Wrong again - over an hour wait for that. So we walked - all the way back along the strip to our hotel at the other end.
We got back to the hotel just before midnight, I had a bath and went to bed while Pam and June went to find some food as we still had not eaten since 10am. Not quite the celebration and experience we had planned.
I have some suggestions since it annoys me when people bitch and point out the flaws but don't provide any solutions or input on possible ways to improve. So here are my suggestions:
1.) They want to increase registration to 60,000 for next year - DON'T DO IT - figure out 40,000 first. Or better yet go back to 24,000 - you were able to handle that. Make it a lottery system to get it, charge people to be in the lottery - they get in - $ goes to reg fee, they don't get in - ah well better luck next time. That is what NY does. This will make it exclusive. Trust me go back to 24, 000.
2.) Signage - signs are your friends - they let people know things ie: mileage, water stations, bag check AND help with crowd movement.
3.) More Volunteers - I don't know what you do for your volunteers but do more -(ie offer volunteers a guaranteed entry into the next year's race) - they are diamonds treat them as such. There should be volunteers at each start chute to keep the runners/walkers honest otherwise why bother with the chutes.
4.) More water - no explanation needed.
5.) Post race nutrition - bag it. Put one of each item in a bag and hand it to the runners as they move towards the bag check/exit/beer gardens. New York does this and it works well. They give you your medal and then hand you your post race bag and move you along. towards bag check where bang you get your bag and then they spit you out finish area.
6.) Headphones - sorry I don't know what to tell you - people will do what they want no matter what so I guess it is just something I will have to get over.
So there are my suggestions. Again I like the course but the organization of the actual race and post race experience was horrible and it would take a lot to get me to do this one or for that matter any Rock'n'Roll race again.
Peace out Shaun
Friday, October 28, 2011
gran disappointment
over a month ago was the Whistler Gran Fondo - this was my "A" event for the year.
As the title of this post says it was a big disappointment to say the least.
The expectations by all were high - I had been rocking all the training rides. I was strong - I was back to pre-accident form if not better. I was at the front of the hills - I was holding on strong to the super fast group. I could hold my own and I was dropping peeps on hills again - this was going to be awesome I was going to break 5 hours and 4.5 hours was a very realistic goal. I was pumped.
Ride strategy had been pondered and talked about over with Jude and I had my game plan - the last ride was fantastic - I was relaxed, I was ready, I was excited.
Last ride went well I felt great, enjoyed the rest of my long weekend and then Monday night the ominous itch in my throat started. SHIT - no need to panic - gargle with salt water and off to bed. Tuesday am - I wake up and ghhhhh, gaaaak, hrrrrrrghhh, okay not good throat very sore. I look at Joe - he is like you will be okay you have 5 days. OHHHHH OKAY. SHHHHHIIIIITTTT
So as the day at work progresses the throat gets worse so lunch is spent buying lemons, emergenc C, and COld FX. Double shit - my boss looks as me and is considering banning me from the office and says I don't sound so good.
I get home and crawl into bed I feel like I have been hit by a truck but is okay I have just over 4 days - BAHAHAHAHAHAH. I begin the dosing and move into the bedroom. I wake up the next am and it is official I am hooped and have a very bad cold. So the plan now is to go into damage control and try to break this so I am on the bike by Saturday and ready to ride. (Delusional - maybe- okay completley). I get up Wednesday and feel like complete crap- this is good it means I am pushing the germs out - so I drag my sorry self to the office and bail at noon - on the way home I grab hot and sour soup - that's right the big guns. I am not messing around germs - get the F* out of my body - non-refundable entry fee - need I say more.
Thursday -the super sensitive achy feeling was gone but I could not talk because I sounded like I had been smoking cigarettes and drinking whisky - great the hangover without the actual drunk. Continue to natural regimen with more sleep and another dose of hot and sour. I went to package pick-up - YES I WENT - non- refundalble??????!!!!! I spoke to the ladies I had a plan if I was still feeling like crap I could start in Squamish and just do the last 60km. The race officials at package pick-up said I could do that. YEAH
Friday - my voice was pretty much back and it had not moved into my chest - was still not sure if I was would ride from Van or Squamish but I had till Saturday morning to decide.....Okay who are we kidding this is me of course I woke up Saturday and texted Jude - I will see you at the start line - I was going to ride the whole thing - it was going to be hard and not the race I trained for but it would be what it would be.
As a team we started together - well not completely true we had the super fast crew up front and then the rest of us at the back. We all met and headed out together the plan was to ride as a group to Horseshoe bay and then go for it in small groups - race! My plan survive. So we did stay together to Horseshoe Bay - I felt pretty good and was obviously in complete denial. At Horseshoe bay the boys, Jude and Lori left us like Cindy and I were standing still. Not unexpected - good luck team. At that point i still felt okay so I got to the 2nd aid station and pulled in - Cindy was behind me - no idea where but I went in and grabbed a banana , refilled my bottles, bathroom break and looked for Cindy. After a few minutes I decided time to go she either passed or is behind. I still felt okay plan keep HR under 80 and not push this into my chest and get worse. 2 concerns are pushing into my chest can lead to causing a virus infection in the heart muscle not good or the better option me just getting sicker... neither one viable. Keep the HR low, eat, drink.
I got to the 3rd aid station and well that hurt. I refilled my bottles, ate another banana, nibbled an orane slice, grabbed a banana for the road. That is right - it was that BAD - I was not only eating bananas but I was carrying extras!!! I looked and it was 16 km I can do this 16km - I can do this.
OFf to to the 4th aid station - the word is owwwwwwwwwww, and then owwwwwwwwww but I got there - and thought about going to the first aid and asking them to call a ride for me to Whistler but after using the port-a-potty, eating some more banana's, grabbing a few pretzels and such I regrouped and went it's only 16 km or to the next aid station- I can do that and then I saw Cindy. So we went off together. My goal get to the next aid station.
Aid station 5 - OMG - make it stop- I hurt so bad - I was so tired, I saw Cindy and she asked how are you doing NoT good - I was about to start crying - she was like - "let's sit down for a minute", okay. So we sat for a spell and then we got up to leave and saw some peeps we knew said hi and then finished refueling and refilling supplies. Okay only 16 or so to the finish lets do this. I even was so delusional that I thought we might be able to break 5.5 hours.... so off we went and YEAH headwinds. We tried to pace line but it was tough - Cin kept dropping off my wheel so I would sit up and then she would get on and we would go for a bit - it was tough slogging - I felt worse then I did during Ironman - agony is all I can think of agony. IT was hot to and people were stopping and sitting on the side of the road. I was like seriously it is 16 km don't stop now, but I will be honest I fell like stopping I was growing desperate. Just finish this, so I went and I left Cindy, but whe was really only about a minute maybe 2 behind me.
That was the toughest and roughest ride I have ever done. It was hell final time 6 hours "ish" very disappointing. I have had a really tough time since getting motivated to ride. I keep finding reasons not to ride with the group. I have been going out on my own but I just have been struggling. Rationally I know i should be fine with it but irrationally I am super bummed and disappointed with the whole experience.
I will get over it but I am still struggling. Next up is Las Vegas Half on December 4th. I felt I needed to redeem myself and do a race for the fall - I know it is not my usual full but it has been a tough year.
Thanks for listening to my whinging
Peace out
Shaun
As the title of this post says it was a big disappointment to say the least.
The expectations by all were high - I had been rocking all the training rides. I was strong - I was back to pre-accident form if not better. I was at the front of the hills - I was holding on strong to the super fast group. I could hold my own and I was dropping peeps on hills again - this was going to be awesome I was going to break 5 hours and 4.5 hours was a very realistic goal. I was pumped.
Ride strategy had been pondered and talked about over with Jude and I had my game plan - the last ride was fantastic - I was relaxed, I was ready, I was excited.
Last ride went well I felt great, enjoyed the rest of my long weekend and then Monday night the ominous itch in my throat started. SHIT - no need to panic - gargle with salt water and off to bed. Tuesday am - I wake up and ghhhhh, gaaaak, hrrrrrrghhh, okay not good throat very sore. I look at Joe - he is like you will be okay you have 5 days. OHHHHH OKAY. SHHHHHIIIIITTTT
So as the day at work progresses the throat gets worse so lunch is spent buying lemons, emergenc C, and COld FX. Double shit - my boss looks as me and is considering banning me from the office and says I don't sound so good.
I get home and crawl into bed I feel like I have been hit by a truck but is okay I have just over 4 days - BAHAHAHAHAHAH. I begin the dosing and move into the bedroom. I wake up the next am and it is official I am hooped and have a very bad cold. So the plan now is to go into damage control and try to break this so I am on the bike by Saturday and ready to ride. (Delusional - maybe- okay completley). I get up Wednesday and feel like complete crap- this is good it means I am pushing the germs out - so I drag my sorry self to the office and bail at noon - on the way home I grab hot and sour soup - that's right the big guns. I am not messing around germs - get the F* out of my body - non-refundable entry fee - need I say more.
Thursday -the super sensitive achy feeling was gone but I could not talk because I sounded like I had been smoking cigarettes and drinking whisky - great the hangover without the actual drunk. Continue to natural regimen with more sleep and another dose of hot and sour. I went to package pick-up - YES I WENT - non- refundalble??????!!!!! I spoke to the ladies I had a plan if I was still feeling like crap I could start in Squamish and just do the last 60km. The race officials at package pick-up said I could do that. YEAH
Friday - my voice was pretty much back and it had not moved into my chest - was still not sure if I was would ride from Van or Squamish but I had till Saturday morning to decide.....Okay who are we kidding this is me of course I woke up Saturday and texted Jude - I will see you at the start line - I was going to ride the whole thing - it was going to be hard and not the race I trained for but it would be what it would be.
As a team we started together - well not completely true we had the super fast crew up front and then the rest of us at the back. We all met and headed out together the plan was to ride as a group to Horseshoe bay and then go for it in small groups - race! My plan survive. So we did stay together to Horseshoe Bay - I felt pretty good and was obviously in complete denial. At Horseshoe bay the boys, Jude and Lori left us like Cindy and I were standing still. Not unexpected - good luck team. At that point i still felt okay so I got to the 2nd aid station and pulled in - Cindy was behind me - no idea where but I went in and grabbed a banana , refilled my bottles, bathroom break and looked for Cindy. After a few minutes I decided time to go she either passed or is behind. I still felt okay plan keep HR under 80 and not push this into my chest and get worse. 2 concerns are pushing into my chest can lead to causing a virus infection in the heart muscle not good or the better option me just getting sicker... neither one viable. Keep the HR low, eat, drink.
I got to the 3rd aid station and well that hurt. I refilled my bottles, ate another banana, nibbled an orane slice, grabbed a banana for the road. That is right - it was that BAD - I was not only eating bananas but I was carrying extras!!! I looked and it was 16 km I can do this 16km - I can do this.
OFf to to the 4th aid station - the word is owwwwwwwwwww, and then owwwwwwwwww but I got there - and thought about going to the first aid and asking them to call a ride for me to Whistler but after using the port-a-potty, eating some more banana's, grabbing a few pretzels and such I regrouped and went it's only 16 km or to the next aid station- I can do that and then I saw Cindy. So we went off together. My goal get to the next aid station.
Aid station 5 - OMG - make it stop- I hurt so bad - I was so tired, I saw Cindy and she asked how are you doing NoT good - I was about to start crying - she was like - "let's sit down for a minute", okay. So we sat for a spell and then we got up to leave and saw some peeps we knew said hi and then finished refueling and refilling supplies. Okay only 16 or so to the finish lets do this. I even was so delusional that I thought we might be able to break 5.5 hours.... so off we went and YEAH headwinds. We tried to pace line but it was tough - Cin kept dropping off my wheel so I would sit up and then she would get on and we would go for a bit - it was tough slogging - I felt worse then I did during Ironman - agony is all I can think of agony. IT was hot to and people were stopping and sitting on the side of the road. I was like seriously it is 16 km don't stop now, but I will be honest I fell like stopping I was growing desperate. Just finish this, so I went and I left Cindy, but whe was really only about a minute maybe 2 behind me.
That was the toughest and roughest ride I have ever done. It was hell final time 6 hours "ish" very disappointing. I have had a really tough time since getting motivated to ride. I keep finding reasons not to ride with the group. I have been going out on my own but I just have been struggling. Rationally I know i should be fine with it but irrationally I am super bummed and disappointed with the whole experience.
I will get over it but I am still struggling. Next up is Las Vegas Half on December 4th. I felt I needed to redeem myself and do a race for the fall - I know it is not my usual full but it has been a tough year.
Thanks for listening to my whinging
Peace out
Shaun
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