Ryan Murrary's 2012 Ironman Canada Race Report

Prep:

-          Weight workouts were key this year. I now love dead lifts and squats. I don’t know how this relationship came to be, but I love them.

-          Carbo-loading works (Thanks Jeremy), but expect to get uber high strung and cranky during the carb-fasting phase. There seemed to be an extreme increase of stupid people in my life during those three days.

-          Find a “happy place” and trigger words to get you there (Thanks Karen) and use it during the race. Mine was Kyla when she gave birth to Ewan in our bedroom last year.

-          Accept there is no happy place during the carb-fasting phase.

Swim:

-          Don’t forget to apply sun block to the piece of skin on your back between the shorts and the top. I suspect my “tan” will still be there a year from now.

-          Wetsuits tear. If they tear in the sleeve close enough to the cuff, you can roll them up and cover the hole. This worked, but led to significant swelling in the forearm that felt like I tore a ligament and freaked me out a lot during the bike.

-          Did you know, the size of swim goggles gets smaller and smaller the closer you get to the front row?

-          Swimming is boring enough, let alone when the only thing to stare at is into the abyss.  

-          Holding the interval time per 100m (or faster) you want to hit during the race, during every swim workout, worked for me. I was able to turn off my brain and let the fitness and technique take over. Nailed it.

T1:

-          Just let the wetsuit strippers do it. It’s easier that way.

-          This time, I carried my bike shoes with me while running in my socks to my bike. Do this always.

Bike:

-          Remember to adjust your speed magnet prior to the race start. I had to stop on Main St. and adjust the computer so it registered km/hr.

-          Check to see if the water bottle is still in the backseat water bottle holder. Mine fell out and I’m not sure when.

-          Use the tail wind to Osoyoos. I did, which gave me a good km/hr cushion leading into Richter’s Pass, the rollers, out-and-back and the climb up past Yellow Lake.

-          Don’t draft. It’s stupid. It’s really bad when you see three-four guys sitting up and coasting behind one guy. It was nice to see the Marshals were taking action.

-          Richter’s never knew what hit him.

-          Huge mental boost when I realized there was a tolerable head wind (if at all) on the rollers and out-and-back.

-          Got excited from back-boarding my water bottle into the water bottle drop box on the out-and-back. That was huge and one of the highlights of my race.

 

-          My family and friends followed me around the race course from start to finish. I imagine they looked like something out of a Robert Munsch book- travelling like some organized chaotic hurricane cloud of vehicles, people, cameras, pom-poms and Nova Scotia flags, bombing from one spot to the next. It was great seeing them so many times. 

-          My average speed came down significantly after all the climbing. In addition to the head wind leading back into Penticton, I accepted the best I was going to average was 35km/hr (I was shooting for 36km/hr).

-          This exercise in acceptance got me excited about the run. I was pumped to see how running circles around Prince’s island Park all year was going to translate into the marathon. Off the bike, I was well within the bike time range Sandra and I figured out.

Run:

-          Training like a runner to run a marathon was a great approach to this race. I came off the bike in 30-something position and flicked the switch to “you are now running a marathon, nothing else matters”.

-          Cadence, hips, arm position, foot strike.

-          I feel if there was a competition for aid station execution in terms of efficiency, most food and drink consumed, amount not spilled and speed, I would do REALLY well. Those aid stations were definitely my TV moments. I’m pretty sure I broke world records that day.

-          Chafe ALERT: Never, ever, ever (no matter how good it feels- and it feels SOOOOO good) pour ice down your running tights. EVER.

-          Cadence, hips, arm position, foot strike.

-          It was important for me to keep happy and have a positive mental approach through this race. I have never high-fived so many people during a race. It was awesome.

-          It must become law that every running race includes belly dancers ON THE RACE COURSE.

-          My half marathon time was solid with no feelings of letting up. I was also in the second age-group position and still catching some male pros.

 

-          Cadence, hips, arm position, foot strike.

-          Seeing Sandra coming back into town was awesome. I can’t say enough about her approach to coaching and training athletes. It works.

-          Hardest part of the run: the hill from Skaha Park to Main Street.

 

Finish and post race:

-          Coming into the last two miles was amazing. I’ve never felt so good during a race.

-          Ten months of focus and support from Kyla for what I was doing became overwhelming when I crossed the finish line. I’ve never been emotional during races and always thought it was a bit odd, but this one got to me. I get it now. It’s not about the race. It’s about the process and effort to get there.

-          Worst, most painful hot shower ever (see above point about pouring ice in shorts).

Ashley Turgeon's 2012 Ironman Canada Race Report

In general, a good gauge of your fitness is the degree of awkwardness of your tan lines.  I had some pretty weird tan lines going into Ironman Canada 2012.

I had a really great sleep the night before the race and woke up at 4am race morning ready to go. I had breakfast and relaxed and drank coffee and headed down to the site around 5:30. I bid farewell to my friends before body marking so I could focus on my own preparations.  Despite having an hour and a half to get ready I still seemed to be rushing to get my wetsuit on but I made it into the water with a few minutes to spare. As I am not the strongest swimmer, I seeded myself a few back on the far right side of the beach. Annnd we are off….

I was swimming really relaxed and staying in the draft for the first few hundred meters. Eventually everyone spread out a bit more and I was swimming on my own. I felt the chop in the water pick up a bit and my goggles were starting to fog so I was having a hard time swimming straight and starting to get annoyed. I was probably also being a bit lazy with sighting. The first turn was relatively smooth for me and I zigged and zagged along to the second turn buoy. I decided to rinse out my foggy goggles. This helped me sight a lot better.

The water was pretty fast on the way back thanks to the current. My arms felt fine but my swim cap was starting to give me a headache and I was feeling a bit nauseous so I was anxious to get out of the water. Finally I was at shore – I came out of the water in 1:33:19. This was a few minutes slower than expected but it is still an ironman swim PB for me. I was slow and relaxed through T1 to let my stomach settle. 

I was really excited once I got onto the bike and my power was a bit high as I rode through town. I tried to relax and ride easy after I saw my parents on Skaha Lake. I was passing lots of people even at a really relaxed wattage – that is the beauty of being a slow swimmer.  Before I knew it I was at turnoff to climb McLean Creek. I held my wattage steady going up the hill - lots of people blew past me but I stayed controlled through this section.  I felt really strong riding from OK Falls to Oliver and Osoyoos. I focused on getting in as many calories as I could. I was looking forward to the mini bottle of Red Bull that I was going to have at the base of Richters! 

I rode steady up Richters and enjoyed the crowd support at each of the three plateaus and before I knew it was time to descend! I made it through the rollers and then it was time for my least favorite part of the course – the out and back.  As I was coming up to this section I was trying to psych myself up and I gave myself permission to get out of aero as much as I wanted and I tried to focus on how awesome it was going to be to drink the red bull in my special needs bag.

When I finished the “back” part of the out and back I started to focus on looking forward to the crowds at Yellow Lake. The crowd support up Yellow Lake is amazing – it is hard not to feel like a rock star! It was so motivating to have friends (and strangers) cheering for me. At the top I was amazed by how fresh I felt and was glad to know basically all the hard work is done on the bike. I descended into town and tried to keep my cadence up and my power low to get my running legs ready. I looked down at my bike computer and saw my bike split was 6:29. I was extremely happy with this. I ran straight to my T2 bag, grabbed a volunteer I knew to spray me down with sunblock and got my shoes on. 

I charged off on the run. I have never felt that fresh running off the bike…let alone after having as strong of a ride as I just had.  I saw lots of friends cheering as I ran through town and this motivated me a lot more. The pro and top age group men were coming up for their finish as I was heading out. As I was nearing Skaha Lake I saw the second place age group male…..and then I realized it was Ryan Murray!! I was extremely excited for him to be having such a solid race! Minutes later I saw Sandra and Kristie on their bikes and this just added to my excitement. I told them how strong I was feeling and how happy I was with my bike. The miles were flying by heading to OK Falls – the out and back nature of the run course is great because you see friends ahead of you heading back to town.

When I hit the hills around Skaha Bluffs my pace dropped from 9-9:30 miles to about 11:30-12 miles - the hills are challenging and my toes were starting to blister…and I was starting to get tired. I ran down the final hill into OK Falls really strong - I was motivated by the can of Rockstar and candy in my special needs bag. I clocked 2:09 for my half marathon split.  The miles weren’t flying by quite as fast on the way back but I was still running continuously. I was really struggling when I was running up the false flat between end of Skaha Lake and the Cherry Lane mall.

At mile marker 25 I saw Sandra and Kristie - I handed off my visor to Sandra so it didn’t ruin my finisher picture. She told me to run the last 1.2 miles hard and she would see me at the finish.  I alternated between focusing on running strong and concentrating on my good finish photo. The crowd support along Lakeshore drive brought me in for a 4:32 marathon.  I crossed the line (smiling for my finish picture) in 12:42:39 – roughly 65 minutes faster than my time in 2011. 

I am so happy with the day I had at Ironman Canada. It was a completely amazing experience. I would like to extend a HUGE thank you to Sandra for keeping me motivated through a summer of hard work, for knowing when to push me and when to let me ease off and for generally putting me on a path to success! In the last few months I have become a little fitter, a little stronger and LOT mentally tougher.

In the weeks leading up to IMC I said it was going to be my last ironman ever….but by 10pm on Sunday night I revised that statement to be my last ironman for a few years. I had such a wonderful day and it really reminded me what I love about the sport.

Michael Parker at Dino Dash 10km

Michael ran the Dino Dash 10km today.  On Thursday night, Michael and I talked about his race plan.   I felt he could run a high 38 min or low 39 min for 10km.  I told Michael to start off at 3:55 per km and if he felt good at the 7 km mark to pick it up a bit.

Here is Michael's account of his race today:

 

Started out trying to take it easy, didn't want to run much faster than my goal pace.

As usual, as time went on, felt stronger.  Had some doubts about half way through. But all my training really helped this time.  Mentally, I knew I could push through and still have enough energy to last until the end.  Last 3 km felt strong, and pushed hard last km.

The splits:

1       03:58

2       03:55

3       03:56

4       03:55

5       03:58

6       03:56

7       03:55

8       03:57

9       03:54

10     03:48

Final time was 39:13.  Michael came 11th overall.  2nd in his age group (45 years -49 years)

This is a personal best for 10km!  Previous personal best was 41:20 which he did in spring of 2012 at St Patrick's day run.  That is a 2 min and 7 seconds improvement since Mar 17, 2012. 

Michael has had a life goal to do a sub 40 min 10km. 

Michael will be running St. George Marathon on October 6.

A little background on Michael since starting with me back in June 2010.

September 2010, Michael ran a marathon in 3:46. 
April 2011, he ran a marathon in 3:19. 
May 2012, he ran a marathon in 3:13:50.

Ironman Canada 2012 Results

Ryan Murray:

9:16:03 for an 8^th overall finish.  2^nd overall age grouper and winner of his age group.  Ryan pulled the race together.  He hit the mark in every discipline.  On June 15, Ryan and I discussed the plan.  It went something like this (I think we may have adjusted it slightly).

Swim 55 to 57 min

Bike 5:00 to 5:10

Run 3:05 to 3:10

T1 2 min

T2 3 min

Goal Time: 9:05 to 9:22

 

What did he do on race day:

Swim 57:05

Bike 5:06

Run 3:07:37

T1 1:31

T2 2:28

Time: 9:16:03

Ryan executed a perfect race.  Once Ryan reflects, I will be anxious to hear how he saw his race.  As a coach, I could not be more proud.

 

Ashley Turgeon:

Well, I am super excited about Ashley.  I have watched Ashley grow so much over the last 2 months.  It has truly been a reward to be given the opportunity to coach Ashley.  She has improved massively in both the bike and the run.  Ashley and I met the week of Ironman to go over her race plan.  She simply wanted to improve her time over last year and redeem herself from an earlier attempt this year.  She did that!  Ashley went ~65 minutes faster than her previous time.  She biked the bike of her life.  She was so excited when she started her run.  At the 25 mile mark of the run, she had one thing on her mind – fixing her hair for her finishing photo!  She did what she went to Penticton to do.  Ashley finished in a time of 12:42:39.

Watch out for this young woman as she will be gaining more and more strength over the next couple of years.  I have no doubt that in her next attempt at an Iron Distance she will be making a huge statement that the clock will reflect and heads will turn.  Super honoured to be working with Ashley. 

Interview with Ashley Turgeon and her preparation for Ironman Canada

Ashley Turgeon has been coached by me for about a year now.  She first came out just to improve her running.  This past June, I began to coach her toward her preparation for Ironman in all three components of the sport. 

I asked Ashley about her training under my guidance.


1.       How has your preparation for IM Canada been going?

I think it is going pretty well....I am feeling stronger than last year in all 3 areas. 

2.       You have done IM previously, how has your preparation differed than in the past?

I have trained a lot more consistently this year. I  have been hitting my major workouts. I credit a lot of this to you for holding me accountable. As well, at a more specific level my workouts have been a lot more targeted this year (ie X amount of time in X zone on the bike) rather than doing as much steady state work as I previously did. 

3.       What has been the hardest part of your preparation?

Getting through training sessions when you are already so tired. I also have been struggling with not being as excited about IM as I was last year. 

4.       What do you feel will be you strongest component of the IM?

I think just pulling everything together. I am not going to be the fastest swimmer, biker or runner there but I hope to just stay consistent throughout the day.  

5.       What is the hardest workout you have done and how do you feel it has prepared you?

Oh there were so many....which one to pick. I think I would have to say a 214km ride that I did the day after a 170km ride was my hardest workout. Getting through that reinforced sometimes you just have to suck up all your negative thoughts and just push through a ride and it was a big confidence boost for me to know I can do that! 

6.       Talk about goals for the race in general...

I would like to improve upon my race from last year in all 3 disciplines time wise. I think though my bigger goal is just to try pushing myself a little more. Last year I had a really conservative race and was reasonably comfortable (if that is possible during an ironman) all day - so I just want to push myself a little harder this year. I think your workouts especially on the bike have prepared me for that. 

Calgary Marathon Race Weekend

This weekend a group of my athletes take over the streets of Calgary to take in the Calgary Marathon and Half Marathon.

Geoff Hopfner will be tackling the marathon and is looking for a podium finish.  His training has been going really well, and he is determined to under 2:35.  Be sure to get out there to cheer him on.  Geoff is the local favourite.

Kathryn Waslen will be running the half marathon and is also looking for a podium finish,  Her running has steadily improved since last season.   Kathryn aims to crack the 1:24 mark.  Like Geoff, Kathryn is a local favourite.

Bradley Jacobs will be looking to run under 3:15 for the marathon.  Since beginning with the group this year, Brad has improved massively.  Balancing his job as a neurosurgeon has been challenging for Brad, but he is determined to put things on the line come Sunday.

Rhonda Jewett recently joined our ranks, and will be lining up for the 10km.  Rhonda's goal this season is to break the 40 min mark.  If her 5km time trials and interval seasons are an indicator, she will easily accomplish that.

Michael Chui will be using the half marathon as preparation toward his Ironman training.

Good luck guys.  Make us proud!

The list of elites can be found here:

Calgary Race Weekend Elite line-up

Vancouver Sun Run

Some great running today in Vancouver for the Sun Run.  Eric Gillis of Guelph and Lucy Njeri, a Kenyan now based in Toronto, were the male and female winner.  A Canadian male has not won the Sun Run since 1997.  Paula Findlay, Canada's top Olympic Distance Triathlete, was second in a fast time of 33:47 min. 

Master Athletes, Lucy Smith and Lisa Harvey finished 9th and 10th, clocking times of 35:25 min and 35:31 min respectively.  Nice!

Two of my athletes had great races.  Geoff Hopfner ran 34:03 min after wrestling with food poisoning the day before.  He struggled through stomach issues in the second half of the race. 

Kathryn Waslen continues to improve and ran another personal best time of 38:31 min.
Thirteen women ran under 36 min.  Damn good for Canadian soil.

Just in from Michael Parker- great Salt Lake City Marathon result

I am so excited!

I finished in 3:19:05.

I felt great. I kept the 4:40 pace almost the entire race. At mile 25, there was a 1 mile hill that was brutal, but I was determined to beat 3:20.

I started to get leg cramps at km 39 (on the hill), but i was determined to not get them.


I powered through right to the finish.


My time qualifies me for Boston! I may not get in with the new registration procedures, but at least I qualified.


Will send you my split times tomorrow.


I left it all on the course, I had nothing left to give.

Mike


 
Mike ran a 3:45 marathon in September.  So absolutely great performance at Salt Lake City.  When we spoke about what I felt he could run, I said I thought he was capable of running 3:15.  Proud of you Mike!  Way to lay it all down!

Stewart Cup- Provincial Cross Country Championships hit Canmore Park on October 30

This Saturday is shaping up to be the most competitive Cross Country field for women that I have ever seen in Alberta!  This will be a more competitive field than Nationals in my opinion.  The Men's field is pretty strong as well.

In the men's field it will be interesting to see how the legend Jeremy Deere (numerous Canadian CX team member) and the youngsters like Kelly Wiebe (Regina Cougars), Ian Fyfe (Regina Cougars), Scot Nicol (Calgary Dinos) will battle.  For good measure I entered an athlete who will attempt to upset the mix; Berhan Hussein (Ethiopia) will be negotiating his first competitive race here.

In the women's field, the most awesome runners are competing.  In the past, it has always been the men that people came to watch, but if you want to see racing then get yourself to see this race!  The field includes:

Lisa Harvey (list of credentials too long to list but has been a Canadian CX team member several times), Shari Boyle (5th at Nationals in Steeple and former member of Canadian CX team), Jenn and Jodi Souter, Lisa Mensink (Olympian- Triathlon), Paula Findlay (Canada's top Triathlete and winner of best runner award at Triathlon World Cup), Grace and Ciara Kary, FAYE STENNING (my niece!!!), Caitlin Warkentin (Huskies), Karisa LePage (Cougars)... and there are more but watch out for these to battle it out for the positioning within the top ten.

Women's race is at Noon - both Junior and Senior race together - 5000 meters
Men's race is at 1 pm -  both Junior and Senior race together - Junior 8000 meters and Senior 10000 meters.

By the way, it will be my birthday so be sure to remind me when you see me!

What up?

I have not written for awhile, yet I had so much that I could have written about. So I thought best to provide a few quick update on me and some of my athletes.

Here it goes:

- last part of summer was spent bike racing as training preparation for Duathlon Worlds.
- competed in Duathlon Worlds where I ended up 6th. I was bit disappointed but it was what the day gave me. Work has been sucking time out of training and most days I am exhausted. I get in training but it is not with the amount of freshness required nor at ideal times.
- cyclocross season is here and I love it. Greatest sport ever!!
- some commuter on his bike hit me head on while I was on my bike. I suffered a concussion, whiplash, and a very bruised up left arm. Surprised my forearm was not broken.
- above crash impacted my ability to compete at Cyclcocross nationals with any gusto. Disappointed but raring to go for the last half of the seaon here.

I had a group of athletes compete in Kelowna for the half and full marathon:
1:25:09 Heather Johnson - 3rd women - a new personal best time
1:46:53 Holly Clarke - 15th in age group 40-49 - A new personal best time
3:20:07 Neil Montgomery - 18th in age group 30-39 - an 18 minute improvement over Calgary Marathon and huge new personal best time

Nice work guys!

That is it for now!

What happening June 23/24 Weekend

It will be a busy weekend.

Coeur d'Alene IM
Good luck to athletes Katie Frauts and Kim (Sorenson) Young as they take on IM for Kona spots. Both these women are in tip top shape and looking lean and fast. Kim is coming off an impressive second place finish at Wasa Triathlon. Just like the good old day, hey Kim! Good luck to both of you.

Edmonton BG Triathlon World Cup Festival
Mike Chui and Lisa Graham take on the age group festivities in Edmonton in the Olympic Triathlon distance. The two of you are fit and strong; give it your all.

Kananaskis Relay
Coach Sandra is running the K-100 with a female team. After claiming the women's overall title in the Banff-Calgary relay, our team aims to claim again. Not too shabby for a bunch of over 40 year olds.

Athletes racing this weekend

So many things going on this weekend. Here's who is doing what:

Mike- Vancouver Olympic Triathlon. Mike just spent time on strike duty. Imagine Mike fixing the railroad in rural Alberta. However, he now sports a nice tan.

Johanna- Footstock Duathlon

Scott- Foothills 10k

Kim- Wasa Olympic Triathlon

Bart- Wasa Olympic Triathlon



TJ, my cat will be practising his riding skills as we pick up the Honda Ruckus Scooter this afternoon!!! He does not want to be left in the house while I scoot around.


Good fun racing this weekend

Good Luck to my athletes on Mother's Day weekend

Ryan Murray and Scott Meyerhoff on Sunday's Mother's Day 10km in Calgary. Looking for those sub 37 min 10k times. No pressure.

Lyndsey-Kate Morice, Katie Frauts and Dan Barker racing Lethbridge Olympic Triathlon. Nice tune-up for your races in June.

Lisa Graham coming off a great sprint triathlon this past weekend in Edmonton and running the Mother's Day race in Edmonton. Keep those great results coming.

Johanna Tull racing the Mother's Day race in Fort McMurray. Run hard, run fast.


Doctors and scientists said that breaking the four-minute mile was impossible, that one would die in the attempt. Thus, when I got up from the track after collapsing at the finish line, I figured I was dead.
Roger Bannister (After becoming the first person to break the four-minute mile, 1952)