SE BON ALLER, ALLER, ALLER ENCORE …..

This time we traveled to Montreal, Canada, to race in the Esprit Iron Triathlon on September 11. Its venue was quite interesting in that all the 140.6 miles (226 km) of swimming, cycling, and running took place at the Olympic Athletic Complex and was totally sheltered from outside traffic.

5AM warm-up at the Olimpic Rowing Basin

The gun went off at 7AM in the Olympic rowing basin and sent about 100 athletes on a 2.4 mile swim. The weather was perfect and the water temperature very comfortable. In about 10 minutes I settled into a comfortable pace and finished the first loop in about 34 minutes. Thinking, that I am on course for a 70 min swim I caught on to the feet of a swimmer ahead of me and stayed in his slipstream for the second 1.2 mile loop. Upon exiting the water, when I looked at my watch I could not believe my total swim time, as my Polar read 1hr 20 min. Initially, I thought the watch was broken, but it wasn’t. I had a lot of time to make up.

Riddled with quad cramps T1 took a little longer than I had planned. Once under control I was ready to pedal the 41-loop bike course in pursuit of my competitors. The closed-loop venue was designed on the professional Formula One car racing track, thus, the ride was fast, smooth, and protected from all motorized traffic. Nevertheless, the ride required constant attention to avoid collision with other cyclists on those sharp curves. Counting loops became a mind-numbing game until I heard the race announcer calling out my name letting me know that I just have completed loop # 36. OK, five loops to go. I knew I was having a great day on the bike but never in my dreams would I have thought I would finish the 112 miles in 4hrs 57mins. Yes, for the first time in an Iron-distance race I have broken 5hrs on the bike.

With a big smile on my face I entered T2 for a quick change into the run. Everything was going great. I have even forgotten about my swim. The run consisted of 9 loops around the rowing basin and was perfect for the crowds watching the race and for athletes to keep an eye on the competition. The sun was beating down hard. There was not a single cloud in the sky for the entire day. I started feeling the hardship of the run during the seventh loop. At that time I had to force some food into my stomach and make sure to ingest enough electrolytes. In the end, all had worked out as planned, as I crossed the finish line in 10 hrs 34 min placing 9th overall and 4th in M45-49 age group. As it turned out, M45-49 had ruled the day as four of us finished among the first 10 athletes.

Two more loops to go

Breaking the tape

Sunday was a family day. It was spent traversing Montreal and watching the professional bicycle race of Astana, Saxo Bank, Radio Shack, Garmin, Bbox, and other teams. These guys made climbing steep hills look effortless. I suppose, watching Ivan Basso leading the peloton on a couple of loops was an icing on the cake culminating a great weekend.

Montreal's panorama

The Olympic Stadium

Basso leading the race

In hot pursuit

They made it all look so easy

-- TOMasz

PLANNING FOR THE 2011 RACING SEASON

I suppose, it is never too soon to start planning for the next Ironman triathlon season. Therefore, my first official registration is for Ironman Louisville, which will take place on Sunday, August 28, 2011. It will be a nice, although brief, return to the Midwest which served as our "home" when we first came to the United States. I hope some of you can join me there.

-- TOMasz

STOAKED OFF-ROAD TRIATHLON OR XTERRA HALF BLIND

Stoaked Off-Road Triathlon or Xterra Half Blind

Overall it was pretty nice day for a race. It was cool in the AM but not excessively so. I was at the water with plenty of time and hoped that my whole two weeks of training prior to the race would pay off. (I wouldn’t advise anyone of this method but didn’t have time from the beginning of summer until later July.) The race started and I started out toward the end of the pack to avoid what happened anyways. I ended up in a big crowd of people and got anxious. I had to swim with my head out of the water for a bit and then I decided to head to the outside and this helped quite a bit. After that I didn’t have any problems.

I exited the water feeling pretty good about where I was located within the pack. This ended at the transition out of the water. I lost a decent amount of time changing into sneakers before going by the timer. Twenty eight plus minutes. Oh well. Next I headed to where our bikes where located which was quite a few hundred yards away and up a decent size hill, change into bike shoes and head off. While in transition I notice I wasn’t seeing quite well and thought I had a contact that slid up in my eye socket. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case and I went through the rest of the race with just one contact. It made some of the technical sections of the bike course more technical. The bike course also seemed different than when I did the race two years ago with a different entry area. It had as much or more single track and a lot more hills than last time. It was a fun ride though if a bit growling due to the lack of training. An hour fifty minutes plus.

Next was the run. Of the three disciplines it is the one I had the most training in in the prior two weeks. (Unless you include commuting to work on bike.) The run was the usual route they’ve had in years past through gravel paths and a big, hilly field. Fifty plus minutes for a 3 hour ten minute plus overall finish. Quite tired in the end but I finished and had a heck of a lot of fun.

TOMmy

7,018 CALORIES LATER…..

Waiting for athlete 1884

Is it crowded enough for you?

…, tired, but elated, I crossed the finish line of the 2010 Ironman Lake Placid. But, before going any further I wanted to say thank you to all my family and friends who were with me in-spirit, in-person, or on the Internet to cheer me on.

The day (Sunday, July 25th) started for me at 3AM with a quick shower and a 20-minute carbo-loading of about 2,000 calories. There was a light rain drizzle and it was anybody’s guess what weather will unfold for the race because Lake Placid is well-known for rapidly changing weather conditions.

The gun went off at 6:45AM for the professionals and at 7AM for the age-groupers. After about 300 meters of being swam over and under I found my rhythm and enough open water to finish the 2.4 mile swim in 1 hr. 12 min. A quick wetsuit peal-off by friendly volunteers set me off for a 400 m sprint to the transition. Following a slip on a wet runway and about 8 minutes later I mounted my bike for a 112 mile journey. I remember having this great sense of physical and mental freshness as I started descending the access ramp onto the main road.

I felt great climbing the first hill out of Lake Placid, as those who swam faster started coming back to me on the bike. The famous six-mile downhill to Keene recorded a speed of 47 miles/hour on my speedometer. Definitely, not the time to catch a flat or have any sort of a misfortune. I continued strong for the two bike loops despite the somewhat demoralizing head-wind from Wilmington back to Lake Placid in the last 10 miles of each loop.

A quick transition from bike-to-run put me in the final stretch of the race. I continued feeling very good. My legs felt fresh and eager to run. Only 26.2 miles to run, I thought, as I passed the cheering spectators lining up the downtown streets. My strategy was simple. Eat, drink, and take-in enough electrolytes to prevent muscle cramps and keep mental focus. All worked very well that day and the last mile and a half on the run was just amazing. It has been a little while since I had as strong race such as Ironman Lake Placid. Totally elated and full of emotions, I entered the Olympic oval for the last 195 meters. Crossing the finish line with my family and friends watching me there or live on the Internet made this race even more special. My finish time was 10 hrs. 43 min., good to place 29th out of 360 athletes in the M45-49 age group.

This is my last year before aging up to M50-54 in 2011, but before this happens I have two more Iron races this year: The Montreal Esprit Iron in September and The Great Floridian at the end of October and I plan to show up for both of them as I did in Lake Placid. Again, thanks to those who cheered for me.

Total happiness

Lining up for positions

Sprint to T1

Almost in T2. Two more corners left

Out of the transition. The first 200 meters

Mile 16th

Picture worth a thousand words

The cheering crowds were there to the end

Elvis has entered the house

And so did this athlete


The 17th hour. The party went on until the very end

Until next time. -- TOMasz

FOUR INGREDIENTS FOR COMPLETING AN IRONMAN

This year’s Ironman Lake Placid, and the family vacation that came along with it, will likely serve as one of the best memories of my lifetime. This is so, for so many reasons. First, Stephanie, Ryan, Meg & I had a tremendous time in LP. The location is idyllic for family time. Ryan and Megan enjoyed swimming, playing, live music, friends around the fire… and we enjoyed watching them have such a great time. Second, I really did learn something about myself this week. Well, maybe a few things… I learned that there are four key ingredients to completing an ironman… and I also learned that my training could be a hell of a lot more consistent!

So, now on to the report (I’ll share the 4 things that I learned within). We arrived via the Essex ferry in the Adirondacks aboard our 31’ RV. This was our first experience in an RV, and it was a good one. They make for the perfect race camp, allowing us to cook our own meals throughout the week. The RV was also essential for rest, particularly when the clouds came and the sky opened up. The beginning of the week was spent getting acquainted with the water and enjoying the area. We met Ben from Paris, our first night at camp. He and his lovely family came over for a camp fire and to discuss the course. Up early the next day, out on the bike with Ben. I had not seen the run course, so this was a particularly informative ride. Two loops, that was going to be tough! Not really any flat spots on the course either, more like a couple of big hills, mostly rolling hills… Spent the rest of the week relaxing as racers began to show up. Registration was quick and easy on Friday as were the several swim laps that I was able to do on the swim course. LP has a neat little “line” that is 5’ below the surface, perfect for staying on track while swimming! Todd, Duxbury, Tomasz, and even Tom Bircher and Cheryl Bush arrived in LP. Had a nice fire with all as the pre-race jitters began to settle in…

Race day. I slept most of Saturday, so that doesn’t make the report. Up at 4am. Shower. Gear check. Walk 1.5miles to the start (boo). I was confident that I had all my gear ready… where were my special double-secret weapons? Oh shit! I forgot my peanut butter tortillas I had made for the bike! Double shit! Oh well. Found Todd and Dux just before walking another country mile to drop off my special needs bags. We walked back to the swim start together. The swim start at IMLP is like any other mass start… like fitting a hundred pounds of fighting puppies into a 50 pound bag! Held the dock, and before too long, we were off.

Ingredient #1: Find a mantra: who/what are you doing this for in the first place.

A year before, I was volunteering for IMLP, and was able to have a VIP pass to watch the swim from a balcony overlooking Mirror Lake (Thanks to Rod!). After one lap of the swim, there were several folks who simply quit. The pounding from the other swimmers was too much. Their heart rate got out of hand. They just weren’t ready. Whatever the case, I knew going into the water that I was coming out only after 2 laps, and that I was getting on that damn bike. I stuck to the line. Despite a few feet to the face and getting swam over early, I stuck to it. In my mind, I thought of only one thing, I forced myself to focus on my mantra, the person for whom I was doing the race: Stephanie.

I have done many, many races in the past. This was the first that I dedicated to her. This proved a good decision… her face lit up when I told her that this one was for her and her only… and… when things got tough (and trust me, with my times, they got tough) I was able to focus only on her. I simply shut out everything else in the world. There was no noise. No pain. Just me and her. I would breathe, picture her, pull, breathe… and before I knew it, I was out of the water. To my surprise, there were many bikes still on the rack!

I won’t spend too long on the strippers (Todd(just before the swim start): “you know my mom is a stripper, right?” Jason: “huh~!@!?” Todd: “um, wetsuit stripper…” Jason: “ohhhhh.”… duh!)…. Or spend a lot of time on the disgusting transition/mass nudity tent… looking around, the water must have been cold though J So very quickly it felt, I was out on the bike…

Ingredient #2: Get to the run.

The bike course began with my first two HUGE mistakes (of many) in this race. I had underestimated the hill coming out of Lake Placid and headed toward Keene. All week long I had talked about the first 16 miles of the race being downhill to Keene. I received a few looks when I said this, but shrugged them off, for whatever reason. Turns out, there is one huge young-momma -shut –the- front –door hill that seems to go on forever and forever, just as you begin the bike. And it was pouring. Was it going to pour all day? Just get to the run and remember why you are out here… that’s all I kept saying to myself. The course was 2 laps, 56 miles each. I knew I could get through the first one… I’d save the second for later! My second colossal mistake occurred almost immediately on the bike as well. I had scooped a bunch of sustained energy drink powder into my profile design aero bar water holder the night before, when I racked my bike. It didn’t mix. My first big pull on my drink was almost all powdered, straight down my throat…. Yuck. It took about 60 miles to recover from a horrible feeling in my stomach.

The second lap on the bike was easier in some ways then the first. I had already had two flats. I had eaten a block of powder. None of that occurred on the second lap. It was just smooth (SLOW) sailing as I doubled the course. Ps. Bike course: F.U. to the papa bear hill, it is a monster. Here’s a look at the ugliness:

Ingredient #3: the race box.

112 miles on the bike, and oh yeah, now time to run a marathon. I knew that the bike was a solid 2 hours longer than I had hoped for. But armed with ingredient 1 and 2, I knew I could keep going. I thought to myself “they will have to drag my cold dead body from this course at this point!” The bike and run course were very family/fan friendly. I had already ridden by Steph, Ryan and Meg a couple of times, now it was time to see them on the run. About a mile in, there they were, cheering! Ryan was cute… ran along side of me and simply said “get going big boy!” and spanked me on the fanny! Off I went on what was to be a very, very long journey.

The race box is the term I learned from some Ironman website, some time ago. It refers to focusing only on what you can do at any one moment to make it to the next thing that you can make it to. On the bike, this might be the next aid station (or in my case, port-o-potty) or next bike loop. It’s a big race box because you’re moving pretty fast. On the run, the box is much smaller. It might start out by being every mile, but very quickly, it becomes, that tree up ahead, that crack in the sidewalk. The trick is to think about ingredient #1, and stay within your box. This was hard. At IMLP, there’s a doubly sneaky reason this is so hard. Once you do the out and back on the back side of course, you have to come back into town, then run a mile beyond the finish line and a mile back to head out on the second loop! All the while, fans are yelling you’re almost there! On the first loop, this was crazy, I had 13 plus miles to go, and everyone was yelling “Jason, you’ve done it, you’re almost there!!!” Ug. Stay in my box. Left right left right left…. And back out on the course I went. It was a dark and lonely second lap. Once there, I knew I could finish… though I wasn’t feeling all that great about the time. I also knew that Steph and the kids would long since have headed off to bed. I was really lonely.

Coming into town, my loneliness didn’t lift… not until I got to the dreaded out and back… the 2 miles of hell as I referred to it… and Steph was there! Ry in the stroller, asleep, Meg on her back. The thought of her had sustained me for 138+ miles, of how strong she was, how much never-quit, and there she was with both kids in tow, at nearly 11pm. She really is the iron one… not me!

Ingredient #4 That Feeling…

There is no feeling like finishing in ironman. This ingredient is as important that the rest. No matter how your race goes (and nothing goes as planned)… hearing those words “Jason Vallee, you are an ironman,” and persisting for all of the reasons above is something I’ll have forever.

Post race note. Steph carried my stuff, the kids, gear bags, and nearly me… as we walked the 1.5 miles back to our campsite.

THAT IS WHY WE DO IT

The 2010 Ironman Lake Placid race report coming up soon.

A SOLID START TO A BUSY SEASON

Greetings,

My first race of the season is behind me ;o). The day (July 11th) opened up with a nearly cloudless sky at the Narragansett Beach, which hosted the start of the 3rd edition of Ironman Rhode Island 70.3. It was my season opener and a perfect opportunity to assess my fitness level prior to Ironman Lake Placid next week and the Great Floridian in the early Fall.

As it turned out, the hard training has paid off. Throughout the race day I felt strong, comfortable, and well nutritioned and hydrated, and while my overall race time was a bit slower than last year, I was able to finish strong in 11th place (out of 139) in the M45-49 age group. Strong ocean currents on the swim and quite challenging head-winds on the bike and the run slowed down everybody’s time, including the pro men’s winner, Terrenzo Bozone, who was unable to break the 4hr mark.

The swim (37 min) was quite challenging. High waves and strong currents made sighting difficult. The bike course took us from Narragansett to Providence exposing some of the most beautiful landscapes of Rhode Island. After 2 hrs 44 min in the saddle and a quick transition, I was running through Providence where the temperature started to exceed 90F before 10AM. It took me about 25 minutes to get my “running legs” and see my run speed increase. The run course was nicely designed, though, quite exposed to the hard-beating sun. Fortunately, plenty of hydration, water-sponges, and the head-wind offset some of that heat. Finally, with a few more miles left in my legs, I crossed the finish line after 1 hr 43 min of running to place 11th in my age group (total race time 5 hrs 14 min).

As always, my support team was there to cheer me on. Kasia, Damian, Ania, Beatka, Jarus, Dorotka, and Dave made this day very special. Also, a huge thanks to all who followed and cheered me on on-line.

Next Sunday, I will be racing Ironman Lake Placid. You can follow that race at www.ironman.com. Best -- TOMasz

And this is how it looked in pictures

5 AM on Sunday

A strategy session with age groupers

Getting ready for a warm-up swim

The real deal. 6o seconds till the gun shot

Out of the water

Out of the gates on the bike

Live free and tri

Spectators lined up the entire course

That's how Damian found my bike in T2

About 5 miles to go

Finishing with a smile

The final stretch

Seconds after crossing the finish line

With my support team

NEVER NEVER NEVER ............

http://www.sunmultisportevents.com/Patriot_Triathlon.htm

EVER cut your toenails the night before a race!!! I know this as though it were written law ... but I was worried about putting my nails through my brand new wetsuit ... so did it anyway ... My traveling companion and race support extraordinaire, Beth, returned to the blood. Yes, that's right, the blood. *sigh* The only thing I could hope for at that point is that it would take a couple of days for the nail to actually get sore. What an idiot.

I went into this race with some pretty lofty expectations because I knew how good I'd been feeling on my bike, how confident I'd been feeling during my open water swims, and how speedy I'd been feeling in the pool. My run was obviously a little bit up in the air, but even that didn't worry me as much because I hoped that adrenaline would carry me through the final hour of the run.

What I didn't plan on were 2 things ... a super hot day and my inability to eat much for fear of inducing stomach cramps. Just about every endurance event I've completed, I've fallen short on the solid food intake and suffered stomach cramps on the run because it's too empty.

So I know that I need to spend a lot of time working on eating during my ride. I can get liquid calories in without any problem, but when it comes to actually chewing solid food and getting it down, I struggle. I know what I need to do, it's just a matter of actually establishing a plan, i.e. I'm going to eat a bite of solid food every 15 mins and save the Gu for the run ... knowing that solid food is not my friend on the run. I also need to work on eating more on race morning so that I'm not starting the race hungry. I did that too at Patriot. So I was already down on calories before I even got to my bike. I had food, I just didn't have the desire to eat it.

And the heat ... well, the heat is just what it is. I tried very hard to conserve energy on the bike, even allowing my pace to slow slightly on the second loop until the end, knowing that when I got off the bike and into the run the heat was going to feel blistering. I was not wrong. It felt like my skin was being seared. And I'm not sure that there's really much that I could have done about that. \

All in all, I do not think that this event was without success. I think it was very successful. It's reminded me that I constantly have things that I should be working on. And it's reminded me that even the best laid plans have to have a plan B and a plan C. I think I went into this race more prepared than for any other half ironman I've ever done. I feel stronger, I feel like keeping up with the weight training has really really helped. I feel like the extra time on the bike is making a huge different. Frankly, I'd rather spend my time there at this point given how little fun running can be these days. I feel like I went into this race as organized as I've ever been for a race before. And that's just from experience. I've raced enough that I know what I need to bring, I don't over pack so that I'm having to sort through a bunch of stuff the night before to decide what I need , and my transition area easily comes together with no extras to get in the way. So, that's all good ... positive. But I am disappointed that I was not able to carry out my race plan as I'd hoped for ... but still thankful that I finished and maybe not finished with much extra to give. But I feel like I recovered quickly ... was itching to get back on the bike before the recovery week was over. And feel like I'm ready to start again. So for that ... this test was a success.

I need to work on food intake!

My foot is going to be a season long process ... I'm just going to have to deal with it. It's frustrating.

Looking ahead, toward Ironman Florida, and the hope of no oil.

All races are learning experiences .. it was a tough day with the heat. Little mentally defeating to get punched in the face to get out of the water with a swim time that was quite a bit longer than I'd hoped for, only to hear many people saying that they felt that the swim was long given that their times were also long and then to have such a poor run. But if nothing else, I came away from this with more information ... for hopefully more success in the next one. And once again, confirmation that I do _not_ give up !!

And, I certainly won't be clipping my toenails the night before anymore races

THE DAY BEFORE IRONMAN PROVIDENCE 70.3

Greetings from T2 the day before Ironman Providence 70.3

All wrapped-up

I plan to have them do all the running, tomorrow

You can follow the race at www.ironman.com

BREAKING THE CURSE

Okay, this isn't one of those long-standing, 100 year old, never to be broken sports curses, but somewhere around the end of last summer some triathlon voodoo priest put a hex on me or something because the racing just wasn't going well. Had a DNF in September at a half-ironman in Durham, NC, got lost on the bike course at a duathlon in Cary, NC in March, and on my way to parking the car for a sprint race in Raleigh, NC in April I forgot my bike was on the roof rack and wrecked it pulling into a parking garage.

So this past weekend, the Jetton Park sprint triathlon was going to be much more than a test of fitness or racing ability--it was going to be a test of whether I was doomed for life, or must mildly superstitious. Conditions for a successful run were ideal. Because the venue was only a 15 minute drive from our NC home, I was able to do packet pick-up and ride the bike course Friday evening and then plan for a relatively leisurely wake-up time, still allowing plenty of time to get set up at the race site.

The morning was warm, if a bit windy making the lake swim look a little intimidating. The water was a nice 74 degrees and I opted not to don my wetsuit for the 750 swim. I'm not sure what that sweet spot is in terms of time gained swimming in a wetsuit versus time lost in transition, but I figured that this swim was short enough that I would be pounding away on the bike while everyone else was squirming their way out of neoprene.

For a small race, it was a well-attended event with about 350 athletes competing. Promptly at 8:00 a.m. the first wave was off into the chop. Six minutes later, it was my turn to hit the water. The wind was making the water a bit rough, but not unmanageable, and within the first 100 yards I had found some daylight near the front of the swim pack. I was also pleased that I was swimming in a fairly straight line, sighting the buoys without too much trouble. Coming into the first turn on the triangular course I had caught some of the stragglers from the previous wave. Twelve and a half minutes later I was out of the water and moving up the beach to T1.

The large number of bikes still sitting in transition told me that I was near the front of my group. I quickly grabbed my bike and helmet and headed out onto the bike course.

Now, I may have been a bit too hasty putting on that helmet because it just was not sitting on my head properly. I tried fixing it on the fly, but no dice. Finally I just forgot about it, figuring that for the short 20k bike course I could be a little uncomfortable. The course meandered around the Peninsulas jutting into Jetton Lake and was pretty fast. Not pancake flat, but mostly flat with a few slight rollers. The only downside to the course was that, at two points, you had to make these ridiculous turns in a cul-de-sac, which is just never fun. I also had no computer so could not judge my time or speed very well but I pulled into T2 about 34 minutes later. So far, so good--no broken swim goggles, no catastrophic bike failures.

Of course, I made the great move of parking my rear wheel on top of my running shoes, socks and race belt, which slowed me up in transition. But, about a minute later I was out on the bike course which looped and twisted its way through some paved trails running along the park roads before heading out the main road a bit. While billed as a 5k, this was a very generous 5k course (probably more like a 5.5k). After 21 minutes of running I found my way to the finish line coming in at just under 1 hour 10 minutes.

Later, when the results were posted, I learned that I had finished 9th overall and had won my age group. So, it's official. The curse is broken. Of course, it's only May so now I need to find some more races to do.