JASPER BLAKE RACING

Part relief, part happy, part satisfied, part admiration for my competitors- part everything really after last weekend.  After taking a year off from IM racing in 2010 for health reasons it was good to be back in Penticton racing.  Ironman Canada is a special race for me, started my IM career there in 2000 and have raced 8 times in the last 11 years.  As a Canadian I’ve always felt it’s the most important race outside of Kona but that might be just me.  I’ve always prepared almost exclusively for that event and this year was no different.

I knew going in that it would go well, the build up was good and I was recovering and feeling normal for the first time in years.  I executed well- honestly I’m not sure I could have done anything differently to have a better day.  I ran myself from 14th to 5th on a very hot and windy day- toughest conditions i think I’ve ever raced in there.  The head winds on the bike really exposed my biggest weakness and I lost a ton of time.  But I stayed within the effort I knew I could do- something I tell everyone to do but is often tough when you are in the thick of it.  I was counting on guys going too hard on the bike and coming back to me on the run- with the exception of 4 guys that’s basically what happened and I finished 5th.

I was reminded how tough Ironman is, it is a real test of human spirit.  I was reminded how much I love being in that position, how much I love the challenge and the hurt locker- always believed that it’s a choice- you either shy away from the effort or stare it in the face- it’s fun to stare it in the face and punch it a few times- anyone who does this sport or anything that requires extreme human effort knows that there is a sense of calm, focused peace in those tough moments you just have to see it that way and chose to go deeper into it- we are the lucky ones to have such an experience.

I’d love to write that on a different day I would have won but the reality is Jordan showed that he’s a step up- solid all round with a massive weapon on the bike so my hats off to that performance and a remarkable comeback after near tragedy in 2010.  Mary Beth Ellis on the womens side was nothing short of jaw dropping- 3rd ironman in 8 weeks, wins all 3 and basically competed with the men-bloody awesome.   Male pride would tell me to not even mention it but my human admiration for such incredible athleticism has to tip my hat and applaud her effort- broke an age old course record by 2 minutes that nobody thought would ever go down and simply crushed the womens field.

As usual with Ironman there are some other really great stories and moments that come from it- stories that don’t always make the headlines but are incredibly inspiring and should be shared- here are a few from last weekend:

Mike Neill- has raced as a pro for almost 20 years, this is his last year and he wanted to finish in Kona- He placed 13th- his 3rd ironman in 12 weeks and secured the last guaranteed spot to the World Championships for pros- true grit!

Milos Kostic- Beat the 70-75 age group record by 1 hour and 54 minutes going 11:14 (he rode 5:33)….he’s in his 70′s!!!!

Scott Curry- Finished the race only to learn he had a torn soleus muscle that was bleeding internally so bad he ended up in hospital for 3 days post race and had to be operated on- tough as nails to get through that- crazy outcome

Sarah Gross- 9 months after having her first baby she is back racing and competing

Sister Madonna Buder always the most gracious presence and inspiring woman- didn’t make the bike cut off this time around but who cares, she’s 81 years old and still showing up- Bravo!

David Lee- First ever paraplegic wheelchair athlete to complete IM Canada- can you imagine doing that entire race with basically just your arms?  The human spirit is truly remarkable!

The last picture sums up Ironman to me- we are all out there to do our best and as a pro the goal is ultimately to win but when you are in the thick of it sometimes it’s just nice to have some company for the sufferfest.

Raced Oceanside 70.3 this weekend down in San Diego.  This was my first real test on North American soil since being out with mono last year.  It was also the most competitive race I’ve done in a long time so a good chance to see where I was at fitness wise.  Mentally I felt more relaxed than I have in ages, great to be back in Oceanside after a few years.  It’s an incredible spot, great race, great crowds, great energy.

It was a mixed bag and ended with a DNF which is never that good but the surface result is a bit deceiving.  I actually came away from the event very positive.  It was the first time in ages I actually felt like I was in the race and not somewhere out in left field hanging out by myself looking at the daisies.

I swam well, got myself into a good position on the bike and was in the right place to do something productive.  I ended up in one of the smaller main groups on the bike and fought tooth and nail to stay there.  The pace on the bike was a bit too rich for me at the moment.  I lasted 45 miles of 56 and proceeded to blow myself to smithereens trying to do it.  When I popped I really popped and lost 6 minutes in the last 11 miles of the bike- to be honest I’m surprised it was only 6 minutes- the legs were jelly-fied.  A few miles into the run it was apparent I wasn’t going to be doing much running and that was that.

It’s a good sign things are on track- sometimes to stay in there you have to take a risk.  I took a risk and I paid the price but I would do the same thing again to be in the hunt.

Huge respect for the guys up front- they are moving so darn fast these days- it’s a punishing pace and incredible to witness.  I’m at a loss for their capacity on the bike.  I was in a small group with strong cyclists and spent all my time at the back of the group.  70.3 racing has become almost like a draft legal event.  This does not mean that people were not racing clean- on the contrary- people actually were racing very clean but there is no question that even when you are legal distance back there is a massive benefit.  For weaker cyclists like myself this is a huge benefit if you can hang in there.  I would love to say I did some work to help our group but I did not, I hung on and off the back fighting just to stay with them.  Anytime there was a terrain change or a surge in effort it was everything I could do to hang on.  Forty-five miles of that and I was totally cooked.

These days if you want to be in the mix at the end you have to be there from the beginning unless you can bike like Lieto, Rapp, Weiss and get yourself into contention no matter where you come out of the water.  The bike is too long and too significant a portion to steadily lose time on and if you lose too much time there’s not enough pavement on the run to make it up.  It’s also too short to exploit the massive physical explosions people get on the run like in Ironman.  I think this makes half ironman so interesting and such a great balance between short course racing and Ironman.  You have to have a perfect balance between speed and endurance and you have to also nail things like nutrition which ads another factor of preparation, planning and smarts into the mix.

Andy Potts and Mirinda Carfree are incredible athletes.  Potts was so strong across the board closing with a 1:12 run split.  I consider myself a great runner in this sport and I would struggle to do that on a good day.  Add to it the fact that he can swim and bike with anyone and I’m in awe.  Mirinda is incredible too- tactically she has the kind of race I need to have to win she just doesn’t dig such a big hole on the bike.  She is awesome to watch running, like a little pocket rocket.  Not to be overlooked however are the rest of the field near the top- it was a close race on both the men’s and women’s side and not really dominated by anyone.  Potts and Mirinda had enough to make it work but it was close.

And so now onto South Africa to support one of the athletes I coach.  Crazy trip really, flew out of Oceanside the day of the race, home at 1am and flew out that same day for South Africa- 24 hours of flying time and I’m about 20 hours in as I write this.

First real hit out at a race in some time this weekend in South Africa.  It was an amazing experience to be on the African continent- a first for me so I was excited to just go there. I desperately wanted to meet Nelson Mandela but I didn’t really look that hard and I figured he probably wouldn’t be hanging around at a triathlon.

It might have been the craziest weather I have ever raced in.  Pelting rain with very strong winds on the bike.  I slightly misjudged the bike course despite the profile on the website but it literally went up up up for 45 km straight into a head wind.  It was comical at times how relentless it was.  It took me just over 1:30 to get to the turn around which is pretty darn slow for 45km but I think I was just under an hour on the return journey.  There were times when I was applying the grip of death to my bars for fear of another side wind tossing me off the road at 70km/hr.

Swim and run were ok- feeling great in the water at the moment, some technical changes have been good but not quite transfered into speed and endurance yet.  Run was lacking some spunk which I generally rely on the get my ass back into a reasonable place.

All in all it was a good day, good effort- i was fit enough to stay on effort the entire way but not quite fit enough to generate the speed needed to be in there…..12th place but a ways back.

Post race- rush to grab bike, rush to hotel to pack it all up and board a flight at 5pm from East London to Joberg and a connector from Joberg to Atlanta- 17 hours…..and now i’m in the busiest airport i’ve ever seen…..actually can’t wait to get on the next flight to Bermuda just to be in a less crowded space.

And now the final leg of a 3 week adventure—-to Bermuda.  Co-coaching a week long camp with Mike Neill of HPR for the Bermuda Triathlon Club.  Can’t wait to see Bermuda- another place I have not been to.  Really looking forward to meeting the campers and having a great week.  Stay tuned for some pics.

A good way to shake the cobwebs off for next weekend in South Africa.  Super fun to race on the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 track.  The flight attendants from Ethiad Airlines were very friendly.

As much as I tried to have a video blog available I couldn’t seem to get the thing to upload from my computer….I need the twitter hacker to help me out with some of my computer navigation skills

In a nutshell Rev3 Knoxville was really good.  Raced well and not too far back at the end of the day.  Ran my way into 9th and a paycheck….gutted myself to get there.  Had one of the fastest run splits and felt good about the effort over that distance.  Speed concept worked out brilliantly, fit well right off the bat and feels incredibly fast.  Rode with guys I would normally not ride with.  First time on Di2….literally had 30 minutes on it the day before but it works seemlessly….big button harder gear, small button easier gear…..shift on the bar ends and on the brake levers……way safer, way smoother.

Top guys were impressive….so strong all round, no real kinks in the armour.  Torenzo fourth race in a row and nearly took another win.  Matt Reed now has a really good opportunity to grab all three events and claim a 100k bonus which would be cool to see but there will be lots of us trying to stop him in the next two races.

Sore today for sure, en route home from TN- which by the way is a very cool city despite the fact that I didn’t get to see Taylor Swift or Faith Hill.  I know they were also looking forward to seeing me……sorry ladies, you had your chance….chalk it up to experience, better luck next time.

Rev3 and Heather Gollnick did an incredible job hosting the race, it’s a big job and they are nailing it…..great events, tons of fun for kids as well…..definitely going to the next one in Quassy.

Full results here:  www.rev3tri.com

Home at last, home at last!  I think we were ready to come home, 4 weeks on the road and two big races left us all a bit drained.

Well Xterra was a bomb.  Can’t really say what happened on the day but I had nothin and that just ain’t right.  Perhaps a bit burned, who knows.  I swam well but after that I started going backwards in a hurry.  I felt off all day.  To be honest I hate that comment “felt off”, it sounds so random and the sport ain’t random, you should show up knowing roughly how you are going to perform but this one just mystified me.  I will say however that I scored some totally awesome bunny hops and some good airtime on the decents.  That course was like an MC Escher painting….you know the ones where the stairs always seem to go up no matter how you look at it……it was a tough one for sure……exactly what an xterra should be.  Tough run with sections on the beach and in the spooky forest and a typically spectacular hawaiin ocean swim.  I will go back for more.

And now a toast……

A cheers to Kelly who mixed it up for the day and put himself in striking position.  A cheers to Mel who battled her way to the podium again, dam impressive.  A cheers to Hawaii for being such an awesome place.  A cheers to all the comments and support from you folks over the past month.  A cheers to the last two races that kicked my ass. A cheers to all the people at the last two races who kicked my ass.  A cheers to my sponsors, thank you again for another great year.  A cheers to Brett Favre (just for being you buddy, just for being you).  A cheers to “Top Chef” our show of choice during taper time.  A cheers to Jude who is pregnant and beautiful.  A cheers to triathlon which continues to get more nerdy and I love it.  A cheers to the gang who came out from Victoria to cheer on Mel (but secretely were cheering louder for me).  A cheers to flat tires and CO2 cartridges.  A cheers to time off.  A cheers to Maui sunsets.  A cheers to Finn who likes to cheers everything including dinner plates, random bits of food and of course anything that he is drinking.

Man I hate writing blog posts when it aint good news.  But, as a dedicated blogger of the last two weeks I feel obliged.  By the way, i did lather up with 50 SPF but I’m guessing it wasn’t waterproof.  I’m quite sore today.

Hawaii Ironman take 4 for me.  Started out well, swimming has been feeling good.  Still missing a bit of snap at the beginning but it’s coming.  Ended up pulling Norman Stadler around most of it.  Upon exiting the water he declared “I shall give you half of my prize money if I win”  At least that’s what I heard.

My goal this time was to simply play out the race smart, stick to my pace and the effort I knew I could handle and have a solid day….get to the finish in a respectable time and see what that ended up being.  On a whole I managed to do this very well.  It takes a significant tempering of the ego at a race of this calibre…..continually getting time updates that seem impossible and when you are more factored into the womens race than the mens.  Nevertheless I stuck to the plan and was content.  Up to Hawi, definitely way back of the leaders but still in a position to run myself into a top 20.  Chrissie Wellington is incredible…..as much as I hate to admit it, by Hawi she had sunk 5 minutes into me.  Theresa Mecel, in second for the women was my riding partner for most of the climb and down from Hawi…..another woman who has shot up in the last year.  She is riding incredibly well.

When things go south in Ironman you can start going backwards in a hurry.  At 130km I started coming apart at the seems.  Nutrition and fluid were not being absorbed and by 160km it was starting to come back up.  The last 40km of the bike were the longest of my life, it was demoralizing and humiliating.  I rolled into transition and despite the efforts of a very enthusiastic and encouraging ART guy (thanks by the way), I ended up in medical dry heaving into a garbage can and feeling very nauseous.  Diagnosis- Intestinal shut down- nothing being absorbed, stuck in the gut.  Hadn’t urinated all day and desperately needing to take a dump or throw up.  And that was that- day done- mission not accomplished.

My theory: I think I just wasn’t acclimated well enough to the heat.  I thought I was, 10 days here prior to the race and feeling good with every session- I think I simply reached a threshold point of heat and hydration and my body packed in my digestive system meaning no calories or fluid getting to the right places.  It’s a frustrating thing because it’s an easy fix- get here earlier.  I have no mechanical or injury excuses- felt great coming into the event, great head space great physically, super fit, super rested, ready as ever.

Significant mentionables:  Chrissie Wellington- 8:54:02- new course record, third win in a row- 23rd overall just behind some big names in the mens field- incredible- absolutely incredible.

Thereza Macel- Wins Lake Placid….6 weeks later wins Canada…..6 weeks later 4th in Hawaii…..bloody awesome

Marinda Carefree- 2:56 run split- 6th fastest among the pro men- wow!

Craig Alexander- 12 minute deficit, runs to second win in a row on a very tough day.  Good dudes can win!  I’m in awe of how fast these guys go.  The only pace that makes sense to me is the running- the rest of it seems like a mad sprint.

Chris Lieto- Going for it- 7 minute lead off the bike- 12 minutes on Craig- gutsy and so close to a win.  How anybody can ride that fast eludes me.

Mike Neill- Tough day but gutted it out for another solid finish.  Sometimes conistency is only really rewarded if it is top 10 consistency.  Fact is Mike has shown up every year in Hawaii and been 20-30th and always runs himself in there.  Yesterday wasn’t his best day but he hung in there, good on ya Mike

Rich Pady- Sick as a dog all week, hung in there to finish under 10.  Good on ya Rich.

Brett Favre- Turned 40 yesterday- October 10th and is about to go 5-0 on the season

Judith- Turned 36 yesterday, not to be outdone by Brett Favre

My respect for this race grows every year I do it.  I’m in awe of the top men and women and how fast they go.  Respect, respect respect.  I’m disapointed no question, yesterdays outcome totally sucks!  I was ready to have a good day.  In 4 attempts I’ve finished once, DNF’d twice and DNS’d with a stress fracture…..definitely not the track record one aspires to.  Good thing is that now I have an opportunity to have a good race at Xterra Worlds in two weeks.  And Finn didn’t really seem too bothered by it so I can learn from that.  Thanks to everyone for the high fives.  Now it’s time to rock out the Mtn. Bike.

Woke up short swim with some pick ups- feeling good

Short run with strides- felt like ass at first better after about 10 minutes

It was a who’s who at the pro meeting today.  Mostly on account of it being mandatory so all the who’s had to be there.  I was sitting beside a few who’s so i took this photo.  I asked Chris McCormack for his autograph but it turned out it was Norman Stadler (oops!).  The place is buzzin!  Good to be out in Waikaloa where the buzz aint so loud but I’m enjoying the buzz this year.  It’s a special race and an honor to be surrounded by so many legends.  Alexander, Stadler, McCormack, Welch, Newby Fraser, Jones, Neill, Wellington….the list goes on and on.  It’s cool to be part of it.

Got hooked up with the new Blue Seventy suit.  Will be the first time here that I’m not standing on the pier race morning thinking “WTF i’ve never seen those suits before…..and wow, they go right down to the bottom of the legs….and wow, those things are like a wetsuit, and wow, I secretly wish I had one of those”.  Thanks Blue Seventy, good to be part of the team this year.

“I have to go to the whiz palace”…..I just heard that line on TV and couldn’t resist.  We watched Something about Mary tonight and Bret Favre makes a camio.  Man, that guy is awesome.  When I went to school in Green Bay I went on a recruiting trip and happened to be on the same flight coming into Green Bay.  It was early 90′s and he was coming to do his first year with the Packers.  He was a big dude, wearing baggy weight lifting pants and a ragged t-shirt up in first class.  The tennis coach pointed him out when i got off the plane and said he was there new hot shot QB.  He hadn’t played a game yet for the Packers but went on to be a legend….hard to believe that was 16 odd years ago.  I played a year of tennis then switched to triathlon.  I had no interest in football back then, maybe I should have tried out.

It was a mixed bag last weekend. Wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. It has been a great year of training, details taken care of and I was in the right head space heading into it. From purely a results perspective I will admit that it was disappointing to come 4th. From an effort and mental stand point I couldn’t be happier.

I think I re-learned a valuable lesson in sport, you can only focus on the things within your control. At the end of the day the place you end up is slightly out of your control. You never know what the competition is going to bring to the table and you never really know how the race is going to unfold. What you can control is your own mental and emotional state and your physical effort. I did a good job of focusing on those things and in hindsight I will say it was probably the best possible outcome and that on the day I was simply beaten by guys who brought a stronger game to the table.

I had a lack luster swim, definitely not off to a great start but in Ironman this is usually the least of your worries. You have to settle into the bike and get your head around the day which I did very quickly. I’m a big believer that you have to stay within your own effort especially early on or it bites you in the ass at about hour 7. I did this well despite having to mentally get over the fact that the lead female was basically riding the same pace and every time I happened to glance behind me the lead car was only about 200m behind me. Theresa showed on the weekend that her work with Brett Sutton is obviously paying off with incredible dividends and I was in awe of her entire race. I will admit that I had to decide with some mental fortitude that I would stay on pace regardless of whether she went by me or not. I was riding within my effort and was certain I was still on track. It was less a case of my own riding and more a testament to how well Theresa is riding so my hats off to her.

There were some discouraging moments for sure on Sunday. I got off the bike in 23rd or something like that with a massive deficit. A deficit that even I know is too large to make up on most people. I can tell you there were moments that i was looking for reasonable excuses to pull the plug. But Ironman is a game of patience and you have to honor that rule so I gave it a chance and starting running the miles. When my mile splits started coming back the tides turned slightly and I was given my first sign of hope all day. I was running sub 6′s and having to force myself to slow down which is a good sign and better than the other way around…..a massive tail wind helped the cause as well. It’s not hard to do the math and I figured that it was definitely possible to salvage the day and if guys started to blow up then who knows how far up I might go………and as corny as it may sound, when you have a kid you start to realize the importance of all those cliches…..what would I tell Finn in this situation? “That you never give up, that you keep running, that you do your best, that you trust in the plan…..and at the end of the day you need to look back and be able to say that you gave it your best shot”……..it’s cheesy but there is truth in it.

I ran from 23rd to 4th and got dam close to 3rd. It took everything I had to do it and I faded in the back 6 miles big time but I managed to salvage the day and was proud of the effort. It turns out that most of the guys had gone too hard on the bike in my estimation. There were only two run splits under 3 hours which is rare. As for Jordan, well what do you say, I don’t think there are many athletes in the world that would have beaten him on Sunday and even on my best day I think I would still be tipping my hat. It was an impressive performance all round on a tough bike day. People rave about his biking ability but to be honest I’m more impressed with how far his swim/run has come…….it’s a complete package and that’s why he laid down an 8:25 and won by 15 minutes.

And Theresa I will say landed a day of equal brilliance. Two Ironman wins in 5 weeks and a performance on Sunday that I have no doubt would have put her in the lead off the bike in Hawaii. A year ago there is no way she could have done this. She has stepped up big time and it was awesome to witness……at times a little too closely mind you:)

The best part of the weekend was the efforts of the team.  Dina back on track with Ironman and in a great head space.  Chris, no longer and Ironman virgin did an awesome job.  And of course I’m blown away with the Race4MS team who collectively raised over $100,000 and all finished with great times www.race4ms.org

Next up Hawaii and surprisingly I’m motivated……tired physically but motivated….perhaps for some kind of redemption but more a chance to have my best effort on the biggest stage and see what that gets me.