bike

Pre-Nationals Perspective

Humility is a good thing. A good thing that comes with being handed a little bit of perspective when the ego starts to get out of control. I have been riding an exceptional high since my overall wins in Woodstock and Welland. This past Monday, I raced a little twilight track 5000m at McMaster, a race I saw being promoted a bit on Twitter by triathletes Taylor and Austen Forbes, where I knew the guys would be getting after it. At the very least, it would end up being a really good gauge of where my fitness is, perhaps helping to guide my final preparations for Nationals at the Toronto Triathlon Festival on July 13.

Turns out, I got my fitness test and a slice of humble pie for dessert. I ran 16:02.49 for 5k, with kilometre splits of 3:08, 3:11, 3:14, 3:15, 3:14. Here’s the kicker though: I got lapped. Twice. The lead group went sub-15:00, led by Taylor in 14:28 (what an animal!). I settled in to the second group, which I followed until one guy dropped and the other gapped me, right around 2.5km. Then I just tried to fight off the 4th km malaise that has always plagued me. The pace lagged and I was isolated. I managed to finish strong in 72 seconds for my final lap. I’m quite happy with the result, which I figure is good for about 15:40 on the roads, and getting spanked around like that really reminded me that there is still A LOT of work to do to get to the level I want to be on.

McMaster Twilight Meet 5000m (16:02.49)

2014 has been a fantastic season for me. Last season, I struggled with injuries and was slow to adapt to the new training program I jumped into in joining Tommy and Ignition Fitness. There were growing pains, some overtraining, a monumentally questionable decision to run indoor track, and the aforemetioned injuries. I raced Woodstock, Binbrook and Welland last year having not been able to run more than 30 minutes at a time, with the odd progression run for “speedwork”. I was able to start grooving a bit before Worlds, but never really got into the condition I wanted to be in, which was reflected in the results. I recorded just one win (in a perfectly executed race) and whiffed on all my rough time goals.

Fast forward to this year: I focused on a steady and controlled diet of endurance volume and hard progression runs through the harsh winter (take that Polar Vortex, then ran my first two half marathons in February (1:18:01) and March (1:16:24). While many were struggling to get in the requisite bike training over the winter, I hit the trainer hard and saw HUGE gains in my cycling fitness. Between November and March, I watched my FTP spike by ~20W, and another 12W by mid-May. As a result, I have been racing on an extra 30W all season, which has resulted in keeping my leads intact deeper into the bike. A phenomenal improvement over last year, when I would nearly overextend the first run, only to get caught while the bike distance was still single digits.

Thanks Felt Bicycles and Wheels of Bloor for the extra speed.

My run has also improved. Before this season, my duathlon 5k PB was 17:04 (Welland 2013). This year I have split faster 3 times. Each time I have then got on the bike and pushed wattage that would have been absurd last season. I have been able to finally adapt to Tommy’s training program, which emphasizes higher intensity, lower volume and more recovery. I still hate days off…but I am learning their value. I have also finally started to pay attention to the other areas that need it. I used to burn the candle at both ends, and eat terrible food. My diet was primarily processed foods. However, Emma has been helping me slowly shift to a more plant-based diet, and cooking out of a Thrive cookbook. We rarely eat out anymore, and I have been forced to be more careful about what I put in my body in order to get the right nutrients. I feel stronger than ever, and bounce back from workouts quickly!

Eat clean, race fast.

As a result of all of this, my confidence is sky high heading into Nationals on the 13th. I truly believe that with a well-executed race that I can be a national champion on July 13. Only the day will tell us if I am able to achieve my goal. For this, I have a few people to thank, people that I would not be here without.

Everyone at Ignition Fitness has been awesome, especially Coach Tommy Ferris. It’s taken a little while to get to know each other and to wrap my head around the program, but we’re making huge progress now. Tommy is incredibly flexible, which has been awesome with all of the life changes I have had in the last 2 years. Through Tommy’s hard work, I have also had access to many sponsors that have allowed me to have the best equipment (thanks to Felt Bicycles and Wheels of Bloor) and the best nutrition (courtesy of Clif Bar) to push me into that next level. My teammates have also been nothing but supportive at races!

Being a part of the Multisport Canada/Recharge With Milk Ambassador team has been one of the best things I have stumbled on in my career. It started with an article I wrote about the doomed Barrelman duathlon that got me thinking about what I can do to save my sport. I conscripted Larry Bradley into helping me build Duathlon Central and took a more active role on social media and with race directors to create opportunities for duathletes, before being asked by Roger and John Salt to represent duathletes on the Ambassador team. It has been incredibly rewarding. The Multisport Canada crew puts on a top notch event, and I am proud to represent them. Every result means more when the race director is there to be the first one to congratulate you, the venues are second to none, and the race distances are challenging and great preparation for provincial, national, and international championship events. Given the choice, I will travel the extra hour or so to get to a Multisport Canada event than any other race!

Always there for me

Most of all, my family. My girlfriend Emma has been dragged around to more conservation areas at ungodly hours than any reasonable person should be expected to. Yet, when I cross the line I’m pretty sure she is more proud of me than anyone else there. I can’t wait to chase her around the Lakeside Resort in September for her first sprint duathlon! Transportation has always been an issue for me, but her parents have been unbelievable as well, rearranging their lives to get to all the races I can’t get to myself. Finally, I need to thank my parents who, despite living across the country in Edmonton, are always there. They flew in for a week to see me race at Welland, and are the primary sponsors of all of the expenses I will incur for TTF and US Nats in St.Paul.

Obviously, success is a team effort. Without my sponsors and these 5 incredible people, I would have a lot more to worry about and weigh me down! For that I am thankful, but there is still a long way to go. I intend to keep the pressure on for the next 11 weeks in search of a Provincial title, a National title, and a chance to make a name for myself nationally and internationally. Should be fun!

Until next time…keep Du’ing it!

“That’s Two in a Row” – MSC Rose City Duathlon Report

It’s been a tough 3 weeks of training since my last race in Woodstock, but I came in to my favourite venue at my favourite race series on an emotional high. The final result (click here to view) is best described by Lou Brown in Major League 2.

Chatting with Larry Bradley pre-race (Photo Credit Emma Parker, 2014)

However, my second win of the 2014 season started off with a little bit of a scare. After a good warm-up and little recon of the course (ie. getting to know which potholes to avoid if I wanted to keep my front wheel intact), I was heading out to the start line when I caught a glimpse of the great Dave Frake racking his bike. As he had just come off setting a course record at the Real Deal Gears Thursday Night Time Trial, I was a tad relieved to hear that he would be competing in the duathlon relay (where he put up a stunning 41:24 split on the 30km bike). The target on my back was quickly apparent when series director John Salt called out in front of the entire field asking Larry whether he was going to run me down or not!

Pushed to the front off the start (Photo Credit Emma Parker, 2014)

RUN #1 (4.98km by my count) – 16:34 (3:19/km, 1^st overall and duathlon 5k PB)
Run gear – Nimblewear custom Ignition Fitness trisuit, Saucony Type A5 Racing Flats, Zoot compression socks

Before the horn, I could definitely tell my strength on the run was well-known, as I was basically pushed right to the front. I had PLANNED to let someone else take the lead across the bridge before taking over as we hit the fitness path, though this seemed to signal otherwise. Luckily a new face, Mike Park from Clinton, swooped in and surged to the front. I was more than happy to work in tandem with him on the first run, and it was actually quite nice to get to know this dude. Some strong running today from him (stealing my R2 bonus in the process!)…some more miles on the bike may make him another 20-something to watch in Ontario duathlon! We cruised through, clipping off about 3:18’s before I drifted away from him with about 600m to go in the first run. I rolled in to transition with a very strong 16:34 5k (that felt a little too easy to be true) and a healthy lead over my major competitors in the race.

On my way to the bikes after a 16:34 opening 5k (Photo Credit Emma Parker, 2014)

Heading out onto the bike on my Felt B16 (Photo Credit My Sports Shooter, 2014)

BIKE (29.77km) – 46:58 (3^rd overall, duathlon 30k bike PB, NP 235W/AP 230W)
Bike set-up – 2014 Felt B16 (courtesy of Wheels of Bloor) w/ Bontrager Aeolus 5 carbon clincher front/Williams S30 w/ Powertap hub and Dyma wheel cover rear, Michelin Pro Race 3 tires (23c front/25c rear), Lazer Tardiz aero helmet, X-Lab Torpedo BTA bottle, S-Works Trivent triathlon shoes

My transitions in this one could have been cleaned up a bit, though the duathletes had a tough rack spot in transition. Each transition involved a U-turn close to the run in/out that resulted in a longer run to and from our bikes, but as they say, it’s the same for everybody! Mother Nature definitely had her say on the bike. The winds were gusting over the canal today, which led to some nasty crosswinds on the short jaunt along the canal before the first right turn…straight into the headwind. Headwinds are made for the super-cyclists of the world, not for the 125lb rabbits who are just looking to minimize the damage on the bike. I attempted to settle into a groove, and found a semblance of one on the way out. The time trial start of the triathlon really helped to reduce the congestion on the course as I rode terrified of the monsters chasing me from behind. Surprisingly, I managed to make it to the turnaround with my lead intact, but the bad news was coming…Dave Frake, Larry Bradley, and Grahame Rivers, all in quick succession, less than a minute back. The tailwind helped keep them at bay for another 4-5km, but Grahame made the pass just before 20k, followed by Frake closer to 5k. Though Larry was charging hard, I managed to hold him off as we entered transition with a new 30 duathlon PB.

Data nerds, click here for my Strava file. Definitely much better pacing on this one than in Woodstock, undoubtedly helped along by the flat course profile!

RUN #2 (5.35km) – 19:31 (3:38/km, 2^nd overall)

Emma fed me the time gap heading out of transition, so I was out on the run knowing I had a 75 second gap to make up on Grahame after his wicked duathlon-best 42:04 bike split. My legs were feeling the strong push into the headwind on the way out, but I was confident. Training has been going fantastically, and even though all my charts said I should be tired I know I am strong right now…especially on the run. After cruising over the bridge and navigating the tight turns around the cones, I went hunting. I made the catch just after the first turnaround (tons of credit needs to go out to Grahame here…to ride like that after a tough first run is stunning to see, and to know that he went from 5 minutes back over a shorter distance three weeks ago to 2 minutes back today is impressive…and a bit terrifying). From there, I just followed the lead bike back to the finish line where I crossed in a time of 1:24:24, shy of Tommy’s course record but with some gas left in the tank.

FINAL RESULT – 1ST OVERALL (1:24:24)

Thanks to Ignition Fitness, Multisport Canada, Felt Bicycles, Clif Nutrition, Wheels of Bloor and the rest of my sponsors and support team for making this win happen (Photo Credit Emma Parker, 2014)

Celebrating a second straight Welland Duathlon win (Photo Credit My Sports Shooter, 2014)

Duathlon Central partners in crime go 1-2 in Welland! (Photo Credit Emma Parker, 2014)

Saturday was exceptionally special because I got to share it with some of my biggest supporters. Not only was Emma there, my rock and number one fan, always cheering her heart out and taking fantastic pictures (not easy to do both apparently!), but my parents were able to fly in from Edmonton to see me race for the first time since Worlds in Ottawa last year. You three are always there for me when it gets tough, and this sport can be incredibly tough, so thank you. And I hope you enjoyed that win Pops…Happy Father’s Day!

Big thanks to send out to Coach Tommy at Ignition Fitness, I’m proud to wear the yellow flame for you at all of my races. John and the gang at Multisport Canada, you did it again. Another impressive event…I’m proud to fly the MSC flag as part of the Recharge With Milk Ambassador team. Felt Bicycles and Wheels of Bloor, I’m loving my new Felt B16 more and more with every race and training ride, and I live and die by my Clif Bars and Shots for nutrition during training and racing. Next up for me is MY BIG RETURN TO THE TRACK, as I take on some trackies in an assault on my 5,000m PB at McMaster on June 23…what better place than where the Canadian high school record was set? After that, it’s back to the batcave for my final prep for the Canadian Duathlon Championships at the Toronto Triathlon Festival on July 13 and my destination race of the year, the USA Duathlon Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota on July 19. Exciting times lay ahead!

So until next time…keep Du’ing it!

MSC Welland Duathlon Overall Podium (Photo Credit Emma Parker, 2014)

MSC Rose City Duathlon Final Results

The Battle of Rose City – Welland Preview

Every year since I started duathlon, the Rose City Duathlon (formerly Welland) of the Multisport Canada/Recharge With Milk Triathlon Series has been a favourite on the circuit. Uber-biker Erik Box won it in my first season is a blazing fast 1:24:04 time, and I was able to take the win last season after executing one of my best ever races in a time of 1:24:34 on a very hot day. The flat and fast course lends itself incredibly well to a drag race. It is a fantastic last tune-up prior to the big races of July in Ontario. On another interesting note, as far as I can tell the course record is held by my coach Tommy Ferris, in a quick 1:23:33 time.

I will be returning to Welland this upcoming weekend with what I hope is an improved bike split. After a relatively slow start to the Ontario duathlon scene where the close finish has been a rarity, the early confirmation list promises an interesting and competitive race. The overall winners at Woodstock (myself), Milton (Grahame Rivers), and Binbrook (Larry Bradley) will all be in attendance, and who knows what wild card will reveal itself on race morning? Here is what each of the contenders will need to do to win the Battle of Rose City (please excuse me writing about myself in the 3rd person below…it just sounds better in this context!)…

LARRY BRADLEY (2014 results: 1^st at Binbrook)

2014 Mike Cheliak – My Sports Shooter

Strength: A complete racer. Larry is the most experienced contender, and that shows in his solid bike and run over the years. Larry will always consistently have close to the fastest splits in both disciplines. Larry continued that trend of running a complete race in Binbrook this past weekend.

Weakness: The second run. If Larry has a weakness, it is a wild card on the second run. Though Larry is generally strong all the way through the race, he has occasionally had hiccups running off the bike if he is forced to dig too deep on the bike, which can cost any duathlete a race.

How Larry wins on Saturday: Strong second run. If Larry is to win on Saturday, he will have to keep up a steady performance from start to finish line. With strong runners coming from behind, Larry will have to stave off the heat and dead legs from 2 weekends of racing to come out on top.

GRAHAME RIVERS (2014 results: 4^th at Woodstock, 1^st at Milton)

2014 Mike Cheliak – My Sports Shooter

Strength: The bike. What race is complete without the stud cyclist? Grahame is new to the sport, but has stepped in nicely as the guy everyone looks over their shoulder for after T1. A reigning provincial ITT champion, Grahame is always good for a smoking bike split.

Weakness: The run. As a pure cyclist before this year, Grahame has had a steep learning curve. Some race experience surely helped him turn a 4^th in Woodstock into a win in Milton. Hopefully Grahame can carry over his cycling fitness to take his run up another notch on Saturday.

How Grahame wins on Saturday: Crush the bike. Even a consistent 4:00/km pace on the run means Grahame may be starting the bike 3 minutes behind, needing a 3 minute lead out of T2 to hang on. Can Grahame knock a further 3 minutes off his bike split from Milton and scare 40:00 on Saturday before hanging on for the win?

JESSE BAUER (2014 results: 7^th at Iron Hawk, 1^st at Woodstock)

2014 Mike Cheliak – My Sports Shooter

Strength: The run. Over his short career, Jesse has become well-known for his foot speed. That is his ace in the hole, as he regularly post the top run splits in races. The question on Saturday is whether or not his bike is strong enough to keep him close enough to unleash that second run.

Weakness: The bike. As a classic former track runner, Jesse is still learning how to get the most out of his cycling. A strong bike leg still leaves him with minutes to make up on the second run. He has improved over the past year, but will that continue on June 14? We shall see…

How Jesse wins on Saturday: Minimize losses on the bike. Last year he was able to come out with a win in Welland because he was able to keep Erik and Larry close on the second half of the bike. Will a similar strategy work this weekend in his title defense?

THE WILD CARDS

The great yet terrifying thing about duathlon in Ontario is that you just don’t know who you will be racing until you get to the start line. Will Erik Box emerge from the abyss to take another shot at the course record, adding another uber-biker to the field? Will Bruce Raymer attempt to follow up his great duathlon debut with a second in Welland, adding another rabbit to the start line? Will Richard Eyram decide to dust off his P3 and running shoes, joining Larry as another solid and complete racer that just cannot be ignored? Is there another unknown out there who is planning on crashing the party with a big debut? Still so many questions, ones that will hopefully be answered before we all toe the line, but many that will be up in the air until the dust settles. All we can be sure of is that we are in for a heck of a race!

5 Tips for Aspiring Duathletes

Duathlon really is a different beast than triathlon, even though both are generally hosted on the same weekend and are often thought of as being interchangeable. Swapping that swim out for a run completely changes the dynamic of the race, and those who have experienced both can assuredly tell you that it is a different sport entirely! New duathletes need to be prepared for this shock as they navigate their first season of du’ing it. And what’s the point of having experience if you don’t share it and pass it on! Here are some tips from me that I have been sitting on for weeks and hope can help you, whether you are preparing for your first duathlon or looking for a personal best in your tenth one!

Find your limit on the first run
I always hear the advice “Don’t start too hard” given to new duathletes. And you’re going to hear it here again…if your goal is to accomplish the distance, this is definitely the best strategy for you. The first run scorch the legs no matter how much you keep in reserve, and too many matches burned on the first run could lead to a difficult ride and more difficult second run. However, I do think it is valuable to refer to this as a guideline with room for progression. As you grow as a duathlete, the harder I believe you can press on that first run. As you complete more and more du’s, you will get to know what your limit is on that first run for different distances, the point where you can maximize time savings on the first run while still keeping enough in reserve for a strong bike and second run. You can then focus on getting closer to it every time. Either way, take the first 500m-1km to get your bearings, gauge your position in the race, and work yourself up to your goal pace. There is still a long way to go to be burning a match in the opening stretch!

Finding that limit!

Brick it
Just like triathlon is not the simple sum of a swim race, a bike race, and a running race, duathlon is much more than the sum of its parts. From start to finish, duathlon is very much its own unique sport, and should be treated as such. That means supplementing your cycling and running workouts with combination brick workouts. Brick workouts for duathletes can be as simple as heading out for a short run before or after your cycling workout, or even both! As you progress through the season and as a duathlete in general, you will want to start injecting some pace into these runs to better simulate a race situation, but even just a jog around the block will suffice until you feel more comfortable with brick workouts. The point is just to get your head and your legs around the idea that you will have to bike after running, and run after cycling.

Sweat the small details
Additional time can EASILY be shaved by taking the time and the care to sweat the small details. That means considering elastic laces in your shoes for easy on/off in transition, simplifying and meticulously planning of your transition procedures and set-up to minimize the number of things you have to think about after that first run, and jogging (instead of walking) your bike in and out of transition. Without the swim, you can carry everything on you from the start, making it easier to keep your transitions simple. Especially in a shorter race, T1 should be “shoes off, helmet on, GO”, T2 should be “helmet off, shoes on, GO”. Just ask Darren Cooney, who netted an overall podium (his first?) this past weekend in Binbrook by 31 seconds over 4th, thanks in part to the 35 seconds he saved in transition.

Who cares about details? I do!

Don’t forget the run/bike transition
In triathlon, there is a lot of focus on running well after a hard bike. While this is still true in duathlons, there is a lot of value to working on the other transition…the run to bike transition. Practice running before biking, to get your legs used to cycling after redlining for 5 or 10km. Start with adding a short run before (and after) your ride once or twice a week, and then progress to injecting a little bit of pace into that first run. It doesn’t have to be more than 5 or 10 minutes at around your first run pace. What is important is getting onto the bike with a little bit of running related fatigue and teaching your legs to buffer that very early on in the bike. And while you’re at it, practice that transition. Lay out your transition zone (remember: shoes off, helmet on, GO), and if you are comfortable enough with your ability to attempt a flying mount, practice that too. Attach your shoes to your bike, use elastic attached to the heel pull and hooked over a part of your bike to get them nice and flat for entry, and (most importantly) get yourself mentally prepared to think of it as a race situation.

Grab all of the low-hanging fruit
The number one way of becoming a faster duathlete is to ride your bike lots, run lots, and increase the size of your engine. Buy yourself an indoor trainer and a Netflix account so you can keep riding once the snow falls. This is the number one piece of low-hanging fruit that most duathletes miss. Once you are there, transition practice, elastic laces, and even all the fancy aero goodies you see in transition are all examples of low-hanging fruit that many people believe they are “not ready for” or “not good enough for”. Why not? As long as you enjoy the sport and are willing to commit to it, I see no harm in investing in a little bit of extra speed. If you are savvy about it you can do it on 20% of the budget than the retailers would like you to believe. Assuming you are starting on a road bike, clip-on aerobars and good bike fit can be had for $200-250, and can do wonders for your bike speed. Next, an aero helmet ($50-100 used online), a rear disc wheel cover ($100 at Wheelbuilder.com) and a between the arms bottle mount ($20 for four zipties and a bottle cage) will knock off another chunk of time. Beyond that, a deeper front wheel can be found used online by the savvy shopper for $300-500, and likely hold that value. All will give you a huge boost for less than $1000 (or about half of what you would pay for a more aero frame, for at least double the speed). Just as with transitions, make sure you get lots of practice riding with all of these goodies before you try it in a race!

Deep Front Wheel – $500 used
Disc Cover – $100
Aero Bottle Mount – $20
DIY Garmin Mount – $5
Aero Helmet (not pictured) – $50 used online

The inspiration for this post was an article that Darren pointed out to me via Twitter by professional duathlete Jez Cox, which you can read it here. Jez has a lot of fantastic ideas that got me started on thinking about the knowledge I have to share, so I highly recommend giving that a read as well. Debate is always welcomed, so feel free to chime in on Facebook/Twitter or in the comments below. I would love to hear what you have to say!

Until next time, keep Du’ing it!

Breakthrough

I had a whole blog post schedule planned for the next 3 weeks on both of my sites (this blog and Duathlon Central). But sometimes something comes up that I just feel the need to write about that blows my schedule out of the water…it’s usually something that seems very simple on the surface, but usually ends up being much more than that as the season goes on…

Thursday’s run was one of those things. Earlier in the week, I had to convince Tommy to add in an endurance run to my Thursday schedule, on a day that was previously scheduled as a day off. I hate days off, but I have learned to handle them in moderation. After a bout of diagnosed overtraining last year and several years before that spent flirting with it, I have learned that I can push my body to ridiculous limits only if I have adequate recovery time, which sometimes means a day of rest. However, I had taken the Monday off after Woodstock, then done two days of relatively light training, then this other day off before a monster weekend, and I was feeling a little bit anxious about my ability to effectively run for 75 minutes on Sunday after having not really run more than 30 minutes at a time for the previous month or so. We ended up adding in an hour of running on Thursday…an hour of running that ended up being one of the best runs of my life.

Sometimes while running, I feel like I am fighting what my body was created to do, and it feels like a struggle. Other times, it feels like all my hard work to become an elite long distance runner, and then a duathlete, has paid off by making me look like a runner. And then there are the rare occasions where I feel like this is what I was born to do, and nothing else. Going into this run, I was really lacking in the confidence to perform the high-intensity training that is on its way in preparation of my Welland title defense, Canadian Nationals in Toronto, and US Nationals in St. Paul. Confidence is a funny thing, especially considering I had just won in Woodstock the preceding weekend leading from wire to wire. I should have been buoyed by that…instead I was feeling scared that the lower volume, higher intensity training of May would lead to an early peak for my goal races. I have a tendency to overthink, especially when I have the time to think, which makes it very hard for me to trust the process sometimes. Tommy can usually do a fantastic job of calming me down and helping me see the big picture again, but this was one of those occasions when I think I really just needed to experience it for myself.

The run really wasn’t a big deal. A tad shy of 14km in 1 hour, with some 15 second strides at the end. It wasn’t a night run (my favourite), and it wasn’t overly special or magical. It just…flowed. That’s one of my favourite things about running. You can be out in your own little world, and you are the only one who knows what you are accomplishing. The majority of the people that I went past during this run probably had no idea what I was doing. The other runners I passed likely perceived my speed, but definitely not the fact that I was having quite possibly my breakthrough workout of the 2014 season. Only I knew at the time, and that insider knowledge fueled me all through the run. Every stride felt effortless, and even the hill out of the valley near the end didn’t register with me. I felt unstoppable.

While the run really wasn’t anything special (numbers-wise), it did set up an AWESOME weekend of training. For the past 4 days, I have been absolutely dialed in to my training. My Saturday workout produced some effortless climbing on hills that have never been effortless, and some of my most consistent and powerful tempo sets on the bike yet this season while still saving the legs for a strong run off the bike. Sunday’s run was also a “work of art”, as Tommy put it, where I nailed the race pace sections of my 75 minute run almost to the second, before turning over some quick 31 second 200m repeats on the track upon arriving home. I have a very tough week of training on tap coming up, but the confidence and power that I have received from the simple act of adding that Thursday run and the resulting weekend training results have me excited for it, ready to nail this week and next before heading to Welland to defend my title. I may have produced the same results without that Thursday run; that we’ll never know. But that run allowed me to get excited about the hard training of the weekend, and to have the strength to get out there and do the work that needed to be done. Thanks to Coach T at Ignition Fitness for talking me through this rough patch and helping me see the big picture again…I needed it.

Training is about balance. Hard work and recovery go hand in hand. Physically, that day off on Thursday may have been the right thing for me for one final rest before getting down to work. But equally as important as the physical aspect of this sport is the mental aspect. When you are out there alone for as many hours as you are, you have to believe in what you are doing. You have to be able to tell yourself before lacing up that you WILL walk out that door, you WILL accomplish what needs to be accomplished, and you WILL knock today’s workout out of the park. Because when you have that confidence, magical things can happen. You can lift impossible weights and run impossible distances…it just takes finding that one thing that makes you feel unstoppable. So do what makes you feel unstoppable, and then tell the world what you were able to accomplish.

Until next time…keep du’ing it.

“I am Iron Hawk”: Provincial Duathlon Championships Race Report

Last Saturday I participated in the Iron Hawk Duathlon, which doubled as the Ontario Sprint Duathlon Championships and made for a fantastic season opener for duathletes in Ontario. You can check out the race recap I wrote about the race for Duathlon Central here. Needless to say, the race more than lived up to billing, and I was treated to a race against the most competitive field of athletes I have ever raced, and I think it brought out the best in me. The lead up to the race wasn’t the best, as I dealt with some injury issues, an important bike part left in Hamilton, and some last hour mechanical issues, but I was still able to pull off a 7th place finish in one of the fastest Ontario duathlons in recent memory! Enjoy.

Heading out onto the run course

LEAD UP TO THE RACE (Not pretty!):
The week going into the race was a bit of an adventure. I felt a twinge in my foot on my Saturday long run a week out that ended up being a bit of peroneal tendonitis and left me limping around the house for the rest of the weekend.A few days off it with some aggressive icing and stretching, and I was able to get through some runs later in the week without much pain. I declared myself ready to race. I drove down to the race Friday night with Emma and her parents, where we stayed at a friend’s place in Leamington. Upon arrival, I was putting my bike together and discovered that my rear skewer was…still on the sidewalk in Hamilton! D’oh…luckily fellow competitor Brad Reiter happened to live three blocks from where we were staying, and had an extra skewer. Thanks Brad! Surprise #2 came after I had set up transition on race morning. There’s a reason I always take my bike out after setting up to make sure everything is okay mechanically. Turns out I had so little clearance between my rear wheel and the frame that as soon as my tire picked up some dirty, it started to rub on the inside of the frame! So 45 minutes before racetime, there I was with my bike up on the mechanic’s stand, adjusting my wheel to sit a bit further back to solve the rub! I got it sorted out in good time and was able to get a good warmup in. Ready for the race of my life.

Last minute mechanical work on my Felt B16

Everything was right in the world when the gun went off. This was excellent. I started in about the third row because everyone in front of me was just so fast! I had a plan to let the guys take off and just hook up to Rui Xu, who I know is around my level, for the first lap, and then see what happened. I was able to do exactly that, ran a very strong first lap, then I found that I had the legs on the second lap to gap him and chase a couple people down. Through that second lap, I moved from 11th to 7th heading into T1 with a 17:10 split. The first run was about 250m long, and my 5k split was somewhere between 16:25 and 16:30. An awesome first split, a duathlon run PB, and feeling great to boot. My foot wasn’t even yipping at me like I expected it would, and actually allowed me to focus on the race instead of the pain. Great start!

RUN #1 (5.25km): 17:10 (9th fastest)

Tucked into aero to get out of the Essex County winds

The bike has always been my weak point. After a sloppy transition where I had trouble with my watch and my new helmet. I was out on the bike with a fire in my eyes. The course was entirely flat, but the wind more than made up for the lack of elevation change! Every lap of the two lap course had a headwind section, a crosswind section and a tailwind section before a 180 degree turn. My lack of outdoor riding really showed here, as I was constantly having to slow down to navigate the many turns on each lap. Racing guys on road bikes has its perks, as I was able to make up most of the ground I lost on the turns during the headwind sections. I spent the bike going back and forth with Colin Lavigne and Paul Kolb, and flipped into race mode on the second lap as I tried to stick with them. The time was a 2 minute 20k duathlon bike PB, but still some work to do here.

BIKE (19.9km): 34:03 (13th fastest)

Heading into T2

After a much better second transition, I was back out on the run course in 8th position. I most definitely brought my run legs with me to Harrow, and my experience as a duathlete came through for me. Against a very elite field, I still put up a 5th fastest second run split, and posted my first ever negative split second run. Nothing really much changed in the race during this second run, as it was more a formality for the majority of the top 10. However, I came out of T2 hot on the heels of Lavigne, and dug deep to reel him in. About 1km into the run, I pulled up alongside, put on a burst of speed and tried to distance him. I couldn’t help but smile coming around the last bend, as I held onto 7th place in this competitive race. A new Sprint Duathlon PB of 1:01:05, a fantastic race and a great sign of things to come for my 2014 season (once I get this foot 100% again!)

RUN #2 (2.75km): 8:51 (5th fastest)

Pulling in for 7th overall

Shout out to Lionel Sanders, Austen and Taylor Forbes, Sean Bechtel, Garrick Loewen and new du-er on the scene Sjaan Gerth for the great races! Y’all are fast! Next up for me is a pair of MultiSport Canada races, in Woodstock and Welland. Then it’s off to Toronto for Nationals and St. Paul for US Nationals (with maybe a 5k track race thrown in). Thanks go out to my coach Tommy Ferris with Ignition Fitness for getting me in the shape to drop such a great result, and to Felt Bicycles for my fantastic new race bike and Clif Bar Canada for fueling me. I also want to thank John and Roger at MultiSport Canada for setting me up at the bulk of my races for the 2014 season. With the uncertainty in the Canadian duathlon calendar as a whole, it is awesome to know that I will be taken care of at my races. But of course, the biggest thanks goes out to my girlfriend, cheering section, and race photographer Emma, and her family for giving up their weekends to get me to my competitions. I cannot express my gratitude enough! You can find the results of the race here.

Until next time, enjoy a few more photos…and keep Du’ing it!

Out for a short cooldown jog

It’s finally race season!!!

Post-race rewards

Spring Training Report – Harry’s Spring Run Off and Paris to Ancaster

As a baseball fan (and proud member of Bucs Nation…let’s go Bucs), spring is often my favourite time of year. Why? Because it’s Spring Training of course! Spring Training is a time for shaking off the rust, trying some new things, and for the players to get their heads back around the daily grind that is the MLB season. It is also the time to get that hands-on practice on an outdoor field of play, something that just cannot be simulated indoors. As a duathlete, my Spring Training is a little bit different. Duathlons don’t start until mid-May, so my “Spring Training” consists of road races, the occasional bike race, and lots of saddle time on the roads, the trainer and at the track. This year I have the added bonus of a early spring A Race at the Provincial Sprint Duathlon Championships in Harrow on May 10, and to prepare for it I raced the Harry’s Spring Run-Off 8k at High Park on April 5, and the legendary Paris to Ancaster 65km bike race on April 27.

My start wave at Paris to Ancaster

After Chilly, Tommy and I flipped over to a bike focus. So my weekly Thursday threshold intervals on the roads turned into tough sustained race efforts on the trainer, and we added in a second long endurance ride during the week. Despite upping the ante on the bike, I still chose to open up my spring at one of my favourite races on the Ontario circuit, Harry’s Spring Run-Off. This race is the season opener of the Canada Running Series, and is held on the traffic free roads of High Park. It is one of my favourite all-time race courses, a course that loops through quiet scenic roads and includes long killer hills during the 4^th and last kilometers of the race. The last hill up Spring Road is sure to bust your legs if they aren’t already at that point! I knew the bike focus might have an effect on my result, but Harry’s is always a great way to assess winter running fitness. Emma came along with me, and we made a weekend of it!

Always there for me, even in the cold and wind 🙂

I raced this one from the red corral, where I positioned myself just off the back of a stacked elite field. This enabled me to follow the big dogs out onto the race course, leading to a speedy 3:04 first kilometer. A little hot, but that first kilometer is also slightly downhill (at least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself). After that I settled into a nice pace and just tried to work the hills hard. They aren’t easy, demonstrated by the fact that I likely gave back 40 seconds while climbing them. However, I ended up in 15^th place overall in a time of 27:21, an excellent result given the bike focus and the windy and high of 5 conditions of the day. Having only done 2 real short course running workouts since November, this result does give me great confidence that my run fitness is on track for Iron Hawk.

27:21 for 15th Overall, 2nd in M20-24

After a down week and a 2 very excellent weekends of endurance-focused training, I entered the biggest training week of h my duathlon career, culminating with the 65km Paris to Ancaster gravel bike race on the Sunday. A great week of training left me a little tired on the line, but this race was about participation instead of competition. It was a chance to experience my first pure cycling race (in all its muddy glory), and to put myself in a race situation with absolutely no pressure to produce a result. If you have never heard of Paris to Ancaster, do yourself a favour and Google this legendary race. 65km of mud, forests, farm lanes, gravel, dirt roads and more mud…one sector of the race is so infamously muddy that it is dubbed the “Mudslide of Death”. Needless to say, it was one that I needed to cross off my bucket list once I got myself a cyclocross bike.

The Start Line in Paris

The day didn’t start off great, as I missed my bus to Ancaster and thus had to ride my cross bike 15km up the mountain to Ancaster at 7am…an inauspicious start. But with more than 3 hours until my wave start it didn’t hurt me all that much, and the extra volume didn’t matter much during what was not supposed to be more than a glorified long ride. I also could have done a better job seeding myself, as I like could have shaved 15-20 minutes off my time by starting at the back of Wave 2 instead of the back of Wave 3. That decision led to a lot of soft-pedaling and weaving around slower traffic until it opened up a bit. But once it opened up, I settled in to a pattern of picking up ground and dragging a paceline up to the next group on the tame stuff, then losing it all back in the mud. During the rail trail sections I found myself more than happy to hop on the front and drag an indecisive group along (it’s not like I have a time trial style race in a couple weeks or anything), which was great for the confidence. I ended up walking a lot of the muddy stuff though, as I just don’t have the bike handling skills to pedal through 3 inches of mud. At the finish, I still had the legs to pass 30 people and ride the whole Martin Rd hill, and crossed the line pleased with a good hard day of training!

Climbing the Martin Road Hill!

A muddy 65km in 2:45:45

As always, big thanks to Emma to trooping it out to Toronto for Harry’s and again to Ancaster to see me finish (and take some awesome pictures!) the Paris to Ancaster race. She’s the best! All in all, April was a month of great training and great experiences as I prepare for the Provincial Sprint Duathlon Championships at the Iron Hawk Duathlon in Harrow. It will be my first test of my duathlon fitness, where I will be looking for a top 10 finish against a stacked field and hopefully a personal best sub-60 minute time to start my multisport season off on the right track! Thanks to Ignition Fitness for the continued support, and to Clif Nutrition, Felt Bicycles and Wheels of Bloor for making sure I have all the right tools for success from my April races into Iron Hawk.

Until next time, keep Du’ing it!

Equipment Review – 2014 Felt B16 (My New Ride for 2014)

Getting a new bike seems to be one of the days in every multisport athlete’s season that they look forward to the most. I had planned for my next blog post to be either a current issue affecting duathletes, or a race report from my adventures at Harry’s Spring Run-Off…but then my new bike arrived, and I just have this feeling that my readers want to hear all about that first! Please excuse any technical jargon, and feel free to comment on the post with any questions.

My bike splits in 2014 will be brought to you by a 52cm 2014 Felt B16. When Coach Tommy worked out the Ignition Fitness/Felt Bicycles/Wheels of Bloor sponsorship deal in late 2013, it set in a motion the (long) series of events that led to me getting my new steed. The whole process took about 4 months (well worth it, it turns out) that started with listing/selling my loyal Argon 18 E-80 (thanks for two seasons of memories, have fun in Montreal!), and continued through ordering the new one (a sleek 2014 Felt B16), awaiting its arrival from the factory (with a few minor hiccups at customs), making the journey to Wheels of Bloor for pickup and fitting (via 5 methods of public transportation), and finally taking it home to add my own personal touches.

Freshly built and fitted at Wheels of Bloor

The B16 is Felt’s entry level carbon fibre time trial bike, but comes packed with goodies. You can view the full component spec pictured above here…nothing spectacular, but it will definitely be more than handy once I add my own finishing touches! The guys at Wheels of Bloor were great, as they had my bike built and ready for me to be fitted when I finally arrived at the shop Friday afternoon. The gentleman who fitted me also adjusted everything to match the measurements generated by my latest RETUL fit. 20 minutes of adjusting and 5 minutes on the trainer later, it felt like a rocket ready to be launched. Some of the adjustments included dropping the cockpit as low as it can go by removing spacers and installing a -25 degree stem, moving the aerobars as close together as the stem allows, and tweaking the saddle height for my short inseam. After navigating the journey home, I bolted on my bottle cages, attached my DIY Garmin mount, and strapped on my Powertap in preparation of my first training ride.

Ready for the maiden voyage

Most of my own personal touches occurred in the cockpit area. Everyone has their own configuration that works for them…mine is pictured below. For races, I generally only run one bottle mounted horizontally between the extensions. The first incarnation on my previous bike was simply a cage zip-tied to the extensions. Since then, I’ve added an aluminum X-Lab Torpedo mount to the cage, which I find helps ease my mind about whether or not my bottle is staying completely horizontal while riding. Though definitely not necessary, the peace of mind helps. My Garmin 910XT mount is also a custom job: an empty Nuun electrolyte tablet canister cut to size, holes drilled on either side and zip-tied between the shifters. A strip of adhesive Velcro (the soft/”loop” side) keeps the standard Garmin quick release kit mount from sliding around at high speeds. It’s that easy! It’s simple and definitely not the most creative configuration I’ve seen, but it works well for me.

View from above of my cockpit layout

Saturday morning meant my first test ride on the Felt. Maybe it’s just me, but I love to break in new equipment with a long workout…long runs for shoes, and long rides for bikes! So off I went for a 3 hour jaunt around Flamborough County, with a mixture of steady state riding, climbing, flat to rolling time trial intervals, and a few all-out townline sprints…basically a test of all aspects of the ride quality of a new bike. Being the first time I had ridden carbon fibre, I was amazed at the ride quality. Besides feeling very light, it seemed to absorb many of the bumps and gouges of county roads that my old aluminum frame did not. I was also very impressed with its climbing ability (for a TT bike), its quick acceleration to cruising speed, and the ease with which it cut through air once I got it going. The 105 drivetrain shifted crisp and clean, and the Microshift bar-end shifters and stock Felt TTR saddle were a pleasant surprise. Overall, my first impression was that the Felt B16 delivered a truckload of quality in a modestly priced package, great for any multisport athlete who has outgrown the modified road bike and wants a full-blown carbon fibre/aerodynamic experience.

Excited for the first ride

However, there were a few areas of improvement that first ride pointed out. First, some of the cockpit adjustments I originally settled on proved to be too aggressive for me, especially this early in the season. So, upon returning from the ride I adjusted the extensions outward by a millimeter or two, slid the extensions back a bit and moved the armrests slightly forward and farther apart. This allowed me to slide my BTA bottle mount all the way back to the headset, giving me a little bit more room to slide a bottle out without mashing it against the buttons on my Garmin. The end result was a much more comfortable ride, at least for a few minutes of spinning on the trainer. I came away very impressed with the adjustability of the cockpit.

Second, though I thought the shifting and acceleration were excellent, I did find the stock FSA Vero crank a little heavy and slow to respond during hard accelerations (though it would do in a pinch). It came spec’ed with 52/36 gearing, as opposed to the 50 tooth big ring I switched to late last year after reading a great blog post by my friend Cody Beals (who happens to be fresh off a 5th place finish in his pro debut at IM Texas 70.3, great work Cody!). I am a high cadence spinner and I don’t generally put out enough power to push anything larger than a 50 tooth big ring without really struggling, so I had always planned on changing this out. However, I decided to try the larger gearing on the first ride, just to see how I liked it. Turns out I don’t, so off came the Vero in favour of an FSA Gossamer crank I had lying around the office (with custom 50/36 gearing). Due to my very amateur wrenching skills, the ease of an external bottom bracket was another reason to switch. Other swaps I made with existing parts I had lying around were to change the stock SunRace cassette/chain for a 105 chain and an Ultegra 11-25 cassette (11-28 for hilly races), and putting on my Williams S30 Powertap wheels for training rides. For races, I will swap in a Bontrager 50mm carbon race wheel, a disc cover for the rear, and some narrower race tires. As well, I THINK I can still get lower, so I’m on the lookout for a low-rise headset dust cap to make that a reality.

Try not to drool

All in all, I am VERY excited to start my adventures of training and racing with this bike. HUGE shout-out to Coach Tommy at Ignition Fitness, and my sponsors Felt Bicycles and Wheels of Bloor for setting this all up. I’m slightly embarrassed about the number of hours I spent on all three of these sites the past few months browsing and drooling over this bike, and I am beyond excited to finally have it in my possession. Be on the lookout for some wicked fast bike splits out of me this season on this beauty! Next up for me is a little hiatus from the roads to prep for Paris to Ancaster on April 27 before heading back to the pain cave to get ready for the Ontario Sprint Duathlon Championships in Harrow on May 10. Be on the lookout for a Harry’s/P2A race report in the coming weeks, as well as a feature I am working on about an important issue currently facing duathletes in Ontario.

Until next time, keep du’ing it!

Getting Progressively Stronger…in the Long Run

As I wrap up a very solid two week block of training, I got to thinking that with everyone I’ve talked to in this great sport, there is always that one workout that just gives you a certain satisfaction..a certain excitement when you see it inked into the calendar. Indeed, I have spent many an hour engaged in conversations with fellow athletes about our “favourite workouts”. They range from favourite interval workouts to long, steady runs, and have reasons varying almost as widely as the type of people I talk to. There is no right answer…what works for me may not be what works for you, and you may not get the same enjoyment out of it. But it helps to share, because this spirit of collaboration is what makes endurance athletics so great. So let’s dive right in!

For reasons only known to someone out there who is not me, my progressive long run that is one of the reasons that I look forward to my weekend training as much as I do. A progressive long run is just that…a long run (usually 60 to 120 minutes in length for me) that gets progressively faster over the course of it, with some variations. It is a departure from the previous widely-held belief of a weekly long, steady endurance run, as it adds a note of intensity and variety to what was previously a metronomic, grinding pace.

The best part of these progressive long runs is that they can be as formal or as informal as you would like. During my build up to the Grimsby and Chilly half marathons, each minute of my long runs was scripted to simulate a race effort as much as possible. It involved me doing bursts at or near race pace on legs that had already been put through a steadily increasing pace for an hour or more. But they don’t have to be that scientific. Sometimes it can be quite liberating to just go out and run, and just letting the pace naturally drop as your legs work themselves into it. This flexibility is what has made progressive long runs a staple in my training. Interestingly, I happened upon them for two reasons. One is simply through the evolution of commonly held beliefs…the other was borne out of necessity, and provides and interesting contrast between my training as a single-sport and a multisport athlete.

Let’s talk about the latter first here. When I was a single sport athlete, I had time to get everything in. A typical week involved alternating hard interval days with “easy” recovery days. Even with three hard days in a week (Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday) and a long run on Sundays, I still had 3 days available to me for recovery (though whether or not I used them properly is another post altogether!). However, when I added in the need to cycle, it became much more difficult to get all the required training in and still have enough time allotted to recovery. The answer was to combine workouts together. These progressive long runs are a perfect example, as there is a significant endurance-building effect to them, even as you depart Zone 2 (aerobic endurance) and enter Zone 3 (“The Sweet Spot”). The early portion is steady and aerobic, and the later, faster portion of the run serves to increase stamina and build strength for those tough final miles of a race (or for that run at the end of a multisport race). It also serves to recruit those fast-twitch muscle fibres that don’t see much action during the long, slow distance run, helping to build their endurance as well. The combined effect of quality and quantity only burns one day of training…perfect for the time crunched multisport athlete.

Many contemporary marathon runners have shifted their training towards this type of work, with some doing 30-40km of marathon pace work once or twice a month. The effects of running harder for longer are very real. But be forewarned…they are very difficult on the body. Doing these on a weekly basis may not be for everyone. Renowned marathon coach Renato Canova is often considered the innovator of this new way of looking at the long run, and even his athletes often are only doing these runs once or twice a month. Ensure you have allotted the proper recovery time for these workouts, as they can certainly take a toll on the body. But I will gladly trade taking a recovery day or two for the pure exhilaration of starting off slow and ratcheting the pace up slowly throughout the run until I’m sustaining a pace that has people stopping my to ask, “What, are you training for Around the Bay or something?” Nope…just your friendly neighbourhood sprint duathlon.

As for me, I just wrapped up two pretty easy weeks to give my body a rest after 4 months of hard half marathon training. Highlights of the last few weeks have been a 5W FTP improvement during my latest test, a solid 90 minute run at the Ignition Fitness Big Training Day, an excellent 5 workout in 3 day block during the middle of last week, and yes…a long progression run on Sunday to wrap it all up! Next on the docket is Harry’s Spring Run-Off (out of the elite corral) on April 5 to see where my run legs are over a shorter distance, then Paris to Ancaster for my first real bike race experience! Pretty excited for that, and of course I will be accompanied by my girlfriend Emma, who will likely be volunteering at the finish line of these races!

I am also excitedly awaiting the arrival of my new TT bike, a Felt B16 through the Ignition Fitness/Felt Bicycles sponsorship. We are also looking around for Emma’s first road bike as the weather warms up, so that she too can enjoy the thrills of running and riding! My first multisport test of the season will be at the Iron Hawk/Ontario Sprint Duathlon Championships, then a full slate of Multisport Canada races as part of the Recharge with Milk Ambassador team. Thanks to John and the guys for setting that up, and to Tommy, Roger and the Ignition Fitness crew for getting me into really good shape, both physically and mentally! So until next time, keep Du’ing it!

New Partnership with Multisport Canada!

I am very excited to announce that I am the newest member of the Multisport Canada/Recharge with Milk Ambassador Team for the 2014 season. This is a program set up by the guys at Multisport Canada that aims to increase exposure on both sides of the partnership with young, up-and-coming multisport athletes. I have recently taken it upon myself to become an advocate for duathlon in Ontario, trying to drive excitement for the “lesser” multisport and promote what has become a VERY competitive and tight group of athletes spread out across Ontario. Part of that is building moment for a new Ontario Duathlon website created by myself and Larry Bradley (still in its infancy at this writing), and any vehicle of promotion for that movement helps. The Ambassador Team for this season is a tad light on duathlon representation, so I am very glad I was about to work together with John Salt, Roger Hospedales, and the rest of the Multisport Canada crew to make this happen.

Most of all though, I am just happy to be able to be a part of creating excitement for the Multisport Canada/Recharge with Milk triathlon series. Since my very first MSC race at Cobourg in 2012, where John Salt personally shook my hand as I staggered across the finish line after completing my first international distance duathlon, I have felt no compulsion to look elsewhere for the bulk of my race schedule. The following two seasons, I have done everything I can to fit as many MSC races on my calendar. The organization is second to absolutely no one, the service level is unrivaled in endurance sports, the venues are fantastic, and the athlete focus is greatly appreciated by everyone I have talked to. Frankly, I have never heard a bad word.

Look for me at races this season! I will be in Welland, Woodstock, Toronto Island and Lakeside this season, and I love to talk shop. Meet the whole team here. Looking forward to the upcoming season!

Jesse Bauer – Duathlete

A duathlete trying to make it in a triathlete's world

bike

Pre-Nationals Perspective

“That’s Two in a Row” – MSC Rose City Duathlon Report

The Battle of Rose City – Welland Preview

5 Tips for Aspiring Duathletes

Breakthrough

“I am Iron Hawk”: Provincial Duathlon Championships Race Report

Spring Training Report – Harry’s Spring Run Off and Paris to Ancaster

Equipment Review – 2014 Felt B16 (My New Ride for 2014)

Getting Progressively Stronger…in the Long Run