September 23, 2004

Track North Web Site

1. Mike Coughlin's Race Report from Ironman Wisconsin
2. Alicia Kaye Competes in Canadian Triathlon Championships
3. THIS SUNDAY - FiTFRiENDS 5Km and 8Km Trail Run/Walk for Team Diabetes
4. Less than 2 Weeks Until the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's CIBC Run for the Cure
5. Masters Swimming Pool Practices - by Laura Young
6. Kerry Abols at Ironman World Championship
7. Running Room Clinics - Register Now!
8. Track North News - by Dick Moss

Click Here for Photos

Mike Coughlin Competes in Ironman Wisconsin

Race Report - Ironman Wisconsin, September 12, 2004

By Mike Coughlin

Prelude:

I arrived in Wisconsin the Thursday before race day in great spirits. 2004 had been a great season for me, and for the first time in my life I actually felt like an athlete. To help myself continue to improve through the summer, I hired Toronto area coach Steve Bentley (www.bentleycoaching.com). Steve really put the screws to me with a detailed, personalized program backed up with email and phone support and the occasional one-on-one session. Having an objective plan laid out kept my training much more consistent and required me to adopt a no excuses policy regarding my workouts. My most memorable sessions were a 4 hour solo ride in a thunderstorm on Manitoulin Island and a 2.5 hour run done after 11pm on a Sunday night. These mental victories would come in handy on race day, and by September I had achieved a life best fitness level.

Race Morning:

Jumping out of bed at just after 4am on race morning, I got in my race gear and had a bagel with peanut butter, some oatmeal and some chopped fruit. When we left for the race site it was still dark, but it was surprisingly warm. The forecast had called for a seasonal 68-70 degrees, but it had to be over 70 already. As I would later find out, this was NOT a good omen.

Success in an IM is all about how you handle the unexpected. Arriving in transition where we left our bikes the day before, I was confronted with my first challenge of the day. My rear tire had developed a slow leak and was flat. After meticulously planning for this event for 6 months, I was not amused. After a few moments thought, I decided to pump up the tire and hope it held rather than get stressed changing it as the swim start grew closer. If the pressure did not hold, I would know it in T1 and change it there. The hard part of this decision was putting the problem out of my mind as I prepared for my swim, but I did and when the cannon went off I was focussed.

The swim - 1:03:48

When you crowd 2188 athletes into a pretty small space, you are going to have contact. I settled into a rhythm and decided to take the swim fairly easy, knowing that a minute here or there was trivial compared with the long-term cost of swimming hard. I exited the water feeling great, and purposely did not look at the clock.

T1 - 6:21

The transitions at Wisconsin are a trademark aspect of the event. The event is run out of the Monona Terrace convention centre, literally. Once out of the water, I ran to my personal stripper (wetsuit stripper, that is) who helped make quick work of this normally tricky task. Then I ran up, up, up and around, around, around the helical parking ramp to the upper level of the Convention Centre, where I went INSIDE to get my transition bag and change. Then it was out to the upper parking lot to pick my bike out of the 2000+ and ride down, down, down and around, around, around the helical parking ramp on the opposite side. It was long, but it was fun! Oh, and a quick check revealed full pressure in the rear tire. Yay!

Bike - 5:43:09

The Wisconsin bike course is much tougher than Ironman Canada. Rather than epic mountain passes that take 30-45 minutes to climb, this course has hills that take 30 seconds to 5 minutes to climb. Again and again and again and again and again. It never ends. While this may seem like a chance for a strong rider to excel, it is very dangerous to look at it that way. Instead, smart riders go into damage control mode, limiting their power and associated heart rate spikes on the hills. The catch? This is almost impossible to do, and requires that you ride the hills embarrasingly easy.

I managed to be a pretty smart rider for the most part, staying seated on most climbs and letting people pass me. I was eating and drinking well too, and felt better than I did at IMC. However, I managed to still make a fatal error. I was taking salt capsules to keep my electrolytes balanced, but did not increase the intake as the temperatures went up. Remember that forecast of 68-70? Well before I knew it I was riding through 88 degree heat, and I was sweating out salt like nobody's business.

One common consequence of electrolyte imbalance is muscle cramping. I had some minor cramping in practice, but what happened at mile 75 was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Calves, hamstrings, quads, adductors - they all went. Trying to stretch one muscle out would drive the opposite one into spasm (funny, but not at the time). I was relegated to soft pedaling on the side of the road, hoping I would not lock up and fall over.

T2 - 4:26

Somehow I managed finish the ride and get back up the parking ramp without seizing up and falling off. I hobbled through T2 and found I was able to run without cramping if I was careful. Leaving T2, I was confronted with the clock. I told myself I wouldn't look, but there it was in front of me, telling me I was 15-20 minutes behind schedule. My heart sank, but I was thankful that I could run and set out to enjoy the marathon.

Run - 3:41:36

An IM marathon is nothing like a regular marathon. For most, it is a death march. In fact, if you can just keep running at an easy long run pace and not slow down, you will start passing people like crazy. I knew this and set out to improve my position by moving slowly and steadily. Of course, I didn't have a choice since moving faster than a quick shuffle sent any number of muscles into instant spasms. To make matters worse, I had left my supply of salt capsules on the bike, and the backup capsules in my belt pouch quickly went to mush (which I scooped out without pride).

Halfway through the run, I was out of salt and the cramping got worse, almost stopping me dead in my tracks a few times. Every aid station I grabbed 4-6 cups of various poisons: Water, gatorade, coke, and ice. Somehow, this kept me going and I was able to run the whole marathon. As I neared the end, I finally knew I would finish and I started to smile. The race had not gone as planned and I had not met my time goals, but I had dealt with a very challenging day and I had not given up. By all accounts, I had to call my day a success.

Epilogue - finish time 10:39:19

Lesson 1: Never, ever, ever, EVER give up. Almost everybody goes through hell in these things and if you can just keep trucking, amazing things can happen. My crampy shuffle was faster than 97% of the field. It shouldn't have been, but it was. Seems I wasn't the only one having a tough time out there

Lesson 2: Adapt to conditions: It wasn't supposed to get hot out there, but it did. Our cool summer did not make my adaptation any easier either. By constantly checking in with conditions, I should have seen the cramps coming and increased my salt intake.

Lesson 3: Practice like you race: This year I ate well in practice and as a result my body handled calories much better on race day. My salt pill practice was not there, however since the our cool summer did not require it. In hindsight I should have taken lots in practice anyway so I would have been more confident with increased salt intake on race day.

Lesson 4: Expect the unexpected: My slow leak may have seemed like bad luck, but stuff like this happens all the time in IM. Since you can't plan for everything, you need to adopt an attitude where you can "roll with the punches" on race day. Many athletes in this sport are A type personalities who like to have things under their control. Learning to let go and deal with a day that doesn't go your way is a necessary skill for IM performance.

Thanks!!!

Anyone who has been involved in an Ironman as a competitor, support person or volunteer, will tell you that while this technically an individual sport, in reality there are numerous support people that play key roles in getting every athlete to the finish line. I have to thank an incredible extended family of support that helped me shoot for the stars this year.

In particular, I have to thank my coach Steve Bentley for putting me through the grinder in training and making the Ironman seem not quite so hard. Locally, I had fantastic training support from the Sudbury Cycling Club, the Sudbury Rocks!!, Track North, The Laurentian Gold Masters Swimming Club, and the whole Ytri gang. Special thanks to David Bialkowski in Parry Sound for opening both his store and his home up to me at odd hours when I needed some special tri-thingy or a place to crash before an early training ride down that way. Off the training grounds, I got "special treatment" from physiotherapists and good friends Steve and Christainne Tremblay (don't ask them for an IT band release if you aren't prepared to hurt!), chiropractors and good friends Dave Welsh and Ghislaine Landry, massage therapist Andrea Nicol and athletic therapist Kim Lafrenie. Finally, my friends Jack and Amanda Kosmerly, Chantal Demers, Paul Duhamel, Steve Matusch and Christian Visser and Paul and Maggie Giroux and of course my great family who even come down to watch me race all day - thanks for being there when I needed you!

Mike

 

 

THIS SUNDAY!!

FiTFRiENDS

5Km Trail Walk/Run and Challenging 8 Km Trail Run

for Team Diabetes

Location: Starts at Laurentian University track and winds through the local single track trails

On-Site Registration Available from 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Race Date/Time: September 26, 2004 @ 10:00 am
Race Kit Pick-up: Running Room Cedar Pointe Plaza September 25, 2004 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
On-site Registration until 9:30 a.m. sharp

Click Here for Registration Form

Alicia Kaye Competes in Canadian Triathlon Championships

Saturday September 18, 2004

Montreal Que

Sudbury Running Room's Alicia Kaye placed second in the University Division and 7th overall in the Women's Canadian National Triathlon Championships held this weekend in Montreal. The high placing netted her $700 in cold hard cash. Good going Alicia!. (AND PICK UP THAT RUN)

FINAL

1,5 km

40 km

10km

Categorie

---------Swim-----

-------Bike------

--------Run-------

Place

Temps

Nom, Prenom

Ville

Pays

Plc/Tot Cat.

#

Cat

Tot

Temps

100/m

Cat

T

ot Temps

km/hr

Cat

Tot

Temps

km

1

1:57:53

McGLONE, Samantha

Otterburn Par

1/10

Elite W.

747

3

6

21:19

1:26

1

1

1:00:51

39.5

1

2

35:44

3:35

2

2:00:24

ROSS TARA

Longueuil

2/10

Elite W.

436

1

1

19:55

1:20

5

7

1:02:30

38.4

3

4

38:00

3:48

3

2:01:11

MACLEAN, jennifer

Vancouver

1/15

Univ. F

730

3

5

21:18

1:26

1

5

1:00:59

39.4

2

5

38:55

3:54

4

2:01:29

GAGNON, Isabelle

Trois-Riviere

3/10

Elite W.

746

6

9

21:20

1:26

2

2

1:00:55

39.4

4

6

39:15

3:56

5

2:02:29

LALONDE, Marie-Elain

LaSalle

4/10

Elite W.

720

4

7

21:19

1:26

4

4

1:00:58

39.4

5

7

40:13

4:02

6

2:03:35

POLITO ANASTASIA

Verdun

5/10

Elite W.

692

5

8

21:20

1:26

3

3

1:00:58

39.4

8

10

41:19

4:08

7

2:04:55

KAYE, Alicia

Sudbury

2/15

Univ. F

719

2

4

21:17

1:26

2

6

1:01:00

39.4

3

11

42:40

4:16

Click Here for All the Results

 

Less than 2 Weeks Left...

Until the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's CIBC Run for the Cure

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure is under two weeks away!

Avoid long lines on Run Day, Sunday October 3! Collect your official Run t-shirt ahead of time. Again this year, the pink Survivor and white Participant shirts have been provided through the generous support of NYGÅRD.

Early bird kit pick up is available for individuals on October1: 2:00 - 8:00pm and October 2: 10:00am - 4:00pm at the CIBC New Sudbury Shopping Centre Branch.

Team kit pick up is September 29 at the Running Room Sudbury between 6:00 - 8:00pm at the Cedar Pointe Plaza and October 1: 4:00pm - 8:00 pm at the CIBC New Sudbury Shopping Centre Branch. Remember to bring ID and proof of payment.

Proof of payment is either a completed registration form stamped by any CIBC branch or a print-out of your personal Registration Status page found on the official Run Web site.

See you October 3rd!

If you have any questions, please contact Vince Perdue @ 705-560-0424.

www.cbcf.org

 

Masters Swimming Pool Practices - by Laura Young

Masters pool practices start this week. Welcome to Coach Phil Parker, also head coach of Laurentian Voyageurs at the university.

I, Laura Young stay on so far as CEO/President with George Gavrel and Rob Masih as other executive members. Any offers of help are more than welcome.

I am so glad that we are linking with the university, the triathletes in town and perhaps the other clubs with younger swimmers. Aquatics is an amazing past time/sport/lifestyle. We need to bring our collective love of swimming together to improve ourselves, the fitness levels in this region, and aquatics in Canada.

Sessions are as follows:

Monday 6-730 a.m. (morning session)

Tuesday 6:30-8 p.m. (evening session)

Thursday 6-7:30 a.m. (morning session)

Thursday 6:30-8 p.m. (Evening session)

Saturday 7-8:30 a.m. (morning session)

Sunday 9:30-11 a.m. (morning session - Phil not at this one)

You can come to the workouts you want but you are obligated to keep track. A fee structure is in place. Call the Active Living Department for details.

Please remember that Phil needs to design workouts that suit our needs. Feedback is essential. Please come to workouts with some goals or ideas in mind for what YOU want.

Thank you to Jose Theriault and the new members she recruited. We appreciate the infusion of new blood.

A special thanks to all the members who have been with the club for years. Here's to a great season.

Julie Alleyn is a massage therapist recently set up in Sudbury. She has graduated from College Boreal, her specialty is sports massage. Her number is 523-8438. She is based out of Alliance Massage. She will also stretch you out after the massage.

I've had 5 massages with her and she is amazing. You feel loose and ready to go.

Our website will be established, hopefully before Thanksgiving.

Take care everyone. See you at the pool.

Laura E Young @ 522-3977

Kerry Abols at Ironman World Championship

By Kerry Abols

Kerry Abols will be competing in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championship on Oct. 16, 2004. Kerry qualified for the event by being the second placed Canadian in the amateur under 30 category at Ironman Canada, which took place in Penticton B.C. on Aug. 29th. The ironman consists of a 4km swim, a 180km bike and a 42km run.

Before he leaves for Hawaii, Kerry will be hosting a dinner banquet in order to inform friends about his Ironman Canada accomplishment and to raise funds for the Hawaii Ironman triathlon world championship (since the event is entirely self funded). The evening will feature h'ors doeuvres at 5:30pm, homemade lasagna dinner and video presentation at 6:00, followed by a slide show presentation and dessert at 6:45. There will be plenty of great food and non alcoholic beverages as well as great people. The entire evening should conclude by 7:30pm. Tickets are $30/person or $50/couple and can be reserved by contacting abolsk@rainbow.edu.on.ca. Only 50 tickets will be sold, so reserve early.

The ironman dinner banquet takes place Monday October 4th at 184 ninth avenue in Lively. If you can not attend but would like to send well whishes and/or a donation, Kerry Abols's address is 41 Nepahwin Ave Sudbury Ontario, P3E 2H5.

Please feel free to pass the information on to anyone who may be interested in attending.