Half Measures

Way back in the fall I had mapped out all my training races for 2006. In February I was going to do the Peterborough Half Marathon. In March it was going to be the Around the Bay 30K in Hamilton. And in May I would do the Mississauga Marathon. Right.

Peterborough Half? Didn't do it. My excuse for this was an absence of race pals going along and an unwillingnes to drive back and forth to Peterborough all on my Todd.

ATB30K? Didn't do it. Same excuse as the PB Half, plus I was injured (back troubles) and could not have completed the race without requiring major surgery along the route.

The Mississauga Marathon was this past sunday, May 14, and did I do it? Sort of. The aforementioned race pals (IronMan Maurice and sneaky speedster Dave H) and me did manage to squeeze out a half marathon, not the full. Which was just as well because it was kind of a miserable day. Cold and windy with a lakefront finish that was, er, colder and windier. I pushed the final 4k to finish in a semi-respectable 1:46:53. Not a PB, but I was pleased that I could sustain a 4k push in spite of some back pain and my newest injury, a mysterious foot ailment that requires me to stick some homemade padding into my shoe to dull the pain. Whatever.

That race, btw, was my last in the M40-44 age category. This is apparently one of the most competitive categories in triathlon, and is probably the same in runnng races. I 'm glad to see the back of it, but on the other hand not so glad to be another year older. I don't want to be one of those baby boomers who get their hip or knee replaced at 45 because they refused to give up the sports - I have a feeling most of those injuries are sustained by tennis / squash / basketball players though. I, of course, shall remain immune to such serious ailments as I cruise into my late middle age, getting faster and stronger with each passing year.

Next race will likely be either a Du later this month or the Muskoka Tri in June. Between then and now is a week off in London, eating curry chips and drinking pints and generally not training at all. It's going to be glorious.

Feck! Arse! Drink!

It's been a while since my last post - I've been struggling through some nagging injuries and general crappiness lately and haven't felt much like adding to this blog. In other words, feeling sorry for myself. The training demands are, I'm finding, not only physically difficult (hence the injuries) but mentally difficult too. I feel like I should be doing more but time constraints and physical limitations are preventing me from spending more time training. Ok, enough moaning.

Back to nutrition requirements. I found an excellent guide to raceday nutrition that you should read if you're doing an IM. It's on triathloncoach.net and it's from Gordo Bryn, who is co-author of the IM Training book I have at home.

A couple of points I did not know - don't mix solid food with sports drink. Use plain water to wash down energy bars or gels. Also, Gordo recommends not using solid food at all! Dunno about that one, but I'll try it on a long training ride and see how it goes.

Other sources confirm my last post - about 900ml per hour (200-450 calories depending on weight) while on the bike. That's a lot of water for a hydrophobe like me but I'll have to get used to it between now and race day. Bottoms up!