Marinus' Blog

May 2011 Update

2011-05-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

As always, it's been too long since my last update. So here is what's been happening since my last posting.

UBC Triathlon: Both Fay and I raced the UBC Olympic distance triathlon, and were able to podium. I finished 3rd in the M50-54 age group, and Fay finished 2nd in her age group. (A gentleman never says which age group).

Delta Triathlon: Fay and I both had a good race. This time we reversed our placings, with Fay finishing 3rd in her age group and I finished 2nd in mine.

As a tri coach I am also very proud on the results of those I train. In addition to Fay's results, I would also like to congratulate Dan for his recent PB at the 2011 Vancouver Half Marathon.

Las Vegas Rock & Roll Marathon 2010

2010-12-08T15:23:00.000-08:00

"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times."

The opening lines from 'A Tale of Two Cities' is very appropriate for my running of the Las Vegas R&R Marathon.

This past summer I had thought to run my 10th marathon at the Okanagan Marathon on 10.10.10. But leading up to the event I had been sick and wasn't ready. So instead we decided to try a destination event, and signed up for the R&R series event in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, as happens, I had a knee injury 6 weeks out of Vegas and was unable to properly train. It was only in the week before that was just starting to be able to run pain free. And even then, I was only able to run once or twice a week.

I had hoped to try and qualify for Boston. That's one reason for trying Vegas. It's a fast & flat course. And until I was hurt, my training times and other results were encouraging. But heading into Vegas I considered the options. Do I not start? Worst case. If the knee was hurting I could always just stop at the half way point as it went right past the start finish line. Maybe... Be smart I thought. IMC is the "A" event. No sense doing damage. But realistically, I had let go of the Boston idea. I was so under trained.

The morning weather was perfect. Almost too good. It was sunny, temperature around mid 40's °F, and going into the mid 60's °F, and no wind. Fantastic! I had dressed for a bit of a chill to start, in a vest & long sleeves. Too much. Could have ditched the vest, and wish now I had.

I set out on a pace by feel, and my pace was good. First 10km in just over 50 min. I passed the 3hr40 pace bunny, and happened up next on the 3hr35, which is my qual time. I stuck with them for the entire route. Passing the half mark we were right on time, or maybe a half minute ahead. Wow! Maybe?!? Stuck with this small pack right up until about 32km when they dropped back a bit on a small hill. I thought they'd catch right back up, but they stayed a short bit back.

I had never "hit the wall" before, but now I know what it's like. At about 36km or 37km my legs got so heavy. They were tight, and were screaming "walk". My pace slowed, and I ended up taking 2 short walks. I knew my time was still close, so I tried to push on. I recall once saying to myself "No you will not walk. You have never been this close to Boston. Keep going!" And even as I told myself "No walking" my legs stopped running. It was like I looked at my legs as if they were someone else altogether, and said to them "Why are you walking? I told you not to!" I counted to 15 and started to run. But the pace was slower than the 5:05 needed.

The last 2 km were so hard! I can usually just "gut out" that much. But there was nothing in the legs. They just could not move any faster. I passed the 26 mile marker and the finish line looked so far away. Run damn it! After I saw 1 - 2 minutes left to my max time I didn't want to peek any more at the watch. I crossed the line, stopped the watch. Looked. Re-looked.

Official time: 3:36:31
Boston qualifying time: 3:35:59 (max)
The Best of Times: I had a new Personal Best at the marathon by 9 minutes!
The Worst of Times: I had missed my Boston time by a mere 32 seconds.

Given all the issues leading up to the race, and how I had told myself I'd let go of Boston, I have to be happy with the result! But as anyone who runs and ever thinks of qualifying knows... missing by 32 seconds sucks!

But the event was great. Bret Michaels was the concert headliner. And the weekend was great. I had a new PB. And I now know I can do the qualifying time if I am better trained. So I will keep looking at the Best of Times. And (eventually) the Worst of Times will fade away to nothing more than a good story.

Event horizons

2010-08-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

The last 2 weeks have seen a big shift in the events horizon.

After much thought and indecision I have let go of two events, and added others two instead.

After some training setbacks it was best to decide to drop the Whistler GranFondo ride. I was very much looking foreword to this inaugural event. And although I am quite sure I could have completed it, it would have been a struggle, and not as much fun as I wanted it to be. And I did want it to be fun. The second I decided against was the Okanagan Marathon on 10/10/10. It would have been nice, especially being my potential 10th marathon. But again, the training was too far behind.

But for every closed window, there is the opportunity to open another.

The first new event is the Las Vegas Rock & Roll Marathon in December. The course sounds great, and is said to be fast for those wanting a qualifier. Maybe? And when you can get such a great deal on airfare and hotel... Let's Rock & Roll!

Then there is Ironman. Ironman Canada 2011 is now on the event calendar as well. It was with mixed thoughts that I signed up, for what will be my 4th IMC. I look forward to the year ahead and the training with a great mix of veterans and first timers.

So the next few months and year ahead will be very interesting, and challenging.

Coached athletes complete their first Half Irons!

2010-07-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

I am very proud to say that two athletes that I coached have completed their very first Half Iron distance triathlons.

Jan F. finished the New Balance Victoria Half in a great time of 6:39:18 which included a very strong 2:06 run. Your smile at the end was amazing Jan!

Michelle H. finished the Vancouver International Half in a blazing 4:58:02 for 3rd place in a very tough age group. Michelle had the 7th fastest overall female swim and the 8th fastest overall female run for an 11th place female overall.

Congratulations to you both. It was a pleasure to coach you.

Victoria Half Iron 2010

2010-07-09T15:49:00.000-07:00

Despite a reduced training workload in 2010, I was very happy to complete the New Balance Victoria Half Iron. This was my 3rd time at this event, and I can say it has to be one of the nicest Half distance events.

This year's course threw in a really nasty hill due to a construction detour. I can still hear the "Oh sh*t .. crash!" behind me my last time up it when another rider lost momentum and fell half way up the final part. And more than a few riders became walkers as they decided to take a smarter approach and not risk falling.

In the end I finished the race in about 5hr 37 min, or about 17 minutes behind last year. But everything considered, I'll gladly take that!

Vancouver Marathon 2010

2010-05-06T12:25:00.001-07:00

The 2010 BMO marked my 9th full marathon. And as always, I not only learned something about running a marathon, but about myself.

This was the first time I thought the "Boston" word. I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself however. My training paces were going well, but I had missed some of the early training mileage because of my Olympic volunteering. But I was feeling good, so after some consideration I thought I should at least give it a try.

The already cool weather started to turn wet just before the start. Given my previous problems in similar weather, this wasn't welcomed. But you take what is offered. I started out on my target pace and was feeling really good as we completed the initial False Creek loop. On or ahead of my a 3:35 target I headed out into east Vancouver and found myself holding back a bit to not pass the 3:30 pace bunny.

Heading into Stanley Park nearing the half way point I started to feel my legs muscles tighten and the knee pain start. This was not good. At the 2009 Fall Classic the same thing happened and I hobbled the last half of that race. Soon it became very clear that this was not going to be my day. I went from feeling great to terrible in just a few km's. And as I went out towards English Bay I said goodbye to Boston. Maybe a new PB at sub-3:45 was possible? Soon that was clearly "no". Why was I even doing this? I had to stop listening to the voices, dig deep to just keep moving. I must have been quite the sight running with a brace and a big limp. This was the first time I've had medical people ask me if I was OK. But not finishing was not an option. My final times: a 1:44 first half and a 3:56 finish.

I clearly recall the looks on various friends faces as they saw me slowly approaching, limping, or walking. They saw the pain and disappointment on my face, and I saw it on theirs. In hind sight I think I felt worse for them than I did about my knees.

And this is when you can learn something about yourself. I remembered back to 1999 when I first started running. I remember having trouble just walking my dog up this one hill as we went around the block. I felt I needed the dog to help haul me up the last part. This was not right! I used to be fit and healthy. I had wanted to run a marathon since my teens. So I started to train for a 10km Sun Run. I worked hard, and suffered with these sore knees, but I did it. But to do a marathon? Not with my bad knees. Or so I thought.

So here I am in 2010. I was not able to get my Boston time. That's not anything serious. I was fit and healthy enough to finish my 9th marathon. And 3 of those were in an Ironman. Bad knees and all, I was able to do what many others have just dreamed about. And I had friends out there who cared enough about me to feel my pain too. When asked how my race went I'd say "I had a GREAT half marathon. Too bad I was racing the full." Sometimes you just have to find the humour in things.

I learned it's not the clock that you are running for. It's your friends, your family, and your health. It's for these reasons I run. And who knows. Maybe #10 will "B" better.

Delta Tri 2010

2010-04-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

It was another less than ideal weather day for the Delta Triathlon. But the race was fun as always and a success for everyone.

I'd like to send out special high fives to Fay, Jan, and Michelle for their races. All had great days on a cool windy day and looked really strong. And big congrats to Michelle for winning her age group. WOW!

My day went fairly well. I felt good about the swim, coming out of the pool about 30 seconds under my predicted time. The T1 transition was normal to a bit slow. The bike out leg was a challenge riding into a really stiff wind, but boy did the back leg fly! I just think the lack of serious time on the bike so far this year showed in a lack of power to overcome that wind. I had a good T2 to set off on the run but the run itself was a bit slow. Thinking back I think part of the issue was there was no one around to either chase or hold off. But I still ran a sub-24 min 5km, so I can't complain too much.

So another good early season triathlon, and now time to get ready for the Vancouver marathon next week and the UBC tri 2 weeks after that.

April 2010

2010-04-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

I keep promising myself that I'll update this more often. And I'm trying to do that again, starting now.

Ironman Canada 2009 was a fantastic success! Personally, I knocked 27 minutes off my previous IMC best, coming in at 12h-31m-48s. Best of all was that I took time off all segments, with the exception of the run which was almost exactly the same as 2007. This despite a strained back and never feeling comfortable on the bike.

But the best part of IMC 2009 was being there for Fay's first IMC finish. Watching ones' wife finish, and doing so feeling and looking great, tops just about anything I could have done for myself. Well done Fay! And great dance at the finish!

2010 is another non-Ironman year, however there are always other things to challenge. I had hoped to work on improving my run by focusing on the marathon. The BMO Vancouver marathon is just a few weeks away, and we'll see how it goes. I wasn't able to dedicate the time I'd have liked to it due to my 2010 Olympic volunteering and some illness. But my preparatory halves have shown good times, so who knows what the day will bring.

After taking my NCCP Competative Triathon coaching training, I started coaching and set up my coaching web site. The address is http://www.tri-coach.ca. I'm excited to be coaching two athletes from the Steveston Athletic Association (SAA) as they train for their first Half Iron distance triathlons. I know both Jan and Michelle will do great, and I am proud to be part of their experience.

Update - July 2009

2009-07-12T11:33:00.001-07:00

I really should do this more often. So much has happened.

It's less than 60 days until Ironman Canada 2009, and things are pretty much on track. In 2007 the hardest part of the training was finding my motivation. But this year it's been easy, for the most part. Training with and coaching Fay has kept me on track. How can I woos out of a workout yet make her do hers? That's been very important for those damn 6:00am swim workouts. Those are the parts I don't like.

In the last months I've managed to set 2 PB's. First was shaving 5 minutes off my half marathon best at the 'First Half' half marathon for a 1:43:20 finish. The second was to take almost 50 minutes off my previous 2005 finish time at the 2009 Victoria New Balance Half Iron with a finish time of 5:20:45.

I think the improvement is a result in part to following the principle of "make your slow training slower, and your fast training faster". The times seem to be the proof that this works.

Also, in addition to the training, I have taken my NCCP Triathlon coaching certification. Hopefully I can use what I've learned to help others achieve their goals too.

Lastly, the Direct Approach business has finished it's first full year. I'd have to say it's been a success, and I hope to continue to build on that in the future. I just recently returned from a flight validation check of new GNSS approach and departure procedures at Beyla which is in the Republic of Guinea. It was an adventure, to say the least, to travel there for the flight checks.

So now comes the home stretch to IMC 2009. We'll see what this year's race brings. Hopefully a safe and successful finish for all my training friends and partners.

Fore!

2008-05-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

It sure has been a long time since my last blog entry. And quiet a bit has happened. And I'll catch up on all that shortly. But first...

Just the other day luck was with me. It was Fay & my first golf round of the year. We hadn't even swung a club at the range yet. On the 154 yard 5th hole at Country Meadows (Richmond) using an easy 7 iron I scored my first Hole-in-One ever! Nice way to start the season.

But back to things before this. As usual, there has been a few events on the calendar. Fay and I went to Orlando & Walt Disney World for the marathon weekend. Fay did the 5km Fun Run and the Half. I did the 5km and Half with her, then I did the Full as well to complete the "Goofy's Marathon and Half Challenge. It was terribly hot & humid, but still a great event to be a part of. Then, as part of our recovery, we went on a week long cruise with another Goofy couple.

While on the cruise I got the anticipated news that my office was closing, so I made the decision to start my own business. And Direct Approach Consulting Inc was born. That was mid February, and so far so good.

A few weeks ago Fay completed her very first marathon by doing the Vancouver International. She did great, and I am so proud of her!

So that's the quick update. Life is good. But it sure helps to have a wonderful woman in your life!

Victoria International Marathon

2007-10-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

Despite the conventional wisdom which says to rest after an Iron distance triathlon, or any long distance event, I've found myself a few days from participating in the VIM. Oh what was I thinking?

Actually, I thought it a good idea to keep myself moving and motivated as I work towards the 2008 Disney World Goofy's Marathon and Half. Now that's crazy! But honestly, doesn't doing a 5km Friday, a Half marathon Saturday, and then a full marathon through Disney World on the Sunday sound fun? And it sounds even better when you factor a week cruise right afterwards with a wonderful wife and a few other running friends.

I'm determined this time to not become a couch potatoe after an Ironman, like happened last time. So wish me luck for the VIM, and hope for a dry and wind free day, unlike the last VIM I did. But, alas, the forecast is not promising.

Ironman Canada 2007

2007-08-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

It's the end of August, and I've been fortunate enough to complete my second Ironman triathlon at Ironman Canada 2007 in Penticton.

I did IMC 2005 as my first full Ironman event. It was the most challenging and rewarding experience of my life. So now 2 years later I took the challenge again. My goals were simple: 1) I wanted to finish. 2) I wanted to better my IMC 2005 time of 13h23m. 3) I wanted to finish under 13hrs, and 4) I wanted to finish in the daylight, which I missed by about 20 - 25 minutes last time.

This years swim started normally. But near the second houseboat turn the water got choppy. I just tried to stay in my rhythm, and stay smooth. I looked for other feet to stick behind and draft off of, but usually I ended up fading left. In the end, I came out of the water 2 minutes behind my previous IMC in about 1h21.

My previous transitions were quite slow. Both T1 & T2 were 10 - 11 minutes. But that year I was carrying an engagement ring so that I could propose at the finish line to my girlfriend (she said yes!). So I was a bit methodical then. But this year I shaved about 2 minutes off my T1 time. That nicely made up for the swim.

Then came the bike. I felt great starting out and was spinning well along Skaha Lake towards Oliver and Osoyoos. The wind gods were with us. The climb up Richter was not big issue. All my climbing up Cypress really helped here. But on the back side of Richter and over the rollers the wind really sucked! It was like pushing water both here & on the back side of the out-and-back. Yellow Lake was also no big issue. I loved (!) the crowds lining the road. Thanks everyone! Once over the top I made one of my mistakes of the day. I neglected my nutrition and didn't eat enough into town. Riding down Main St into town I was dying and getting passed routinely! Next time - EAT!

My bike time was about 2 minutes slower than IMC 2005. So here I am - at almost the same time as previous, and needing to make up the entire 25 minutes I needed for my goal on the run. I knew I could improve on my previous 5:09 run. My PR in a stand-alone marathon is 3:45. But this is Ironman. I had a terrible experience at a recent 1/2 Iron, where my legs died. But was it the 37c heat then? My confidence was low. But I stuck to the plan to run between aid stations, and walk through them. I wasn't feeling too bad. One aid station at a time. Or as Terry Fox and Lisa Bentley said - one step at a time, one telephone pole at a time, one mile at a time. Several times I just wanted to walk. And I'd ask myself - How bad do you want this? And I'd keep running.

My time was going to be close. I made the turn to head out Lakeshore. My thoughts were "this is just cruel" having to go away from the finish line. I still didn't know if I was on the good side of 13 hrs. I couldn't see the clock. It wasn't until I went over the pre-mat that I saw the clock. I was there! I was floating down the mat. In the bleachers was my daughter cheering. And I crossed, arms in the air, to be caught by my wife and sister. How great was that?!? Final time: 12:58:03. I did it . I met ALL my goals.