Well I have lots to write about, so lets try and keep some organization. First I will talk about the recovery week from Rhode Island, then we will move into the week getting back into training and end off with the Kenora triathlon Race Report.
Recovery Week:
The recovery week was used to catch up on life as well as recover the body. The max amount of time that I worked out was around 20 minutes or so. I really just focused on other aspects of training such as rest, and nutrition. Which got a little slipped up with some beers and rye with my bro. But really there was nothing special I did a lot of stuff around the house that training would just not allow me the time to do. I also did a lot of organizing for my new trip to Vegas!
Lead up week:
Coming into the next week I was racing on the Sunday. I have never raced this close to my A race before and I had no idea how to handle my fitness. After some research I treated this week as a taper. I kept the workouts short and intense and allowed lots of time for recovery. By the end of the week I was feeling back to normal again, and fairly ready to go.
Race Report:
This race was unique in that it was held in Ontario, which provides the challenge of hills. These local races are small compared to the 70.3 events and coming off the Rhode Island high I was barley nervous coming into this race.
During race morning everyone was congratulating me on my accomplishments in Rhode Island. It felt good I was starting to feel that I belonged in this crowd, even with the long hair and the beard. Race set up was fairly standard I set up transition and did my little pre race warm up. I didn't really have many nerves I just knew I was going to go out there and just lay it down and enjoy the day.
Swim:
Once I was all warmed up it was time for the swim start. I positioned myself with a good line at the front of the pack. As the gun went off I went out very hard as part of my strategy, and then settled into a groove. I could see there was a pack ahead of me but I try not to let that bother me anymore. I know my swimming needs improvement but I am seeing gains and I just need to be patient. I focused on staying long and really pulling all the way through my stroke. Just by using proper sighting I saved myself at least one position. My endurance felt good and I was still able to put in a decent sprint finish.
T1:
I came into T1 with a different attitude this race. I charged it I sprinted into T1 had a smooth transition and did a flying leap onto my bike. T1 was smooth!
Bike:
This is where I start to do damage. Like I said I was about 10th out of the water, but at 7 mins into the cycle I was in 2nd place. The first 5 min my heart was not even in my body, I was pounding so hard. From there I settled into a hard manageable pace, and tried to stay consistent. Kenora is known as a hilly course, but coming from Rhode Island it really was not that bad at all. With a final time of 1:05:07 I thought I would have some jam left to run. (fastest Bike split on the day came off bike in 2nd place)
T2:
I wish I could say t2 went as well as t1 but..... it didn't I racked my bike but it fell off so I had to pick it back up with my helmet on. Weird rules but there rules. Other then that my shoes popped on and I was chasing first place in no time.
Run:
Coming up the first hill I could see the 1st place guy. I knew he had beat me out of the water I must have done some damage on the bike. I pushed hard for the first 3 k bouncing off the rev limiter, the garmin was just a beeping at me. I was cruising at 6 minute miles occasionally touching under in the 5:50's. At 3 k I had caught up and was drafting behind 1st letting my hr come back down. It came down, I waited for a hill, and then I opened it up a bit. I got out in front and opened up a decent gap. I held it for the next couple miles, but the course got hillier. It was then I started to feel the race from 2 weeks ago and I took a bit of a beating. At around the 6k mark I got passed again, and I didn't have enough to chase from that far out. So from there I tried to stay as strong as I could through to the finish. Of course there were hills all the way into the finish as I opened up my sprint and finished strong for a 40:29 run. I missed breaking 40 by 30s it was kind of a piss off but I had no regrets of going out hard and leaving it all out there.
Overall:
What can I say I am living the title PR or ER. I have been to the Kenora hospital once and was prepared to go again if I had to. But with a PR at 2:09:07 I could not be more thrilled. It would have been the icing on the cake to take first but you have to be happy with personal improvements as well.
Kenora Triathlon (PR):
Swim: 23:30
Bike: 1:05:07
Run: 40:29
Total with transitions:
2:09:07
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Amica Rhode Island 70.3 Race Report
Well its done, to save the suspense it was a success! After all that training and all that stress it was a great race. Even though I was nervous going in it was not un-manageable. The American races are much different then the Canadian ones. There are just more people in the area which brings with it a stronger field of competition. Hanging out at the expo I always get nervous around the people, and I need to remind myself that I have done the work and now its time to perform. I was able to get it under control for the most part, thankfully I had Kelice there for support.
After the expo we had a chance to go out and drive the bike course which was also intimidating. Being from Winnipeg I never know how I will perform on a hilly course. One advantage I had was the ability to ride on bad roads, and these roads were bad. There was a section at around mile 45 where you were not allowed to pass because the roads were so bad. It was going to be tough to hit my goal of 2:30:00.
Going through the bike course took longer then expected so we didnt have time to do the run course and I dont know if that was a good thing or not because there was a monster hill which I did not budget for.
As for the swim course, it ended up being a no wetsuit swim, which caused the debate of weather or not to wear a tri shirt or not. Even though it ma produce some drag putting a shirt on in transition can eat up more time then expected.
This is all just a breif description of how I was feeling.
Race Day
Race day started at 3:30 A.M because we needed to catch a shuttle at 4:45 and we were 30 min from shuttle pick up. Which I found to be a little ridiculous that they made athletes pay $8 for the shuttle when we payed $300 to do the race. I had a light breakfast when I woke up and made sure I stayed hydrated because it was suppose to get warm later in the day. We arrived in transistion around 5:15 and I had plenty of time to set up my bike and transition area. And warm up.
Swim
The 18-24 age cat started last. So there were lots of people to catch and pass. I did a brief warm up and just soaked in the atmosphere. Before I knew it we were lined up to go. All that nervousness I had before was now gone. It was go time and I was racing to win. When the gun went off I charged the water and started out strong. I know swimming is not my strong suit and without a wetsuit i was not expecting a pr. So I stayed focused on forum and just really being consistant. I came out of the water 33:51 12th in my age cat. Not where I wanted to be. I charged the transition and tried to be as quick as possible. I am usually fairly curtious to other athletes in front of me who look like its maybe there first time. But this time I had the hammer down and I was taking to prisoners. I charged out of transition ran and jumped on my bike and immediatly went into the hurt locker.
Bike
My heart felt like it was pounding out of my cheast in the beginning. But eventually I fell into a rythem. The hills were consistant and I tried to ride them as powerful as possible. When there was a flat section I really lit it up, thats my bread and butter being from the praries. By the first time I looked down at my watch I was averaging 22.4 right where I wanted to be I was just thrilled. The only technical difficulty that happened was coming over a bridge I lost my aero water bottle which forced me to turn around and go get it costing me a few seconds. There was a monster hill at mile 30 which took a chunck out of the average speed but I was able to regain it by the end of the course. With a final bike time of 2:3o:13 I was now in 4th place and had the 34 fastest bike of the day including the pros!! I was thrilled. Kelcie was yelling in t2 "Davis you killed that bike course you must have past 5 guys". Sure enough I had moved into 4 place.
Run
I have given up on racing with a heart rate moniter because then I start thinking to much. I just started running. There was a hill that lasted the entire second mile, and I plowed it on the first lap. I did not check my watch until the end of the first lap which gave me a time I wanted to see I was averaging 6:53/mile on pace for a 1:30:00. I had no expectations on making this last but I was sure as hell going to try. On the second lap it was now mid day and the heat was setting in. That hill on the second lap seemed to be twice as long and my legs began to shut down. It was more then mental at this point. Thinking of my friend Joel Perks telling me "you have to race to win" I was using all my mental games to keep pushing but I needed to clear the lactic acid. I was forced to walk run my way up the hill, but I made it and was able to sink back in to a nice pace. In the end I was able to hold on to a pr 1:38:00.
Recap:
Over all I was really happy with the race because I was able to live to the name PR or ER with a time of 4:45:34 3 mins faster then Clearwater!!! But because of the area the compitition was strong and that was only good enough for 6th place. With 2 spots in my age cat for Vegas I was nervous. But then roll down time came around it was down to one spot. As we listened in suspense as they called 1 name (3rd) then another (4th) then another (5th) I looked at Kelcie..... " I think its me"...... Davis Sohor. WOOOOO!!! I am going to Vegas!! I was at the last one in Clearwater and the first one in Vegas. It was a good confirmation that last year was not a fluke. So I guess stay tuned as I prepare for another go at the 70.3 World Championships.
Amica 70.3 Rhode Island
Swim: 33:51
Bike : 2:30:13
Run: 1:38:11
t1: 2:09
t2: 1:10
4:45:34
Pics and video will be up soon,
After the expo we had a chance to go out and drive the bike course which was also intimidating. Being from Winnipeg I never know how I will perform on a hilly course. One advantage I had was the ability to ride on bad roads, and these roads were bad. There was a section at around mile 45 where you were not allowed to pass because the roads were so bad. It was going to be tough to hit my goal of 2:30:00.
Going through the bike course took longer then expected so we didnt have time to do the run course and I dont know if that was a good thing or not because there was a monster hill which I did not budget for.
As for the swim course, it ended up being a no wetsuit swim, which caused the debate of weather or not to wear a tri shirt or not. Even though it ma produce some drag putting a shirt on in transition can eat up more time then expected.
This is all just a breif description of how I was feeling.
Race Day
Race day started at 3:30 A.M because we needed to catch a shuttle at 4:45 and we were 30 min from shuttle pick up. Which I found to be a little ridiculous that they made athletes pay $8 for the shuttle when we payed $300 to do the race. I had a light breakfast when I woke up and made sure I stayed hydrated because it was suppose to get warm later in the day. We arrived in transistion around 5:15 and I had plenty of time to set up my bike and transition area. And warm up.
Swim
The 18-24 age cat started last. So there were lots of people to catch and pass. I did a brief warm up and just soaked in the atmosphere. Before I knew it we were lined up to go. All that nervousness I had before was now gone. It was go time and I was racing to win. When the gun went off I charged the water and started out strong. I know swimming is not my strong suit and without a wetsuit i was not expecting a pr. So I stayed focused on forum and just really being consistant. I came out of the water 33:51 12th in my age cat. Not where I wanted to be. I charged the transition and tried to be as quick as possible. I am usually fairly curtious to other athletes in front of me who look like its maybe there first time. But this time I had the hammer down and I was taking to prisoners. I charged out of transition ran and jumped on my bike and immediatly went into the hurt locker.
Bike
My heart felt like it was pounding out of my cheast in the beginning. But eventually I fell into a rythem. The hills were consistant and I tried to ride them as powerful as possible. When there was a flat section I really lit it up, thats my bread and butter being from the praries. By the first time I looked down at my watch I was averaging 22.4 right where I wanted to be I was just thrilled. The only technical difficulty that happened was coming over a bridge I lost my aero water bottle which forced me to turn around and go get it costing me a few seconds. There was a monster hill at mile 30 which took a chunck out of the average speed but I was able to regain it by the end of the course. With a final bike time of 2:3o:13 I was now in 4th place and had the 34 fastest bike of the day including the pros!! I was thrilled. Kelcie was yelling in t2 "Davis you killed that bike course you must have past 5 guys". Sure enough I had moved into 4 place.
Run
I have given up on racing with a heart rate moniter because then I start thinking to much. I just started running. There was a hill that lasted the entire second mile, and I plowed it on the first lap. I did not check my watch until the end of the first lap which gave me a time I wanted to see I was averaging 6:53/mile on pace for a 1:30:00. I had no expectations on making this last but I was sure as hell going to try. On the second lap it was now mid day and the heat was setting in. That hill on the second lap seemed to be twice as long and my legs began to shut down. It was more then mental at this point. Thinking of my friend Joel Perks telling me "you have to race to win" I was using all my mental games to keep pushing but I needed to clear the lactic acid. I was forced to walk run my way up the hill, but I made it and was able to sink back in to a nice pace. In the end I was able to hold on to a pr 1:38:00.
Recap:
Over all I was really happy with the race because I was able to live to the name PR or ER with a time of 4:45:34 3 mins faster then Clearwater!!! But because of the area the compitition was strong and that was only good enough for 6th place. With 2 spots in my age cat for Vegas I was nervous. But then roll down time came around it was down to one spot. As we listened in suspense as they called 1 name (3rd) then another (4th) then another (5th) I looked at Kelcie..... " I think its me"...... Davis Sohor. WOOOOO!!! I am going to Vegas!! I was at the last one in Clearwater and the first one in Vegas. It was a good confirmation that last year was not a fluke. So I guess stay tuned as I prepare for another go at the 70.3 World Championships.
Amica 70.3 Rhode Island
Swim: 33:51
Bike : 2:30:13
Run: 1:38:11
t1: 2:09
t2: 1:10
4:45:34
Pics and video will be up soon,
Friday, July 8, 2011
Definitely in America
Well yesterday was spent traveling, and it was relaxing. Thats right bouncing airport to airport was relaxing. I have done enough of these races now that they are no longer stressful. I really have nothing to stress about, I have done the work now its time to get paid.
Both the flights went well I watched my bike box like a hawk making sure it made the transfer. I was watching it when we got off the first flight and saw the baggage handlers take it off and they saw me watching. No one likes someone watching them work, but I just waved gave them a thumbs up and a big smile. Trying my hardest to show my appreciation for what they were doing. They all waved back with big smiles, and my bike was the first piece of luggage on the next plane. I really appreciated the service considering last time Delta left my bags for another flight.
Things just got better from there. When I went to pick up my rental car because I am young I get charged a premium for the car, and Kelcie was going to need to drive we were able to apply her fee for also being under age to getting an upgrade instead. So I went in, and instead of getting a standard american car and they ended up giving me a turbo Volvo! Haha, and I love cars and interstates so when we got on the road I hammered it and man that thing goes pretty good. 225hp awd turbo.
We got a little lost driving around and had to use the old school way of communication to find our hotel which ended up being pretty fun. Who needs gps. I mean yes it would have been handy but the old school way of actually talking to people worked just fine.
The rest of the night was fairly uneventful. I set up my bike and we had some dinner. But things got a little more interesting when we hit the local Walmart beside our hotel. I never understood "the people of walmart" because in Canada the people of Walmart are usually interesting but nothing out of the ordinary. In the states thats a whole different story. The giant store is basically empty, except for a few eccentric and magical locals meandering amongst the aisles of Wally World. Upon our entry we discover a larger black man with a sinister grin upon his face. Just aimlessly smirking at all patrons entering the doors. his sweat pants were a clear indicator of attitude towards the world. In isle 18 we discover a the special breed of human one only hears about in the historic tales of Walmart. A blading, well pierced man well in his thirties wanders about frantically searching for nothing with a young woman. His tight, dirty, tattered wife beater is'nt the current issue. What caught our attention so much that it sent Kelcie behind a rack of dresses to laugh in hysteria. This man was sporting tight booty shorts, they weren't even cut off jeans. They were camo spankies. Kelcie could have fit them. Finally, to top off our customer encounters of the wild, was a man who walked into Kelcie. He apologised, and continued to talk to him self. He just kept going and going. Finally turned around and said, "at least i haven't answered my own questions yet. Well, at least not today." And then like that continued off into the mysterious aisles of Walmart.
Check back to see how race check in goes.
D
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