Countdown to my 2nd Half Ironman

The Oliver Half Ironman - beautiful course through the South Okanagan wine country - rolling hills, pretty lake, and vineyard upon vineyard.  What's not to like? This race is a popular one and is now sold out with over 1000 athletes racing this year.

This description is taken directly from the race website.

"Located in the beautiful south Okanagan community of Oliver, BC, this race is a half Ironman distance competition consisting of a 2 km swim, 93 km bike and 21.1 km run.  The race  features a 2-loop swim in the protected waters of Tuc-el-Nuit Lake in the heart of Oliver, a 2 loop bike course in the lower Okanagan Valley featuring parts of the famous  Ironman Canada course past Oliver wineries and  ends with a 2-loop run through quiet residential neighborhood and along the banks of the Okanagan River."

So last year I did this race as my first half ironman distance. I had not previously run a full 21 km before and my running was only sub par. Be that as it may, I actually experienced my problems while on the bike, with a very tight IT band that locked up at the knee and caused me to limp through the run. I was happy with my 45 minute swim, my 3:22 bike, but my walk/run was deadly slow at 2:58.  I also dawdled through the transitions and ended the race with a time of 7:24:something. But I finished and I was relatively happy about that accomplishment.


Goals

I've been mulling over my race plan and goals for the past few weeks and for the most part, I think my original goals still stand.  Overall goal - beat last year's time by actually running all, or most, of the run.

My individual goals have changed a little though. I suspect my swim and bike will be a little slower than last year - maybe up to 5 minutes slower on the swim and 5-10 minutes slower on the bike. This is only based on recent training rides that I've done. But it's hard to say. I'm going to hurry up a little in transition but the fact remains that T1 is 1/2 km from the lake and even the fastest athlete has a minimum 4-5 min T1. Mine was 9 min, avg was 7-8 min. I"ll try to chop one minute off.

Swim - 45-50 minutes (45:17 last year)

Bike - 3:20-3:30 (3:22 last year)

Run - 2:20-2:30

T1 and T2 - 12 minutes

What does that add up to?  Looks like 6:35-7:00.  And yeah, I'd be happy with anything in that range since my main hope is to take half an hour off last years run.


Race Plan

Travel and Accommodation

Leave right after work on Friday and spend two nights in Osoyoos. This will mean a more relaxing time overall.  I will pick up my race packet when I drive through Oliver on Friday night, go for a swim in the lake on Saturday afternoon, meetup with some internet friends, leave my bike in transition, and attend the race meeting from 5-6pm on Saturday. Then I'll head back to the hotel for quiet relaxation, an easy dinner, and early sleep.

Gear 

* Sugoi tank top and 2XU tri shorts (extra jersey at T1 in needed)
* Wetsuit, extra silicone swim cap, flip flops, bodyglide
* Bike with aerobottle and two seat bottles
* Shoes, gloves, helmet, sunglasses
* Garmin and watch, HR strap
* Newtons, socks, hat, racebelt, handheld bottle with gel flask
 
Nutrition

* Chicken, rice, pita, tzatziki, banana, graham crackers for night before
* Yogurt and banana and maybe a gel for breakfast
* Carbo-Pro and Nuun in all 3 bike water bottles
* Nuun in handheld and espresso Hammer gel with water in gel flask

Night Before

* Clothes laid out, gear packed up
* Unnecessary stuff in car already
* Water bottles ready, freeze some mix
* Yoga and read before bed
* Asleep early

Race Day

* Get up at 5am
* Try to get some food in me
* A little coffee
* Pack up and check out of hotel
* Leave Osoyoos no later than 5:45
* Get timing chip and body marking before 6:30
* Bathroom before wetsuit
* First wave starts at 7am, mine will probably be the 3rd wave again 7:20?


Pacing

* Swim - swimming intervals works best for me. Go hard for awhile, recover if/when I feel tired and/or anxious. Swim hard for the last 400m (after rounding the last buoy).

* Bike - keep HR under control - avg 155-158.  Avg speed around 27.5-28 kmh. Stay aero, relaxed upper body, cadence 85-90 rpm, go hard up the hills, recover on the downhills.

* Run - who knows. Anything from 6:14-7:00 km. I'm not sure if I should try to go for a negative split or just try to maintain a steady pace for the whole run. I may have to wait until race day and see how I feel.

Mindset

Remember my mantra from my very first race, back in August 2008.

          I am awesome, I can fly, I am gonna rock this tri......

I will post my race number on my facebook page on Friday or Saturday and you can click here on race day for Live Race Results.

My race will start sometime after 7am Pacific Standard Time.  Probably 7:20ish?  I expect to be finished between 2:00 and 2:30 pm. I will tweet my results as soon as I know them.

I want to wish the best of luck to all of my friends who are racing the Oliver Half Iron this year as well. Most of them are hoping for a Sub 6 time so I assume they will all be there to cheer me across the finish line. LOL...  Good luck to Carmelle, Brent, James, Darryl, Mike, Jocelynn, Klaus and probably a few others I'm forgetting right now.

I'd also like to send out a HUGE thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me throughout this journey - online friends, family, and most of all, Erik. :)