Jacqueline and I went on a short vacation to Penticton last week so I could get some training in before the big race, not much of a vacation but we enjoyed it none the less. We got there on Wednesday and I rode the Ironman course and had a sudden realization of how tough this course is. To say it kicked my ass would be an understatement, Richter’s pass and Yellow lake aren’t small hills they’re mountains and long steep accents at that. I felt pretty good and I rode it in 6 hours at a pretty steady pace but for the first time I was happy with the effort.

The next day I woke up early and swam about 3k in Lake Okanagan followed by a 16k run, I was done for the day at 9:30 and Jacq and I enjoyed floating down the canal, taking Buster to the off leash beach and just enjoyed the hot weather and each other’s company. I was worried about the training volume but my body was holding up and I had more energy than expected.

Ironman Cycle round 2 didn’t go as well as the first, my friend Cam told me to ride the course backwards to get a better idea of when you’re climbing false flats and struggling through the race I’ll have a better idea of why I’m hurting so much, so ride it backward I did. Heading out of Penticton it’s about a 15k accent to the top of Yellow Lake, it felt like it would NEVER end. I was exhausted an hour in and I had five more to go?? The decent to Crawston is fast and long and I was there in a flash, caught my breath and my legs weren’t on fire anymore so I was feeling ready to take on the last 100km. Jacqueline was meeting me in Osoyoos for a coffee so I had to get moving and luckily the wind was at my back I was flying along at 45km an hour for what felt like forever when I got to the base of the climb up Richter’s backside….scary, here we go. Thus climb was long and hard and the temperature was around 30c, I just put my head down and before I knew it (about an hour later) I summited the top, yippee I can do this!! I reached speeds of 80km an hour on the way down and was in Osoyoos on time. Jacq and I had a quick drink and some fruit and I was back on my bike for the final 60km…this is where it got interesting.

It’s a small incline back to Penticton but the wind was strong and coming right at me..I was hurting bad at this point and didn’t know if I would be able to finish the last stretch…”Bear down”, “Don’t give in” all things I told myself and soon enough I reached O.K. Falls..20km to go. I started down Skaha Lake road I then it happened…BONKED!! I was dizzy, no more calories to eat, half a water bottle left and about 45min of cycling to go. I could no longer get down in the aero postion so I just rode as straight as I could trying..willing..struggling to push my tired legs on the pedals for as long as I could. Each pedal stroke felt like it would be my last but there was NO WAY I was pulling over, calling my wife to come pick me up..NO WAY. I could see the campsite in the distance and my GPS told me I had 2 km to go..I’m going to make it. I pulled up to the campsite tongue hanging out, barely able to get off my bike when I saw on the table…..PANCAKES!!!! My wife had made me pancakes for the end of my ride, I scrambled over to the table..no plates..who cares? Jacqueline was no where to be found, can I start without her? Yes. I grabbed a pancake in one hand, syrup in the other, I squeezed the syrup into my mouth and took a bite of the pancake, then another and another. Imagine what the other campers were thinking when they saw me in my full cycling gear eating pancakes like I hadn’t eaten in days. Jacqueline finally showed up and we enjoyed the last few pancakes together, with a knife and fork. I got all the syrup off my helmet and I realized that my wife is my hero, she saved my life with those pancakes ( that’s what I thought at the time).

At the end of the week I signed up for an Olympic Triathlon and I did great. I ran a 45min 10k at the end and that’s my fastest 10k ever so I was extremely satisfied with the week, tired but satisfied. People often ask me what’s the first indulgence I’m going to have after my race, I really don’t know but I’m leaning towards pancakes. I really don’t care as long as it’s with my wife.

I have a race on Sunday, the Calgary 70.3 I’ll let you know how it goes….

See you at the finish line,

MB