I wanted to give a special thank you and shout out to the race director, Paul, of IM 70.3 Calgary. Long story short, the airline lost my bike and it still hadn’t arrived by late afternoon the day before the race. Among all the numerous items Paul had on his list that day, he went out of his way to make sure I could find a bike to race. He is the owner at a local Calgary tri shop called Speed Theory and one of their employees, an up and coming Canadian draft-legal athlete, named Eric very graciously lent me his bike, race wheels, and shoes. There’s enough stress before any race and both Paul and Eric really helped try and make the best out of a tough situation. Also, thank you to the several people who reached out via twitter and other avenues offering to help; the tri community is pretty incredible!
For anyone looking for a fun, fast race, I’d definitely keep IM 70.3 Calgary on your list. Race was a bit rough for me, but gutted it out to finish 4th MPro (3:46) with the fastest run of the day.
Bike was definitely a few miles short, my GPS had 53.5. The bike was also pancake flat with a pristine highway surface for 90% which helps. Run was pretty spot on, had 12.7 but started about a quarter plus mile late. No clue on the swim - going to tell myself it was appropriate :P. The transitions were also very short so that minimized time.
question out of curiosity and respect for your run ability: what are your thoughts on your run in this race on a fast course being marginally faster than your long runs?
Good question! Honestly, this run was pretty sub-par for me. But the way I’d digest this one is:
Tired legs - was forcing the entire race from the get-go; I’m coming off a pretty decent training block in prep for Ironman Wales and the legs still hadn’t come around; was about 30w lower than my normal race power and was struggling just at that
Nutrition - my stomach was pretty messed up the entire race and I couldn’t fuel as well on the bike, took about 30oz of fluid less than usual and it was a hot day; also the aid stations were pretty spread out on the run and I couldn’t make up for the deficit I put myself in on the bike
Course - the course was surprisingly tougher than I thought, there was quite of bit of gradual up/down and it was completely exposed to the sun on a hot day
Usually I’m running around 1:13 and change on most courses, 1:15 on harder courses, and fastest being 1:11.
With regard to training, I’m a pretty aerobic athlete and come from a running background. I’ll usually run around 6:00/mi pretty comfortably and keep my HR in the appropriate zone. Plus, with a real job, baby, etc. I try and add a bit more training stress on the runs since my schedule can change any second. You’ll also see me do a lot of trail running with a lot of vert, this is usually very slow (pace not effort) but is awesome for strength.
Interesting. The original Calgary bike course was 58 miles. The run course was spot on at 13.1. Haven’t raced the new course… This is a great race and Paul is a wonderful RD. But Calgary is a bit out of the way, and schedule clashes with IMC and Boulder.
Paul is awesome and Calgary 70.3 is always an excellent event. Speed Theory is a great shop too.
I hate to say it, but I passed on this race because I have ridden the road the bike course uses many years ago and found it really boring.
With the construction in Calgary I don’t see a return to the old route anytime soon.
If they can somehow get out and do two loops of the “road to Nepal”…
Thanks for the reply and insight. And yes, very impressive how you’ve balanced work and training this past seven years and now with a family. Best of luck for IM Wales.
Have seen your recent trail running exploits and would love to see you in a trail race with Canaday and King (two ex-Ithacans), unless I’ve missed that match up having happened.
Did the Race last year on a harder course. The swim (a little short) was at the same location but the bike course went west up into the hills and had more climbing. The bike was about 54.5 mile. T2 was at a different location. The run was also a little harder but was a fun course. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1278046075
Thanks! Haven’t run up against those guys yet on the trails but plan on doing a bit more trail running next year. Maybe Lake Sonoma 50 miler. I ran against Sage when he was at Cornell (I was at Penn). Planning on doing The North Face 50k in Marin again this fall.
Technically this is the 4th different bike course. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd shared the final bits on highway 8. 2nd and 3rd were about 90% the same but used different lakes.
I live in Austin and travel to Calgary for work quite a bit. When I am up there I go to Paul’s bike shop for workouts (Speed Theory) and go to computrainer classes from a coaching company within the bike shop called THE DOCTRINE run by a guy named Trev. It is a phenomenal operation and the bike shop has great products and service. That was a really fun race and I loved how low key and relaxed all the staff were at the race. I am DEFINITELY going back next year even if they change the course back to the old course. The only complaint I had about anything was that all three legs of the course were short. It didn’t bother me though and I had a great experience.