Well, what can I say this time around? This was my third time at the Oliver Half Iron, and I
was going into it in my usual unprepared style. Work had been busy as in previous years, but
this year I had the advantage of a couple of “crash cycle” training camps - one in Las Cruces
with Paulo and another in Xantusia. Outside of those two camps, I had done pretty much zero
training aside from a few bike rides and the odd crit or TT. I’d put my 2007 stats as
something like:
Bike - 25x
Swim - 10x
Run - 6x
Based on those estimates, I was going into Oliver in better shape than ever before! Sad, I
know - but that’s life in my world. At least I know the course, and what to expect - as much
as one can, at any rate.
We drove up on Friday for a change, as Jen wanted to look at a property in Penticton. I had
hoped to get there in time for dinner, but life got in the way (as well as mad traffic and a
nasty accident on Hwy 3) such that we didn’t get in until nearly 22:00. We stopped in Hope
for dinner, where Jen had the craziest burger I’ve ever seen in my life. If you like
mushrooms, this is your deal. Named the “Mountain Mushroom Burger”, this bad boy is served a
la carte - and consists of an otherwise normal burger, open faced on a plate, and then
covered in about half a bushel of sauteed mushrooms! It’s truly insane. The mushrooms were
piled a good 5 inches high on the plate, and all the way out to the rim on all sides. One
could see a tiny bit of lettuce poking out, but other than that it might have as well been a
plate heaped with mushrooms and nothing else. Jen tells me that she did find the burger
under it all, but that she was a little sick of mushrooms by the end of it (she finished it -
what a trooper).
Got into Osoyoos and checked in, and pretty much crashed right out. Up early to get to
Penticton, and then we had lunch with jonnyo - who’s staying there all summer for his IMC
prep in his bid to beat Gordo. Back to Oliver for package pick-up, bike check-in, and then
“home” for dinner and to chill. Ran into zulu at bike check-in, and chatted for a bit before
heading out. I skipped the pre-race meeting this year, having raced here twice before but I
was told that I got a shout at the meeting. According to Jer (owner of Speed Theory, my LBS)
it went like this:
(Joe Dixon, RD Extraordinaire):
Now onto the run course.
Hold on a sec - Hey Khai.
Where’s Khai?
I don’t want to hear you bitching about my run course in your race report on ST this year!
AWESOME. 
I ran into Joe on race moring and when I told him I missed it, he told me: “At least you
didn’t fall asleep like ! #$%^& was right in the 7th row, fast asleep!”
Race morning dawned far too early, and I struggled to get out of bed. Finally got going, and
ran into jonnyo as well as Jer in the transition zone. Jen got a couple of pics, and then I
wandered on down to the lake, where I ran into YVR K. She’s always really happy, and was
looking relaxed and confident as usual. Beth, a girl I don’t actually know but who read my
last years RR (linked from a mutual friend) and I had exchanged a few emails with ran up to
me and said: “You must be Khai. You’re my inspiration!” Beth, dear, just so you know,
that’s a pretty heavy load to drop on a guy! ;-p At any rate it was really cool to meet her
as we’d chatted a few times over the past year and this was her first crack at the distance.
(She did awesome, by the way - too bad I missed her at awards).
Pretty soon we were ready to go, and I hopped in the water to start. I had thought about
doing a proper swim warmup beforehand, but figured that there was no point. Paulo would be
pissed if this was an important race, but given that I was just here for kicks, I don’t think
my punishment for not warming up will be too bad.
Although I’ve barely been in the water this year, I did have a couple of swim coaching
sessions last year and I worked with jonnyo a fair bit in Las Cruces. It seems to have
really paid off as I had the best swim ever! Normally the pack is gone within ~200m and the
women catch (and pummel) me by the second buoy. That’s with a 10min headstart (on the
women’s pack). This year I stayed with other swimmers the entire time, and didn’t notice the
lead women passing me until I had nearly completed my first lap! (NB - the ones I saw may
not have been the leaders) The main women’s pack didn’t pass me until I was well into my 2nd
lap. I did run in to one guy who wanted a battle royal and seemed intent on beating the shit
out of me even as we were way out in the open, with no other swimmers within a 20m radius. I
had a nice little conversation with him in my head (Look buddy - you’re a 40min swimmer on
the best day of your life. Why are you trying to shitkick me out here?) and then pushed his
hips down so he sank before swimming away. I also took a punch to the eye from one of the
women, but I’m thinking that was incidental. I don’t know if she hurt her hand, but I had a
bit of a headache for the rest of the swim, and it made me wonder if my beloved Swedes are
indeed the best choice for these types of events.
In the end I was out of the water in 41:13, a definite PR for me and a big shock, to be
honest. I’m not really used to exiting the water and seeing a lot of people running up the
beach. I did an “All-Pro” T1 job though, and even jogged through T1 to my bike (normally I
just amble along in no particular hurry if the race is longer than Oly distance). Here I was
met with another surprise - bikes on the rack! Not just my bike, but other bikes too! Okay
- so I wasn’t exactly having difficulty locating it, but it certainly was not the only not
there, either. Another first for me at this distance.
On to the bike. Ran down to the mount line, did a nice flying leap onto the bike and I was
off. Heart rate was pretty high, but I figured it would settle down soon enough. It didn’t
(took nearly 1/3rd of a lap) but I was riding easy and was still pretty stoked about my swim.
After about a third of a lap, my lower back started to bother me. I’ve had trouble with it
on and off for the last few years, but it hasn’t ever really affected me much in a race
before. Today would be the day it did. As I pushed on it got worse and worse, to the point
where I was standing to stretch on just about any downhill or tailwind section I could find.
This did not bode well at all. At one point a (very cute) girl rolled up to me and asked if
I had a multi tool. I replied that I had allen wrenches, and she asked if I wouldn’t mind
stopping to help, as her seatpost was slipping. Sure, why not. We pulled over and as she
fixed her saddle height, I told her that I’d be pissed if she cost me the win. I think she
was a little stressed at the situation because she didn’t appear to get the joke. Either
that or she just didn’t think I was funny. This is my RR however, and she’s not here - so
she was stressed and didn’t hear my joke. As she rode off and I put my tools away, I
idly wondered if I would have stopped for a dude. Probably. Or at least I like to think so.
She actually came and found me at the awards ceremony and thanked me again. Nice gal. Very
intense eyes, but in a good way. Completely engaging.
Anyway, back to the bike. I got my suffer on, and was treated to hordes of people passing
me. People who would not normally pass me, or be anywhere near me on a bike. At least
that’s what I kept telling myself. Some squirrel almost took me out as he swerved and slowed
down while trying to refill his aero bottle on the fly, and I was in a good mood so I called
him a jackass after he tried to blame me for passing on the right. Uh - dude - I’m sitting
up on the bar tops drinking - I wasn’t trying to pass you. You slowed, swerved, and damn
near caused a 3 bike accident. He was intent on blaming me however, so I just kept rolling.
More people passed me, and as I rode by an abandoned fruit stand I looked at the empty
counter and had the best daydream about pulling over and taking a nap in the shade. I had a
flashback to the really nice nap I had on a picnic table at the Mile High Cafe, about 1/3 of
the way up the mountain by Slowman & Monty’s place. That made me happy and I kept rolling.
Finally ready to be done, I did my “All Pro T2” dismount and racked my bike.
Out on the run course, my back notified me right away that it was having nothing to do with
any sort of running. I could walk with minimal pain, but running or even jogging was just
not going to happen. I walked down to about halfway between the 2nd and 3rd aid stations,
and then sat down on the sidewalk. The I laid down and tried to stretch. Nope. Nuthin’
doin’. You ain’t running a step today. I laid there and thought long and hard. I came off
the bike in ~3:20, which meant that I had about 4hrs to deathmarch the 21 odd km. I’ve
walked pretty far in a lot of pain before, so it wouldn’t have been anything new. A bunch of
shit ran through my head, but the ultimate deal was that I just didn’t have it in me to
suffer like that again. Not a 3:30 walk in 38deg heat, for no other reason than to finish
the race. Sure, I could have. Maybe I even should have. But I just couldn’t go to the well
one more time. Not that day. I took off my chip, unclipped my race belt, and started to
walk back towards the finish line. After about 7 steps I stopped, and looked down at my
hands. I was carrying a race number and a timing chip. I had 4hrs to walk, and there were
lots of aid stations. I bent over and put my chip back on, re-clipped my race belt, and
turned around. I made it maybe another 1/2 km before I knew that this time, it really was
over. Walking, I wasn’t really in that much pain. If I tried to run, yes - but not walking.
I just didn’t want to be there anymore. This time, the body was willing - but the *spirit *
was weak. Again, I took off my chip and number and trudged back to the start/finish.
So there you have it. I quit. Gave up. Turned in my chip. I wasn’t pulled from the
course, nor did I remove myself due to excrucuating pain or the fear of long-term damage.
I’m afraid not. I wish I could say I did, but I didn’t. This time, I just gave up.
I’m told that quitting can be habit forming, so I have to be careful for the next little
while, at least. I retrospect it’s easy to say I should have just sucked it up and done the
deathmarch - but when your mind just won’t go there, when you don’t have the will to suffer,
the body is powerless to act. The flip side of how incredible it is to witness what one is
capable of doing when the mind is strong, is how incapable one is when the mind or will, is
lacking. That’s not an excuse - it’s simply a matter of fact. What happenned to me on
Sunday June 3rd, 2007. It sucks, but that’s what happenned.
Picture Time
The new Khaimobile:
Chatting w/ zulu:
Solymosi was supposed to race, but he injured himself just days prior - so being the good guy that he is, came down to volunteer:
This is jonnyo “fat”. And me, showing him what fat really is:
It’s not widely known here in Slowtwitchia, but I also do synchro:
Khai’s “All-Pro” T1 - showing the kids at home how it’s done:
(That’s Joe in the “Team Tabernac” shirt, with his wife and organizer Sarah beside him)
Look! Other bikes on the rack!
Hey, how’s my bike position?
Lap 1/2:
Lap 1, 1/2:
Getting ready for my “All Pro” T2:
(it was so fast, the camera couldn’t shoot quick enough!)
PS - Hey, look at that Joe. Not one bitch about your run course!
