Nathan Veldhoen

It’s been a great build up to race day that will be bright and early Sunday Morning @ 7am.  All the hours of training, trips, and bike repairs has been an experience that I can’t really put into words.  I can’t image the feeling after competing the race, finishing the biggest training day to date.  The only thing I can really say is if you think you might want to go for an Ironman, do it, it will be something you will always remember.

With the big day within reach I would like to thank everyone along the way for the support for Dan and I, and the huge amount of money raised.  Online we are very close to 3,000 dollars with another 500 dollars not included in the online total.  Just in the last year a number people in my core of friends have been directly effected by someone with a heart condition or stroke and I feel it was the correct  charity to help out.  A big thanks to my Calgary people for getting me very very close to my goal.  Hope race day will go as good or better then the money raising. I believe that my online page shuts down on Sunday so if you’re still wanting to donate go to ironmanfund.com soon!

I am looking to beat the 11 hour mark and hopefully better with a top 100-150 overall finish.  A lot of things need to go right with nothing going wrong to get me to the finish line in that time.  Weather is looking good and so it looks like it’s up to me and my bike.  I will be number 283 and we will be starting at 7:00am Sunday morning.  I am not sure if they have live tracking for the race but checkout ironman.ca for any info.

Some photos from this week, I didn’t take any in Penticton this last weekend and feeling a little guilty.  Its going to be a grind here for the next three to four weeks with peaking out next weekend.  I’m in the process of getting a big night together on the 13th of August. Ironmanfund.com is ramping up.

Going to ride to this guy next weekend. 75km to the top, it will be interesting!

The home base. Late night track session. Little cooler and quiet.

Had a good track session-this last thursday

No images yet-sorry...

4:00am start to the Sunday morning with a 6:30am gun time for the beginning of what would be a pretty solid day. Hit most of my targets for the swim and run but I’m still fighting the bike.  Swim came in pretty fast despite it feeling slow but I think the current had a huge effect on results…good and bad.  Came out with a 26:00 swim in pretty good position with a little bit of a better time in transition then  Oliver but still slower then most by quite a bit.  Bike course was 4 loops 26km course that felt as if each loop was getting shorter and shorter.  32.1 km average which needs to be faster but still felt solid.   (2:50 total bike time)  Run felt strong after the first 8km and was happy with the 4:51 final time. (1:28 total run time)  Would have really like to be under the 4:50 range but under 5 was the big target.  41th out 261

I will have to say that those folks up in Oliver put on a better race and basically beat the Vancouver Tri in all aspects.  I will credit the Vancouver’s organizers and say it still was a solid event, but Oliver is a few levels higher.  More people, more volunteers, more stations, more variety, better swim and better organized. Booom!  Training Camp number 4 this weekend in Penticton.

ironmanfund.com!  please donate and if you have any connection of auction items contact me

Some photos from the week in Oliver, BC from the Half Iron.    1.9km swim, 93 km bike, 21 km run.  Felt good, and ready to try and do sub-5 halfer.  Ended up with 5:11 and room to cut time.  I wish someone had video of the transition from the swim to bike.  Got dragged a few meters by the wetsuit strippers and then couldn’t get my racing shirt on, felt like a circus act.  Then proceeded to get my ass handed to me on the bike but…. then  got some of it back on the run.

Fun weekend and already eying up the half iron in Vancouver on July 4th.

Little sugar before bedtime

Pre-game meals

The expo

Felt like Cali out in Oliver

Almost the same medal as last year.

Last Sunday morning was another race, this time it was the Run for Water just down the street from my house.  This was the second time I have ran it and it looks like it keeps growing every year.   Its not the fastest course with a line up of rolling hills right in the middle of it all.   The general design of the course is nice though built of mainly a giant loop,   not too many twists and turns which makes for a good way to keep the leaders in view.

500 bucks for th winner which I wasn’t even close but did grab 9th and on the 12th I’ll find out what I won. Hopefully its not a donkey.  Actually if it was donkey that would be sweet.

Ended up with a 1:28.  Almost my split for the full, had some fun @ 8km with a 2-3 minute set back when a gel went down the wrong tube.   Was on  pace for a 38-39 10k, ended up with 42.00.   Whoops!  Feel pretty happy with the time, no tapper and was felling the 3 hours of riding and short run from Saturday.  Got my eyes on Oliver this week-end and the Vancouver Scotia half  on the 27th.  Thinking I might do a mini tapper to get my time down where I think it could be for the 27th.

Just packing up for Oliver half iron and heading out Friday night.

the old bip

Nice wet Sunday but wasn’t too bad with over 13, 000 in the race and close to 1,900 doing the full distance.  Once again the race was well put on, well marked and had more then enough water and gel stops.  Enjoyed most of it but I think the last mile was the best, coming in the 4 minutes to spare and my legs still working.

This was the third time I have done the Vancouver, and it still has to be the one I like the most.  There wasn’t as many people watching this year, but I think the weather had a very large part in that.  Finished up with a 3:06.28 and made the top 100.  Now I am thinking a sub 3 hour might be in the cards for the fall.

Went out at a crisp 41 minutes for the 10k mark and was wanting around the 43 range, so a bit fast, then clocked 1:29.11 for the half and was able to hold on for with a 1:37.2.  Felt good and could have maybe pushed the second half a bit more but overall was happy with the result.  Next up the run for water half marathon on the 30th, but not before a trip up to penny for a ride on the ironman bike course.

Getting music ready for tomorrow’s Vancouver marathon and hoping the weather holds up. Been changing almost daily but the morning is looking like it should be dry. A cool 8 degrees and maybe a bit of wind as well which makes for the usual weather for this race. It will be the third time I’ve done this guy and enjoyed it every year. 7:30 start, same route as last year and hopefully the monkey will jump off my back.

What needs to go down.

Going to buck it out fast and see how long I can hold it.

This years shirt. Can you tell?

Good luck to everyone one running.

Finally getting around to a design for the jersey that I will hopefully sport for most of the summer.  Finding the time was probably the more challenging part.  Here is a shot of the logo and then close to the final design for the shirt.

drawing mess

logo

roughly what the final product will be

Here is a good 22km route Downtown Vancouver that I ran on Saturday morning.  Weather was crappy but still felt pretty good busting it out.

Finally swiped the credit card for the BMO Marathon on the 2nd and felling like the day can’t come soon enough. Pretty pumped for this years race season. Also locked down my campground for the June 6th halfiron in Oliver. Found this awesome photo of the pool.

This is serious

Two more weeks until it all starts up.

The running shoe rack.

I have been going  solid on the training  since Christmas and feeling pretty good.  Legs are feeling tired almost on a daily basis with all the biking,  but going to have to trade a few of the biking days into runs for the up coming marathon in less then 2 months.  Overall feeling strong and wanting to get into a race soon.

As the weeks move on (I think I am on the 15th week) so has the dollar amount.  I missed running the Fort Half, but  just signed up for the Oliver Half Iron on June the 6th and planning on doing another half later on in the season.    I will be racing the BMO Vancouver marathon on the second of May and maybe another trip down to Vegas for the Rock and Roll race.  I am almost @ a thousand dollars this year alone on race fees!

Along with racing goes more equipment, I bought a new set of race day running shoes, and  looking at getting my wetsuit for the lake.  The Bike has been able to hold up so far, and so has the trainer.

One of the major purchases that I was wanting to get before the spring was a camper.   I recently just bought one on Wednesday and will have some pictures of the house on wheels here soon.

Day off tomorrow and then back at it Saturday.  I will be getting on the fundraising train here in the next few weeks, so for those who would like to donate check this page out!

Solid week into my training for the 2010 year and getting pumped for some upcoming events.  As mentioned in a previous post the main focus of this year is the Ironman in Penticton, BC.  I’ll post most of my training and day to day shit on twitter, with more scenic training days and races via the blog.

Another fairly large goal I have for this year is to raise 5, 000 dollars for the Heart and Stroke Fountain in coordinates with the Ironman.  It took me a little while to figure out which charity to help out especially since  have dealt with others  with the Art Project.  I thought this one was a good fit and hope others can help along the way.

I have set up a third party page on the Heart and Stroke Fountain site for quick and easy donations.  You can print you tax form right from the site.  If you don’t feel comfortable donating online you can print and mail a form, or  you contact me directly.  I have also created a special section on this blog that will remain “sticky” for anytime donations or a quick link to check out the status of how things are going.

I am planning on designing a t-shirt to help spread the word,   I hope to have those ready for the Half Marathon in Feburary.  Let me know if anyone is interested in recieving one.

From Last Years Ironman

Looking forward to a busy year, with a few things on the list to get ready for,  half-marathon in February, Full marathon in May, and  one maybe two half Ironmans in June and July with the Ironman in August.  The two major focuses are, another try at a Boston qualifier in Vancouver on May 2nd and a solid finish to the Ironman in Penticton on August 29th.  I’m looking at a top 100 finish for the Ironman but wouldn’t really know where I stand until I finish a half Ironman.  A 10 hour 15 minute race gets close to that list but might be a bit quick…I guess time will tell.

I’ll be using the Heart and Stroke Foundation to raise some money, and will be hopefully getting some shirts made up in the near future with a section for donation off this site.  Should be a fun and eventful year with some excitement mixed in.

Things didn’t go quiet according to plan, but the whole event was pretty amazing.  I think i’ll try and get back out to the desert for next year.  Simple, flat, and wide course with  some cool temperatures.   I felt pretty good but didn’t have the speed to get me even close to my goal.  Ran a 3:23, thinking maybe too much travel in the last few weeks could have slowed me down, but all in all it was an enjoyable run.

The race started with some flying Elvis’ coming out of the sky with tigers and showgirls to set you off.  The largest marathon I have been apart of with a lot of water stations, time clocks, and markers along the route.  I ran without music so I could take in all the bands and wasn’t super impressed with the amount of music,  with the 6:15 start it would make it pretty hard to round them up.

I think this is near the end...

Today I’m heading off to Vegas to try and get me a spot for the Boston Marathon in April.  I’m needing a 3:10.99 or less to get my butt there.  Feeling a lot better then I did since I got back from Cuba and hope once I get to the desert things will come together.

Apparently on a site called competitor wireless you can track races in real time  here https://www.competitorwireless.com/ via your cell phone, pretty freakin crazy.  Its obviously not free but 5 bucks lets me add five peoples phone numbers plus one free.   I’ll test how the service works and see, if your interested in tracking, all you need is a last name and find the Vegas marathon and you will be able to get updates via text message.

You can also track via the net for free @  http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/ click on Las Vegas and then click on the LiveResults bug on the home page during the race and you will never be out of touch with 4 or 5 updates at different timing stops.    I love how creative technology gets.

a little screen grab....

Staying @ the Wyndham Resort just off the strip, fingers cross that the hot tubs with be working…Leave tonight and get back Monday night, hopefully with a happy hangover.