Oliver :: Mini Training Camp

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Nathan

I have always enjoyed the city of Penticton but I’m getting increasingly frustrated with trying to book weekends and events there. Once again I try to come into town and get a good solid weekend in and get let down by not one but all the campsites in the city. I was leaving right after work on Friday and was going to arrive just a touch after 10. I called ahead to see if there were any sites that didn’t have an issue with this, after calling three sites, I got told no. Two close at 10 and another at 8. I got so upset with this that I just blew off Penticton completely and headed to one of my favorite spots in Oliver, where I stayed for my half ironman. Once again Lakeside Resort pulls through for me with no issues at all, and in the end works out to be a great place for a training camp. Maybe that’s why there is a half iron race there…

Oliver is a mere 20 minutes outside of Ok Falls or Osoyoos, depending on which way you go. Both cities have the Ironman Canada bike course going right through and OK falls is were the run turn around is. So I loaded up the creeper and headed to Oliver.

Got in just before ten, had a shower and got ready for my 165km bike starting from Oliver. (shortened the ride, took the rip through Penticton out…) Got up around 8 and finished up my ride around 2, threw on my runners and did one loop of the half iron course to finish my Saturday. Sunday was a quick dip in Tuc-el-Nuit Lake were the swim of the Oliver race took place, with a quick drive to OK Falls for a long run. A reverse route of the Ironman run route. I started at the turn around and then came back once I hit Penticton for a out back of 25kms. Once the run was done, I jumped in the lake to get the salt off and cool the legs down for a 4 hour drive home. All around solid weekend with about 10 hours of training in two days.

After moving my whole training to Oliver, I actually feel that Oliver is probably the best option for a quick training weekend. Laid back, less restrictions on all the bullshit and its tough to beat the setting of the Lakeside resort. 35 bux a night, with nice bathrooms and showers, lake front fire pits, store close by, and a nice quite setting. Here is there facebook page for more info.

Getting ready for two races this weekend quick open water swim on Friday in Port Moody with another half ironman in Vancouver on Sunday…

some shots from the Saturday night after training.

just up from the campsite

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Lake for the Oilver halfiron, campsite just to the right.

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Oliver Half Iron Weekend :: 2

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Nathan

Friday night after work we trucked up to Oliver for the my first Tri of the season. Headed for the Lakeside Resort right on the lake where the race starts. Got in around 9:30 to a full house of other triathlete campers and once we jumped out of the truck you could tell summer was in full order in the interior.

Saturday was package pick up, bike drop and race meeting day. Picked up my race package around 2 after a quick wetsuit swim. Then dropped my bike off around 3 after a wheel swap and chain clean up. I was all set for Sunday, bike racked and all my geared ready.

The morning came pretty quick, with a race start of 7am and bike transition open at 5:30. Wondered over about 6 to get marked and drop everything else off. I should have also gotten my hand marked as well as my leg and arm…

Jumped into the water 10 minutes before race time and got a quick swim in and then stood in the front for the start. Last year was a bit of a rough go with a few kicks to the face, but this year I made sure I was out front. This worked out prefect. I was off without any problem and swam the whole race alone, just behind two of the race leaders. Came out of the water 3rd and then ran up the road to get on my bike. I jumped on to my bike for a warm 93km bike. Felt pretty good on my bike with my second lap of the two loop course being faster and a whole lot less people passing me then last year. Finished up with a 2:37 bike split, with last years at 2: 54. The guy right in front of me went over the dismount line and I almost did the same after watching him do it… After spending a few minutes looking for the wrong number in transition, a volunteer yelled at me that I was at the wrong rack…the guy that had the 2 minute penalty was already out of transition before me…oops. I was looking for 69 not 59, I guess my mind must of wondered to some interesting thoughts on the bike.

just coming up the stairs from the water

Threw my shoes on and was ready to go after a few bikers that got me on the ride. After a stop in the bush for a pee and two more passing me, I realized how hot it was getting. I tried to grab the two that passed me on my pee break and go after more, but the legs just didn’t have it. My first two kms were pretty solid with 3:30, and 3:45 but quickly felt off that pace and was running 4:45-5 minute kms by the end. I had a pretty serious leg muscle glitch on the foot bridge on the first loop and from there, things started to slowly fall apart. With temps around 30 degrees, and going after that half marathon the week before, things started to pile up. Got into the finish just under 5 hours at 4 :57 about 15 minutes fast then last year, even with my running time 5 minute slower then last year. Not at all happy with the result but was happy with my bike split. I was wanting a 1:25-1:30 run which would have got me in the goal time I was looking for, 2 out 3 went well with the run not showing up…

At the first little climb, just coming out of Oliver.

Here is a picture of me at the"what the hell was that run" look on my face. Followed by my legs need to go in the lake.

All and all a good race, and with Outback Events its usually a guarantee it will be a well managed. Oh and I did end up getting my name on the list for Ironman Canada. So now after a few week of I will be going full steam ahead for IMC. My next race I’m thinking will be the Vancouver half Iron on the first week of July.

New Bike :: Specialized Transition

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Nathan

Since catching the tri/ ironman bug about a year and a half ago, I have invested hundreds of hours in training and now I have “invested” the money. I did a fair bit of research in the last little while and its hard to beat the pricing and competitiveness of Cervelo, but Specialized has been going full steam ahead with their line of bikes. I just didn’t want something different, I wanted something stiff and comfortable. After all the reading the Specialized transition was probably the best match for my body type. Their pricing is roughly 400-500 dollars more then the comparable cervelo but their bikes have been spotted a lot more in the last little while with a pretty impressive line up of pros jumping on.

I ordered a new 2011 transition but after a little mix up, cancelled it and found last years transition pro with a sick set of mavic wheels all ready mounted. Pretty dam stoked on it and already took it for a cruise today, and well…the playing field seems to be level now. Now I have no excuses.

Large frame... I'm about 6 feet so it will workout nicely.

mavic wheels...nice little add on.

slim

New shoes to match, set of Diadora tri shoes called the Infinity. They felt awesome today.

The konasaurus, showing its age. Ten year old bike, that got my to last years finish line, minus a spoke. (and no tri bars)

Motivation

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Nathan

Having a full-time job and trying to train for a race is a very though , especially if your looking to complete an Marathon or an Ironman. For myself being in the construction industry, I find it very difficult to stick to a set training schedule. Weird hours, long hours, or no hours. Finding motivation sometimes just as challenging as the run, bike or swim that you need to do.

I’m always on the look out for fresh ideas, and new training spots to keep it interesting. Quick little weekend trips help in the spring and summer to get yourself out of the daily grind and into the elements. Going to new places and trying new things is one of the key factors to keeping me motivated. Sometimes you don’t have the time and have to stick the the usual, and when that happens I often revert to the internet for some help. I generally use twitter for some quick links to different blogs but also have my regular reads. Below I’ll share with you some of my favorite places to go. I haven’t invested in coaching or training groups to keep me on task, but I find part of the fun is trying to figure things out on your own through reading, searching, and watching.

Link for different videos, interviews, and training logs for the Ironman Championships.

Very cool story of a professional tri guy (Jordan Rapp) getting his life back to where it once was.

Last years winner of Kona

Dirk Bockel’s blog that has some great videos and links of what he personally does to keep moving forward.

Video of two of the greatest swimmers. Some very good underwater footage. Two totally different swimming styles going head to head.

This youtube video was pretty much the start of getting me hooked on the sport.

Great Blog with a lot of info to help with many different aspect of Tri.

Running and triathlons, tools and links

Posted on December 5, 2010 by Nathan

Friendly interface

Over the years I’ve been using different tools and resources to help me in my training and meet my goals. I’ve ran numerous marathons, half marathons, a few half ironmans, swimming races, and competed in Ironman Canada 2010. I have done all my racing and training without coaching, paid resources, or paid programs. All my resources have been found on the internet through various websites, online documents, you tube videos, and various blogs.

You need to be careful where the information comes from and if it is up to date. Don’t always use the the first article or section of information, read up from at lease 2-3 different sources to figure out if its something you want to try. I generally start searching from different blogs and read what other people have used as resources and go from there. Twitter, blogger, you tube and different running, triathlon magazines are a huge wealth of information to get you started in the right direction as well.

Trifuel is a source that I still use and structure by base training around. I did find it to be dated but after going through a lot of different training plans, this one had the best layout as well as secondary indexing for terms used for different types of drills and sessions. I used this plan to get me to the ironman finish line with my 10:42. So its officially been tested. This was a great start and I didn’t get any injuries from his plan from over training or aggressive training lengths. I have already modified this plan for this year but continually revert back to it.

I am also in the hunt for a sub 3 hour marathon and found a fairly simple plan that set me off in a direction that will hopefully get me to my goal in February from a UK site called runnersworld.ltd.uk.

For generating goal and pace times runningforfitness.org has a solid engine with a wealth of other calculators as well.

For mapping out routes and distances mapmyrun.com as well as mapmyride.com are pretty popular sites with a new interface coming out soon but I find it too busy with ads. I recently switched over to dailymile.com which has a lot less garbage and more useful tools such as workout tracking and just has a more web 2.0 friendly interface. It works really well for triathletes since it crosses over to all types of racing. Add your friends and make sure everyone is on track. Not sure if there is an app for phones but I am sure they are working on it Very powerful site.

Athlinks is a site I recently started using as well which is also very useful for finding out previous race times. You can also see who stole your identity and ran under your name.

Boston? What?!!!

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Nathan

...boston marathon full?....

So looking forward to the new racing season and trying to figure out how to plan it out, a wrench gets thrown into the whole planning process. I find out at the end of Monday, the 115th Boston Marathon ended up getting sold out the day it opened up in 8 hours without my name on the list. Of course this is the year was planning on getting my butt down there, since its sold out it now it will give me more flexibility to focus on my next few goals.

Finishing off the year will include a stage in the Haney to Harrison Race Nov 6th, and hopefully one last half marathon on the 21st at the Fall Classic.

Two main goals for 2011, sub 3 marathon and win myself a spot for IMC 2011.

::Nathan Veldhoen.com::

::Art, Photography, DIY and ironman training; a lifestyle of Nathan Veldhoen::

Category Archives: Triathlons

Oliver :: Mini Training Camp

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Oliver Half Iron Weekend :: 2

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New Bike :: Specialized Transition

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Motivation

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Running and triathlons, tools and links

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Boston? What?!!!

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