Belinda Kissack

For the next little while I imagine I will be writing mostly about training for Ironman Canada. I have 10 weeks of hard training before I begin my taper. A taper is when I cut back on my mileage and start building up reserves to tackle the big race day.

Over the Victoria Day long weekend, I went to Penticton to survey and ride the Ironman Course. The bike course is 180 km. The route takes you from  Penticton, to Okanagon Falls, to Oliver, Osoyoos, up Richter Pass, across the rollers to Keremeos and then up a steep climb to Yellow Lake before the final descent into Penticton.

I managed to complete my ride and felt so good afterward that I was able to go for a short run. That`s right. I`m running again. I am still taking several walking breaks, but at least now I am running more than walking. Back to the bike. We had absolutely gorgeous weather. My riding partner suffered two flat tires, which took exactly 9 minutes to change each one. But whose counting. We met up with the support vehicle and driver in three predesignated places. I was so grateful to see her each time.

The ride into Osoyoos, was pleasant and it seemed to go quickly. I believe it was mostly downhill. The next part was the climb up Richter Pass. I was very happy with my training as I wasn`t sure we had actually reached the top when we did. When we reached the top of Richter Pass we were rewarded with a beautiful view of a snow-covered mountain in the distance. I won`t forget that in a hurry. Coming down Richter, should have been an easy free ride down the hill, but i found my hands were getting cramped from clutching the brakes the entire time. It turns out I wasn`t supposed to be braking that whole time, I was supposed to be coasting or rather tucking aggressively into an aerodynamic position to get as much free speed as possible. (…Maybe next year). Then we approached the rollers. There are supposedly 7, I counted 9. Again, I felt strong on the uphill, somewhat terrified on the downhill. To improve, I would like to get back there to practice that section again before race day.

The most notable part of the trip was the out and back stretch along cowfields at about 110 km into the ride. As we gazed into the fields and imagined eating steaks and burgers we were surprised when we rounded the corner. On the way back, we saw a black sea across the road. It was a herd of cattle (50 – 100 cows) walking along the road. Kind of reminded me of `The Secret“. We imagined the beef, believed in the beef, and the beef walked right up to us. My partner hesitated and asked me if I thought it was safe to continue. I asked if any of these animals had horns. A person who seemed to be unrelated to the cattles suggested that we would be okay if we stayed to the side of the road. So we slowly inched along the road until all of the cattle had moved past us. Only then did I think to take a picture using my cell phone. It was a great diversion when the ride was starting to get a bit monotonous.

From there we began our climb upto Yellow Lake and onto Twin Lakes. Again I felt strong and encouraged and felt quite prepared from my training. Then we began our descent into Penticton. I have done this section before and I was no better this time. I was terrified and again had hand cramps from braking so much. In this section, there was a lot of traffic and no shoulder to ride on. However, I survived the ride and as I mentioned earlier felt strong enough to go for a little run afterward.

The next day included a run along the marathon route. I find with the early sunshine these days, I have an easier time getting up early in the morning. So I started my run about an hour before others had gotten there. When I say others, I mean the other hundreds of riders that come to Penticton every year for the May long weekend. It felt like Ironman Week itself. There were several training camps, and riders either attempting the course or preparing for their races in August. I met several people along the route and look forward to meeting with them in June at the 1/2 Iron Race in Victoria. When I started back on the marathon course, I could see the other runners who had started probably an hour after I did heading toward the hills. I felt like I was in a race and they were all behind me. I had the biggest grin on my face. Also, I had completed the hilliest part of the course, the wind was at my back and I had the best tunes on my MP3 player. I suddenly realized “I am going to complete this race in August!”. A friend of mine drove by and stopped to say that I was looking really strong. I agreed and felt terrific. Minutes later when the group of runners had gone by, the spectators were gone and some quieter songs came on I began to feel very tired. As I headed back up the hill into town I took a walk break and began shaking my head and saying to myself I am not ready, I definitely need to run more. Just then I saw a Grandma at the gate who said to her little granddaughter, look here comes a runner. I didn`t feel much like a runner at that point. But I smiled and waved hello anyway and appreciated the enthusiasm they had that I couldn`t muster at that point. Soon I crested the hill and knew that my run was nearly over. All I had to do was find the place I was staying. Well my 4 km cooldown became 6 km and I met several other friendly Penticton folk who were happy to give me directions. I just needed to get a bit better at listening to the directions. Anyway, I survived and made it back to the rental in time for a swim shortly after.

The rest of the weekend included more bike rides, meeting more people, and now helping others find their way through the Ironman route and the streets of Penticton.

Now I`m back training in the Cowichan Valley and enjoying every minute of sunshine. No doubt I`ll have much more to blog about in the coming weeks. 

Belinda Kissack is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Certified Canadian Counsellor who works with Individuals, Couples and Families in the Cowichan Valley. You can follow her link to get back to her website www.belindakissack.com.