HRT

The Final Chapter

Tomorrow we leave for the Ironman Hawaii.  This is the final chapter for me, on what has been a fun and exciting season in the world of triathlon.  It started back in April with the Meatland ½ Marathon where after a big week of training I ran the race in a personal best time of 1h15m58s.  The following weekend Heather and I went to the Sporting Life 10k race with the 7systems team in Toronto where I ran another personal best of 33m50s, all the while training for Ironman.  It was a good sign of things to come. 

At the end of May I took on one of the biggest challenges in the sport of triathlon,  I raced in Ohio at the American Triple T triathlon.  It was 4 triathlons in 3 days (race report).  The short story is on the final day I won the overall event in the second fastest time in history.  June was all about recovery and getting ready for Ironman Lake Placid.  The early season races took their toll and Heather was very busy keeping me injury free or at least trying to.  On July 6^th I did a tune up race in Midland where again I had a strong performance winning the race after a big week of training.  At the end of July we arrived in Lake Placid  after a VERY challenging week (mostly self imposed).  The #1 goal of Ironman LP  was to make sure I got my spot for the World Championships.  Even on the  Saturday before the race I was not sure I was going to be able to race but my support crew was amazing and got me to the line at least 80% healthy. I raced strong for over 8hrs but  faded a little in the closing 10 miles as so many do.  I placed 2^nd in my age group and got my spot for Kona.   My coach and I went back to the drawing board and set out a plan to get ready for Kona.  I hate doing tempo session so we agreed that a few shorter triathlons would be good to push my threshold.  I raced in Orillia  on August 21^st and placed 3^rd overall to two of Canada’s strongest pro triathletes.  Then the very next weekend I raced in Colbourg where on the final 10km run I over took an athlete in the closing 3kms to win the Provincial Championships. 

So that brings us to September.  The month was clear from races for a final 3 hard weeks of training.  Coach Lisa challenged me in a few very key workouts and even biked a long side me for two of my key runs.  The one workout bring a 33km run through the Forks of the Credit where she pushed me to hold a 4:00-4:05/km pace which for me is my UPPER end of my endurance zone.  The body did get beaten up in the closing few weeks.  Overall I have managed to only miss a few workouts to injuries or over use strains.  It has been a long season.  Heather is doing her best to get me to the start line next Saturday 100% health but even with a few aches and pains I am confident I’ll be able to put down one final great chapter to this 2009 season. 

So off to  Hawaii we go and we will have 6 days on the big island to adapt to the heat and prep for the big day.  Each day I will be posting a quick update on my HRT blog.  On race day Heather will have her itouch and will find a hot spot to send a few updates (after the swim,  after the bike, after 10miles in the run and after the finish line) on how I am doing.   If you would like to receive updates on race day send Heather an email and she will add you to her list heather_pady@hotmail.com .

If you are watching online  www.ironman.com will have a live feed but don’t expect to see me until the finish line and the cameras are on the pros.  Also when watching the video if you can see the clock it will be 15 minutes faster than my times as I start 15 minutes after the professionals.

My goals are simply to push my body as hard as it can go on October 10^th.  I have a game plan, if all goes well and the weather is HOT and WIND, I should be in the following time window.

Race start will be 1pm EST (6hr difference)

Swim 53-55mins

Bike 5hr00m to 5hr15m

Run 3hr00m to 3hr10m

Finish time: 9hrs to 9hrs20m

In closing I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me to get to this point this season.  To my family who puts up with this craziness, to coach Lisa for getting me mentally and physically fit again, to “THE MANAGER” aka Dirk, for making the trip out to Kona to keep my head screwed on right, and to my sponsors; Gears Bike Shop, Nineteen Wetsuits, Feet In Motion, Krest Labs, Industrial Thermo Polymers Limited.

Aloha