The Anti Race Report - Riding to Conquer Cancer

Some numbers:
2850 riders
211km ridden
$14, 000, 000 towards conquering cancer in our lifetime.

Thanks to the donations of a great group of friends, family, and even strangers I was privileged to clip in this weekend and ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls with ~2850 cyclists.

To sum it up, it was a pretty special weekend to spend on two wheels. This was the first charity ride I've ever participated in. I picked a good one - it turns out this was BY FAR the most successful fundraising ride ever held in Canada!

Usually I spend my time on the bike thinking about the next interval, the next training session or the next race. My goal for this ride was to simply enjoy the people, their stories and their celebrations. The commitment to ride 200+km over two days is huge for many, couple that with the commitment to raise a minimum of $2500 each and it became quite clear how important it was for people to be involved in the event. I thought about my Dad and how his illness makes this important for me. The $14 million we raised won't help him but he has provided me with a close personal connection to cancer and in his honour I asked people to donate to the cause.

I was able to gather more than enough to ensure my spot on the start line in Toronto and I'm glad to say I accomplished my goal! I enjoyed the ride, didn't worry about pace, power or perceived exertion and was challenged spiritually if not physically.

Again, thanks to all who contributed your hard earned $$ to the ride, I thought of you often throughout the ride and was humbled by your generosity. Thanks to my dad for my "story" and thanks to Steve Bauer (Canadian cycling legend) for stringing our front group out at 55kph with 10km to go....just to give us hammer heads a chance to throw down, that was pretty cool too!!

Making excuses

Mike E just recently posted that blogs were for making excuses, it's funny because it's true. That being said, here goes my excuse filled Muskoka race report!

After spending a week in Vancouver scouting apartments, meeting with prospective employers and getting familiar with our new city I lined up Sunday morning to race the Muskoka Long Course Triathlon (2km/55km/15km)

I flew into YYZ Saturday night around 8:00 and drove straight to the race site, arriving around 11:00. This race hasn't been on my mind as much as it has in previous years and as such I failed to book a hotel room, I decided to bunk up in my car for the night right outside of transition.

I woke up at dawn after a long night feeling OK but not yet in the "racy" state of mind that usually gets me up and at 'em. Upon seeing the familiar faces of the competition, drinking some coffee and a little warm-up things came around and the competitve sensations started to surface.

I got off to a solid start on the swim, distanced myself from the rest of my wave to make sure no one got on my feet then put 'er in cruise control and kept it steady. The swim felt OK actually, it's amazing how a deep background coupled with a great wetsuit can make up for a lack of fitness in the swim!

Onto the bike and the plan was to ease into the ride and see how percieved exertion lined up with my power. The first 15km were uncomfortable. I hadn't been on a bike in over 1.5 weeks and had only been on my TT bike twice since Triple-T. I finally settled in and started to feel more in tune with the bike. This lasted 10km until I downshifted (possibly too hard) on a hill and messed up my front derailleur. I still don't know exactly what happened but when I tried to shift back into the big ring, the teeth of the ring were blocked by the back end of the derailleur cage. I got off, tried to fix it then realized I'd lose more time mokeying with it than I would by riding the rest of the way in my small ring. So off I went, I spent the much of the remaining 30km spinning at 110-120rpms or coasting. I mentally checked out a bit and at that point decided to finish the bike as best I could and mail the run in as an easy training day.

I was glad to get off the bike and get my running shoes on. Any thoughts of mailing it in were replaced with the flow of those competitive juices. Just going through transition it felt like a race all of a sudden. Again, the plan was to start out easy. I wanted to get through some of the steeper hills in town and get out onto the longer stretches of road before picking things up and that's just what I did. I ran very well (for me) for 10km. A lack of training crept up on me with 2km to go but at that point you just HTFU and get across the line.

So yeah, there are a few excuses in there. I was jet-lagged, my bike broke, I'm not as fit as I had hoped. Blah, blah, blah!!! Everyone deals with their own set backs in their preparation and execution. If they haven't they will and if they have it'll happen again.

At one point in the race I was feeling exceptionally sorry for myself, I was upset because I wasn't able to ride or run as fast as I had hoped. Then I thought about my Dad, it was Father's Day and he is spending it laying on the couch sick and weak as chemotherapy drugs course through his body. All of a sudden my excuses seemed very insignificant and I decided that the faster I finished the faster I'd be able to hit the road and visit my Dad. I knew he'd ask me how the race went and I wanted to be able to tell him the truth: that I gave it my best shot on the day.

This triathlon season hasn't been what I had hoped. The good news is that it has been my choice. I'm not sick or injured, I'm just busy. I'm moving to a beautiful part of the country on a great adventure with E. Ironman will still be there next year and I'll be ready. In the mean time I'll keep plugging away at the shorter stuff and I'll try not to make excuses.

Cheers, IY