Woke up feeling pretty well rested and ready to race. I had about 4 days of recovery since my big training camp in Delray, Florida (460km of cycling, 80km of running and over 15km of swimming in 7 days). Unfortunately we lost an hour of sleep last night AND I forgot to pick up my race kit on Saturday so that meant getting to the race site about 1 1/2 hours before race start. However, we stayed warm inside the Steam Whistle brewery on this frigid March morning. About 45 minutes before my race I went and did an easy run of the race course (only 5km so perfect for warm-up), followed by 4 x 20 second sprints and then 2 x 1 minute sprints to get my heart rate going and the blood flowing. I felt pretty light on my feet so I knew that I was going to have an OK race.
I lined up at the start line as close to the front as possible, I easily picked out some of girls who looked liked they would be the fastest runners. I decided I should get behind them since the first 800m would be into the wind and I could use someone fast blocking it for me.
The horn blew and 3 seconds later I crossed the start line. We were off. Ah-and there was Papa cheering me on! At first I was stuck behind some slower runners as I watched several of the faster girls take off. No worries, I knew I would not slow down, so I could still catch them. At the end of 1K I was running with about 5 other girls and still feeling good. I started to push the pace and by 2km the other girls had fallen back. At 2.5km I ran past the second place female. The rest of the run my confidence was high as I had people shouting out “first place woman! go go!” ...apparently they either missed the actual first place Kenyan female because she was running too fast...or....well....not sure ;)
500m away from the finish line I could tell that the third place woman was close behind me. I was feeling quite hungry at this point and the emptiness of my stomach was actually causing me to cramp a bit. I though to myself “mind over matter” - a phrase my swim coach would say constantly during hard sets in the pool - and pushed myself to the finish line only 3 seconds in front of the third place girl. Ran right into the arms of my biggest fans, my parents, and waited for my husband to cross the finish line.
My first race of 2011 was a success - my first race as a Bharadwaj, my best 5K time ever of 19:24 and the best part, I got to do it with Rikki :)
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Winter Training
Today ended my first week training full-time! Yes, I have started working only part-time at Sick Kids so that I can focus more on training for this summer and getting ready to go back to school in the fall. It has been an exhausting week, but totally worth it. I spent almost every day on the computrainer and already I feel stronger on the bike! 250 Watts wasn’t as bad as it was last week! I also hit a new MAX power of 525 Watts.
This past week I have also realized that I can spend more time recovering from workouts. This has proved to be amazingly beneficial and I cannot stress how important it is to actively recover from workouts. Just lazing on the coach isn’t the way to do it - this can actually cause the muscles to stiffen up even worse. A few things that I have done to aide my recovery are stretching, using the foam roller (which can be a supplement to massage and way cheaper!), taking baths, hot/cold therapy, All these activities help to stimulate blood flow to the areas that need it, flushing out the toxins and providing the muscles the nutrients they need to repair themselves.
Schedule for next week involves a 20km run on the coldest day of the week! A lot of cycling and packing for Florida!!! woohoo...counting down :)
This past week I have also realized that I can spend more time recovering from workouts. This has proved to be amazingly beneficial and I cannot stress how important it is to actively recover from workouts. Just lazing on the coach isn’t the way to do it - this can actually cause the muscles to stiffen up even worse. A few things that I have done to aide my recovery are stretching, using the foam roller (which can be a supplement to massage and way cheaper!), taking baths, hot/cold therapy, All these activities help to stimulate blood flow to the areas that need it, flushing out the toxins and providing the muscles the nutrients they need to repair themselves.
Schedule for next week involves a 20km run on the coldest day of the week! A lot of cycling and packing for Florida!!! woohoo...counting down :)
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Ironman 70.3 World Championships
Saturday I woke up at 5am after having slept a solid 8hrs. I definitely felt well rested. Got all my stuff ready to go and headed to breakfast, which was a plain bagel with PB & banana. Rikki drove me to the race site and other than a few issues trying to find parking, nothing particularly exciting happened. I got in the water for my swim warm up from 7-7:20am and did some easy freestyle, some backstroke and a few breakouts and kicking on my side. For some reason kicking on my side really does a great job getting me ready - whether it’s for a hard set or on race day. After the swim I would say my nerves really started to kick in. SWIM: 7:50 am on the dot the gun went off for the swim start (an out and back course). I felt good going out, waves were really big the whole time though. However, on the way back I couldn’t see anything since the sun was in my eyes (possible improvement for next time – buy expensive sunglass type goggles) and i swam wayyy off course. Very frustrating. I think I swam a 28 minute swim, when my goal was around 26 minutes).
T1: Found my bag with no major issues, found my bike...and I was off!
BIKE: Was caught up in a draft pack for the first 40km (you never mean to draft, but sometimes you can’t really help it), but I got dropped at a turnaround and they took off in their pack, then was passed by some of the stronger cyclists during the last half of the race. Hip flexors were sore...completely forgot my coach’s advice to get out of the saddle every 15 minutes or so to give them a bit of a break. Was pretty much dying the last 15km of the bike course and thinking to myself how do I get the energy I need for the run. My nutrition on the bike included a power gel right after the swim, 4 scoops eload total.
T2: Wow! They actually rack your bike for you at the World Championships. AMAZING!
RUN: Well - I felt really tired and lacking energy by this point, had a gel within the first mile and at halfway and took water or Gatorade or water at each aide station. Was really heel striking on the run – I think my shoes are getting a little old as they were very uncomfortable to run in and hurting my feet. Thankfully no calf issues!!!
FINISHING TIME: 4:33.01 (I wanted to break 4:30 for sure so I was a bit disappointed, but that only means there is room for improvement!!!)
T1: Found my bag with no major issues, found my bike...and I was off!
BIKE: Was caught up in a draft pack for the first 40km (you never mean to draft, but sometimes you can’t really help it), but I got dropped at a turnaround and they took off in their pack, then was passed by some of the stronger cyclists during the last half of the race. Hip flexors were sore...completely forgot my coach’s advice to get out of the saddle every 15 minutes or so to give them a bit of a break. Was pretty much dying the last 15km of the bike course and thinking to myself how do I get the energy I need for the run. My nutrition on the bike included a power gel right after the swim, 4 scoops eload total.
T2: Wow! They actually rack your bike for you at the World Championships. AMAZING!
RUN: Well - I felt really tired and lacking energy by this point, had a gel within the first mile and at halfway and took water or Gatorade or water at each aide station. Was really heel striking on the run – I think my shoes are getting a little old as they were very uncomfortable to run in and hurting my feet. Thankfully no calf issues!!!
FINISHING TIME: 4:33.01 (I wanted to break 4:30 for sure so I was a bit disappointed, but that only means there is room for improvement!!!)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Muskoka 70.3 Race Report
I woke up for my race at 5 am wake-up after about 6 -7 hrs sleep. At 5:30 am I had breakfast of a plain bagel with PB & jam and a maple brown sugar granola bar. At 6:30 am I arrived at race sight, did a very short run (no calf pain at all) from the water exit to the transition area. Then I set up my transition area: put my bike shoes (with wind resistant toe covers!) in pedals, hung a WattsUp jersey with arm warmers and bike gloves in two back pockets (just in case), helmet upside down on the aerobars, sun glasses with yellow lenses in the helmet (b/c it was overcast).
Next, I did at 15 min swim warm-up at 7:45 because I didn't realize that there would be another one later. Spent the next 45 minutes a bit chilly. At 8 am I had a KICKBUTT BALL!
8:30 swim start (last wave!): I started on the outside again and was able to break away from the pack. Naomi Cermak sprinted the start though so while I followed her through the whole swim she was too far ahead of me to get a good draft. However, being in the 6th wave there were always people in front of me so probably got a draft off them. Didn't stop my watch for the swim :( but I think that the timing mat was pretty close to the water's exit so...SWIM TIME: 27:45 and T1:3:48 (ahhh - this hill into T1 was a preview of the entire run course).
Bike: This bike ride felt amazing! Even though my de-railler wouldn’t allow my to shift into my two easiest gears! I was in aero for a lot of the hills even. I just felt like I could power up any hill and even at the end of the bike I thought I could have done North Portage Road all over again and still be fine. Claudia Johnston passed me at the 40km mark (aside: after she came 3rd woman overall she went out for another 100km ride...wow!).
Splits:
5km (i didn't start this until 500m in though): 8:53.19
10km:8:38.95
15km: 9:50.93
20km: 8:04.05
25km: 8:26.95
30km: 9:50.36
35km: 7:47.95
40km: 9:32.24
45km: 8:01.26
50km: 9:25.54
55km: 8:34.77 (time was 2:10.07...almost a minute faster than Muskoka LC swim-bike)
60km: 8:49.67
65km: 10:02.70
70km: 8:46.94
75km: 9:25.57
80km: 9:10.52
85km: 8:48.08
90km: 10:13.33
94km: 6:50.51
T2: 1:05 (during this part I noticed my calf a little tight)
RUN Splits:
1km - 4:21.97
2km- 4:31.88
3km - 4:35.98
4km - 4:28.99
5km - 4:27.28
6km - 4:40.43
7km - 4:19.51
8km - 4:42.17
9km - 4:04.25
10km - 4:58.99
11km - 4:39.73
12km - 4:53.10
13km - 4:32.83
14km - 4:19.59
15km- 4:40.28***this is when the pain hit and the hills were making me angry
16km - 4:48.89
17km - 4:57.78
18km - 5:08.50
19km - 5:03..79
20km - 5:05.14
21.1km - not sure...but probably > 5min. Just happy i survived without calf issues!!!
Happy with the race! Excited for Clearwater. And my wedding next weekend!
Next, I did at 15 min swim warm-up at 7:45 because I didn't realize that there would be another one later. Spent the next 45 minutes a bit chilly. At 8 am I had a KICKBUTT BALL!
8:30 swim start (last wave!): I started on the outside again and was able to break away from the pack. Naomi Cermak sprinted the start though so while I followed her through the whole swim she was too far ahead of me to get a good draft. However, being in the 6th wave there were always people in front of me so probably got a draft off them. Didn't stop my watch for the swim :( but I think that the timing mat was pretty close to the water's exit so...SWIM TIME: 27:45 and T1:3:48 (ahhh - this hill into T1 was a preview of the entire run course).
Bike: This bike ride felt amazing! Even though my de-railler wouldn’t allow my to shift into my two easiest gears! I was in aero for a lot of the hills even. I just felt like I could power up any hill and even at the end of the bike I thought I could have done North Portage Road all over again and still be fine. Claudia Johnston passed me at the 40km mark (aside: after she came 3rd woman overall she went out for another 100km ride...wow!).
Splits:
5km (i didn't start this until 500m in though): 8:53.19
10km:8:38.95
15km: 9:50.93
20km: 8:04.05
25km: 8:26.95
30km: 9:50.36
35km: 7:47.95
40km: 9:32.24
45km: 8:01.26
50km: 9:25.54
55km: 8:34.77 (time was 2:10.07...almost a minute faster than Muskoka LC swim-bike)
60km: 8:49.67
65km: 10:02.70
70km: 8:46.94
75km: 9:25.57
80km: 9:10.52
85km: 8:48.08
90km: 10:13.33
94km: 6:50.51
T2: 1:05 (during this part I noticed my calf a little tight)
RUN Splits:
1km - 4:21.97
2km- 4:31.88
3km - 4:35.98
4km - 4:28.99
5km - 4:27.28
6km - 4:40.43
7km - 4:19.51
8km - 4:42.17
9km - 4:04.25
10km - 4:58.99
11km - 4:39.73
12km - 4:53.10
13km - 4:32.83
14km - 4:19.59
15km- 4:40.28***this is when the pain hit and the hills were making me angry
16km - 4:48.89
17km - 4:57.78
18km - 5:08.50
19km - 5:03..79
20km - 5:05.14
21.1km - not sure...but probably > 5min. Just happy i survived without calf issues!!!
Happy with the race! Excited for Clearwater. And my wedding next weekend!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Race Report: Muskoka LC Swim/Bike 2010-07-25
Since I can't run due to a calf strain it has been hard to motivate myself to update my blog. I decided that when I felt that I accomplished something important I would write in it. Coming first overall (including men!) in the swim-bike at Muskoka has given me a reason to post. So here it goes...
RACE REPORT
Pre-race dinner @ 6:30pm:
1/4 loaf ACE baguette, 2 helpings of shell pasta with meatsauce, 2 chocolate cookies (it was my birthday...so this is allowed)
Race day:
4:45am - Wake-up(approximately 6.5 hrs of sleep)
5:30am - On the road
5:32am - Encountered a slight problem, when going up a steep hill on the dirt road leading out of the cottage - the car would not go up it! Had to floor it up the hill - people in the car were slightly panicked...Rikki was thinking "Oh no my car is gonna break" while I was thinking "I need to make it to this race!" Luckily the car prevailed (bikes still on the rack) due to my excellent driving skills!
5:50am - Tim Horton's stop...my breakfast of choice was the usual, a 12-grain bagel with peanut butter and strawberry jam and a medium black coffee. I know I should have gotten a plain bagel to limit the fiber on race day, but I was worried about trying something new. I just really wanted to do well this race. Will try a "plain bagel" next time I do a "B" race. However, today I stuck to what was normal for me.
7:10am - Arrived at the race. A little behind schedule - ran to transition (luckily we picked up our race kits the day before) to set up my bike, clipped my shoes in pedals - right shoe forward and left shoe back (I like to run with the chain on the opposite side), with helmet upside down on arrow bars, sunglasses positioned inside them to minimize transition time. Quickly checked that the brake pads wouldn't rub against the wheels and put the bike in an easy gear so that I wouldn't struggle on that initial uphill right out of transition.
7:35am - Picked up my timing chip, got body marked and ran to the swim exit, had a "KICK BUT BALL" (38 calories, 40mg of caffeine!), put on my wetsuit and Christine Jeffreys (a pro) did up my wetsuit and I did up hers. A little pre-race excitement! I slipped into the water and swam an easy 750m with the current to the start site. I did some backstroke, some free drills, a little bit of explosions during this swim and got to the start 5mins before the gun. Good swim warm-up - check! After talking to Paul Bregin about how I'm always getting run over at the start of the swim because I don't have a fast start he told me to position myself to the outsides so that this doesn't happen. That's what I did for this race. The pros were gathering towards the left so I moved the the far right.
SWIM - 29:28
8:00am - Start time! Explode: fast arms and fast kick...GO GO GO...and what would you know...I didn't get kicked in the face, elbowed in the head, yanked at the ankles or swum over top of! It was the best start ever! I found someones feet and was off! During the first 500m I was trying to get ahead of the person who was in front of me but realized that we were swimming at roughly the same speed so I should just stay on her feet to conserve a little bit of energy. At one point I accidentaly touched them though at about 700m to the swim finish and wow, she picked up the pace. So I did too and was amazed that I still had the energy to stay with her - in the last 200m or so she did get ahead but only slightly. We exited the water about 10seconds apart (my time was 28:30, with about a 58s run to get to transition) for a swim time of 29:28). SWEET!!! That is super fast for this course and my best time before was a 32:10 in 2008, I swam a 32:36 in 2007.
T1 - 1:09
Uneventful really - hobbled along through transition since I didn't want to risk running hard to re-strain my calf.
BIKE - 1:40:24
Started out the bike with that uphill (glad I put my bike in an easy gear), heart still pounding away from the start of the swim! Legs felt looser than normal (thank-you Craig! - the best massage therapist ever from Athlete's Care). I could see the pro - Jenn Amaral (formerly Jenn Coombs and a long-time rival, she won Age Group Nationals in 2008) in front of me and I though to myself "OK, so long as you keep her in eyesight the whole race you are doing good" but for some reason I caught her and passed her! I expected her to pass me back but nope she never did. I knew the race was going well when not many people were passing me...no females even! And Ming caught me at 40km and he usually passes me much quicker! The hills seemed easier, the flats seemed faster! You can argue that I wasn't saving my legs for a run if you don't know me, but those of you who know me know that I only have one pace, regardless of what's coming up.
Finished the bike in 1:40.24! My best time so far. In 2008 my time was 1:56:50 (but my wheel came off and it took about 5mins to put back on so let's say it was comparable to a 1:51), and in 2007 it was a 1:44:36 (on a different, supposedly "easier" course). That is an amazing improvement in my mind...I couldn't have done it by myself either - I owe part of it to pursuit style biking with Paul up Dragonfly hill, but I mostly owe it to my coach, Adam Johnston, and Peter Oyler. They own WattsUp cycling in Toronto, where I have been cycling since last fall. Twice a week I am at a WattsUp group ride following a program specifically designed for each individual so that they can improve their power output on the bike. Adding power-based riding on the computrainer at WattsUp to my summer outdoor cycling has been the only way I could have improved this much (to put this in numbers: I started out cycling with a lactate threshold of 3.0 Watts/kg last fall and now my lactate threshold is 3.6 Watts/kg - only 9 months later!).
FINISH - 2:11.00
I was second woman overall at this point and I couldn't even do my favourite part of the race - the RUN!!! I immediately ran/hobbled right out of transition and into Rikki's arms...cried pretty uncontrollably for a few minutes until Bailey (Ming's beautiful Bernese) got loose from her leash and started running towards the run course! Thank you Bailey for the distraction!!!
Anyway, overall - a good race. I ended up winning the swim-bike (even beating the top male by 4 mins!).
Next race: who knows...recovery time!
RACE REPORT
Pre-race dinner @ 6:30pm:
1/4 loaf ACE baguette, 2 helpings of shell pasta with meatsauce, 2 chocolate cookies (it was my birthday...so this is allowed)
Race day:
4:45am - Wake-up(approximately 6.5 hrs of sleep)
5:30am - On the road
5:32am - Encountered a slight problem, when going up a steep hill on the dirt road leading out of the cottage - the car would not go up it! Had to floor it up the hill - people in the car were slightly panicked...Rikki was thinking "Oh no my car is gonna break" while I was thinking "I need to make it to this race!" Luckily the car prevailed (bikes still on the rack) due to my excellent driving skills!
5:50am - Tim Horton's stop...my breakfast of choice was the usual, a 12-grain bagel with peanut butter and strawberry jam and a medium black coffee. I know I should have gotten a plain bagel to limit the fiber on race day, but I was worried about trying something new. I just really wanted to do well this race. Will try a "plain bagel" next time I do a "B" race. However, today I stuck to what was normal for me.
7:10am - Arrived at the race. A little behind schedule - ran to transition (luckily we picked up our race kits the day before) to set up my bike, clipped my shoes in pedals - right shoe forward and left shoe back (I like to run with the chain on the opposite side), with helmet upside down on arrow bars, sunglasses positioned inside them to minimize transition time. Quickly checked that the brake pads wouldn't rub against the wheels and put the bike in an easy gear so that I wouldn't struggle on that initial uphill right out of transition.
7:35am - Picked up my timing chip, got body marked and ran to the swim exit, had a "KICK BUT BALL" (38 calories, 40mg of caffeine!), put on my wetsuit and Christine Jeffreys (a pro) did up my wetsuit and I did up hers. A little pre-race excitement! I slipped into the water and swam an easy 750m with the current to the start site. I did some backstroke, some free drills, a little bit of explosions during this swim and got to the start 5mins before the gun. Good swim warm-up - check! After talking to Paul Bregin about how I'm always getting run over at the start of the swim because I don't have a fast start he told me to position myself to the outsides so that this doesn't happen. That's what I did for this race. The pros were gathering towards the left so I moved the the far right.
SWIM - 29:28
8:00am - Start time! Explode: fast arms and fast kick...GO GO GO...and what would you know...I didn't get kicked in the face, elbowed in the head, yanked at the ankles or swum over top of! It was the best start ever! I found someones feet and was off! During the first 500m I was trying to get ahead of the person who was in front of me but realized that we were swimming at roughly the same speed so I should just stay on her feet to conserve a little bit of energy. At one point I accidentaly touched them though at about 700m to the swim finish and wow, she picked up the pace. So I did too and was amazed that I still had the energy to stay with her - in the last 200m or so she did get ahead but only slightly. We exited the water about 10seconds apart (my time was 28:30, with about a 58s run to get to transition) for a swim time of 29:28). SWEET!!! That is super fast for this course and my best time before was a 32:10 in 2008, I swam a 32:36 in 2007.
T1 - 1:09
Uneventful really - hobbled along through transition since I didn't want to risk running hard to re-strain my calf.
BIKE - 1:40:24
Started out the bike with that uphill (glad I put my bike in an easy gear), heart still pounding away from the start of the swim! Legs felt looser than normal (thank-you Craig! - the best massage therapist ever from Athlete's Care). I could see the pro - Jenn Amaral (formerly Jenn Coombs and a long-time rival, she won Age Group Nationals in 2008) in front of me and I though to myself "OK, so long as you keep her in eyesight the whole race you are doing good" but for some reason I caught her and passed her! I expected her to pass me back but nope she never did. I knew the race was going well when not many people were passing me...no females even! And Ming caught me at 40km and he usually passes me much quicker! The hills seemed easier, the flats seemed faster! You can argue that I wasn't saving my legs for a run if you don't know me, but those of you who know me know that I only have one pace, regardless of what's coming up.
Finished the bike in 1:40.24! My best time so far. In 2008 my time was 1:56:50 (but my wheel came off and it took about 5mins to put back on so let's say it was comparable to a 1:51), and in 2007 it was a 1:44:36 (on a different, supposedly "easier" course). That is an amazing improvement in my mind...I couldn't have done it by myself either - I owe part of it to pursuit style biking with Paul up Dragonfly hill, but I mostly owe it to my coach, Adam Johnston, and Peter Oyler. They own WattsUp cycling in Toronto, where I have been cycling since last fall. Twice a week I am at a WattsUp group ride following a program specifically designed for each individual so that they can improve their power output on the bike. Adding power-based riding on the computrainer at WattsUp to my summer outdoor cycling has been the only way I could have improved this much (to put this in numbers: I started out cycling with a lactate threshold of 3.0 Watts/kg last fall and now my lactate threshold is 3.6 Watts/kg - only 9 months later!).
FINISH - 2:11.00
I was second woman overall at this point and I couldn't even do my favourite part of the race - the RUN!!! I immediately ran/hobbled right out of transition and into Rikki's arms...cried pretty uncontrollably for a few minutes until Bailey (Ming's beautiful Bernese) got loose from her leash and started running towards the run course! Thank you Bailey for the distraction!!!
Anyway, overall - a good race. I ended up winning the swim-bike (even beating the top male by 4 mins!).
Next race: who knows...recovery time!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Cycling at WattsUp
While I wait in lab for my cells to sort into CD4+CD25- and CD4+CD25+ I decided to comment a little bit on the cycling I have been doing this winter. I have never cycled during the winter...actually I have never been much a fan of the bike portion of the triathlon. Even while riding on my GURU! Crazy huh? I have always felt timid on the bike and not completely relaxed during a race until I was off the bike and onto the run. At the end of last season I wanted this to change so I sought out a coach, figuring that he or she might know the best way to improve my cycling and, thus, my triathlons. That was when I found The Endurance Lab and WattsUp Cycling. Endurance lab offered me a customized coaching plan, unlimited communication with my coach and the best part, he is only a quick drive away! Unlike all those other coaches who send you coaching plans over email and never actually see you swim, bike or run. This was perfect! But wait, it gets even better...so WattsUp cycling is based out of the same location as the Endurance Lab and has 24 computrainers, 15 cycling classes during the week at many different times and 4 3hr classes on the weekends. So basically you go to instructor led classes, ride your own bike on a computrainer and follow a power-based training plan that starts in the fall and takes you through to the spring, so you are gradually increasing the intensity of your training as you go. I immediately loved it! And to give you an idea of how worth while it has been for me so far...I did a 20minute TT in January and my avg power was 182 W..today (only 12 weeks later?)...I did my 20minute TT and my avg power was 194W!!! Not only that, but I am actually looking forward to biking outside and doing hill repeats and long rides out in Milton!! CRAZY. I would definetly recommend this program for anyone...beginner or elite cyclist/triathlete looking to do some biking during the winter and even the summer. Since it's power based training its almost exactly like riding outside. I think a wayyy better alternative than driving for hours to get out of the city for a bike ride during the work week in the summer.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
MSO Provincials
Re-cap:
1500 FR - 20:06 (1st)
400 IM - 5:45 (1st)
200 BR - 3:01 (1st)
400 FR - 5:07 (3rd)
Check out the videos on facebook
1500 FR - 20:06 (1st)
400 IM - 5:45 (1st)
200 BR - 3:01 (1st)
400 FR - 5:07 (3rd)
Check out the videos on facebook
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)