Welland Interview: Murray Cass

In advance of my Welland Race Report, I wanted to post my athlete interview.

Featured participant: MURRAY

Murray won his age group at Welland!

Q. Name, Age, One word to describe yourself?
A. Murray Cass. Age 61 (although my triathlon age is 62 apparently). I think the word would be stubborn. I'm sure my "friends" would choose a less printable word.

Q. How long have you been doing triathlons?
A. My first triathlon was in 2006. I did a kayak/bike/run because I could barely swim. Triathlon was my wife's idea. I had no interest. Triathlon seemed like a dumb thing to do. I just did as I was told.

Q. What was one highlight of today's event?
A. Well it was my first age group win. That was big, but more importantly I executed my race plan really well - a rarity for me. I am still a weak swimmer so I just tried to get through the swim. My cycling these days has not been up to par for some unknown reason. I actually have been training. So my plan was to just have a decent bike to set up a solid run. The forecast was for a hot day so I figured being small I would have an edge on the bigger guys in my age group. I left T2 about 10 minutes down and ended up winning by over 6 minutes. You might think that in the M60-64 age group competition would be easy. In triathlon competition is never easy.

Q. What did you eat for breakfast?
A. McDonald's hotcakes, hash browns and tea. I also had a bowl of fruit. My preference would have been bacon, eggs and toast, something I've been training with lately but it's hard to eat when you're not at home.

Q. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you in a triathlon?
A. It must have been last year when I crossed the finish line at Ironman Copenhagen. Michelle Vesterby the top female shook my hand and asked whether I was ok. I thought i was fine so I casually said "yup." A couple seconds later I threw up. Just missed her.

Q. What did you think about on the bike today?
A. Great question. I was focusing over and over again and how bloody lucky I am to be able to compete in such a fun event. I've had a rough year with friends' and relatives' illnesses and I am just incredibly grateful for being able to swim, bike and run. All my complaints are so trivial.

Q. What is one thing you are proud of about yourself, either in triathlon or in the rest of life?
A. I do not have an athletic background. To me athletes are those other guys, the guys who lapped me - with a smile - on the track in gym class many years ago. I feel uncomfortable when anyone calls me an athlete. So I am quite proud that I can actually participate in triathlon. Having gotten through three brain tumour surgeries between 1982 and 2002 and being seriously injured while cycling when hit from behind by a drunk driver doing 100 km/hour back in 1976 makes it even more special. I consider myself extremely fortunate. A nice thing about triathlon is that, although the details of my history are unique, the theme is fairly common: people, often overcoming adversity, to extend themselves and accomplish what they never thought was possible. That makes for an interesting group.

Q. What/when is your next event?
A. I am registered to do Ironman Maastricht in the Netherlands. It's in five weeks so this was my last prep event.

Q. What do you like best about the MultiSport Canada race series?
A. The races are very well organized. John Salt is responsive and cares about the participants. (See. I can't use the word athletes.) Personally I like being greeted by John at the finish line. The new Welland Rose City course is one of the best I've raced on. Again, my wife's idea.

Race Report: Woodstock Sprint Triathlon

I decided to begin my 2016 triathlon season at the MultiSport Canada Sprint race in Woodstock! And it was such a great day - the rain stayed away and the sun was as bright as ever, highlighting the energy of this awesome event. For my race reports this year I will be changing it up a bit. It will be broken up into 5 sections:

1. Pictures
2. My top 3 to 5 highlights of the day (and learning points if there were any!)
3. Interview with another participant (I will be finding one other participant to feature in my blog for each event I am part of)
4. Course map with all relevant information for interested participants
5. TrainingPeaks/Quantitative Race information for those interested
(& Other notes, thank-you)
Look for this format after all my races, and if you would like to be my featured participant, find me on race day!!!

----WOODSTOCK RACE REPORT----

1. Pictures:

Ready to go! Woodstock was only 1hr15min drive from home

Getting set-up - I was a bit of a scatterbrain before my first race of the year!

Team HighRock Capital!
(Sara is a mum, teacher, she goes to school part-time and still finds to train - even at 4:45am sometimes)

Big hugs!

More big hugs!

Bike warmup

Contemplating the swim strategy.
(How can I be less than 1 minute down from speedy Angela Quick?)

I had a good swim, I stayed right with fellow Pros, Lionel and Mikael - I was consistent and strong. This felt great!

I didn't feel too great on the bike. The past two weeks I have quadrupled my bike volume and thrown in a few time trials, so this was quite expected. I think I should have pushed myself a little bit harder - but I tend to talk myself out of going hard on the bike sometimes, which is something I'll need to work on.

I could definitely feel that it was the first race of the season when I started the run - the fitness wasn't there yet! But I rallied and gave a good strong effort.

Lots of athletes out on the run - we help keep each other motivated.

Ahh, post race relief! Sprints can be harder than Ironman!

Ya, chocolate milk at the finish line! Good protein, fluid to re-hydrate and very yummy!

2. Highlights:

- Running my way to just 18s behind the leader, after being down 90s after the bike
- Seeing my sister, Sara, finish 3rd in her age group and run her fastest pace ever! (We've worked so so hard on getting her run faster than and it's nice to see her hard work paying off)

Awesome work, Sara!

- Getting to swim and stand on the podium with Lionel Sanders - I don't really get star-struck, but I find it amazing how determined and disciplined he is

A bit star struck standing beside Lionel

Learning points:
- Practice transitions in training! I lost 30-50s because I couldn't get my wetsuit off, had difficulties with my helmet and couldn't get my foot in my shoe at the start of the bike. That time cost me a win.
- Don't let negative thoughts in when you race. If you start to think negatively at all, stop those thoughts and think positively.

3. Interview with another participant:

Q. Name (first name only is fine), Age (or age group), One word to describe yourself?
A. Heather Crisp - I'm 62. I'd describe myself as "enthusiastic".

Q. How long have you been doing triathlons?
A. 12 years

Q. What was one highlight of today's event?
A. It sounds silly, but I had the fastest bib pickup ever. Thank you Multisport Canada!

Q. What did you eat for breakfast?
Two huge mugs of coffee and a hot cross bun with peanut butter and apricot jam.

Q. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you in a triathlon?
A. I was congratulating myself on a fast T1 and wheeling my bike to the mount line when a woman beside me said "I'd have trouble riding 40k in a wetsuit". Geeze!

Q. What did you think about on the bike today?
A. I went sideways at one point - it was challenging to keep upright.

Q. What is one of your top achievements, either in triathlon or in the rest of life?
A. In my first race, I won my age group and Lisa Bentley gave me my medal. That was special.

Q. When is your next event?
A. Welland long course on June 26th. It's my first race longer than Olympic distance and I'm excited about that.

4. Course Information

5. TrainingPeaks/Quantitative Race information for those interested

WARMUP: 12km bike on the course, with 6x10s HARD, the rest was easy, 2km run with some strides, 650m swim warmup with 3x40 strokes fast

SWIM: 836m, 10:32:47 (1:20/100m), ~ 38 strokes/min

BIKE: *forgot to hit lap, so this data is for the last 7km of the bike* Speed - 36kph, NP - 193W (3.6W/kg, 94% of FTP), Avg Power - 178W, Avg HR - 176bpm, Avg Cadence - 90rpm (yes, I think I was tired!)

RUN: 5km, 20:09 (4:01/km), Avg HR - 182bpm, Elevation gain 53m

Thank-you:

- All my readers for their support and for following me in my triathlon endeavours
- MultiSport Canada and all the volunteers
- Fellow athletes at the race and training partners, especially those at WattsUp!
- My coaches: Adam and Kim (and Nigel for letting my tag along on his Wednesday rides the past 2 weeks)
- My sponsors: High Rock Capital Management, WattsUp Cycling, MultiSport Canada, The Urban Athlete, Fitt1st Bike Fitting


Next up: Welland Long Course on June 26th! Join me - let's get the number of female participants at these races near to the males!

Event Recap: Spin the Lakes

I decided to kick-off my 2016 season with a Spin the Lakes 96K - the same course as the Muskoka Ironman 70.3 with an additional two kms. This was the first time I had actually participated in a bike only event and I had a ton of fun. Since this is my first event, I decided I would launch the new format of my race reports!

1. My top 3 to 5 highlights of the day
2. Interview with another participant (I will be finding one other participant to feature in my blog for each event I am part of)
3. Course map with all relevant information for interested participants
4. Elevation profile and quantitative information for those interested
5. Other notes, thank-you and such

Look for this format after all my races, and if you would like to be my featured participant, find me on race day!!!

----SPIN THE LAKES RACE REPORT----

1. My Highlights:
- Riding in a group environment with other cyclists AND triathletes together (the environment was right for both!)
- For the Muskoka 70.3 section: hitting a NP of 3.25W/kg and a time of 2:52 on a super hot & humid day (higher power/faster time than in Muskoka 70.3 2012)
- Getting to stay at Chez Lamy with Lois, Linda, Gary, Phaedra, Adam, David L and David B!

2. Interview with another participant:

Q. Name, Age, One word to describe yourself?
A. Linda - age - 53 - one word ... oh my there are so many BUT I guess the word that seems to best describe me both professionally and personally would be DISCIPLINED

Q. How long have you been doing triathlons?
A. I did my first Sprint in 2009 joining some of the ladies in my neighbor HOWEVER it was 2013 the year I turned 50 that I decided to do something that would totally push me outside of my comfort zone - completing the Muskoka Ironman 70.3

Q. What was one highlight of today's event?
A. The Muskoka course has always been a scary one for me - it's a beast. BUT on Saturday I rode consistent and confident - that was the highlight.

Q. What did you eat for breakfast?
A. Protein shake and a bowl of cereal

Q. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you in a triathlon?
A. Confidence is not something that I have a great deal of when it comes to sports. At the Muskoka 70.3 I was TOTALLY intimidated by the tri bikes, race wheels, slick helmets and full body tri suits - to the point that I did not even want to start the event (no joke - I was ready to bail before even starting I was so nervous). BUT I started, did the swim and got on my bike (one of the very few bikes left in transition). On the bike course when I turned onto North Portage and started to climb one of the very steep hills - I looked to my left and saw a guy riding a very expensive tri bike, wearing a race helmet, walking up the hill ... I checked his calve and noticed he was 34 years old - suddenly I heard Celine Dion (who I am not really a fan of) singing - " I am alive" - god knows where Celine came from BUT let me say it made me laugh and certainly gave me the confidence to go on and finish that event with a big smile on my face.

Q. What is one of your top achievements, either in triathlon or in the rest of life?
A. Two really cool kids!

Q. When is your next event?
A. Mont-Tremblant 70.3 June 26 (GULP)

3. Course Map/Elevation

4. Quantitative Information & Race Day Notes

Distance: 96km
Time: 2:58:52
Speed: 32.3kph
Elevation Gain: 807m
Average power: 156W - including 0s
NP: 176W (3.25W/kg) - including 0s
VI: 1.13
Heart Rate: 159bpm
Cadence: 76rpm
Nutrition on race day: 3-4L of fluid, 90g eLoad Berry flavour, 3 Zone Caps, 2 jujubes each 15km => ~ 1 to 1.3L/hour, 200 calories/hour (~4g/kg)
Notes: Power dropped off from 180W to 176W NP after the turn onto Brunel Rd. Probably lost a bit of motivation and, having not done many rides longer than 2 hours, fatigue likely set in.

5. Thank-you:

- All my readers for their support and for following me in my triathlon endeavours
- The volunteers and race organizers
- Adam, for writing all those workouts that made me super strong inside to prep me for my longest ride of the year so far
- My sponsors: High Rock Capital Management, WattsUp Cycling, MultiSport Canada, The Urban Athlete, Fitt1st Bike Fitting


Next up: Woodstock Sprint on June 11th!

Milk for Recovery!

It's a typical Wednesday morning, I've just done a hard workout (the first race of the MSC series is just a few weeks away!). I know I don't have much time to help get the kids ready for school, shower, get myself ready to get to work/school and get in some healthy food. I know that for a workout longer than an hour it is important to follow it with a snack within 30 minutes and a big meal within 2-4 hours. This will maximize my body's ability to recover and get stronger from a workout.

When you train hard, you break down muscle and you actually get weaker. However, that training is a stimulus to rebuild yourself stronger than before. You can only do that if you have the right building blocks: carbs, protein, vitamins, water, etc. But there's rarely the time to make a big meal post-workout sometimes. But how long does it take to drink a nice tall cold glass of MILK? Likely, less than one minute! And within that tasty drink are a ton of nutrients that can help you recover from a workout. Let's have a look at the nutrition label for 250 mL (1 cup) of chocolate milk:

As you can see it has:
1) Protein - This breaks down into amino acids, the building blocks of muscle.
2) Carbohydrates - This breaks down into sugar, which the body uses to build muscle and to make glycogen, the fuel for subsequent workouts.
3) Fats - Fats are actually stored in muscle to fuel you for longer rides. The more fat you can store in muscle the better for endurance. Fats have many other important functions in your body.
4) Vitamins - Vitamin D and Calcium are essential for bone health. And the other vitamins are important for the biochemical reactions in your body - like building muscle!

In addition to this, it tastes good and is so refreshing! So, for a super quick nutrient boost post-workout, MILK is my choice!!!

(Miranda Tomenson, MSc. is a profession triathlete, triathlon coach at WattsUp Cycling and has a degree in biochemistry and physiology.)

Why I race local!

As a professional long distance triathlete, my dream is the same as most pros in my shoes: to make it to Kona someday. How do I get there? Well, I have to be really good! Only the top 35 female long distance athletes will qualify. More specifically, to make it to Kona as pro, I need to race the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events and accumulate enough points from these races to qualify. That's at least 2 Ironman events and a handful of Ironman 70.3s each year. AND I'd need to have outstanding performances in all of them (we're talking top 5 or better). You would think that I would forego Ontario based events and just focus on these races, but I don't.

Here are a few reasons why I have included Ontario races in my schedule and will continue to include them moving forward:

1. They prepare you for your longer "A" races. As a coach and an athlete, I know that you can't go into your "A" event completely prepared if you haven't done any other races within the previous 2-4 weeks. My best Ironman 70.3 events have always been preceded by a race 2 weeks before. Local sprint races are great to dust of the cobwebs, test out equipment you have only used in training, practice transitions under pressure, calm your nerves, etc. For Ironman 70.3 Calgary on July 24th I will compete at both MultiSport Welland Long Course and Gravenhurst Olympic to get myself in a good position to be fit and prepared for Calgary.

2. It's convenient. Nothing beats being able to sleep in your own bed, eat home cooked food, drive familiar roads to a race. Compare that to having to travel far distances or possibly even fly. Or having to sleep in a hotel you've never been to before. Having to rely on unfamiliar food, surroundings, language barriers, terrain are some other possible obstacles. Why travel so far for a race when you have the option to race somewhere close by?

3. The Community. If you compete at enough local races, the race crew, the athletes and even the volunteers start to become familiar. It feels like you are part of a big family. People saying "hi" every time you turn around, spectators calling out your name to cheer for you when you are out on the course (and not just because it's on your bib). Even people you haven't seen in ages are friendly and chatting (more so after the race though!). The point is that the atmosphere is just right to give you a bit of a boost. Think "home court advantage" for a sports team. I have been to races where I knew absolutely no one. It wasn't the right energy for a race, it felt more like a big training day. I crossed the finish line, no friends or family or familiar faces. After the event, I got in my car and drove back to where I was staying, packed up my bike, then flew home the next day. Not a great experience.

4. Less of an expense. Ontario race: gas + maybe a hotel + race registration = $75 to $350. Compare that to some races that include paying for a flight or gas + hotel + food + race and you are looking at a minimum of $1000! Enough said.

5. You can train on the course if it's an "A" race. Instead of heading to the States for a late season half-ironman, I am targeting Barrelman as my half-ironman distance event for the end of summer. This means that I can train on the course before the event. Familiarity definitely helps performance. And, more importantly, calms the nerves. It's hard to be able to fit in driving the course before a half-ironman when it's a far-away destination, let alone get experience biking on it. The unfamiliarity of a race venue can be nerve-wracking!

6. Getting into (or back into) the sport. A local race is a great way to get into the sport of triathlon. If you are intimidated by triathlon or new to it, the last place you want to compete in your first event is at a massive event. At a local race, you find tons of people who are new to the sport. I remember racing Multisport's Toronto Triathlon and race director John Salt asked who was doing their first race and almost 50% of the athletes raised their hand! The athlete who has been out of the sport for awhile (injury or life circumstance or growing a family) can very easily get back into things with a local race. After my knee surgery, the Multisport Bracebridge event provided the PERFECT atmosphere for getting back into the sport. There were some super fast athletes who I knew could push me, but there was a "this is so fun" mentality to most athletes that put me at ease. You just don't find that at some of the larger international events.

There are many, many other reasons: you recover faster from a race you don't have to travel far to get to, you support your local triathlon community when you race there, the ability to make friends and find training partners, some inter-province club competition...and I could go on! The point is, that while the experience of competing and finishing an Ironman or Ironman 70.3 event is great, it's just as great to compete and finish a local race! Look for me at Welland, Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, Toronto and Barrelman this year.

Trying (and failing!) to find my groove

When I went back to school last June, I was prepared for a hard year. However, I was quite determined to keep my training going. Even if I wasn't getting faster, I wanted to maintain my fitness. I managed to compete successfully in the summer, which was a HUGE boost for me. Come the fall, I thought I should focus on my running, since that is the easiest to fit in in the least amount of time. I had a few successful run races (an 8 and a 10K), but quickly realized that I wouldn't be able to keep that same run volume and intensity going, while balancing school, coaching, working at WattsUp and being a part-time step mum of 3! So, I decided to take another step back from training (I cancelled my annual mid-winter training camp in California, cut my run mileage way back, stopped all intense runs, cut back my time in the pool, etc.) I did end up increasing my biking, but only because I was working at WattsUp more!

As of January, my new focus became consistency. I thought that if I was able to be consistent with my training then I would be able to build back my fitness a little quicker come spring. However, even that has proven to be difficult! January and February brought a whole new set of obstacles...horrible and selfish people making life difficult, WattsUp being busier than expected, kids' illnesses, Adam's illness and now my illness that forced me to take almost a whole week of rest instead of what it was supposed to be a big volume week of training! :( If I thought 2016 would bring an end to the various obstacles I've been up against in the past few years, I was definitely wrong. I consider myself a fighter, but I'm so sick of fighting so hard all the time for what I want. It's exhausting!

So, I am left feeling frustrated, angry and worried. Frustrated, because I can't seem to follow a plan. I hate uncertainty and that's all my life is right now. Even when Adam write's a training plan for me that should be straightforward and easy to follow, it's not. And this is purely because nothing else in my life is following a set plan. Just when things seem to start to flow, something unexpected comes up that requires my energy. The anger comes from the fact that I feel helpless, because I am not in a position to take control and change anything. School, work, family and my health take priority over training right now and they dictate my schedule. And while I'm not angry about that, because I'm thankful to have those as priorities, I do get angry when I can't train! And the worry comes from the fact that race season is not too far away. I have high expectations of myself. I have goals. And every week that training gets derailed is another week I lose to prepare myself for triathlon season.

I figure that I will be able to find my groove eventually! Only 8 weeks of classes, 2 weeks of exams, 1 week of OSCE prep, board exams...then I'm free for the summer :) Let's just hope I am not too badly out of shape by then.

Minor setbacks, possible blessings in disguise?

Well, I went strong until January, 2016 with my training. Unfortunately, on Thursday I hit a minor setback. A strained peroneus muscle on my left lower leg. Ugh! However, all things considered, I am surprised I went this long without an injury. I was pretty good about managing my stress until about December. Then exams hit, my diet started to include more and more chocolate and muffins and my sleep quality deteriorated. The stress also started to accumulate and I didn't take any training breaks. When I finished my run on Thursday, I knew that everything had caught up to me. I had thought I might be able to get away with training hard while enduring an increase amount of time spent at work, in school, dealing with an ongoing cold and running around doing other things. Alas, I am not invincible!

So, the plan now is to spend some time away from hard training while I let my body heal. I hope to be back up and running this time next week! I will look at this as a blessing in disguise, an injury that reminded me that sometimes I do need to slow down.