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When I last posted my story of participating in the Ultra 520 K 3-day triathlon that was held during the August Long Weekend in Penticton, I was about 1/2 way through the 52 mile run. In this segment, I take you through the last (mostly happy) 26 miles.

The picture that you see here are two of the happy faces that helped get me to the finish line.

Day Three Part F: Hour 10 A New Day’s Dawn

One of the blessings on this last day of the Ultra 520K was the weather. Sure the air was smokey and warm (about 30 degrees) but at least it wasn’t stupid hot and crazy windy. That would have really sucked! As I crested yet another big hill, another big hill loomed in the not too far horizon. It was the Giant’s Head in Summerland! That meant that we were getting there! And then it happened – the “Welcome To Summerland” sign.

And then another thing happened – the nasty gravel turned to pavement. And because good things happen in threes – the road finally started to go DOWNHILL!

Now that the running surface was actually something that I could RUN on, I started to REALLY run, no half-assed shuffle-walk that had been my method for the past ten hours. It felt really good! For the first happy-half hour Sean ran with me. He’s Rio’s boyfriend and is Ironman in the making, although he doesn’t know it yet! WE cruised at a respectable pace and ticked off a few miles.

As the finish line got closer and closer my pacers changed more frequently. Next to run with me, was my brother Kim. We were sort of bemused at the energy level some of the other folks on the crew were exhibiting. There was a bit of hooting and hollering and “you-got-this” sort of behaviour going on. Fact is, I didn’t GOT this yet. There was still work to be done, about an hour’s worth, and if you’ve ever done an Ironman before the last hour of it can take about a week. Well, at least in your mind. Conserving energy and playing it smart was still at the forefront of Kim and my minds. There would be no premature celebration.

Day Three: Part G Hour 11 You’re Not The Boss of Me!

But there WOULD be some shenanigans on the way to the finish line. At kilometre 80, when we KNEW that unless I got hit my a bus or struck by lightning, that I would finish this thing, we decided to do something typically Heinze like. Instead of following the sign for the course route and turn left, Kim and I turned right, and started climbing a nice long hill, adding a few extra hundred metres to the course. After being a slave to this monster of a race course for the past three days, for a change it was ME that was in charge, and if I wanted to do a few bonus minutes of running to, in a sense say “screw-you” to the course, I would – time be damned!

Although some of my crew members thought that this was a very silly thing to do (understatement) – it was a way of me saying to the course (and myself) “ok you motherfucker of a course, you tried to grind me down by sending me off course on the swim, tried crushing my spirit by making me scale “The Wall” in Okanagan Falls on Day Two, and tried messing with my mind and body by throwing 6 hours of shit washboard road as some sort of sadistic icing on the cake this afternoon, but I survived all of that AND I had energy enough to throw in this extra run. I did it my way!

After our bonus run we turned around, got back on course, and I changed pacers yet again. This time it was Elise. With her very fresh legs and my renewed spirit we ran down the final few kilometres before we got near the finish chute. Just as we were about to join the rest of my family and crew for the final kilometre, a mischievous quail dashed across the road, right in front of us, as if to say, “I’m waaaay faster than you humans are!” It was probably right.

Day Three: Part H – Signed Sealed & Delivered

With about 2 kilometres to go, another unexpected bonus. My sister and her family, who had been supporting me on day two turned out to run with me. Shortly before the finish line, I suggested to them that we stop running and savour the moment. I told them how much it had meant to me for their support over the weekend. After a few hugs and pictures, it was down the road, around the corner, and into the finish chute.

With about 200 metres to go, another unexpected…bonus? I had all my family and crew running with me, except for one person, where was he? Kevin Watt was at the finish line, waiting for us with his camera. I guess that he wanted to capture that big moment of us all crossing the finish line together. Nope, that wouldn’t do. He was ONE of “us” and I wanted to make sure that he crossed the finish line with the rest of “us” so I motioned him on. He didn’t budge. Nor did I. Impasse! I crossed my arms and waited. The clock ticked. A few more tense moments and he finally relented, joining he rest of us in crossing the finish line. The race was over!

Although there were only 14 people doing the race, there sure seemed like there were a lot of people at the finish line, although nothing like and Ironman or Sun Run finish line, the main difference being that I KNEW most of the people there. They were the rest of the participants, their crews, and the race organizers. They all seemed genuinely happy to see me cross the finish line. Initially, there was not a lot of time to celebrate, as I was whisked over to the medical tent to have my vital signs checked. After the nurse gave me the “all clear” I was then able to do some socializing with my crew and the rest of the folks at the finish line. It was quite a flurry of emotions: elation, relief, pride, guilt, emptiness, connectedness. I put all those emotions in a box and continued with my post-race routine. It was off to the massage table to get my body back to normal. But wait! First a beer, and wait! A burger. Usually after a race I am not hungry, but due to the low intensity of the run, I was ready to eat. After scarfing those down quickly, it was onto the massage table and for as long as I was out on the race course I wasn’t really feeling that badly. Nothing was really hurting that much, it was more like a case of heavy legs fatigue. The one area that was hurting a bit more than other was my arms, specifically the tendons running from my arm into my elbow. Those darn things were the only long-term “injury” I sustained from doing the Ultra. Two weeks after the race, when I finally started running again, it was that part of my body that reminded me of what I did to it that long weekend in August.

These feet don’t hurt as much as you may think…. yeaaah for endorphins!

Visit us back here in about two weeks when I offer my postmortem on the race and what I may have learned from doing it.

Due to popular demand we finally were able to contact and interview local fast guy Brandon Jones. It turns out that he is a nice guy too! Well, other than crushing the local climbs and ripping off the legs of his competition.

In addition to the Brandon Jones interview, Fitspeek 26 also features fresh from Area 51, Kevin Watt with his social media shout outs and Zack Neufeld with his Between The Ears segment.

Here it all now by pressing play!

If you have a race or any other health or fitness event you would like to promote, leave us a comment on this page.

Also, if you are ready to take your fitness to the next level, Tri*Joy the Spirit of Multisport can help you. If you want to improve your cycling, running, or triathlon, contact kknnheinze@yahoo.com.

We offer in-person consultations, personalized and effective training plans, and weekly follow-ups.

With a new year comes new opportunities for awesomeness. For many members of the Wednesday Night Spins at Wenting’s Cycle in Mission, their new season is already off to a strong start. That’s because they’ve already been training smartly during the dark season.

In this episode of Fitspeek, we go into the spin-pit at Wenting’s and speak with many local triathletes and cyclists including Leigh-Ann Parker Vanderlinde, Tatania Sean, Paul McLachlan and Dan McLachlan. We ask them about their 2017 season and about their plans for the new year.

And if you are looking to “crush it” in 2018 and need some extra help along the way, the folks at Tri*Joy} The Spirit of Multisport offer one on one consultations and customized training plans to make your season your best yet. Email kknnheinze@yahoo.com to get more details.

Just in case you didn’t get a chance to hear it the first time ’round, this is a re-post of the great interview that Kevin Watt, Zack Neufeld, and I did with Diella & Geo. We get into some great storytelling about how they were drawn to doing ultra-long sporting events and some of the adventures they have had while training for them and doing them. No need to fast forward to get to the interview. Just hit play

Although for some folks in my circle of co-workers, cronies, and training partners, the New Year’s resolutions list has become passe, I think there is still value in making one.

Detractors may say the list is just a way of highlighting how messed up your life has become. Others say that you can change your life anytime. You don’t need a date on a calendar to do it.

Let me challenge those thoughts by examining briefly the first argument. While some may think of a list of resolutions is sort of like a ledger of failure, having a concrete list of things that ain’t workin’ for you is not a bad thing. Taking a sober look at your life on a regular basis is time well-invested. Furthermore, by you making the list, rather than having it imposed on you by some hostile third party (girlfriend, boyfriend, parent, employer) you may have more intrinsic motivation to succeed.

Plenty of research suggests intrinsic motivation is effective to affect long-term change. Humans are, however, pack animals. This is where extrinsic motivation comes in. Once again, this is when a list of New Year’s resolutions may be a helpful first step on the way to positive change. Let’s face it, January the first is the start of a new year. The Christmas season is over. A lot of other people are also inspired to make change in their lives at this time. Why not capitalize on the inertia and join that swell of change. Having a group of like-minded co-workers or friends to motivate you and hold you accountable in those critical first weeks may make the difference between success and failure. Groups like the one below are great sources of positive peer support.

Take a look at the folks around you who you know well and are comfortable sharing your New Year’s goals with, and then do it. You can use each other as motivation and consolation along your path to awesomeness. And if you have a success story of making any long-term change in your life, whether it was a New Year’s resolution or not, let us know about it on our comments section. For the Fit Tip of The Week, I’m Kevin Heinze.

As usual, it has been a long time since my latest Ultra 520K blogpost. In this post, we make steady (and slow) progress on the run route from Princeton to Summerland.

Day Three: Part C – Hours 1 – 2 Solitary Man

The first thirteen miles of the day went by fairly uneventful. Even though twelve out of the fourteen competitors in the race were ahead of me, I was in good spirits, taking my walk breaks every ten or twelve minutes, having something to eat and drink, and chatting with my crew. At the thirteen mile mark, at about 2:30 into the run, I was delighted to see and hear Steve King announcing my arrival to a crowd of….. five people! : my crew members Kim, Elise, Rio, the race nurse, and myself. The things that guy does to make us back of the pack athletes feel acknowledged.

At that point, I changed running shoes (should have changed sock as well), had a mini-celebration with my crew, and began to run with my wife Elise. This was probably one of the high-points of the day as I was feeling pretty good physically, the weather was quite mild, and I was on pace to get the run done well under the time cut-off.

Day Three Part D: Hours 3 – 5  We are The Road Crew

According to the topographic map of the run course, kilometres 20-40 were supposed to be the toughest of the day, so when we heard Steve King, playing music and announcing to a crowd of – just us – at the 26.2 mile mark, we all were feeling optimistic. We thought that the toughest roads of the day were behind us. We were very wrong.

As the day progressed and the temperature rose, so did the road. And as the incline got higher and higher, the quality of the road got lower and lower, well, at least for running on. The loosely packed gravel and washboard-like surface make it difficult for me to land my foot strikes and I had to prance around the road like a deer, trying not to hit the uneven sections. With this kind of surface, and plenty of fatigue in my legs, my wisest option was to not only walk up the hills, but down them as well. I wondered how the rest of the racers got through this section.

In the picture below, you can see me shouting my defiance at the hill after making it down another one. You can also see Kevin Watt’s steely resolve. You can almost see him thinking “I wish that stupid guy would just shut up & run!”

After a few more of these silly hills, I am pretty sure that I said to my running pacer, Kevin Watt that we were FINALLY done them and it should be easy sailing for the next 30 k. Wrong again. Through this section, Kevin was a real help, listening to me whine and complain and chiming in with a few short comments to keep me on track.

Day Three Part E: Hours 6-9 Her Name is Rio and She Dances on The ???

Once Kevin Watt heard enough of my whining and complaining and there seemed to be no end to the crappy road, it was time to change my running partner and have Kevin enjoy the solitude of his Ford Truck. Rio came to the rescue! Without a doubt this was the most difficult part of the whole event and Rio rose to the challenge. There was one part of the course, after I had a Red Bull and a gel that I thought the best way to make progress was to get mad.

Some rage and the accompanying caffeine rush should be good to get me through this section, I thought. Wrong for the third time! After about fifteen or twenty minutes of shouting insults at the hill, and some rage inspired self-talk, the Red Bull and gel wore off and I was back to my usual, finicky, self.

Maybe I should have trained more for moments like this. Maybe I should have just pushed through the discomfort. Maybe I should have stuck with golf. All of these silly thoughts zoomed through my brain as the miles went.slowly.by. Progress was slow but progress WAS being made. In spite of walking up hills, my average speed was still above 4.8 miles per hour, the speed I needed to maintain to complete the course by the twelve hour cut-off.

Geo Wade and Diella Siemens are both amazing people. In addition to holding down regular jobs and being parents and spouses like “the rest of us” they are also ultra-endurance athletes, although they don’t really like to admit it.

In Fitspeek 24 Diella tells us about her first experience of “going-long” when she decided to walk home from work one day (from Vancouver to Port Coquitlam). Since then she has tackled her first half Ironman distance triathlon, developed a healthy interest in long-distance cycling and is preparing to do another ultra marathon.

Geo Wade discovered  in the Victoria Half Ironman that 2 K of swimming was just an appetizer and had an appetite for more. Last year he completed a non-stop bike ride from Port Hardy to Victoria. This year he attempted the swim from the Mainland to Nanaimo.

Geo and Diella are great examples of what Fitspeek is all about, ordinary people doing extraordinary things. In addition to our feature interview we also have our usual features including Kevin Watt’s Social Media Shout Outs, Zack Neufeld’s Between The Ears, and I have your Top 3 heath trends of 2017. Hear it all by pressing play below:

In this episode, we show that Fitspeek is indeed more than just race results and tri-talk.

Our newest podcast features our first installment of the Top 6 Health Trends of 2017. We’ll sort through the hype & the jargon & give you the straight goods on things like HIIT and “Wearable Technology.” And no, we have not forgotten our usual features like the upcoming events schedule and the race results.

Have you got 20 minutes?  Because Fitspeek 23 has something for you! It’s all at your fingertips below.

And if you are inspired to take your training to the next level for your upcoming fondo, marathon, or triathlon sample our Tri*Joy Tri-For-Fifty promotion.  Get details at kknnheinze@yahoo.com

In our last Fitspeek Express interview we heard from Dan Cook: realtor, part time runner and full time father of four.

This time we hear from the rest of this podium dominating family from Abbotsford including: 17 year old Travis, 14 year old (Mr. Energy Saver ) Preston, and 7 year old Fraser. These are names sure to be part of the Fraser Valley’s running scene for years to come.

As a long-time runner, how do you deal with the challenges of being a father? How about turning your 4 children into Team Cook, one of the Fraser Valley’s fastest running families? In this Fitspeek Express Interview, Kevin Heinze speaks with Dan Cook, the very proud father of a very fit family!