IronSoul

Here is another chapter in the IronSoul Story. The race reports!

First up, is Dave Wilson. 

In August, the siren call of Ironman Penticton stirs the souls of veterans of this iconic race. My Ironman sabbaticals spanned some thirty years and enriched my life immeasurably. This July, I was stunned to read that for the first time since 1986 there would be no triathlon in Penticton on the traditional last weekend of August. Reading further, I was thrilled to learn of the Inaugural Ironsoul Ironman organized by Kevin Heinze.

I assessed the challenge: In the plus column, I’d rested for six years and, having done IMC 23 times, I knew and loved the course. In the minus column was the sure knowledge that I couldn’t prepare for an ironman in 4 weeks, was recovering from major shoulder surgery and had a serious ankle injury. Laughing, I remembered the old rodeo joke: “You’re never really ready; it just gets to be your turn.” So….on balance…I was in!

The wild fire smoke and summer heat in the training month leading up to the Ironsoul start bordered on the ridiculous. I drove the course Saturday to set up my refueling stations – the smoke was heavy and the road, very rough.

Our pre-race meeting was at the Pirates Den Tavern (of course) and at the appointed hour I met the man who had dedicated so much time and effort to continue The Ironman Penticton tradition. Kevin is an accomplished triathlete, an inspirational educator and a really good guy. Sadly, his dream was on the verge of being shattered by life’s vagaries and the truly miserable weather conditions. Not to be deterred, Kevin hatched a short course event to keep everyone together. When no other triathletes stepped up, I said: “I’m in and I’m going the full distance.” Kevin paused, laughed and said “OK! Me too! Ironsoul is on!”

Saturday evening, I tested an injured my ankle with a 5k run. It was excruciating. Sobered by this, I decided to start early so as not to ruin the event. Sunday morning, at 4:00 AM, I hummed a few bars of the Canadian anthem and plunged into Lake Okanogan.

An hour and twenty-four minutes later, I asked a shocked passer-by to take my picture and then hopped on my bike. It was bloody freezing and windy as I cycled to my first refuel station in Osoyoos.

I love climbing Richter Pass and find the challenge exhilarating. For me the following rollers are very very hard. I just can’t sustain an even effort and price for that is very high. To compound that frustration, I flatted on the out and back section. I’d had four flats in my last week of Ironsoul preparation. This one was the final straw and I’m very glad no one was within auditory range when it happened.

Back on my bike, I refueled at the fruit stand where the Bench road meets the highway and headed towards the climb to Yellow Lake. After the false flats and the big hill by the Apex turn off, I climbed the final pitch – wow!! That is so steep!! My tire was under inflated, so I was super cautious on the downhill run into Penticton. There the Ironsoul volunteers cheered as I swapped my Cannondale Slice for my trusty Hokas. The run along Skaha Lake has to be experienced to be appreciated….it is absolutely stunning. My version of the “Kona Shuffle” clicked off the miles thanks to the comfort and support of the Ironsoul volunteers.

One even donated her lip balm to soothe my heavily taped ankle. The high point of my day was meeting up with Kevin on the Skaha Bluffs and sharing a quick heartfelt moment before we resumed our endeavors. Reinvigorated, my pace quickened. It felt like I had just settled into a nice stride along Skaha Lake when incredibly, Elise said “Go Dave! Only 2 ½ miles left!” As I broke the finish tape I remembered another old joke: “Nobody ever finishes an Ironman and says I could have gone faster.”

Ever the gracious man, Kevin hosted our post-race dinner. I was effusive in my praise and appreciation for all of his hard work in organizing the event.

Additionally, Elise, Kevin, Rio, Geo, Pat, Sean & Kevin Watt deserve a special shout-out for their critical contribution to Ironsoul. Kevin’s passion and appreciation of how sacrosanct the last weekend of August in Penticton is to the Ironman community is awesome. One person can certainly make a difference. Because of Kevin, my life is richer. Thanks buddy!

Cheers,

Dave Wilson

 

And Then There Were Two

Sato Hydrosloth’s 2018 IronSoul Race Report

Preface:

This was a different experience for me as I was both the race director and a participant. I certainly gained a lot of respect for all the folks who put on races.

Planning:

I got the motivation to create the IronSoul event after I heard that there would no longer be a long distance triathlon in the Okanagan the last weekend in August. After having so many positive experiences at the original Ironman, I thought that the tradition should continue so I picked up the ball! After doing a lot of social media stuff and posting to the Slowtwitch triathlon website, we had a field of 9 people and a support crew of 6.

Smoke and mirrors:

Designing an unsupported event still required a bit of planning, however no amount of planning could prepare us for the crazy week before the event. With unprecedented forest fires and the accompanying smoke, races were canceled in Kelowna and Penticton the previous week due to poor aid quality. The following days painted a very grey future for the IronSoul. My wise, creative, and tenacious planning crew of Elise Reeh and Pat Landymore mapped out possible routes for both a full-distance event as well as a shortened event, depending on the air quality of the day.

On Friday, we drove the old Ironman Canada course, just in case the full distance event was to be held. We were discouraged at the air quality, especially through the Cawston and Kermeous areas. At this point, we were resigned to either canceling the whole thing or doing the shorter route. We contacted all the participants, letting them know the decision to carry on would be based on the air quality reading as of 6 PM Saturday evening. The announcement would be made at the event’s pre-race social and race meeting. A few of the participants quickly e-mailed us saying they wouldn’t be doing the event.

Saturday Night

I was a bit nervous walking to Pirate’s Cove, the place where the social was to be held. Who was going to be there? Was anybody going to be there? As it turned out the first person that we met as we walked through the door was David Wilson from Wenatchee, WA. In the next few minutes, our volunteer from Abbotsford, Geo Wade, also showed up. It looked like that would be it, the IronSoul would be a cast of six volunteers: Elise, Rio, Geo, Kevin, Sean, and Pat, and of two athletes, David Wilson, and myself. Well, at least we’d be well-taken care of and we wouldn’t run out of supplies. While chatting to all the folks at our table, I was quietly hoping that some more racers would trickle in but that never happened.

At six o’clock, when the time came to make my announcement of the air quality measurement that would determine whether or not the event would be canceled, or we would run a shortened version of the event, David made his announcement. He said that regardless of conditions, he was doing the whole thing. It was a field of one. I chuckled to myself and added my name to the full.

Shortly after David made his announcement, Canadian pro-triathlete, Jeff Symonds arrived. He was originally going to be a volunteer but after some gentle ribbing from one of the volunteers, he was re-cast as the swimmer for the brand-new relay team. Kevin Watt stepped up and offered to bike for the team. All they needed now was a runner who was willing to go 30 kilometres on short notice. Some quick messages were posted on Slowtwitch and Facebook to enlist the missing link. As we walked from the meeting to the condo we noticed that the sky was a bit blue and the smoke in the air wasn’t that bad.

Sunday Morning

At 5:15, while the rest of our condo complex was blissfully asleep, our unit was a beehive of activity. The volunteers were in different stages of lucidity with aroma of coffee in the air prompting the less awake ones to full attention. I dodged the activity as best I could in the cramped quarters and enjoyed some toast, courtesy of my thoughtful wife. Just before we left, I checked my messages to see if there were any last minute cancellations or any takers for the relay team.

The only message was from David Wilson. He informed us that he had a bit of an ankle injury and because he did not want us to wait for him at the finish line he started the swim at 4 AM! He was already on his bike and headed towards Osoyoos. After reading this astonishing information, I checked my bags once more, and then jumped in the car headed toward the big peach and my tenth Ironman distance experience.

Once we arrived, there were no surprises. That is to say nobody was there. None of the other participants expressing interest were there. It was kinda weird. On the same beach and on the same day of the year as thousands of people over the past three decades began their journey to life-changing experiences, there was just sand… Except for me and my cast of 5 volunteers. Without even a hint of disappointment Rio, Sean, Elise, Geo, and Pat assumed their delegated roles almost as if they could hear echos of Steve King’s voice, bouncing off the big peach. The show WILL go on!

Shortly after I began putting on my wetsuit, true to his word, Jeff Symonds drove up. He had company, his girlfriend would be joining us for a lap of the swim.

Maybe I’d have somebody to draft after all, as Jeff would be in a different time zone by the time I reached the first buoy. Whether it’s a race of two, or about 2,700 participants, the minutes immediately before the gun goes off, pass faster than a Ferrari on a Saskatchewan highway. Speaking of which, I was chatting with some people spectators from Saskatoon who had heard about the event on Slowtwitch. Then, Elise, who had assumed the role of race starter, yelled at me to get down to the start line. It was almost 7 o’clock.

Rio had brought her cell phone, along with a portable speaker to the beach. It was time for O Canada. All nine of us did the best we could to honour the words. I had planned to say a few words about how the IronSoul was continuing the tradition of long-distance triathlon and about how much I valued the support of the volunteers but it was already 7:03, time to get the hell in the water and start swimming.

After a hasty countdown from ten, Jeff, Jenna, and myself entered the still waters of Okanagan Lake under cloudy but smoke free skies. The inaugural IronSoul was underway.

Swim Stuff

Jeff pulled a quick vanishing act and was lost on the horizon before I could get into knee-deep water. Jenna wasn’t as quick and I was able to stay on her feet for almost two whole minutes before her speed pushed me past the point of sustainable effort. And unlike my previous jumps into Okanagan Lake on the last Sunday in August, there were no other slow swimmer for me to draft off. This wasn’t too much of an issue as I had brand new goggles that neither leaked, nor fogged up. Plus, I had swam this exact route four times in training in the past few weeks, so my body and mind was ready for it. No doubt I also benefited from Geo in the kayak cruising alongside of me for a big chunk of the swim.

Being by myself, I devised a plan to stay focused and motivated. On my first out and back to the Sicamous, I focused on my core and on my shoulders. On the second trip, I did intervals. I would alternate swimming between a medium and a faster pace between each of the buoys. This seemed to work as the time seemed to fly by quite quickly. Another thing that I was pleased with was that my goggles were not too tight but they didn’t leak either. Over the years I have really learned the difference between necessary and unnecessary suffering. This was a case of me actually remembering and applying a hard-learned lesson! Swim time 1:07 (I suspect it was about 300 metres short).

T1:

It was mostly a joyous, albeit clumsy experience. I exited the water in a good mood, realizing that 18 years ago on this date I was a whole lot slower and in a whole lot more discomfort. After finding my land legs, I casually walked to my bike and got down on the grass for Elise to pull off my wetsuit. After a few awkward moments, it was off, and I was strapping on my helmet and loading up my pockets for the 170 kilometres journey. Unlike the frenetic scene that unfolds in a “real” Ironman, things were very mellow. Kevin Watt decided to ride with me and down the road we went in the clear but chilly morning air.

Bike:

One of the purposes of me doing the IronSoul was to find out if I could do an entire Iron-Distance event using just liquids. My mouth and stomach don’t respond well to solid food, especially if I am going hard. In previous Ironman events, I would mix up a special potion of “Moose-Juice” in my first two bottles. The bottles would contain 2 scoops of Gatorade, 3 electrolyte pills, 1/2 a flask of Hammer Gel, and 1 200 mg caffeine pill. The concoction worked well, but once I ran out of it, I was forced to go back to the standard on-course nutrition,Gatorade, Power Gels, and the occasional banana. Although they gave me the energy to keep going, I often suffered from a “sour” stomach and muscle cramping in the later stages of the bike and run.

This year I decided to try something different. Rather than using the Hammer Gel and Gatorade as the main components in my mixture, I used F2C Glycodurance. I mixed 2 scoops of it, along with 2 scoops of F2C Electrodurance and a crushed up caffeine pill. After those two bottles were done, I would just our “on-course” product, which was the F2C Glycodurance.

The first part of the bike was uneventful but the weather was sure weird for an Ironman. In all of my memories, I can not remember when we had a headwind heading out to Osoyoos. I was a surprise at having to actually work getting to McClean Creek Road. Once we (that is Kevin Watt and I) re-joined Highway 97 the headwind subsided and we were blessed with a calmness.

Unfortunately despite the lack of wind, the lack of training that my partner had put in started to reveal itself, first during a long stretch of pavement right out of Oliver and then again on Richter Pass. Although he gave it his best shot, his legs and lungs were not up to the pace and it was his stomach that started to rebel. We stopped at a turnout and he had a very therapeutic puke. Of course I took a picture!

We resumed the climb and he did well for a while until he realized that there were still the seven rollers, the out and back, and the Yellow Lake climb still ahead. On an average day in average shape KW always would rip my legs off on climbs… and singing while doing it. Today was not that day.

With Kevin gone, I slightly increased my tempo, with my heart rate climbing to about 134. I became concerned because both of my bottles were empty but I hit my first aid station of the day, just prior to the descent into the Similkameen Valley. At this stop, I reapplied Body Glide to my crotch. It was a bad move. Although my private parts were happy, I spent the next three hours enduring slippery, sticky hands. With full bottles, no wind, mild temperatures, clean air, and happy legs, I was ready to take on whatever the next 60 kilometres would throw at me, which, as it turned out was just a bunch of happy pills. I sensibly paced up and down the seven rollers, my brain in a very happy place as I reminisced about all the times that I had spent on this section of pavement fighting the wind, the competition, and the occasional cramp.

With the rollers done and the right hand turn onto the Cawston out and back completed, I steeled my resolve for the punishment that awaited. I remembered the last time I had raced this section. It was during Challenge Penticton 2014. The memories were not happy because on that day my heart rate sank and my watts plummeted. But that was four years ago, and even though today the road was just as empty (Challenge Penticton only had about 300 participants) my spirits were soaring, I believe due to the huge amounts of sugar I had in my bloodstream, and soon I would be having more.

If you think the Maytag repairman was a lonely guy, then you never met Geo Wade at the IronSoul. One of his tasks for the day was to be the aid station person at the out and back turn around. At the start of the day, he would be catering to a field of 2 athletes. After we received word that David Wilson started the race at 4 AM, Geo’s athlete load was halved (do the math). Geo represented what the IronSoul was all about and his enthusiasm and preparation will be with me forever and will motivate me to volunteer and help out others in crazy events as well.

There was Geo, at the turn-around, with a buffet table of goodies for all the IronSoul athletes (all one of them) to indulge in. There was F2C, there was Coke, there was other food options. I dismounted my bike and gave him a short recount of my day thus far, then, before doing ANYTHING else, I grabbed one of his towels to rub the Body Glide off my hands. Finally, I grabbed a fresh bottle of Glycodurance and I was gone done the road, feeling somewhat guilty for not stocking up on more stuff.

As was the case for the first fours hours of the bike, the weather for the remaining two hours was very co-operative as well. The foreboding run-up to the Yellow Lake climb wasn’t even that… foreboding. With overcast skies, no winds, and a body full of sugar, I was able to “play” with the road. By varying my cadence and alternating between sitting and standing, I soon arrived at the turn-off sign to the Apex ski resort that signified the start of the climb.

And then, of course, there was the climb. That storied Yellow Lake climb. The road that showcased the cycling prowess of Thomas Helriegel, Lori Bowden, Ray Browning, Erin Baker, Scott Tinley, and Lisa Bentley. That pitched pavement that tested tens of thousands of athletes and entertained legions of spectators over four decades. But on this Sunday afternoon it was just me and a lonely old highway.

And then there was the work. As mellow and magical as my velo-induced happy coma was to this point, gravity showed up to shatter the dream and waken the legs. Within thirty seconds I was in my easiest gear, and working as hard as I was at any other point in the day. This wasn’t going to be an easy one! To prevent unnecessary suffering (and a flat tyre), I rode in the car’s lane, and only rode off on the deteriorating shoulder when I heard a vehicle approaching. For the next ten minutes, I wasn’t thinking about my glorious ascents and the thousands of people and vehicles strewn on the flanks of the road from years gone past. Rather, all my thoughts were simply focused on turning the the god-damned pedals.

The top of the climb came none too soon and I was rewarded with my third aid station of the day. Volunteers Rio and Sean were hanging out, blasting some tunes, and enjoying their view of the lake when I arrived. As there was only about 30 kilometres left, I took just one bottle, thanked them, and took off in search of David Wilson.

For the first time since 2004, I was NOT riding a HED 3 as my front wheel. I chose convenience and stability over speed, making the descent from Yellow Lake down to Highway 97 and back into Penticton a mostly drama-free performance. The only thing that slowed me down all day (other than my grind up Yellow Lake) was my throbbing crotch in the last hour of the bike. Maybe I should have reapplied some Body Glide at the last aid station? But those sticky hands! Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

T2:

I was relieved when I finally dismounted my Quitana Roo at our “new” T2 at Skaha Beach. As I hit my Garmin’s split button, the face revealed 5:58:50 for 172 KM. I immediately felt guilty for not pushing the pace to capitalize on the ideal conditions but then I thought my easy effort would contribute to a speedy run.

I handed off my bike to Pat and Kevin, changed into my running clothing, put on my hat and water belt, and took off. There was none of the usual crowding of course, that’s one of the benefits of doing an Ironman with just one other person! The skies were still overcast and the temperature was right around 20 degrees. Things were shaping up for a pretty good run and I was in a great frame of mind.

Another thing that went through my mind was how well my F2C experiment was going. For the entire ride, all I took in was the F2C Glycodurance and except for a little cramping up Yellow Lake, things were going well. My energy levels were steady and equally important, that fussy stomach of mine didn’t say a darn thing all day. My plan was to stay on the F2C for as long as things were going well. If I started to cramp or get miserable, I would break out my pharmacy of gels,salt tablets, and caffeine pills.

Run:

Since things were going so well my main job was to not go too quickly. In previous years that I had been feeling so awesome, I thought I could keep an 8 minute mile pace for the whole thing. That feeling proved to be about 20 miles too ambitious.

Having run this stretch of road about 30 times in the past six months, I knew where to work, and where to back off. My Garmin was set to display time, speed, and heart rate. The goal was to run OK Falls at a speed of no less than 6.5 miles per hour but with a heart rate of less than 140. If it went over that limit, I’d just have to back off, focus on form and nutrition, and accept that I just wasn’t that fast.

Since the plan was that we would have three aid stations between Skaha Beach and the turn-around at Christie Park in OK Falls, I had to have a running belt that held all my supplies. About five k into the run, it already started pissing me off! The larger water bottle that I had in it, started bouncing around like a two year old kangaroo. I had to stop and tighten the belt. This stopped the bouncing but the added pressure around my torso started to give me reflux, the first tummy troubles I had all day! Damn! I had a wide range of emotional reactions, the first of which was, “this is going to slow me down.” The second was, “this is your first adversity all day, you are lucky!” I also thought back to a Mark Allen story about when he was experiencing a lot of discomfort on the run, his point was that although you may be in a lot of pain, it is not necessarily slowing you down that much, so keep going.

And I did, of course. And, according to Mr. Garmin, I was keeping my speed up and heart rate in check. Oh yes – the beauty of a mild overcast day. I hit the first aid station at a place that the race director and his associates named “Turtle Pond.” After topping up my bottle, I was informed that the second aid station on McClean Creek Road, named “Tar Pot Turn-around” was shut down. Instead, the course between the Blasted Church winery turn-off and OK Falls would be serviced by a “roving aid station” at about 15 or 20 minute intervals. That meant I could ditch my run belt.

Elise was ready for me at the turn-off and I gleefully gave her my belt. The next order of business was to down a big swig of F2C Glycodurance. I grabbed the bottle, squeezed hard, and was rewarded with a mouth full of sugary dust. I guess they didn’t shake the bottle, and unlike Gatorade, the Glycodurance stuff needs a lot of shaking to be drinkable. Since I was still in race mode, I didn’t want to spend time shaking the bottle so I opted for a glass of Coke, the first time in the whole race that I didn’t take in the F2C. I was curious about if I would feel differently.

As it turned out, I didn’t really notice. What I did notice, was that I was in a happy place because the pressure was relieved from my stomach. And even though it took a few kilometers for the reflux to subside, the rest of me was racing ahead to the turn-around. Things were running along smoothly and then, just before the start of the descent into OK Falls, I met up with the other competitor David Wilson. He was labouring up one of the few steep pitches and while he was dressed all in black, his face was beaming like the sun, I guess because he was glad to see another person. Even though David had human contact with volunteers in transition I could sense we were developing the special bond of camaraderie that could only be forged with another old bastard who was cruising along for ten plus hours largely by themselves on a cloudy day in the Okanagan. It was a pretty exclusive club!

I crossed the road to speak with him. After sharing a few stories about how our Ironsoul was unfolding, we said goodbye, and attended to the task at hand… finishing the race! Being the bastard that I am, my first thought as I resumed running was “could I catch him?” That sort of was my goal for the next five minutes or so and then the realities of the day caught up to me and the goal was “just to keep good running form.”

At the turn-around at Christie Park in Okanagan Falls, rather than re-live my glorious moments on that piece of pavement where I knew that I would finish an Ironman under eleven hours (2008) or re-live “The Pass” by Mikey Ross (2010) or re-live the soul-scarring “meltdown” (2004), the first thing that I did was give an energetic thank you to Sean the volunteer. He was playing “Run to the Hills” by Iron Maiden! That music cranked me up just as much as a caffeinated gel would have. After a short trot through Okanagan Falls and another sip of Coke (at this point I was alternating between the Coke and the Glycodurance) I was fighting gravity heading up the hill and toward the finish line.

Again, having experienced this road in nine previous races and having run it numerous times in training, I knew where to work and where to back off. My big plan was to run from the Blasted Church turnoff to the finish line as hard as I could. Of course, there was a bit of hilly running to get to that point. By this time in the event, the fatigue was really starting to set in and I realized Coke and F2C (at least not the amounts that I was taking in) were not going to be enough.

At the next aid station I asked Rio if she had the salt and caffeine pills from my race belt. Nope, was the unfortunate answer. However she did have salt and vinegar potato chips. As appealing as those are to me (a salt-monster) I didn’t want to risk the problems that may arise from having to chew and digest “real” food. I asked them if they could get the caffeine pills and salt tablets from Elise. The F2C that I did take from Rio with about 8 K to go was doing the job well enough for me to continue.

During this stretch of the road I realized that one of the things that made this part of the event so enjoyable was the type of suffering that I was experiencing. It was a simple sort of suffering. Unlike in previous years I wasn’t cramping, I wasn’t beaten down by the heat, I didn’t have any chafing issues anywhere, it was just that my legs were getting tired and my sugar levels were low. Once I got some caffeine, salt, and sugar back into me, I was pretty sure that my energy levels would pick up and my mood would improve. But until I got my next fix, I would just have to dig in and deal with the discomfort and I was happy to do it!

And then, sure enough about twelve minutes down the road, close to the aid station we called “Turtle Pond” there was my blue Subaru with Elise standing at the side of the road with my run belt full of goodies. I did my damnedest to be nice to Elise (my wife) as she had sacrificed a big chunk of her holiday time in the planning of the IronSoul and here she was again, at five o’clock on a Sunday afternoon on the side of a road, serving me. Running on fumes and hope at this point, I quietly thanked her for her help, and ingested two salt tablets, a caffeine pill, and a few ounces of Coke before hitting the road for the final push to the finish line at Skaha Beach.

I didn’t experience a rush of nirvana after taking in all of that stuff, but my energy levels did somewhat lift. I admitted to myself that it wasn’t going to be a magic pill or potion that would power me to the finish line, it was going to be grit and determination. Or maybe I should have tried a Red Bull?

With about 4 k left, I knew that it was time to bury myself fully. And that’s what really validated the IronSoul experience. There were no cheering fans, no finisher’s medals, no Kona slots or anything else on the line, but here I was on that same storied stretch of road, at the same time of day, and digging as deeply as I ever had in a “real” Ironman for no other reason than to see what my 54 year old body was capable of doing, damn near eighteen years to the day that I did my first one. In all of the pain of pushing myself, I also experienced a wave of gratitude, gratitude for the volunteers, gratitude for David Wilson making a stand and pushing me to do the full thing, and gratitude that I was able to run to my potential without any bloody cramping or stomach issues.

In all of this gratitude, my brain sort of shut off. After descending down the final hill I continued to run North and ran right past the turn-off for the finish line.

I finally realized my mistake about 400 metres later when my brain awoke. Rather than get upset at my error, I chuckled to myself, turned around, refocused on my form and my breathing, and ran along the sidewalk of Skaha Beach to the “finish line.” And, as it turned out, there really WAS a finish line, as one of the volunteers (Pat Landymore) cleverly made one out of some stuff that he found in his truck.

Finish Line Stuff:

Even though Steve King’s voice was absent from the finish line, it didn’t diminish my experience. After ____________ hours and ______________ minutes of swimming, biking, drinking, and running in the Okanagan, my IronSoul experience was complete. As always, after hitting the finish line, I had to keep moving for a few minutes to let my heart rate lower and to let my legs slowly return to normal. I walked around in a delirious state with Geo shepherding me before eventually taking a seat on a parking barrier as a finisher’s throne, joining my partner in pain, David Wilson. It was a very amusing experience, here was the entire race field and entire volunteer crew sitting and standing around the West end of Skaha Beach, recounting all of their experiences of the day.

Lessons Learned As Athlete:

Even though 2018 was not “officially” an Ironman year for me, I did do some longer stuff so I could comfortably finish the IronSoul. Under the guidance of Jonathan Caron, I did a lot of higher intensity swimming with a group, only three “tours” of the Ironman bike course, and only four runs over two hours, yet I finished strongly. The training had something to do with the result, but I also can’t overlook the fact that I took the first half of the bike very easy and that the weather conditions were about as perfect as one could hope for. I think the biggest thing that I benefited from by my time with Jonathan was in the water. I had one of my best swims ever.

As I mentioned, there was not a lot of suffering on the bike. My position was comfortable for the whole thing. The F2C Glycodurance only experiment on the bike showed me that I could do a whole Ironman distance bike without gels. It’s too bad they won’t be on the course when I do Whistler in 2019. I’ll have to go back to developing “Moose-Juice.” It will very likely be a concentrated bottle of F2C on my frame, with another one in my bike special needs bag.

Another thing I learned was that I don’t have to do all that many rides of over four hours. By pushing it hard in the middle of a three or four hour bike ride, I will be able to get an effective training result.

From a running perspective, I’ve now gone three consecutive long course races without experiencing debilitating cramping. I also haven’t cramped in any half-Ironman distance in about five years. Have I finally figured this problem out? Maybe it’s the salt tablets, the leg work that I’ve been doing in the gym, or maybe it’s that I’m not biking as hard. Maybe with that problem behind me, I can turn my attention to speeding up in an Ironman race and not merely NOT walking. I look forward to experimenting with some long runs off the bike in the year to come, to see if that strategy is effective.

Lesson Learned As Race Organizer:

Although it was disappointing to have the smoke from the fires disrupt our plans, I learned a lot from organizing the IronSoul. I also enjoyed the process. One of the highlights was working with Elise and Pat on the days right before the race. Their experience as project leaders in their professional lives have me fresh perspectives. We shared a lot of “behind the scenes” experiences that only the organizers can have. I enjoyed their wise consul and our discussions.

Future of IronSoul:

As of this writing (September 2018). I am about 2/3 sure that there will be an IronSoul next year. Of course putting on an event like this, even if it is billed as a self-supported long training day, does require a certain degree of planning, money, and volunteer support. Considering many of our volunteers had to drive great distances and sacrifice a few days of their lives to help out, I want to make sure that they had a good experience. In addition, earlier this month we found out that the Super-League Triathlon event will be held the same weekend (the last weekend in August).

 

 

 

 

IronSoul 2018 Monday August 20 Update

• What a difference a week makes. Right now we are not sure if the race is going to go ahead because of the bad air quality in the area. Over the weekend, two other triathlons in the Okanagan were cancelled. We will keep you updated on this unfortunate situation.
• Because of the uncertainty of the event, we are putting our IronSoul t-shirts order on hold. If the event does go ahead, we will collect the $ from you, place the order, and mail them to you.
• Finally, a minor note, the Channel Parkway is undergoing construction. This was where we were going to have part of the run. If the event goes ahead the run will be from the Big Peach to Ellis Street, left on Eckhart, right on Government, right on Dawson, left on South Main, then you are onto the regular route along East Side all the way to Okanagan Falls.
• I think that’s all the news for now. Feel free to e-mail me kknnheinze@yahoo.com

 

IronSoul Update – Tuesday August 14

Only 12 sleeps away from the IronSoul. Let’s all take a collective deep breath and a big exhale to banish the smoke from the air in Penticton! Here is your Tuesday update.

• Coca Cola – great for the run! You can bring your own and our volunteers can give it to you on the course. We’ll supply the ice to keep it cold.

• Ice! If it is a crazy hot day, we will get some for you to put in your running hat or wherever you choose to put it.

• We welcome my Fitspeek co-host Kevin Watt on board as Soul Provider number 5.

• As informal as the IronSoul is, I think it would be a good idea for a pre-event briefing the evening before the event. That way we can clear up any last minute questions you may have.

• T-Shirt update. The order will be placed in a few days. These will be the coolest shirts in all of triathlon. If you would like an extra for friends or family, let me know. BTW: I have ordered 2 shirts for Greg and Glenda from F2C so show appreciation fro their support of the event. They are going to provide us with Glycodurance and Electrodurance on the bike and run courses. That means you will still need to bring some stuff, just not as much!

• I’ll warn you again – THE CATTLE GUARD ON OLIVER RANCH ROAD AS YOU TURN ONTO HIGHWAY 97. STOP THERE AND WALK YOUR BIKE CAREFULLY.

• Here is the preliminary aid station plan for the bike:

  • Richter Pass pull out, about 5 K uphill from the Husky.

  • Roving aid stations on the 7 rollers and on the out and back.

  • Top of Yellow Lake climb.

• Here is the preliminary aid station plan for the run:

  • Big Peach at run start. (we will have people to take and store your bike as well)

  • Half way down the channel parkway path.

  • Skaha Lake Marina area (by the Tickleberry’s)

  • Roving aid station along East Side Road.

  • Turtle Rock (about 1 K North of Blasted Church turn-off)

  • Christie Park run turn-around in OK Falls.

• If there any changes to this, we will let you know.

That’s all for now. If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me at kknnheinze@yahoo.com.

IronSoul Update – Tuesday August 8

I hope your health is well as we are getting down to the final weeks of training for the inaugural IronSoul event! Here are some updates for you.

• If you haven’t sent me your biography information and a fun picture, I’d like to have it in the next couple of days. Thank you.

• Unfortunately our Soul Brother Number One (Brian Harapnuk) had a serious bike crash at Ironman Whistler and was injured. He had to pull out. We wish Brian a speedy recovery.

• We welcome Micheal Hay to IronSoul as our latest person to sign up. Glad to have you with us Michael.

• If you haven’t already, please let me know if you would like to buy an IronSoul T-Shirt. I have posted the design (both front and back) below. The cost will be about $25.00. You will have the coolest race shirt ever, seeing as now every other kid has some sort of Ironman T-Shirt.

• Our “Soul Providers” are in the heavy duty planning stages right now. Since our numbers are low, we are planning on having a person collect your bike from the beach, and shuttle it to our condo where we can store it safely for the rest of the event. This will provide you some piece of mind as well as speed up your T2.

• In the interests of fun and safety. We are offering a shorter options for the bike course and the run course if things are not going well for you or if things are getting crazy hot (like in Whistler last week). The details will be available soon. We don’t want to have anybody get in trouble out there.

That’s all for now. If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me at kknnheinze@yahoo.com.

T-shirts are being designed. Check these styles out!

Bike Course Recon: July 21

I decided to check out the bike course yesterday and also see if I could go the distance. First some safety notes for you to take note of.

• The cattle guard as you get off McClean Creek Road and onto Highway 97 is still there. You will have to dismount your bike and walk it across.
• Be careful as you roll through Oliver. It’s busy at this time of year. I avoided being “doored” by an old guy in a truck.
• Some sketchy places on the ascent for Richter Pass. The downhill was pretty good, even that last section before the seven rollers.
• Going up Yellow Lake is tough, and not just because of the gradient. The pavement is quite bad! Our shoulder has a lot of gravel/sand on it. So when you are doing that section you may be tempted to use the car lane but there was lots of traffic – not safe. Suck it up and plod along the crummy shoulder.

Some pictures and ideas for you

The flag is back at the Husky and you can see it and hear it for miles.

This should be your first aid stop., the visitor’s centre at Osoyoos. It is right next to the Husky.

They are open on Sundays and have male and female water fountains… and other amenities!

Sadly spotted Lake is NOT spotted anymore.

After the last of the rollers you get near Cawston. This is a good place for your second aid stop.

The people who own the stand were kind enough to let me refill my bottles at their outdoor sink. Water was ok.

This is the start of the out and back. When was the last time you did it? A lot of it has been re-paved but there are still some lumpy sections. I had to get out of my aero bars a few times through here.

This is the turn-around for the Ultra 520 DON’T turn here. Go to the end of the road almost where it meets the highway again. We hope to have a roving aid station vehicle cruising the out and back to help you through this section.

Here is our turn-around. Notice the Challenge sign on your left and the postal boxes to your left.

As I said, the climb up to Yellow Lake has some bad sections. We plan to have an aid station for you at the rest area at the top of the climb. After that I ran across some construction. It still may be happening on August 26. The flagger that I spoke to was not sure. Stop your Garmin here. I had to wait about 2 minutes.

That’s all for now.

Things are starting to take shape for the IronSoul. This is our list as of July 20.

Iron Soul Participant List

Name	City	Expressed Interest
Kevin Heinze	Mission	Dec.
Sonya Jacobson	Delta dbcfit@yahoo.ca	Feb.
Kendra Magnone	kendra.magnone@ymcaokanagan.ca	May
Martin Caron		June
Bryan Harapnuk	bharapnuk@gmail.com. Vancouver	July
DF Quigley	Slowtwitch	July
Tony Lonergan	tonylonergan626883@gmail.com	July
Sharon Lonergan	tonylonergan626883@gmail.com>	July
Rob Mott – Calgary	robmott@gmail.com	July
David Wilson	dwilson26@outlook.com 3605354230	July

Possible Volunteers

Sorelegs	Slowtwitch
F2C	Greg Cowan
Rio Glowasky	Elise Reeh
Pat Landymore	Geo Wade
Terry Harapnuk	Volunteer until 1/2 way of run
Jeff Symonds	Sean

Roving Aid Stations at IronSoul

As things are progressing with our little event, our wise & resourceful volunteers have come up with an idea that may make your day out in the Okanagan a bit easier.

• For the bike section of the course (which, of course you know by heart) we are planning to have roving aid stations patrolling the stretch along Richter Pass. If you get 2 bottles there, you should be fine for 90-120 minutes, long enough to get you to one of the fruit stands just before the out and back or to the Big Bear fruit stand prior to the climb up to Yellow Lake.
• For the run course, we are hoping to have aid stations a) about halfway down the Channel Parkway, b) halfway down the stretch from Skaha Beach to Christie Memorial Park in OK Falls.

More details later!

 

IronSoul 2018

Unsponsored, Unsupported, Unspoiled

What it is/What it isn’t

The IronSoul 2018 is an unsupported Iron Distance event held in the South Okanagan the last Sunday in August (August 26).

It is not a race. You won’t get a finisher’s medal, you won’t qualify for Kona, and you (probably) won’t hear Steve King announce your name along with the results of the last ten Ironmans you have done as you cross our “finish line.”

What you will get is an opportunity to test yourself on the original, legendary, Ironman Canada course. Do it once and brag for the rest of your life!!!

Why we are doing this?

The idea came because Ironman Canada moved to Whistler, Challenge Penticton folded, and most of us old bastards are genetically programmed to do an Iron Distance “something” the last weekend in August in the South Okanagan. We also want to see how we stack up to our former selves on the original course that we did for all those years.

What do I have to do as a participant?

We organized this event for friendship and fitness not profit or promotions. Getting 6 people on the “start-line” would be a success. Getting 25, the original number of Ironman Canada participants in 1983 would be amazing. Kind of like coming full-circle.

As a participant an unsupported event, you’ll need to have the fitness, food, and course knowledge to complete it on your own. Think of this as a long-training day with some like minded folks and you’ll be in the right head space for this event.

The course (subject to change)

Swim: from the buoy at the Big Peach to the SS Sicamous (twice).

Bike: Big Peach to East Side Road via Government Street. (more details later). Once on Lakeside Road, it follows the “Classic” route to Osoyoos via 97, Richter Pass, Cawston out and back, Yellow Lake, back to 97 into Penticton, stay on 97 and turn onto Lakeshore.

Run: Big Peach, Lakeshore onto Channel Parkway Path, through Skaha Park onto Lakeside, to Ok Falls, t/around at Christie Memorial Park in OK Falls.

FAQ (I’m sure this will grow over the next few months)

Will there be aid stations?

Don’t count on it. A few folks on Slowtwitch said they’d be willing to provide support for the run. That would be great, but again, don’t count on it.

As well, you are responsible for the logistics such as where your wetsuit is going after you are done the swim. And of course, there is the issue of your bike.

Do I have to do it all?

No, however, since the main idea here is to TEST YOURSELF against your former self on THE LEGENDARY course, it would be cool if you did but we don’t want any casualties out there.

How do I sign up?

You don’t really “sign anything” as this is NOT a race. But to let me know you are probably going to be there would be swell. Just respond e-mail me at kknnheinze@yahoo.com with the subject thread IronSoul