OMG, OMG, OMG

Saturday, August 25, 20102

It seems I am a bit cranky today or so it is claimed. I guess, I might have to own up to that. With only one sleep to go, my mind is a whirlwind of emotions. Happy, sad, scared, confident, miserable, not miserable and if you can believe Nonie, grumpy.  I am so looking forward to the end of this and at the same time afraid to start. I think that allows me some leeway to be a little grumpy.





The transition area was opened today and I had to transport my bike down to the bike lot, to be stored and hopefully ready for me tomorrow.  I also had to pack two bags that would contain a lot of my worldly triathlete crap that will be needed for tomorrow. I tackled the "swim to bike" bag first. Helmet, beanie, gloves, shorts, jersey, shoes, socks, sunscreen, race number, race belt and the secret to all successful triathletes, several mega-doses of ibuprofen.  I dumped the bag and refilled it several times to make sure I had not forgotten anything. No WalMarts in transition if I forget anything. The "run to bike" bag went a little smoother.





Tonight, I have three more bags to fill. The "morning bag", to be used for my morning warm clothes along with my after race warm clothes. The "bike special needs" and "run special needs" that will be available to me at the midway point of the bike and run courses. These bags will contain my personal nutrition and hydrants. (Tri speak for  food and Gatorade) Along with the three bags I will also need to bring a wetsuit, goggles and most importantly my swim suit. Nudity is frowned upon at Ironman Canada. I will be glad when my work outs won't require three changes of clothes.

My expectations for a good nights sleep are low. I suspect, I will have to be happy with short bursts of napping interspersed with long bursts of freaking out. But staying awake tomorrow, will not be a problem.  Tomorrows weather forecast is for a low of 12 C and a high of 31C. Hopefully, just a light wind. 

 

What The Hell Was I Thinking

Friday August 24th, 3:00 PM

Only two sleeps to go before Ironman. My confidence levels fluctuate almost by the minute. From low to really low. I try to keep my mind occupied with good thoughts but bad thoughts have a way of creeping in, taking hold and are tenacious once they have their grip. I am afraid that I will run out of good thoughts before race day. What am I saying, I ran out of good thoughts days ago and have just been recycling them.

Went for a short swim this morning followed by a short run. Just to keep the joints from seizing up. Felt sluggish and needed a whole pile of recycled good thoughts just to move on. Thank goodness for chocolate milk. Taken directly after any workout and it seems to enhance and strengthen the endorphin rush. I am drinking a lot of chocolate milk these days. I will miss it when my activity levels fall off after Ironman and I won't have an excuse to drink a couple of litres (that's two quarts to you Americans)  a day.


Tonight is the athlete welcome dinner and mandatory race meeting. A chance for all the triathletes to meet and swap stories.  I am always intimidated at these events for despite the fact that I have completed two triathlons, I still do not consider myself an triathlete. Listening to their stories can fill you with fear and trepidation as they never talk about the good races, just the bad ones. But in every story, there is a opportunity to gain a little knowledge and avoid similar mistakes.  In some cases, that knowledge comes to late as the mistakes have already been made.

Sad news today. This will be the last Ironman Canada race to held in Penticton. I am sad to hear it but glad that I have the chance to be part of it. A race will continue to happen in Penticton but under a new name and new organizers. Ironman has been part of Penticton for 30 years so it will not be an easy transition. The new organizers come with a good pedigree and are known for putting on athlete centric races, something that may have been missing from Penticton over the last few years. Next years race will be interesting.

Dare To Ride The Richter

The Richter or as it is more formally known, "The Ironman Canada Bike Route. A ride that would challenge even the Tour de France riders although they would not have to get off the their bikes and run a marathon after the ride, the wimps. 180 kilometres (100 miles for you Americans), two passes with climbs of over 1400 feet. (370 metres for everyone else) The winds can be gentle and kind or vicious and unyielding. The route travels through the only desert that exists in Canada so the heat can be unmerciful.

Three riders would dare to challenge the Richter  this day. Two young and foolish and one older,  well past his prime and who should know better. The temperatures hovered in the low 20s but were expected to rise to the low 30s as the day progressed. Today they would test the months of training and discover if they had it in them to ride the Richter.





It takes more than stamina to finish a Richter ride. On the bike for 7+ hours with your body losing up to 1.4 litres of sweat every hour, fluids and nutrition play an important role in a successful finish. Sarah and Kevin spent the night before mixing their potions and elixirs that would power them over the Richter.

80 kilometres (50 miles for you Americans) into the ride finds you at a lookout halfway up the Richer Pass. You can see how the orchards and vineyards give way to the desert when irrigation is missing.

 

90 kilometres (Americans, divide total kilometres by 1.8 for mileage) into the ride, Sarah meets the challenge of the Richter Pass with a smile on her face or perhaps that's was a grimace.  

 

The Richter can be a lonely ride. Thanks to Nonie, who supported us all along the way. Especially from the grumpy old guy who suffered two flats in the first 40 Kilometres.
                                                                              

Kevin at Yellow Lake, 150 kilometres into the ride and 34 C. Now, that smile is definitely a grimace.  Saddle sore doesn't begin to describe what the Richter has wreaked on our behinds.

Thankfully, we were met by Nonie who took our drink orders to be ready upon our arrival in Penticton.

Yes, Yellow Lake is really yellow.

Ride over but not done yet, Sarah goaded the old guy, who should know better into a 30 minute run to see if we had something left in the tank for the marathon we would need to run on Iron Day. Only then did she let me sit down with a cold glass of my favorite recovery drink,  chocolate milk.

Kevin opted for the kinder and gentler post race nap. A wise choice.

Grandparentental Obligations Fulfilled

Trip Advisor has named Penticton as having the #2 best beaches in Canada. There are over 4 kilometres of sandy beaches located on Okangan and Skaha Lakes. They have nice clean sandy botttoms with few rocks and weeds. The water is clear enough to see fish swimming near the bottom. With the water temperature hovering  around 22 C and ambient temperatures in the thirties, we gave them a good work out this week.

The month of June was the wettest month on record for Penticton and July did not start out to great. Two days before our grandchildren arrived, the sun came out and stayed around for the entire time they were here. 

With our family spread out across Canada, it is not easy to get together so it is nice when we can capture everyone for a family portrait.  Munson Mountain was the site of our first portrait taken  five years previously. We recreated the picture to mark the occasion. We will do it again in five years. Who knows how much bigger the family will get.

The week ended with a round of golf that included a great view of Penticton and a five year old caddy and golf cart chauffeur. It took Grampa a while to explain the difference between a bogie and a booger. Let it be known to all, that I shot a double booger on the 8th hole. 

Buy Me Some Peanuts and Crackerjacks

Day 3 started much like Day 2, hot, humid and with an air conditioned ride on the train. Doctor J had prepared a wonderful and traditional Chinese breakfast for us, so our day started with a fully tummy. Our destination was Busch Stadium, home to the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals and the third and last game of a weekend triple header with the Cleveland Indians.

The train was awash with Cardinal fans, most wearing red Cardinal jerseys and many with red war paint.  It seemed like the entire train got off at Busch Stadium. They say when the Cards play, the city stands still. Being as it was the third game of the weekend, the city may have been fidgeting a little bit.



$9.00 bucks got us seats in the highest bleachers right at the end of the first base line. Oxygen was listed on the concession menus. We avoided sunburn, thanks to shade for the first three or four innings with some opportunistic clouds moving in for the final innings.










With beer starting at $8:50, the budget did not allow for more than one. Hot dogs prices kept us from making pigs (teehee) of our selves but a beer and a hotdog in a major league stadium is now off the bucket list.










Not sure Doctor J completely understood the game of baseball. Nonie spent much of the first few innings explaining the nuances of the game but alas Nonie's understanding of baseball is a little suspect so some of her explanations did not quite reflect the reality of the game.  I kept quiet, not wanting to completely confuse Doctor J.  I think St. Louis has gained a new fan all be it one with a sketchy understanding of the game. She plans to take her husband, Doctor J to a game when he comes in July so I see another fan in the making.   I would love to hear her explain the rules to him.










This was our last full day in St. Louis and we left early the next afternoon. First to Denver again, then on to Spokane.  Late  again, arriving close to midnight, we over nighted in Spokane and drove home to Penticton the next day. More familiar with the poor Washington highway signage, we arrived home in just over four hours. 

I nice ending to another wonderful adventure.

You Can Never Escape China

Day 2 started hot and humid with a ride on the nice, clean and air conditioned light, rapid rail, transit system of St. Louis. First stop, the St. Louis Gateway Arch.  The Arch was built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States. St. Louis began as the capital for French Upper Louisiana, taken over by the Spanish then the British, once again by French and finally purchased by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Not sure what they paid for it, but we can definitely state that is was worth every penny.

 St. Louis was home to Lewis and Clark and was the jumping of point for their expedition to the West coast. They were the first of many explorers and settlers heading West from St. Louis.

The Gateway Arch stands 630 feet high and is located on the banks of the Mississippi river. It is a impressive structure. For you structural engineers it is weighted catenary arch.

ZZZZZZZ.
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You can ride a tram to to a viewing room at the top.  We chose to enjoy it from the safety of the ground. I swear I saw it fluttering in the breeze.

Just a few steps away from the Arch were moored the Huck Finn and the Becky Thatcher, two fake paddle wheelers that carried paying ( first fees since arriving in St.Louie)  passengers up and down the "The Mighty Mississip". Truthfully, not the most scenic tour we have taken as the banks of the Mississippi are mostly littered with old scruffy looking industrial buildings. But it was a trip that had to be made as it was on the bucket list. Although it was planned to occur during a future trip to New Orleans.

This is a power plant constructed in 1903 for the Worlds Fair. It is still operating today. You can see the Arch shrouded in clouds, just to the left of the plant.

From there we  jumped on the train for a quick trip into Illinois then back to Doctor J's apartment for a nap. We were headed to the St. Louis Botanical Gardens in the evening for a Chinese lantern festival. It just seemed like the  right thing to do to have Doctor J travel over 7,000 kilometres to a strange new country so she could attend a Chinese lantern festival.  Sadly, it came with cost but it was well worth it. The site was littered with dozens of Chinese artisans selling their wares. Felt just like home except way over priced.

Meet Me In St. Louie, Louie, Meet Me At The Fair

The journey to St. Louis began with a 5 1/2 hour drive to Spokane. An hour longer than anticipated as we suffered a "I don't need no stinking map" incident. I blame the state of Washington for their poor highway signage rather than my lack of directional abilities. But it was not a problem, as we had allowed plenty of time due to previous incidents of poor signage. We flew Frontier Airlines for the first time. A typical Greyhound of the air, that charges for everything. The only thing we didn't pay extra for was our seats, seat belts and washroom. I did see a coin receptacle on the toilet paper dispenser but luckily I only needed a number 1. Forewarned, we had packed a lunch and to be fair to Frontier, they did not gouge you too badly for those in flight extras. However they did suffer from an ability to depart or arrive on time.

Arriving in St. Louis, 90 minutes late, we were greeted by the smiling face of Doctor J. The same smile she and her husband Doctor J greeted us with on our most recent arrival to the airport in Harbin. Luck was with us as we made the last train into the city. St. Louis has a wonderful light rail transit system that got us every where we wanted to go including Illinois, just across the Mississippi. Another place, not on our travel bucket list but if we are ever challenged we can honestly say we have seen Illinois. Actually looks a lot like Missouri.  

The next day saw us spend the whole day in Forest Park, home to the 1903 World’s Fair and Exposition and the setting for the 1951 musical "Meet Me at the Fair". The park is also home to the St. Louis Zoo, History Museum, Art Gallery and Science Centre and it is all FREE! Yes, free. No catches, no sales pitches, no coupons required.  Now I am a believer that there is NO free lunch and that everything comes with a cost, usually in quality.  Much to our surprise everything was first class. Not sure how they pull it off but kudos to the City of St. Louis.


We ended the day in the park with a lovely picnic dinner prepared by Doctor J. For dessert we attended a presentation of Shakespeare’s Othello at a beautiful outdoor amphitheatre also located in Forest Park. The icing on the cake was that the presentation was FREE and one of the best presentations of Shakespeare I have seen. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, Doctor J arranged for us to be picked up and driven back to her apartment. While it wasn’t necessary as she only lived about six blocks from the park, it was appreciated as my feet were still suffering after affects of the Oliver Half Ironman.


It was a beautiful ending to our first wonderful and economical day in St. Louis.