Yeah but did he finish???

God. I'm the worst! The training got intense, race season got into full swing, the blog fell to the wayside. To sum up I had a great triathlon season in 2013. I set a pb in each race I took on (B-town Olympic and Port Hood sprint 1 week out from IMMT) and had an amazing trip to Quebec with the family and good size chunk of my Barbarian family. Ironman was an amazing experience all around. Here's the race report I wrote for Bighead's blog:

http://cbtriathlon.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/im-tremblant-report-2-mike-morrison/

This season approaches. I am currently signed up for 2 Half Iron distance races (Challenge St. Andrews and Ironman 70.3 Calgary) and I will do as many of the 'local' races as possible.

Guysborough County Triathlon

Beauty day for perhaps my favorite triathlon in the province. 2:42:23 for a 10 minute improvement over Ingonish a few weeks ago. Hopefully have some pics to put up soon.

Triathlon Season Begins!

As it has for the past 2 years, my 2013 tri season started in Ingonish. This is a great race in one of the most beautiful settings in the province. The Ingonish tri is slightly longer that the other races in the province (due to the nature of the the bike course) and is the most challenging one I've done. The bike and run course are quite challenging with some gnarly hills on each. With Ironman training in full swing I've made the move to Olympic distance races this season; Ingonish being only my second. I was quite happy with my time of 2:52:05 which was a significant improvement over my time in Bridgetown last year. My swim and bike were but great. The run got a bit tough with the heat. I ended up walking the hills on the second loop of the run course. I wasn't too happy about the run but all in all I was happy with the race.

 Coming out of Freshwater Lake

 Heading out for the hot hilly run.

Jody completed the Try a Tri this year. She had a great race and her time of 58 minutes and change was very impressive. Super proud of her!

Jody heading into T2

My second race of the season was a big one. I joined my sister and brother in law to compete in the team event at Epic Dartmouth. Cara did the 3.8km swim, Richard did the first 90km of the bike leg and I did the second 90km and the 21.1km run. I basically completed a half Ironman distance without the swim. This was a good test and came at a good time out from IMMT. I was happy with my bike time, averaging 28.5 km/hr for the 90km. The last 20 km were pretty tough, physically and mentally as my energy level really dropped and I was having a hard time keeping a decent pace. I had a goal in mind for the bike and the run. I met and exceeded my bike goal ( thought I'd average more like 25km/hr) but I paid for it on the run. I had a tough go right from the start. My legs were beat and I was having a hard time staying motivated. I did a little bit of walking early on but was still keeping a decent pace. At some point I started to feel the beginnings of leg cramps. First my calves and quads and then the dreaded hamstring cramps that are just incapacitating. By km 12 they were getting pretty bad, to the point that I was having to stop and massage and stretch them out just to keep going. Not a nice feeling and hell on the pace. I won't soon forget the feeling of leaning against the fence that made up the end of the run course, rubbing the back of my legs to make them work with a big crowd and the announcer saying my name as I was finishing. 200 metres to the finish and I was standing still. I finished with a smile on my face but I'd really like to sort out this cramping issue. Is it nutritional? More training required? More salt? Gotta work on it. 

Gettin' Cranky Wit It

Been trying to do most of my own bike maintenance. This was probably the biggest job I've taken on so far. I just replaced the original Race Face crank with a Shimano 105 Compact. I have the tools to build a house or dismantle a car but had to borrow a few things and do a pile of digging just to find the right tools for this job. Bikes are not standard! In fact, I needed different tools to remove one crank than I did to install the other. It'll be all worth it though when I'm spinning up those hills that once tortured me! Had it it out for a first run today, almost 70km (my longest ride to date) with a few good climbs. Definitely an improvement over the old set up. Still have to do some work on my legs though; what kind of tools would I need to swap those?

Old crank (my nickname) partially, and incorrectly, dismantled.

Lots of research and a few borrowed tools later and the old crank is history

Shiny new 105 ready to rock.

Trails and Beavers

30 easy minutes on the IM scedule turned into a quick little trail ride. Fun stuff. New beaver dam on the trail since last year. The beaver was not feeling particularly social.

Doctor's NS Youth Run/ Fiddler's Fun Run

The family had a running kind of weekend. On Saturday the girls blazed the youth run. They both had a great time. What a long way they've come in just a few years. Becca decided to take Sunday off but Jody, Anna and I all took part in the Fiddler's Fun Run. Jody and Anna did the 5k and I did the 10. It was the first time Anna did a 5k race on her own and she loved every second. She was the youngest runner of the day and completed the slightly long 5k course in 40 minutes. What a champ! Jody picked up a pb for the distance. I had a great run on very tired legs. Saturday was an hour in the pool followed by 2hrs on the bike and a fast 20 minute run. I wasn't sure what I'd be able to do on Sunday but I went out fairly strong and thought I could keep it up for the 10k. I ended up with a pb for 10k and finally broke the 50 minute mark. My finish time was 50:27 for 10.25 k but my 10k time was just under 50 minutes. I will take it.

Monday is my off day in this Ironman schedule. I love Monday. Tuesday was a hard track workout and then a great, solid 1:20 ish workout in the pool. Today I rode from Howie Centre to Bras Dor in a nasty headwind. The legs are done for the day. Run/swim day tomorrow!

The crew! 

Cabot Trail Relay Race 2013

Week 1 of Ironman training ended with leg 14 of the 26th running of the Cabot Trail Relay Race. This is only my second year participating in the race. I can say I never want to miss it. Amazing atmosphere and a chance to run in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Leg 14 is a 19.8 km rolling leg along the West Coast of the island leaving from St. Joseph Du Moin before heading inland along the Margaree River to finish in Margaree Forks. Start time 3:37 am. This year runners were treated to headwind and pounding rain for much of the run. Still a beautiful leg and a really enjoyable run on very little sleep. I was a bit worried going in because I've been nursing an injured back and as a result did not get in my long runs as I should. I'm happy with my time of 1:47 and change and pace of 5:28/km all things considered.

This year I ran for Team Totally 80's; an enthusiastic and nutty group of runners. I had to apologize for being the least fun person in the group (by a mile) but I'll admit that it was a blast.

Team Totally 80's. I swear I'm on the team. I'm not just photo-bombing!