First trip to the OK...

I have this semi-excited feeling right now as I am about to make the first trip to the Okanagan for training this year... I'm heading to Oliver tonight to volunteer at the race. Of course, I do plan to get a nice long ride in on "the course" as we Westcoast Canadian Ironfolk call it ("the course", referring to the Ironman bike course).

This is also my first chance to really try out my "system" for races. I recall last year I bought a front water bottle (to fit in my tri-bars) and I cut the straw too short. Of course, I never realized this UNTIL the race itself, when I struggled to reach over enough to drink. That is not a good thing... Lesson learned! Of course, I know the rule of "never do something in a race you haven't done in training", but sometimes you need a not-so-subtle reminder!

Biking the course will also bring back some of the familiarity. It is always advisable to simulate the race as much as you can in training, so that you know how to approach each and every section of the race. We are so lucky to live close enough to practice this regularily. I've biked the course once aside from the Ironman in 2002, and that was about a month and a half before. Even that one time was helpful, as it allayed my fears about the course. Now, I'm going to be biking it for tactical purposes. I am going to figure out which approach to take at each section, based on my energy reserves. My goal is to stay in a base mode as much as possible, attack the rollers between Richter's Pass and Keremeos, and have something left to spin up the hill to Yellow Lake.

I'm going to go with 3 power bars and 5 clif shots, with three water bottles, one with e-load, and the other two with water. Part of training is also training yourself to eat on the bike. This will work out to a 120km ride (Oliver to Osoyoos to Keremeos and back to Oliver). I'm also going to grab some "Sharkies" (healthier gummy bears) as snacks to have in my mouth when it's dry.

In order to get the ride in before I need to be at package pickup, I'm going to get started around 6am. Since I need to be at package pickup before noon, I am trying to give myself a bit of a cushion to work within.

Should be fun. Last time I practiced on this course, I drove up to Penticton the night before, slept in my car, woke up in the morning, drove to Tim Hortons, ate 2 donuts and drank a cup of coffee, set up my bike, and then started riding, with a set of directions in my pocket and a prayer....

This time I at least have a bed to sleep in... Seems a little TOO convenient for me. Maybe I'll just have one donut this time for old times sake.