Kelowna Apple Tri

Thanks for the tips! I did look at the profile of the bike course on the website and I did one of my own to see it as well (their bike course map sucks!). It helps a lot to see how things will go.

I just think with all those corners and the couple of hills, there's not a lot of time to be aero, which means it will be a PITA to shift if I'm on my tri bike riding on the bullhorns most of the time.

If I can swing it I will do it, but my sister apparently has something planned for my bday on the 19th, so I hope I can make it!

I just did the PEach CLassic with crazy hills and a brutally hilly run course, so hopefully this course will be more tame!

I'm going to sign up tomorrow if I can figure it out by then!
Good luck with the training!!

Hey, I'll be running the sprint distance this year for my first triathlon ever! I'm absolutely pumped up about training and getting ready. I'm freaked out about the swim like every newbie. Good luck in the race!

I'm doing the sprint this year as well. I did the try a try last year and it was alot of fun. Hopefully the sprint goes as well for me. They also opened the sprint up to more people, it was orginally capped at 60. I don't know how many it is open to now.

First Tri eh Sunnyone?
That's awesome!! I'm sure you'll be absolutely fine!
I'm still trying to decide whether to do it, as my birthday is on the 19th and apparently my sister has something planned for me in Victoria on the 19th! So we'll see what I'm going to do!

Derek - how was Penticton? Where's the race report?? Hopefully we'll see you out in Kelowna.

sunnyone - good luck in your first tri, I'm sure you'll have a blast!

Ronin - after the Desert HIM, this should be a breeze for you!

VancityJ - Hey dude, the race report is up! You can look at it and laugh if you feel like it

The desert HIM was pretty tough alright. Went to hard on the bike and paid for it on the run (or walk really).

I signed up for Kelowna to support my wife, she is doing her first ever tri (the try a Tri). so we are hoping to have a fun weekend. Hopefully run into some of you guys there, and show her how friendly Tri is.

Anyone doing the international HIM in Vancouver, Sept 16th I think it is. It be only my second HIM, but I am thinking of signing up.

Sounds like there will be a few of us out in Kelowna, we should set up a meet when it gets closer.

The sprint in the Vancouver Half is a possibility for me but I'm doing the marathon out in Victoria beginning of October so I haven't decided yet.

Well I look forward to the race and I think meeting up would be a cool idea.

How is everyone's training going??

I got my bike fitted last week and there was so much wrong with how I was positioned, the guy who fitted it (John at Pacific Multisport did an AMAZING job!!!) was wondering how I could actually stay in the race with the way I was cycling.

So I've taken it out for two rides one on Sunday, just to see the difference and WOW is it massive. Then I took it out to Stanley park on Monday and ended up going about 54km, but I cant believe I ever cycled any other way. I can actually keep my cadence at 90 on flats and downhill, and not get major hip and back pain in aero position!

I'm trying to keep my running schedule nice and regular but I'm finding it tough with my 3 week long course ending on Friday! Once it's over though, it's overdrive time for the next 2 weeks! I did run an unofficial PB on a training run today for a 10km (39:07) so I'm pretty happy about that!

Anyone else have any training stories/accomplishments with regards to getting ready for Kelowna?

Actually getting my bike fit properly is something I really need to do.

Where is pacific Muti sport? Does anyone know of any places closer to Chilliwack that do it?

I'm not sure about anything closer to Chilliwack, so I'm sorry about that!
But Pacific Multisport is at E.28th @ Main st.
It's a small place, but the owner John Athanas is a really nice guy. If you want to try and get there for a fitting, you have to make an appointment, as depending on how "off" your bike is, it may take longer/shorter then normal.
The e-mail for the place is:
[email protected]

Other then that, try your local bike shop to see if they can do a road/tri bike fitting. Most stores do it, but only some do it well. If this is your first fitting and you havent been cycling (racing) for years, then it shouldnt matter too much where you get it done, just as long as you tell the fitter EXACTLY what you want to use the bike for.

Hope that helps!!!

Derek - How is Pacific Multisport in terms of a store (ie. clothing, goodies, etc.)? I've always been meaning to get down there but never have.

My training's been going pretty decent. I've been trying to bump up my run mileage since I'm doing a marathon in 10 weeks. Biking is starting to get good again since the weather/schedule/recovery were getting it down for a while. Swimming - well, I'm just trying to keep up my fitness in that department, I'm definitely not setting any swim records anytime soon!!

Definitely like having a race coming up again though - it makes training that much more fun when you have a goal to look towards!

Jonathan,

Pacific multisport is pretty good for it's size for sure. One awesome thing is that it carries GU gels/GU20 Sports drink!!! Also, has a pretty good selection of wetsuits (Zoot/Nineteen), Aerobars, clipless shoes, pedals, bike comps, tools, cranks, etc. They carry mainly Pearl Izumi products (tri shorts/runners/tri tops/socks etc.). Again, it's pretty small, but not bad if you already know what you're looking for!

Hope that helps!
Good luck with the Marathon/Apple Tri training!!!
Derek

Hello,
I'm not signed up yet but plan to! I did this race 2 years ago and they have since added the knox hill bit. It's really not that bad, however I found as my coach did that there are a lot of sharp turns. So practice decelerating and acelerating around sharp corners. I'm from Kelowna and due to traffic lights, constuction etc it's hard to actually practice on the real course other than doing a 40k route including the short hill.
I found it to be very supported, lots of people, scenic...

Wet suits may or may not be allowed.

My training is crazy due to lack of motivation and sometimes energy after I did my HIM in Oliver in June. I took a month going easy and am coming back slowly...
:-)

Good luck with all your training everyone!

Heather

Hello,
I'm not signed up yet but plan to! I did this race 2 years ago and they have since added the knox hill bit. It's really not that bad, however I found as my coach did that there are a lot of sharp turns. So practice decelerating and acelerating around sharp corners. I'm from Kelowna and due to traffic lights, constuction etc it's hard to actually practice on the real course other than doing a 40k route including the short hill.
I found it to be very supported, lots of people, scenic...

Wet suits may or may not be allowed.

My training is crazy due to lack of motivation and sometimes energy after I did my HIM in Oliver in June. I took a month going easy and am coming back slowly...
:-)

Good luck with all your training everyone!

Heather

Heather, thanks for the info/tips on the course. I'm thinking it sounds better suited to a road bike (vs. tri bike) because of those corners, etc. I'm pretty excited to get back into the Okanagan for a bit though.

How did your HIM go in Oliver? I heard it's a great course but was pretty hot this year.

I'm super excited for the race!!! I've really upped the cycling training and the running as well, and until the week before the Tri, I plan on continually training like a mofo!!!

Heather, I'm also interested in Oliver, as I am going to do primarily Half-Iron distance next summer, probably starting with Oliver (then New balance half, then maybe Desert Iron?). Did you enjoy the race?? I also heard it was quite hot!!

Oliver was great. Yes, it was hot. I consumed extra salt - my fav was the cliff shot block margarhita flavour with 3x the salt of normal cliff gell things. The swim was warm. One lady aparently only did one lap! The bike is scenic, rolling hills etc. It's a 2 loop course course. It has one yucky hill and some bumpy downhill road where many people lost their sponge out of their waterbottle thing.

I did really well for my first race. I am not a fast swimmer- I swam it in 23:28, Bike 90k in 3:27:27 (faster than I had done in my 2 practice rides of the course) and my run was slow since I walked a lot of the first lap 2:11:10 for a total of 6:21:54. I think everyone's times were slower than expected.

A funny story that came out of the race was the first 3 guys in the lead got lost on the run course. They dropped out saying that "it wasn't marked" . Most believe that they just were too hot and didn't drink or eat for the weather. THe guy who won had never done the course before and did just fine with the markings on the road (spray painted on pathway of run turnaround). THe guys that dropped out had done the course many times before and as try BC rules say it's up to the athlete to know the course!

All in all I just about completely cramped up afterwards, standing in the cool lake helped a lot

Heather

Ooo That sounds great! I am pretty sensitive to heat, so Kelowna will be a good test of whether I've adapted at all, and I have to make sure that I am ready to deal with Oliver next year, just in case! Saying the bike route is scenic doesnt make me feel any better, as they called the route in the Peach classic "scenic" which it was (but it was out to Naramata and that = death!!!)

And 23:28 for a 2km race is SUPER fast!!! That's an awesome bike spit too!!! As for the run, I can somewhat relate to a poor response to the heat, as I found that I had one out in my 2nd tri.

That's hillarious that the three lead guys dropped out due to getting lost. It seems like they were just looking for an excuse for their lack of observance or knowledge of the course.

This looks like an awesome race, just reading the race reports, and I am SUPER excited for the race!!! I'm doing my first half marathon in September, so we'll see how my increase in running distance is doing for me!!

I also can't wait for Kelowna!!! SHould be a GREAT time!!!
I hope everyone's training is going well!!
Derbear!

I said 23??? opps I meant 43minutes....LOL i'm not that fast!!