Ironman Canada Bike Course "Secrets"

A repost from last year. Lots of folks really enjoyed it so thought i'd put it back up to the top!

A friend asked me to send him a write up of my thoughts on the IMC bike course and as i was going about it I really started to get into it. Here's my $.02 on my favorite full course i've yet to do.

Also a reminder to come by Bike Barn and join us for the sherpa/taper rides. Leaving the shop at 8:30 every morning to give people time to swim before hand.

50% of the time there will be a north wind and 50% of the time you’ll get a south wind (HUGE valley walls to E and W so rarely can blow from those directions). When it’s the former (2009) just CTFO. No reason to push at all going south. When it’s the latter (2008....not really for me but for the AGrs it was) there may be a little something to be gained by staying steady on the gas as you head down to osoyoos knowing that you’ll get a nice tail kicker once you are over in the Similkameen Valley (after richter). Likewise the headwind you’ll get once over there in a north wind situation can be a bitch and you’ll bury your head trying to grind through it. Note the wind early on and make the decision on that. Richter can be a bit tougher with a north wind as it is exposed in that direction and you get a bit of a helper going up if it’s a south wind. Yellow lake can be tricky with a south wind and a deep dish front (808 in ‘08 for me) but you can REALLY carry your speed and haul ass you just gots to have your handling skillz about you. With a north wind you’ll be pedaling down the whole thing (‘09)...and with the absence of the high speeds skills aren’t as necessary. (I was white knuckling it in ‘08 but for some reason I guess I’m a good descender....put time on everyone in that section....i do take a lot of risks and was by myself so had the liberty to do so).

Leaving town it’s chill, don’t get caught up in whatever mess is going on about you and stick to your SRM. You go along the lake and then about 15-20min in or so you climb up mac clean creek road. It’s a bitch of a little tick up and I’ve stayed seated on the lower part of it and then do a VERY relaxed standing climb towards the top. I believe I’ve gone with 11-27 or 11-25 both years. The extra is always nice for spin-spin-spinning. Absolutely LIMIT! your time above FTP to as minimum as possible. You are now on top of the east “bench” and will cruise along up here for a little bit (flatish to slightly downhill) then a curvy descent down into OK Falls. Watch your speed on some of the turns but you should be able to carry it. Back down in the valley it’s largely flat as you pass vaseux lake and then into olive. You start to come out of the base of the valley here and start to meander on the side so it gets very low rolling here. Still can carry a lot of speed and again, CHILL OUT! As you approach Osoyoos there is a long false flat building in to the base of Richter. Then you’ll make a hard right turn off of 97 and onto hwy 3 and begin the richter climb. About 20-25min long (not including the false flat approach) stay upright and spin spin spin. There’s one or two false summits that might trick you into thinking “all done!” but keep patient and keep on pressing. The pass is very evident. You plummet off the back side of it and roll high speed down into the similkameen. The cathedrals will be on the opposite side of the valley as the road hugs the wall, makes for a pretty descent.

Once down you then have the 7 bitches. PUNCHY little hills. Spin up, stand-power over, coast down. That’s been my mantra for them.

Back into the flat of the valley it can be a long grind to Keremeos if north wind or smooth sailing with a south. Then....the out and back. This is where you if you are missing cals or focus it will bit you in the ass. It’s some short but steepish rollers on this section. At the apex of the turn around is special needs. Seriously, if you start to lag here, get some caffeine and cals in and snap yourself back together. It can cost you out here. In and out then back to Keremeos. STAY FOCUSED!

The climb to Yellow Lake starts out very unassumingly. Very false flatish and ever so gently increases it’s grade. There’s going to be a HUGE crowd where Green Mountain Road intersects and this will give the impression that either there is an aid station or you are close to the summit. Ignore it, neither is true. It gets pretty quiet after this section and the road continues to pitch up but never gets all that steep. You’ll want to spin out sitting up though. Finally you’ll hear the aid station and summit crowd before you get to the big right hand turn. The summit is pretty flat so after you pass the crowd you’ll be rolling along the lake before getting to the other side of the pass and then starting the drop down. See comments on descent in the wind section up top. The descent eventually flattens out and again will depend on the wind direction as to how you roll the last miles into town. If it’s a south wind the bike course is essentially 100 miles, if a north wind, you’re in for 112. With the north wind you’ll have to pedal a good bit on yellow lake and really have to push the last section on 97 and all the way back thru town. If a south wind you can really cruise on the 97 section and in town and shake the legs out for T2.

Okay, hope that’s helpful!

Testimonials

Seeing as I'm still working on getting the new website up and running I figured I'd get some testimonials from the spring posted here.

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Mark knew when to push me, when to back things off and approached the whole process with an infinitely positive attitude. While I might have been able to do my first ironman without his coaching, I would not have done it as well and I certainly wouldn't have felt as confident at the starting line nor as good at the finish line. Mark managed my training schedule around the rigors of graduate school while I was 1200 miles away in Cincinnati just as effectively as when I was 12 blocks away in Boulder. More important than telling me what workouts to do, he taught me how to train and how to think about my training.

-Brendan Dillon

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Mark Van Akkeren is an awesome coach! I am very pleased with my results and the way Mark communicates with me frequently to tailor my schedule to fit my busy life. After a 15 year layoff from consistent training, in only a few short months Mark helped me earn some podium finishes and guided me to an age group win in my first long course race. In 2010, Mark coached me to several other age group wins and podium finishes including the 2010 Boulder 70.3, where I took nearly 14 minutes off my previous year’s time. Let’s just say I had several MAJOR life stressors and limited training time during the past two seasons, and Mark worked with me to create training schedules that would not overburden me during the stressful times while maximizing my fitness with the perfect balance of high-intensity workouts, endurance workouts, and recovery. Like most age group athletes, I have limited training time, but I also have complete confidence that every workout Mark prescribes will put me one step closer to achieving my lofty triathlon goals. Thanks Coach! You ROCK!

Gail Matherly

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When I first approached Mark about a training plan, I had already built up a somewhat impressive resume as an age group triathlete: several ITU Age Group World Championship top 10 finishes, two Ironman World Championship appearances and a couple of overall and age group wins at 70.3 events.

He asked me what I wanted from him and I basically said that I thought I was under-performing at the IM distance. So the goal was to not only re-qualify for Kona, but to cross the finish line there light years ahead of my past performances.

Mark analyzed my past training plans, my strengths, my weakness and formulated a plan to help me achieve my short-term goals listed above as a part of a longer term blueprint for reaching the Kona podium within the next couple of years.

My training plan was very specific and to the point and if I ever had any questions about the execution of a workout or a race, Mark was quick to provide an excellent response. In addition to this, Mark was also keeping tabs on how I was feeling throughout the season...feeling stong? Full steam ahead. Feeling a little tired and sluggish? Let's back off the volume and intensity for a few days. Traveling? The schedule was modified for the week depending on where I was headed and what equipment I would have at my disposal.

It was this responsiveness to me as an athlete and as a person with real-life responsibilities and commitments that made the training plan easy to execute.

Not only did I qualify for Kona, but I set personal best times all year long including a breakthrough at Kona: I negative split both the bike and the run, finished in the top 15 in my age group, top 100 overall and 36 minutes faster than my last performance on the Big Island. Thanks Coach!

Steve Johnson

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I benefited from two years of Mark Van Akkeren's coaching. Before going to Mark I spent a great deal of time, money, and energy coaching myself with moderate results to show for it. I was skeptical towards the idea of having someone else tell me how to train my body, but Mark is a great listener and allows for athlete input on a weekly, even daily basis. It was only after working with Mark that I began to see consistent improvement and major gains in my training and racing.

Dan McIntosh

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I started working with Mark in 2009 and I have not looked back since. The 2010 tri season was my most successful to date. I am a better athlete now than I have ever been. I really like the emphasis on sufficient recovery and quality over quantity. On average I now spend fewer hours per week training than what I did in the past. That said, what I appreciate the most is the sense of partnership. I feel that Mark is genuinely interested in me reaching my goals. Mark is just not writing my schedule but I also receive actual coaching. He monitors my progress and makes adjustments to the schedule as necessary. The coaching part might seem like a silly comment but I know athletes that receive semi-canned schedules and very little feedback. That is not what I receive from Mark.

Jon Moen

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During my first full season competing in triathlons I decided that working with a coach would be a great way for me to optimize my training time and I wanted to be a competitive half-iron distance triathlete. Throughout the spring and summer I worked an internship, took summer school classes and trained for triathlon. Needless to say, I thought Mark’s task was nothing short of impossible. Mark was able to develop a plan that integrated quality workouts that were doable with my hectic schedule. In addition, Mark was ALWAYS available and quick to respond when I had a conflict or was feeling tired/ run down during workouts. I cannot describe how valuable and helpful it was to have a coach who was responsive, attentive and truly invested in me as a person, not just a swim/bike/run machine. There are very few coaches that are as devoted to their athlete’s as Mark. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have had such a leg-up on my triathlon career during my first season with Mark.

Leanne Miller