Vancity Tri Guy

Living the dream in Antibes

I’m here in Antibes and absolutely loving it. I booked my accommodation in what I thought was a hostel but turned out to be a crew house. It’s basically a hostel with the one exception that most everyone who is here is looking for work on a yacht. It’s been a huge eye opener to the industry and were it not for all the good things that I have back home I would definitely consider staying!

Basically, with the super yacht industry in peak swing from May to October in southern France, flocks of people come to the area to attempt to make the crew on ships and sail all over the world. It’s a bit if a networking game where most talk to agencies who have connections with privately owned and chartered boats as well as walking along the docks looking for day work. Day work usually consists of maintenance on the boat for one to many days and if you play your cards right you might just be able to work your way into a crew position if one opens up. It’s kind of one of those hurry up and wait situations and with a little luck you might be at the right place at the right time. Speaking with some of the more experienced people with several years under their belts apparently you have to work for a number of boats before you find a good one. Despite all this, it sounds completely awesome! Sailing around the world on a yacht. Over the winter, most boats head to the Caribbean. One guy had a story where he was sailing to France on a boat a few months ago and they reached a section of water in the middle of the Atlantic ocean that was completely flat where everybody jumped off and went for a swim. The water was so deep that the anchor was just hanging down in the depths.

The place that I’m staying in is owned by a couple who basically made their living as crew on ships for many years. They actually have a second place which is a similar layout as well. This one is 4 stories with a roof top patio with a cool little view of the water. Each room sleeps three with a shared bathroom in a quasi dorm style layout. Last night the owners had everyone from both houses over to their place for a BBQ which was a lot of fun! Hearing people’s stories of the places they have sailed and those who just arrived and the process of looking for work and attaining their certification. If you land it well, it can be an amazing career. Seeing some of the boats in harbor, it really seems amazing. It’s pretty common to see them with helicopters on the back as well as smaller speed boats for ripping around. The French Riviera sure lives up to the reputation as a place where to wealthy come to play.

As for Antibes itself…so far it’s my favorite by far! Each morning there is a little market where you can buy fruit and local specialties like wine, cured meats and cheeses and an amazing assortment of spices. By night, the restaurants take over the area and fill it with people and tables. Yesterday, I found a great little wine shop where I chatted with the owner for almost an hour about the different types of wine and how the region influences the flavor and characteristics. One of the things that Antibes is famous for are the gardens. I’ve come across a number of places that are completely covered in plants and flowers. That and aloe vera plants grow as tall as bushes! Royal beach is pretty amazing as well. Unlike the beaches of Nice, they actually have sand!

Just two more days and then I head to the airport for the 18 hour journey back to the 604. It’s been a great trip and is definitely ending on a good note here in Antibes.

Tags: France, Reflection, Relaxation, Travel

Oliver Half Ironman 2010

Preamble:

The Oliver half ironman represents my first attempt at this distance.  Going into the race I was confident I would finish it barring any major setback but I had no idea as to what time to expect. Suprisingly I was a lot less nervous going in than I though I’d be. I really tried to focus on what I had done up to this point and felt the long rides with the Speed Theory crew and Sunday runs set me up well for the race. I was staying up just outside of Oliver with a bunch of friends, one of which dared me to do my first tri back in 2008. They’re such a great group and I’ve had a blast. My rib hurt from laughing so hard all weekend!

Pre Race:

The alarm went off at 4:30am. I had been up since around 4 but tried to sneak in a few extra minutes. When my alarm went off I was quick to rise and begin the nutrition program which I’ll get to later. My gear was all layed out in three groups so all I had to do was throw them in a duffle bag and I was good to go! We hit the road by 5:30 and began the 40 minute drive into Oliver. Once there we packed the car and headed to body marking to avoid what was soon a monumental line of athletes waiting to be marked up. With the transition set up and in good order I put on my wetsuit and made my way to the water with the rest of the crew. It was comforting having people that I knew around as we were all doing this distance for the first time. We hit the lake for a little warm up swim before heading to the start line.

Swim (35:24 – 1:47/100m):

5…4…3…2…1. The water errupts in a torrent of flailing feet and arms as these mass starts always do. The first 200m were fast before settling into my pace.  My main goal was to have a comfortable swim and utilize the draft to save energy for the bike and run.  Unfortunately, I was a little too focused on form and efficiency that I didn’t sight nearly as much as I should have and as a result likely swam an extra couple hundred meters.  Coming out of the water, I was greeted with my first exposure to wetsuit strippers which really made it easy to get out of my frog suit!  Next came the looooooong run to T1.

T1 (5:53):

After exiting the water and getting used to being vertical once again, the run/shuffle to transition began.  The organizers did a great job of making sure the route was well swept which I was grateful for as bare feet and rocks just don’t go well together.  When I arrived at my bike I plopped on my helmet and began to wrestle with getting my socks over my wet feet.  Locked and loaded I was off.

Bike (2:43:16 – 34.2km/h)

Coming out onto the bike I felt pretty good but took Coach Calvin’s advice to settle in and not go out too hard at the beginning.  I wanted to get on my nutrition early and began taking small but frequent sips of my Infinit in the first few kilometers.  For the bike I mixed one bottle of regular strength Infinit which I had up on my aero bars as well as a second bottle of double concentrate Infinit in the frame.  Once the first bottle was done, I picked up water on course and began taking one sip of concentrated mix as well as a gulp of water to ward off any potential GI issues.  But back to the bike…  The course is absolutely spectacular and fast to boot.  It sweeps through many vineyards with a few minor hills and a couple of fast downhills.  Here my goal was to put down an average of 205-245 watts and not go out too hard on the hills.  Overall, I did fairly well at pacing with the exception of Highway 97.  It was hard to stay within my goal range as we were faced with a bit of a head wind and for some reason this stretch of road faced the most congestion of anywhere on the course.  Trying to avoid the “draft zone” was next to impossible unless you felt like tempting fate with traffic.  With this said, I did the best that I could to get out of it and push past to get some clear space.  Coming back in after the second lap, I felt good for the run.

T2 (1:56):

The second transition was quick.  I racked the bike, remembered to take my helmet off and put my shoes off and I was away.

Tags: Bike, Lessons, Oliver, race, Relaxation, Run, Swim, Triathlon